A Laundromat? Who wants to see a picture of a Laundromat? I’ll have you know Laundromats and I go back a long way out on the west coast, but that’s another story. I had to sell my operation as a condition of employment. Lost $8,000 on that deal. Made over a million with the phone company.
The connection here is the community dryer has been broken for over a month. This epitomizes the general situation in Florida, if you ask me. Most everything still works, but once it breaks this time, nobody can afford to repair it. Mark my words.Month twelve, and sure, I’ll be talking money, business and economics. This morning I rode my bike into work and did not see a single vehicle on the road until near downtown. As already said, this is the third year the tourists have not returned. That’s enough of a slump to affect everybody. Vacancies run around 30% and the only newcomers are themed restaurants, notorious for their utter lack of taxable income and employee benefits.
There was a recent incident of a man arrested for refusing to pay a tip (the restaurant had a “policy” of adding 18% to all bills and when he wouldn’t pay they told the police he “stole” their food). He’ll get off, but the police arrest record is quite permanent. (In my world, the police would be charged with false arrest and sued for interfering in a civil matter.)
Who’s seen “The Tin Men”, with Danny De Vito? How about that classic scene where he gets the idea of giving the aluminum siding away for free? I’m reminded of that whenever I pick up a paper these days. Wallace has found ads for new cars for $79.99 down and Aventura is “selling” a computer for $29.95. I view this as illegal bait-and-switch since purchase involves expensive contracts into the future. For example, the new car just mentioned requires signing a $15,000 lease over three years. At the end of which you own nothing.
I’ve said before that I did not dislike Cubans until I lived in Miami—and this is not racial prejudice because there is no such thing as a race of Cubans. I was curious today to hear a large group of Latinos who feel the same way. The Cubans are an extremely unpopular group and we know who to blame for that. They are disliked by most people who speak Spanish. Cubans have a reputation for going on government disability “the next day after they get off the boat”. Since disability pays $1063 per month, making it extremely attractive to immigrants who formerly earned less than that per year.
You’ll have to take a tour of Miami to understand my dislike. That’s dislike, not hatred, big difference. I have very good reasons for my position. I know Cubans, but I don’t know any who are on welfare, in jail, or in gangs. You can decide for yourself what the odds are of that.
The fact is, very few people buy that old crock that America’s strength is in cultural diversity. I completely understand the Latino view that business is for making a few people rich. The American view is that business is supposed to make the entire public better off (although every society will have its share of cockroaches and Rockefellers). This country has already diversified itself into bankruptcy.
Here is one of those tales you are not going to believe, and neither would I if I had not personally seen it. This morning at 9:27, I was inside making bagels after returning with the laundry, when Wallace called from the patio. “You gotta listen to this!”
There was a crow on top of the lamp standard across the road, inside the casino grounds, saying “F*ck off. F*ck off”. For nearly two minutes. Being a crow, it was far too smart to wait while I slowly tip-toed for my camcorder. But two of us witnessed this event, and after careful consideration of the facts, we feel compelled to nick-name the crow “Fidel”. So nobody thinks that is a loaded term, our second choice was “Bernie Madoff”.
I can’t find Harry’s address anywhere, so I emailed his sister, Jayda. In doing so, I found her website. Not only is she now a brunette, she is still the ravishing little cutie I remember. She has also received prestigious awards for her work as an accountant, awards I didn’t even know existed. She has endorsed a book about the human side of accounting, and done so with amazing literary flourish.
While she has learned, as most wise people have, to limit the quantity of personal information on the Internet, she has a daughter and is half-owner of the firm. She and Harry were the “rich kids” that Rusty and I hung out with in our late teens. They haven’t heard from him in twenty years.
I got the address and skinny on the “Moose”. It is way out on 441, around seven miles from here. That’s out of the question, particularly when it was also stated they “don’t tip the caller” and “it was all volunteers”. Not my problem they want to stay in the bingo stone age. Word is that a large contingent of their clientele will be over at Jimbos this upcoming Saturday.
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