HEMINGWAY DAYS GOING STRONG

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Key West enjoying Hemingway Days!

Tourists and locals alike.

I went to Sloppy Joe’s for Hemingway’s birthday party. Got there about 6. No way I could get in. I stood outside on  the street on tip toes to get a look.

Hemingway look-alikes all over the placed. No official number yet. I would suggest in excess of 125. White shirts and pants. Red french caps. Red bandannas wrapped around their waists.

Today, the biggest. A day long Caribbean Fair on Duval. Duval closed off to vehicular traffic. At noon, Hemingway look-alikes available outside Sloppy Joe’s for picture taking. Bulls, too.

The best of the best at 1. The Running of the Bulls. Pamplona style. A sight to see!

Six-thirty the final round of the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. Judges limited to former winners. Generally takes 10-15 years before participants are seriously considered to win.

The window on the driver’s side of my Volk’s convertible would not go completely up. Only 2/3’s of the way. I have been meaning to take it to a Volkswagen dealer in Miami. Hated wasting a day.

It has not been easy driving. The heat and rain would come in. I had a huge towel I threw over my left shoulder when it rained.

The inside of the car filthy. Cannot have a car washed with an open window.

Finally decided to try a local repair man. There are several on Stock Island. Garages dirty, hot and greasy.

I met George a few weeks ago. He owns Zip Auto on MacDonald.

I decided to give George a shot.

George said I needed a new part/window. Knew it already from speaking with Miami Volks. George said he could do it, would order the part from Miami.

The job was done yesterday. I had an appointment to go in. Left the car. Donna drove me home. Three hours later, he called. Job done. Come get your car. Donna drove me back.

The window works. The price $200 cheaper than that quoted me by Miami.

Try George if you have car problems. I swear by him as a result of my experience.

Dinner last night with the lesbian wives. Donna cooked. Terri in good spirits. As usual, our time together very enjoyable.

Anna, my Anna. Fears everything.

I wrote a few days ago about Athens’ Ermus Street and the violence which occurred there monday night. Anna was in Athens and fearful.

Anna still in Athens. After spending two months visiting several Greek isles. One visited was near Kos. Kos and parts of Turkey were hit with a major earthquake yesterday. A 6.7. On Kos, two killed, 112 injured, 12 seriously.

The after shocks even worse. Forty after shocks reported. Some as high as 4.6.

It was warned a tsunami could occur.

Anna wrote and asked what she should do. Athens is no where near Kos. Tsunami not a concern. Except to Anna.

I told her to swim fast!

Something that was yesterday, but is not the same today. Limited. An issue. A problem.

I refer to immigration.

The poet Emma Lazarus wrote The New Colossus in 1883. The sonnet instantly popular.

Words from it incorporated onto a bronze plaque and attached to the Statue of Liberty in 1903: “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teaming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-lost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Ain’t that way no more. We try to keep them out. I question whether my paperless, parentless 12 year old grandfather admitted in 1906 would be admitted today.

Enjoy your day!

DRINK THE KOOL-AID…..NO, THE COFFEE

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The entrepreneurial spirit is worldwide.

A Texan was visiting in Malaysia. He noticed in one town that there were many coffee sheds. All doing a big business. Customers primarily men.

He was curious why. Turned out some part of the coffee contained a natural ingredient similar to the active ingredient in viagra.

The Texan returned home and opened a one man business. He imported the coffee already bagged from Malaysia. Called the New of Kopi Jantan Tradisional Natural Herbs Coffee.

Brilliant! A money winner! Till the FDA got wind. The FDA asked the Texan to voluntarily recall the coffee. The coffee ingredients needed inspection and approval by the FDA prior to sales being allowed in the U.S.

The Texan did as requested.

Sad.

Imagine the impact of an early morning cup of coffee and an after dinner one in the evening. Smiles for everyone!

Hemingway was born this day in 1899. Oaks Park, Illinois.

Today, Key West is in the midst of its annual celebration of his birth. Hemingway Days!

Many events today. For me, Hemingway’s Birthday Party at Sloppy Joe’s. Cake for all!

The birthday party at 5:30. Followed at 6 by the second preliminary round of the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest.

Too many people in Key West. Too many tourists. Too many inexperienced scooter drivers.

I was driving on Simonton yesterday afternoon. Six scooters in front of me. Appeared to be 3 couples. The scooters a step up from a moped.

