RhondaK..Funny Bar Signs and the Paradox of Paradise

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist, June 2009 Be Nice 2 Tourists…We’re ALL Tourists…

I haven’t done my slideshare.net diaries of my tiki bar sign painter life pretty much since Alan committed suicide. Here, I’m getting back with it. I’ve moved because of a crazy neighbor in Siesta Key. Some slobbering rich kid who decided to stand on his dad’s property line yelling obscenities to get his dad to give him $4000. You couldn’t make this up. The thing about paradise is it is often full of poop slinging monkeys. You have a choice to hang out or find a better class of monkeys. Money is not indicative of class. But begging for it…often is. http://www.rhondakwrites.com

I had to move in something like 2 weeks because life is too short to deal with a screaming jackass. Subsequently I saw an NBC program with this crazy neighbor situation seemed really familiar and 2 people ended up dead holding hands exchanging their last I LOVE YOUs as the gunman coolly called 941 on his phone reporting he’d been attacked. They had been shot in the back…unarmed. http://www.rhondakwrites.com Many moves are unplanned…have unintended consequences…but you have to move anyway. The universe often gets HARSH in jerking you to next. Sometimes NOT taking the call to MOVE on has unintended consequences. When choosing to stand your ground—figure out what kind of ground you’re standing on.

Now I live in what was apparently a crack house in terms of selling it. It is an old 50s style home with Frankensteined rooms –each with their own set of locks so 5 people could hole up in here without ever having contact.

Here’s the good part—300 feet of waterfront. Three canals converging by the covered dock. 7-9 iguanas all mad with undisturbed rock living..not ROCK selling.

Paradise is complicated. It is easier to paint.

http://www.rhondakwrites.com

Paradise is COMPLICAteD—Paradise is easier to PaINt.

In terms of consequences, beyond living in a former crack house just off Easy Street, I lost in two weeks my ability to get to one of my best shows in Gulfport, Florida. What’s a tiki bar sign painting mermaid junky to do?

I don’t have the option of standing in a multi-million dollar neighborhood screaming at my daddy to give me money OR ELSE… And if I did, I do believe I just wouldn’t.

I start all over.

That’s what I do.

The bad shows. The unfortunate sitting in a ditch and selling in 120 degrees of heat. ALL THAT. Again. Until I get it right.

So when you see someone selling on the street this week, don’t assume they’ve got a good GIMIC, assume they’re trying to make a living to survive. And they may not have it all down quite right.

And always remember …BE NICE TO ToUrISTS…. We’re aLL Tourists. RhondaK, Native Florida Folk Artist. http://www.rhondakwrites.com