Good morning world!

It is sunny and humid. Very humid! True Key West summer weather.

I graduated from Manhattan College. Manhattan grads are known as Jaspers. After a Christian brother named Jasper who early taught at the College.

There is a blogger out there in cyber space by the name of Jasper fjohn68. No mistake. That is his e mail name. He is a Manhattan College graduate also.

He is a conservative at heart. Perhaps more. His writings suggest he is far to the right. Nothing wrong with that. I tend to be a bit to the left on occasion. Actually, most of the time.

Jasper John, as I shall call him, will comment on my blogs on those rare occasions when I take a political position or make a leftist comment. His written reaction to whatever I may have said is to knock me on my ass! He is not gentle in his retort!

I do not mind. At least he is reading me. And I love controversey involving an exchange of ideas.

I doubted Jasper John had a sense of humor. I viewed him as a bit of a stiff ass.

I was wrong.

Jasper John commented on yesterday’s blog. With a joke! A golf joke. And it was funny! Left me laughing!

Jasper John beware! We are becoming friends!

I walked Duval yesterday for exercise. Quiet. Really quiet. The off season.

I continue to be amazed at the number of new ice scream and gelato stores. There must be a lot of money in selling these items. They are located where the rents are $10,000 to $25,000 per month.

Spent some time at Borders. Read chapters from two books. One had to do with saving a marriage. Good time for me to read it! After the divorce!

Had to grocery shop. Company coming. Donna and Terri. A different selection of foods purchased when one has company.

Donna and Terri had already arrived by the time I got home. We sat in the kitchen and caught up for about two hours.

Then it was nap time for me.

Donna and Terri were off to a birthday dinner for Lynda Frechette. I was not invitedf. For shame whoever put it together!

I decided to stay in and work on friday’s radio show. Spent about 4 hours working away. Not done yet. But getting there. It will be good!

Topics will include American soldier suicides in the Afghanistan and Iraqi Wars, recently announced deep water drilling off the coast of Cuba, Argentina’s approval of same sex marriage, Washington weird dumb lawes, Australia’s denial of an extradition request by Hungary of a Nazi war criminal, the Holland v. Florida U.S. Supreme Court decision, the weird court lawsuit of the week involving Massachusetts, and more.

I was tired when I finished. So it was off to bed and sleep.

Golf this morning. It may only be Yankee Jack and me. The group slims down in the summer. People leave for the summer. Others take vacations. If just Yankee and me, I will play him straight up. No strokes. Time to test my new abilities on the golf course. Yankee generally gives me 18 strokes. I have to find out if I can play as well as I think I can.

Enjoy your day!

Big day today!

Donna and Terri arrive to spend some time with me. Key West awaits them! They are both lovable and loving. We are all anxious to hear about Terri’s pending Broadway plans. She just finished 3 months in the hit Chicago as Matron Mama Morton.

Lynda Frechette is back in town! For her birthday! Happy birthday Lynda!

Lynda is one of Key West’s most dynamic individuals.

Today is historically significant. However, from the sparsity of news concerning the event, it would appear America has forgotten.

There are important events to be remembered. Never to be forgotten.

One is man landing on the moon.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did just that 41 years ago today. July 20, 1969. Sometime after 10 in the evening upstate New York time. I remember.

I considered at the time and still do man’s landing on the moon the most colossal event of my life. Imagine. Two men getting in a space ship and flying 240,000 miles to the moon. Safely landing there. Then walking around on the moon’s surface. And finally being able to safely return to earth.

A WOW without comparison!

I wanted my four children to see and remember the event the rest of their lives. They were small at the time. I got them up out of their sleep and beds and brought them downstairs to our family room. I explained what was occurring on TV. Good luck! They soon fell asleep! I recall Lisa being the first to drop off. She was all of 6 at the time.

To this day, none of them recall Daddy waking them up or watching the event.

I tried.

Played golf yesterday. With Larry, Mark, Mike and Chuck.

I am still hitting the ball well. Pitching terrific, also. I am hitting some great shots from 130 yards and in. However I have yet to select the correct club. I am always a club too long or a club too short. This will remedy itself in due course. Then, watch out!

Lost $6. Not bad.

This blog appears here and on Facebook. I would like to expand its readership to Twitter. I am not computer literate. Lisa is doing it for me. I spent a couple of hours with her yesterday afternoon working on it. Hopefully by the end of today, Key West Lou will be available through Twitter also.