They were stretched out. Taking up about 40 feet of the roadway to my front.

All of a sudden, they all started weaving. From one side to the other. Cruising back and forth sideways.

The last in line was a woman. It was obvious she was not able to control her bike. I slowed down. Fortunately. The bike and her went down.

As I was pulling over to help, her friends were all around her. I continued on. I do not know if she was injured.

It happens too often on our congested streets these days.

Tavern ‘n Town for dinner last night. The salmon outstanding!

Read my newspapers. Saw Josefina at the end of the bar. she came over to talk. Josefina is Liz’s friend.

I found out why Liz was in the hospital 5 weeks. Liz is a diabetic and something got screwed up. Wrong food, might have forgotten to take her pills, etc. No one knows.

Liz is home. She called yesterday. Invited me to lunch at her home Sunday. I am looking forward to it. Liz a great cook!

Holly was with Josefina. I did not see her till I was leaving. She told me she went out with the ladies every thursday evening. Husband Peter Diamond performs thursday evenings at Little Palm Island.

Big Latch On returns saturday August 5. At the Echo-Discovery Center. No registration required. Merely show up and participate.

Big Latch On was a huge success in Key West last year. Involves breast feeding. Mothers world wide will be doing it at the same time. A synchronized event.

Big Latch On is part of International  Breastfeeding Week.

No Poker Run this year. No sponsor. Ten thousand cyclists in the past would arrive in Key West for a weekend. This year would have been the 45th annual Poker Run event held in Key West.

The City will provide no special accommodations for any bikers who may show up, except for increased police surveillance.

The underlying reason is motorcycle gangs. Commonly appearing the last few years in other cities at such events as Poker Run. A couple attended last year. There were problems.

The Rotary has sponsored Poker Run for years. They refused to do so this year because of the gang problem. Their members work the event and could be subject to harm. Additionally, liability insurance costs have risen because of the gang situation.

Trump and Congress are to be congratulated on the depth of their interest in the health of the people of the United States. CBO reported that out right repeal of Obamacare would result in an increase in the number of uninsured. Thirty two million.

The collar tightens. Trump is now making inquiry as to whether he can pardon himself, his family, and his staff.

I am a bit late in getting the blog out this morning. Got a call yesterday advising an early morning test had been scheduled for today.

Enjoy your day!

 

MAN WALKS ON THE MOON

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Many times I have mentioned that the two happenings which excited/impressed/moved me the most were man walking on the moon and the Berlin Wall coming down.

Today, the anniversary of the first man on the moon.  The year 1969. Neil Armstrong: “…..one mall step for man, one giant step for mankind.”

It happens too many times as I get older. Go for a routine physical feeling fine. Walk out concerned.

Every 3-4 years my blood pressure goes out of whack. It is out of whack again. Big time. One of the highest numbers I have recorded.

My ankles a bit swollen, also.

Most people might not be greatly concerned. At 82, I am. Everything concerns me.

Tests next week. Water pills for a few days immediately.

My blood work normal.

Doctor thinks my murmur is louder.

Sad about John McCain. A brain cancer tumor. One of America’s greats. May God help resolve the problem rather than take him.

Trump at it again. His consistency is his inconsistency. Never know what he is going to do. When he does perform, it is generally incorrect.

Three items of concern this week so far. Note it is only thursday.

First, pulling the CIA out of Syria. A major Putin victory. Makes us look less than dependable to the free world. Plus, Trump got nothing from Putin in return.

Second, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity which Trump appointed. Met for the first time yesterday in Washington.

I listened to the Chair and Vice-Chair speak. Two nuts. Both already believe there were major problems in 2016.

Finally, Trump’s words last night re Sessions, the Justice Department and Mueller. Trump fears the police arm of our government. He should if he has something to fear. Which I believe he does.

He wants to get rid of Sessions and the Acting Attorney General. Also Mueller, if Mueller gets into his and his family’s finances. On top of which he wants the FBI to answer directly to the President.

Anna, my Anna. She is presently in Athens. Always in a place where excitement is going to occur.

She e-mailed me yesterday. The media carried the story, also.

Ermou Street in Athens is one of its finest shopping areas. Like our Fifth Avenue. I walked down it twice every day. To Playka and back.

I wrote about Ermou several years ago. The streets full of beggars. Like I had never seen before. Makes our homeless look good.

