Benny's Great Adventure

Ben had in mind to come home for the Thanksgiving Day weekend, so off he went shopping for some supplies to tide him over. Pulling out of his space in the Mall lot, he gets backed into by a pickup truck, and suvvers minor damage to the left rear fender and hatch of his Maxda 5. The tail light is a shattered mess without hope. Insurance info is exchanged, and bob's yer uncle.

That's fine, he thinks, he'll get home and get it fixed. Wednesday, AM, leaving North Carolina: lovely warm day so the sun roof is tilted up, open at the rear. 15 minutes on the road, there is a stone thrown up from a vehicle, and it glances off the glass roof, causing it to open up in the middle and disintigrate. When the rain started, duct tape to the rescur, sort of.

Benny got home late at night, and had called ahead to have the barn open to get his holy roof inside to avoid auto flooding. Good idea. that's where the car still is on Thanksgiving night, no light, hole in the roof, and awaiting work.

Can I use the Bug? Sure, but 3 miles away, a deer lies in wait on the driving lane. Bugs are short, deer are a big lump. The underside of the V-dub got wiped out, so we have no idea what will happen.

Can't wait for Benny to come enjoy the Christmas Season with us. Just kidding, none of this was his fault just really bad luck!

Keys to Happiness; Though Fleeting

"Boat drinks, the boys in the band ordered boat drinks........." (Jimmy Buffett). How appropriate for a few days in the steamy southern reaches of the Florida Keys, listening to bands and sucking on boat drinks.
Meg and I winged our way into West Palm last Wednesday, looking for Margaritaville, and some fun in the sun and sand. There was sun, and sand, and many margaritas, Coronas, and Mojitos. The streets ran like a sea of humanity to the walls of the shops, with revelers from all reaches of the world, and in every possible state of 'partiness' you can imagine. You just throw yourself into the crowd and go along with whatever happens next. The living imbodiment of 'imprompu' to the most extreme degree! MOTM (www.phip.com) was in full swing when we arrived. The Casa Marina was closed to the public, but filled with Parrot Heads from everywhere.
Meg and I were working Security and checking IDs at the door before we'd been there 20 minutes. Get right in and start 'doing'. That's not only the Parrot Head way, but we soon found it to be a way of life for Key West itself. Over 30 bands played non-stop, with more music than you could find and listen to playing at the same time, all over the city. One act followed another, constantly from 10 or 11 AM, to 2 or 3 AM the next day, for five straight days.
The people who make up Parrot Head Clubs around the world are the nicest you'll ever meet, as a group or as individuals. I learned about the ups and downs of living the rock band life, traveling from town to town setting up and tearing down. I learned about the paranormal events all around us, that we pitifully common folks cannot see or comprehend. I saw a semi-nude Viking riding a reposed bike up and down Duval St. at lunchtime, waving to the throngs and creating his own little world of photo ops for the diners and gawking tourists alike. We drank to the driving live band music, to the full moon of November 5th, and to the breathtaking sunsets on Mallory Square, barely missing the legendary green flash many times. It all ended too soon, and we did not learn enough, have enough laughs, or enjoy enough Cuban cuisine. Yet we did all of these things for 5 continuous days, without missing a beat or getting much sleep.
Was it worth the delayed flights, checking to see if a rented Saturn is amphibious, and spending 2 hours 2 feet in front of a booming bass speaker at a Jerry Jeff Walker concert? You bet your feathered parrot butt it was! Would we do it again? You bet your pirate's eye patch and wooden leg we would! To my friends, one bit of advice: If you ever get a chance to sit at the bar at Louie's Backyard and suck down boat drinks with the tide rising around your feet and the full moon over your shoulder, do it! You'll never feel so alive and so in touch with your inner parrot, as you will at that moment. Remember: "The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful........" (Jimmy Buffett), as reported by John Parrothead.