March Madness....

It seems like the month of March just flew by...before I knew it I had not made a post in over a month...the eagle story...happened just a few days ago...so I thought I better get that out before another month evaporated....So, the following is a quick look at March and some good times...


My friend Dina came down for an all to short...four day visit...to celebrate her birthday and for some much needed fun in the sun....we had a great birthday dinner party at the Gulf View and got to see another spectacular Florida sunset...

Most of her time here was spent on the beach...but we did get down to Fisherman's Village for some shopping and another colorful sunset meal....

Lisa and Dina got to see each other again...Lisa had come to New York last summer for a special wine class and had met Dina at that time..we all had several meals together during her visit...


One surprise at the coffee shop during Dina's visit was this parrot encounter...a man bicycled up with this beautiful bird perched on his customised bike handle bars...

We all took turns admiring and getting some photo opps...I would love to have a parrot of my own someday...but I know that I wouldn't be able to give it the time and attention that a pet needs...nice thought but this pirate knows his limits....


Bob and Kathy my golfing friends from the Great White North came down to my house to see what it was like living on Lemon Bay...I had visited them for a round of golf when my friend Karen was here ...they have a winter place in the Sarasota area...





Kyle's new love is named Bella and she is gorgeous ...at least as far as dogs go....he got her from the pound...she is such a good dog and as well as very gentle and loving...it makes you wonder why someone would give up a pet this nice...oh well, she and Kyle are together now and it looks like it will be a long term relationship....



Coconut Grove..my favorite hang out for the last three years has finally opened back up with the original owners Tony and Merrill back in charge...myself and all of the old regulars couldn't be happier...the previous tenants didn't do a very good job and the whole mood of the place was different to the point that nobody who knew what it was like before...wanted to go for entertainment or even the food...it just wasn't the same...they did change the name to "Englewoods on Dearborn"....no comment....but I really do think that Coconut Grove was the right name...the new name isn't going to stop me... I'll still go ....it's better than ever with entertainment every nite and a great new menu...the back coconut grove courtyard is open again and the inside has been completely remodeled to give it a warm tropical look and feel...

Ingrid, Ronnie and Lance don't mind the new name...we have had some great meals and dancing in the courtyard....and will again....



Speaking of dancing..."D" Debbie and "D"Bob....for those of you who don't ...remember..the "D" is for Dancing....get up close and personal on the new dance floor...notice Kenny doing that thing that he does so well...in the background...

Shirley and "D" Debbie do pretty well for themselves....once you get Shirley out on the town she has a good time...it's getting her away from all her singing and volunteering activity's that is the hard part....remember Shirley...Live, Love, Laugh and Dance......

My friends Pam and Kyle celebrated an anniversary with Kenny dedicating a song to them....happy anniversary to a wonderful loving couple..

Tony and his new bartender Lee look like a matched set....I'll leave you to guess of what?




Talking about Shirley's singing...she had another "gig" at the Elk's Club in March...once again she was the opening act along with Flo....and once again they were the hit of the show...congrats you two...


The gentleman in this picture...Sid...is celebrating his 86th birthday...Shirley, Flo and I met him at the Gulf View and he is a fascinating story teller...he told us all about how he and his partner started and invented the process for grinding up junk cars...they invented the machine and put together the distribution system for getting all the metal and other components from millions of cars per year...a fascinating fact was that he says there is an average of $1.86 in loose change in every junk car...the last thing on the conveyor belt when they were all done sorting out the different kinds of metals...was the loose change...he said that over the years he has taken millions of dollars to the mint in big leather bags....wow!


On Wednesdays this winter I played an afternoon game of Texas Hold'em with some friends from the Moose Club...it was great fun and now most are gone back north...here we all are laughing our asses off when Dick tried to hide his face in an "All In Moment"...I'm looking forward to more good times with these wonderful people again next season....





I finished my last art class and I had a ball doing Japanese fish prints...I actually think I did pretty well...















I'm going to try and do some more on my own...now if the fish co-operate I'll have some more great prints to show you...














I gave them away to my son and friends ..but I saved this one of a flounder it's my favorite...



No blog of mine would be complete without some pics of my two newest granddaughters...Dakota and Callie are getting bigger by the second...I can't wait to see them in June when Travis and Shannon go back to New York on leave...


Dakota helped her mother make cup cakes and it looks like she enjoyed the end result...good idea mom taking off the clothes before trying out her handiwork...MMMM..MMMM..GOOD...


One last plug if you will...the new book comes out this month...pictured is a rendering of the cover..this it will be available in hard cover from Barnes and Noble and Amazon on line...it contains books one and two combined along with twenty three extra pages of some stories about training before Vietnam...for those that haven't purchased books one or two ...this is the one to buy...thanks to all of you for your support in my efforts to document a very difficult and trying time in my life...I hope you take something positive away when reading my stories...

That's All For Now....

Live, Love, Laugh & Dance....

Semper Fi...

Monk

Today Is The Present...Enjoy The Gift...

