Oh, the weather!

Key West winter begins tonight. We have been lucky so far. The weather has been fantastic! However, we are into the winter season and temperatures in the 70s should have been gone by now.

A cold front is coming in tonight. It will last through Friday. A long time.  Tomorrow the temperature will be 63 by day and 52 by night. Not nice. Cold! Several bad nights ahead. Heavy blanket time. A woman would be better.

Then Saturday, the good weather returns. From Saturday forward  the days will be in the mid 70s and evenings low 60s. A return of unusual weather. Something to look forward to. We are tough people. We will guts it out this week.

It was a beautiful warm day yesterday. I sat in the sun quite a while. So much so, that my face was bright red when I went inside. I  neither wrote nor read. I merely contemplated. I thought about the past year and this new year.

Last year was good. I should not complain. However, I had some medical problems which knocked me on my ass. My teeth and my heart. It was not the problem with both that affected me. It was the treatment. Prolonged and tiring. All I ask for in the new year is good uninterrupted health.

I thought about other things.

God is good. I live in Key West. A beautiful home on the ocean. I have many good friends. What more could a person want? I know. In my particular circumstance, a woman. Santa Claus please bring me one!

Syracuse basketball late yesterday afternoon. Watched it at the Sports Page Bar. When I arrived, I was shocked. Very few seats available. People all over the place yelling and screaming. It was professional football Sunday! Not one television set was carrying college basketball.

I immediately sought out owner Patrick. I was stressed. I was there to watch a Syracuse game. I followed Patrick around the bar as he was looking for a TV set to change to the Syracuse game. One was found. Patrick advised that if anyone complained, he had turned the set back to football. Fortunately, no one complained.

I was the first of the Syracuse fans to arrive. Soon there were 20. Syracuse graduate Scott from Chicago came in with a party of six. Another SU graduate Steve, who runs a boat here in Key West, showed up with a date. There were a number of people from other places. We had a good group going.

One of the highlights of the game was the opportunity to meet Jim Boeheim’s sister Barbara. Some one pointed her out to me. I went over and introduced myself. We chatted for a few minutes. She is vacationing in Key West. Lives in Virginia. A nice woman. Very congenial. Thoughtful of  her brother’s position.

Syracuse won. Demolished De Paul by about 20 points.

Syracuse plays Providence Wednesday. Then next Saturday comes the first real test for Syracuse in the Big East. Syracuse plays Marquette. Syracuse is presently ranked # 1 nationally, Marquette # 12.

After the game, I visited the Chart Room. Glad I did. Sheila and Cindy at the bar. Got my kisses. JJ and I exchanged New Year greetings. I did not stay long. I wanted to get over to La Trattoria. It was Kathy’s first night back as bartender.

This week has been very busy in Key West. Tourists abound. More than normal. Ergo, La Trattoria was packed. There was not one seat at the bar! Kathy was good to me however. She called for a bar stool to be brought from the back room and fit me in.

Jean and Joe Thornton were on the other side of the bar. I went over and extended warm holiday greetings to both. They were just finishing up as I was starting.

Lovely Becha gave me a hug and kiss. Made my evening.

Kathy sat me next to a very charming woman. Katherine her name. I had a stimulating and knowledgeable conversation with her throughout dinner. She and her husband own some sort of electrical company  in the Toledo, Ohio area. It employs approximately 500 people. Big time! We talked about banks, insurance companies, cash flow, etc. We understood each other clearly and were on the same wave length.

Katherine and her husband own a condominium. They have been Key West snow birds for 13 years.

Poor Kathy. It was a tough night behind the bar. She worked hard. I could see her tiring. Occasionally, she would sit down on a box behind the bar to resurrect herself. Body wise, she is still about one third of her normal size. She lost a lot of weight as a result of the two surgeries.

Then it was home and bed.

Lisa and Corey expected any moment. They are returning my Christmas tree and the extra chairs I brought over to them for Christmas Eve dinner. Robert and Ally are returning today. Lisa and Corey are driving up to Florida City to pick them up. They are traveling with Corey’s parents from Cape Coral. Florida City is the mid point.

 I have missed Robert and Ally. I am anxious to see them.

My good friend Mike Yutzy was in for the weekend.  Mike is a mortgage broker in Las Vegas. He apparently is in love with Emmy who is a CPA in Fort Lauderdale. I had met her before. This is a cross country relationship. They visited with me for a while. We sat outside on the deck and chatted. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Mike.

Courtney introduced me to Carol Tedesco while I was at the gym Saturday. We talked a bit. What a nice lady! She works out with Courtney also. Carol is an artist. She told me that she recently had listed a ceramic rooster  with Lisa’s Internet department store Via Key West. Carol is happy and charming. I hope to run into her again.

Turns out Carol is married to Michael Shields. Michael is one of the founders and initial general manager/ executive director of the Tropic Cinema. He does an Internet show on movies. In fact, his Internet show follows mine on Friday. Michael is well known in the arts.

Enjoy your day!