Lisa did accomplish one thing for me. I could never figure out how to put my picture on Facebook. Lisa hit a few keys and voila! There I was!

It is a generational thing. My lack of mechanical ability.

I ate in last night. I was exhausted from golf. It was a mistake.

While grocery shopping over the weekend, I bought a package of Oreos. First time in 30 years! I do not eat Oreos.

Last night I did! About 15 in one sitting! Good! Bad! I will never buy them again! I have a hard enough time controlling my weight as it is.

Today is the start of Hemingway Days here in Key West. It is an annual event. Hemingway look alikes invade Key West. A contest. One will be declared winner. A big deal!

A tough decision. Each looks just like Hemingway! White beard and all!

Enjoy your day!

Up early this morning!

Going to play golf with Larry Smith and the monday morning gang.

Sun just rising. From where I am sitting on the deck, I can see black clouds and pink covered clouds. We are into the rainy season. May rain today. No, will rain. However I hope it does not rain on me while I am playing golf.

Solares Hill is a terrific weekly that is published every Sunday. Yesterday’s Solares Hill had a quote by Ernest Hemingwway. “I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”

Wish that was the case! I still carry my Catholic guilt around with me. Catholic grammar school, high school and college. Everything I experienced that made me feel good was bad. Subject matter for the confessional. Still the same on occasion. Our upbringings never leave us.

Love Hemingway! However…..his quote was a white wash for his occasional not so correct living.

There goes my Catholic upbringing again! And judgmental besides! A terrible thing!

I spent yesterday morning in bed enjoying the Sunday morning talk shows.

Lunched at Hogfish. For about 2 hours. Took my time. Read the Sunday papers.

A good crowd. Mostly locals. Many families. Enjoying an easy Sunday.

In between caught the finish of the British Open. This young guy who won is made for life! Good for him! Oh, the million dollars of endorsements he will sign this week! It is good to see success befall a person.

Dinner with Lisa and the family last night. Pizza and fajitas. A good meal!

Always fun to be with the grandchildren. They practiced putting on the living room carpet for about an hour after dinner. I am impressed by their control. They are developing well. This week I plan on taking them to the golf course to play 2 holes. They are more excited about riding in the cart than playing.

I came home to some house work. I have company arriving Tuesday. Donna and Terri. They are not sure how long they will be staying. I had a voice message saying”…we are staying forever!” Whatever! I do not mind. Love them both.

Just my luck! I have two terrific women staying with me. I am now single and eligible. And they are both lesbians! Recently legally joined in a same sex marriage in Milford, Connecticut.

Enjoy your day!

Sunday!

Layed in bed a while longer than usual. Good to do.

Took a walk along Smather’s Beach yesterday morning. A perfect breeze coming in off the ocean from the northeast.

A late lunch at Harpoon Harrys. Really late. I was the only one there. Stayed a while reading the local papers.

Then to the Coffeee House. I was looking forward to the New York Times. Too late. All newspapers gone, except for one copy of the New York Post. Better than nothing. We all need a far right infusion on occasion.

I ended up spending two hours at the Coffee House. Met a nice lady. Annie.

It was a day of two Annies for me. I had watched the musical Annie, better known as Orphan Annie, on the Turner channel earlier in the morning. Now I meet this very charming person.

Annie came over and asked if she could sit in the green wing back chair next to me. Of course.

She was not hustling me. She obviously had been there before and knew how comfortable the chairs were.

We started chatting and did so for the next two hours. Stimulating conversation.

Annie was reluctant to share her age with me. A female thing. I would peg her somewhere in her 50s.

Medium height. Very thin. Pale.

She is naturally thin. Told her I hated her. I had to watch everything I ate.

Fair skinned because she stays out of the sun. A common thing. Many women do.

She is a New Yorker. Lives in the Village. Works at Lincoln Center. Has worked there for many a year. Does all sorts of things. Plus occasionally a bit of acting.

We covered the world and its many ills and pleasures. She seemed to be taken with Miami Beach. Her present interest was the Mel Gibson problem . She asked what I thought. I said the Bible covers it. Judge not lest ye be judged.

She has spent the last several summers in Key West. Two months each time. July and August. Her brother owns a home just off White Street on Ash. She prefers the summers in Key West. Fewer people, cheap menus, etc. Plus she did not find the weather offensive. The constant cool breeze off the ocean made the heat tolerable.

