JUDY WOOD MEMORIAL

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A pleasant afternoon yesterday. Lay in the shade by the pool. Read and snoozed.

First stop last night was the Tavern ‘n Town memorial event for Judy Wood. Two groups of people. Locals at the bar. Another group in the back of the dining room were special tables, food, photos, etc. had been set up. Knew none. I assume out of town family.

Bobby Nesbitt and Carmen Rodriquez singing. Bobby telling Judy stories.

I believe Judy was in her mid 60s at the end. Age has a way of adding pounds, sagging facial muscles, etc. My body is a wreck at 81.

Judy’s photos from another time shocked me. A knockout! Such a beautiful woman!

May she rest in peace.

Tavern ‘n Town was too crowded. Drove over to Outback for dinner. A small prime rib.

Then to bocce. Don’s Place was playing the Sons of Italy. Don’s Place won 2 and lost 1. The Sons of Italy played well. Don’s Place nowhere near well. Two of the games were close. Don’s Place won  the last game easily.

Don’s Place still in first place alone. The other two top teams lost 1 or 2 games.

Met Jerry. He plays for the Sons of Italy. Not Italian. One human family extends to bocce teams.

Jerry a former Navy reservist. Thereafter involved with two credit unions. Now, totally retired.

Love the guy! He reads this blog! Has been reading it! He asked if my name was Lou and did I write, etc. That is how we got started.

Syracuse/Boston College tomorrow. Boston College a 4.5 point favorite. My fingers are crossed.

Rick Pitino. Famous basketball coach. Successful at his work. Coaching at Louisville for the past 10 years or so. A winner!

Pitino and Jim Boeheim best of friends. Stood up for each other when married, godfather to each other’s children.

I know Pitino. Not as well as Boeheim. Pitino is a horse lover. He owns, runs and breeds them. I spent some time with him in Saratoga over the years. Watching him buy horses at the Saratoga Horse Sale a memorable experience.

The NCAA has been investigating Pitino. The charges came down yesterday.

The issue involves escorts and strippers who were hired to entertain recruits and players. In the same University dorm where the hopefuls were spending a weekend.

The claim is assistant coach Andre McGee made the arrangements, paid the money, etc. There is no charge that Pitino was aware. However, Pitino is charged similarly as Boeheim was. As head coach, it is his responsibility to know everything going on with the team. The technical terminology “…..for failing to monitor a member of his staff (McGee).”

I thought the charges against Boeheim were bullshit. Different from Pitino’s. He was charged after a 10 year investigation. They had to dig to find something concerning Boeheim. The Pitino investigation only took one year.

Sex procurement a no no. No question about it.

I find it hard to believe Pitino was not aware. A hands on person.

At some point in time, there will be a Pitino suspension. Inevitable.

Tonight, Goombay!

Enjoy your day! And evening!

 

 

 

GIBRALTAR OF THE SOUTH

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There was a time and a man who viewed Key West as the Gibraltar of the South. It was the mid 1930s. The man, Julius Stone.

The 1930s was depression time across the United States. Key West especially hard hit. It was the end of the world. Hard to get to. Little business. No work. Monroe County had filed for bankruptcy.

Julius Stone was the WPA administrator for the State of Florida. He considered things so bad in Key West, that he opened a WPA office there. Only the second in the State.

Stone saw tourism as the way for Key West to improve its economy. He was a precursor. He saw what men like David Wolkowsky would envision in later years.

One of his efforts to improve quality of life in Key West was to have a play locally produced. The Pirates of Penzance.

The historical goodies I share with you I did not find. Credit belongs to snowbird Diana Millikan. Diana is writing a play about Julius Stone and The Pirates of Penzance endeavor. She keeps me informed.

Diana has discovered a rich source of information. The Kennedy Cafe mornings. Elderly conchs meet every morning for coffee and talk. A breakfast club of sorts.

Diana says it is like pulling teeth to get information out of them. She is succeeding, however. A step at a time.

She met Jesse. A woman in her 90s. Her married name she was not able to get. However, her maiden name was forthcoming. Watkins.

Jesse was in attendance at the play on February 19, 1935. She recalled the event vividly. She said George Wills was the leading man. Handsome.

