There is nothing like getting away with having a good time for no money. I prefer it to all other modes. The sad news for some is that doing so requires imagination, curiosity, inventiveness, bravery, generally things unknown to the middle class. Ha! Take a gander at this jpeg of Wallace on a promenade down Duval Street. Ever seen a guy having so much fun walking his dog (see Millie lower left corner) on a Sunday afternoon? Why, just look at the smile on his face.
Today was slow at the shoe store. I started around 10 projects but completed only a few. Take that as a sure sign of sub-optimal business conditions. Things are so slow they may decide against purchasing my computer. All that does not detract from the fact I am learning a trade and I’m about to learn how to remove the odor of gasoline from leather, a far more common task than imagined. Yes, there is a trick to it. I’ve got another edition of Ellery Queen mysteries to keep me out of the hot weather. This is also today’s trivia. Queen is really two authors who ran a television mystery show in the 1950s. Their strong point is collecting the short stories of others because like their pseudonym, what they write seems a little too contrived (my opinion). Their work is full of “Englishman” clues. I will refer to Queen in the singular, as they intended. I believe he is the only non-Asian ever to win the Japanese top award.
I have become somewhat unnerved by the situation at the shoe shop last week. It turns out not to be as secure in bad times as meets the eye. My conclusion is to keep looking for alternative work just in case. One opportunity that has come up is an offer to work from Friday night to Sunday night (two days) on call, with the pay being “up to $350”. I was immediately curious, because that is obviously the dog shift for beginners (sorry Millie). Here are the details, and it is only a matter of time until I figure out where the customers are coming from.
[Author's note 2015-07-21: in the end, I let common sense prevail. Never take a job that requires a vehicle unless it belongs to the outfit you work for. Otherwise, the wear and tear on your own car is too difficult to calculate to ensure you are making a profit. ]
It is a boosting service that also changes tires and unlocks cars. The guy has a number that people call when they don’t want or can’t afford a tow truck. Then he cell phones a driver (like me), who arrives with a shim, one of those portable battery boosters, and a lug wrench, preferably pneumatic. For the job, a car in good running order is required, something I don’t have at the moment but only because I’m terrible at auto mechanics. You get paid for the callout and apparently the tips are decent. Get back to me on this one.
More about Key West and the trip. First look at the professional perspectives on this expertly framed photo that transforms an ordinary brick wall into a timeless event. On the way down, we pulled in at a couple of state parks. Although you need a car to get to these things, the price seems to have been raised to $4.50 per passenger. The highway is being widened but only the northernmost stretch is four-lane. As already said, the lack of American tourists is ominous. We left and returned at high tides, so the only mudflats seen were from the car window. Our conclusion was that to be a tourist, you’ll need a week and a thousand dollars.As far as actual events or attractions, Key West is a non-starter. There are no theme parks or things to see other than the town itself. It is quaint. The lowest price shack, and some of them are real shacks, weighs in at $139,000. An old settlement, it has good tree cover. Otherwise it is mostly Navy barracks, pubs and clothing stores. I for one never go on vacation to shop for clothes, but that could just be me. There is a trolley tour that “covers everything” for $29.95 per person. Being that the place is so small, for that price they should cover it twice. There were some scooter and bicycle rentals but I didn’t dare ask those prices either. If there is a next time, I’ll have my own bicycle. The furthest south I’ve ridden is Upper Matecumbe, leaving plenty to explore.
Here’s a telling comment. On Saturday afternoon, I thought to call up a couple of gals to come along for the day trip [to Key West]. I was unsuccessful. As I got to each name and reached for the phone, I stopped for one reason or the other. Usually that reason was expense; although this was not a date (in which case I’d pay), I realized I don’t know any women in Florida who would go Dutch. Each time I thought of someone, another thought flashed of why I’d better not call that one.
And that, folks, is why I sneer at all these local women who complain about the lack of men. A woman who goes dutch could date all the guys like me she wanted. There’s that irony again, how at eighteen they've all got [themselves] the greatest guy in the world and by twenty-four [they are complaining] there is no longer such a thing.
I have to point this out, because the women would never say anything about it themselves, nosirree. Too much, it is, like admitting a mistake.
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