After I got off work at the theme park, I felt like doing something for Cinco de Mayo. I didn't feel like going out though. I figured that all of the Mexican restaurants would be busy, and I didn't want to be out on the road when there would be several people drinking. So I figured I would stop into the ABC Fine Wine and Spirits and buy a bottle of tequila. I had some orange juice at home, so I figured I would make a tequila sunrise and watch a movie.

After I picked up a few cigars, I walked over to the section where the tequila was. Right on the shelf next to the rum. Standing in front of the rum was a woman wearing blue jeans and a low cut top, revealing much cleavage. She looked over the selection of rums,then she looked over her shoulder at me and smiled.

"I'm sorry. Am I in your way?"

"No." I told her. "I'm just looking to buy a bottle of tequila for Cinco de Mayo."

That's when my two friends showed up. The devil and the angel.

"No. You're not in the way. We were just checking you out.", said the devil.

"SHUT UP!", said the angel.

"So you're drinking rum tonight?", I asked her.

"Ya, I'm taking Captain Morgan home. I'm not much of a tequila drinker.", she told me.

"Ya. I'll take you home!", said the devil.

"SHUT UP!"

"LOOK AT THE TITS!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Why are you looking at her face for? The tits are down there!"

"Shut up!", said the angel. "We're trying to make conversation."

As I talked to her about rum drinks and how I liked Captain Morgan with Coke, the devil and the angel were having a war of words.

"PERVERT!"

"HOMO!"

We talked for another minute, then the lady with the rum said "good night" and "have a happy CInco de Mayo."

"What the hell are you doing?", yelled the devil into my ear. "Go after her!"

"Now you know she only came here to buy some rum. Leave her be!", said the angel.

I picked up a bottle of Jose Cuervo and walked up to the register as the lady I spoke to made her purchase and turned around to leave.

"Have a good evening.", she said.

"Have a good night.", I told her.

"I'll give ya' a good night..."

"SHUT UP!"

As I made my purchase, the devil and the angel on my shoulders gave each other dirty looks.

"You're such a gentleman, Alan. Your mother would be proud."

"Ya, but it's not helping him get lai...."

"SHUT UP!"

As I walked out of the store and into the parking lot, the devil and the angel discussed my sex life.

And the next time I go out, remind me to keep those two at home.

It has been really smokey all day in Orlando. In case you have not seen the news, the state of Florida has several thousand acres of wooded area on fire at this moment. This state has not had much rain over the last few months, so it has been really dry. And if the winds are blowing, the brushfires can spread over the highways and even water, like it did at the Wekiva River.

So I have stayed inside tonight and logged on to Blogstream while I watch the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play the Baltimore Orioles. It is the tenth inning, and there is no score. Lost will be on later.

While I was reading the blogs on Blogstream, I came across a title about Having Sex in Public Places. I had a great laugh, so I decided to have another laugh and check out the blog. I had some laughs with Bella, Misty, and Totally Ass Backwards between innings and doing the dishes from this evening's dinner.

The game is over. The Orioles won, 1-0, on a Aubrey Huff home run.

Anyway, Belle was talking about blogs and their titles, and what a good name would be for a blog.

I got to thinking about mine, Thoughts From A Drinking Buddy. When I first started on Blogstream. I had thought of the title Thoughts From A Disgruntled Cleveland Browns Fan. But I decided against that, because there are too many of them.

Then I thought of something to do with where I currently live, which is in Orlando. I thought of the title Greetings From Orlando, Greetings From Mouseville, and Stuck In Orlando.

I decided on Thoughts From A Drinking Buddy. It's personal. I like the title.

As for the women on the beach? Well, that's true. Once with a lady I had met from work. And once with a girlfriend of mine when we were down in Vero Beach for the weekend. It is personal, though, so I'll leave it like that.

As for the woman in the parking lot....

Hillary Clinton called Bill into her office one day and said, "Bill, I have a great idea! I know how we can win back Middle America and secure my presidential victory in 2008."

"Great, but how do you propose we go about that?", asked Bill.

"Well, Hillary responds, we'll go down to a local Wal-Mart, get some cheesy clothes and shoes, like most middle Americans wear and then we'll stop at the pound and pick up a Labrador."

"When we look the part,we'll go to a nice old country bar in Mid America, and we'll show them that we really enjoy the countryside and show admiration and respect for the hard working people living there."

A few days later, all decked out in their Wal-Mart clothing and a Labrador by their side, they set off from New York in a westerly direction. Eventually they arrive at just the place they are looking for. With their dog in tow, they walk into the bar. They step up to the bar and the bartender takes a step back and asks, "Aren't you Bill and Hillary Clinton?"

