Please bear with me on the looks of my blog. It is a work in progress and hopefully lots of changes are coming. For now I will try to keep up with the posts and hopefully gain a lot more followers!

Mamoncillos! or Spanish Limes for those that don't remember!

Mamoncillos! or Spanish Limes for those that don't remember!
A while back joined a Face book group called I remember Key West when... I can't believe I had never seen or heard of this group before. I am so glad I found it. It has brought back so many great memories of my favorite place in the world....Key West. No matter where in my travels I have been, Key West is the one place that remains in my blood and my soul.

I really hope it brings a lot more friend invites and followers to me because all of those memories, and the great people that share them, mean so much to me and my life. Some I know, some I don't, but the stories are all great and what I remember growing up on this island also. I promised in a post in this group to write about Mamoncillos on my blog, so I am now. I posted a pic and titled it Mamoncillos! or Spanish Limes for those that don't remember!
The responses and comments were on the verge of over whelming! My phone is still blowing up with comments on it daily, and are still coming in to this day!

All of my Key West friends and followers (mostly on Twitter as opposed to my blog for some reason) remember this highly guarded and sought after fruit as either Mamoncillos or Spanish Limes. They are called Quenepas in other places.

What is most amazing about this fruit besides the taste, is the memories it brings back to so many people. Some that don't know, may say it's just a fruit. It is so much more than that to so many people. I received so many stories from so many different people and their memories of this magical fruit. This fruit is so powerful that it makes everyday, law abiding citizens that would not even step on a bug, jump fences and sneak into yards just to steal some of them! I remember the few lucky people that had this fruit tree in their yard guarding them as if that tree were that last food on earth!
My Abuela Blanca Avael and Abuelo Julio Avael were two of those lucky people. God I miss them and those trees. Luckily those trees were rarely "raided" because they were very difficult to find and you would have to get through so many Family members and friends, which in Key West are the same thing, that I was one of the only few people and what a lucky Grandson I was, that had access to these trees. My "Cuzzy" Darren Avael was the other Grandson. We used to sell them on the corner of Watson St and Truman Ave. Using an old cigar box we got from Abuelo (Grandfather) for the money. Does anyone remember how special you thought it was when you bit the shell open to find it was a "double" or "triple"? LOL

Key West has a remarkable history. Many Famous stories and famous people have some kind of history on this island. But it's the people that were born here or grew up here that have all the great stories. Anyone can Google the big historical stuff about Key West, but only the Conchs or "Fresh water Conchs' can tell the real stories and have the real pics!

Pretty much everyone has fond memories of where they grew up and fun little stories about where they are from. Key West people are so much different. They remember so much more. They have so many more stories. So much closeness to the island and the people they grew up with and the things they did as children were so different. The memories and the stories that come from such a small little island seem to tower over anywhere else.

Children Are Amazing!!

Children do funny things, crazy things, dumb things, smart things, things that make us angry, things that make us proud, things that make us remember, things that make us forget, they are medicine when we are sick, happiness when we are sad, they are energy when we are tired, they calm us when we are mad.
If only I could still see everything like my daughter sees things.....If only I could act  like she does ALL the time.....
Every Loving parent wants to brag about thier child and thinks they are special, and they are.  All children are special. They are us, they are our past, they are our future. They ground us, they lift us. We should be thanking them for all they do for us....
So here starts my bragging about my daughter for just a bit. I am so lucky to have NEVER been one of those parents that can't wait to have "time away" from her. I have never needed "a break". Parents have told me over and over "just wait", "you'll see", that has not happened yet. No terrible two's, no loss of sleep, no terrible anything. She is 5 now, and I still have never not wanted her company. I take her everywhere. If I have to work on my car she is there learning and holding bolts for me, if I am building something she is there learning and helping, if I go shopping she is there, if I am doing yard work she is helping (usually picking the weed flowers before I mow them).  Which brings me to the reason I was inspired to write this today. Did I mention children inspire us?
Anyway, I was walking my daughter to her classroom today and on the way she pulled the one and only little flower out of the middle of a bunch of weeds and gave it to me to "have for the day to think about her". It was all I could do to not shed a tear...
Man, if only we could apply that thought process to our adult lives. I saw a weed that I would have stepped on with no thought. She saw something beautiful to give to her Dad.
My child sees everything from me as a gift. If it is a chore, she's thankful I asked her to help, if it's a toy she's thankful I thought of her. Wow, how can I see things that way????  Her new  thing to tell me is "Daddy, I love you so much I can't stop saying it". I can honestly say I don't believe anyone has ever loved me that much. If that isn't inspiring I don't know what is.
I know there are parents out there that have children that drive them crazy. They can do things that down right make your skin crawl. All I can say is try to laugh with them. It will change things. When they see you laughing it's like a light bulb going off in thier heads. You can become so much closer to them by involving yourself in what makes them laugh! You can get mad at whatever they did and add that anger to the rest of your lifes angers or you can laugh it off, clean it up, fix it, whatever... and give them a big hug and enjoy the craziness! Become a child yourself if even for a minute.....

