It had to be towards the end of 2005 that Allen and I became friends because I started blogging (thanks Gene) around the early part of the year and his name wasn't mentioned or was it mentioned in "Letting It Hang Out"
BUT his name starts popping up all over my diary that year. He started
coming over for the Wednesday socials in 2004 but I think at that time I
was getting rides from Larry, Bill, George and Gino was taking me shopping. He was going to the theatre with us a lot and he would join Gino and I for lunches and dinners here and there. I, also, started to make notes like "April 29 Allen and I to see "Eatery" at The Gateway Theatre. Then there is that private memo about April 20 Wednesday (none of your business! LOL) along with notes about going to the Mosaic Theatre (closed) , The Red Tavern, Bob Igizi, Allen and I going to see "Walk on Water" and then The Emerald Coast (closed after 2 bad health inspections but I loved it!)In May we went to see "Madagascar", "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" and
"3 Iron", all on Fridays. (Funny--I gave the last movie  a good review
"very beautiful, strange, metaphysical love story--male lead a beauty"
but I don't remember a thing about it!) And in 2005 we saw Sandra
Bullock in "Miss Congeniality" --now 8 years later we see her in "The
Heat"!

Among other theatre shows we saw were "What The World Needs Now is Swing! Swing! Swing!?, "Because He Can" and, of course, eating out going to the Cheesecake Factory, Golden Corral and Ballentine's (closed) along with going out on the gambling ship with Anita and/or Bob.  We were socializing a lot together and at some point--I don't remember when--he volunteered (?) to take me shopping on Thursday which continues to this day and on Wednesday, after the 'socials' at my place, he would take me on a
few errands like dropping my things off at the laundry or going to the
drugstore. We would go for a bite to eat on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and I was introducing him to the restaurants of Fort Lauderdale going to places he never heard of and, in most cases, never would have gone to such as Casablanca's on the Beach or the new Seasons 52 when it opened up.

I noted in my diary that I 'checked out Allen's condo' on July 5th and then on August 2 and 12 I drove out there to see that everything was okay and that I went to the movie house on Pine Island Road. Obviously I had his car while he was on vacation and I thought it was great that he would let me use it as long as I took him to the airport when he left and picked him up when he came back. Now that is what I call being a friend. I would try to pay back once in awhile by picking up lunch/dinner checks.

On August 22nd after having blood tests done Allen, Anita and I went to Catfish Dewey's (open)  while the end of the week we went to see "November"--how is this for a review that I
jotted in my diary? "Good picture to watch but don't know what it was
about." On Wednesday, August 24, Allen and I had lunch at Tommie Dee's (closed)  and we heard that Hurricane Katrina was heading our way. The next day I taxied to and from Winn-Dixie getting stocked up.

8
years later Allen takes me every Thursday to The Dollar Tree,
Winn-Dixie, CVS and sometimes to The Office Depot and Home Depot and we
have lunch (currently doing the 2-4-1 lunches at Cafe Vico) while on
Friday it is movie time and a bite afterwards.
By the way just to clarify things in case of interest---Allen and I are friends not lovers or bed partners--got it?  LOL