Good morning!

I am up early. Golf this morning. Dark outside.

As a weather forecaster, I stink! I predicted a big storm yesterday. It never happened here in Key Haven where I live. Within 20 minutes, the sun was out and the black clouds had passed.

I live three islands up from Key West. About 2.5 miles separates my little key from Key West. It apparently rained big time in Key West. I could see huge puddles all over the place when I was driving in town last night.

I share this bit of information with you because of the uniqeness of the weather in the keys. It is not uncommon for it to rain in  Key West proper and not the 1 or 2 islands to the immediae north. In fact, it is not uncommon for it to rain in one part of Key West and not another.

Emily has become the topic of conversation. Even among the tourists. A storm on the way? The tourists do not understand how the locals take it all in stride. Too many times, we have been warned to evacuate. Many do not. It has become old hat. Get out, bad weather on its way! And then nothing. The storm turns and goes elsewhere.

The only danger is that some day the forcasters are going to be correct and it will be too late to evacuate.

Emily is not an evacuation type storm. So to locals it is like water off a duck’s back. It is given no concern.

This morning’s projection has Emily skirting Florida and hitting the United States proper in the Carolinas. It is also projected that Emily will increase in speed by that time to a hurricane 1. Still no big deal.

All this Emily information can change dramatically. Hurricanes are fickle. They move as they want. Ergo, the problem is that certainty in prediction is never a certainty.

I had a perfect day yesterday. I sat at my kitchen table with the doors open to the water behind me and wrote. All day. The weather was just right to do so. I wore only shorts and did not utilize the air conditioning. By the time I had finished, I was soaking wet.

I had dinner last night with Steve and Helen Purciello. We met through this blog. Steve is a daily reader. They visit Key West two times a year. We had drinks together six months ago at the Chart Room. We did it again last night, plus dinner at La Trattoria.

Steve and Helen hail from Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Both are educators. Steve an administrator and Helen a teacher. They have a time share here in Key West.

Both of them had spectacular tans. They ride their bikes each day to Fort Zachrey beach and lay out. They do not rent a car while here. Walking and biking are their modes of transportation.

Steve was a history major in college as I was. We are both political junkies. Politics dominated our discussions. With what has gone on in Washington the past few weeks, we had much to talk about.

 I enjoyed Steve and Helen’s company. I look forward to their next visit in November.

My blood pressure is stabilizing. I am anxious to play golf this morning. I missed last week because of the blood pressure problem.

Enjoy your day!