She attended the play with her two older sisters. Diana reported one of the sisters became President of a local bank. Sounds strange for the times. It might have been the woman’s husband.

The write up in the newspaper the next day listed a Mrs. Joseph Cates as seamstress. Diana is trying to find out if the 1935 Cates is a relative of today’s Mayor Cates.

Burt Lancaster was one of America’s great actors. He died at 80 this date in 1994. Lancaster and Key West touched two times.

Lancaster’s first movie was The Killers. The movie was based on Ernest Hemingway’s short story of the same name.

He actually filmed a movie in Key West. The Rose Tattoo. The movie was based on Tennessee William’s play of the same name. The movie was filmed in a house on Duncan Street. Williams lived on one corner of the block and The Rose Tattoo house was on the other.

The Cannonball Run is coming through Key West saturday. Will be on Duval and Front Streets around 3.

The Cannonball is composed of a group of men who own special cars. They like to drive them on strange roads in strange places. Duval not one of those places. However Key West not the destination. The group is headed for Havana, Cuba.

I have a neighbor down the street who participates. He is on in years. The Run is one of the more important events in his live. He has a 1906 or 1914 Rolls Royce. In tip top shape. When last I spoke with him, he had just returned from a run in New Zealand. The cars at some point are shipped to the final destination.

Screwworms on the move. No longer just on Big Pine and No Name Key. Have expanded into Big Torch Key, Middle Torch Key, Little Torch Key, Cudjoe, Ramrod and Summerland Keys. Flies have been found in each place.

The last time there was a screwworm infestation was 30 years ago. Things have become sufficiently bad that the State of Florida has declared a State of Emergency exists.

Tammy for a manicure/pedicure yesterday. Ran into Kate Miano who was getting a pedicure.

Kate is one of Key West’s most dynamic women. Owner of The Gardens. Note that Sunday at the Gardens has opened. Sundays from 5-7. Great music. Good drinks. Excellent company. Mostly locals.

The Judy Wood memorial celebration this evening from 5-7 at Tavern ‘n Town. Sad. Her death continues to bother me. And I did not know her well. Only from the bar.

Afterwards, I shall be off to bocce to watch Don’s Place play. Numero Uno!

Goombay tomorrow night!

The third and final Presidential debate was last night. Trump consistent. An ass. Hillary handled herself well.

Enjoy your day!

 

NEW NEIGHBORS

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New neighbors in Key West! Amy Bondurant and David Dunn. Wife and husband. Welcome!

Some 200 hundred homes were visited by Amy and David the past few days. They have been in Key West canvassing door to door for Hillary Clinton.

Amy and David have homes in Washington, DC and Paris. They recently purchased a home in Key West. 1920s vintage. Undergoing remodeling. They plan on moving their furniture down here in December and becoming official Key West residents at the time.

Both have distinguished backgrounds. Amy was the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development in Paris from 1997-2001. She served under Clinton and Bush 2. David is an attorney specializing in international law.

This blog brought us together. David has been reading it. We were supposed to meet for a drink this week. Our schedules would not permit it. We intend to get together when they return in December. I plan on introducing them to the Chart Room at that time.

I have some Trump comments. I apologize. However, we are getting close to election day. I feel compelled to vent my anti-Trump feelings. A number of pro-Trump readers will comment. It will be like the roof falling in on me.

More than a year ago, I referred to Trump as a Pied Piper. Both in this blog and on my blog talk radio show. His followers were blindly following him. Gabriel Schonfeld writes for the New York Daily News. He referred to Trump this past week as the Moronic Pied Piper.

Right on!

In a Washington Post article yesterday, Trump was described as a huckster and charismatic demagogue.

Nicolas Maduro has been Venezuela’s President since 2013. His country ran out of toilet paper under him. Now, food. Even pets and zoo animals have been eaten. I have commented adversely re Maduro many times since the toilet paper incident. In this blog, on my podcast show and in my KONK Life column.

The same Washington Post article suggested Trump was very much like Maduro. The article noted Maduro jailed his political opponents. As Trump has suggested be done with Hillary.

I’m not done with Trump yet.

