DUNEDIN, Florida — On the surface, Lee Weiner resembles a quintessentially blissed-out Florida retiree. He’s a deeply tanned 84-year-old Jewish guy who is always wearing flip flops and often smoking pot. His laid-back LinkedIn profile picture shows him smiling shirtless in a hot tub overlooking the ocean, photo evidence of his abiding mission to chill out.

When we first meet, on a sweltering Tuesday morning in May, he takes me through the motions of his daily Daoist practice. First, we walk a path in his gated community, stopping periodically to smell the flowers. We end at the pool, dip our toes in, then drive to one of his favorite joints: the High and Dry Grill, a breezy palapa overlooking the Gulf of Mexico’s Listerine-blue waters. It’s now just after 1 p.m., but 5 o’clock somewhere, and so Weiner orders a “jumbo” margarita, no salt. I spring for a piña colada, we both start sipping and all the world’s worries seem to wash away.

That is, until Weiner leans over to me, a mix of worry and weariness in his eyes. “I believe we are heading for a very difficult and dark time,” he exclaims.

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