“You must snorkel and fish and be out on the water all the time!” says everyone and anyone who has vacationed here for those purposes.
At the year-and-a-half mark of my living in the Keys, the following pathetic statistics bear witness to my landlocked life here: I have been fishing once, never snorkeled, and can count [...]
When you are one of seven children in a blended family, everyone is cast in a role repeatedly played out, despite all efforts to break free and re-create oneself. One sister, for example, was the clumsy one, something of which she was reminded every day, which resulted in continual mishaps that ranged from minor–a bruised [...]
Anyone who knows me knows I am no cook. It’s not that I can’t cook–I can, and fairly well if I focus enough. It’s just that I’d rather do anything–including dishes–than cook. Oh sure, back in the day I cooked for the family (”Who wants breakfast for dinner?”), and once a year I hosted a [...]
I have taken a third job, which means I now work eight shifts, with two as doubles.
I am not complaining at all. I am grateful to be working and finally paying my bills with a little left over.
I have many stories in mind, however. Soon, I know, I will eek out the time [...]
“You must live the most stress-free life down here!” commented a customer to the bartender at an outdoor spot, where my great guy and I had just met after our many multiples of work shifts for the week.
My great guy and I exchanged glances as we sipped our cocktails. The bartender saw us exchange the [...]
I don’t know the last time I watched a movie in an actual movie theater. I really don’t. I remember liking the big sound and the big screen and being thoroughly annoyed by the noise and chit chat all around me. I also remember thinking how much I don’t like seeing movies outside the solitude [...]
Longer ago than a long time ago, I applied to Duke University as a transfer student. I had just spent a year off from school amassing a stack of newspaper clips bearing my byline at my first reporting job (okay, I was a lowly intern), and I will never forget the pride and thrill I [...]
The night before a vacation or any type of trip, I rarely sleep. I toss and turn, and turn on the TV, fitfully dozing at best.
My Aunt J refers to this as being “journey proud,” as in excited, nervous, and all the rest about an upcoming journey. Throughout the years, I have arrived exhausted many [...]
When you live in the land that Spring Break never forgets, your local world dramatically shrinks as throngs of college kids, families, and snow birds converge on your otherwise favorite spots to eat and drink. That place is mobbed all day. That one and the other one are insane at sunset. And forget about breakfast [...]
Most local folks in these parts live today while thankfully leaving behind or only looking forward from what used to be–running through their drinks while running in their places, silently cheering themselves on as they cross the finish line that means they never again have to live who they once were.
I used to own… I [...]