So you can understand. Every day there was a man with no arms and legs. Face badly scarred. Hair burned never to grow again. Blind.

Propped up on a curb. His hands out searching for contributions.

Anarchists ran Ermou Street monday. Breaking windows, destroying the inside of shops. Throwing chemicals about. Sixty stores involved.

They were protesting on behalf of a 29 year old woman whose appeal of her terrorist conviction had failed.

The police did not interfere. When asked why, they said they did not have instructions to do so.

I can understand. As I wrote many times several years ago, the Greek Nazi Party is influential with the police. Half the members of the Nazi Party are police officers. The Golden Dawn (the actual name of the Greek Nazi Party) are a law unto themselves.

I wrote I had a sense of fear every time I saw them. Young Aryans. Blond. Great bodies. Wear black shirts, ties and pants. Swastika look a likes as armbands. The Hitler salute.

The Jew of Hitler’s days is the immigrant of today. They blame immigrants for everything.

I saw what I assumed was an immigrant being violently beaten by them one day. Just off Ermou street. Two police officers were nearby. They turned and walked away.

Hemingway Days today. At 6:30, the preliminary round of the Hemingway Look-Alike contest. Sloppy Joe’s

Big day in Key West history. On this day in 1985, Mel Fisher discovered the mother lode of the Spanish galleon Atocha. After 15 years of searching and struggling. $400 million in gold, jewels, and other artifacts.

Enjoy your day!

 

JORDAN AND ROBB…..WE MEET AGAIN

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Yesterday busy. Day and night. All good things.

The best last night at the Chart Room.

I was looking for some one. Thought I would run into the person at the Chart Room. Stopped in. Looked around quickly. Not there.

Left immediately.

Twenty feet later, I heard a voice. Lou. turned around and there stood an absolutely beautiful woman.

The words came tumbling out….. I’m Jordan. I’m with Robb. We met two years ago. We took pictures. Two hang in the Chart Room. Robb reads your blog every day. We are here tonight to see you.

How could I leave.

We went back into the Chart Room. Met Robb.

I was honest. I meet so many people. I did not recall them.

Jordan took me to a section of the chart Room and showed me their picture with me. On a ceiling beam. The other behind the bar was buried. We did not bother searching for it.

Great people! I stayed a while. Enjoyed a drink with them.

From Jacksonville. Robb, 36. Jordan, 29.

School teachers. Jordan an elementary phys ed teacher. Also coaches high school lacrosse. Robb teaches high school math and helps coach the football team.

We chatted about a multitude of items. I was impressed Robb was a math teacher. Told him I became a lawyer instead of a doctor because I could not handle math and science.

Enjoyed my time with Jordan and Robb. Definitely will remember them next time.

Terri White sang while cleaning up the outside area of my new home. Her idea. A home warming gift, she said. She loves working with shrubbery, flowers, etc.

We took time off for lunch.  Picked up Donna and headed for Hogfish.

Sounds like I was working with Terri. No. I avoid servile labor of any nature.

After a cheery lunch, Terri and I returned to the house. Terri had to finish the clean up.

Terri does more than sing. Besides being a talented landscaper, she knows how to fix everything.

A new desk chair arrived a couple of days ago. Still sitting in the middle of the living room. Box unopened. Terri returns today to put the chair together.

I also have a new shower head. She is going to install it in my shower.

A good friend. As is Donna.

Along the way, I did my Facebook live video. Key West Lou Live Video. Trump, the White House staff and campaign help get  free legal with regard to present problems. Money comes from donations to the Committee to Re-Elect funds.

Articles claim $6 million incurred so far. $1.5 million paid out. Including Donald Trump, Jr.’s $50,000 legal fee for the meeting.

Began my evening at Aqua and Dueling Bartenders. Tom Luna and Rick Dery. Heather guest vocalist. The best show in town! All for the cost of a few drinks.

It was a locals crowd. Mark Watson, Joseph Lyles, Matias, Jean Thornton, her sister Laura Hauk, Sheila, Mary, Larry Blackburn, and Jimmy Olson.

Liz came in. I have not seen her in a while. I assumed she had returned to her St. Petersburg home. Went over to greet her. Discovered she was in the Key West hospital for 5 weeks. Why, I do not know. It was difficult to hear with the noise. Told her I would call today.

I feel guilty I did not know.

