BICYCLISTS AND THE BOULEVARD

The new North Roosevelt Boulevard is terrific! A pleasure to travel!

There are a few problems. Some in the process of correction. Others, not.

One is that the driving lanes on both sides are open to bicycle traffic. Bicycles are actually painted on the road way signifying A-OK. Envision it. Bicycles driving down the middle of a Boulevard lane.

A disaster in the making! Not yet, however.

Yesterday, the wrong of permitting the bikes was evident. Traffic is exceptionally heavy this week. A holiday week. Many tourists. Families.

Traffic was unusually slow on the Boulevard going into town. I thought there might be an accident. There was not. It was a family riding their bicycles.

Each helmeted. The only safety feature taken into consideration.

The father in the lead bike. A small child sitting in the basket in front. This is going to sound like the Three Bears story. Mama bicyclist on the second bike. Then three smaller bikes with three children riding them. The oldest could not have been ten. All in a straight line, one behind the other. Oblivious to the traffic hold up they were causing and the danger the family was in.

Publix’s parking lot was a no parking zone. I had to go around the lot three times to find a spot.

I had a noon appointment with Tammy for a manicure. Lee Nails was packed! Locals and tourists. I was the only male. The ladies obviously getting ready for New Year’s Eve. A lot of chatter and laughing.

I wrote one more chapter to Growing Up Italian. Concrete Sidewalks Grass Backyards. Who had a backyard?

Then spent considerable time preparing for tonight’s blog talk radio show. A good one. Some things are in my craw. Bothering me. Tonight,  I will vent. Tomorrow, some will write and tell me I’m crazy.

Some of the topics of note include my analysis of the New York City Police Department  problem, a lawsuit being filed against the New York City Police Department every 2 1/2 hours, Greece on a collision course with Germany which perhaps could result in war, some consider Ukraine the prelude to World War III, and the U.S. purportedly being out of Afghanistan.

My analysis of the NYPD situation and Obama’s comments re finally being out of Afghanistan are guaranteed to stir the pot.

Join me for an interesting and challenging half hour. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine this evening. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

GREEK FERRY BOATS

The last 24 hours have told the story of the Greek ferry boat on fire. Over 400 passengers. 110 still not rescued. Cold temperatures and cold seas. A fire below. Sufficient to melt rubber shoes on the floor above. Boat leaning. Not enough life boats.

I received an e-mail from Eleni on Amorgos yesterday. She owns the house where I stay when in Amorgos. She shared the ferry boat story with me. She was afraid it might be a Titanic in the making. I heard from her before any significant number had been rescued.

Five reported dead so far.

The only way to get from one island to another generally in Greece is by ferry boat. They are water buses. I have been a passenger on many. My concern each time was safety. Mine, first.

They pack 400-500 people on one boat. 3-4 stories. Vehicles on bottom floor. Everyone sits. Has to be 20 seats across.  Narrow isles. Leading to another narrow aisle. Leading to a narrow staircase. One way in, one way out.

I used to think how am I going to get off this thing fast if I have to. Impossible!

Greek waters are rarely mild. Not like Key west in the summer when the warm weather makes for a calm sea. Greek waves are crushing. The boat up and down in huge dips. Two thoughts constantly in mind. Try not to get sick. What do I do if a wave breaks through the huge windows?

A watery grave.

Life boats. Definitely not enough. Never. Ten, maybe 20. On many boats, inflatables.

A crew that did not seem to care. Get the passengers on and off quickly. I mean quick! The boat was moving rapidly before I was ever in a seat. Then getting my ass in a seat became a feat in itself.

I loved Greece! I love Greece! Except for the ferry boats.

Yesterday, walked Smathers Beach. Otherwise laid around and napped. Watched the Syracuse/Long Beach State game at 4. Syracuse won 85-67.

The Charles Eimers police protest took place yesterday. The Key West Citizen reports about 40 participated.

Crime pays! In a sort of round about way.

Timothy Poole is a registered sex offender. He likes little boys. Poole recently won the lottery. $3 million. His net in pocket $2.2 million.

Two young boys he molested have elected to sue him. Brothers. Lawsuit winners! With money available to pay any judgment awarded them to boot!

Enjoy your day!

RODNEY DANGERFIELD

My yesterday began with a lengthy noon time meeting downtown. The balance of the afternoon following the meeting watching TV at home. It was a lazy day.

Several years ago, I mentioned that I had spent a few days with Rodney Dangerfield at the fat farm La Costa. A place where people went to lose weight. We got chummy. We would chat in the hot tub and steam room. Played volley ball together bare ass twice a day. Ate together. Each off us on the 800 calorie a day diet.

I watched a Rodney Dangerfield movie in the afternoon. The one where he went to college when a senior citizen. He was as wacky as ever.