George Will described Trump well in a recent Washington Post column titled “Putin Buying Back the 1930s.” The last paragraph spoke volumes. “In many worrisome ways, the 1930s are being reprised. In Europe, Russia is playing the role of Germany in fomenting anti-democratic factions. In inward-turning, distracted America, the role of Charles Lindberg is played by a presidential candidate smitten by Putin and too ignorant to know the pedigree of his slogan America First.”

A little more.

I have described the relatively new President Rodrigo Duterte as the Donald Trump of the Philippines. Rodrigo has a dirty mouth. More filthy than even Trump.

Now to Key West. Exciting days ahead!

Friday night marks the beginning of Fantasy Fest. Goombay! I will be out on the street with Don and the bocce team. An annual event for us.

Fiona. Fiona is the sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle who at the end of July was found dying. By a 12 year old boy. Fiona was emaciated, entangled in a fishing line, had ingested a portion of the fishing line, and her blood was low.

On death’s door.

Fiona was hurried to the Marathon Turtle Hospital.  She has recovered. Even gained 15 pounds.

Fiona is being returned to the ocean this saturday at 10 am. Sombrero Beach in Marathon. A couple of hundred will be there to see her off.

I will be home in bed by 9 this evening. Comfortably watching the last of the Presidential debates. Love this stuff! I am a political junkie at heart!

This is take care of Louis day. A manicure and pedicure at noon with Tammy. Then to my heart doctor’s office. Have to give blood. Hate it! Cannot look! When I was 21 and preparing for marriage, New York required a blood test to make sure a person did not have syphilis. I passed out!

Tonight, a couple of drinks at Don’s Place. A quick bite to eat somewhere and then home.

Enjoy your day!

 

GODDESS GALORE and BEATRIX DIXIE

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Dueling Bartenders unusually good last night.

Goddess Galore’s appearance outstanding! Her singing special! She added something extra to her songs. Whether tip toeing around the bar or singing from the dance floor.

Beatrix Dixie dressed in black. Wow! A beauty. She told me she almost wore her nails for me last night.

Sheila with friend John at the bar. Sheila agrees Beatrix is a beauty. A woman in every regard. Butt and boobs. Legs. Lovely face. Great hair.

Four tourists from Denmark at the bar. Before I could get to them, they had left.

No Liz. In Tampa for a wedding. Mary and Josefina at Aqua without her.

Drove over to La Trattoria Oceanside for dinner. Ran into Mary Lou and Charlie. We ate together at the bar. Marylou had just returned from Nappa Valley where she had been for a week.

A better couple does not exist.

Spent yesterday afternoon working on tonight’s blog talk radio show. A lot of politics. Could not be avoided at this stage of the campaign.

Mostly Trump.

Topics include business being down 58 percent at Trump hotels, some Trump and Putin, Trump not all there, Trump anti-SNL, Trump wants drug testing before wednesday’s debate, a Republican headquarters in North Carolina firebombed.

A German mayor who was beaten unconscious because he wanted to build housing for immigrants, trust in press and government down dramatically since 1960s, Rotterdam wanting compulsory contraception for druggies and poor women, stats on sex crimes by police, and more.

Nine my time. A quick half hour of interesting commentary. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

High tides still a problem. Yesterday morning, I watched the tide coming in from my deck. The highest I have seen in years. This morning the tide is out. Water level two feet plus less than yesterday morning.

Judy Wood’s memorial service will be held thursday from 5-7 at Tavern ‘n Town.

We are getting closer! Fantasy Fest begins friday. Goombay!

I should buy a set of body paints and brushes. Breast painting earns big dollars. $75-$150. Consider the canvas being painted!

Syracuse/Boston College saturday. I watched the game for many years. Every other year in Boston. Always made the trip.

The only negative was the game was played in an outdoor stadium. Generally cold that time of the year. I was unaccustomed as Syracuse’s Carrier Dome is covered.

In spite of the cold, the weekend was always a ball. Several couples. We stayed at the lovely Boston Harbor Hotel. Dinner saturday night always at the same place. The Blue something restaurant. I cannot remember the name of the fish that made up its name.

The restaurant was casual and laid back. On the harbor. directly across from Lewis’ Wharf. Maine lobsters and fried clams galore. Loved the meal!

