OPENING NIGHT AT BOCCE

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You win some, you lose some. We only won one game last night.

Played Larry Smith’s team. A money game/a blood match. We won the first game 16-15. A battle! We lost the second game 16-15. Another battle! They out did us in the third game.

I played the second game. I was not up to par. I was not getting the ball there. The courts were damp from the rain and I did not have enough umph  to get to the polina.

Captain David has redone the parings. No longer will I be playing with Frankie. Keith is my new partner. We will work well together. Keith had a good evening last night.

I spent some time yesterday afternoon at the Plantation Coffee House. Had lunch there. Coffee and a toasted bagel. Read the newspapers. Chatted with Diane.

Before I forget, Happy Valentine Day! I have no one to give candy and flowers to at the moment. I am uncertain whether I will be out tonight. This is the busiest night for restaurants in Key West. Like New Years Eve.

After the Coffee House, I headed over to see Tammy. It was time again for a manicure and pedicure. Ran into Martha Robinson. I had not seen her for a while. A charming lady. One of Key West’s leading citizens.

Stopped at Publix on the way home. Needed food again. Basics. Bananas, grapes, strawberries, bread, and milk. The wrong time to shop. Too many people. Only four empty carts available when I arrived at the store.

Ran into Karen at Publix. Another person I have not seen in a while. She congratulated me on my book The World Upside Down. Said she had been trying to buy the soft cover edition. Each time she looked, there was a waiting period/backlog of 4-6 weeks. I suggested she order it and wait. The backlog has been that way since about a week after the book came out. I told her to check amazon.com and barnesand noble.com.

Italian politics is back in the news. Prime Minister Enrico Letta is resigning as of today. His own party dumped him. Mark what I am saying. Burlusconi will be back! Not soon, but soon enough. Not as an elected official. Rather as the power behind the throne.

I love talking politics with my Italian friends. Every politician they do not like  they refer to as Mafiosa.

Italy presently has 45 per cent unemployment. The highest in 40 years. It is right behind Greece on the poor economy list.

I have a bug up my ass again. A situation has developed in Connecticut. The State passed a gun registration law. It went into effect. A very low percentage of known gun owners registered their weapons. We are noyttalking about handguns. The law covered those modern day machine gun types.

Very few  gun owners registered the guns per the law. An act of civil disobedience or does it border on anarchy? Interesting.

A society cannot survive where its members decide for themselves which laws to follow and which not.

Syracuse/North Carolina State tomorrow. We should win. My recollection is North Carolina has lost 8 games. Syracuse, none. But…..Syrcuse is due. Most Syracuse wins have been close this season. I wish we would win one going away. My heart cannot take these last second (note not minute) victories.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

ATHENS LAST NIGHT

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Athens is a 25 minute flight from Santorini. I had to wait 45 minutes to get my luggage. Amazing!

Nikos drove me to the Santorini airport. What a guy!

I noticed on the drive into Athens from the airport that there were a lot of police cars. The cab driver told me it was because Italy’s Prime Minister Enrico Letta was in town to meet with the Greek hierarchy.

For some reason, I was not in the mood for plaka last night. My usual Athens night time haunt. I walked in the other direction. Ended up at the Grande Bretagne. I had tried to get a room there when planning the trip. One of the world’s great hotels. I was told there were no available rooms.

There were a lot of policemen outside the Grande Bretagne. Inside, I had to go through security. Like in an airport. I sensed Letta might be staying there. I would not ask, however. Greece makes me uncomfortable on occasion.

I enjoyed a superior evening at the Grande Bretagne! Even better than that!

I started at the bar. I was drinking Beefeaters. During my talk with the bartender, he asked if I had ever tried Beefeaters’ 24 Gin. It is Beefeaters top of the line. Forget never having drunk it, I had never heard of it. I wonder how many of you have.

In any event, I tried a glass. I did not like it. It had a perfumey bouquet like Bombay Saphire.

I decided to eat something. It was around 11 in the evening. I had not eaten since brfeakfast. I took a small intimate table just outside the bar area.

I ordered bruschetta. Three different types were served on vertical slices of a French type bread. One salmon, another mozzarella and tomato. The third was a vegetable of some sort. I susect zucchini crushed into an oily dressing. The whole thing to die for!

There was a piano player. Seated at a large baby grand. He played only American songs. He caught my ear with My Way. Later, his rendition of the theme from the Godfather blew me out.

There I was seated in absolute beauty enjoying excellent food and entertainment.

I thought how lucky I was.

The room. The Grande Bretagne is a distinguished old hotel. The bar area where I was seated is on the side of a huge high ceilinged dining area. Columns to the sky. Paintings. Antique furniture pieces. A physical heaven.

The Germans desecrated the Grande Bretagne with their presence during World War II. High ranking German officers occupied the hotel for living purposes. Offices were maintained in the building, also. I could envision German officers enjoying the room then as I was last night. A shame.

When I left, I had to pass through the crowd of police. I made it out just in time. I was 25 feet from the hotel when the sirens came blasting. Cars drove up. Four abreast. The street is extremely wide. Brakes screeched.

It was the man!

