THE SHAME OF IT ALL

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Key West weather is strange. Perhaps weather along the ocean everywhere is.

This morning is absolutely beautiful. Serene best describes it. Nothing moving. The sun bright. The sky blue with a smattering of isolated white clouds.

The weather man says it is not going to stay that way. Predicts 80 percent chance of rain later this afternoon. Hard to believe!

Lobster mini season next week! A big deal! People come from all over to dive for Florida lobsters. The season starts tuesday. Three days. Each day an armada will pass my home as it enters the ocean. The only way to describe it. Each year it reminds me of what the English boats must have looked like heading to Dunkirk.

Poachers show up. I call them thieves. 200-250 lobsters reside under my dock. The dock is 144 feet long. When I go out at sunrise on tuesday, there will be a black rubber suited swimmer picking at my lobsters. One year, I poked the guy in the head with a pole. He shot up, looked at me, and swam away like a thief. Which he was.

I did write next week’s KONK Life column yesterday. The Shame Of It All. About the Detroit water situation. My purpose was to share facts that normally do not appear in the national media. An interesting story. Obviously revealing. Read it when published next week. You will enjoy.

I wanted the column to be a double header. I wanted to explore the children immigrating into Texas also. Shame, again. The two subjects combined would have made for too long a piece. De Boer limits my words.

The children problem is a perfect example of how dysfunctional our government has become. A shameful episode thus far. It is clear the Republican House may do nothing or come up with a bill that will be dramatically short in dollars. Tea party members in the House are flexing their muscles.

Regardless how the problem occurred or whose fault it is, the children are here. A fact of life. We have to do something to care for them. The media generally now is showing the pictures of how these children are living. What happened to the compassion parents and grandparents in the House normally have? Children are children.

If the House fails, Obama must show he has courage. Immediate courage. He must act. Even if he bends the rules a bit. It would not be the first time for him nor the first time a President has done so.

Recall Reagan  and Iran Contra.

Drones are frequently in the news these days. Never in a good way. Yesterday was different. An 83 year old Wisconsin man had been lost for three days. He had Alzheimer’s. A drone was sent up to hopefully locate him on the third day. It did. In 20 minutes. The man was lost in  a bean field.

Drones apparently do have a good side.

Enjoy your day!

 

WHATEVER LOLA WANTS / DAMN YANKEES

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There is always background music at WeBeFit. I suspect to take one’s mind off the pain.

As I was leaving the gym monday, I heard…..Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. From my college days!

This has been a music week. First, Don’t sit Under the Apple Tree and now, Lola. Music from the past. The distant past.

Lola was a featured tune in the Broadway musical and then movie Damn Yankees. I saw the movie. Unfortunately, not the stage show. Gwen Verdon  starred in both and sang Lola. Lola has something to do with the devil. A sultry woman, a sultry tune.

My blog talk radio show was last night. Because I screwed off monday, my show was not ready. I had to work on it quite  awhile yesterday to be ready for last night.

I opened with the Detroit water problem. I had spoken about it last week. Last night was an update. A detailed one. More facts had come out during the week. I was able to explore the nitty gritty.

A key factor is the unfairness involved. The water company is pursuing the little guy and not the businesses who owe. Anyone owing more than $150 or behind two weeks is pursued. Their water turned off. Only residential properties. Most of which are occupied by persons of color.

Many businesses also owe money. At least one auto company. Two businesses owe in excess of $1 million. A golf course over $200,000. The brunt of the money owed is from businesses and not residents.

When those in authority were asked why only the residents were having their water turned off and not the businesses, the reply was simple and stupid. It was claimed that a resident’s water ccould be turned off easily. Lift a small outside door, turn a switch and attach a wire. No special training required.

To turn off a business on the other hand, requires much more work. Purportedly complicated. Required special training which no one at the water company had.

Does not make sense to me. Go after the big bucks! Get yourself ready to do it! Do it!

Detroit came up this morning on Morning Joe. It was like many on the panel were not that familiar or were hearing about the issue for the first time. Mika said we will have to get into this tomorrow. I am discovering the live TV talk shows are generally a day or two behind in reporting an event. Whereas, the internet is right on!

The gym again this morning. I am into the scene. Though I dread it.

Enjoy your day!

 

LADY WITH A HEART

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One of Key West’s best people! A person full of love and warmth! A lady with a heart!

Diane Schmidt.

Diane is special. She cracked the glass ceiling a  long time ago. She has been the General Manager of the Westin Key West Marina and Resort for many years.

It came to her attention that an injured Afghanistan veteran and his fiancée were in Key West and wanted to get married. The young man had suffered a traumatic brain injury. He has difficulty walking, some speech impediment and other problems. Diane decided the couple should have a first class wedding at Westin’s Sunset Key. At Westin’s expense!

The event was last night. A story book wedding.

Diane and Westin came through again. Thank you Diane. Thank you Westin. We are proud that you are part of the Key West family.

I started my yesterday with a late morning manicure. I find my time with Tammy therapeutic. We talk about everything. I admire the success she and her husband are achieving. The American dream. The reward of hard work.

Then to the gym. Not for a scheduled work out. Merely to ride a stationary bike for a while. Not the simple kind. This one was hard hard! Albert was there. He made sure I spent 15 minutes on the bike. I was ready to quit after 5. In the end, I had ridden the equivalent of 4.5 miles. The sweat was pouring off me.

I was tired. Went home. Intended to finalize my blog talk show for last night. Needed an hour’s nap first. Then to completing the prep work for last night’s show.

Shot over to Roostoca for a pre-show dinner. Veal marsala. Outstanding!

Then home to do the show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. A lot to talk about. We live in a crazy world. Crazier by the day.

Post show comment indicated much interest in the 50 percent Detroit water customers who cannot pay their bills. The United Nations is looking into helping. I tied the Detroit story in with the 50,000 children coming over the border into Texas. I am concerned that we might not be standing up to our responsibilities in properly caring for them. I noted the world was watching.

The thrust of my talk was that we were beginning to suffer the plights of third world countries and might be slipping into a third world morass. Think about it.

Moses said…..Let my people go! I wish the Sudanese government would stop screwing around and let the Sudanese woman they have been holding go. The lady who was sentenced to death by hanging because she refused to renounce her Christian faith.

She was finally let go 48 hours ago. She, her husband and their two children were at the airport intending to fly out of the country. She had the necessary documentary papers to leave. She was not permitted to do so. The authorities said something was wrong with her travel documents A “criminal violation.”

Two days later, she is still at the airport. Not arrested. Merely detained.

These people never let up. Let this woman go!

Enjoy your day!