Hot Damn, Good Buddy!

As advertized, went to the Mullet Festival & Buzzard Queen Contest on Sunday down in good old Goodland Florida.   At Stan's Idle Hour Seafood Restaurant.

And let me tell you, those Americans know how to throw a Mullet Festival/Buzzard Queen Contest party.

I had both the smoked mullet and the fried mullet sandwich.

[After I got home I read that mullet is a bait fish, you don't really eat it.  Unless "you" is another fish.  So I guess it's all newbies in the mullet line.  "First time here, buddy?"  "Mmmm....mmmm."]

Now being a smart, savvy mullet loving guy, got there at noon.

Not a seat to be had in the whole dang place. Noon!

Now this area ain't your Miami Beach.

Although the roof of the bar - the brown plastic bag there - could fit in almost anywhere.


We had to drive 45 minutes through the Everglades to get here.  And you all know what song from that movie was playing in my mind the whole time.

But you know this is a class joint when they have ice in the urinal trough.

Here is one of the Buzzard Queen contestants.

Trust me, this is the best angle to see all the contestants.

And you also have to believe me that I wasn't trying to get a cheap shot looking down some girl's top.  I was trying to get a shot of my buddies there, on the left.

Okay, nobody's going to believe that.

But the truth is stranger than fiction!

So what a crazy place this is.  Although who's the party pooper here, no standing on tables.  C'mon man!


And just so I don't leave you hanging, here is the beautiful [and talented - as the contestants have to do a buzzard dance, or buzzard lope around the stage] Buzzard Lope Queen of 2018.

So all in all a very cool day, except for the mullet bones I have stuck in my throat.

But I'll know for next year!

Haircut Or Fish - I'm Going!

No idea what the Hell this is about, but I'ma gonna find out.

Or as they say in South Florida, let's gator done!

Gonna meet me a Buzzard Lope Queen!

Dan O'Connell 1949-2018

My dear friend Dan O'Connell slipped these surly bonds of earth yesterday after putting up a brave fight with both heart and kidney failure.

His larger than life presence - Big Dan - will be missed.

Here are only a few pics of other days.

Dan Holding Court At Dinner

Another Common Sight At Dinner 

[That's a tequila bottle, BTW.]

A Common Sight After Dinner 

Always The Entertainer

[Dan on the left, yours truly on the right.]

And Always Ready For a Party

[Big Dan and Little Dan]

The Two Of Us In A Previous Life

And Doing What He Did Best - Chillin'

Here's to a lot of good times, ol' buddy!

About Time We Got Serious!

So how can we do it? [Double click to find out.]

[With thanks - or apologies - to Mr. Boffo and Joe Martin.]

Drunk People Screaming - My Favourite!

I know where I won't be on Friday.......

Gotta Love Old People

So a senior's condo down in Florida decided to get "with it" and create a website.

For events, articles, photos, etc.

But, as one of them knowingly told me, "Because we have photos - and this isn't our first rodeo - we've decided to have a password."

So to get the word around an email was sent.

Well, not so fast........

A nice notice with all the information was posted on the Bulletin Board.

Including the password.

At least it wasn't....password.

Hey!  It's not their first rodeo.......

Not So Funny Now, Is It?

Ah ha.  It only took a day to wipe those smug comments from their lips.

Welcome to my world.

[Okay, to those in the know, this is not my world.  But my world will be a brisk 60 degs today. Think of the children and outdoor Happy Hour bars!]

So enjoy your cyclone snow bombazilla, or whatever they are calling it this year.

Last one in, turn off the lights.

We're #1!

Oh, the Americans like to rub it in.

But when they want bacon or Maple Syrup......

Of course, what the Washington Post headline didn't say was that although is was -20 on Mars,  with the wind chill it felt like -40 in Canada.

Apples & oranges?

C'Mon man!

But they did include another cool (sorry) picture of a St. Lawrence freighter slowly navigating its way down river.

Now that's Canada!

Say It Ain't So

Outside of Davey Keon, Johnny Bower was my favourite hockey player.

The ageless wonder played when goalies were goalies.

He also played when the world was in black & white. Colour was only invented sometime in the late 60's.

And after his playing career he was a constant presence at Maple Leaf hockey games.  Shaking hands and smiling every time the camera turned toward him.

Which was often, as (long suffering) Leaf fans haven't had much to cheer about since he retired.

He was the greatest ambassador the Leafs ever had - and will ever have.

We will all miss you, Johnny.

