Reply from Dez  August 28, 2005 

Hey There, Hi There,

  Sounds like ya's had an interesting journey.  Aside from the Radisson 
stay, the making of LOVE CHASE sounds more like The Hot, Humid & Hostile 
Environment Chase.  Good thing you had an evening at the FORTUNES 
Restaurant before embarking upon the perilous journey into Gator, 
Panther and Humans in Dismal City of Red Neck County.  Say, while on the 
subject, SHUT-UP about the excellent meals you've had at places like 
FORTUNES.   Lobster and Knock Out Spinach and Artichoke Dip Appetizer 
With Beer. STOP IT.  STOP IT.  STOP IT.   I can't take anymore, it's 
midnight in Hawthorne, NJ and no place near by to EAT A GOOD MEAL AT 
THIS HOUR.  Nada, Zero, Not-A-One.  Now ya have me thinking of an 
Excellent Home Cooked Bar-B-Q STEAK, but there's none in the fridge I 
can cook up.  Even the Excellent Lobster Bisque I had in New Orleans 
just came to mind,,, aghhh,,,, aghhh,, even the Excellent French Onion 
Soup in Vegas popped out of the memory:-)

  Ha ha ha, just joking.  It's easy to picture you Enjoying And Savoring 
those meals, I do the same.  In childhood, I was schooled in Advanced 
Food Appreciation that carried over to a-dolt hood.


See, Edward Abby had a better idea, he'd rather watch someone else sink 
into the quicksand than be the one sinking.  Then he'd know for certain 
it wasn't safe and would be able to write about the experience vividly, 
even making it funny as to the chap that got sucked under.

Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my!  Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my!  
That's why you won't find my ass sleeping In-A-Tent, oh my.  But if I 
were in Africa or equivalent places where there's the VERY BIG CATS, 
then it's best to have a Land Rover with steel bars over the windows 
instead of a van, oh my.  In many ways the Humans are more dangerous 
that the Big Wild Animals.  For one, if your camping vehicle has bars 
over the glass area to prevent some Big Cat or Grizzly Bear from 
entering,,, your safe because those creatures don't know how to pick 
locks or use a crow-bar to break in or shot out the lock.  Man Can.  In 
which case, it's good to have Intruder Alert devices and an AK-47 with 
lots of ammo clips and the balls to use it.

When you say -
  "those trails are nicely done up with foot bridges across savannah's 
and paths with a fair amount of safe ground between you and the bush"
    does that mean your guide has a Rifle and/or your close to a vehicle 
that you can get into before a hungry or disturbed, territorial Panther 
can get you??? :-)  :-(

  Yeah Joe, it's dangerous BUT to say the least, it's sure wonderful, 
awesome and rewarding to be in such places.  Just Remember;  "An Ounce 
Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure."

  There were a couple of times while traveling in the Western States, in 
very remote areas where I had to ask someone (when ya find 'em) for 
directions because fuel supply was getting low.  In those cases, I'd 
park the van at least a hundred yards or more from their house, walk 
halfway to their house and call out for someone (HELLO!).  When they 
came out, I apologized for having disturbed them, told 'em where I was 
heading then thanked them for their help, and told 'em was please to 
have met them.  They were right friendly folk, would have liked to chat 
with 'em, but had a distance to go before night fall.

  One of the nice things about NOT driving a vehicle that cost 
$1,500,000,999.98 but is old, has some dents and/or body rot, puts one 
on a visual economic level as them.  In there eyes I was  considered a  
"homeboy."   What a nice compliment -- especially since I grew up in 
Brooklyn, lived and worked in NYC area over 30 years and to be accepted 
by people in the most unlikely of places,,,, it sure was a rewarding 
experience.  However, it's a big difference when your canoeing up a 
creek -- usually there's very little clearing and no way to walk halfway 
up to their property to show your unarmed and mean no harm.

  Ha ha ha, see what happens when ya have patience and make the best of 
a bad situation -
     "We turned our attention to the one thing such places always have 
when all else fails - the people; local and tourists. Most locals were 
not friendly, although a few definitely were."
See, you met a friendly local who turned you onto  "The Snook Inn"  that 
had as you put it  "a full restaurant to die for"  plus other items you 
liked  --  heh heh heh, GREAT ! !

  Several years ago, a long time friend and I did a fairly quick tour of 
Florida.  One of the places was Naples.  He was impressed with it, but I 
felt the same about it as you.  Guess I lived in the Great Desert and 
remote areas too long to fully appreciate the non-aesthetic and 
meaningless things in life :-)

 
  Good hearin' from ya's, gotta go the time is 3:11(AM) already, and 
Like you two, glad to be home (even though there's no good restaurants 
or eateries nearby).

 
    Take Care,
    Dez

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