Annie seemed to be quiet by nature. I had to draw her out into conversation. She enjoyed our give and take. I enjoyed her.

Perhaps we shall meet again at the Coffee House.

I left the Cofffee House and wanted to hook up with Lisa and the family. I telephoned Lisa. No answer on her cell. I went over to Higgs Beach on the chance they might be there. They were not.

As I turned into Key Haven on the way home, my cell rang. It was Lisa. They had just pased me in the opposite direction. I did not see them. They had been at my house swimming.

I spent the evening home. I had groceries which had been purchased the night before. Made myself a light dinner and went to bed. Watched old movies on TV. Fell asleep.

I was in a deep sleep. My cell phone rang. It was an effort to answer the phone. Forget answering it, I had trouble finding the phone in my groggy condition.

It was a friend from New York. She was drunk and depressed. Wanted to talk. Share her problems with me. At 2 in the morning! A good guy I am. But this was too much!

I listened for about 10 minutes. Just listened. Grunted occasionally so she knew I was there. Then told her I had heard enough. I needed my sleep. We would talk again in a year. It was a year ago we last talked. That is the time between her calls.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Yesterday was a weird one! One of those days where everything seemed a bit out of whack.

My radio show was scheduled for 10 in the morning. I pulled out of the garage at 9:30 for the 15 minute drive to the station. Car backed out strangely. I had a flat!

I telephoned Lisa at work in Key West. Need a ride! Ok! She rushed out to get me.

On the way into Key West there was a police car behind us all the way on US 1. Lisa decided to take Flagler when she hit Key West. The police car followed us. It was as if the Officer knew we wanted to speed.

I got to the radio station with 2 minutes to spare. Rushed in, put on the head phones and got ready.

Six minutes into the Key West Lou Legal Hour, station owner Guy deBoer came running in. You are not on the air! I forgot to press the button so everyone could hear me!

So I had to apologize and start all over. What the hell! I told everyone about my flat, rushing and what have you!

In spite of its tardy beginning, I believe yesterdy’s radio show was the best ever. The topics were fresh, today and hit home.

Comments afterward supported my thinking.

I talked first about the economy. Unquestionably a problem. I started with Thomas Paine’s “…These are the times that try men’s souls.” Talked about Wall Street vs. Main Street. Threw in advice my grandfather used to give me to the effect that “…when there are money problems, love and happiness go out the window.”

Some other topics found interesting included the dumb lawsuit of the week. It involved a woman in Brazil in 2005 who sued her lover for failing to give her an orgasm. The Judge properly threw the case out of court.

I talked about the death by stoning penalty imposed on a woman in Iran for having commmitted adultery and the burqa ban in France.

And more. Thanks for listening and watching.

After the show, Larry visited the studio. Larry, Guy, Jenna and I talked about the previous night’s variety show at Bottle Cap. It was a good discussion. We challanged ourselves, were critical of various aspects of the show and so forth. Good will come from the meeting. We go live for the first time on wednesday August 18 at 9 pm. Live from the Bottle Cap. And will continue each week at that time and place.

This week celebrates Mel Fisher Days.

Mel Fisher discovered the Atochia 25 years ago with all its gold and jewels. Changed his life and many other lives. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

The 200 block of Duval was cordoned off. Games, drinks and eats. Lots of people. A stage at one end in front of Sloppy Joe’s. It was party time!

I got there around 7. I was to meet the family. Found them sitting on a curb across from Sloppy Joe’s. They had already been there an hour.

I decided to give Lisa and Corey a break. I took Robert and Ally and we walked the area. One in each hand.

It was fun to be with them! They found the sights exciting! It was discovery time for them.

There was a pirate. With a parrot on his shoulder. And a real peg leg. Robert knew he was not not for real. Ally thought he was. She was pulling back on my hand.

Then there was Uncle Sam on stilts. He stood about 8 feet tall. Both grandkids were impressed. They could not comprehend my explanation regarding the stilts. They were hidden under his pant legs.

The best was a show in front of the Bull. A woman sitting on top of a huge barrel of water. In her bathing suit, of course. The idea was to throw balls and hit a huge black button. That would cause the woman to fall into the water.

Robert and Ally understood the concept. We waited like forever. Really about 15 minutes. No one could hit the black button so we never saw the woman take a bath.

