... her job lost her.

Yes, even the nicest, hardest-working people possible are getting caught in the economic squeeze. But my baby has been here before, and amazed me with her humor and resilience. Princess Di may look like a pushover (and some may think that putting up with a grouch like me is proof) but believing that would be a big mistake.

She got the news Friday before lunchtime, a few hours after I'd dropped her off at work because of plans to leave directly from there for Crescent Beach, a few miles south of St. Augustine, where her parents own a condo. They rent it out most of the year but save a few weekends for family squatters. Di called me after the ax fell, saying something like: "I got laid off, so we can head to the beach earlier."

That's my baby.

So, after a quick stop for a pizza burger (or in Di's case, a pizza dog she suggested to the cook who's now adding it to the menu) and a celebratory shot of tequila, we headed northeast. Since my XM satellite radio now includes Sirius channels, we discovered Margaritaville (Ch. 55), a station devoted to all things Jimmy Buffett, and other music Parrotheads are likely to like. Di knew it was for her when the opening riffs of The Who's I'm Free rang out.

Made it to the condo then headed out for a little pre-concert entertainment. Knowing the weekend of our stay, Di ordered tickets to the Black Crowes concert at St. Augustine Amphitheater, which is like a mini-Ford Amphitheater with fewer teeth in the audience's heads. Di astutely noted that lead singer Chris Robinson looks like Earl ("My Name is...") Hickey. I could've sworn it was Skeeter Meter from Almost Famous onstage. Would it kill these guys to play something early like Hard to Handle or Jealous Again to clue us in a little better?

Anyway, the show was fine, the Rum Runners better and we awoke Saturday to crashing Atlantic waves. I pulled a Bob Newhart on Di when my eyelids opened, telling her: "I just had a bizarre nightmare." Aww, she said, Di-sympathetic until catching on. Then she slugged me.

After an hour or two on the beach, unemployment was the farthest thing from our thoughts. We added to our bar list (the British Pub, Oasis, Nobby's and Hatties, which has a burger wrapped in puff pastry and drenched in brown gravy and grilled onions that's to Di for). All of that got us in the mood for "Cosmic Bowling" at the local lanes, which is like a middle school slumber party with 16-pound cannonballs for pillows.

I distracted the squealing girls in the parking lot by shouting: "IT'S MILEY!" and sliding into the space they had been blocking as they ran in the direction I pointed.

We returned home Sunday morning, listening to more Margaritaville and making the sign of the wave to passing motorists. We do know where to go when the volcano blow.

After watching the Bucs beat Minnesota, we prepped for a rare Sunday sneak preview of Defiance, an extraordinary true story of Jewish brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell) hiding refugees during the Holocaust. Sobering stuff, made even more so by the fact that several of the brothers' descendants were in the audience. It's also the first time I've seen Jewish characters terrorized by Nazis and not depicted as mere victims. These underdogs kick major butt, drawing cheers from the crowd (who had just visited the Florida Holocaust Museum's new exhibit on the brothers' heroism).

Kind of puts today's problems into perspective, you know?

But Princess Di had a head start on that.

She's getting her resume in order, and by coincidence a headhunter had called her last Monday, wondering if she was happy in her now-former job. But we also have that 11-day cruise to Costa Rica that Di won at the Telluride Film Festival coming on Dec. 1, so she'll do some temp work and maybe a holiday gig at a department store to fill time until the first of the year.

I'll plug along and back her up, marveling at someone who always bounces back like a Super Ball. I may play some golf, which could be a bit awkward since one of the foursome is an executive where Di worked until Friday. He has nothing to do with her job but he'll ask how she's doing and I'll tell him.

Right in the middle of his backswing.