Moon over Miami (thereabouts)

Marriott Hollywood Beach, near Ft. Lauderdale

65 degrees at wakeup, high of 80

Say hello to the American Red Cross's newest instructor. In the final day of class, candidates took turns teaching a chapter out of the book but our instructor set up some sabotage for each candidate to have to deal with. There were planned distractions and mine was no big deal, just some guys who tried to do the practical exam without proper glove protection. But let me share one that was HILARIOUS! This poor guy was assigned to teach the chapter on AEDs. This stands for Automated Electronic Defibulator. It's also know as the "jumper cables" to jump start your heart. You find them now in malls, airports and a variety of public places. Well these little dudads are pretty handy tools to have, but not in the wrong hands. The box has a robotic voice that tells you what to do, from the moment you turn it on. So picture several of these boxes, all talking at once, all at the wrong time, all giving error messages, with students pretending to be shocked by them...I was hysterical during the ordeal. But the candidate, Neal, was a true professional and he never let the chaos sway him for a second. We had a wide range of demographics in the class, from safety guys like me to a paramedic, to a lawyer, to an actual pediatric physician, to a Sunday school teacher who wants to open her own day care center. Well, the Russian doctor, Barrat, and I had so much fun with the AED it was almost inappropriate. All in all, the class was good and I'm glad I did it. Hell, I might actually teach someone this and have them save a life someday. How cool would that be?

After class Kathy and I celebrated a long but successful week by going to the hotel's beachside bar for happy hour. There was live music and views to die for. Much of the week had been mared by high winds but today was postcard perfect. We had a nice dinner, followed by a walk to the beach. The moon (just north of Miami) was only surpassed in beauty by that of my loving bride.

Tomorrow, we plan to wake up before dawn and watch the sunrise together. We will have our final breakfast at Latitudes Restaurant and head back to the Gulf side.