Rodney was wacky in his everyday life, also. What you saw on the movie screen and on TV was Rodney Dangerfield in the flesh. It was the real him. He made millions merely being himself.

Last night was Tavern ‘n Town. Saturday seems to attract me to the place. Probably because it is the night Bobby Nesbitt entertains.

As I walked into the Marriott, I ran into Joe and Beth Pizzo. I had not seen them in a couple of years. Key West friends going back more than 20 years. Happy hellos and hugs exchanged.

A corner of the bar had several male members of the Yacht club enjoying drinks together. The same group that were at the Yacht Club bar almost daily. The Yacht club is closed Saturday nights. Happy hellos again.

Bobby’s music I love! Songs from the ’50s and ’60s. Bobby came over and chatted while he was on break. He looks the same as when I met him for the first time 25 years ago. Nary a wrinkle.

Journey and Judy bartending. I asked for my usual Beefeaters. Judy said no Beefeaters. First time. I knew why. I said to Judy, you have a new alcohol distributor. Yes, she said. There is one who services the keys that does not handle Beefeaters.

I felt like I was back in London where I spent a week a few years ago. Only one bar carried Beefeaters. Most did not even know what it was. Shocking since the bottle looks like London and suggests Beefeaters is a drink of English origin.

It dawned on me last night that Tavern ‘n Town has become a local’s hangout.

Salt Island Seaplanes has been in business three weeks. The seaplane service between Naples and Key West. A 55 minute air trip.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I do not see how the company is going to succeed. The ride is expensive. $210 one way. The plane does not land in Key West. It lands at a mooring field somewhere northeast of Fleming Key. Passengers then get a seven minute boat ride to the Conch Harbor Marina dock. From there, you either walk or cab to where ever you are going.

This week’s Keynoter had two interesting items.

The first was the man who was arrested on the complaint of his girl friend that he had stolen her money. While in the back of the police car, the officer driving heard “chewing and chomping.” The guy was eating the cash. He got $277 down before stopped.

The other involved the Southern Keys Cemetery in Big Coppit. The cemetery ran an ad stating there were 75,351 residents in Monroe County and only 4,200 burial plots. Brilliant advertising!

I have been to the Cemetery. It is modern compared to the Key West one. I have gone there several times. An old friend, Jack Baron, is buried there. I enjoyed my almost daily conversations with him over the years and consider him one of the smartest people I ever met. Crazy as it may sound, I stop by not only to pay my respects but also to talk to him a bit.

Syracuse basketball today at 4. Syracuse is playing Long Beach State. Syracuse an 11 point favorite.

I have Sloan here at 10:30 to work. Have to hustle.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

FOG

Fog is common in many beach areas. Not Key West, however. Maybe once or twice a year.

This morning was one of those times. I woke to heavy fog. The kind described as thick as pea soup. I could see nothing. Not even the MTV house across the way. The fog has gradually lifted. Finally totally gone two hours after I first saw it.

The day is projected to be a warm one. Whether the fog has to do with it, I do not know.

Mel Fisher Museum is like a second home. I have visited many times. The Museum apparently has an attic. I did not know. Attics are uncommon in the keys. Crawl spaces prevail.

The famous playwrite Arthur Miller wrote The Price. It takes place in an attic. The show starts its run tonight for several weeks. Presented by the Fringe Theater of Key West. The show is being performed in the attic of the Museum.

Garret is another way of describing an attic. The show is advertised as taking place in the garret of the Museum.

Christmas has encouraged my writing habits. I seem to be spending more time at it. Most of yesterday involved knocking out three chapters of Growing Up Italian. Rough, of course. Refining and editing will take more time than putting the words on paper for the first time. Whatever, I was both pleased and excited by what I accomplished yesterday.

It became habit with me over the years to spend a bit of time at the end of Christmas or New Years Eves sitting alone or with my father and doing some soul searching. It has not occurred since I moved to Key West. Last night, I enjoyed the experience again.

I was with Don at Don’s place. He and I alone at the bar for a couple of hours. Serious conversation. Excellent conversation.

On the way home, my grumbling stomach told me I was on hungry. Even on a diet, one must still eat something. I stopped at Hogfish. Packed! Chatted with the fishermen who frequent the bar evenings.

Enjoy your day!

 

CHRISTMAS…..DID YOU KNOW?

A couple of things I learned regarding Christmas in the last 24 hours.

One involves heart attacks. Medical studies indicate that more people die from heart attacks on Christmas Day than any other time of the year. In second place, the day after Christmas. December 26. Third, January 1.

Health workers call this time of the year Christmas Coronary.

Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message as usual to a throng of people in St. Peter’s Square. I have been to St. Peter’s Square several times. Big, but not as spacious as the following indicates.

