A nice day yesterday. Quiet and healthy.

I had not been to the beach for awhile. The sun was shinning. So why not!

I threw a sand chair and beach towel in the trunk and away I went!

I opted for the federal beach. Thought there might be fewer college kids since you have to pay to get in. I was wrong. Not bad though.

I walked out to the gulf side by the rocks. Generally, a locals spot. Sits right next to the channel. You can watch the boats go in and out all day. Big cruise ships all the way down to small sail boats. A pretty sight!

The college visitors were mostly at the other end. Well behaved. They sleep all day on the beach to compensate for staying up all night in town.

I stayed a couple of hours. The sun felt good on my body. I tried the water. Still too cold for me.

Afterwards, I took a ride to Hogfish for lunch. Love the place! Very laid back. Thatched roof, open sides, sort of run down. Actually looks desperate. Shrimp boats and fishing boats all around tied up at docks.

Old Key West!

But not really. Just looks like it. Hogfish is actually not in Key West. It is on the next island up. Stock Island. And it is located on one of the most beat up streets in the area. Run down dilapidated trailers, a garbage dump of sorts and fishing businesses.

There is a sign on the road side nearby Hogfish that states: Welcome to Downtown Stock Island!

Everyone loves Hogfish! The food is good. Huge portions and cheap. Sort of clean. A locals paradise!

Last night I did Louis’ Duval crawl!

I started at the Chart Room. Only Che there. Had one drink and left.

Then a brief stop at the Keys Piano Bar. A briefer one at La Te Da. I was not much in a chatting mood.

Ended up at La Trattoria at the bar for dinner. Watched a basketball game while eating. Love this March madness!

Then home to bed and more basketball!

A good day! A quiet day!

Tonight I babysit. Only the fourth time. My daughter Lisa is desperate. She could not find a babysitter. So I am the man!

Love it! Look forward to it!

I have already planned the evening. Popcorn, hot chocolate, movies and me!

The only problem is who will fall asleep first. Me or the grandkids?

And that is what Lisa worries about!

Another lovely day yesterday!

Key West is Paradise!

I had a late lunch at the Yacht Club.

It is interesting. No matter where I go, the AIG bonuses are THE topic of conversation. People are mad! What bothers me is that some people are justifying it because “contracts” were involved. Sort of sacrosanct. Like contracts cannot be broken.

The contract argument is bullshit! It reminds me of Hitler’s PR man Goebbels who said, in effect, tell a lie long enough and people will start to believe it.

The contract argument from my perspective is Washington’s way of excusing its ineptness.

When the contracts were entered into, business was good. Remember that this recession fell on us suddenly like a ton of bricks! Though long in the making, it was not apparent till only recently.

There is a basic contract tenet that if there is a mutual mistake of fact, a contract can be invalidated. It was assumed when the contracts were entered into that business would continue to be good. Turned out to be a fallacy. Business turned bad. So no money exists to pay the bonuses. The bonuses are expunged. Pure and simple.

The mutual mistake of fact is that business would continue to be good and monies there to pay the bonuses.

Forget there is bailout money. It is tax dollars. It is morally reprehensible to use tax dollars to pay bonuses.

The argument is put forth that the AIG employees will quit if denied the bonuses. Let them! With 500,000 to 600,000 additional unemployed each month and millions out of work, replacements are a dime a dozen. And good ones at that!

The other argument justifying payment of the bonuses is that some of the AIG employees have allegedly threatened to expose company secrets. What company secrets! In this highly sophisticated and technical age, major corporations spy on each other daily. They are better than the US government at it. There are no secrets!

Congress seems to be as screwed up as the banks and insurance companies. I used to have great respect for elected officials. It was long ago, however. Now they appear like a bunch of idiots. They argue. They criticize. They blame. But they do not think. Congress no longer is proactive. It is reactive.

This 90 per cent tax thing that passed yesterday is a disgrace!