Boston College a 4.5 point favorite. After last week’s game, I am back to hoping.

Last but not least, we are all aware the Republican headquarters in Hillsborough, North Carolina was firebombed and a swastika/negative words written on a wall.

I question who did it. I await the investigation results. Would not surprise me if everyone is surprised when the perpetrators become known.

Be that as it may, a Democrat group issued the call for $10,000 to be raised to repair the damage. Within 40 minutes, $13,000 had been raised.

Would Republicans have done the same were the situation reversed? I doubt it.

Enjoy your day!

IS THIS MY COUNTRY?

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I spent yesterday lying around.  Taking things slow. Concerned about my health. Probably not that bad. In my head. But, that’s me.

As a result of a do nothing sunday, I have no Key West goodies to share. Today, a political blog.

The Presidential campaign makes me ask whether this is my country? Your country? Our country? It is so different. Destructive. Sick.

Is democracy so fragile? I would not have believed it. Disagree, yes. Threaten violence and move to violence, no.

Gabriel Schoenfeld shared some thoughts re Trump this weekend in the New York Daily News.

He referred to Trump as a moronic Pied Piper. Hard to argue with. Many are blindly following Trump.

Schoenfeld stated our democracy is fragile.

Further and most scary, as Trump’s campaign flails, the violence and threads of violence multiply by the day. Bloodshed possible/probable.

Bloodshed, a heavy word.

Saturday night, a local Republican headquarters in Hillsborough, North Carolina was firebombed. The headquarters was also spray painted with a swastika and the words: Nazi Republicans leave town or else.

Trump responded to the event with a tweet stating the event was perpetrated by…..Animals supporting Clinton.

I find it hard to believe the event was Democrat caused. Hillsborough and the county it is a part of is 3-1 Democratic registration.I sense a set up by Republican supporters creating a situation to blame the Democrats for.

I could be wrong. It is a gut feeling.

Trump tweeted re Saturday Night Live yesterday morning. He is now anti SNL. He has lost his sense of humor.

He referred to SNL as a “hit job.” Said it was “time to retire the show.” Finally, Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of him “stinks.”

Sensitive! He can hand it out, but cannot take it.

That is all for this morning. Enjoy your day!

 

GOD IS GOOD

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I have not been feeling well the past few days. Yesterday was no different. I decided to stay home and relax.

My planned event for the day was to watch the Syracuse/Virginia Tech game at 3:45. I had no expectation of Syracuse winning. A seventeen point underdog. Virginia ranked #17 in the country.

Syracuse won! Decisively! 31-17.

I felt better! Decided to shower and go out.

Ended up at Berlin’s. I craved stone crabs. First day of the season. Enjoyed three jumbo ones.

A Syracuse victory and stone crabs! The Lord was good to me.

Guy deBoer was at Berlin’s enjoying a cigar. We had dinner together.

The nuisance flooding Key West is experiencing is a twice a year event. Spring and Fall. It is called King Tides. The flooding caused by the location of the Earth, moon and sun. Resulting in the highest ocean tides of the year.

The screwworm invasion a burgeoning problem. Locals met at the Big Pine Key Park recently with officials. More and more Key deer are suffering and being euthanized. Also several home pets. The authorities are on the problem. The cure is known. Everything in the works. Time and patience now.

Orchid growing popular in the Keys. Orchids grow well in our climate.

Many homeowners plant orchids on the trunks of their palm trees. I had it done when I purchased my home 18 years ago. A few months later, beautiful orchids! The orchids renewed themselves each year. Mine lasted 10 years till for whatever reason they stopped appearing.

The Orchid Society is having a presentation of their home grown orchids today at West Martello. I have seen the event a few times over the years. Beauty to behold. Worth seeing.

The Presidential election continues to give me concern. No question, I am anti-Trump. The man is demented. How can he talk or suggest the election is rigged, rebellion, assassination, if he loses he will not accept the results, and most recently that Hillary was on drugs during the last debate.

Add to it Trump and Bill’s sex lives. What happened to issues, the economy, fair wages, international problems, the Affordable Care Act, etc.?

“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.”