I always respond to my children and friends...when they complain or worry about something that has happened or might happen...that they should take these words to heart...the whole thing goes like this..."Yesterday is the past..you can't change it..Tomorrow is the future...you can't predict it...and Today is the present...so enjoy the Gift!!...I try to live by these words as much as I can...sometimes it is a very difficult credo to follow...we all fret and worry at times...but over all it has pulled me through some tough times...if you look hard enough you can always find something in each day that brings a smile to your face or softens the blow of a particularly tough moment in your life..to me each day truly is a gift...I usually don't have to look far to realize how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family and friends.. not to mention the gifts that God puts in front of us every day...

One of these special gifts from God happened just the other day...I was wading in Lemon Bay...the wind was whipping the waves into white caps..which is very unusual on the bay..so there were no boats in close to shore and no other fishermen braving the elements to pursue my finny friends...I caught a nice size Jack but in the process of retrieving my jig..which was a considerable way down his gullet...my prey expired...for the animal lovers out there..this doesn't happen often...I almost always release my catch or on occasion use it to feed myself or my friends when requested..anyway...I thought to myself when my opponent met his maker that it was a waste because the Jack is not a good fish to eat...I remembered that I had spotted a magnificent Bald Eagle ..perched in what I call "The Eagle Tree"..just a half hour or so before...I was now about three hundred yards from the tree and could not see if my friend was still there. .but I waved the fish high above my head a couple of times...whistled in my best "come and get it" tone... and threw it about fifteen feet away from me...I hoped that it would float and to my good fortune and the Eagles..it did...the Eagle was out of the tree in seconds and on his way...I have done this little act before with an Osprey that checks out the pier I fish on sometimes when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to get wet or drag the Kayak out...a wave of a fish and a whistle and the osprey would swoop down to the deck for a free meal...the Eagle swooped low over the fish..only a few feet from me as I stood perfectly still...he was afraid to make a stab at it because of the waves stirred up by the strong wind at my back...but after about a dozen magnificent passes at his potential lunch... he made a splash at it and missed...he then decided it was time for a break and perched himself on a branch just a few yards in front of me...since it was just he and I and there was no one to watch the crazy guy talking to the bird... I whistled and yelled up for him to not give up...and to try one more time...he swooped off the branch and came down one more time...after another half dozen attempts he finally had the fish lined up and snatched it from the whitecaps...I don't know who was happier...I whistled and shouted my congratulations as he flew back to the Eagle Tree to enjoy his meal....About ten minutes later I was amazed to see him and now his mate flying my way...I thought that they were perhaps on the hunt once more and wondered how they could have eaten that fish so fast...the pair came directly over my head and as they got above me their forward progress stopped and in the strong wind they hovered no more than twenty feet above me for ten or fifteen seconds...I whistled up at them and they gracefully turned and flew back in the direction of the tree...it was as if they both came out to say "thanks for the fish"..because I finally realized that the prize catch probably went to feed their youngsters back in the nest...now I'm not naive enough to think that was the reason..but it sure was an event that truly was a gift from God on an otherwise pretty miserable fishing day...

By the way...the Eagle in the picture is another gift from my maker...I am fortunate enough to have another "Eagle Tree" right outside my door...I can open my door and look straight up to the branches most used by them...each time I see one one which is several times a week I'm in awe of the regal beauty that these birds of prey possess...even this youngster has that regal beauty..you can tell by the lightness of his feathers..they don't turn black for a year or so...can you believe that Ben Franklin wanted the Turkey to be our national bird...What was he thinking?..

I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on...but I'll do that in the next installment...I wanted to share my Eagle story with you before I catch up on all that has happened in the last month...

A couple of my friends have asked why I took out the word "Fish" from my sign off and inserted the word "Dance"...here's why...I found this little saying at the VA on my last visit and I thought that it too is something people ought to take to heart..."Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass...Life is learning how to Dance in the Rain".....

That's All For Now...

Live, Love, Laugh and Dance..

Semper Fi

Monk

Some Catching Up......

I thought it was about time to catch up on the blog....with lots of shots with the new camera (which is either a blessing or a curse because I now carry it with me everywhere) and shots from Travis and Shannon on Dakota's second birthday I have an abundance of new stuff to talk about....this is just me in front of the Coffee shop...last day as a Pirate...as of today no more patch...the bubble is still there but it has retreated to a little below half of my vision in my eye..I can look over the top and see things clearly...just have to ignore the fact that my vision is like looking through a half glass of water....


Visited some friends in Cape Coral recently and in addition to having a great time at a birthday party for a very special friend ( who remain anonymous at her request ) took lots of pics of the party but I shall honor her wishes...did go out boating with a little side trip to fish just before sunset...had a great time...only caught one small snapper but got to see a great sunset and spend some time with some very nice people...





Here is Jay's dog "Xena"...she is a real ball of energy...and of course wanted to be upfront the whole time...even when I was fishing off the bow...which by the way is pretty hard to do with only one eye...did everything but actually fall into the water...Xena however was right at home...I don't think Jay realizes it yet but I believe Xena is a Fish Pointer...looks like she spotted one in this pic...I knew a Bass fisherman once who swore that his dog came on point when a bass was lurking under lily pads...got so into it that he would not fish unless the dog was along....I was in a fishing club at the time and when it got to the point that he was winning almost every tournament we had...we banned the dog from all tournaments....he made believers out of us...he did have a good argument however...he claimed that any depth/fish finder did the same thing...but we still banned the dog....we could all have fish finders but no one else had a fish finding dog...hey....can't blame us...after all...we wanted a level playing field...


