A new phrase: “Keys Disease:” Meaning lazy piece of shit who doesn’t work efficiently if at all and would rather be at the bar.

My goal is to run for mayor of Key West. Sure, I might lose but what the hell.

I owe Tammy’s family a post outlining the good memories I will take with me, and things I saw here that awed and inspired me…unfortunately, my time here has come at a very tumultuous time in my life and it has been bittersweet, more bitter than sweet.

I will miss my friends Tony and Angela, and their children, I will miss Howard, and several of Folly’s clients who are good, honest, hardworking people who pay their bills and care very deeply about their children and the importance of family. I will miss the violent thunderstorms that were a hallmark of my first weeks here. And I will miss Brookside, and the architecture there, as well as the Art Deco architecture that abounds here. And oddly enough, what I call the Beercan Building in Tulsa, a structure that appalled me at first, grew on me as time went on. If I regret one thing, it is not getting to more museums while I was here. I was fortunate to get to tour The Philbrook, where I was surprised to see one of my favorite Bouguerau paintings pictured below, as well as the J. M. Davis Gun Museum and the Will Rogers Museum. I also didn’t get to hear any of the famous musicians who live here, Leon Russell in particular. Maybe some other time, when I am just passing through…

Some photos of things I was fortunate to see while I was here:

FOUR MORE DAYS!!!

Hanging four new doors for the lady friend of an attorney we know here who is one of a small handful of people we will miss. He is a class act. I did some work for him last year for which he paid me more than I asked, and yesterday he paid me in advance for today’s work. It washes a lot of the bad taste out of my mouth left from the other people for whom I’ve done work.

This seems somehow appropriate:

The lyrics, for me, are a metaphor of a lot that has happened over the last year and a half or so, and on things to come…emphasis on “metaphor”, okay?

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes…again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need…of some…stranger’s hand
In a…desperate land
Lost in a Roman…wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There’s danger on the edge of town
Ride the King’s highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake…he’s old, and his skin is cold
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we’ll do the rest
The blue bus is callin’ us
The blue bus is callin’ us
Driver, where you taken’ us
The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and…then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door…and he looked inside
Father?
Yes, son?
I want to kill you…
Mother…I want to…WAAAAAA
C’mon baby,——— No “take a chance with us”
C’mon baby, take a chance with us
C’mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin’ a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin’ a blue rock
C’mon, yeah
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you’ll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end…

My recent issues with a pending divorce combined with the economy have had me in a state where my previously sterling credit score has plummeted.

My California contractor’s license is suspended pending my getting a new bond, which is going to cost $1,350.00 per year simply based on my credit score (it used to cost about $120.00 to renew). So, since I am not returning to California, and I don’t have that kind of money, there is no point in renewing that license. So I thought that, once I get my feet a little more solidly planted in the Keys, I would apply for a Florida license. Unfortunately, as I suspected, they will want to check my credit score. I will probably be refused based on potential financial insolvency.

I really don’t give a fuck about playing by the rules anymore. I tried, last year, working with the institutions I owe, only to be given ridiculously high repayment plans. I was told by Wells Fargo that I would be reported as defaulting if I couldn’t meet their demands. I couldn’t, and not from lack of trying. I don’t owe any business associates or clients a dime since I was always careful to manage my business dealings impeccably. It’s just my current credit score that says I am a risk so I guess I’ll just work under the radar. Fuck it. Or maybe construction can just go fuck itself. People can just continue to get shoddy shit from contractors with high credit scores because they have plenty of money from shoddy work and business dealings.

I’m not bitter. I’m just really disappointed that our entire society awards merit based on one’s credit score.

Fuck it.

The soft overcomes the hard.
The slow overcomes the fast.
Let your workings remain a mystery.
Just show people the results.

When rich speculators prosper
While farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn-
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.

It’s seven o’clock, do you know where your wife is?

25 more days…