I guana tell you a story...

Remember the scene in "Caddyshack" where everyone flees the swimming pool in hysteria when they mistake a floating Baby Ruth candy bar for doo doo? Well, we had a reenactment at the Sea Dell. Actually, three reenactments over the past few weeks when guests approached me with looks of subdued disgust and mentioned in low tones that there seemed to be, uh hum, "poop" in the pool.

After prolific apologies, I took a net and scooped out the questionable guano and reassured the guest that it was not human, but appeared to be an animal's and that we were profusely sorry. I made a note to staff to inspect the pool every AM. And, yet, it happened twice again, which puzzled all of us, since we were inspecting the pool every morning. I kept watching for some gigantic heron or pelican, thinking they were dropping gifts from above.

But, today we got our answer. A family of three guests were swimming merrily in the pool, when a huge iguana climbed under the gate from nearby landscaping and took a swim with them. In fact, instead of the normal fear of humans, he appeared to be annoyed that someone was in "his" pool. Then, he proceeded to go to the edge of the pool to climb out and left us a gift! Question answered, but problem not solved. Now, how to catch the pooping pest??

Germans

I heard a story today that I cannot get out of my mind. Harry was talking to a "local" in Marathon (where our motel is) and the gentleman told him about his landlord who is a resident and who was a child during WWII. This man is a guest speaker who shares his experience during the Holocaust. When he was a preteen living in Budapest, the Germans invaded and he remembers his father gathering the family together and being told that they could drink a solution that would put them to sleep. It was poison. This man chose to take his chances so his family took him to a local Catholic Church in the hope of protecting him. The Nazis eventually entered the church and when the head nun tried to prevent them from interfering with the children, she was machine gunned down. The Nazis told the male children to drop their pants and those that were circumcised were tied together with wire and led to the edge of the local river, which was frozen. The children were machine gunned. This man was the only survivor and because he was covered with blood from the others, was left on the ice for dead. He awoke a few days later, very ill, at a Red Cross station. Eventually the Russians invaded Budapest and he was able to escape and survive. I do not know the other details of his family.

These stories are certainly out of our realm of reality. But, as we know, they were common.

We have numerous German guests at our motel. I have had to address my prejudices and feelings on numerous occasions. If a German male is abrupt and sharp in our interactions, I bristle. Last week a family with two teenage boys were guests and I was helping one of the boys figure out an electrical converter. He was a sweet boy, but I couldn't help myself from thinking that a couple generations ago, he could have been a naive teenage Aryan guard in the German Army ordered to send thousands of people to their deaths in a gas chamber. I was shocked at my thought process!

Maybe I am more aware of these feelings because my husband is Jewish, or because my father fought in WWII. I know that no one today is responsible for the sins of their fathers but in my gut, if I am really honest with myself, I still feel a slight discomfort when a guest speaks with a German accent or announces where he is visiting from. I wonder if they feel a discomfort also? If I were less of a WASP, and more like my husband, I would probably ask them! But, I behave politely and graciously while harboring my ugly thoughts! I know that time will erase all of these negative vibes, and my kids most likely do not even have the same feelings associated with a people like I do. What I do hope for our country, is that we never forget and casually slip back into our typical American complacency. How did we not know what was happening in Europe, and how did we not care?

Down in the Valley

We were in LA this past weekend, to visit Doris, my mother-in-law. She lives in Encino, in the San Fernando Valley, in Los Angeles. They were experiencing what locals call "June Gloom." It wasn't particularly warm, with cloudy, rainy mornings which clear up by noon.

LA has a wonderful growing climate, with abundant sunshine and mild winters. Roses are abundant and are everywhere and I always have had serious LA rose envy. In Cleveland, I would fuss, spray, feed, and prune every year and then winter in Pepper Pike would slam us and they would die back and have to start all over in the spring. By August, half the leaves would yellow and fall off from a condition called mildew. My plants would finish the growing season looking worse than they started. I would go out to LA and covet my father-in-law's tea roses that were stately, five feet tall and covered with long stems holding up the most perfect huge blossoms.

The visit was different, without my father-in-law Sidney there, but we enjoyed visiting with Doris , taking her out to her favorite restaurants, and catching up on family news. We worked in the yard, ran errands to Home Depot, made small repairs and felt satisfied taking care of the plants that Sidney so loved in his garden and making Doris's environment safe and more enjoyable. She did a remarkable job taking care of Sidney, and we appreciate her. And, she is just an enjoyable person to be around.

"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.