Where Did The Season Go ?......

I'll be heading back north next week to upstate New York. It will be a nice change to get back to my friends and family and of course my little house on one of the most beautiful lakes (Canandaigua) in the world. The house is still in one piece as my wonderful, house watching, neighbor and good friend Karen informs me.

Here it is the last few days of the 06-07 season in Florida and I have all these Florida odds and ends left to share with you. Soon I will be reporting on life in Canandaigua (The Chosen Spot) so my friends down here can keep tabs on me. So here goes....hope you get a kick out of hearing about some of the stuff that goes on around here.

There are a handful of stores and eateries on Dearborn Street and because I spend so much time in the Village Gifts and Coffee Bar (where I do my writing) and the Coconut Grove (where I do most of my eating and drinking...diet coke...maybe a draft beer once in awhile....) Because it's a small community it's awful hard to keep secrets around here and because the year round work force is also so small it's hard to find good help. So there is kind of an unspoken rule that if someone has a disagreement with one of their workers and it gets out hand to the point of a declaration of "Take this job and shove it!!)....or "I've had it, your fired!!) the offended worker will then be hired by someone else on the street so they don't have to be inconvenienced by looking for work out of the area. Hey...like I said...good help is hard to find....the people that own the businesses know that in a few days someone else on the street will be up for grabs to replace the lost worker... Hell.. it's only a matter of time before the fired or angered employee will complete the circle and be back at work after all the "I'm sorrys" and "It was all a mis-understandings" are given and taken. There have been at least a half-dozen such cases this season of cooks..waiters...waitresses...bar tenders and clerks moving up and down the street this season. It's a great system but as a customer it gets a little hard to keep track of "Who's on first"....no I think that's "What's on first...Who's on second"....well anyway it sure is a lot of fun listening to all the stories knowing that in a few weeks everything will be all patched up like it never happened.

Here is a shot of my friend Lisa and her favorite Ike....that is a face only a mother can love...and Lisa is more of mother than this dog's mother ever was. Also we have the other three Molly, Shadow and Georgie...four dogs...I don't know how she handles it...I sure as hell couldn't do it. Twice in two days shes called to tell me that Georgie...the smallest dog...has dug a hole under the fence and her and shadow have run off...Molly can't get through the hole so she just starts running back and forth barking so Lisa knows about the jail break....I guess Molly figures that if she can't have any fun no one will. She always finds them or should I say after a half hour of running all over the neighborhood...they let her find them...after all they need a ride home. Does she really think these dogs are going to run away...they have a better life than most people I know....especially some the married men I know.

Lisa doesn't stop with her love of dogs...she is one of those people that can't stand to see any creature in distress. The Iguana in this picture was about to be run over in the middle of the road if it were not for Lisa stopping to pick it up and move it to the side of the road...for a thank you the Iguana slapped her with its tale and could have left a nasty bruise had she not ducked in time...some Iguanas just don't have any manners.

Of course..from past writings...you know of Harry the Egret and now we have Bumpy the Stork who visits the Taki Tiki on occasion looking for a handout...take a good look at this mug and you'll know why we call him Bumpy...and look there's Harry way up the pine across the street telling his buddies about the free eats down below....by the time I get back next season the animals will have taken over the Taki Tiki and Lisa will be begging them for a handout....Harry is already trying out the job as a Hood Ornament...why fly when you can ride.

Til Next Time...When I'll be reporting From the Great North Country...

P.S. There may be one more report from Paradise before I leave...I'm taking a group of five fishermen out on the 8th...they want me to teach them how to fish the bay...they call themselves the old codgers...I'll bet I get something to write about....I'll get some pictures of the big catch...sure hope there is one...it would be very embarrassing to take them out and the only lesson they learn is not to go fishing with a guy named Monk.....I must have caught 20 Jacks and a dozen ladyfish yesterday...I sure hope I can find fish on Tuesday....

Semper Fi..

Monk