Majestic Cruise Ships in Key West and the Costa Concordia...

I'd be stating the obvious if I were to tell ya'll that running aground is an inherent peril of boating... unless of course you were to be sailing a catamaran with little draft or gawd forbid, operating a power-boat.

For ya see, boats of any relevance all have a mast and they all have a keel... at least as far as I am concerned.

Unfortunately it is the keel that is to sure get a real sailor in trouble 'cause invariably that keel is sure to get stuck in the wrong place and at the wrong time thereby causing a lot of anguish.

And it is an anguish that is somewhat akin to getting one's "business" snagged in one's pants zipper. So no, avoid snagging your keel and even more importantly avoid snagging your "business".

In any event I find it incomprehensible that given modern sophisticated navigation technology, that a cruise ship of all things, can stray off course and run aground.

One would only think that the maritime industry would have the equivalent of air-traffic controllers monitoring every ship as it made its approach into treacherous waters.

Oh Gasp! I've Become an Old Fuddie-Duddie...

Well we all knows that I certainly wouldn't be telling ya sumptin' dat you didn't already knows if I were to tells ya that Key West is renowned for its many drunk-fest celebrations held throughout da year.

And rivaling Fantasy Fest in sheer debauchery, happens to be the annual New Year's Eve Celebration punctuated by the dropping of an over-sized high-heeled ladies dress shoe as the clock ticks down to the beginning of a new year.

Yet what makes that over-sized shoe a real crowd pleaser is the fact that seated within is a drag-queen enthusiastically waving to the boisterous crowds down below.

And it also goes without saying that this is the same boisterous crowd that has been imbibing copious amounts of alcoholic beverages all evening and is now completely sh*t-faced beyond any and all reasonable comprehension.

Unfortunately I cants give ya'll a first hand account of all the decadence of that already forgotten event for I simply wasn't there in Key West to partake in the scandalous festivities.

Instead I found myself blissfully sprawled out on my lady-friends sofa up on Marco Island with the tv remote in hand flipping channels. And since I be but a vagrant-on-a-boat and since I ain'ts got no tv aboard my boat, I was indeed a happy camper.

And it was after watching the Apple drop in Times Square that the festivities in Key West were briefly featured on television. The scene along Duval Street in Key West made the festivities in Times Square seem rather stale and tired.

I suppose that comparing the two New Year's Eve events might be kinda like comparing Playboy to Hustler back in the day. One preview of Hustler, and Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine was but an afterthought. But I digress...

The reality of it all is that I've become but an old fuddie-duddie not unlike the many winter snow-bird fuddie-duddies roaming about on Marco Island during the winter months.

And it is these same folks who can be readily spotted for the attire that they wear... boring checkered Bermuda shorts along with white socks to go along with their black dress shoes.

Yep, I now officially be but yet another old fart comfortably sprawled out on a sofa as the shoe drops in celebration of a new year.