A NOTHING DAY

I appreciate that most of you read this blog to share with me what I did the day before. You have to understand that there are days I never leave the house. Like everyone else.

Yesterday was one of those days.

It was lovely till around supper time. Then the weather changed. I sat at my kitchen table most of the day chopping away at the computer. I was working on one of the chapters that will be part of my next book Growing Up Italian. It had to do with how my grandmother colored Easter eggs for us.

I started getting ready for booce at 5:30. Since I was scheduled to play the third game, I did not hurry. I did not have to be at the bocce courts on time for the first game. As I was getting ready to leave around 6:30, the weather changed. Dramatically. As it frequently does. The sky darkened, thunder and lightning, and then rain like hell!

I telephoned Don at the bocce courts. Before I could even say a word he said…..Stay home! He said the rain was so bad everyone was crowded under the pavilion.

No problem at my end. By nature, I am lazy. I hauled myself off to bed and spent the evening enjoying television.

The weather is overcast and a bit cool this morning. There is a cold wind off the ocean. My home is on open water. I feel the chill. Actually, it is 68 degrees. High will be 72. Probably rain.

Dinner tonight with The Key West Shoe Girl Stephanie Kaple. Should be fun. Stephanie is very much a today woman. I am from another generation. Conflict will permeate the table talk.

Tomorrow, Syracuse basketball. This time Virginia. A major game against a ranked rival. Vegas has lost faith in Syracuse. My team is a 10.5 point underdog.

Like Porky Pig would say at the end of his  cartoons of old…..That’s all folks!

Enjoy your day!

FUDDRUCKERS

A lot of miscellaneous things  happened yesterday. I am going to take them in the order of their occurrence.

It took me a half hour to get from the Shell Station in Key Haven to Key West. Traffic was backed up all the way. I was fuming. My thought was the boulevard construction was really screwing things up. Turned out I was wrong. There was an accident at the Cow Key Bridge.

Speaking of the Cow Key Bridge, Sheila told me last night there is going to be a race/run over the Cow Key Bridge next month. For those less than athletic. The bridge is at best 500 feet long. I agreed to participate. I will walk, however.

I was heading to see Tammy. Manicure time. I enjoy her company. I admire and respect the business she and her husband have developed.

Lunch was at Azur. Exceptionally fine food. I should go more often. The man I had lunch with was interesting and entertaining. My age. We had many common things to talk about. When we left, we shook hands and expressed to each other how pleased we were to have met. We both felt a new friendship had been formed.

Five hours later, I discovered the man was not one to like. I found him to be duplicit, two faced, and a sneak. That bad!

Will Rogers used to say he never met a man he did not like. I would say that I had never met a person in Key West I did not like. Until yesterday.

Friends we will not be. His identity is immaterial. He has done one good thing. Provided me with a character to include in a future novel.

The Chart Room last night. Packed when I arrived. It was me and Sheila. Lovely Emily bartending. John came in later.

Sheila can only be described as a good person. Concerned for everyone. Honestly so.

Sheila became aware of a lost camera at The Little White House. A good sized one. The White House had had it for a week and no one came in to claim the camera. They let Sheila take it to see if she could discover the owner.

She pulled the picture card out of the camera and ran the film. She placed some of the pictures on Facebook and asked…..Do you know these people? Within one half hour, she had 14 replies. Everyone helpful. Who was going to run her message on other sites. One said a woman’s tee shirt in one of the pictures was from Fort Lauderdale. She was going to check with the store there.

Emily has become involved. Sheila and Emily are on a quest to discover the owner.

The beauty of Key West people! All except the one I discovered earlier that I did not like.

A major announcement. Sheila’s birthday is next tuesday. Forget her not! Monday is Charlotte’s birthday. Charlotte from the Carolinas. Her boy friend is Skip, radio 104.9’s premier announcer. A big party week in the making!

I have spoken well of the new Burger Fi. No more. My burger was great the first time I went. I returned three times, last night being the third. The last few burgers have been close to terrible. I will not be returning to Burger Fi.

Finally, to Fuddrukers. Twenty five to thirty years ago, I did Coconut Grove. It was my place before I discovered Key West. There was a great burger/steak sandwich place in Coconut Grove. Fuddruckers. Their steak sandwich to die for. On soft butter soaked bread. Screw the cholesterol time!

I have neither seen nor been to a Fuddruckers since. I learned yesterday a Fuddruckers is coming to Key West. Fantastic! Unless the quality of the beef has changed, it will be a winner! Interestingly, it is opening next door to Burger Fi.

