Where's the Dog?

    I walked into a bar I had never been in before and a man I had never met asked, “Where’s the dog?” I love that Cedar Key is so small everyone knows me as Gracie’s mom. Yes, I am still in Cedar Key. Somehow one month has turned into five so far. Life has an easy rhythm. I clean, paint, and garden in exchange for rent, utilities, fresh eggs, free laundry, half-price meals, and an ice cream cone a day.
     The city of Cedar Key installed a reverse osmosis plant and the water is now excellent. Hurricane Isaac bypassed us with only a few light showers.
     Being parked a few yards from the water has a downside. Every Sunday I start the Goose and let her run for a bit. (Gracie gets excited and jumps into the passenger seat, ready to go). A couple weeks ago, she wouldn’t turn over. I had to clean all the terminals and connections between the four batteries and all the ground wires before she would fire up. All my tools are covered with rust. That’s the price for being able to watch five giant egrets tread through the water at low tide so smoothly they don’t even create a ripple, which is what I’m doing as I write this.
     Park resident Lorie and I did a complete room makeover on the living room of the park owners while they were on vacation. The room had previously been the motel office. We removed the counter, replaced the nasty carpet with laminate, painted the walls, refreshed all the woodwork, cleaned, and decorated with a combination of furniture from Vickie & Fred’s Almost New Furniture and finds in the various sheds on the property. It looks like something out of a magazine, and Roberta cried when she saw it. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had spending money on someone I care about.
     The park owners Bruce and Roberta treated all the workers to a lobster dinner (shipped from Maine, where they were vacationing) at a restaurant downtown as a thank you for keeping things going while they were gone. It was the first time I had ever tackled a whole lobster, and I just followed everyone else’s lead on how to crack the shell and dig out the succulent meat. So I learned how to eat Maine lobster in Florida.
     Another new experience has been the airboat. What a blast! It’s not like being on a boat at all—it flies smoothly over the water, mud, and swamp at breakneck speed. The airboat can go almost anywhere. The dolphins leap alongside the boat and drum fish wag their tails in the air as they feed off the bottom So amazing.
     I finally made it to The Tiki Bar, about 50 yards down the road. It’s a tiny bar with about 12 stools and a nice assortment of liquor, wine, and beer. It’s a fun little gathering place. I love listening to the people around me talk and tell stories. Manners are still quite formal here in the “old Florida.” I am “Miss Sharon,” to my contemporaries as well as those younger than me. I hear almost no profanity and never ever the f-bomb. I like it. I think being addressed with respect exacts a higher level of behavior.