A Book Busy Weekend

Sunday March 22. Today, I went to a book signing by author Randy Wayne White at his "Doc Ford's" restaurant on Sanibel Island. I bought a copy of his latest novel, "Cuba Straights," in order to satisfy the requirement to get his autograph on the book. But then, I also brought along my prized first edition of "Sanibel Flats," White's first novel, a copy of which I obtained back in November here at the flea market, for him to sign as well.

This turned out to be great fun. There were about 200 loyal fans at the signing. While seated at the bar waiting for White to arrive, I struck up a conversation with a couple of guys and we started talking about our favorite "Doc Ford" novels, and I pulled out my first edition of "Sanibel Flats," and you should have seen the commotion. People wanted to see it, touch it (I told them to keep it in the Ziploc bag I brought it in). I think one guy even wanted to smell it. It is considered the "Holy Grail" of Randy's book series, and one fellow at the bar offered me $500 for it on the spot, and that was before it was even signed. I turned him down, despite the $400 potential profit, and told him I wanted to keep it. So the guy hands me his business cards and tells me to contact him if I ever find another one.

White started with a discussion of his latest book, and answered questions from the audience. The book's plot is drawn from White's experiences during several (six or seven I forget) trips to Cuba, most of them illegal. One of his trips involved sailing a borrowed 50-foot fishing boat with a crew of three to Mariel Harbor during the government-sanctioned boatlift of 1980. He and his crew stayed in Mariel Harbor for two weeks, searching for some family members of a Cuban friend of White's, a family that had been separated for nearly 22 years. Well, word spread among the refugees that a 50-foot boat was available, and by the time White and his crew sailed (with the family members they intended to find) there were 147 Cuban onboard a ship designed to accommodate up to 12 people in a reasonably comfortable fashion (there was one bathroom aboard the ship). During the 100+ mile trip to Key West, they encountered storms nearly the whole way (this was in October, which is hurricane season) and nearly everyone on board was seasick the whole time. As they approached Key West, everyone on board gathered on the top deck and began chanting "Libertad," "Libertad" "("Liberty," or "Freedom") despite leaving all friends and family ties behind in Cuba. It is an experience, White said, that he will never forget, and he stays in touch with many of those that he ferried across, to this day. It is also a book about Cuba's love of baseball, a quintessential American game, which White helps to foster by bringing baseball gear to youngsters during his illegal trips there. If you would like to meet Randy Wayne White, here is a Youtube video:

Randy Wayne White

For you ladies, White also writes a "Hannah Smith" series with a female protagonist, who is a Florida fishing guide and private investigator.





Anyway, White tells a fine story in person, in addition to being a great writer, and one of the things I like about him is that he just a fine, all-around decent person. One of the things by which I judge a person's character is whether they have earned their parking space here on earth, or whether they just sit around and suck up oxygen, ala Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, etc. And White has certainly earned his parking space and more. I stood in line for about half an hour (we were called by letter groups we received on cards at the time of our book purchase) and I was able to get my picture taken with White. He signed both my copy of "Cuba Straights," and "Sanibel Flats," asking me where I got the book. He told me to hang on to it, because it is quite rare (and now even more rare because it's now signed). Here are some photos: 

 

After all the book signing hoopla, I met a woman named Judy at the Doc Ford restaurant for lunch. We met online at ourtime.com, and even though she is looking for someone local, we agreed to meet to see if we might be friends. She is a lovely lady, and works full time as a real estate broker. Just for laughs, we each brought along a couple of really bad profiles of people we had seen on the website. I brought a couple of women’s, and she brought a couple of guys’, since we don’t get to see same-sex profiles on the website, which is a shame because there are times when I would like to see what my "competition" is like. I brought one where a 60 year old lady was basically selling beauty products, and claimed someone had recently mistaken her for 38. Yeah, right. Maybe if that person was trying to sell her a timeshare! Plus the lady smoked. Judy brought a printout of a guy who stated: “Average looks, but a great sex partner. Don't contact me if all you're looking for is a sugar daddy.” Nothing more. There’s a real foundation on which to build a relationship! Anyway, we had some good laughs over this and shared some war stories about our most horrible first dates. Judy is a widow, and lost her husband about three years ago. He had an unexpected heart attack, and Judy was right there and did CPR on him and brought him back, but he had another heart attack in the hospital two days later and died. So no long lingering illness there. We parted after a couple of hours, exchanged business cards and agreed to stay in touch. The typical stuff when both parties realize we're not quite right for one another, but there's no reason not to be friends.