So much for yesterday.

Bocce tonight. I look forward to playing. I am scheduled to play the third game. Last week, it was the first game. Scheduling. I hope we win the match. This is the third week of the season. We lost the first two weeks. None on the team can understand why. This is like the fourth consecutive season we have not been winners. We are good. No question about it. But whatever it takes to win, we lost. We keep searching for it.

Enjoy your day!

PURITY OF KEY WEST WEATHER

What a winter! Key West weather has been better than usual. Spectacular!

Today, the temperature will be in the low 80s by day and low 70s by night. The days are warm with a touch of humidity. The evenings cool. Sleep with the windows open type.

It is blissfully calm at the moment. Nothing moving. No breeze. The water and palm trees still. The sun shining brightly on the multicolored MTV house across the way.

Another bad night last night! The audio for my blog talk radio show. I was advised by several it was choppy again. The past two weeks were good. I thought we had the problem licked. Apparently not. Back to the drawing board!

Some parts of the show did get through clearly. Post show comments indicate the Sandy Hook story generated the most feedback. Many concerned.There are nuts out there that are saying Sandy Hook did not occur. It was a put up job by the government and media to get better gun legislation.

If so, where did those twenty angels buried in Sandy Hook cemeteries come from?

Bad people, demented people, abound in every society.

My day was simple. A meeting downtown in the morning. The rest of the day spent at home organizing last night’s show which did not go through well. A lasagna dinner at Roostica. The show.

I have been on police enforcement’s ass of late. I believe cops have gotten too mighty (in their minds) and have deviated from proper paths. The courts too are a bit off also in that they seem to support the police when the police step out of line.

Be that as it may, something happened in Chicago last week that warrants telling. A 13 year old boy had left school with about 15 of his classmates. Lots of snow. A police car was parked nearby with the window open. The officer seated inside. One of the kids threw a snowball at the car/officer. The officer claims it hit his arm. The 13 year old says it was not him and, in any event, the snowball did not hit the police officer. It hit the car.

The 13 year old has been charged with a felony: Aggravated battery to a police officer.

Come on! The charge is heavy handed. What happened to the police officer getting out of the car and admonishing the kids. Better to have put the fear of God in them rather than arrest one with such a serious charge.

The 13 year old has never been in trouble, is a good student, has never been arrested, and is not part of a Chicago gang.

Enjoy your day!

GREAT BLOG TALK RADIO SHOW TONIGHT!

Insanity rears its ugly head once more. The word now is that Sandy Hook never occurred. Just like the Holocaust never occurred. Military families on food stamps. $8.5 trillion (equal to half the national debt) missing/unexplained from Department of Defense and Pentagon budgets. Mega corporations receiving benefits under Farm Law need not be identified. Americans starting to push back against government. JP Morgan to lay off thousands more because their mortgage business has not returned.

These and other revealing topics will be discussed on my blog talk radio show this evening. You will enjoy! Nine o’clock. A quick half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Last night was Syracuse basketball again. I am becoming exasperated. I do not understand. Syracuse is an excellent team. The announcers mentioned several times that Syracuse would be a #1 seed in the big tournament. Yet Syracuse had to play hard with their fingers crossed the last few minutes of the game last night against Maryland. Syracuse won 57-55. Maryland is not ranked and had lost 12 games going into the fray.

Syracuse was leading at one point  in the first half by 11. With six minutes to go in the game, Syracuse was up by 11 once more.

This has not been an easy season for Syracuse nor me nor Syracuse’s many other fans. Please Lord, let Syracuse blow out the opposition in one of these games!

Saturday, it is Virginia. A top ranked team, also. Virginia has lost only 1 game in the ACC. Syracuse, 2. Without question, it will be a good game. Close.

It was 104.9 time at the Sports Pub where I watched the game. The radio team did not broadcast. They were at John Lukas’ place enjoying food, drink and the game.

Skip is 104.9’s premier talk show host. The best! You can catch him most evenings from 6-10. He brought his boss with him. The owner of 104.9. Stephen Butler.

An interesting figure. We talked a while. A self made man. Nationally, he owns six radio stations. He is involved in many other successful business ventures. Key West should be pleased he noted the value of our community and invested in it.

Word has it that Dollar Trees is going to open another Key West store in Habana Plaza on Flagler. I am going to complain. Habana Plaza is where Tammy has her business. It is where I get my manicures and pedicures. Parking has been tough since  City Hall moved into the Plaza. It is going to be impossible with Dollar Trees there.

