Life is rough.

(Composed on 1/6/2009)

I figured that this was the perfect windy/wavy day to take a break from fishing and take in some sunshine while fixing/updating a few things with my laptop. Speaking of laptops, it's damn hard to read a laptop screen outside on a sunny day, so this entry is having its first draft on notebook paper (Note: although this was a nice idea for writing outside, it's DAMN hard to decipher my doctoresque handwriting).

Vacation in the Florida Keys is a welcome diversion from the less-than-great aspects of the world. I've not heard a thing about the stock markets, conflicts in the Mideast, or Rod Blagojevich. If you ever get the chance to see the Keys, take it. You'll be glad. (I turned on the TV shortly after composing this to be greeted with news of down-turning stocks, a ground war in Gaza, and Roland Burris's attempt to be seated in the US Senate. So much for blissful ignorance).

A few days back, I had the privilege of having lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall place called "Keys Fisheries," on Marathon Key. It's the type of place that you would never (ever) find if someone didn't tell you of its existence. The ambiance of the place is reminiscent of a diner, except for the fact that it is outdoors and next to a marina (that makes sense right?). Also being a restaurant of the Keys, they have excellent (and fresh) seafood.

The thing I enjoyed most about the establishment, however, is the way they call out their orders. When your order is taken, they ask you an obscure question (the question du jour in the case of my father and I was "what's in your junk drawer?"). The answer is used in place of a number as a means of notifying the customer when their order is up. It's a relatively small thing, but nonetheless amusing to hear waitresses yelling out random objects ("PIECE OF SURFBOARD! BOAT KEYS! COINS!!!") at various intervals. I really wanted "condoms" as our object (how mature, right?) but my father chose "duct tape." Probably a good idea in retrospect.

much respect,
josh