My friend Howard Livingston was performing on the street stage. We worked our way up front to watch him. What a talent! From Chicago industrialist to premier beachcomer entertainer!

I had it by that time. Gave the grandkids back to their parents and left.

I went over to the Chart Room. A disaster! It was closed! Sign on the door said closed for the evening.

I have never known the Chart Room to be closed! A first! Turned out whoever was to bartend had called in sick and no one could be found to help.

I felt like I had nothing to do. No friends. No place to be. What was I to do? Where was I to go?

I ended up at the Sports Page Bar having a sandwich and reading the newspapers.

Robert was bartending. A nice guy. About 50. We have become friends over the past several months. Robert now lives with Kurt in Key Haven. I live in Key Haven also.

I told Robert he looked thinner. He was. About 20 pounds. Said it happened since he moved in with Kurt. Robert rides his bike to work and back each day.

Big!

Key Haven is 2.5 miles outside of Key West. Then it is another 2.5 miles to the Sports Page Bar. That is 5 miles. Each way. Every day.

Maybe I should give up my car and start riding a bike!

On the way home I decided to stop into Publix. The cupboard was bare again. Really bare. I was down to one huge tomato and a loaf of whole wheat bread the past 3 days. My lunch each day was a tomato sandwich.

Love grocery shopping here in Key West! Never did it in my other life. Would not be seen dead in a super market!

Grocery shopping in the keys is a social thing. I see my friends. Make new friends.

I feel a need to pontificate a bit. I may offend some. Such is life. We all have our own opinions and should feel free to express them. We can still disagree and remain friends.

These wars we are in take too long and are too costly.

We should never have invaded Irag. Afghanistan is now our longest war. Ten years.

Lives and money are being wasted.

No one, including the United States, is ever going to tame Afghanistan. These are tribal peoples fighting from mountain caves. They bankrupted the Russians. Will do it to us also if we continue too long. We have already contiunued too long from my perspective.

We do not fight wars as we used to. My belief is that the people of a nation as well as their armies and leaders must suffer. If a people support a despot, then inflict death, injury and damage upon them also. This being careful not to injure the citizenry does not make sense to me. It is the people of a nation that put their leaders in office and/or support them. They should pay as well and also be placed in a frame of mind where they will seek the downfall of their despotic leaders.

That is how World War II was fought. Only after Truman gave a go to the atomic bomb and destroyed two cities and their populations, did the Japanese surrender. And my recollection of Germany at the end of the war reflected a totally destroyed nation and people.

Our enemies are not as thoughtful as us. Look what they did on 9/11. Three thousand dead!

I am all for getting Bin Laden. Do it covertly. What ever happened to a CIA type involvement that quietly goes into a country in the dead of night and kills an enemy?

Which brings me to a final point.

Yesterday’s USA Today had an article on Army suicides. Our Army. The U.S. Army.

Thirty two American soldiers committed suicide in the month of June. The highest number ever! And that made for a total of 65 for the year so far.

Our guys are killing themselves!

Probably because we keep sending them back to the fighting. Many are doing their 3rd and 4th tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How much can they be expected to take?

I was surprised to read also that this is an ongoing problem. So much so that the Army has an Army Suicide Prevention Task Force headed up by a Colonel.

All food for thought.

Enjoy your day!

Good morning!

The rainy season is upon us. It has rained off and on the past few days. Looks like it is going to rain today. After a while the rain sets into a pattern,. It rains for 5 minutes every day at 1 in the afternoon.

Last night was a blast! Different! We did a test run of the new Larry Smith variety show. When the loose ends are tied together, it will be featured on KONK 1500 AM and ustreamed also.

The show will emenate from the Bottle Cap. A perfect setting.

When I arrived about an hour before the show, the place was in turmoil. Wires hanging all over the place. People moving things around on the stage. Turmoil! Organized, however.

By 9 everything was in place and the show began.

All in all, I thought it was pretty good. Needs more work. But that was the purpose of last night’s run through. To show us the weak spots.

A big cast. Larry, Jenna, Gigi, Alex, Dr. Covan, Clayton, Adare, Kathleen, Christine, Mary and I can’t recall who else. Probably left someone out. Oh yes, me!

The singing was terrific. Over the Rainbow, Drive me Daddy, Go Lassie Go and Amazing Grace. Amazing Grace had to be the hit of the evening!

