Ft. Lauderdale
A recent Ft. Lauderdale visit sparked my memory about the mean, old condominium managers that sabotaged our dinner years ago.
In my younger days, several of my friends and acquaintances moved to Ft. Lauderdale for a month or more during the winter — I will explain in a later post. One year, my friend Gene rented an upscale condo on North Ocean Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale and two of our friends from Ocean City, Md. stayed with him.
When Doug and I arrived at Ft. Lauderdale, Gene invited us to see his condo.
Vantage View
When we entered his building, we met the old, ornery men who oversaw the condominium. We were polite, and they guardedly permitted us to go up to Gene’s unit.
I suspect that the managers resented Gene because he lived in this lovely condo in Ft. Lauderdale for several weeks and — to their knowledge — did not need to work. I guess that they were not delighted that several friends visited during his stay.
We loved seeing our friends, and we spent the next few days and nights with them. We made a point of conversing with the condo cops when we entered or left the building.
Occasionally, our group enjoyed Gene’s rooftop deck and pool that offered a spectacular view of the
Atlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway. The best part was that we were among the few people that used the pool. However, the condo managers came up to the rooftop often to spy on us.
Vantage View Condominium Managers
One day — or maybe two — or maybe three, we probably made cocktails at the rooftop pool. (As you can tell from the featured photo I was not involved!) It was not against the rules, but I suspect that the managers did not like younger adults having fun.
Though we were well behaved, I believe that the condo spies slithered up to the rooftop looking for ammunition for their next maneuver. I presume that they wanted us gone.
After the cocktail caper, we made dinner reservations for our group. Gene suggested that we stop by for a drink before dinner.
Doug and I arrived that evening at Gene’s building dressed for dinner. I wore a sundress, and Doug sported a white button-down shirt and khaki pants. We politely asked the condo dictators if we could go up to Gene’s unit because we had dinner reservations.
They said, “no.”
We asked them if just one of us could go up — briefly.
They said, “no.”
We asked them if they would call his condo and tell him that we were in the lobby.
They said, “no.”
We asked them if we might use their phone and we would call his unit.
They said, “no.”
We asked them if they would go up and ask our friends to come down.
They said, “no.”
We finally left the building. Cell phones were not common, and we had no way to contact our friends without a pay phone.
When we finally called our friends from a pay phone, it was too late for our dinner reservation. Though overdressed, Doug and I dined at McDonald’s. That was the last time Gene rented that condo, but it gave us funny memories.
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You guys were way too nice!
I believe that my friends had words with them and that Barney Fife’s name came up.
love the pictures!! what was that guy’s problem??! man, i’d have been pissed!
We were angry because we had a nice dinner planned. Thanks for reading my blog.