I left for Miami at 7 yesterday morning and returned at 10:30 last night. A busy day. The Volkswagen was in need of a 10,000 mile check up.
After dropping the car of at DEEL Volkswagen on Bird Ave., I had four hours to kill. I was directed to Meeker Center, a 10 minute walk. Meeker is a first class lovely three story shopping mall. All the big stores. Like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Tiffany. Lovely restaurants here and there.
Meeker was an interesting experience.
Attire. I was dressed Key West style. Shorts, shirt and crocs. No one wore shorts. Forget crocs. I was a stranger in my own country. Men wore long pants, some jackets. The women all dressed neatly and attractively. The six inch heels blew me out. I discovered flats are also in this year for women.
I looked out of place.
I rarely get off the rock, as we say. As I walked through Nordstrom, it struck me I have purchased new clothes rarely the past 10 years. Not needed if you live in Key West. It is a new tee shirt or two and an occasional pair of shorts.
I was taken by the sport shirts, then shoes and finally sport jackets. The tee shirts started at $98. Sport shirts were in the $150 range. Beautiful shirts! Shoes! Wild! I can not even wear leather shoes in Key West. Yet I spent at least an hour looking at them. From $200 to $600.
I used to visit Tiffany frequently on business trips to New York City. Generally to look, not to buy. I got to do it again yesterday.
I was wearing a three day beard.
People fell all over me trying to take care of me. I suspect they thought I was a rich eccentric.
From the heights of affluence to reality. I stopped at a Walmart on the way home. Bought some tee shirts, sport shirts and shorts. All for much less than one sport shirt at Nordstrom would have cost.
Walmart will soon have a store on nearby Rockland Key. It will sell groceries also. I walked around the food section checking out prices. Walmart had everything. Prices very low. Key West’s Publix and Winn Dixie will not be able to compete. They will have to lower prices to do so.
On the way back to Key West, I stopped at the Islamorada Fish Company for stone crabs. Broke my diet. They were delicious! The best!
Everyone was dressed like me.
Monday’s E-Blast carried an article re the Waterfront brewery remodeling. The property is city owned. It is being remodeled for the two tenants who will be occupying. A brewery and restaurant.
My concern is with over costs/over runs. Everything Key West does construction wise, involves the taxpayers getting hit with additional costs for alleged unexpected problems. The brewery thus far has run into two. An additional cost of $64,000. Not much, but more.
Over costs seem to occur on every type construction Key West is involved in. Sometimes in the millions. I never ran into this situation in other areas. Key Wet calls them unexpected. I call them a series of screw ups by the city in not properly investigating and/or discovering the work initially.
Key West never seems to learn.
My blog talk radio show tonight. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Join me for a hard hitting half hour. I rip the scabs off!
Tonight’s topics will include more on the California water drought. More than merely running out of water. Who are the real culprits and the unaware pain that occurs.
Also, Florida climate change and Governor Scott, more on police quotas, Greece soon to leave the Eurounion, the euro falling against the dollar meaning cheap European vacations this summer, and a tiny country most have never heard of that is making a ton of money as the new place to wash dirty money.
The show can be found on the internet at www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.
Enjoy your day!