Then to the Chart Room. Followed by Tavern ‘n Town for their late evening happy hour. Read the newspapers and enjoyed small pieces of beef in a tasty brown sauce over some sort of potato. Delicious.

Met Jack and Terri at the bar. From Pensacola. Joe Scarborough country. They know Joe.

Jack and Terri get to Key West every 2-3 years. Their four children grown.

Jack has been with UPS 31 years. A supervisor. Terri teaches sixth grade.

Good people. Good conversation.

Key West had a bank robbery a day or two ago. A 45 year old man walked into the Simonton bank building and left with some money. Details not reported as to how much, how robbery accomplished, etc.

The significant thing is the Key West police captured the bad guy in 20 minutes. The surveillance camera showed him clearly. They picked him up on Duval.

Prior to his arrest, he made some purchases on Duval and gave $50 bills as a tip. Not too bright.

“Sex is like money, only too much is enough.” John Updike.

Updike spent several years living in Key West. Wrote several novels using Key West as location.

Literary experts claim Updike was greatly influenced by Hemingway.

My podcast tonight at 9. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me for a fast moving interesting show. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics  include the folly of Trump’s words re Made in America Week, Buy American, and Hire American. Trump and his family do not do as he preaches.

Also, Sessions is working on banning abortions nationally, Russia demands return of their compounds without conditions, U.S. ally Saudi Arabia massacres its own people, Africans beginning to flood Europe in numbers greater that the Syrian immigration, and more.

Enjoy your day!

BARTENDER JOHN…..CITIZEN OF THE DAY

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I mention John Holster often. The Chart Room bartender. Top notch bartender. Knows how to handle and entertain customers.

My friend.

John has been honored! By the Key West Citizen. He is Citizen of the Day. His picture and a few lines below appear at the bottom of today’s edition at page 3.

Congratulations, John!

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. It was for me yesterday. Laziness permeated my being till I left the house at 6.

Drove to Hot Dog Church. Not for services. Much too late. To meet Donna and Terri. They were the only patrons left at the Back Door. Laurie bartending and chatting with them.

I like Laurie. A straight forward no bullshit person.

I was about 2 hours late. My laziness the blame.

We had a couple of drinks and Donna, Terri and I headed out to dinner. Hogfish.

Sometimes I enjoy hogfish, sometimes not. Yesterday was a day I did. The hogfish outstanding! My guess is the quality of a hogfish meal depends on who is cooking.

Here it was the middle of the summer and Hogfish was packed. Occasionally, some had a brief wait for a table.

Hemingway Days begin this week. A big time!

Hemingway Days is a clean healthy event. Partying up and down Duval. The crowd a different breed.

I look forward to some of the activities. Especially the Run of the Bulls and the Hemingway Look Alike Contest.

Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952. Inspiration for parts and characters primarily from Cuba, Key West and San Francisco.

The fisherman Santiago  had many thoughts and some conversation with Manolin re his hero Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio suffered trials and tribulations as Santiago had. In the end, he accomplished great things.

For Santiago who had not caught a fish in more than 80 days, it was to catch the big one.

DiMaggio was Santiago’s inspiration.

Some believe that Hemingway drew on DiMaggio’s father for the character Santiago. Very few. If true, it would be because DiMaggio’s father was a Sicilian fisherman before immigrating to the United States and continued for a period of time to be a fisherman in the San Francisco Bay area.

Another writing giant who lived in Key West was Tennessee Williams. On this day in 1975, Anthony Quinn met with Williams in Key West. Quinn a fine actor. His greatness still a few years away.

Williams had written the play The Red Devil Battery Sign. Quinn starred in it. The play did not go over well. Closed on Broadway after one week.

Quinn was visiting Williams to see if the play could be revived. The play subsequently was in Vancouver and London. Though not with Quinn in the starring role and only a bit more success than had been achieved in New York.

Interestingly, Pierce Brosnan, then a young actor, starred in the leading role in the London revival.

Poor Venezuela!

I have been following Venezuela and its President Nicholas Maduro for four years. Ever since Maduro took office and Venezuela ran out of toilet paper within one year. Four years later and Venezuela still does not have an adequate supply of toilet paper. High infation, no jobs and no food, also.

I consistently ask why the Venezuelan people do not revolt. Yesterday, an informal referendum was held. Note the word informal. The vote had no binding effect.

Maduro wanted a new constitution. One which would guarantee his remaining in office. More than 7 million voted against Maduro’s plan. An overwhelming vote.

