REAL FRIENDS

A real friend is a person who will tell you "You are full of crap." An Italian real friend will tell you "With all due respect. you are full of crap." Meaning, of course, that you need a reminder that what you are thinking is not only wrong, but WTF were you thinking? I had such a moment last night whilst talking to a good friend who reminded me that I had no time to embark on some grandiose business plan because I had so many important things to do everyday that I really enjoyed doing regardless of the "value" placed upon them by "others." We spoke about a past Blog entry that I made entitled "Drone." In that entry I bemoaned the absence of a significant commercial enterprise in my life, particularly in comparison to many of my friends who are best self-expressed through business. He used complex psychological terminology which when translated into ordinary English meant "You are full of crap." He also inspired me to upgrade my involvement in athletic and fitness. He is a "Masters" weight lifter and it shows.

Speaking of friends, we have returned to Sarasota for a brief stay. On the way home we came through Ft. Lauderdale after flying the very pleasant and direct, though expensive, JetBlue. My son and his lovely wife the "Notable Nibbler" had visited us in Nantucket for a week and we flew home with them. Fortuitously, we were invited to the home of my son's in-laws in Coral Gables to a completely yummy dinner and way too much wine. The following night we dined at Maroosh, a middle-eastern restaurant in Coral Gables with my relatives in Miami. I rented a car so we could drive home to Sarasota on Sunday morning. It is a Hyundai Sonata. It had Sirius radio, and has been thoroughly competent though a bit Vanilla. It is 1/3 the price of our Mercedes E-class and about 80% as good. It makes one wonder why a person would spend $50,000 or more for a car.

As for the rest of the week. I visited my friend who is sick yesterday and other than a brief leaping and licking encounter with his overly friendly huge furry dog, it was great to see him. As for the next few days, we are capturing precious moments with our dearest friends before we return to Nantucket and its 75 degree days and 65 degree nights. I am already schvitzing thinking about leaving my air conditioned home to go outside.