I did some weird laws of Florida and discussed the history behind Amazing Grace.

The show is off and running!

Carmello runs a great venue. Bottle Cap. I will be stoppoing there occasionally from now on.

Jill Jarvis came up to me after the show. A lovely young lady. Asked if I were Key West Lou. Yes, I am.

Turns out Jill is a KONK 1500 groupie from Minneapolis. Listens to the show over the internet. Reads my blog daily and listens to the Legal Hour also.

Jill is at the tail end of a two week vacation. Plans on returning. Works at group homes for the mentally disabled back in Minneapolis.

Also met Pamela Newton. Charming. Interesting. A psychiatric nurse here in Key West. Pamela has a sense of humor. She did an impromtu skit with our psychologist friend, Dr. Fred Covan.

The Key West Lou Legal Hour this morning on radio! Listen in! At 10 am. KONK 1500 AM. Watch and listen worldwide at www.ustream.com. Bring up the site and type in KONK. and there I will be!

A great show this morning! Covers a multitude of world sins! One of the most interesting shows I will have done!

Rita from South Africa e mailed me this morning. Wished me good luck with today’s radio show. Thank you, Rita.

Mel Fisher Museum is celebrating the discovery of the Atochia 25 years ago. A big weekend!

Son in law Corey is Director of Archeology at Mel Fisher.

Tonight the streets around Sloppy Joe’s will be blocked off. There will be a street celebration. Howard Livingston will be peforming. My grandkids Robbert and Ally will be there. And daughter Lisa. And so will Poppa!

Come out and have fun with us!

Enjoy your day!

Good morning!

It is around 8 in the morning. I am sitting on my deck over looking the water while doing the blog this morning.

God is good!

Radio show tomorrow morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour.

I have been unavailable the past two weeks. My shows have been reruns. Tomorrow I am back live.

Listen in! Watch! A great show!

Going to discuss things like the failure of the bare breast confrontation in Key West, Illinois new law requiring testing of all rape kits, restrictions on the right to pray in the military, the delayed stoning of an Iranian woman, Dr. Mudd revisited, a decision by Great Britain providing asylum for gay people facing prosecution in their home countries, a federal court decision protecting free speech, the first Guantanamo detainee to face trial in a U.S. civilian court, a gay mariage litigation update, France’s burqa ban, legislation saving Wall Street while Main Street is dying, and more. The more of course includes the weird dumb laws of a particular state and the weird dumb lawsuit of the week.

Much on the plate! A lot to be discussed. A swift moving hard hitting program.

Listen in at KONK 1500 AM radio. Watch and listen on the internet world wide at http://www.ustream.com/. Just go to ustream and type in KONK.

Golf was terrific yesterday! I am killing the ball! Never have I hit it better. Even my pitch shots to the green. Putting still a problem. However it was better yesterday.

I played with Larry and Yankee Jack. I was the big winner. All of $2! Cost me $7 for drinks. I could care less.

We ran into a scramble tournament and were delayed. So we replayed 2 holes. Fritz joined us for those two holes. Fritz plays and sings evenings at the Ocean Key Pier at sunset. He is an excellent golfer. Shoots in the 70s.

The conversation centered on Evan. Evan is an eight grader here in Key West. He also is an extremely fine golfer. Probably has a professional future. But he is still young. About 13 years old.

He played with Fritz the other day. Evan bogeyed the first hole and ended up shooting a 67. That’s WOW golf!

Larry said he used to play with Evan a couple of years ago. Larry generally shoots in the 80s. Evan would give Larry a stroke a hole and beat him.

The Tiger Woods of tomorrow lives in Key West!

I stopped in the Chart Room last night. I was the only customer. Just me and Susan. Susan is the new bartender. She has been there about two months.

Susan is from South Carolina. A charming individual. She came down to Key West for 2 nights New Years Eve. Was so impressed with the island, she stayed two weeks. Then went home, closed down her life there and returned to Key West.

Welcome Susan! You are a pleasant addition to our island!

I dined alone last night. At the bar at Outback. It was quiet. Read the papers. Greg and Kristen working.

Greg is a good guy. We have become friends. He was also working lunches at the Shrimp Shack on Stock Island. He sadly advised me the Shrimp Shack has closed. Maybe for good. I thought perhaps just for the summer. Turns out the fresh fish store in front moved across the bay. The Shrimp Shack was not part of the retail store. Ergo, it had to close.