After lunch, I hustled back to the apartment to pack the cooler and take off for a beach walk/picnic/sunset viewing put on by a widows/widowers meetup group that I joined. We were to meet at the beach at Bonita Springs, about 16 miles south of me. Everyone was to bring a snack to pass (finger foods encouraged) and their own drink(s) and a beach chair. The big challenge was finding a parking place … this is the eternal issue down here. Great beaches, but insufficient parking.  I finally chanced a parking space on the street in front of a vacant lot. Posted as “no parking” but I didn’t think anyone would mind, especially when I put the car on the weeds off the street. I walked to our rendezvous spot, and we had about 12 people, four men and eight women. Here is a picture of me with a couple of other people who went:

 

from left: Bruce, Paula (the group leader) and Sue

 

After a little chatting, about 8 of the group decided to go for a beach walk along the surfline, with the other four staying behind, claiming various ailments and injuries. The barefoot walk was pleasant, although a little longer than I would have done, especially in bare feet. But a good walk, and built up a good appetite. Back at our “spot” we spread a couple of blankets and put out the food and everyone dug in. I had brought ham/Havarti cheese rollups, but we also had tons of other stuff. A lot was the usual stuff: pigs in a blanket, pizza, veggie trays, etc. But one woman of middle eastern Europe descent (Elaine) brought ethnic foods, including hummus, Baba ghanoush, and frozen mango sections for a dessert. We got our fill, then went around the circle and introduced ourselves and were asked to name one thing from our bucket list that we wanted to do. We then watched the sunset, then packed up and left. Interesting group of people. One person (Charlene) has buried three husbands (one for which she was a caregiver for 18 years) and said right out she is not looking for another husband. She works full time as a professional caregiver (I guess once a caregive …) and just wants a social outlet with the group. I don't know if this is the right group for me or not; it seems many of the women join to bond with other women and build friendships and go out on little shopping trips and cluck-fests with one another, versus looking for men. I, on the other hand, see this as another possible outlet to find a suitable female partner. Being a widower is not a state in which I want to permanently remain. I'm not certain the women (or at least the ones I've met so far) share my views. In any event, the group does have fun, and I think it's a good way to socialize without having to worry about any stigma attached to being a widow/widower when you're out with a group where everyone else is coupled-up, and you're by yourself.

My car was ticket-free upon my return. My GPS wanted to return me to the apartment via Estero Island, so I figured what the heck and went with it, so had a slow ride home through Fort Myers Beach, but I had good tunes on the Pandora Smooth Jazz channel, and leftover ham/Havarti rollups to nibble on.

Saturday March 21. It was another book day today, as I attended the annual “Reading Festival” in downtown Fort Myers. It’s pitched as a family event, as they have authors from adult, teen, and children’s book genres. Admission was free, with the cost being underwritten by the Lee County Library system and various other donors, plus fees collected from various exhibitors. I did not buy any books, as I have a surplus right now, but I did hook up with a couple of the exhibitors. One was the Southwest Florida Writers Association. I talked awhile with the president, a guy named Gary, and told him I would attend their next meeting on Saturday March 28. The other exhibitor was “The Renaissance Academy,” which is the adult continuing education (non credit) branch of Florida Gulf Coast University. Boy, have I had my eyes out for these guys, and it turns out they were under my nose the whole time … one of their biggest meeting places is at the Atrium Office Center on College Parkway, just about 0.5 miles from my apartment. So I grabbed a catalog from them. I also visited the library’s booth, and asked how I can get a library card, and will be doing that soon as well. All a little too late for this visit to Florida, I'm afraid, but all good stuff to keep in mind for the next visit.

