"Fish On"

I spent four days last week dolphin fishing. Don't worry, they aren't the Flipper species; they are the Mahi-Mahi or Dorado variety that are more beautiful then you can imagine, with irridescent greens and blues that are actually lit up in the clear, blue Gulf stream. They are a prolific growing fish, so there is no fear of depleting the species - and, they are delicious! They hit the bait aggresively, jump and fight like crazy and when you bring one to the boat, the school often follows so you can cast with light rods and bait and continue the action. When you are trolling along, and the rod bends and the drag screams, and you hear someone yell "fish on", then it gets exciting. With multiple hook-ups and people all over the back of the boat trying to keep lines uncrossed, it can really be chaos. And, in the slow times, there is nothing like being out on the gorgeous ocean which is always full of surprises. Even the slowest fishing day is an escape from worries and a contemplative experience.

My fishing buddies were my son, Capt. Matt, my brother, Tom, and Rune and Johnny -two former fishing clients of Matt's who flew over from their home in Norway. Poor Rune suffers from seasickness, yet it didn't deter him from fishing every day, green to the gills or not. They brought us bottles of Aquavit - a liquor that is drunk in Norway to accompany rich meals and aid in digestion. HOOWEEE, firewater! I really enjoyed the company, the jokes, the laughs, the philosophizing, the political debates, everything. Good times.

Caplan Valdez Oil Spill

Harry was fueling the boat for our upcoming fishing visit from Matt and Tom Nord. Oops, an empty container went into the canal, and the tide was coming in so strong, it was soon down at the end. Sam jumped in to the rescue. It was a LONG swim back against the tide. Yea Sam.

The Trifecta

Yesterday was one of those days where the surprises don't stop. They say bad luck comes in threes - I wonder why that expression was ever created? I started a web search but gave up when I realized I was wasting my time. As I am, writing my blog?

I work at the motel on Wednesdays. We got in at 8 and I proceeded to do "opening up" tasks, including counting the cash box. Immediately, I noticed that two $100 cash deposits were missing - they are paper clipped to receipts and the receipts were there, but no money. This is the second theft in two weeks. The other was exactly the same, but for $300. It means that someone had to unlock the front door sometime between 11 PM and 8 AM, and unlock the cash box. Only staff have keys to the front door. And, after the first theft, we started a double lock system. We have keys hidden outside, but only staff know where. The day before, we learned that a staff's boyfriend (mentioned in a previous blog called The See Hell) had robbed the staff person's daughter of jewelry and was ID'd by the pawn shop owner who bought the jewelry and charges are being pressed. And, that the boyfriend has a history of drug abuse, and has been in jail. Hmmm, doesn't take too much of a rocket science brain to see where this is going. But, when confronted with this information, of course, our staff person fits the description that love is blind. Dilemma - this staff person does an excellent job and we don't want to lose her. But, as I told her, her personal life is bleeding onto her job and hurting us. I have no ability to help her make good choices, or influence her. People do what they want.

Our solution - to install five video cameras and change all locks. I am going to be able to see everything that goes on at the Sea Dell and I think it is going to be very interesting - I might have some juicy blogs in the future!

Number two bad luck came after all the theft drama, when our manager and her husband got their notice that the husband is to be deported to Guatemala to await his citizenship hearing. We tried everything in our power to get him to stay in the States but the government works one way, that's it. Never mind if you have children. You go. Our manager will go with him to wait since they have a baby and do not feel the separation would be good for the family. Once they go, he can NOT come back until the hearing is completed and there is no way to know how long it will take - months to over a year. They have to sublet their house, and we have to find substitutes for the fabulous job they do. I will miss them. Harry was instrumental in finding them an immigration lawyer and he is also a sponsor for one of our housekeepers who just got her citizenship papers last week. Harry likes to talk, but Harry also does.

I would say the after those two pieces of bad news, number three was minor. A scorpion in a guest room. Do not freak - scorpions are common down here and not lethal. Just nasty stings. but in a room is a problem and so good old A&B Exterminating was out early for a treatment. Fortunately the guests took it in stride. Don't get the wrong impression - our place is very clean and still rated #1 out of 16 small properties in Marathon, Fl. on TripAdvisor and we are very proud of that.

Of course considering what REAL bad luck is, this is minor. Everyone is healthy, no one is hungry and we all have shelter. How can we not be appreciative of the wonderful country we live in? People are desperate to come here - so much so, that they say goodbye to family and friends and live in fear of discovery and deportation once they get here. We are extremely naive in our understanding of what other governments are like. For our friend to come here from Guatemala, he had to go through Mexico and pay off the police along the way. If you are a women, rape is common if you are trying to emigrate from Central America through Mexico. Did he know he would meet someone here, and fall in love, and want a better life with her here than he could have where he was born. He is a productive worker, thoughtful and decent husband and loving father. We need people like him here. Let's deport the jerk, who is a citizen, that steals from our cash box.

Let's Lighten it Up!

I visited Jack and Ruby and Matt and Megan in Toledo last week. We went to a Toledo Mudhens game, out to a fantastic dinner at Mancy's with Megan's parents Mike and Sherry, and her sister Kate (thanks "Papa" for your generosity - it was fantastic)! We took Ruby for her first haircut (see above - she cried the whole time). On Saturday, we all drove over to Cleveland for an day of fun with my great niece Gianna, great nephew Dominic and my nieces Erin and Trish, Erin's husband Dave, my brother Tom, sister Mary Beth (Bert) and brother-in-law Tom. We swam at the motel, had a cookout, had lunch out and all in all it was wonderful, chaotic and totally fun.

