THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE

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Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred

Theirs not to reason why;

Theirs but to do and die.

Crimea is in the news big time these days. As is Russia, other European nations and Ukraine. War threatens. In 1854, there was a war in Crimea. The Crimean War. Involved were Crimeans, Russians, Great Britain, certain other Euro nations, and many of the Muslim faith.

On October 25, the Battle of Balaklava took place. An ill fated event in British military history. The British calvary charging up the hill were decimated. Totally destroyed. Fire from each side and above. The attack was a mistake. A for real administrative error. The British troops should not have been riding up that hill.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was poet laureate at the time. After the battle, he wrote his famous The Charge of the Light Brigade. The opening quoted four lines of this blog represent four lines from the poem.

History appears to be repeating itself. Hopefully war will not ensue.

Live long enough and you get to meet everyone.

Jimmy Valvano was North Carolina State basketball coach. His team won the Final Four in 1983. Many will recall the film of Valvano immediately after the winning game. He was running up and down the court looking for some one to hug.

Valvano died of cancer at age 47.  Yesterday’s Key West Citizen carried a quote of his concerning cancer. “Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.”

A couple of years after the Final Four victory, I was in Italy for a one month family vacation. It was the last three days of the trip. My parents and son had already left for home. It was just my wife, two daughters and me. The night was late. They were tired. Left me wandering the Via Veneto as they returned to the pension.

The Via Veneto is Rome’s main street. Bustling with character and charm twenty four hours a day. Many outside cafes. Sitting at one alone was Jimmy Valvano. I immediately recognized him.

I went over, introduced myself, related my Syracuse affiliation and friendship with Jim Boeheim. Valvano and I became immediate friends.

His wife had gone back to the hotel tired. We sat, enjoyed Italian coffees and chatted for quite a while. A nice guy. A memorable evening for me.

Yesterday included a meeting downtown, manicure, and time at Don’s Place. Tammy happily was relating to me her happiness with their new home. Love her! She and her husband deserve all the joys they are experiencing. Later, I chatted with David and Herschel at Don’s Place. We are going to be short handed thursday at bocce. Herschel, Erika and Jennifer will not be there.

Stopped to visit Lisa in between. Jake was sick. Had been up chucking. Poor Jake!

Blog talk radio tonight. I will be discussing how the economy is bad for some of the big guys, also. An interesting change in the Utah polygamy laws. It is now legal. Who would want five wives, however? A 70 year old father who discovered his son’s fiancée was in the escort business. Should he tell his son? U.S. combat aircraft having a superior readiness to all other nations. The looting of the Ukraine already by American and Euro nation banks. Obama and Putin playing chicken to the detriment of the world. The head of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi party running for President. Putin nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And more.

Revealing information. A quick moving half hour.  www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. The show is archived. It is also available on You Tube following the actual broadcast. Enter the show’s title Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou and the date of the show in numbers. My pic and voice come up. Enjoy!

The You Tube version is not posted till 3-4 days after the show. Sorry. We are working on it getting posted sooner.

New college basketball rankings came out yesterday. Syracuse #11. How the mighty fall! Two weeks ago, Syracuse was #1. Unless Syracuse wins the ACC tournament this week, Syracuse will be a 3 or 4 seed in the big tournament.

Enjoy your day!

HIV CURES LITTLE GIRL’S CANCER

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Happy Sunday!

Wonder of wonders! A seven year old girl suffering from leukemia cured by the HIV virus.

Just announced. Seven year old deathly ill with leukemia. Chemotherapy had failed. In such case, a bone marrow transplant cannot be done.

The child was transferred to a super dooper experimental cancer hospital. She had 48 hours to live. Then her organs would fail. Death soon thereafter.

The parents were told we only know one more thing to do. However, we do not know if it will work. It is experimental. It is up to you.

The parents said go for it.

The doctors removed all of the girl’s T cells. They took the HIV virus and modified it. I assume that means they took the AIDS causing portion out. Each T cell was injected with the modified HIV virus. All were then returned to the girl’s body.

The HIV cells then went to war with the cancer cells and killed them.

The seven year old survived! Her cancer is in total remission two years later. She is back in school leading a normal life.

The young lady was at the cutting edge. The procedure has been tried on several others since. Some with complete success, one with partial success, and two with no success. The doctors are convinced the procedure will be perfected this year and work on most, if not all.

Wonder of wonders! God bless!

My show was yesterday. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. I told this girl’s story. The reception was overwhelming. That is why I share it with you this morning.

Later in the day, I wrote next week’s column for KONK Life. Brazilian Prostitution. Interesting. The ladies are federally recognized. Even are able to receive federal pensions.

I went out last night. Had to. I was going stir crazy. Jail would never work for me.

I visited the Chart Room. Stayed a while. Enjoyed two diet Pepsi’s. Chatted with Dave, Sheila, Sean, and Katherine. All good people.

Emily was bartending. Got a hug as I left. Unfortunately, I never got to talk with her as I was at a table tied up with the others.

My computer is sick. It happened yesterday afternoon. A virus. I am at Lisa’s doing the blog this morning.

My screen suddenly froze. I could not get out. I finally called Tim Reynolds, my computer guru. Dropped the computer off to him on the way out. He is familiar with the virus and will have my computer back to me today or tomorrow. He said there was no danger of the virus infecting other computers receiving my messages.

Syracuse basketball again today! At noon. The team plays Villanova.  At the Carrier Dome. Should be a good game. I hope Syracuse plays better. Otherwise, Villanova is going to win.

Enjoy your Sunday!

BIG TEN SPORTS BAR LAST NIGHT

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My friday morning yesterday was the internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour went well. I was bombarded after the show by people commenting on the puppy mill topic. Most were shocked by what was revealed.