On first blush, one would say get the bastreds! Taxing them will get most of our money back! It will also get us our pound of flesh! It is Madoff finally going to jail.

Good luck! The 90 per cent tax is a civil Guantanamo! Flagrantly unconstitutional! I predict without hesitation that the courts will throw it out!

And we do not want government deficating on any individual or group. What was done to AIG employees with the 90 per cent tax yesterday, could well happen to you or me tomorrow in another fashion. We do not want nor can we live in that type society.

Recover the bonuses the old fashioned way. Sue!

Hire lawyers, and good ones at that, and chase down the bonuses!

When this nation was started, our founding fathers thought long and hard about how government was to operate. At the time back in the late 1700s, this country was based on a farm economy. Most affluent persons were farmers.

The Nation was small. Operation of government did not take that long. Congress sat only a few weeks a year. It was not a full time job. Elected representatives left the farm to travel to Washington to do the Nation’s business. After a couple of weeks, they returned home to work the farm the rest of the year.

Now it is a full time job.

One problem is that most elected officials keep getting reelected. Not a good situation! Congress becomes a life time job for many. Complacency sets in. Entitlement becomes a state of mind. A sort of royalty is created.

I have never been a fan of term limits. But I am coming to the conclusion that it is time to impose them on Congress. Two terms and go home! Just like the farmers of old and in compliance with the thinking of our founding fathers. I doubt it was ever intended that Congress become a full time job for a number of years!

Like all else, when every thing seems to be screwing up, a return to basics is required.

Enough of AIG and Washington.

Last night was bocci. The best of all evenings each week!

We continued our downward spiral. Lost all 3 games. Badly! 16-7, 16-2 and 16-5.

It is hard ot comprehend. Last year we were so good. This season, so bad!

And it is becoming mental. We know we are going to lose before we even start!

We have a terrific team. Captain David, Don, Michelle, Brandon, Maria, Jules, Rob , Bebe, Michael and me. All decent players. But last night, to a man/woman, we all stunk!

The interesting thing is that we are all happy! In spite of getting our asses whipped each week!
We joke and laugh. We hang around afterwards and happily chat. Down deep we all know we are having a bad season. Nothing we can do about it. It will pass. And a new season will arrive and we will be good again.

Hopefully!

I continue to keep my drinking down. I am fighting the triglyciride problem. Only one drink last night!

Maybe that’s my problem!

Enjoy your Friday!

Golf was enjoyable yesterday.

I struck the ball well. Better than normal. And yet, I did not score.

Played with Yankee Jack, Tino, Aaron and Kurt. Yankee the big winner by far! He had a very good day. I lost a few dollars.

Bocci tonight. I hope I play better than in recent weeks.

I started last night at Aqua. It is my Wednesday pit stop. Bobby Nesbitt normally sings at Aqua on Wednesdays at cocktail time. Bobby was not there. Which I knew in advance. He is somewhere near Bora Bora singing on a cruise ship.

Randy Thompson was scheduled to fill in for Bobby last night.

I had never heard Randy sing before. He is reputed to be one of the top drag queens on the island.

A spectacular performance!

First, let me tell you that if I did not know he was a guy, I would not have known. What a great looking woman. Face, hair, body, the whole works! Absolutely beautiful!

Worry not, I am not switching!

And his voice! Pure feminine and sweet!

This guy is a star! Which he is considered in Key West. As I said earlier, one of the top drag queens. Do not wait as long as I did to catch his act! He is one of the best at what he does!

Then I walked over to Antonia’s for dinner alone at the bar. I had not been to Antonia’s for a couple of weeks. They had pissed me off.

It was good to be back. The food is exceptional, the service good and the staff friendly. It was like returning home after a long absence.

Golf tires me out. A reflection of my age. I generally play Wednesday mornings. Spend the afternoon in bed regaining my energy. And in the eveniing, I am still tired. So immediately following dinner at Antonia’s, I returned home and to bed. Well before 9 o’clock!