There was a note in the Key West Citizen this morning that in 1913 the 16th amendment to the Constitution went into effect. The amendment gave Congress the right to levy income taxes.

The 16th amendment was not the first time the American people were confronted with an income tax. Lincoln had one imposed during the Civil War. He said he needed it to pay for the Civil War. After the war, the income tax was dropped.

I wish Bush 2 had found a way to increase taxes during the Iraqi War. He fought it, but did not pay for it. It is one of the reasons the national debt is so high.

My book The World Upside Down continues to be available for purchase. amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. If you enjoy this blog, my blog talk radio show,  and former TV show, you will enjoy the book. Buy it! If you did not, don’t waste your money.

Enjoy the day!

 

 

 

LEARNED AS CHILD, FORGOTTEN AS ADULT

Blog is being written late today. It is noon. Sorry. I had an early morning appointment in Key West which took up most of the morning.

Mandy Miles is a colorful writer. She pens a column each Sunday for the Key West Citizen. Front page. Always interesting.

Yesterday’s was titled Who In their Right Mind?

Mandy was at the corner of Duval and Caroline. Her car had the light. Someone walked against the light in front of her. Fortunately, Mandy was paying more attention than the pedestrian and no accident occurred.

Mandy was sufficiently upset to write the column mentioned. She referred to the walking wrongdoer as a color blind pedestrian.

I want to add my two cents to her comments.

What I am about to say pertains to locals and tourists alike. As adults they have forgotten the rules of the road they learned when young. Simple things. Like look before you cross.

Pedestrians forget there are cars on the road. As mentioned, they rarely look before crossing. Bicyclists are equally as bad. Guilty of all the same things as pedestrians, plus running stops signs and lights. Mopeds are guilty of everything. However, on a lesser scale.

Driving a car downtown can be a nerve wracking experience. I drove a cab in New York City while in college. It was a hell of a lot easier than driving Key West streets.

I rarely agree with Key West Citizen editorials. Yesterday, I did. The Citizen said it was time for America’s iron curtain to fall as regards Cuba. I have written and spoke recently to the same effect. Enough of the punishment. What happened was 50 years ago. It is time to end the embargo and travel restrictions.

I can understand the pain of the families who were forced to flee Cuba and who came to our shores penniless. That was two generations ago. The Cuban society succeeded. It is time to move on.

Bebe Rebozo. A name I have not heard in years. Bebe was President Nixon’s buddy. They traveled and fished together. Most of the time in south Florida.

I read this morning that Bebe bought a home in Key West some fifty years ago. An old conch house at 513 Whitehead Street.

Robert and Ally came over yesterday. To swim. The pool is not heated. It did not bother them. Ally wanted to go in the canal, also. Not yesterday. No one wanted to go in  with her.

It was close to the mid 80s yesterday and very humid. Great February weather! Jake looked like he could not handle the humidity. He stayed inside my air conditioned home with me. This was the first time Jake had been permitted to roam free in the house. He appeared hesitant to move about. Lisa carried him from room to room on the first floor acclimating Jake to the house. Everything was fine thereafter.

I had a dinner date tonight. Key West’s Shoe Girl Stephanie Kaple. I was unaware Syracuse was playing this evening. Called Stephanie to cancel. This is the second time I have. She knew when she heard my voice that I was backing out. We have rescheduled for Wednesday evening.

Syracuse and Maryland at 7. At Maryland. We lost 2 games last week. We have lost a total of 2 games. Maryland has lost 12. Means nothing. Boston College that had lost 19 beat Syracuse earlier last week. I suspect/hope that Syracuse will be sufficiently aggravated over the losses and come out strong against Maryland.

I will be watching the game at John Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Pub.

Enjoy your day!

GO BOEHEIM!

Sometimes an event occurs which outshines all others which happened on the same day. An event which causes all others to fade in comparison.

Such occurred yesterday. Not the Syracuse/Duke game standing alone. Nor Syracuse’s defeat 66-60. It was Jim Boeheim going berserk with ten seconds to go in challenging a ref’s call.

I know Boeheim. I have watched him coach more than 30 years. I have played golf with him. We have had dinner together. He is not the expressive person we saw running around last night on the court. His conduct will be remembered for years to come.

I thought the referee’s call was a bum one. I have watched the video of it at least a dozen times. The defender was moving. Fair was already in motion. What was done was done, however. There was no way to rectify the call.

