Wandering Old Town 1

I paid my 25 dollar co-pay at the doctor's office, took my off work chit (four days off sick- doctor's orders) and said good afternoon to the office staff enjoying a classic American work lunch, hot dogs from the hot dog place around the corner, eaten hastily at their desks.One patient in line in front of me was having trouble figuring out his insurance. Changes had left him swinging in the wind. At the pharmacy they told me it would take 90 minutes by Walgreens staff to put my 30 antibiotic pills in a bottle. A man in line in front of me, 12 years younger than me, asked about his stomach medicine. "No word from the insurance," the clerk said. "Try tomorrow." The man shrugged cheerfully and walked off taking his untreated stomach complaint with him. "No Insurance?" read a banner at the pharmacy, "Ask about..." some plan to give away low cost medicines as charity for a while. The newspaper is carrying full page ads lately offering a free thirty day trial of some new chemical wonder guaranteed to improve your quality of life. A friend wrote to me recently saying he'd had to drop his four hundred dollar a month prescription as too costly. He opposes single payer health care as socialism. You get what you deserve I guess. I liked this picture of customers at Bank of America looking hopefully at their money machine. Their posture summed up my attitude toward banks too big to fail. I much prefer banking at my locally owned bank, First State. Key West continues to see an influx of visitors. I hope next year will be just as good, when we read that Detroit has lost about half of it's population. Not all municipalities do as well as the Southernmost City.I wonder what the world will look like when she's my age? The latest storm in a teacup has been about the new signage downtown. Street names are being painted in lower case like this:Instead of like this:Too hard to read they say in the Citizen's Voice column. Dear oh dear, so cranky over so little. Be glad you aren't the object of bombing raids and food deprivation I say. Life continues at the usual pace in Key West though I have heard a lot of complaints about how crowded the town has been this winter.I drank Fernet Branca once and I recall vividly throwing up copiously after I did. The memory came flooding back when I saw this odd sticker on the bike. Who drinks Fernet in Key West? I am very fond of Badboy Burritos on Simonton Street and when I see their purple Vespa 50 out making deliveries I am always glad to know I am not alone.

This old Vespa hack used to sit on Duval advertising boat rides but it doesn't actually run. If it ran it would have to be licensed another and more expensive way. So they push it back and forth around the corner. There is no dignity to commerce it seems.My new bougainvillea is stone cold dead. I am jealous every time I see some flourishing.More cyclists...

...out enjoying the best way to get around Old Town.

The Conch train is another way to get a round town, $22 for 90 minutes packed with information. It does get tedious for people who live and work where the trains run incessantly all day long. This the Casa Antigua was where Hemingway first lived in Key West, the street was informed by loud speaker. Now it's a gifte shoppe called Pelican Poope. Like I said, no dignity in commerce.