After a walk in the Metropark the next day, the kids went back to Toledo and I went to Fairlawn with Mary Beth and Tom to see their son (my nephew) Dan, sing with The Ohio State Men's Glee Club. Wow! A fantastic performance and I had to keep fighting off those tears - our little Danny - what a guy! He is a Chemical Engineering student at OSU.

I stayed at my sisters for a couple nights and managed to squeeze in visits with a few friends before heading back home. It was an emotional, fun, tiring visit. What do you say to your grandson when he asks you to buy his house so you can live with them or when he asks to go to your house and it is 1200 miles away? Ouch. And reconnecting with friends is like trying to keep knitting rhythmically when you feel like you have dropped a stitch and need to find it and repair it to continue on with a smooth pattern. I miss my other home. I like my present home. I want to have them both be my home.

Sidney Walter Caplan

My father-in-law died in September of 2008 at the age of 91. His health, memory, eyesight and hearing were declining. It was time.

I miss him. He was an incredibly successful businessman, but he was not grandiose or self important. He lived simply. He gave enormous amounts of money to charity and believed in the optimism that you are responsible for your fellow man and lived that on a daily basis. He did not gossip. He was not particularly effusive, or funny or entertaining. Instead, he was steady, very private and very moral. He did not compliment easily but he also did not judge. If he respected and liked you, you knew it. He lit up. He was proud of being Jewish and enjoyed discussing the bible, religion and politics. He was politically very liberal. He was a patriarch and a mensch.

Harry visited Sidney on a monthly basis. It was expensive, but Harry felt it was his duty and priveledge and he was very grateful for the time he spent with his dad. Often, when I would accompany Harry, we would go to Temple, or I would meet them at the usual Saturday after-Temple lunch spot, Emilios. Sidney would begin a meal with crusty Italian bread, always the well done heels, and slater a mixture of parmesan and olive oil on it. His lunch would often be accompanied by a single bottle of beer. When Sid and Doris's friend, Irv, was alive (he lived until over 100 years), he would join us.

We would discuss the days Torah portion. Many, many times the topic was regarding siblings and jealousy and rivalry. Cain and Abel, Joseph, Jacob, and many more. Those topics are epic in the Bible. I think back and wonder if there was some premonition in the fact that the topic was so often brought up and conversed about.

One of the biggest mistakes Sidney may have ever made as a father was to not appoint someone outside of the family to settle his estate. The kind of ugly stories we have heard about in "other" families has come true for the Caplans. Sidney appointed Harry's sister Eileen as trustee. I asked Doris, Harry's stepmother why Sid made that choice, and she said that it made sense to Sidney, since Eileen was a tax attorney. Unfortunately, it is my opinion, that motivations, personality issues, and old grudges come into play after a parent dies. Is this an aftermath of grief and loss? I don't think so. I think it is plain and simple - about money.

Cousins, siblings, an uncle and aunt, Sidney's secretary, accountants and business partners are all involved in the mess. Sidney's 86 year old brother has been sued by Eileen as trustee regarding business issues. Eileen has been sued by her brother because of misappropriation of money from a charitable trust. Lawyers have been hired. There is so much more.

I like to think that people can sit down and work out their issues in a reasonable manner. But, in this case, it would be like sitting Hitler down and trying to reason with him that his Aryan concepts were wrong. Or trying to tell Bin Laden that Mohamed did not support terrorism. Sometimes, the frustration lies in the reality that there is no reasonable resolution. There is no discussion. People become entrenched in their ideas and beliefs and have such a hard time opening themselves to the other viewpoints, to change, to admitting fault and accepting error. The lessons in the Bible apply across generations and time. But sometimes, humans cannot learn. We are certainly flawed.

I Found This Emusing

A family vacationing in Big Pine Key came in from a day of sailfishing and were skunked (means they didn't catch any fish - they stink). But that didn't mean they didn't catch a prize. While barbecuing dinner outside they saw something they could not identify swimming up the canal. It was an 80 pound Emu! The poor bird was tiring and with the help of the wild bird rescue people in Marathon, they got the bird out of the water and off to the rescue facility where it is now happily munching away at cut up veggies. I would love to know how it got in the canal, and where it came from. You would think you would notice your Emu was missing...

Out of My Funk

Strange word, Funk. When you think of Sly and the Family Stone or George Clinton, you don't think morose or frightened. You think upbeat. What gives?

It doesn't hurt that the weather is spectacularly gorgeous. Clear blue skies. Bright light. Low humidity and cool nights for great sleeping. The waters are turquoise. And, while taking my walk this afternoon, I marveled that a pelican flew by, and that is just normal for here.

I spoke with my brother, Tom, today. He returned to Ohio in time for another snowstorm. Makes me appreciate how easy it is to throw on some shorts and head out the door. No coats, boots, gloves. And, I can putter with my plants anytime, or see what is swimming by in the canal, or just be outside.

Speaking of Tom (aka Tommynerdz) - he and Sam fixed my car! It had a very strange grating noise for over a year. We had taken it to two different mechanics and they didn't know what it was. But, the "boys" decided after Sam's Acura's transmission bit the dust at 70,000 miles, that my transmission needed new fluids - and they replaces any and all. It was an all day job and hark - my noise is gone. Maybe they saved me from a new transmission and a huge expense. I really appreciate what they did.

Tom is always a great house guest. He does his own thing and yet is available when we want company. He is entertaining, and he and Harry really get along. Tom makes me see different sides of things - such as the male side so that I can better understand all the men in my life. Sam and Harry and Tom speak a different language, laugh at things that appall me, and just generally think different. Yet, my brother and I have always gotten along so well. We like to fish. We like nature. We "get" each other. I just plain love him and we miss him.