LOL

As much as I enjoy a great steak and a piano bar, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I have an awfully annoying habit of waking up early, and after I read the papers, drink coffee, feed the dogs, and mentally solve the world's problems, I'm mighty hungry. Plus, not too many normal folks are up at 630 am...

And my favorite place for breakfast is Lots of Lox. LOL has been in the same strip center in Palmetto Bay for over 20 years. A few years back, it was a bit on the decline, as the owner spent more time fishing in the Bahamas than he did tending to his business. And then, 3 Greek brothers bought the Jewish style deli, and it rebounded wonderfully.

The brothers grew up in Miami, in the Roads neighborhood, long a bastion of Greek and Jewish families. The Greek leader was Mekras, the Cardinal (not Cardinal, but whatever they call the Greek Orthodox equivalent) of the church, and 2 of his sons became urologists. I had the displeasure of meeting them, and one gave me my first prostate gland exam, when I about 20 years ago. You never forget the first guy who does that to you...

Anyway, they have great food, and a staff mostly still the same after 20 years. Lori, my favorite waitress, is now head of staff, and oversees everyone. Lori is probably the consistently happiest human being I have ever met --always glowing, flirting, and joking. I have little doubt she goes home each night and weeps in deep melancholy --No ONE can be that happy all the time!

I often meet my old college friend Vince at LOL. He's now a Public Health doctor, and Lori always jokes with him about gettin food poisoning...We catch up, and compare marriages (Vince is on #3), and kids, and careers...

And I meet Norman, my great law school friend, who Wifey is convinced is my brother of a different mother. It's true --we share identical senses of humor, and yesterday I learned his brother has the same chronic condition endemic to Ashkenazi Jews several of my family members have...

This am, I awoke at 6, fed the ancient Lab, the spoiled grand dog, and the new rescue creature (which we learned to our relief yesterday IS a dog --we had fears Vienna might be some other dog-like animal, like a dwarf hyena), read the Herald, and drank coffee. And then, as if on cue, Norman texted me "LOL at 8 am?"

It was perfect. I fired up the Hyundai and headed over, for great food and even better conversation. Ah, if only Norman and I ran things instead of that pendejo governor Scott of ours --Florida would rock!

Glenn, my old boss's boat captain came in, and told me great tales of my former mentor. And then Sarah came by, with her husband and adorable son, and we caught up a bit.

Norman and I went outside as the tables filled. We laughed at the fact that I used to babysit Sarah back in '79, when I was her mother's student at the U. Sarah was 10, and her baby brother Ari was 4 or 5. We tried to imagine, these days, leaving a teen boy in charge of a young girl --no matter who he was. Ah, sadly, how the world has changed...

Sarah is now a very succesful caterer --Norman's firm uses her.

LOL is really our small town diner.

And the cheddar, tomato, onion, and mushroom omelette was delicious...