Category: First course

“Just chill out, you’re in Key West for God’s sake!” said a friend who is facing an extraordinarily difficult life transition, and who, for reasons that only a good friend does, put his turmoil aside and heard what must have seemed such petty concerns on my part. He pointed out all the good things that…

He throws a half full bottle of beer into the street. His partner throws a plastic cup into the fence. He yells. So does he. For a half second a tense silence shimmers in the dank humid air, then they notice the girl next door, across the street, who sits on her front porch. In…

You take nothing for granted when you live in an adorable, renovated cottage in Old Town. “Residential Parking” spots in front of your adorable cottage are snapped up by anyone. Everyone. Your tiny back deck that is separated by a tall fence is no match for a taller bamboo grove that grows an inch too…

I have been driving to and fro quite frequently these past few weeks: to my new Key to find a place to live, sign a lease, and generally try to get the feel for my new “home;” fro my old and soon-to-be former Key, where I still work a thousand hours a week, haven’t packed,…

I am happy to report that I contributed quite generously to the local Las Vegas economy–a kind of personal RG stimulus package, if you will. Now it’s back to work a double today. I figure the images of spinning slot screens and whirling roulette wheels will soon fade, and that I will be able to…

I am off to meet my best sister friend in Vegas for a long weekend. I am hoping our time together in crazyville will energize and cheer her and allow her a brief respite from her sad days. If we happen to win a little $$, so much the better. I am also looking forward…

Birthdays call for a time out for brief reflection, for a momentary pause to assess growth and count blessings. What a year this has been. * I left one restaurant job, accepted an offer for another at a hotel–which led to the need to buy an actual suit at Banana Republic–only to have the economy…

“I just want you to know I had THE best day of work yesterday since I started,” RG Daughter told me, a smile apparent with every word. I listened to her tell me every detail of every successful minute she had enjoyed, and as happy as I was for her, I ached to see her…