This Week on the Island 11/21/2010

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The picture this week (click to enlarge) is ‘Treasure Seeker’. It was in the Key West Bight and apparently is a sunken treasure ship searcher. http://www.johnsamford.com/journal/2010/9/12/treasure-seekers.html

Weather: Wonderful. In the low 80’s with very little humidity. The house is open and the breeze in blowing thru.

The book this week was ‘Magic City’ by James W. Hall. Another really good book.

Nothing special happening in Key West this week, so this is what I did.

The buzzards arrive in Key West every year around the end of October. They arrive in large numbers (At the same time as Fantasy Fest and Parrot Heads). They stay much longer and circle overhead all day. They are quite a sight.

Last week I mentioned that Jo had started a new job. She still works for the city but moved from Garrison Bight to Havana Plaza and the Engineering Department. It is further away and now she rides the bus home every day instead of walking.

Sunday was the end of the power boat races. At times I could not hear Michael McCloud’s music at Schooner because the power boats in the bight were racing their engines. Key West lost electricity for about 30 minutes Sunday night.

Monday it was supposed to be in the low 80’s so I put on long pants, a golf shirt with a t-shirt under it, my sandals, and carried a windbreaker. I walked down Caroline Street to Duval. Went pass the Bull and Whistle and on to Kelly’s. I turned on Whitehead and went by the Banyan Resort, pass the post office and took a right on Flemming. I was at the court house because I had JURY DUTY. There were 165 of us and the A/C in the building had been off since the power failed Sunday night, so it wasn’t as cool as I had expected. Eighteen of us were picked for a DUI case. When they asked if any of us thought the guy was guilty of DUI, I raised my hand. This is Key West; you have to be driving pretty wildly for a cop to stop you. I was excused. The rest of the day was wonderful.

Tuesday I needed to go to the grocery store to get dog food after I drop Jo off at work. She had a list of things she needed so I did some driving from store to store. We had people coming to visit so when I got home I turned on the A/C upstairs but it wasn’t working. I assume the power outage blew something. I was lucky there were some A/C people working on the house next door. They fixed my problem.

Wednesday our friends took a short trip out to the reef and did some snorkeling while I cleaned up around the house and walked the dogs. Later I went to Schooner Wharf to listen to Michael McCloud. Howard Livingston did a concert on a Fury sunset cruise. I missed the concert.

Thursday was a nothing kind of day. I did some reading. I also got a call to let me know that our request had been approved and we could begin work on our project to rebuild the back deck and stairwell. (Our house is concrete block with a fake wood front to make it blend in with the other houses on the block.) It was build with local material and 40 years later the salt in the sand used in the concrete mix has rusted the rebar used in the concrete on the back deck. The concrete deck is cracking. It will all be replaced.

Friday morning I started talking to people about a refinance of our house. It was a long day on the internet and the phone, but by Friday afternoon we were refinanced and our monthly payments were down about $500. That is a savings of $6,000 a year. Not bad for a days work done in the rocking chair on the front porch on a beautiful day.

Saturday I walked the dogs, finished reading my book, took the book back to the library, went to Schooner for one set of Michael, did some things around the house, and generally had a good day.

And so goes another week in Key West. Next week Thanksgiving.

Key West, You have got to love it
'Living the life that others dream'
Doug Bennett
Lat 24.5591N, Long 81.8016W

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Sassi dancing to Schooner Wharf Bar Dog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbxD3D-rPqo