Will anything come of the result? Time will tell. However, I doubt it. For some reason, the people are reluctant/afraid to put guns, sticks and stones in their hands and attack the palace.

Enjoy your day!

BOCCE PARTY

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I joined the Sons and Daughters of Italy last year. Actually, a reinstatement. I had been a member years earlier in Utica.

Glad I did! The Key West group are at the top of the fun list. Everyone friendly. Typical Key west, but more so.

The summer is dead. Why not have a party! And so it was last night. A bocce party.

A good crowd. Most had never held a bocce ball before. All anxious to learn. Prior to actually playing, dinner. Pizza, beer, wine and soda.

I did not play. Probably never will again. Amazing! I had to retire from bocce in my old age.

I participated. Sat with players and made suggestions, gave advice. Quietly and non offensively.

Allan Wimer. Loquacious, charming, humorous, considerate, a gentleman. The worst thing he could be accused off is that he left Key West. Transplanted himself to Naples.

Wimer a Facebook aficionado, also. We are FB friends. Came across an Amazing Stuff video he reran: If methadone is free to addicts because they have a disease…..Why is chemo not free for cancer patients?

Allan one smart man!

Some of us forget. Some of us are not even aware. There were times when certain diseases were horrendous. Killed or debilitated many yearly. Cures discovered. The diseases plagued us no more.

In days long gone by, Key West had its share of such diseases. The Key West Citizen in its Today in Key West History section made note of some over the past two days.

On July 16, 1887, the Marine Hospital reported 282 cases of yellow fever. Sixty three resulting in death.

A year later on July 16, 1898, the Army hospital reported a U.S. Army private had died of tuberculosis.

Finally on this day in 1954, 35 cases of polio had been reported for the year to date.

God bless medical research!

As one gets older, time remaining occasionally enter’s one’s thoughts. I know being 82.

Clive Cussler commented on the time issue in The Solomon Curse…..Time is a thief. It steals our memory, our hopes, and our strength, leaving only the sense there’s never enough of it.

The June 2016 meeting involving Donald Trump, Jr. The number in the room is now 8. Amazing how it grows almost day by day.

Truth a winner. A lack of it most always a guarantee of losing.

Again I revert to the saying of old…..Woe the web we weave when first we seek to deceive.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

DALE AND KENDRA

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Blog late this morning. 11:30 and just starting. Slept late, laid around in bed.

I had an exceptionally good time last night. My activities limited to the Chart Room and Antonia’s.

Old and new faces at the Chart Room.

Met Dale and Kendra. Great people! From  near Allentown, Pennsylvania. They have been visiting Key West every year for 10 years.

Both school teachers. Dale, a high school history teacher. Kendra teaches elementary school.

Parents of twins! A boy and girl. Now 5 1/2 years old.

This was a special meeting. For them and me. Dale has been reading my blog since 2010. Seven years!

He and Kendra have visited the Chart Room each trip during that time looking to meet up with me. Finally, last night.

We chatted a while. I enjoyed my time with them tremendously. Good people.

Jean Thornton! Last night, finally! She has been back several days and we have been missing each other. Jean’s sister was with her. Two exciting women.

These are Mel Fisher Days. Jean is back in Key West for the annual celebration.

Some 15 years ago, Jean went diving with Mel Fisher. Pushed herself on him. Took her a year for him to finally agree to take her diving. Fisher had already found $400 million in Atocha gold and emeralds.

Jean discovered some gold coins and emeralds herself that day. Would you believe! Quit her school teaching job and bought a condo in Truman Annex. Since that time, she spends at least six months a year in Key West.

Love her dearly!

Enjoyed a lengthy political discussion. With two Trump supporters. Interesting. We rarely agreed. Friends at the start and we were still friends at the end of the conversation.

One was Kevin. Kevin is a regular at the Chart Room. Owns a home on White Street. I knew he leaned conservative from prior discussions. Learned he leaned farther than I thought last night.

The other was Gordon Anderson. Gordon owns the Larian Motel in Tombstone, Arizona. Proud of it. Number one for two consecutive years on Trip Advisor.

Gordon visits Key West twice a year. A huge Mel Fisher aficionado. Took the tour yesterday of the Fisher lab. Learned how stones, jewels, coins and other artifacts are preserved. Excited him.

Today, the Mel Fisher Schooner Wharf Party. He and Kevin were making plans to attend.