AIG! Every one continues to have a hair up their ass! And properly so!

What bothers me this morning is that over the last 24 hours it appears some in government knew of the bonus situation during the bailout bill’s approval process. This whole thing is hard to fathom! Incompetence, abuse and arrogance at every level! And it continues to be rewarded!

Enough for today. Soon the sun will rise and shine. I am obviously an early riser.

Enjoy your day!

I am up early this morning. It is 5 o’clock!

Dark outside. Very black. I can hear the water running by through the open window.

The weather is great! We are into Key West time!

I had a quiet lunch yesterday at Paradise Cafe. Ate outside. A cuban sandwich and cuban coffee. Read the papers. Peaceful.

Then I decided to take a long walk. It has been a while since I walked far. I have become lazy.

I walked the waterfront. All the people! It is obvious it is the season. Vacationers all over the place! All having a good time! Good for them and good for the local economy!

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s day! So every one was Irish and every bar was an Irish bar! There were people all over wearing green tee shirts and in many instances green hats. Drinking, socializing and whooping it up.

I saw it all on my walk!

Last night I had an early business dinner. At La Trattoria. With a very charming young lady named Tamara. An interesting woman! Owns her own home on Sugarloaf Key, is a single mother of a 9 year old daughter, a Vasser graduate, has a nursing degree also, works in the medical field and on and on. Quite a person! Interesting also is that her bother is President of the Boston Federal Reserve.

Tamara’s parents have to be two proud people!

This AIG thing is a gigantic pain! And another example of corporate America gone wild and knowing no bounds.

There is much I want to express regarding AIG. So much so that I am going to spread it over several days.

Let me start by saying I was privileged to represent AIG in upstate New York for years. There was not a finer insurance company. They were the best of the best!

From my perspective, they were that good for two reasons.

First, leadership. They had a CEO by the name of Greenberg. He ran a tight ship. He guided AIG to the pinnacle of success it once knew.

However he was forced to resign several years ago. Blame Eliot Spitzer!

Spitzer was Attorney General of New York. He wanted to be governor. He went after Wall Street. Not every one he pursued deserved to be. One of those victims was Greenberg. Spitizer went after him on some minute bullshit charges. Greenberg was forced out. However he defended himself with regard to every charge and was totally exonerated several years later.

However he was gone from AIG and AIG no longer had the wisdom of his careful guidance.

The new CEO is the one who screwed things up!

One of his major errors was to insure packages of sub prime loans. This had never been done before. But it presented a way to make a lot more money. Greed!

And the loans did not have to go into default. If it looked like they might or the underlying value of the property diminished, the insurance kicked in. What a deal!

Well folks, a large chunk of the bailout money has gone from AIG’s coffers to pay the banks and other mortgage holders now holding these bad sub prime mortgages.

The banks always seem to come out on top! Rip off artists in three button suits! Frauds of respectability!

The second reason AIG was so good was that under Greenberg it operated as an insurance company. That simple! It insured those things normally insured like autos, homes, doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. No fancy stuff like sub prime mortgages. And AIG staffed itself with fine insurance professionals to do its work. And I am sure with no fancy bonuses built into their employment contracts. Just a fair days pay for a fair days work! Like every one else!

Enough of AIG for today. More tomorrow.

Still dark outside. The sound of the ocean roaring by is refreshing.

I play golf this morning. How bad will I be? The eternal question!

Perhaps my mind set is wrong. I approach golf very negatively! I think I am going to play poorly and I do play poorly! The only problem is that when I think I am going to play well, I play poorly also!

Enjoy your day!

There is no question that the weather has changed. It has! It is warm every day now. In fact, I turned the air conditioning on for the first time this year last night!

Key West’s cold time is generally mid Decemeber to mid February. This year it ran an extra month. Till mid March!

I am glad the cold is behind us!

Today is St. Patrick’s Day! A venerable day!