Hurried home after the show to write my column for next week’s KONK Life. I did a bit on the hookers displaced by the London Olympics. The article covers prostitution in general in England, also. Interesting.

Last night turned out to be one of the most enjoyable I have spent in Key West. Good people and good conversation throughout the evening.

The night started at Don’s Place. I was to meet David. We planned on dinner together.

Besides David, Erika, Herschel and Jimmy were at Don’s. Herschel was giving away his cigarettes. Today he is being hypnotized to help him stop smoking. I wish him good luck.

David and I decided to eat at the Big Ten Sports Bar. John Lukas’ place.

It was packed! The most people I have ever seen there. A fundraiser was going on. For four year old Kylee Farrow. A cancer victim. She begins extensive therapy today.

Kylee’s mother and grandmother were there. It is a hard situation. I felt for them. I remembered Robert eight years ago.

David and I met David at the bar. The additional David instantly became a new friend. He is from England, retired and spending some time in Key West. A real nice guy. As we were chatting, the Olympics was on every screen.

Nate was bartending. I had not seen him in a while. One of the nicest guys in Key West. He was earning his pay last night. Busy, busy.

My former bocce team mate Lori came in. She looked terrific! It was friday night in Key West!

David and I stopped back at Don’s Place for a night cap. Kurt was bartending. I like Kurt. Kurt has had a beard for years. He was making suggestions as to how I should trim mine. So had David during the evening. David looks like Santas Claus.

I have to baby sit at 9. Taking Robert and Ally to breakfast. Probably Harpoon Harry’s.

I was totlaly impressed by the Olympic opening show. Top shelf theater. I trust Romney will find nothing negative about it. The show was perfection.

Enjoy your saturday!

LOTS HAPPENING

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I wrote yesterday that Robert was attending a one week fun trip under the auspices of the Miami Childrens Hospital for youthful cancer survivors. The group consists of about 32 kids. Boys and girls.

Saturday night they attended the Marlins game. The group received all kinds of goodies and acknowledgements. Met the players, practised on the field, one threw out the opening pitch, etc.

I write this blog and everyone things I am very computer savy. I am not.

Lisa received a picture yesterday of Robert at the Marlins game. He is standing in a line with the other cancer survivors. Some Marlin players behind them.

Lisa posted the picture on Facebook this morning. Go to facebook and see it. Search Lisa Malcom. Robert is the third from left. The one with the blond hair. The picture will touch your heart. Guaranteed.

Because I am computer inept when it comes to posting pics, I have to send you directly to Lisa on Facebook.

These children are cancer survivors. Lisa talked with the mother of one of the other children last night. The mother had visited with the kids briefly yesterday. When she came upon them, they were openly talking about having had cancer and that they could have died. They were showing each other their scars.

Robert is aware of what he went through at birth. Even though cured, he is aware it affects his life. For example, he has to be checked at Miami Childrens Hospital till he is 21. He and the family pack up the car and go several times a year. How could he not understand!

God bless these kids!

Sloan and I worked long and hard yesterday morning. Our early Sunday was committed to organizing the 600 pictures taken on my trip. Soon some will be exhibited in epilogue fashion. Not all 600. That became clear yesterday. We have decided on showing the best 50. We are still getting down to that number. If 50 does not do it, I will figure some way of showing more. You shall not miss the good ones.

Walked big time again. After Sloan and I had finished. Longer than the previous day. I must keep it up! That last comment sounds sensual. Not meant to be. Sounds good, though.

There are many tourists in Key West. I am pleased. Both tourists and merchants are happy. This is a good time to visit Key West. Prices are generally half off. Meals 2 for 1. A bargain.

I spent a lot of time at the Plantation Coffee House. Reading the Sunday newspapers and sipping coffee. Both Theo and Diane were there. A hard working couple. Pleasant people.

There were several tourists seated in one area. They were chatting about the weather. The topic of discussion was whether it was going to rain yesterday. It was around one. The sun was bright and hot. Few clouds. The morning had been the same. They were convinced it would not. One of them even said he checked everything out on the internet and he was certain that it was going to be a dry day.

I wanted to tell them how wrong they were. I did not want to bust their bubble, however. It rains every day in Key West in the summer. it is our rainy season.

Sure enough around four, the deluge came. Torrential rain.

Chickens have been a problem over the years in Key West. Several years ago the city fathers paid someone to remove the chickens. Chickens are some sort of an endangered species in Florida. They cannot be killed. They must be captured, properly crated, and sent to a chicken farm somewhere in northern Florida to enjoy the rest of their days.

Key West hired a chicken catcher. He was to receive $20 per chicken. The caging and trucking expenses north were to come out of the $20. The chicken catcher did not last long. He quit. Said he could not make money. The chickens still rule the streets of Key West.

Yesterday’s Key West Citizen had an interesting article. Somewhat related.

Page 2 of the Citizen daily publishes historical events. The paper calls it Today In Key West History. One of the items mentioned occurred 100 years ago. It involved the city and county commissions getting together at a special meeting to combat what apparently was a problem at the time. The bubonic plague. Heavy stuff. The two commissions voted to pay anyone who would help to eliminate the rodents who caused the problem. Five cents per rat, one cent per mouse. Dead or alive.

Hemingway Days start to day. Run through Sunday. One of the big events is the Hemingway Look A-Like Contest. It is held annually at Sloppy Joe’s. Now that I have a beard, all of seven weeks old, I considered entering. On second thought, I realized I am not ready. The beard needs to grow more. Perhaps next year.

I feel good. The jet lag seems to have gone. However, I layed down again yesterday afternoon at 4 for a short nap. Did not wake till 9. Screwed up my game plan for the night. It was to have been dinner at the bar at La Trattoria and visiting with Kathy and Becha. Perhaps next week.

Enjoy your day!