After that, I headed over to the Downtown Deli for a hot pastrami/swiss cheese sandwich on pumpernickel, and then a slice of pizza next door at Downtown Pizza. Hooked up with some 20-year-olds at one of the canopied picnic tables on the patio, and turns out two of them were budding musicians (a guitarist and a drummer) and were performing at the reading fair. A third (female) was guitar player's girlfriend. I noticed guitar player was wearing a wristwatch, so I asked him about it, and it was a gift from his girlfriend, so we talked about watches and I told them what I thought were the best brands, and then we talked music for a while. Turns out they were pretty bright kids. When I left, I told them to “play on” and the girl said, “Have a nice day, sir.” So there you go ... some decent kids.

Back at the apartment, Abby and I chilled out (me with a Margarita, and her Temptations treats, while I looked over the course catalog from The Renaissance Academy, and chose a four-session course on “Jump Starting Your Intuition” held at the Atrium Center. The course looked kind of interesting, and besides there wasn’t much left to choose from because the semester is coming to an end. There were many interesting courses/workshops, and I will look forward to hooking up with them next time around. So I registered online, and my first session will be Monday from 1:30 to 3:30.

Friday March 20. Time to head back to the Lakes Park Farmers Market, after a three weeks’ absence due to foul cold weather on two occasions, and being in St. Pete/Kissimmee on one occasion. I hooked up with a small contingents of “Peckerheads,” the seniors bike riding group, and of course they wanted to know what happened to me, so I explained. Had a delicious breakfast of an egg casserole square served atop of bed of cheesy grits, a pint of strawberries, and a good cup of coffee.  Got a good chance to talk with Glen, the group leader, because the PHs are down to just a few members now that many of their ranks have left for the season. He was telling me about the benefits of “juicing” and how much it has helped his blood pressure and health. It was interesting, but I’ve done juicing (along with just about everything else!), and it’s not only very expensive (is it just me, or is produce becoming obscenely expensive) PLUS Glen uses only organic fruit and veggies to make his juice, which makes it even more so. Plus, there are pounds and pounds of pulp to throw away, which seems like such a waste.

Later in the day, I want to Fleamasters for lunch and to buy a leather band for a lady’s watch I want to sell on Ebay, plus I stopped to my book buddy, Chris. Boy, will he be surprised next time when I show him the autograph I got on the copy of Sanibel Flats I bought from him!

Thursday March 19. I registered with the Southwest Florida Younger (50-68) widow and widowers group on meetup.com (mentioned earlier) because I had gotten tired of the previous group I had gone out with a couple of times in Nov./Dec. They were a little too big and cliquish for my tastes. This group seemed smaller and more intimate. The group leader (Paula) approved my application pronto, and in time to hook up with them that evening for dinner and a movie. The venue was to be the Prado 12 Cinemas and Café in Bonita Springs, and we would have dinner at the theater’s café, which was actually quite good for your average movie theater food.  They had burgers, a couple of salads, and several pizzas including some exotic flatbread varieties. I met up with the group about 5:15 after doing a little grocery shopping at Dixie Liquidator Grocers (in the same shopping center) where I found a few bargains. At the theater, I had a bacon and bleu cheese burger with fries, which was pretty good. Some good conversation and joking around, followed by the movie “Focus” with Will Smith and relative newcomer Margot Robbie about a con man who falls for one of his proteges, which nearly costs him his life during their final “big score.” It was an entertaining little piece of fluff, certainly nothing that will win any awards. Afterward, anyone who was interested went next door to an ice cream place for a treat. All in all a pleasant evening.