Many people go crazy on St. Patrick’s Day. Party time!

It never made sense to me. I have never participated as a mature adult. But must admit that I did as a young man. While in college!

I went to college in New York City. Manhattan College. A Catholic institution run by Christian Brothers.

New York City and St. Patrick’s Day are synominous. A big parade and an even bigger party afterwards!

It was my sophmore year. I was in the Air Force ROTC. Ergo, I marched in the parade.

I enjoyed the march. It was a big deal! Exciting! I found the discipline of marching interesting. The point of the parade I enjoyed most was when we passed the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The Cardinal would be sitting there in all his fine regalia. We would do a sharp eyes right as we went by. A wow!

Then following the parade, it was party time! I think every college from several hundred miles around came to New York for a big time fun day!

The issue was where to party. A private party was considered best. That meant a hotel room.

The hotels did not want us. No college students/parties! Hotel staffs went out of their way to discourage college students. College students were up to the task, however.

We had planned our St. Patrick Day onslaught about 2 months in advance. With ingenuity, of course. Remember, we were tomorrow’s leaders. So smart we were!

One of my friends had previously flunked out of Pennsylvania. Before you think ill of him, he did finally succeeed and became an outstanding doctor later in life. But at that phase of his existence, his father had reentered him in Manhattan to start anew.

While at the University of Pennsylvania, he had been a fraternity man. He contacted one of his fraternity brothers and the following scenerio was decided upon. The frat brother at Penn U wrote a letter to the Biltmore Hotel advising he would be in New York on business for one night, March 17th of course, and required a room. He got the room and a written reservation paper. Which he forwarded to my friend now at Manhattan.

My friend was not in the ROTC. So he was not in uniform. He dressed appropriately however. Suit, tie, dress coat and a homburg. A homburg for the unaware is a very formal man’s hat.

He looked the part!

He came with a suitacase. The suitcase was a large one and loaded with booze. The bottles of liquor made it extremely heavy!

We were worried about the check in. We were watching from a corner of the lobby. He got away with it!

There was one moment of concern, however. When the bellboy bent down to pick up the suitcase! His eyes bulged and he stopped in mid air! The bag was heavy! Rupture heavy!

The bell boy looked up at my friend and suddenly smiled. He knew what was going on. And fortunately for us, he did not care! He lifted that bag and away they went.

I am sure he was given a big tip! Probably $5 at a time when $.25 a bag was the going rate.

At some point we all made it up to the room. It was difficult getting there. No one was going to let me on an elevator in my Air Force ROTC uniform. I opted for the stairs. There was a security guard. I said to myself, what the hell! I faked to the right and went left around him. He chased me up a couple of floors and then gave up. I was much younger than him!

The room was packed when I arrived. The party was on big time! Guys, girls and booze. What a wonderful combination!

The young ladies came from all over. Many colleges were represented.

None of us could handle the liquor. We were too inexperienced!

Space was a problem. Where to sort of be alone with the opposite sex. The outside window sill was in use. The closet, also. I was young and smart. I ended up with this cute little preppy thing. I directed her to the bathroom and its bathtub. I took one of the pillows from the bed with me. We snuggled in the tub, with the curtain drawn of course. The bathroom continued in full use, but we were oblvious to its visitors and they to us.

Lest any one misunderstand, sex was limited to necking in those day. With very little touching, if at all. It was the mid 1950s. The 1960s and all its freedoms had not yet arrived.

At some point, my lady friend and I fell asleep. All of a sudden we were awakened by some older man in a suit. An assistant manager! We were told to leave. The room was empty. Apparently the party became too noisy, was discovered and management broke it up! We were the last to be discovered.

My lady friend was drunk. Oblivious to the world! Could hardly stand!

I asked her where she was from. She said Marymount. Marymount was a Catholic girls’ college in those days. Oh, those Catholics!

What to do with her? We were sort of bound at the hip. I could not just leave her.

I decided to take her back to Marymount. Ever the gentleman even then!