A good eating place down the tubes.

Lisa telephoned last night all excited. Her internet department store Via Key West http://www.viakeywest.com/ is having a big week. The two big sellers are the Key West bunt cake and books about Key West. And Yankee Jack CDs.

Go Lisa!

Enjoy your day!

I am back to normal.

My upstairs air conditioning is fixed. It was a pleasure sleeping in bed instead of on the couch last night. Son in law Corey fixed my computer. We have become a totally dependent society where computers are concerned. To be without one is a calamity.

My morning yesterday started with a haircut. Lori time! Always good to be with her. Her personality is as lovely as she is.

She greeted me with a congratulations.What for? Your divorced. Turns out she was divorced 14 years ago. She told me it was the start of a new life for her and would be for me. I hope so.

Then to the Coffee House. I love the place! There is nothing like sitting in a green leather wing back, sipping coffee and reading the New York Times.

I have been following the case of the Iranian woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. The one who was sentenced to death for having committed adultery with two men. The incidents occurred some time after her huband had died.

Death was by stoning.

Ms. Ashtiani was to be buried up to her neck and then stoned by a group of men.

These people are nuts!

And they are in the process of developing nuclear weapons!

Because of the hue and cry of other nations, civilized ones, the Iranian government decided not to stone her. They are contemplating a more humane ending for her. Perhaps by hanging.

I am going to chat a bit about this case during my radio show The Key West Lou Legal Hour on friday. KONK 1500 AM. On the internet to be seen and heard world wide at http://www.ustream.com/.

George Steinbrenner died yesterday. The former owner of the New York Yankees. A dynamic figure.

I had the privilege of meeting Steinbrenner once. About 20 years ago. I had a client who was doing business with him. We met with Steinbrenner and his lawyers in New York City. Business was done and Steinbrenner said lets go to the ball game.

It was a limousine to Yankee Stadium. Dinner at a special Yankee dining room in the stadium. Then we all watched the game from Steinbrenner’s private box.

I am not particularly a baseball fan. Prefer basketball and football. However the game under the circumstances was a tremendous experience for me. The thing I remember most were the hot dogs. Those served in the box were the best I have ever eaten.

Now, from hot dogs to hamburgers.

Dinner last night was at MacDonalds.

It was Corey’s first full day home in 10 days. The grandkids wanted to celebrate by going to MacDonalds.

I joined them.

We consumed thousands of calories. All for $24.

Robert and Ally were thrilled. Especially with those kiddie bags. They are like the Cracker Jack boxes of old. Come with small toys and games. The MacDonalds deal seems better. You get a lot more toys and games.

As we were leaving MacDonalds, I thought how lucky we were to be dining at the only MacDonalds in the world situated on the ocean. There is MacDonalds, the Boulevard and the wide expanse of the Gulf. All for the price of a hamburger! An only in America thing! No, only in Key West!

Remember my friends Cindy and Tom of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am enamoured with Cindy. She has had several cancer surgeries, lost one leg and one breast to the disease and most recently broke her arm getting out of a boat.

Tom is now hospitalized with a heart problem. Aortic valve and a bleeding situation. Inconsistent problems. But that is their illness pattern.

Some of you know Cindy and Tom. They winter here in Key West.

I am confident Tom will be ok. It seems to be the nature of this couple. One tragedy after another. Yet they hang in there. And continue to have a positive outlook on life.

Golf again today. Twice this week. I am anxious to play again. I love hitting the ball long off the tee. Hopefully I may drop a putt or two today to go with it.

Enjoy your day!

Good morning!

I am writing today’s blog late. My computer still on the blink. I am at Lisa’s using hers.

Golf yesterday was terrific! I am hitting the ball! Long off the tee!

I played with Larry Smith. I even out drove him on occasion. And he hits the ball real long!

My short game sucked. My putting was non existent. I did not drop one putt yesterday. But I am happy. It will all come around. The golfer’s dream!

I played with the monday group. Larry, Chuck, Mark and Mike. All good guys. All good golfers.

I only lost $2.

Sunday I got a manicure. Tammy is my manicurist. She is a young Vietnamese lady. Married to a Vietnamese gentleman. They have 2 young children. Three and younger.

Tammy came to the United States 8 years ago. She went to work as a manicurist. Met her husband at her place of employment. They married.

Last year Tammy and her husband bought the business. They work hard at it. Employ many people. Stay open 7 days a week.

