A day without my brother Martyn.


With brother Martyn out of town the plan for the morning was for Toby and Sam to kayak (is it O.K. to use “kayak” as a verb?) in our SRQ marina area.

We arrived at the rental hut at 11: 40.  The hours of business were displayed as 11:00ish to 5:00ish.

The owner/manager arrived at 11:50.  He ignored us as he opened up the hut, drank coffee, watered some potted plants, and made phone calls.

At 12:05 I asked him if he was open for business.  He said “I have been here for 15 minutes”. I replied “we have been waiting for 25 minutes”.

This brilliant business man then told me that we were sitting in the wrong place and that we should have been standing next to his hut in order to do business.

I protested very mildly to which he replied “if you don’t like the way I do business you can leave”.

We left.

As a mild consolation prize I told the lads that we could eat at K.F.C or Burger King (even though both places represent a grievous offence to my digestive system).  They chose KFC.  We drove four miles to discover that that particular KFC joint had been shuttered.

So it had to be Burger King.  The lads scoffed chicken strips and fries.  I chose a fish sandwich -  but was distinctly unimpressed with it.

But the good lads enjoyed their meal, and then told me that they wanted no more than to return to my home to “chill”.  It’s good to have teen aged guests who do not need to be entertained.

Good lads!

LATER in the afternoon

 I drove Sam and Toby to teen aged heaven “The Mall”, and then I went to a meeting at St. Boniface Church.

After that meeting I returned to the home of my pal Ben, there to relax with him and with our mutual friend Bob, leaving the lads to use a ‘bus to get back home (there’s a novel concept for you).

After their shopping expedition the lads took the ‘bus from the Mall to Ben’s home. They were proud of their purchases

Before I reviewed what they had bought thy splashed around in Ben’s pool for half an hour. They were filled with fun and joy.

Now, at 7:20 p.m. they have taken themselves off to walk to our local supermarket (Lord alone knows what they want to purchase) whilst I am cooking a simple dinner.

MY POINT IS THIS: These are impressive and undemanding young men (both are 16 years old).

I am entirely happy to have them as guests. They “win friends and influence people” wherever they are.

Location: Bayfront, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more