P.S.
Bye the way, that tiny little weed flower is in a shot glass of water because I just know she is going to ask me about it later.

Lies Destroy Everything

It's almost funny that the Dictionary defines Lie as a verb as  "to be in a helpless or defenseless state".  That is not the Lie I am referring to, but it almost fits because if you lie to someone that is exactly where you leave them,  in a helpless or defenseless state. Believing what you say to be true. Adjusting their decisions and feelings on a false statement....making their decisions or statements totally wrong or irrelevant. From there, things just get worse and worse.

Lies ALWAYS come out in the end...ALWAYS.....

I have always been brutally honest. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, but I just don't care. At least I told the truth! I have lied to avoid hurting someones feelings and all I felt is regret for not telling the truth, so I usually end up going back and laying it right out, hurtful or not. People get over hurtful truth but sometimes never get over caring lies.

(Beer Break Time.....Jimmy Cliff is singing his version of "Higher and Higher", gotta Jam for a few).....

Back: That was inspiring!

I think about children when I think of truth. Sometimes they are so truthful it's embarassing! My 5 year says one day in line at the grocery store "why does that FAT lady have so many groceries, maybe she should buy less and she would not be so FAT"! OMG, talk about "wanna get away"! But someting weird happened when I looked at that lady straight in the face ready to apologize.....she said "don't worry about it, I know she is right"! Holy crap! My 5 year old just told a hurtful truth and it worked! Lesson learned.........
I will leave everyone that reads this with that lesson. I was going to really get into a long story about lying but that might give away my motives to writing this. So I have decided to let you readers utilize what I say in your own ways. We all have been hurt or are hurting someone with Lies. STOP!!!!!!!! I can't stand old quotes but "the truth will set you free" is one you or I just can not avoid.

All I have to say is be who you are. Tell the truth. Do not lie on that resume, do not lie to that love of your life, do not lie to your friend, do not lie to your enemy, do not lie period............you will be better off in the end.........

Remember, in this day and age technology will catch you, or a freind will slip and you will be caught, or just someone like me that can just tell when you are lying will catch you. Then what? An argument on your lies? That is useless. You could have been truthful from the start. The hurt may still happen, but it will not last. It can be seen through, worked out, discussed, or maybe just ended.

Be free. Tell the truth...

I'm still here

I've had a bunch of people asking where I have been. It's been a while but I'm still here. Partly been busy, been partly under the weather. I'm searching within myself for the next Blog and should be officially back soon. Any ideas out there? Throw them at me!

Diverticulitis Trending!

I can't believe that @ 11:20am today the number 6 trending topic on Yahoo was Diverticulitis. I was diagnosed with this a little over a month ago. Just touching on my last blog, finally something other than a celebrity and what's going on in their personal life made the top 10!

This disease is no joke. It's very painful...a real pain in the butt! However it gets kinda downplayed because it can usually be controlled with small changes in your diet and most people will only have what's called a “flare up” once or twice a year. People with diverticulitis have to stay away from things like poppy seeds, corn, and peanuts, along with many other foods.

I followed this strict diet plan ordered by my doctor for a month. I payed extreme close attention to everything I ate. I did all the right things with fiber and Guess what? I had a “flare up” 4 weeks later!

So I go to the Doctor again, I get the usual antibiotics prescribed, she tells me to stay away from physical activity, and I'm off and on my way.