The rest of last week was relatively quiet … mostly doing eBay and webpage listings, and restocking the larder after returning from the St. Pete/Kissimmee trip. Trying to eat a little healthier these final five or six weeks here and maybe drop a few pounds before returning to Cheeseland and facing all the taste temptations I’ve been missing these past five months! I did go on a gambling cruise Tuesday, St. Pat's Day, and won $45 at the craps table.

I did have an interesting experience with Amazon.com. I had placed an order with them prior to leaving for St. Pete/Kissimmee of a bathroom scale and a couple of books. I figured the order would be here by the time I got back. No such luck. The UPS driver totally fucked up and delivered the package to a warehouse dock somewhere in North Fort Myers. I called UPS, and they told me I’d have to handle the claim through Amazon. Weird. So I contacted Amazon, and after they confirmed the package had been incorrectly delivered, their solution was to refund me on the order and have me re-order everything. Completely messed up, in my opinion, especially since the package was only about 20 miles from me. And I have since lost interest/confidence, and will probably just buy the scale locally.

My other major accomplishment was gathering all my watches from the Kissimmee shows that were in need of repair, and sending them off to three separate watchmakers. That is always quite a little chore, because I always have to prepare return packages for them to send the watches back in. I also had to write letters to all three explaining to them that I needed the watches back in hand no later than April 30 when I begin the return trip to Wisconsin.

Monday March 23, I had my first session with the Intuition class, which was very interesting. The teacher talked about intuition and what it is and how it’s been defined and studied over the years (including her dissertation on the topic, which earned her PhD). We had seven class members, and we’ll see how many of them stick it out for the duration (you could take just one class, or the whole four-class course). The teacher is very good, and has a relaxed stage presence. I thought it was a little weird that she bought her actual bound dissertation with her to show everyone, and perhaps spent a little too much time describing the process of writing it, etc. She could have just told us she earned her PhD studying intuition, and I would have believed her. Anyway, the session was quite interesting, and I learned that everyone has intuition to some degree. It’s not just women either. Men have it too, it’s just they seem to prefer the term “gut instinct,” which she says is the same thing.

Dinner that night at Mel’s Diner, which I hadn’t been to in a while. Had the meatloaf blue plate, and am proud to say I brought half the meatloaf home for another meal.

Tuesday (March 24) I am once again aboard the Big M casino ship. I had to skip the craps table today, because they mysteriously upped the minimum line bet to $10, which is too rich for my blood. So I found a $5 blackjack table instead, and walked away $45 ahead. Spent the rest of the cruise reading (finished another novel, "Deadline," by John Dunning, and enjoyed the water and sunshine. The ship was rolling pretty good that day, and one woman got hopelessly seasick and was eventually taken below decks by her husband and a crew member to someplace where she could lay down. In the evening, I hooked up again with the widow/widowers club for another dinner/movie night. Dinner was at Buffalo Wild Wings, where I tried on of their burgers. Good, but not great. The chosen movie that night was “Insurgent,” but I opted for a different movie (The Second Best Marigold Hotel) because I’m not really into the whole “Divergent” series. The Marigold Hotel sequel was very good, and I rejoined the group after the movie for ice cream and conversation. Got back to the apartment at about 10 p.m.

Wednesday, March 25. I'm catching up on the blog today, and it's the second session of the "Intuition" course today. (Niece) Kris has been working on some new features for my website, and I hope to try them out in "test mode" today also. Tomorrow, friend Nora (I'll use her real name now instead of the made-up name "Rona") is supposed to come over to the apartment around 11:30, and we're talking a drive to as yet an un-named destination. We may go to Matlacha (pronounced mat-la-SHAY) which is a quaint coastal town, or to Tin City, which is kind of on the way to Naples and has lots of restaurants and shops.

That brings you up to date.

 

Bruce