Thoughts, sights, and sounds from Longboat Key

In between water time, let’s share a few quick thoughts.

*Due to not giving a shit, this post was not reread for punctuation and grammar mistakes. I wrote it and published it. I don’t care much. You shouldn’t. Just keep reading.*

Some people don’t learn. They do things, experience setbacks, and do those same things again and again. I’m inside that group of almost working humans, taking stupid chances. Anytime I step foot in a new area during a warm climate, the first thing to be done is acquiring bug spray.

Mosquitoes love me. I hate them. It’s a one way relationship. They rule my world when it’s hot outside. The green can of OFF spray is what I need, but I always wait a little too long in finding a can. Tuesday morning, the first morning of vacation, featured me gifting a whole family of mosquitoes with enough blood for Sucksgiving in St. Armand Circle.

Do. Not. Learn. Let’s talk about a few things running around the head as I stare out at the ocean and Led Zeppelin’s Bring It on Home to Me plays in the background

~John Bonham is a ferocious drummer. He paired so well with Jimmy Page and brought the goods on every tune. Songs like the one above, he stands a little taller.

~Whenever on vacation, it’s important you drive to get or go to everything. The store, food, a rental, whatever. You’ll forget at least two things too. That’s two extra drives.

~Once again from the cheap seats, the St. Louis Cardinals do spend money. Look at the $157 payroll for a 56-72 team. The finality is they don’t spend wisely. The front office is the only place that needs a deep clean.

~Another prerequisite for vacation is that the DVD player that’s sitting in the room when you get there won’t work, forcing you to watch average to okay movies that can’t find life anywhere except free channels. The Kingsman sequel. The 1997 Vegas Vacation movie. Unheard of 2003 movies. Here’s to a revisiting of movies meant to be forgotten.

~My uncle has informed me that bacon and peanut butter will blow my mind. I’m doubting it while wanting to try the combo at the same time. The smoke of the meat could match well with a good savory PB and sourdough bread. Expect more on this soon.

~My other uncle wants me to tell you that Trattoria Marcella on Pernod and Watson is owned by a Lebanese family. This is a big deal because I’m half Lebanese. The restaurant serves up a fine blend of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine; it’s a rock solid menu. The people are great, and Uncle Bobby knows the owners… because he knows everybody. Meanwhile, he’s left to continue laundry. He got here yesterday.

Bobby likes to keep doing things. Busy body is only the beginning of the description. My uncle moves to get a snack, hits the water, stops at the pool, talks to people in the lobby, and strikes up conversation like it’s oxygen. He also loves hard. He cares and leans into the good times of life, hurdling anyone around him into that storm of fun intentions. A perfect vacation companion.

He pairs perfectly with my other uncle, Curt. Send these two into a foreign country to perform a rescue mission, and you’d find success. A Chris Hemsworth type would be needed to do the heavy lifting. Bobby and Curt would just move in and talk-and keep talking. They talk the enemy’s head off and lives are saved.

~Confession time. I’ve consumed way too many Coke Zeroes this week. When the normal schedule is scrapped and you’re left to whatever suits you, the consumption chaos begins. Deli meat. Cheese. Cokes. Maybe some cheesecake. Little fitness. If vacation is about embracing the whatever, I’m acing it.

~A dirty British accent is hard to beat for overall sex appeal. Rolls off the tongue too easily and makes anyone speaking it a couple digits higher than usual. A few fellow vacationers are from Birmingham. Enough said.

~Interesting fact: Dragonflies kill mosquitoes. They kill a lot of them. That makes us brothers. A fine tattoo idea that wouldn’t break the bank.

~There’s nothing like the open water. The pizza slice of private ocean we get in Longboat Key is not overly populated. Kids are back in school, so most younger families are gone. It’s mostly older retirees, which is just my speed. I’m looking at the water as I write this dispatch. The water is a supporting actor in this vacation. Walking out onto the beach and straight into the water makes time stop, at least in your head.

Time to get back to doing nothing.