Here is where it gets interesting... My Father came to visit and spend the night at my house. I only get to see him once or twice a year so I was excited but I was in pain and in the middle of this “flare up”. My yard needed cutting badly, and I know when Dad visits, Cuba Libres are going to be on the menu! So I decided to go against everything the Doc said and was determined to have fun. After verifying with the Pharmacist I would have to wait 2 full Days after drinking alcohol to take my antibiotics, I spent 2 hours in the blazing sun working on my yard, mowing and weed eater and all. Oh yeah I almost forgot....I made a big 92 proof rum and coke to drink before starting the “physical activity”. Two rum and cokes later, Dad shows up. We enjoyed the time together, we joked, reminisced, and he played a lot with his Grand Daughter. All the while, the rum and cokes were being poured one after another. Later we get hungry and decide to go out to eat. I ordered food that I have been craving for the past month but was not on my food “list” or special “diet plan” and per Doctors orders stayed away from. After all this, a strange thing happened. The “flare up” and the pain went away! I was fully expecting to wake up the next day in bad shape due to my neglect but instead I felt better than I have the past month! No pain at all and no more “flare up”, and I haven't taken one antibiotic!

Am I just lucky? Does Rum have some secret hidden healing powers? Lol  Coincidence? I have know idea. There is no reason why I should feel so great today. In fact I should be worse!

OK, “It's 5 O'clock Somewhere” so I am on rum and coke number 2 and writing this blog and feeling just fine. No symptoms. HAHAHAHAH

I'm not telling you people out there with Diverticulitis to do anything against doctors orders at all, or to go out and do what I did. In fact, if a doctor reads this blog, I will probably catch a bunch of grief over it. I'm just sharing MY story.

Maybe it was my mindset. I was having fun and talking a lot about the “Old Days”. When I was growing up in Key West it was very rare that I would get sick. Maybe there was something magical about the island. I'm sure I did get sick as a kid but I can't remember one time I had to go to the hospital when I was young for anything serious. In the Old Days if we were sick, it seemed like no matter what it was, we had to take a few tablespoons of some nasty Castor Oil, then we would go snorkeling and catch a few crawfish and spear a couple grouper for dinner and everything was all better.

So for me....to heck with rest and special diets and this and that. I will still kinda watch what I eat because there is no way around it, but I'm getting exercise and physical activity in whenever I can and I will keep the islands in my thoughts like they always are and say to everyone SALUTE and have a Cuba Libre once in a while....

Why Are We So Obsessed with other people

At any given time or day the top trending stuff is other people, usually celebrities. I just don't get it. Are our lives that boring that we feel a need to keep up on celebrities lives? Do we have nothing else to do but pop up our favorite search engine and read about other people's personal lives for endless hours? What could you be doing instead with all that wasted time? Maybe some important errands? Some family time? Exercise? Some business? Something fun, like outdoors? There is a whole world outside of TV, video games, and Internet people! Even just some much needed quiet downtime with no thoughts, just relaxing? We could all use that!

Personally I don't care what the Housewives of Whatever City are doing, or who is adopting kids, or who is getting married or breaking up. I'm not interested in what's going on in all the fake “reality” shows. I don't know these people, they don't exist in my real life. I think the whole concept of sticking cameras everywhere in famous peoples homes and televising everything going on in there lives is just wasteful. It's not real anyway. Don't you think these people would do or say things differently if there were no cameras there?

I also don't really care what celebrities are wearing.

Don't get me wrong, I like fashion and high end stuff when I can afford it, but I wear what I like because “I” like it, not because some famous person is wearing it. I wear prescription glasses. I went through the whole trial and error of the cheap stuff off the racks, then the cheap stuff from the real prescription stores. They were all crap and always breaking very easily. So I had to grit my teeth and shell out the big bucks for the better high end glasses. Now I own two very expensive "designer" prescription glasses and they are so much better and durable and come with warranties.

It's the same thing with clothes. I can find the same pair of cargo shorts that look almost exactly like the high end ones over at some Super Store for a lot less, but they just don't hold up or last. So again, I grit my teeth and head to the high end stuff to grab me a pair that fit better and last longer.

For cyclists, it's like comparing a Trek to a Huffy (my first bike was a Huffy by the way), but I'm not going run out and buy a certain bike just because Lance Armstrong rides one. So I get it...I'm just not obsessed with it!

So when you're wasting those hours away reading or watching something about someone you will probably never even meet and what is going on in their lives. Think about what else you can do. What are other people doing right now? How could I spend my time better? If you are still obsessed and just can't stop, think of this. There are things out there called recorders. DVR's, TIVO's, DVD recorders, heck even VCR’s. Record your obsessions and after all the more important or fun stuff is over, you can read or watch that stuff while everyone else in the real world is sleeping...

Awwww Man, one of MY obsessions is on TV right now. The Tampa Bay Rays! But this is one of my only days off with my daughter, so I think I will record the game, take out my Trek and daughters bike and get some much needed exercise and go for a Daddy- Daughter ride....that's much more important! I can watch the game later.....