The train was required. I got her to the lower level of Grand Central. Note I am half carrying her. She was gone! I figured out which train to take. Got us to the gate! And luck befell both of us!

Her girl friends were there. Happy to have found her. They took her and took over.

That was my St. Patrick’s day that year. However, there is more to the story.

A week later Marymount was having a dance. I decided to go. I wanted to meet the young lady again. After all, I was her saviour!

I saw her at the dance. I went up to her expecting a big hug and thank you. No way! She looked at me blindly! Did not even want to talk to me. I felt like an ass!

I explained the party, our time in the tub, my taking her to the train station, etc. She recalled none of it and thought I was nuts!

She turned her back and walked away.

That was the end of our relationship.

They say good deeds never go for naught. Here is one that did.

Such is life!

I gave up partying on St. Patrick’s day. Bath tubs are too hard to sleep in!

Sundays are always good!

Lisa came over yesterday afternoon with Ally to swim. Robert stayed home with his father. A new thing. Robert is becoming manly. Does not want to be with the girls.

Ally is so much fun! We do hot chocolate when she comes over. A sweet thing for me in more ways than one!

Last night I had a light dinner with Marty at 915. First time I have eaten there. Tapas just not my thing. Food was good. Atmosphere could have been better. While I was sitting upstairs, I thought how much happier I would have been at Martin’s next door.

Then to the Pier House’s Wine Galley for the big night!

It was bigger and better than I had anticipated!

The place was jammed packed, inside and out. Not a seat to be had.

Larry Smith did his usual good job in putting together a top quality show. His musical talent is without peer. He organizes, directs, writes, performs. He does it all, including washing the windows! He is the whole package when it comes to music!

Kathleen Peace and Christine Cardone performed. What a duo! They sang Irish lyrics all night! Some I knew. Others I had never heard. All exciting to hear! There was occasionally audience participation. It was an outstanding St. Patrick’s Day party!

It was also Kathleen Peace’s birtrhday. The evening was intertwined with a celebration for her. Cake, candles and all! A lovely lady! A great talent! Happy birthday again, Kathleen!

Bob and Lynda Frascheete showed up during the performance with some professinal Irish performers.

First, there was a bag pipper. Kilt and all!

Then a singer.

Finally, two young ladies who danced what I would describe as the Irish jig. Terrific!

A good night was had by all! Key West friends and visitors joined together to celebrate a special occasion!

Sunday!

I slept late. So the blog is late. Sorry!

The big news of yesterday is the Syracuse/Louisville game for the Big East championship. Louisville won by 10 points.

It was as I had predicted. Syracuse ran out of steam in the second half. Not an excuse. Merely an observation and explanation. Too many overtimes and one game too many. This was the fifth game in five days for Syracuse.

The real killer was Louisville’s full court press. No way could Syracuse hold up to it after the previous 4 games.

Congrats to Louisville. Congrats also to Syracuse who played outstanding basketball in the tournamnet. Syracuse’s play will be recorded for the ages!

Now on to the NCAA tournamnet. I love March Madness!

Tonight is Kathleen Peace singing at the Wine Galley at the Pier House. Nine o’clock! Go! Listen to her! Enjoy! She is one of the finest!

Have a good day, my friends!

Syracuse! Syracuse! Syracuse!

They did it again last night! Won by 5 points in overtime! Six overtimes the night before. One overtime last night. Syracuse has to be exhausted!

Syracuse has won 4 games in four days. They actually have played 5 games. Add the 35 minutes of overtimes and you only come up 5 minutes short of a full game!

Tonight Syracuse plays Louisville for the Big East championship. Madison Square Garden in all its glory! A big game! A big night!

I think Syracuse will lose. They have to be dead tired. Their bodies and legs have to give out.

Louisville is coached by Rick Pitino. Pitino plays his bench. All 10 players. He keeps his players rotated and rested.