It was reported that 80,000 people were in St. Peter’s Square when the Pope delivered his Christmas message Urbi et Orbi. Urbi et Orbi translated is To the City and the World.

I was surprised at the 80,000 number. I was there once when the Square was extremely crowded. For one of the Pope’s wednesday morning messages. I never realized the number could be as big as 80,000.

I mentioned last week that the Pope had ordered three showers to be built in St. Peter’s Square for the homeless. He is going to need more than that! The three reminds me of the scene in Jaws where the sheriff sees the shark for the first time. The sheriff was at the end of the boat and the shark shot up into the air  mouth wide open. The sheriff turned around and said to his two companions…..I think we need a bigger boat.

My Christmas Day was quiet. I watched a little TV and wrote a lot. I was into Growing Up Italian. Significant progress was made.

Enjoy your day!

 

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

It is starting to feel like Christmas in Key West.

I was wandering around town yesterday. People greeting other people with Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Holiday hustle and bustle evident.

It got me in the holiday mood. I was not till yesterday. So much so that last night I took a ride around Key West to look at the decorated homes. Just as up north, people are into dressing the outside of their homes with Christmas ornaments.

My KONK Life column has been delivered. It will publish Christmas Day. It has to do with Christmas.

I wrote the column for Amazon Kindle in 2010. I thought it fitting for a republication this year in KONK Life. It is a history of Christmas.

Christmas as we know it did not fully evolve till World War II. The  Puritans did not celebrate Christmas. Early Boston made it a crime to celebrate Christmas. Christmas was not celebrated at the time of the Revolution. And on and on.

How Christmas as we know it came to be is interesting. Washington Irving is one of those responsible.

Look for the article next week. You will enjoy it.

This week’s KONK Life already on the stands has a different writing by me. The American Dream Revisited…..Torture Pays. The story of two men who hoodwinked the U.S. into paying them $81 million dollars for a set of copied Nazi and Communist enhanced torture techniques.

Visited the grandkids as they were getting out of school yesterday. Jake still loves me. He gets all excited when I come in.

Dinner was at the bar at Tavern ‘n Town. Around 9. Thursday is a happy hour special from 6-8. Cannot do it. Too many people. By 9, there are substantially fewer people at the bar.

My diet dinner consisted of a small portion of risotto and a dish of mushrooms sautéed in oil.

The Citizens’ Voice on page 2 of the Key West Citizen contained an interesting observation today. The writer stated…..In the 1960s, we had an economic war, we lost it…..We had a war on poverty, we lost it…..We had a war on drugs, we lost it.

Not much progress on these battlefronts!

Enjoy your day!

TORTURE

One of the issues I discussed last night on my blog talk radio show was torture. The issue was whether the U.S. is a torturer. My thought was that if we do torture, then we are. The act of torturing in itself is a manifestation of what we are. Of what we have become. We have changed as a people since 9/11. Changed in many ways.

This morning’s KONK Life News E-Blast carries an excellent article on torture by Rick Boettger. Titled Yay! We’re Not Nazis. I recommend it to you. Boettger covers torture from a different perspective than I did on last night’s show. His observations however are right on.

My yesterday was spent fine tuning last night’s show.

Syracuse football in the news yesterday. What I am gong to share does not seem possible. Syracuse’s football attendance at home games this past season was up 6 percent. An average of 40,447 fans. Syracuse was #2 in increased attendance percentage wise. Florida State was first.

The increase accomplished with a 3-9 record. Amazing!

There is an internet video of Boeheim’s interview following the Louisiana Tech game. He was tough. He was indicating that his players are weak on basics. Like catching the ball with two hands. Things that should not have to be taught at the college level. I recommend the video to you. Easy to find on most Syracuse basketball sites.

The plane that would not fly. Sounds like the title to a book. Actually, it is in reference to Orville Wright and the first powered plane to fly. Today is the anniversary of the first flight in 1903. On the  100th anniversary of the inaugural flight in 2003, a ceremony was held at Kitty Hawk. The replica plane failed to fly!

Enjoy your day!

 

 

GUINEA PIGS

Many times unfortunately elected officials in the keys have their heads screwed on wrong. They make bad decisions. I do not think maliciously. They just do not exercise common sense.

There was a meeting last week concerning the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board’s intention/desire to use genetically modified mosquitoes to kill off dengue fever and other diseases. It is accomplished by the sterilization of mosquitoes.

GMOs in mosquitoes! Mosquitoes that bite humans! If we do not want GMOs in our food, why would we want them in mosquitoes? Makes no sense to me.

Even worse, there are no federal approvals supporting the idea. Testing in the keys will be one of the reports submitted to the government when approval is sought. Which means we are to be used as guinea pigs.

