By day, yesterday was excellent.

Sloan and I had a worthwhile 2 hours working on the podcasts. Hopefully we have things down pat now.

Spent two comfortable hours at Higgs Beach in the afternoon again. Overcast. Still comfortable. Nothing like sitting by the ocean. The sounds and smell of the water.

The evening sucked, however. Did not let it bother me. The afternoon was still in me and I refused to let anything spoil it.

It started with dinner. I decided to be good to myself. An excellent dinner. Selected Antonia’s. Closed. Pitch black inside. Strange, I thought. Closed on a sunday evening? Tons of people walking Duval. Other restaurants and bars doing a bang up business. Opted for La Trattoria. Same problem. Closed. What the hell?

Understand, I had already overwalked. Returned to my car. My right leg killing me.

Refused to let the closings get me down. Pepe’s popped into mind. I had not been there in a while. A broiled half chicken would be my meal.

Found a parking spot. People crowded outside and in waiting for a seat in Pepe’s. I asked the hostess if there were any seats at the bar. She said yes. So I plodded through the crowd. No seats available at the bar.

Where next? Decided on the Boat House. A bit of a walk. My other leg joining the right one in pain. Made it, however.

In all my Key West years, I had never been to the Boat House. The old or new. It was crowded. Found a seat at the bar. Decided I deserved a drink after all the work/walking I had done. I had not had one in 10 days. Beefeater on the rocks. Only one. And a diet Pepsi.

Ordered an appetizer for dinner. Conch fritters. Seven huge ones. Delicious. I was feeling better.

Wanted a second diet Pepsi. Took me 15 minutes to get one. Three young ladies working my section of the bar. They were tied up bullshitting with 4 older gents (younger than me) at one end of the bar. Left me and others sitting without service for the 15 minutes. Pissed me off! Some of my neighbors at the bar, also. Lousy service in the extreme!

I said nothing. I am a good tipper. Not last night. The bill was $27. Normally, I would have left a $10 tip. Left only $3. Came close to leaving nothing.

I will never return to the Boat House.

Yet, my disposition remained ok.

This morning I had a 9:30 appointment with my heart doctor. Two years and I have yet to meet him. We are down to 3 heart doctors in Key West. A nurse practitioner has been caring for me. I have come to respect her talents. Not that I have any choice.

April was not in. No one called me. I corrected the receptionist re no one had when she insisted. Said April would phone me. I insisted on a personal visit another day. Fran came out to give me a hand. She is a nurse who works under and with April. I blew. Couldn’t help it. We agreed she would call me with an appointment for next week with April.

I was not out of the office 10 minutes and getting into my car when the phone rang. A recorded message. April would call me at 11 tomorrow.

I have not dealt with that call yet. Will not have to as it turns out. April just called me. I vented again. She took my abuse and apologized, which made me feel worse. Anyhow, everything back to kumbaya with them. I have the answers April would have given me in a face to face.

I feel like a smuck, however. April has been out of work for 10 days taking care of her elderly father who is sick.

It is cool today. Seventy degrees. High will be 72. No ocean to relax by. 

Today’s podcast goes back to the early days of COVID. Greece was hard hit at the time also. The Greeks are different from us, however. They paid attention to their government. Everything closed down. People remained home. The podcast deals with my friend Theos. Following the podcast is a note I received from another Greek friend Jim Brown. Deals with how the Greek people were handling COVID also. His story similar to Theos’.

Jim Brown from Crete: “Sending Key West Lou best wishes from Crete. Lockdown has been obeyed by the people here. Sadly not earning at the moment. But health before weather as they say.”

“Big trees from little acorns grow.” Applies to goldfish in the Great Lakes where goldfish have physically grown. As large as a busty 18 inches. They are disrupting the ecosystems of the Great Lakes. They now number literally in the tens of millions.

They have become an invasive species. Who would have thought?

An example of the pot calling the kettle black. Donald Trump called Joe Biden a “real threat” to democracy.

The man is mad. The pressure getting to him. He is becoming “more explosive” than ever.

Rudy Giuliani has become equally as crazy as his comrade Donald Trump. Giuliani claims Obama has taken the U.S. back 40 or 50 years on race relations.

I don’t understand that one.

Enjoy your day!