On this date in 1858, John Brown attacked Harpers Ferry. He was captured, tried and convicted. Hung December 2, 1858. Buried December 8, 1858.

No prolonged appeals in those days.

John Brown was buried in front of his home in Lake Placid, New York. Actually the village of North Elbo, a part of Lake Placid.

Fifteen years ago, my former wife and I were visiting Bruce Evans and his wife at their second home in Lake Placid. Bruce lived in the Utica area.

Bruce was my golf partner at our local golf club. He quietly put up with my poor playing for several years.

Bruce belonged to a golf club in Lake Placid, also. He invited me up to play in that club’s member-guest tournament.

We won our flight by the way. It was hard to lose with my gigantic handicap.

We were rained out one day. We took a ride on the back roads. Lake Placid is part of the Adirondack mountains. High up. Cool in the summer. Freezing cold in the winter.

We came upon John Brown’s home and grave. Bruce had not seen it before, either. The grounds now a New York State Historical Site.

Brown was buried in front of his home.

The home tiny. Rectangular. Simple. Two floors. Two rooms downstairs and one up.

Brown fathered 20 children. Thirteen by his second wife Mary Ann Day. His first wife died. When Brown was home, he lived in the small house with Mary Ann and thirteen of his children.

Tight quarters. Everyone had to sleep tight against to each other. Not a bad scenario in the winter when the cold wind and snow came storming down from Canada.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

BRING YOUR KAYAK

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I was on my way to the Chart Room last night at 9:30. The intersection of Duval and Greene Streets was flooded.

It is that time.

The reasons for the flooding: Higher than normal tides, steady winds out of the northeast, and sunday’s full moon. The Key West Citizen reports this morning that the flooding could last a week. Which means it will get worse. The tides will remain high. It is expected the tides will reach as much as 3 feet above normal.

Flagler was also flooded in its usual places.

When these floodings occur, it is not uncommon to see people kayaking on Duval at Greene. Occasionally, some swimming.

I spent the day home. Tired. Concerned about my heart. Was at my heart doctor’s office at 6:30. Last patient of the day. I was being filled in.

I did not leave Dr. McIvor till 9:15. Not complaining. I was pleased he saw me. Tests being scheduled to determine why the tiredness and occasional gulping for air.

I was showered, shaved, etc. Instead of going directly home, I opted for the Chart Room. One drink and good conversation my aim.

Not to be. The chart Room was packed with tourists. I knew no one. Did not stay. Drove directly home.

Today, one of Key West’s more memorable occasions. Stone crab season opens. Good eating the next several months.

The drums rolled thursday night. Lynda and Bob Frechette returned. Great people! Can’t wait to see them.

Judy Wood. There is still a sadness within me. A Memorial Service has been scheduled for October 20 at Tavern ‘n Town.

Three Trump observations. Each speaks for itself.

Trump claims the allegations against him of sexual misconduct are the result of an international media conspiracy.

It is reported Trump hotel bookings are down 58 percent this year from 2015’s comparable period.

There is a neo-Nazi organization in the U.S. Not uncommon. Most countries have one today. The group considers itself white supremacist as well as neo-Nazi.

The neo-Nazi’s have a website.The Daily Stormer. The group’s news and commentary website. The group likes Trump. A recent comment stated: “Heil Donald Trump – The Ultimate Savior.”

ZIKA. Onward goes the battle to eradicate the mosquitoes causing the problem. We are still fighting the testing of the genetically modified mosquito here in Key Haven.

The State of Florida has gotten involved in the eradication of ZIKA. Not with genetically modified mosquitoes nor Ozitec, however. Sterile ones. The male mosquitoes will be inoculated and made sterile. Inoculated with the bacterium wolbachia pipientis.

Tests have been ordered. In conjunction and with the approval of local mosquito boards. Monroe County’s Mosquito Control Board has agreed to participate. Tests will be conducted in Key Largo and Stock island beginning March 2017.

The people can’t win.

Syracuse/Virginia Tech at 3:45 this afternoon. Virginia Tech a 17 point favorite. The game can be viewed on ESPNU.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

STONE CRABS

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U.S. politics is at its worst. The world is in turmoil. All take a back seat. Pure unadulterated pleasure the reason. Stone crab season opens tomorrow!

