Well He Lasted until Thursday!
This was about 11:00am. Its so hard to find good help!
No one had seen him for about 15mn.....I went looking
and there he was passed out under a chair in my office! Priceless!

Christian is Here!
Christian got in Sunday night! It has been so nice to be with him again. I have been taking him to work each day(I have got to check on child labor laws for the state of Florida). He has been helping Mary load lenses on the finers.....he told me he thinks its easy and fun!!!??? That will change in about a week! Today Carol Lait took him fishing in the intercoastal waterway....what an experience for an 11 year old. He saw his first Manatee! Had a great time needless to say. The bad thing is that it has rained every afternoon this week! What are the chances of that considering that it has only rained one day in the month and a half I have been here! We are supposed to go watch the space shuttle Discovery launch Saturday.....if it does not rain! So wish us luck!

I have some music for you to check out....This guy is from Tupelo, Ms. It's funny....I had never heard of this guy until I moved to south Florida. This will show you how small this world really is. His name is Paul Thorn...He is a singer song writer....really more of a storyteller. I would say that his music has a rootsy blues sound ....very good stuff. His passion for music comes from his father, a Pentecostal preacher. The first taste for performing comes from singing in these churches. Then as a young man he was a professional boxer. He was good enough to fight Roberto Duran in Atlantic City....This was televised nationally in 1988. Well you can read all about this on his web site...I have a link to the right. My personal favorite is "Ain't love strange". One very funny song on this album is "burning down the trailer park". Enjoy!

Bird Flu Hits Central Florida!

This is the first chance I have had to sit and update...Wow..How much is involved in taking over a business. I love it though. Early mornings...Late nights...Its worth it! One good thing is that it is a relatively small operation. The customer base is very dedicated and so far...Loyal. This is a good thing!!! Of all the things that I have had to worry about, it has not been the customers. I know that it is going to take time to establish relationships with everyone...But I have had the chance to start with a few...Everyone has been very supportive and open to the change.
To give a little back ground on the business....The lab was started by C. R. Lait of Ft. Pierce, FL. He started the lab to service his retail optical stores. At one time C.R. had 6 retail opticals. A central lab is very justifiable with this many stores. Eye Care Center was formed to service only the retail stores....No outside work. C. R. Is 67 now...Ready to fish! He started selling the retail stores a few years ago, but decided to keep the lab. This would give him something to do when the fish were not biting!!! Well when all was said and done he owned no retail opticals...This opened the door for wholesale work. Being a smart business man as he is, the opticals that he sold...Entered into a contractual agreement to send his lab there work. This is good for me because these contracts were passed with the sale!!! I can keep the lights on!!! This month!!! The employees all stayed in place...There are only 6...Angelo, Mary, Carolyn, Kim, Reet & Deb. They are all great people...Very hard workers.
Really all I have had to do is bring the office up to date. The equipment was in bad need of service...The work that was leaving had some issues...Update office epuipment...Like I said the main concern for the last few years has been Red Snapper and Amberjack! At 67 it's time to enjoy life!!!
So at this point it is up to me...We average around 65 pair of glasses a day. My goal is to be at 100 by the end of the year. The next step is 120...Then new building. After that...the sky is the limit. I'm the only wholesale lab from Daytona to Ft. Lauderdale. So stay tuned....

Bird Flu Hits South Florida!!!

This past Friday was Friday Fest in downtown Ft. Pierce. This is a very cool event that happens the 1st Friday of every month. Each town in the area put on similar events....Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach, Jensen Beach.....Its so cool because the community supports the event. There were people everywhere! Everyone has on their best shorts, shirts and sandals.....You have to love Florida! Vendors offer art, crafts, boats, food and drink....As you walk around and look a band plays in the back ground. This is all the ingredients for a good time!













These pictures are actually from last month....I was in Tampa this weekend for a meeting with our lab operating software company. It was a good meeting.....I learned some valuable information. It also gave me a chance to see some old friends from the industry and meet a few new ones. Saturday night I had the chance to take in another Hard Rock! The one in Tampa is a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. It is a franchise Hard Rock....... So they do not have a cafe. We had a good time! That makes my 12th Hard Rock! Another guitar pin for my collection.