Boeheim only plays 7. The same 7 who have overdone the past two nights.

I believe Syracuse will start running out of gas early or in the middle of the second half. And then it will be over!

On the other hand……Syracuse’s juices are flowing after these two recent wins! The adrenlin may be enough tonight to carry them to victory! We shall see!

Pitnio and Boeheim are the best of freinds. Pitino coached under Boeheim early in his career. One was best man for the other. Their families are tight. All good people.

My day went as planned yesterday.

I did nothing. It was Louis’ day.

A quiet lunch at the Pier House. Sat on the deck outside the Wine Galley and watched the water, read my papers and listened to the music.

I ran into Kathleen Peace. Besides possessing one of the outstanding voices in Key West, she is Food and Beverage Director at the Pier House. A big job! Kathleen is being featured at Larry Smith’s Sunday Showcase at the Pier House tomorrow night. Do yourself a real favor. Go hear Kathleen sing!

Last night started with a drink at the Keys Piano Bar. Only one. A diet Pepsi.

Then across the street to La Te Da. Chatted with some of the folks at the outside bar.

I met Don and Eileen. They are in Key West for a long weekend. Come down from somewhere around Sarasota. They visit Key West regularly. They are contemporaries of sort. Somewhere in their early 60s.

Nice people. We hit it off. Drinking and laughing. I had my first drink.

Don and Eileen like Irish Kevins. I do, also. However I rarely get there. So I agreed to join them at Irish Kevins for a drink.

The place was packed. Very! It is a spring break weekend. The college kids are here in droves!

We pushed our way to the bar and ordered drinks. Only my second of the night! I opted for a Patron Silver shot of tequila. With a slice of lime, of course!

While waiting for our drinks, a young man asked me, “Down for spring break?” He meant well, but was being a smart ass!

“Yes” I responded. “We are going to college late in life. Miami University. Don and I are Dekes.”

He bought it! And he bought our round of drinks!

Having consumed my 2 drink limit, I said my good nights and was home in bed in time to catch a good portion of the Syracuse game.

A good evening!

No matter what happened yesterday, the best part was the Big East’s Syracuse/Connecticut basketnball game.

I’m tired!

Connecticut has been in and out of 1st place all year in the national rankings. Syracuse finished 20th.

The game will be an historical classic!

It went into 6 overtimes. Six! And in the end Syracuse won by 10 points! My team!

Six overtimes is 30 minutes. A game is 40 minutes. These guys played almost a whole second game in the overtimes.

The game started just after 9 and ended around 1 in the morning.

These players have to be exhausted! Syracuse plays West Virginia today in the quarter finals. I doubt Syracuse will win. They have to run out of steam!

Mike Yutzy now lives in Las Vegas. He was texting me all night commentiung on the game.

It was bocci time last night!

My life is strange. I am beginning to think that I play better golf than bocci.

Yes, I played poorly again last night. This makes 3 weeks in a row that my bocci game has sucked. I know not why!

As you know, drinking in an integral part of the bocci sport. Don and David wanted me a bit under the weather last night. They are convinced I play better after a couple of drinks.

Don brings the booze for the team. Your choice! I drink Beefeaters and so there is always a bottle of Beafeaters. Someone made a mistake last night, however. There was only enough gin in the bottle for one drink. To compound the problem, I only had one small sip out of my drink. A female player from the other team accidently knocked my drink over.

This was just as the first match started. Don and David went crazy! I said worry not. It will be different to play totally sober!

They did not agrre. They did not care. Winning has become everything!

David hopped on his moped and drove back to the bar. He returned with a full bottle of Beefeaters. I was playing at the other end of the court. All of a sudden David was there! He handed me a glass of gin on the rocks. And said, drink!

It is called victory at any cost!

However I failed! I played poorly again!

I am glad I never practiced law like I play golf and more recently bocci. I would be a homeless person today!