Hillary answers, "Yes we are, and what a lovely town you have here. We were just passing through and Bill suggested that we stop and take in some local color."

They then order drinks from the bartender and proceed to strike up a conversation with other patrons of the bar. As they drink their cocktails, the bar room door opens and a grizzled old farmer comes in. He walks up to the Labrador, lifts its tail and looks underneath, shrugs his shoulders and walks out the door. A few minutes later, a second farmer comes in to the bar and walks up to the Labrador. He then lifts the dog's tail, looks underneath, scratches his head, and then leaves the bar.

For the next hour, several other farmers come in to the bar and lift the dog's tail, only to walk away with a puzzled look on their face. Eventually, Bill and Hillary could no longer stand it and call the bartender over.

"Tell me," said Hillary, "why did all those farmers come in and look under the dog's tail like that. Is it some sort of old custom?"

"Good lord no!", says the bartender. "It's just that someone told them that there was a Labrador in this bar with two assholes!"

Close to work is a dollar store that has refrigerated display cases as well as freezers for frozen items. I sometimes go up there to get something for my break or for my lunch. Since I did not have time to go shopping yesterday, I decided to go to the dollar store this morning while I was on break. I wanted to get some cookies to go with the lunch I had packed.

I put the cookies and a few other things in my basket and proceeded to walk up to the register when something caught my eye. Near the register is a refrigerated soda case. And what do I see beside the usual soda pop? Faygo Redpop!

I have not had a Faygo Redpop in ages. I remember how I drank this all the time when I was growing up in Cleveland. Nowadays, I usually drink water or diet soda. Once in awhile, I like to have a Coke Classic just to remember what it tastes like. Then I go back to the Diet Coke. I know that Faygo makes a diet Redpop, but it just doesn't come close as far as taste.

It may be loaded with sugar, but damn it, I'm buying it. I will drink it during my lunch, and tomorrow I will go back to water. But for now, I'm going to enjoy this. Just like I did when I was a kid.

As I think about it, I also drank a lot of Bosco when I was a kid.

Does anyone know where I could score some Bosco.

For some reason, Key West is on my mind right now. I have just come off the beach at the southernmost point. It's ninety miles to Cuba. God, I could go for a great Cuban cigar right about now.

I rinse off the sand and saltwater and head down Duval street as the tourists ride down the street on their rented mopeds and bikes. It is hot, but a salty sea breeze whips across me, providing a moment of relief from the heat.

As I walk past the continuous row of art galleries and t-shirt shops, a young man walks toward me. His face is covered in blue face paint with black strips running along the side of his head. And his hair is not only colored blue, but points up into the sky in a spike pattern made by a hair gel. As he walks past, I suddenly realize that his head looks like the tropical fish that can be found swimming in the coral reefs in the water nearby..

Walking along the coconut palms in front of the restaurant I had breakfast at earlier, I see the girl with the shaved head. I saw her walking down Duval Street yesterday evening as she left her job at the t-shirt shop while as I made my way down to the square to say good night to the sun as it set. Along with all the other tourists who wish that they did not have to leave.

I wonder if she is from here. Or if she moved down to this so-called island paradise to start over like many other people do. Did she come down here for a vacation, only to stay. Did she leave a family somewhere in Iowa? Or did she leave an abusive husband in Ohio? I don't know? Many people I meet, like the young lady from England I met earlier at breakfast, come here and decide to never go back because of the island's laid back style.

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

No one is in a rush here. Everyone takes their time. Some places open to the hours posted on the sign by the front door. Some place open when they open. What's a few minutes, anyway?

As I make it to Captain Tony's, a tall, slender, elderly man in baggy clothes and a straw hat walks by me with an iguana on a leash. They say pets take on the look of their owners, but this guy looks like an iguana. His head cocked to one side as he looks at you with his large, round eyes just the way the lizard does when you approach it's aquarium.

"What can I get ya'?", asks the bartender at Captain Tony's. I order a draft and continue to watch the show from my barstool. All the colorful people that make up Key West, whether they be locals or tourists. I look at the walls and the ceiling of Captain Tony's, and it is completely covered in business cards.

"Damn, I don't have any business cards on me.", I think to myself. Then again,I am on vacation. I don't need business cards here. And for now, I am going to sit here and drink my beer.

"I wonder if Ernest sat here?"

As I think about Hemingway, sea salt tickles my nose as a breeze enters into the bar. I can smell the ocean as I sit. It is hot out there, but cool in here. And the beer is even colder.

And for now, I have all the time in the world. What's a few minutes,anyway?