From my perspective, man’s finest food. I cannot wait to gorge myself tomorrow night.

Yesterday began with a noon haircut with Lori. Lori is moving. Was supposed to be this week. Told me yesterday it will be at least another month. Typical of Key West. nothing ever begins or finishes on time.

It’s the sun! Slows everything down, including people.

Lori had to take delivery yesterday of her new chairs. New place not available for storage. They are sitting on the sidewalk in front of her present place of business on Southard. Ain’t no one going to steal them. Hercules needed to move them.

A few doors down Southard is Jay’s new sandwich shop Cuzzy Bubbaz. His grand opening was to have been this past tuesday. I stopped in for lunch after my haircut. Doors locked. Looked in the window. Place a mess. Still under construction.

Ran into Jay at bocce last night. The electrical screwed up. He is required to make changes. It is in the process. He hopes to be open for Goombay.

Can’t win.

The best thing that happened to Don’s Place in bocce was my retirement. The team remains in first place. 16-2. Alone in first place.

Hell’s Rangers had already lost two when I arrived last night. I do not know the result of their third game.

Don’s Place won two without David and Norm last night. David sick and Norm out of town.

Watched Michelle Obama speak yesterday. Outstanding! Trump has to be having trouble walking today.

Several news broadcasters have mentioned that when husband Barack was first elected, she hated public speaking. No more. The woman is another Eleanor Roosevelt!

This morning’s Key West Citizen notes that Trauma Star carried 471 patients in fiscal 2016. Eighty six more than 2015.

The new helicopter has arrived. Not in use yet. The crew still training.

Trauma Star is the County’s free helicopter service for patients who need rushing to a Miami hospital. There is also a private service. Rip off big time! $60,000 a trip and not covered by insurance.

I have mentioned the past few years in this column, in my daily blog and on my podcast show that Putin has become rich as the head of Russia. He gets a piece of everything. Ten to 20 percent.

I might be wrong as to the percentage. Thomas Friedman in a recent New York Times article wrote, “Putin owns some $30 billion in property, hotels and factories.”

Trump has to be doing business in Russia. Borrowing money, especially. Whatever, Putin could own a piece of some of some of Trump’s American properties.

The Cuban missile crisis began today. A U.S. reconnaissance plane took 900 plus photos over Cuba this date in 1962. The photos identified Soviet mid-range ballistic missiles. Pointed at the U.S.

By October 23, Key West had become an armed camp. Fifteen thousand troops. Some berthed in the Casa Marina. Anti-missile weapons and machine guns on Key West beaches.

Cuba was John Kennedy’s first test. He performed well. Russia blinked and the confrontation came to an end.

A visit to Dr. McIvor late today. I continue to tire easily and sometimes gulp a breath or two.

Enjoy your day!

LEPROSY

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There is good and bad to everything. Many times the bad is hidden/forgotten. Especially in the instance where the something bad has turned with the passage of time into a shining gem.

It is the story of leprosy and Key West. One I only learned this past week.

Diana Millikan is a snowbird. Interested in history. Digs every day into Key West’s background. She brought the leprosy part to my attention. I merely read what she provided.

There was a concern on her part that perhaps nothing should be written re the subject. A negative report. I initially agreed. Then decided that what was was. Let it all out.

The Biblical plague of all time is leprosy. Monroe County, and especially Key West, had a large number of leprosy victims residing here. It was another time, another century.

Once as many as 100. One of the largest numbers in the United States. None of the victims caught the dread disease here. It was brought from the outside into the Keys.

Leprosy is not contagious. One human to another. Don’t laugh. Leprosy is spread by armadillos. I do not recall armadillos inhabiting this area.

Today, leprosy is treatable. Persons affected are no longer isolated. Since 1942, a drug called Putome is available to cure leprosy.

The problem still exists. About ten cases a year in the United States. I do not know when the last case was reported in the Key West area. Note however that two Key West doctors list in their areas of expertise leprosy.

When leprosy was rampant, U.S. residents were shipped off to Carville, Louisiana. That is where they were isolated, lived. Five thousand patients over the years. The leprosy facility was closed by the government in 1999. No new business.