The politics were good. Kevin and Gordon’s views generally diametrically opposed to mine. They enjoyed, also. We chatted back and forth.

Covered a multitude of sins. The Second Amendment. Both extremely knowledgeable about gun rights. Both conceal carry. Legal in Florida and Arizona. Kevin had me feel his gun which he carried in the back of his pants covered by his shirt. First time I was aware he carried.

They viewed Trump as the new Messiah (my description). Echoed the Republican speaking points. To the letter. Media responsible for the negatives heaped on Trump, everything is Obama’s fault. Both felt that if Trump were impeached, the people would rise up. Not tolerate it.

We have a problem. Our country is split 50/50. Both sides dug in. I do not ever recall politics this hard fixed.

The Chart Room crowded. John working hard.

Tom Cochran was a bartender back in the days when the Chart Room began and Jimmy Buffett was starting. The Chart Room’s bartender.

I have never met him. He was standing at the end of the bar. Tall. Cowboy hat. Tourists listening to him in awe as he described Jimmy Buffett’s beginnings, etc.

Never got to talk with him. The crowd surrounding him too tight. Hopefully, another time.

Time to eat. Opted for Antonia’s. Place packed. Fortunate to get a seat at the bar. TK bartending. I have known TK better than 20 years. Still looks as young as when I met him. He attributes it to botox.

Met Mike Grasso who was seated next to me. In advertising. Philadelphia. MCG Media LLC. His shop.

Knowledgeable. If I recall correctly, he owns or has a piece of Back Page.

We spoke of Philadelphia, Rittenhouse Square and David Wolkowsky. Exchanged growing up Italian stories.

Mike left. Replaced by Roddy and Clarisse. They had been seated a few seats away. Could tell I was a lawyer. Sat next to me for desert.

Both attorneys. Young compared to me. But then, everyone is. Married four years. Roddy a civil litigator in Orlando. Clarisse an immigration specialist in Miami. They have homes in Orlando and Miami.

We did lawyer talk.

Enjoyed them! The world their oyster. I wish them well.

As I was paying my bill preparatory to leaving, in walked John Marston. A Key West attorney and friend. He introduced me to his lady. A beauty! Great smile! I had never met her before. I am ashamed to admit I cannot recall her name.

Finally, home to bed.

Tonight, party time. I joined the Sons and Daughters of Italy last year. Love the members! Fun people!

A bocce party. Pizza, beer and wine. Good company and simple food and drink. Nothing better.

Enjoy your day!

 

ONLY IN THE CHART ROOM

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I frequently write or say…..Only in Key West! Last night it was only in the Chart Room!

Great people. All interesting.

During the course of the evening, Jessica appeared. I mentioned Jessica a few days ago. The lovely 40ish woman who came into the Chart Room.

I was in the process of leaving. Jessica mentioned to the bar her husband had returned home that day. She was staying a week to have fun. The intimation sex.

Fine. Strange. Her business only. Why share.

Jessica reappeared last night. Stood at the end of the bar and said, “I’m buying for the bar. Shots.”

She then proceeded to tell us she was in a hurry. Someone was coming to her room. No intimation this time. Sex!

A meretricious relationship awaited her. The term a throwback to my lawyering days.

With that, Jessica was off.

Her total time in the Chart Room all of two minutes. Time enough to buy for the bar and announce what was next on her agenda.

An efficient use of time. Hope she was not as time efficient when she returned to her room.

The others at the bar were not revealing with regard to later evening intentions.

Met some nice people. No misunderstanding. Jessica was nice, too.

Sitting next to me was Jeff Wear. Got a boat education. Jeff is involved in boat sales in West Palm Beach. Mariner Marine. Specialize in Grady-White boats. Better described as elegant outboard powerboats.

He and wife Michelle have a 37 foot Grady-White that they frequently power to Key West for a weekend. The boat last night was at the Galleon.

Jeff once was a Keys resident. Lived 5 years in Islamorada.

Interesting. Jeff and Michelle live in Stuart and work in West Palm. A fun area. Yet they find Key West more appealing for get away weekends. The flavor of Key West difficult to find elsewhere.

Mike and Amy were seated on the other side of me. From western Massachusetts. They have visited Key West many times. The first time for their honeymoon.

At the other end of the bar were Mark and Kim from Connecticut. Their fourth visit. Mark builds computer boards.