Italy’s Prime Minister Letta was staying at the Grande Bregtagne. He hopped out of his limo, gave a wave to everyone around, and entered the hotel. He had his jacket slung across his arm, no tie and his sleeves rolled up. Gave the impression he had been working. Some one told me that is his trade mark. No jacket or tie, sleeves rolled up.

I recently read that when ever Obama travels anywhere, like 200 staff and protection persons travel with him. The cars he will use are transported by plane, also. It made it easy for me to understand the retinue of cars stopping and people following the Prime Minister into the hotel.

There are two type police in downtown Athens these days. One official. The other unofficial, but tolerated. The usual police and members of the New Dawn Party. The New Dawn Party is the Nazi type political party gaining power on an increasing basis every day. The New Dawn members wore black and both walked and rode mopeds. Young good looking strong appearing individuals. I saw them out and about last night. In three different places. They travel in groups.

There was some sort of demonstration yesterday in front of the New Dawn headquarters in downtown Athens. Near Parliament. The party memebrs played the Nazi National Anthem. The very same one banned in Germany since World War II. During the demonstration, New Dawn handed out free food to whoever needed it. Not a hot dog. Bags of food. Families have a hard time getting enough food to eat in Greece these days.

Immigrants are the Jews of yesterday. The New Dawn Party blames them for Greece’s economic problems. Each person receiving food first had to establish he/she was not an immigrant.

I cannot wait to walk the streets of Athens today. Greece is an interesting and increasingly dangerous place.

Enjoy your day!

GREAT WHITE SHARK?

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There was talk friday night at the Chart Room and the Hot Tin Roof of a Great White Shark being seen by divers around the Vandenberg. No one discussing the shark had seen it. Local newspapers have not reported any sightings.

So what is the story?

Great Whites are not common to Florida waters. Too warm for them. However, this past winter the ocean has been unusually cool.

Three weeks ago, a Great White was caught one mile off Fort Lauderdale. A female, 13.5 feet long weighing around 1,000 pounds. The fishermen released the shark. Federal and state laws protect Great Whites. Something I cannot understand since Great Whites eat people.

Divers have reported sightings of a Great White in other Florida waters. They claim to have watched in awe as the shark swam around them, but did not attack.  Great whites are not known to bother divers.

Now the purported sightings off Key West at the Vandenberg.

I wish someone who actually saw one would come forward. In the meantime, I recommend caution. Great Whites may not bite divers, but do attack surface swimmers. It would be awful if a tragedy were to occur.

I spent some pleasant time with Tammy yesterday. A manicure and pedicure. I especially enjoy a pedicure. I think I have a foot fetish of sorts. It truly relaxes me.

Hotel people were at Lee Nails. Kate Miano from the Gardens and Carrie Babich from the Southernmost Complex. Friends. Both operate top notch resorts.

Stopped at Lisa’s afterwards. Robert was busying making a replica of a ukulele out of recyclables. Montessori is having a show friday of things the students have made from recyclables. A big deal. Parents and family will be in attendance. I will be.

Ally has the same assignment. She was not into it, however. She was wandering around moaning she did not know what to do. Lisa and Corey were telling her to think, come up with a plan, and do it. Ally kept responding…..I can’t!

That is Ally.

Forgot to mention meeting Kevin for the first time at the Hot Tin Roof while watching the Great Sea Battle friday night. Kevin was at the table next to us. He owns the Angelina Guest House. He was with some of his guests.

Yesterday, I wrote of hospital medical repatriations. When I get a hold of something, I stay with it.  This morning I am dismayed to report about patient dumping by psychiatric hospitals. They do not fly their patients out of the country. They put them on a Greyhound Bus to another state. The mentally ill. Without money, food, meds, or any plan for continued treatment. In fact, with no one to meet them.

A Nevada hospital has been reported. The claim is the hospital dumped 1,500 mental patients into the 50 states between 2008 and 2011. The hospital is under investigation.

Money was the motivating factor same as with the illegal immigrants.

Enrico Letta was appointed Prime Minster of Italy yesterday. A coalition government. Not strong. Could break apart momentarily. Letta is in power because of the support of Berlusconi’s Democratic Party. Berlusconi’s people insist Letta must state openly in his acceptance speech that he will abolish the unpopular housing tax and repay everyone the monies they paid into the government based on the tax in 2012. Amounts to some 8 billion euros.

There will be a confidence vote tomorrow following the speech. If Letta fails to comply with the Berlusconi party’s demand, Letta will be the shortest lived Prime Minister in Italian history.

My back went out again yesterday afternoon. I thought I was all better. Apparently not. Pain then and this morning.

I stayed in last night because of the discomfort.

Lisa and family are coming over this afternoon to swim in the pool. This will be Jake’s first visit to my home. We are hopeful he will enjoy the pool better than he does the ocean. If he wants to play with Robert and Ally, he will have to. They are never out of the water.

Life experiences are expanding with Jake in the Malcom home. He got worms. The vet said they were caused by a mosquito bite. One pill and Jake has no more worms. Jake is favoring one foot. I see another vet visit ahead. Added costs not anticipated. Jake sleeps in a cage in Lisa and Corey’s bedroom. He now cries at night. Once in bed with Lisa, he quiets down and goes back to sleep.

Ho ho!

Enjoy your Sunday!