However, ten elderly residents remain. They never left. They have lived there their whole lives. They were born in Carville.

James Carville comes into play. James of Democratic political fame. His great grandfather was Postmaster of the Carville area for years. Carville, Louisiana is named after him.

I received sad information from Lynda Frechette this morning. Judy Wood is dead. The exuberant charming Tavern ‘n Town bartender. I will provide more information as received.

My intent last night was to hear Terri White sing at La Te Da at a Fantasy Fest King Fundraiser for Christopher. Then to The Little Room Jazz Club to attend Larry Smith’s birthday celebration.

Made neither. For some reason, I became extremely exhausted in the afternoon. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent in bed.

Syracuse/Virginia Tech saturday. Virginia Tech a 17 point favorite.

I wish the football season would end!

Have to hustle. A haircut with Lori at noon. Then lunch at Jay’s new Cuzzy Bubbaz. It opened two days ago.

Enjoy your day!

NOSTALGIA

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The last 24 hours brought back some yesterdays. Not personal ones. Interesting nevertheless.

The first was Al Gore. Former Vice-President. A world leader in protecting the environment.

Gore was with Hillary Clinton at Miami Dade College. Talking to college students about the environment. He is a recognized expert in the field. He prepared the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. A global warming warning. For which Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

He is older. We all are.  I have not seen him in 10-15 years. Put on a lot of weight. So have I.

Gore also talked about voting. Every vote counts was his pitch. Who better than he should know! He was defeated for President by George W. Bush. The chad election. Gore lost Florida by 500 plus votes. He won the overall national vote by 500,000 plus votes.

This morning, I read in the Key West Citizen of the coming Key West Film Festival. Scheduled this year for November 16-20.

Burt Reynolds will be in Key West for the Festival.  He is receiving a Career Achievement Award.

Reynolds is now 82. Looks good. One of his big hits was Smokey & the Bandit. A documentary of the behind the scenes goings on will be shown at the Festival.

Reynolds gave me/us pleasure. Each of his roles genuine.

Finally, Nikita Khrushchev. Leader of the Soviet Union. At a time when the Soviet Union was unquestionably the enemy of the United States.

It was the fall of 1960. I was waiting for my bar exam results. Khrushchev was at the United Nations in New York. During someone’s talk, Khrushchev disagreed. He stood up and took off one of his shoes. He pounded the table with his shoe.

Khrushchev was a pig. Looked like and acted like one. A reporter at the time described him as a “hotheaded buffoon.”

Khrushchev and Trump have many similarities.

When you get to my age, you feel you have lived history. Actually, you have lived through historical moments. The memorable ones vivid in your mind.

Spent yesterday prepping for my blog talk radio show last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

Two items I hit on involved the election and opium. Not related.

A book came out monday. A Filthy Risk, etc. The story of Jeffrey Epstein. A portion of the book his relationship with Bill Clinton. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a child for prostitution. He did 13 months.

The book has a first printing of 500,000 copies. Expected to be a big seller. Before this week is out, you should begin hearing its contents. Knowing how Trump plays, the Clinton contents could become a campaign bomb.

Two years ago, I wrote a lengthy KONK Life column on Afghanistan and opium. Opium poppies are used to make heroin.

Afghanistan supplies 90 percent of heroin world wide. The biggest supplier to the streets of America. Heroin presently being the U.S.’s major drug problem.

Opium growing in significant amounts began when the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan in 2001. We are still there in some form. The question I raised in the KONK column and again last night is why none of the opium poppy fields were destroyed during the terrible Afghanistan conflict. Production grew, the war lords owning the fields got richer, and the peasants working the poppy fields neither injured nor killed.

Strange.

I got back into Afghanistan and opium because of a recent study that indicated 30,000 babies in the United States were born last year addicted to some opiate. Generally, heroin or crack.

Because the mom was a junkie, babies are born drug dependent. It takes several days for the babies to complete withdrawal. The babies cry non stop from the pain. Yes, even young ones can hurt.

Which brought me back to Afghanistan. Why have we permitted the opium to grow? The response that we have done everything we can is bullshit.

Something stinks here.

Enjoy your day!