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I don't know where Singer Island is but I live on Sanibel Island and it
is a very hot Florida destination. I have noticed for years that
the tourist season is beginning later and lasting later than in the
past. I went to my favorite bar Friday night and it was packed with
locals. This is saying something in a community made up of mostly
retired folks with an average age of something around 70. Many,
most, of these people no longer drink due to doctor's advice and yet the
popular local bar was very busy. (Once season begins, most of the
people in that bar will be tourists and the locals stay home).
The other thing is that a large percentage of the population in Florida
are older people who may no longer drink at all and without the tourists,
few bars would survive here. (This is probably not true on Miami
Beach because it's a tourist stop year round).
Bottom line is that you may, in the past, have been seeing a lot of
tourist traffic who you assumed were locals and you may not have been
aware of the changing tourist arrival and departure times. If they
were truly locals, more of them than not have enough money that they
could care less about the cost of gasoline or interest rates because they
don't owe anyone, anything.
At least this is a possibility
Bob
At 08:18 AM 12/10/2007, you wrote:
Hello All,
For what it?s worth, I just came back from my yearly ?solo week? in
Florida, Singer Island to be exact. I like to just go and detox, hang out
at local establishments, stick my feet in the ocean and clear my mind,
while staying as far away from the upper end hang outs as possible. My
observations were a little disquieting and I?d like to share them with
you.
The taverns I like to hang out in have always been among the most
popular, usually crowded to capacity on any weekend night, including
Sunday, and still at least half-full on a Wednesday. One of them happens
to be have one of the greatest Karaoke stages I?ve ever seen. Very
elaborate stage with very high-end speakers and mics and even lighting.
Very popular DJ, people coming from 100 miles away to get there. This is
very a very locals oriented place. I?ve been going there now every year
at the same time since 1999.
Last year, it started to change, fewer people, but still a good time. But
this year, I was in total shock at what I saw. I came in first on a
Wednesday, and Mel, the DJ I?ve known for years, tells me ?Gene, I think
I gotta hang it up soon. There?s no traffic anymore. My nightly fees are
being cut. They?ve cut out Sundays and it looks like Wednesday is going
too. I can?t live like this. ? He was right about the traffic. The place
was like an empty bowling alley. I had to wait an hour past the normal
start time just to get one more singer in the joint.
Then on Friday night, I returned and it was the same thing, perhaps 10%
of the normal crowd size for a Friday. Then came Saturday. I go to pull
into the parking lot at the regular time, and there were no cars around
AT ALL except the employees. I was stunned. I went in, and I?ve never
seen so few people in that bar, ever, on any night, in all these years.
It was worse than the previous Wednesday, and you never see that. The
jukebox, which is usually cranking until the Karaoke starts, was silent.
The employees and bartenders looks rattled and scared, roaming around
aimlessly.
From my conversations with them, they told me the same story over and
over. Nobody has any money to go out and have a good time anymore
(remember, this is a very local joint, not some here today, gone tomorrow
tourist hang out). Their customers all tell the same story, that gas is
too expensive, food is too expensive, and their mortgages are swallowing
up all their money. They can?t afford to go out.
This particular bar is also one of the rare ones in the area that closes
at 5 AM, therefore, it becomes a bartenders bar after all the other
places close up at 2 or 3 AM. They tell me that this crowd is gone as
well. The other bartenders and waitress?s business is so bad, they have
no tips, therefore no money to use after quitting time. So this is not
just the tale of some dump that fell under the radar. This IS the place
to go around these parts. I think it?s a hell of a barometer, one that is
not being picked up on in the press.
So what is this saying? If the majority of the populace cannot afford to
go out for a good time anymore, and/or there?s no tourists coming around,
are we already in recession and why aren?t we hearing more about this?
Even 9/11 or the hurricanes didn?t affect business this much. What I saw
was truly outside the bell curve. Where else is this happening? These
people are truly frightened for their livelihoods.
This may just be a localized phenom, but I wonder about that. To quote my
friend Mel, ?People I know, older couples up north tell me they can?t
afford to come down here anymore. They got too much to worry about back
up north.?
One more Mel quote: ?My friends that work at local Publix supermarkets
say the average ?ticket? per customer is way down, as if they?re getting
very selective in what they?re buying.?
Just one man?s observations. Anybody else out there have any anecdotal
evidence?
Gene
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