A buddy and my tribute to the last of those great Leafs teams.

[In case you are scratching your head, it's been not since 67 that the Leafs won the Stanley Cup.]

Finally, I Now Know What Excites Women!

And all that wining and dining......

Too Good To Be True?

A diet that encourages eating fat?

Wait. What?

There is an article in today's Globe & Mail that discusses just that.  Here is the link; Minimal Carbs Lots Of Fat. 

Turns out I just read this guy's book.

Now I am not necessarily fat, but this is more about reducing inflammation markers in your blood.  So I've tried to cut the carbs to reduce blood sugars.  And increase the fat.

Crazy?  Maybe, but even my doctor told me to do it.

Whoda thunk it.  After all these years, bacon & eggs is a health breakfast.

What's The Over/Under......

....on how soon these jokers wind up in jail, in Lithuania.

Some Background
LiAngelo Ball, on the left, was one of three UCLA basketball players arrested for shoplifting during a tournament in China. 

They were thrown in jail and faced ten years in prison.  Trump intervened with the President of China and had them sent home.

UCLA suspended them.  LaVar Ball, LiAngelo's father, then pulled his son off the team.

LaVar now has him, and his younger brother, LaMelo, on the right, playing pro ball in Lithuania.

How long will it take for things to south for them over there?


[BTW, LaVar blamed the UCLA coaches for his son's arrest.  Papa Ball said the coaches should have enforced stronger rules during the trip. Uh huh.]

I Finally Bought The Farm........

.....Equipment company.



[Okay, so I poached this from my Instagram account - so sue me. I don't know how to use it anyway...]

Another (Beautiful) One Bites The Dust

So looks like Hurricane Irma knocked one tree over that didn't damage my ride.

But she also knocked one over that was my favourite in all of the town.

Here is a picture of two big beautiful, and old, Banyan trees, as they used to be.

My fav is on the right, and here is a link (I Knew Things Were Old) to find out more about it, also in better days. Some of the pics in that link show the incredible majesty of those trees.

And here they are today, after Irma.

And, a Before & After in incredible 3D Surround Sound.....

[Double click to zoom in, eh.]

The one on the left was uprooted when a tornado blew through a year ago. As you can see, it's sort of growing back.

But they had to completely take down his partner of the right.

But he didn't go down without a fight.  It took those tree cutting guys a long, long time to cut that behemoth up......

....and haul him away.

Meanwhile, a couple of blocks over, the extent of damage at Mia Casa?  Ha! 

Is that all ya got, Irma?

[Okay, I wasn't such a big shot when I was lying like a baby on the floor when she came screaming up through the Gulf in September.]

Unbelievable!

I was at a bar last night (that's not the unbelievable part) and start talking to a guy beside me, who lives a few miles away.

I asked him how his place fared after Hurricane Irma.  He said, fine.

Then he asked me the same.  I said, Fine, except a tree fell on my car.

Buddy says, there was a lot of that. I saw a car with a huge tree lying on top of it.  I think I have a picture somewhere.


Dude, That's My Car!

What are the chances?  Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all.....

For those not in the know, here are some earlier, non-stranger pics of my baby in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Ouff, day after Irma pic.

At least our condo was still standing.

Ouff, Part Deux.  That's gotta hurt.

One buddy said he thought he saw a palm frond sticking through the top.

Upon further inspection, I think a palm tree saved it as it broke the fall of the big boy.  And therefore it ended up just wrapping my little guy in a warm, leafy embrace.

Of course, at the time, didn't know that and thinking the worst.

This was actually the night before Irma, when tales of 15 foot storms surges and 140 mph winds danced through my squirrelly little head.

But a month later, five fellows with chain saws spent an entire day and voila - good as new.

What Does It Take....

This nurse murdered eight seniors in her care and tried to murder four more.

By injecting them with insulin, which is reportedly an excruciating death.

She was convicted on eight counts of first degree murder and is serving a life sentence.

The College Of Nurses Of Ontario finally got around to investigating and disciplining her and they also found her guilty.

Of professional misconduct, mister!  Darn right.

And let me tell you, this will mean a black mark on her file.  Permanently.

This will be helpful for me when the time comes time to asking questions of nursing home for me.

"Has my nurse ever been disciplined for anything?"

"Oh nothing much.  A couple of smaller issues.  Nothing more serious than professional misconduct."

"Have any of her patients ever complained?"

"No, no one's ever complained."

I think I know why.  "Bye bye."