Not only do I agree with your post but your screen name gave me a sudden jolt of sadness. My best friend died a few weeks ago. While visiting Florida ironically enough. He was real into movies-while I'm not- so he saw the Big Lebowsky soon after it's release. Because I have stoner tendencies somehow I reminded him of Jeff Bridges. For months he'd mock me by answering the phone, "the dude abides!!" Since I barely know the difference between the Coen brothers and the Marx Brothers, until I saw the movie years later I had no idea what he meant I thought it was good but maybe a bit over-hyped. And yea I'm highly correlated to the Dude.....
Gosh no. Lauderdale. I can only wish. I probably wasn't clear. I was describing the narrow island between Port Evergades (just east of the Ft Lauderdale-Hollywood airport) extending to the northern tip of Palm Beach. 40 miles or so of "island" between the ocean and the ICW.
My uncle wouldn't talk to him back then because he didn't listen to my uncle two years prior, and lost some of my BSD uncle's money with his own. We like to believe my cousin is not related by blood - it helps us cope.