I am glad Boeheim blew up. Shows us the man does feel. He is not the ice cold coach many perceive him to be.

This whole situation is probably good for Syracuse. Syracuse lost two this week. The pressure of when are we going to lose is off Syracuse’s back. The team can go out and enjoy!

The thought has occurred to me since last night how terrific it would be if Syracuse and Duke could meet in the Final Four championship game. It would be a game of games!

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

GEIGER KEY

Bobby Mongelli owns Hogfish. Bobby Mongelli owns Roostica. Bobby Mongelli owns Geiger Key. The man is a genius! He deserves the success he is experiencing.

I lunched at Geiger Key yesterday. Keith is Bobby’s friend. Keith told me Geiger Key just got its liquor license. I had not been to Geiger Key in ten years. It will not be that long again.

The place is another Bobby Mongelli winner! A shack sitting on the edge of ocean  wetlands. A perfect site. Mongelli has expanded the seating considerably from what I recall ten years ago.

The food was the same as Hogfish. Exactly. Why change what works. I enjoyed fish and chips. Hogfish, of course.

The place is another Key West fun place. The people kept coming in. I could not believe the volume.

When I was last at Geiger Key ten years ago, I was with Howard Livingston. He was then a Chicago industrialist. Beardless, no mustache, no long hair. A conservative American!

We were both with our then wives. Time does bring changes. Howard has since divorced and remarried. To wonderful Cyndy. I too am divorced. Still alone, though.

We danced that night. Guess who was playing? Yankee Jack! His dog lying quietly in front of him.

Geiger Key is about ten miles up from Key West on US 1. There is a Shell station and large convenience store on the corner of Geiger Key Road. Take a right. About 1-2 miles down the road is the restaurant. About a 1,000 yards off the road. You will have to look for it.

I needed gas. I got it at the Shell station just mentioned. Explain the following to me. Regular was $3.70 a gallon at the Shell station at Key Haven. At the Shell station at Geiger Key Road, only $3.55. Ten miles made for a 15 cent difference? How we get ripped off!

Prior to going to Geiger Key, I took a ride on Stock Island. I was looking for the Stock Island Marina. Everyone is talking about it. Lovely! Terrific! Want to dock my boat there! All favorable comments.

I found the place way down on Shrimp Road. It was everything people had said. There are very few places on Stock Island that can be described as lovely. The marina is one of them.

I forgot yesterday to mention an interesting experience at bocce thursday night. I cut my index finger. By the nail. It kept bleeding. I did not have a band aid. I was drinking a Beefeater on the rocks. I stuck my finger in the cold gin. The bleeding stopped! Just like that! A new found cure! Additionally, my drink was now cranberry and gin. I threw it away, of course.

Matteo Renzi is the new Prime Minister of Italy. Latte resigned. Renzi was previously a mayor. He is 39. Renzi and Latte are of the same political party. Latte’s own party dumped him.

It will be interesting to see if Renzi can pick Italy up out of its economic doldrums.

A Milan friend wrote yesterday that American bonds are selling well in Italy. A recent thing. Italy is supposedly in recovery and is considered in some circles to be an emerging market. Another reason for the Italian investment is that South America is no longer considered a good place for one’s money.

I got into fracking yesterday afternoon. Spent several hours researching Florida and fracking. Fracking appears to be on the horizon. It is coming. Sooner to Florida than most think. Three counties are already doing it. Collier, Hendry, and Santa Rosa. Not yet Monroe.

I have a concern.

I am not opposed to fracking. We need cheap fuel, we need jobs. With appropriate safeguards, problems should be minimal. There will be problems. Nothing is without. The government has to strictly oversee and control the fracking.

My concern has to do with transparency. A bill recently came out of the Florida House’s Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee. The bill exempts from public disclosure the chemicals used in the fracking process. An immediate red flag! The public should be aware. Specify the toxins. Then all can make sure appropriate safeguards are put in place. To legislate silence is to tell Floridians that there is a problem and the government does not want you to know about it.

The people’s right to know continues getting kicked around.

Tonight, tonight…..Syracuse and Duke. At Duke. Seven o’clock. Should be a battle. It is a test of Syracuse, especially after Syracuse’s defeat this week at the hands of Boston College. I will be at Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Pub watching the game.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

BOCCE…..A SLOW START

I love bocce! Everyone that plays loves bocce! However, it can be frustrating at times!

