DINNER WITH FRIENDS

Dinner last night with friends. Karen and Dan Visnic. Karen a Pittsburg Shaklee distributor.

We met through this blog. Karen and Dan are loyal readers. Have been for years. Also frequent visitors to Key West. Three to four times a year. Renting a home on Olivia for the month of June.

We met about a year ago. Lunched at Salute’s where we dined last night. They were in Key West during Fantasy Fest. Their daughter and son in law joined them.

I am ashamed to admit, I had never read anything by John D. MacDonald. Their daughter when she returned home shipped me MacDonald’s The Deep Blue Good-By.

Karen and Dan return for another visit in July. I look forward to seeing them again.

Yesterday began with a late morning session on the anti-gravity treadmill. I swear by this machine. Whereas I recently lost 35 pounds, my gut remained. The treadmill is removing or redistributing my belly. Thrilling!

Then to Lee Nails and Tammy for a manicure. Tammy the best! Her keen sense of humor frequently peeked out yesterday.

It was lunch time. The Cuban Coffee Queen. It is becoming a habit. Parking is easy. I love Cuban pressed bread and coffee. The setting perfect.

This morning’s Key West Citizen carried an interesting front page article. Key West hotels are doing terrific. Occupancy up. Hotel rates have increased 55 percent over the past six years.

Key West is an expensive place. Whether a resident or tourist. The major hotels have been taken over by the big corporations in the last five years. My fear is the ever increasing cost of a hotel stay is going to hurt the chicken that lays the golden egg. Gluttony a terrible thing.

I write frequently about turtles. We are crazy for anything having to do with the water.  The keys fortunate to have a turtle hospital in Marathon.

Two Marathon Turtle Hospital staff recently visited Cuba and met with a primary gamekeeper of turtles there.

The Marathon team brought simple medical tools with them. Medical equipment such as microscopes and a box of slides. Simple is not available in Cuba. Basics of any kind not available.

The trip impresses me. Another step in reuniting the bond between the U.S. and Cuba. These little things move ahead more swiftly than government interaction. It appears it is going to take a long time for the U.S. to become friends with Cuba again. People to people appears more effective.

I am unhappy with the Trans Pacific Pact vote yesterday. A victory for Obama and the Republican Congress. History repeats itself. Rarely do nations learn. Ten years from now the bad will be obvious, the damage already done to the U.S.

Clinton had his NAFTA. Cost the U.S. millions of jobs. Jobs alone are not at stake this time. Foreign control of American businesses is. Obama way off base on this one.

I woke this morning to a gray Key West. Even gray, the vista beautiful to behold. The gray is now lifting and the sun coming out.

I always have had a problem re the spelling of gray. Gray or grey? I looked it up this morning. Both spellings correct. Merely different spellings of the same word. Gray commonly used in the U.S. Grey in England. Take your pick!

Enjoy your day!

3 comments on “DINNER WITH FRIENDS

    • No, I do not have an interest in Tammy’s business Lee Nails. I do however enjoy Tammy, her husband and their accomplishments. In 12 years, they have come a long way. Tammy arrived from Vietnam 12 years ago. Her husband arrived earlier.They met in Miami. Started as workers doing manicures and pedicures in a small crowded store. Eventually bought the business from the owner. Soon thereafter moved to another location. In a large strip mall. The business expanded and continues to expand. The place of business lovely. Constantly updated. Anywhere from 10-15 employed. Always busy. Tammy works six days a week from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening. Tammy a gem. Slight. Well under 5 feet. Thin. Beautiful. A typical appearing Asian woman. The couple bought a home last year. A large and beautiful one. Pool and all. Houses Tammy, husband and their two children. In a dozen years, they have achieved the American dream. The one that escapes most these days. I love sharing Tammy and the business with readers. I am sorry you might be bored with it. Manicures are part of my Key West life. Where and who does them, also. My Key West life is one of the things I have shared with readers from day one. A couple final thoughts. I am even more impressed by Tammy and her husband’s success in that they accomplished it during a time of recession when many could not find work or decent paying work. And provided employment for others. During this same time frame, Tammy became a citizen. I can recall her doing questions and answers with me while doing my nails in the weeks immediately preceding her taking the examination. I have shared over the years much of what is reported here. I feel badly you do not like or perhaps not enjoy the story. I consider it one worth telling. Even if some weeks it is only that I enjoyed Tammy’s company.

  1. I think you are confusing the TPA with the TPP. The TPA is what passed and simply makes for effective negotiating of a trade bill that will still be given and up or down vote by congress.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *