SHE RODE THE DONKEY

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Oia is a town on the Greek island of Santorini.

I spent ten days there last summer. You will recall it as the place where I failed in my attempt to climb the volcano.

Santorini is a huge cliff sitting in the water.  The sides run straight up to the sky. At one particular point in order to get to the bottom, one drives a car or walks. The walk is a wide pathway seemingly attached to the cliff. The cliff is at least 1,500 feet tall at that point.

The pathway is in reality a donkey trail. It has steps, widely apart. Donkeys carry people up and down. People walk the path also. However, they do so gingerly because of the dung along the way.

Others drive to get to the bottom of the cliff. I drove. There are restaurants and apartments at the bottom which sit on the sea. My favorite Oia restaurant Katrina Taverna is one of the restaurants.

About a month ago, my dear friends Bob and Helen Marks visited Oia. They walked the donkey trail. That same day, they climbed the volcano. Bob is 75 years old.

I never met anyone who rode a donkey. Until last night. Her name is Elaine Jette. Met Elaine and her husband Fred. They are visiting Key West for a few days.

Elaine likes to travel. She goes all over the world. In addition to Greece, she recently visited Africa. Fred does not like traveling so he stays home. He mentioned that the only places he travels to are the Bahamas and Key West..

Elaine was in Oia. She rode a donkey! It had to have been a fearful experience. If you fall off, you fall off the pathway also. Into the sea below.

Fred and Elaine are from Stuart, Florida. Fred is a civil engineer. He builds roads and bridges. Elaine works for Merril Lynch.

I met Fred and Elaine at the Chart Room.

Frankie came in while we were talking. Frankie is Admiral of the Conch Republic Navy. A big deal! Frankie got into the Sea Battle which takes place every year. Fred and Elaine listened attentively.

I pointed out to them that you can’t experience anything like the Sea Battle in Stuart. They agreed.

I wrote about killer whales yesterday. I forgot to mention how they got the name killer whales.

Killer whales do not kill humans. There is no record of any human fatality, except with whales in captivity. Turns out their name initially was the reverse of what it is today. Whale killers. Why? Because killer whales kill bigger whales of a different breed.

We all know dolphins are not afraid of whales and that whales fear dolphins. Killer whales are not whales. They are dolphins.

Interesting!

This morning my tv/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Ten my time.

I will be chatting a bit more regarding killer whales. I will also get into Senator McCain’s recent foray into Syria. A bit on the Catholic Church and hypocrisy. Some words about Father Andrew Greeley who died this week. Plus more.

Join me for a fast moving informative hour. The show can be viewed on television from Key West all the way up through Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Via the internet world wide. www.weyw19.com.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

KILLER WHALES DON’T KILL

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The front page of yesterday’s Key West Citizen had a photo of some whales. A brief article described them as killer whales and indicated they were discovered about 30 miles offshore of Key West.

A question entered my mind. Who do killer whales kill? I did a bit of research

Killer whales kill no one, except for seals and fish to feed themselves. There is no recorded instance of any human fatality involving killer whales. There have been situations however where those in captivity have turned on their keepers and killed them.

Turns out killer whales are good people, so to speak. They live in groups. Known  as pods. They live their entire lives within the group. Do not go out of it even for sex. Killer whale society is matriarchal. The mother/grandmother rules the roost. Females live to 80-90 years of age. The males only 40-50 years of age.

I learned much more. I plan on sharing additional information during the Key West Lou Legal Hour tomorrow morning.

I was up early yesterday. Had chores to perform. The cleaners, post office, and optician. The optician to tighten up two pairs of glasses.

The optician’s door was closed and locked. A phone number on the window. I called. The optician said she did not feel like working yesterday, might do two hours today and did not know about friday.

I stopped at Don’s Place on the way home to see if he was there. As I was leaving, someone was behind me. As we walked to our cars, he told me he had called his employer and told him he would not be in yesterday. It was too nice to work, he said. This was before the rain storm.

There must be something in the air or water in Key West. Two people who did not feel like working and did not. Typical Key West.

Stopped at the Plantation Coffee House. Enjoyed the coffee and morning papers. Diane working.

Theo her husband is an artist. He is painting up a storm. Every time I visit, there are new works on the walls. The place is turning into an art gallery. A lovely one.

Rained again yesterday. I do not know where all the rain is coming from. Torrential. Went on for a while. Streets flooded again.

I was driving north on Fogarty. It had not rained yet. All of a sudden, I saw this dark gray wall four blocks ahead. It was coming straight at me. It was the rain! It hit like a ton of bricks.

Florida’s Governor Scott signed a bill into law yesterday. A much needed one. An anti-texting law. No texting and driving from this point forward.

The Key West Citizen does a Day in Key West History. One of yesterday’s entries  set forth that Sloppy Joe’s had its grand opening on Duval on this day back when. Sloppy Joe’s advertised the grand opening. Its ad stated…..Free Dancing!

My Tuesday night blog talk radio show was a total screw up. We switched to Skype and everything became confused. I thought I was not on the air. I telephoned Sloan while the computer was still on. I said a bad word. The whole world heard me. The show had been broadcasting correctly. I heard from Italy, Indonesia, Key West, and Iowa that they heard me say a naughty.

I still have the Skype problem. Sloan and I worked on it with the blog talk radio people for two hours at dinner time. Still screwed up. I finally called computer guru Tim Reynolds and asked if he knew what to do. He will hopefully have an answer this evening.

On my way into town last night, I stopped at Don’s Place. Chatted a bit with Don, Hershel, David, Tom, and Joanie.

Then to the Chart Room. Not many people. Emily, Peter and I. Plus, two tourists. Don showed up. He never goes to the Chart Room unless he is with me. He came to find me.

Don and I had dinner at Hot Tin Roof. Lite fare. We shared shataki, mashed potatoes and a shrimp cocktail.

Please watch my tv/internet show tomorrow morning at 10. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. I have a terrific show prepared! Comcast Channel 87, U-Verse Channel 19, and www.weyw19.com.

Haircut time this morning. I have to hustle.

Enjoy your day!