2010/01/30 Miami
[ Previous ]   [ Next ]

Cheese

Tips

A couple of days ago I took a “Wind & Wine” tour in Key West.
The tour consists of sailing “along the pristine deserted islands of the Florida Keys” and wine tasting.
In reality it is more drinking than tasting, but I have to admit that you can munch on cheese and crackers to avoid the pitfalls of drunken sailing.
We left the harbor at 5 PM. Ten people were aboard, including the captain and his assistant.
After twenty minutes of sailing and four glasses of wine the captain asked me: “What are you doing in Manhattan?”

“I’m a novelist,” I answered.

“Are you famous in Japan?” he asked me with a smirk on his face.

“Yes,” I answered.

A woman who had been utterly silent for quite a long time said: “I’m a librarian in the state of Washington, give me your full name and I will look you up.”

I gave her my full name.

We drank more wine and we watched the sunset. Some of us got drunk despite the cheese and the crackers.
The captain said: “We work for tips.”

Before we left the boat the captain also gave us the name of his favorite restaurant in Key West (“Blue Heaven”).


[ Add comment ]
16 comments Last_comment
You drunken sailors... What shall we do with the drunken sailor?
said Bernard f 30/01/2010 10:36 • x
Four Glasses of wine in 20 minutes. That's a nice boattrip you were making. Did anyone puke? Were there girls who touched your penis?
said Dens Powells 30/01/2010 10:57 • x
.
What is it Powells, aren't you gay? Never mind your literary talents; you still might become a second critic a la O 'Connolly or something.
Sea retreat?
Secretly you are terribly in love with what you write. Not so?
The best,
said marietje de Jong 30/01/2010 21:04 • x
Danger
Booking a wine showered boat tour in shark infested waters with a company called "Danger Charters" is certainly not for the faint hearted.

An informative website of the Florida keys says of the resident sharks "...Not all of them are man eaters. But all of them are here."

Meanwhile, a boating safety website warns that "More than 50% of the boating accidents that result in death can be traced to alcohol impairment!"

I suppose being a famous author in Japan brings responsibilities which at times go beyond the written word.
said Philip .. 30/01/2010 23:14 (Updated 23:15) • x
Marietje
I think you need a man, a bed and some inspiration.
said Veerle 30/01/2010 23:18 • x
Is being famous truly satisfying?
said G T 31/01/2010 00:04 • x
Coetzee's Quote
I tried to post on 'Hunger' and Coetzee's quote, but it kept getting cancelled. Just trying to post here...

I used the quote in a recent review of Shields' Reality Hunger knowing specifically that Knopf pulled the quote and Coetzee does not want it.
said Caleb Powell 31/01/2010 00:12 (Updated 00:13) • x
G T
Why would it not be satisfying to be famous? What do you mean by satisfying? Is being unknown satisfying?

Not being famous may seem attractive to someone very famous, but I do wonder what a hundred unkown people would answer you if you would tap them on the shoulder in the street to ask them how satisfying they find it not being famous.

Something tells me you'd be lucky if not one of them punches you in the face.
said Philip .. 31/01/2010 00:32 (Updated 00:33) • x
Caleb
You should be able to comment on the entry “Hunger”. (I will ask Sander to look into this problem.)
Thanks for the link.
I haven’t read the book, but I will order it right away.
said Arnon Grunberg 31/01/2010 01:32 • x
I'm perfectly happy being unknown and obscure. As I tell all my fans.
said Sour Grapes 31/01/2010 04:32 • x
marietje de Jong
Would you care for some tender love and care?
said Dens Powells 31/01/2010 10:14 • x
Dens
You really say this line to every women? We're longing for uniqueness you know, at least we want to beleave in the illusion, if only for some seconds.
said Veerle 31/01/2010 11:53 • x
I ask this almost every woman. The uniqueness starts when they say "yes". Why I asked you is because I feel a lot of frustration in your words. I like to ease frustration.
said Dens Powells 31/01/2010 13:16 • x
Is this the young Christian gathering? Veerle, I took your advise seriously - and for a change made myself a 'kruik'. Dens, the same baby like skin.

( On fame: ) "The funny thing with fame is that when you're not so famous you want to become more famous. But ones you are really famous you won't even know. Because when you are died dead the hole universe will come to know you.
We are all in a relative progressive stage of fame - now I think of it."
Quoting myself; well, my partner.

( By the way, Vera: I have fantasies about your 'topje' being set on central Asian time. )

p.s. Grunberg: How, not why, did you arrive at Key West? By plane or via the 1 highway? It's just such a fucking long distance from Miami. Your captain, Palinurus?, must have been kidding about that 'blue Heaven"place. Ha, ha: he meant the great seas surrounding those little isle's. A salt water crocodile talking..
said marietje de Jong 31/01/2010 16:51 • x
Caleb
You were trying to comment on the Google cache version of this site, which used an outdated authenticity_token. This is a security measure that prevents spam on this site.

If you want to comment on Arnon's blog, please first click the link to the non-Google-cached page on your Media Center PC.

If you have any more questions, please let me know.
said Sander Voerman 01/02/2010 11:22 • x
"beleave"
Spelling mistakes can be poetic at times.
said Sandy G 01/02/2010 19:08 • x
[ Add comment ]