John enjoyed himself while bartending. It was a fun evening.

I had not eaten. Stopped at Tavern ‘n Town on the way home. The Tavern’s new 9-11 happy hour terrific. Since it is late, I eat less.

The cost can’t be beat. Fried calamari, bread and two drinks. $18. I feel ashamed every time I pay the bill after a late evening there.

Spent yesterday afternoon reworking Growing Up Italian. Some day, I will finish the book.

This Trump meeting of a year ago involving Donald Jr. gets stranger by the day. Seems hard for young Donald to tell the truth.

We were informed yesterday there was a fifth person in the room. A Russian-American lobbyist who once was a member of Russia’s military and counter-intelligence.

A few minutes ago on MSNBC, I heard announced that one of Jr.’s attorneys called in and said their was a sixth person in the room. Sounds like a joke telephone call. By the end of the day, we will know if the message was genuine.

I do not mean to insult Donald Trump, Jr. by referring to him as Jr. Fewer letters to type.

A day or two ago, his father referred to him as a good kid. Probably is. He is neither Jr. nor kid, however. He is 10 days younger than the French President.

Got to hurry. A haircut appointment.

Enjoy your day!

 

INSTINCT AND LIGHT OF THE MOON

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Turtle hatchling time.

The eggs sit beneath the sand. They start breaking up. Tiny turtles struggle out of their shells and upwards to the air. The ocean their goal. The moon their guiding light. Instinct and the moon light their way to the ocean and new home.

Salute’s sits on Higgs Beach. Sunday night the restaurant was full. All of a sudden someone ran in and shouted the turtles are hatching. Every one left their tables and ran out to watch. One hundred five baby turtles came up out of the sand.

A fine article re the occasion in this morning’s Key West Citizen.

An interesting observation in the Citizen. The female hatchlings will return in 25 years to dig their own holes with their back flippers to bury their eggs.

Nature is wonderful! Wish hurricanes were as predictable.

My yesterday began with a brief walk in the new neighborhood. Walked before the sun was up. The humidity a killer even though dark. Worse when the heat of the sun joins it.

My manicure/pedicure appointment at 1.

Tammy still in Vietnam. With the two children. Visiting the family. Ricky left home to watch the business.

Nina has been doing my nails in Tammy’s absence. A lovely person.

Nina a stunning woman. Beautiful. A slim body. The face of an angel.

Twenty three. Arrived in Key West from Moldova only 9 months ago. Did not speak English. I thought her fluent. She thinks not. Modest.

Moldova is a small East European country. Part of the old Soviet Union. Population 3.5 million. A poor country.

Nina studied journalism for three years in college in Moldova. Did not finish. Took no English courses. She learned how to do nails in Moldova.

Loves the United States! Her new home. Has no desire to return to Moldova, except to visit family. Her sister is marrying next year and she plans to return for the event.

As to my nails, she does an excellent job! Has my wants down to a science. Short, round and buffed. She has strong hands. Resulting in great hand and foot massages.

Welcome to America, Nina! May your every dream be fulfilled.

Mel Fisher Days begin today. Run through saturday.

Today’s featured event a day time laboratory tour. The Private Conservation Laboratory. Special. The lab is generally off limits.

Hurry and make an appointment. The tours are limited to 8 persons and last 45 minutes. Each tour was sold out last year.

William Hackley mentions today the death of two persons. Died on separate days. Each buried around 5-6 on the day of death.

Why buried same day? I assume because of the heat. If another reason, let me know.

Remember government of the people, by the people, for the people? It is slipping away. Becoming more and more government of the rich and influential.

A perfect example is what has been reported in the media this morning. Involves Attorney General Jeff Sessions. A Southerner. A bigot and racist from a 100 years ago. A person who believes he and his ilk can do what they want when they want.

Sessions has had a memory problem re his visits with Russians. In order to qualify for the Attorney General position, Sessions had to file a form listing his Russian meetings.

Some believe he was less than truthful in his responses recently before a Congressional Committee. A Federal Court order was obtained requiring the Justice Department to release within 30 days the form listing Sessions’ contacts with the Russian government.

The 30 days ended yesterday. The Justice Department failed to turn over the required document.

Note Sessions as Attorney General is the head of the Justice Department.

Guaranteed Sessions is going to get his ass reamed before this matter is over. You don’t screw with a Federal Judge.

Enjoy your day!