They have become Americanized. The proof of the pudding was sunday when Tammy told me she now has a live in nanny to watch the kids.

Only in America!

Corey has been away for 10 days. Up in Key Largo. Diving to find artifacts and perhaps bodies from the slave ship Guerrero. The Guerrero went down in 1827 near what is presently Key Largo.

Corey returned last night. He is black. From diving for 10 days. The water was not deep where the ship went down. Only 10-12 feet. So the sun was constantly on him.

He described the wreck as an unlikely one. Parts of the boat were strewn several hundred feet in every direction. No actual large boat parts remained. Only small remnants. Like nails, ballasts, pieces of pottery, glass bottles, a piece of wood from the ship itself and cannonballs.

No bodies. No bones.

A British ship had been pursuing the Guerrero. The British ship got stuck on a reef. In order to get off the reef, it threw many things overboard to lighten the ship. Corey said they also found some items from the British ship.

My evening started at the Chart Room last night. Che, Captain Peter and Michael in attendance. And others.

Che is a student of history. We spent well over an hour discussing all sorts of historical matter. Che knows his stuff!

Then it was to La Trattoria for me. Glad I went.

Jean Thornton was there. With Gail Miller.

Jean is one of the golden girls. She is from Indiana. About 15 years ago she was vacationing in Key West and dove with Mel Fisher himself. She personally discovered gold and emeralds on her dive.

Changed her life! Now she spends as much time as possible here diving.

A terrific woman! One of the best! I am happy to call her friend. And lest I forget, Gail is a good person too and I am pleased to have her as a friend also.

They both jumped up and hugged and kissed me when I arrived at La Trattoria. We ate at the bar and had a terrific time. Kathy was bartending. Always good to see her.

Met a new lady last night. Gallo. Kathy introduced me. Gallo already knew Jean and Gail.

Becha was there, of course. A kiss and a hug. Jean told her to marry me. Not a bad idea. I am joking, of course. Well, maybe not. Ho, ho.

My upstairs air conditioning went late yesterday afternoon. No help available till this morning. Hope they are at my home now.

It was a boiler room upstairs. I slept downstairs in the parlor on a couch last night. Not the same as a bed. But better than the intolerable heat upstairs.

Enjoy your day!

I am writing from Lisa’s home.

For years she would not trust me to baby sit. Said my attention factor was lacking. Now the story is different. I have them all the time! Either her need has become desperate or I have proven myself.

I think it is a bit of each.

I have to take the grandkids to summer camp at Montessori. Lisa has to be at work early. Corey is working up at Key Largo. So it is Poppa time! I had to be here at 6:30 am.

The drive in was delightful. The sun rising. Shining on the house boats and boats along the boulevard.

A sight to be seen only if one lives on an island.

Yesterday started with breakfast with Lisa and the grandkids. At Harpoon Harry’s. First time there for Robert and Ally. They liked it.

Robert had to pee. I took him to the men’s room. Occupied.The door locked. I took Robert back to Lisa and said take him to the ladies’ room. They went. Came back. Lisa said he would not go. Robert told her he was a boy and boys did not use the girl’s room.

Robert is becoming a man. He is all of 6 years old.

Later in the day we all went to the beach. Higgs Beach. Very few people. I like it that way.

I took a noodle with me. Went out a ways, put it under my arms and floated for a while.Then to my sand chair to read.

The sun was a killer if you were out of the water. So I bid the family adieu and left.

It was home and a shower. And then a nap on cool sheets.

Yesterday turned out to be family day all around. I did not want to leave Lisa alone with Corey gone. So I joined Lisa and the grandkids for dinner.

Lisa made a pizza. Almost from scratch. She buys bread dough and tosses it around. And works the pizza up from there.

The pizza was good! We ate and laughed. Robert and Ally are funny.

Then a treat! To celebrate my return.

Ice cream at Dairy Queen.

I do what the grandkids do. They had swirl on cones with sprinkles. So did I. Wow! Terrific! What a way to live!

I left them afterward and headed home. Early to bed and sleep. The sun had knocked me out.

After I drop them off at Montessori summer camp this morning, I will be heading for the golf course. Playing with Larry Smith and the monday morning crowd. Whoever they may be. It has been two weeks since I have played. I am anxious to hit the ball. I have a feeling I will play well this morning.

Enjoy your day!