A Pirate's Tale....

As I mentioned in the last posting...I had my first major health issue since coming to this wonderful paradise and I'm better for the experience...my friends came through and it looks like it will all end well....but in the meantime I will be wearing this eye patch for several more weeks.....here is the rest of the story...that by the way is the best I can do for "Arrr Matey"......




Thanks to my friends I have been ferried back and forth for the last couple of weeks...this is a pic of my friend Ingrid...I treated her to lunch after she graciously offered to take me last week...thank you one and all for help....

All I did was get up off the couch several nights ago and noticed that I had lost partial vision on my right side....at first I thought it was just a "floater" but by morning it had not gone away...as I moved into the week-end...it was the busy one with my friend Karen visiting from up north....it got progressively worse...of course..like an idiot...I tried to ignore it...on Monday all but a small portion of my vision in the right eye was gone....now I panicked....I knew I had to use the VA and the closest to me that handled such things was in Ft. Myers....50 miles away...I got up at six and drove one-eyed all the way there only to find out it was closed for the Martin Luther King holiday...more panic....decided not to drive back...went to nearest hospital Lee Memorial,,,and got checked by emergency....yep..detached retina they said and off they sent me to an off site Opthomologist by taxi...they of course only verified the findings and sent me to a surgeon who took one look and said he had to do surgery on it quickly or I might lose it for good...the next day I was back and done by supper time....

On the last trip back we also stopped at a favorite hang-out of ours to watch our favorite local band..."Smoked Mullet".....play their last gig for this restaurant...another casualty of the economy you say....no....a casualty of a greedy partner who ran off with all the money....hope they catch the bastard...Speaking of bands my favorite non-local band is "The Yard Dogs" ...hard to describe their music...but its fun..Brian the guy who plays the "suitcase"..you'll understand if you check out their site....is a Kayak fisherman maniac...has his own blog (click here) is a great place to visit for fun and if your a fisherman.....

Speaking of music....Shirley, Flo and I went to a place called The Bean Depot just up the road in El Jobean....it is a real old Florida hang out with a history as a post office and jail and now as a restaurant as well as a place to hear some great "Blue Grass" and "Country" tunes in a jam session every Wednesday....





Flo played and sang ....












...and Shirley of course entertained with her outstanding voice that included her famous yodeling as well...










Had a great fishing trip with my son Kyle and his friend Will along with Will's dad Richard...I always have a contest with Kyle on number of fish caught...The score was eleven to one and I didn't have the one...Kyle complains because I count anything that gets over the gunwales and most of what I caught wouldn't make a cat's breakfast....but hey Pinfish, Lizardfish, and Whiting all swim in the ocean...so as far as I'm concerned ...they count....He did catch a nice Trout for his one of the day and lost another nice one just as he lifted it out of the water....we're even though... he is a better "Texas Holdem" player than me....and that makes him a lot more money than our bets for a buck....

Richard caught the fish of the day with this nice Sheepshead...the "Old Men" showed the boys how it's done.....










We had a beggar along for part of the time...he came right up to the side of the boat and looked up as if to say "OK, Where's Mine?.....Thanks again to Will and his Dad for a great time.....








Hey kids...see this boat....this is what I want...take up a collection for the old man....










Had another good time at Will's Honky Tonk on Friday nite...of course it was the great company and Smoked Mullet that made it special.....







Superbowl Sunday was special...we all went to Shirleys to watch it on big screen TV...she prepared a feast of munchies and pulled pork...


...Some of us consumed a little more alcohol than others....Hey I live next door...all I had to do was open the door and fall in....besides Pirates have to live up to the "Rep".....Arrrr......







Lots of food and some very good friends....and a Superbowl game that had us all yelling even some of us ....no names mentioned...but most are in this pic...that didn't have a clue about the rules of the game....

...and some that got a little rest between plays...isn't that a wicked little grin on her face...what was she dreaming ....probably something about men in tight pants....












Shirley gave each of us a little souvenir of our Superbowl party....














...She picked up these critters at the flea market and couldn't resist....cute huh....


That's All For Now....

Live, Love, Laugh....& Dance

Semper Fi...


Monk