On our sunset cruise we passed by this burnt out house on the canal....the story goes that an older couple lived there and one day while his wife was out shopping ....the husband went outside by the canal sat down and shot himself...he started the fire before he left and made sure the cat was out of the house....nobody knows the rest of the story...sad ending to what looked like the perfect retirement...






On a lighter note....for those of you who don't know....there is a lyric in one of Jimmy Buffett's songs that goes..."Lets set sail with Captain Morgan, and never leave dry land"......this is what happens when you set sail with Captain Morgan and you do leave dry land....




I've done a little "land sailing " with Captain Morgan myself over the last few weeks and had some very good times with good friends at Will's Honky Tonk...it's hard not to have a good time with friends like Ingrid and Valery ..(new friend and bar tender at Mokies).. and music from my favorite local band...Smoked Mullet...of course Brian.... my kindred spirit and Kayak fishing fanatic and proud member of The Yard Dogs..remain my favorite non-local, Swamp Music Band...


Ingrid, Valery and I had a great time dancing up a storm...ended up walking home ....In case your worried...I never drink and drive...and Will's is only a few blocks away....I could have had a ride home but I went outside for air and just kept on walking...it was a beautiful and cool night and I really needed the walk and the cold air...I apologized to the girls after for not saying good-night...nuff said?...




Had breakfast and coffee as well as a great conversation that lasted a couple of hours with Ingrid and Suzie one morning....this is just before the latest cold snap ...haven't had much of a chance to sit outside the last few days with a cold breeze blowing most of the day...this will be the last cool front we hope....the old Coconut Grove is going to be opening up again with our good friends Merrill and Tony back in charge and the warm weather is right on time for some good music and dancing in the back courtyard....can't wait ... will fill you all in on the next blog....



Went back to Mokies Bar to hear Kenny Rose play again...he is going to be there every Tuesday for a while...looks like that will be the place to hang on Tuesdays....saw "Dancing Debbie" and friends...looking good and dancing up a storm with Bob...also known as "Dancing Bob"...they are with out a doubt the most energetic and talented dancers on the floor when they dance together...one of these days I'm going to get a video and post it on the blog...but for now just take my word for it....they are good!!!.....

















Here is my latest creation from art class...once again I make no apologies...the idea that I could produce even the smallest amount of artwork that would resemble anything...still amazes me...it ain't great ...but it's mine...I'm loving these classes...

















I've been experimenting with the new camera and have found the Macro setting...took a few shots of some of the great flowers that are blooming around my friends house in Cape Coral and I'm kinda liking the results...almost as pretty as some of the great sunsets I've been getting...I'm thinking about trying to reproduce some of these shots in water colors or pastels...we'll see...



















Shirley and Flo are doing another opening act for "Red"....he liked them so much before that he wants them to go on tour with him...Shirley said "No thanks"..but she will be going to Texas this month to perform at a big Blue Grass Jamboree....they even got there pics on the new poster for Red's visit to Englewood Elks on Saturday the seventh...I'll be there will you?




I have been trying to do some fishing during this cold snap....got this Spanish Mackerel within the first few minutes of a trip to the fishing pier...then went two more hours without even another hit...that's the mystery of fishing...it also goes to prove that the best definition of fishing is..." A jerk on one end, waiting for a Jerk on the other end".....at least it was warm in the sun out of the wind....and that fish sure looked bigger before I took the picture...must be the camera...






One fisherman I met caught a Puffer fish and was trying to show me how to cut out just a small area behind the head that is a delicacy in Cuba where he was from...I said I would pass on trying that...because if you cut out the wrong thing...you Die!!









As I mentioned...Dakota had her second birthday and it looks like she really got into this one...her Mom says that the trip to Chucky Cheeses was the most fun she has ever seen her have....Dakota was just thrilled with all the excitement...







Of course when she got home there was even more surprises and her favorite gift ...the motorized four wheeler...







She got to blow out the candles and kisses to all her friends and family for the first time this year...last year she needed a little help...











Dad had to read her the cards but she loved all the pictures...especially if they were anything to do with any of Disney's Princesses...her favorite characters...











I'm sure Callie had a good time as well...she just won't remember it....she is getting to be a little darling herself....

















One last thing....My new book comes out this month in hardcover...here is a comp of the cover...it can be pre-ordered from Barnes and Noble if you so desire...I will be having a book signing at the Village Gift Coffee Shop on the second Saturday in April if all goes well.... I love that cover...








I leave you with a great series of shots of the same sunset that I captured just two days ago on the dock behind the house...it never ceases to amaze me on how many beautiful and different ways the good Lord starts the journey into night...





That's All For Now....

Live, Love, Laugh & Dance...

Semper Fi...

Monk