I live in Key Haven. It has been reported that the primary testing area will be Key Haven.

I am against it. Stay out of Key Haven and the keys. If and when the federal government approves, ten years there after come back and ask us to reconsider.

Sean Kinney has an excellent article on the issue in this morning’s KONK Life E-News Blast.

I did nothing yesterday. Sunday was my day of rest. Never left the house. Sat outside most of the day in the shade of the tiki hut writing this week’s KONK Life column. The article concerns itself with the loss of the American dream. It is gone gone.

Have to hustle. Another doctor visit this morning.

Enjoy your day!

MISSED XMAS PARADE

One of the best family events in Key West is the annual Xmas Parade. Many floats. several Santa Claus’, tons of kids vying for candy, etc.

I love the Xmas Parade! I love watching it with Robert and Ally!

Not this year. I missed the parade. It was last night. I thought it was next week.

Nevertheless, I did have a good time. I had dinner with Buffalo friends Tom and Fran Dixon at Hot Tin Roof. Fortunately, we were the only one’s dining in the bar area. We were loud and boisterous. Laughed the whole way through dinner.

Power outages are similar to hurricanes. They come in bunches. We have not had one in a while. We had a half hour one yesterday. The power was out starting around noon. A boat hit a transmission line off the Seven Mile Bridge.

Oh Syracuse, my Syracuse! The basketball season is not off to a good start. I fear this is not going to be the best of seasons.

Syracuse lost to St. John’s 69-57. I am bleeding orange.

The team is not jelling. Especially on offense. I am unimpressed with Joseph, the point guard. Plus, we are not making three pointers.

Today is December 7. Sunday, December 7. On a similar Sunday in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. A day that will live in infamy, as President Roosevelt said at the time.

I recall the day vividly, in spite of being 6 at the time. There was no television. No home telephones either. The news of the bombing came from people yelling in the street and knocking on doors. Following which radios were turned on.

Not everyone had a radio. We did. Family and neighbors collected. Our radio was in the living room. The remainder of the day was spent with everyone sitting around, including on the floor, listening to the news.

Enjoy your Sunday!

LIFE CHANGES RAPIDLY

I am down this morning. I just heard about a dear friend in Utica. Her husband e-mailed me. She has been diagnosed with cancer. Everywhere. Breasts, lungs and spine. Plus a mass in the pelvic area larger than a softball. The doctors are still testing to determine if the mass is cancerous.

A sweet woman. Never hurt a soul. Her husband my best friend.

In a split second, the world turns. Life changes.

Don’s 60th birthday party last night at Don’s Place. Packed! Larry Smith and his group entertained. Christine and the lovely Kathleen Peace singing. Ray on the guitar. Skipper on the drums. A loud night.

The crowd was a three way combination. Don’s friends, Larry’s followers from the Wine Galley, and Don’s usual friday night crowd. A good time was had by all!

Don is one of the finest people I have met in my lifetime. I feel fortunate to have met him. We are friends. I wish him sixty more years!

Hershel and Erika are in town. They left Key West several months ago for a northern state. They flew in for Don’s party. Good people! Love them both!

I saw something last night I never thought I would again. Gas under $3! $2.99 at the K-Mart station on the boulevard. My sense is the price will continue its downward trend for a  while.

Every time I think about the price of gas, I recall its cost when I first got a driver’s license. $.16 a gallon! Would you believe!

Today is Joyce Kilmer’s birthday. He died in World War I at the age of 31. He was part of the Fighting 69th.

Kilmer was a poet. Trees being one of his finest compositions. The best lines…..”I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree…..Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

Syracuse basketball tonight. Play St. John’s. A former Big East foe. Syracuse is a 7.5 point favorite. I hope.

I recall when Lou Carnesecca coached St. John’s. A short, thin amiable sort. A powerful sense of humor.

I met Lou two times. The first in Utica. My son was chairing the United Fun Drive. The final dinner a big deal. We were able to get Carnesecca as guest speaker with Jim Boeheim’s assistance. We met prior to the dinner. My father was with us. Carnesecca said several nice things about my Dad during his speech.

Lou would not take pay for his attendance and speech. Only asked that his plane ticket and motel be covered. That is the kind of guy he was.

The second time I saw him was about a year later. I was in New York City to see the Syracuse/St. John’s game at Madison Square Garden. My seats were first row behind the St. John’s bench. Lou saw me and came over to chat for a few moments.

Lou Carnesecca is still alive. He is 89. God bless him!

Dinner tonight with my Buffalo friends Tom and Fran. We are meeting at the Chart Room and then off to Hot Tin Roof for dinner. The third consecutive night I have been out on the town. For a while there, I thought I had slowed down.

Enjoy your day!