It may not sound like I am still in my good health kick. But, I am! I ate well yesterday. Even bought spinach. Have not cooked it yet, though. That drink from David was my only drink last night. And I walked 3 miles!

My plan is to have a Louis day today. Do nothing. I have not had one in a while.

Do the same for yourself, if you can!

Good morning every one!

The weather has finally turned here in Key West. A month late. But better late than never!

82 yesterday. No humidity. Perfect!

Golf was great! Nothing spectacular! Played my usual game. Shot 115. Even missed 3 putts less than 2 feet. What a disgrace, but I had fun!

I rode with Yankee Jack. A trip!

We played with Phil and a new guy, Tim.

Yankee, Phil and Tim are all better golfers than me. Every one is! They gave me a stroke a hole, except on the 3s. Did not help much. I lost $10!

I spent the afternoon at home doing paper work.

Last night I went to Aqua to hear Bobby Nesbitt. He leaves this morning for Tahiti and Bora Bora. He and Bruce Moore. Remember that cruise they went on a couple of months ago. It was a gig. They sang in one of the small rooms. The same cruise line has invited them back to sing in the main room! No surprise! These guys are terrific, whether singing alone or together!

I then went down to the Keys Piano Bar. I made a mistake in yesterday’s blog. Donna and Terri do not leave for New York till tomorrow.

This Terri is one fantastic singer! We were sitting at the bar quietly talking. The piano player was a for real piano player. He was into some heavy stuff.

All of a sudden he was playing West Side Story. Maria! Terri turned from me and joined in from her seat. You have to hear her sing Maria! Gave me goose bumps!

Then across the street to La Te Da for dinner. A light one.

I ate at the bar outside.

Tonto and Dawn were bartending.

Tonto is a female who has been bartending here in Key West for years. A charmer! She and her partner Mandy make a terrific couple. I like Mandy also. She’s into money and mortgages. A knowledgable woman!

Last night was the first time I met Dawn. Another lovely person! Turns out Dawn has just returned to Key West after a 10 year hiatus. Dawn spent years working for the Rapisardi family. I bought my Key West home from the father Rapasardi. In fact, Mr. Rapisardi built the home I now live in. The son Sal is one of the finest businessmen I have ever met. An MIT graduate, he made his fortune in gay hotels, bars and restaurants in Key West. From engineering to a particular phase of hospitality lodging and entertainment. The man possesed the talent to recognize a needy and growing market!

The Rapasardis are long gone from Key West. Dawn told me Sal is now in West Palm Beach.

Dinner was terrific! The food at La Te Da sucked for a couple of years. But Alice is back! And she is cooking!

I had french onion soup and the tuna tartare appetizer. Both were outstanding, especially the tuna tartare. Tasty and just enough!

I am back into a good health kick! My annual physical was OK. However I had a few negatives. My triglycirides are up. Not bad, but up. A new problem. My iron is down. Also, a new problem. And my weight is a bit up. An old and continuing problem.

So time for healthy living again! The only problem is I thought I was living healthy.

Triglycirides up means too much sugar and alcohol. Since I am not into sweets or desserts, it has to be the gin. So I am cutting back to 2 drinks a day. Not easy in Key West.

The low iron score surprised me! I eat fish every day. It is fresh and good here in the keys. I have become a half assed vegetarian in the process. I have steak about 2 times a year.

The message from the doctor is eat at least one steak every 2 weeks. Also start eating spinach. So Popeye I shall become!

The weight isn’t bad. Ten pounds in a year. It is always 10 pounds!

I used to walk briskly for exercise every day. I stopped a few months ago. I start again this morning.

There was no sense in staying out after dinner at La Te Da last night. I had already consumed my 2 gins. The first at Aqua and the second with dinner. I had a diet coke at the Keys, being the good boy that I am!

So it was home to bed and a good nights sleep. It also gave me the opportunity to watch Syracuse win its first game in the Big East tournamment in New York!

This morning Lori cuts my hair! Always an event! Ho, ho, ho!