We cannot seem to get it going. Last night was our team’s second week. We lost 2 and won 1 game. The same as last week. We are consistent, at the least. We play well, but do not win. Captain David is trying everything to find the correct mix that will lead to victory.

Maybe we do not drink enough. We play sober.

I had a haircut at 10 with Lori. Then it was over to the Plantation Coffee House for several hours. The realtor had called me to say he had several people to show the house to. Which meant I had to get out.

I took my computer and notes with me. I was at the Plantation Coffee House from 10:30 to 3 working. A pleasant atmosphere. Quiet. Food and drink readily accessible. Nice people occasionally saying hello or nodding hello. I wrote yesterday’s blog from there. Accomplished a lot of other work.

This morning’s Key West Citizen had a front page article on the Charles Eimers affair. Eimers was the Michigan tourist who was arrested on Thanksgiving Day and died several days later while still in police custody. State investigators were in Key West interviewing the police officers involved.

The Eimers matter deserves investigation. Eimers had 10 broken ribs and other injuries when he died. The question is when did the injuries occur and why. Time will tell.

Duke lost 74-66 to North cCrolina last night. Syracuse plays Duke tomorrow night at Duke. It has all the makings of a terrific game. Syracuse presently #1 and Duke #5. The game is at 7. I plan on watching it at Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Pub.

Yesterday tired me out even before bocce. I had to be up early and out of the house. Which meant I had to tidy the place up quickly for those coming to look at the house. The several hours spent at the Plantation Coffee House were intense. I never stopped

Today is going to be another story. Slow and easy. In a few minutes, a shower. Then some property I want to look at on Stock Island. A former club  is now a marina. I understand the marina is beautiful.

I plan on a quiet lunch at Hogfish. Outside in the shade with the newspapers. Tonight I am out! Where, I am not yet sure.

Enjoy your day!

VANQUISHED!

It had to happen. It did. Last night. Syracuse lost! Boston College won 62-59.

The irony of the whole thing is Syracuse was undefeated going into the game. Boston college had lost 19.

Syracuse did not play like #1 ranked team. Fair missed too many of his usually easy shots. Cooney rarely got the opportunity to shoot a 3. I think he made 2 out of 4 three point attempts.

Duke saturday night. Going to be a hell of a game if it is anything like the first one which Syracuse won 91-89.

I watched the game at Don’s Place. Plenty of support. David sat next to me to watch the game. Don, Jimmy, and Dougie were supportive during and after the game.

Visited my heart doctor yesterday afternoon. Nothing wrong. It was three month check up time.

My physician is Dr. Mc Ivor. I continue to be impressed with the Doctor and his staff.

Dr. Mc Ivor has moved his offices. Into the BB&T Building on Kennedy. A beautiful suite of offices! The medical equipment awesome!

This morning’s Key West Citizen reported a migrant windsurfed from Cuba to Key West. He landed on the Reach beach. It appears he left at 9 tuesday morning and arrived sometime wednesday morning.

Unfortunately, three started the trip. The other two appear to be lost. The Coast Guard is searching for them.

I admire the windsurfer. It took guts. His venture also crystallizes an issue. Lets get on with relations with Cuba. Yesterday is 50 years ago. I cannot blame the Cubans of that day for being pissed. But it cannot go on forever. Castro is out of power and probably will soon die. His brother Raul is not in the greatest of health.

I have a hair up my butt again. Involves banks once again. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

Venezuela is in turmoil. Protests/demonstrations daily. It is only a matter of time before the incompetent/inept President Maduro is out of power. A statement by President Obama suggests he supports the protestors. He recently said the United States condemned the violence of the Maduro government and the throwing out of Venezuela of three American diplomats. Maduro took the position the United States was supporting and perhaps supplying the rebels.

On my blog talk radio show this past tuesday, Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou, I set forth how certain American banks were attempting to make money out of the upheaval. Goldman Sachs wanted to loan the Maduro government $1.68 billion. Bank of America $3 billion

I referred to the banks as whores. My impression has not changed in the past 36 hours. The banks are working deals when a significant portion of the Venezuelan people are suffering under Maduro. To make it even more contemptuous, the banks are in apparent opposition to President Obama’s stand. The banks support Maduro, the President the protestors.

The banks should keep their noses out of what constitutes  the foreign affairs of the United States. They should not be acting in opposition to the President, whose position is the position.

The banks do not care about anything. Their lack of respect for the 99 per cent and the President in this circumstance is obvious. When they get too big for their britches, the mighty fall.

Enjoy your day!