AROMA OF ITALIAN COOKING

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I had an early dinner last night at Roostica. The evening was a bit cool. The inside of the restaurant was warm from the ovens. As soon as I walked in, I could smell it. That distinct aroma of Italian cooking.

The smell at Roostica was comforting. Nostalgic. It took me back

When I was young, wednesday and sunday were pasta days. Except back then, we called pasta macaroni. On those two days, the smell from the cooking permeated every room. The sauce did it. No question, an Italian home.

I recalled the first time I entered my Key West home. It was for sale and I went to look at it. As soon as I entered the front door, I could smell it. I told the broker…..This is an Italian home. I was correct. The wife had made sauce the night before.

At Peter’s party sunday, Peter said I looked pale. I am. I spend less and less time out in the sun and more time inside writing. When I go out evenings, the moon is of no assistance in keeping me tanned. I sat on the deck for an hour yesterday afternoon in an attempt to remedy my appearance.

I watched the first half of th Syracuse/Michigan game last night. I was doing my blog talk radio show during the second half. Syracuse was winning by two at the end of the half. Syracuse lost by three 68-65.

The newspaper comments told the story. Syracuse made 19 turn overs. I am surprised the game was that close under the circumstances. Joseph, the freshman point guard, needs seasoning. He does not have it. I hope he gets it.

Did my blog talk radio show last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. If you are not a listener, join me sometime. I think you will enjoy the show.

I pontificated a bit. My main topic had to do with the loss of the American dream. It no longer exists. The lack of present day social mobility is an American reality.

I bolstered my position by pointing out that if the economy had improved and was so good, why were there 2.5 million homeless children. The highest number ever in the United States.

The 30 turtles flown from Cape Cod to the Marathon Turtle Hospital are doing well. They have been warmed up by swimming in a 30,000 gallon water tank. Much warmer water than on the Cape. Some will soon be released into the ocean.

Here is a white on white police story. I share it with you as further evidence that many policemen are not functioning normally.

The incident occurred a few days ago in Houston. A woman was driving around a loop during rush hour. An off duty deputy sheriff thought she had cut him off. He pulled up to her car and took out his gun. She happened to look to her left. Saw the gun aimed at her. Pulled her head back. The bullet grazed her head. Had she not pulled back, the bullet would have penetrated her skull. The deputy sheriff took off. He was later arrested.

The NRA argues too many nuts have guns. What was this guy? And a police officer to boot!

Enjoy your day!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

May all enjoy this day. Good food, some drink, friends and family. Then to sleep with an overindulged stomach.

We owe the holiday to two sources. First, the Pilgrims who gave thanks with a big dinner with their then Indian friends at Plymouth in 1621. Followed by George Washington. Washington decreed in 1789 there should be a day of thanksgiving. To rejoice and thank God for the many blessings He had bestowed on the new country.

My Thanksgiving will be with Lisa and family. The big dinner at 1. I am curious how my diet will fare. The diet that now has me at a 17 pound loss.

I ran some errands mid day yesterday. Then stopped at Don’s Place. For a glass of water. Sat and chatted with Jimmy and John. House painters, the weather had rained them out.

Dinner at the bar at Tavern ‘n Town last night. Packed again. Some locals, mostly tourists. The place does a hell of a business!

Adair was at the bar. I had not seen him in a while. Adair is a trainer. His body is the best advertisement for his business. Adair is somewhere in his 60s. Looks a lot younger. Has a magnificent tight torso.

I have learned to feel sorry for the women on Thanksgiving. They are up early in the morning to get the turkey in the oven at the right time. Stuffing it first, of course. Then watching the turkey for several hours and preparing all the side dishes.

Thanksgiving is a good time to be a man. It is like child birth. It is the woman’s thing to do!

Call me a chauvinist. Though I am not.

There are two special things to celebrate today.

The hurricane season comes to an end November 30. No hurricane this year! No hurricanes for 10 years. Key West deserved it after Wilma.

Thirty turtles arrived at the Marathon Turtle Hospital. From the cold waters of Cape Code. Hypothermia. More to follow. The turtles have it made. They do not need Obamacare. They will receive the best medical care at no cost.

A question comes to mind re the Ferguson fallout. There have been 37 demonstrations in various parts of the United States in recent days. All a part of the Ferguson fallout. The demonstrations have been well organized. Similar in nature. The question I raise is who is behind these protest marches. There has to be someone or some group. Who? It concerns me.

I leave you this morning with two Louis thoughts re Ferguson. I suspect the reason Wilson was not indicted was because the local authorities were not going to let a dead black man put a white police officer in jail. The other is that what happened in Ferguson is a perfect example of might winning out over right.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving day!

 

MOONSHINE

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This blog seems to be getting more interesting. Ladies panties, yesterday. Moonshine, today.

Till I settled in Key West, I had heard of but never seen nor tasted moonshine. Moonshine appears to be a Keys thing just as cockfighting is. A bit here and there. I have probably shared a sip on a couple of occasions over the years.

This morning’s Key West Citizen reports on a “moonshine still” arrest. An apparent moonshiner advertised on Craigslist a moonshine still for sale. $375. Some undercover police authorities contacted him. Not only did he offer to sell the still to them, he also admitted having used it to make moonshine. He still had almost a gallon available.

He was arrested.

I learned something new reading the article. Not that I should not advertise a moonshine still on Craigslist. Rather, the word moonshine derives from those who made the stuff years ago in Appalachia. They worked by the light of the moon to avoid detection.

One of the best things in the Keys is the Marathon Turtle Hospital. Another heartwarming turtle story.

Sapphire is a subadult female turtle. Weighs 129 pounds. Sixteen months ago, she was brought to the hospital. She could not dive and had a breathing problem. She still cannot dive. Weights must be glued on her back to give her the ability. The weights fall off eventually and Sapphire is/would be in trouble.

Sapphire is going on a 2,500 mile plane trip to a new home. To a place called The Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista, California. There she will live in a 21,000 gallon tank of properly temperatured ocean water and be attended to daily.

Sapphire is flying via Fed Ex. Two Marathon Turtle Hospital personnel are accompanying her.

Yesterday was Rosh Hashana. To my Jewish friends and all other friends, I wish a Happy Rosh Hashana!

Which leads me to…..Donna and Terri, where are you?

Went for my back x-ray yesterday morning. No x-ray. Technician out till friday. Have to return friday morning.

My back is considerably better. If I do not use it to any extent. The steroids are terrific. Keep the pain away and make me sleep well.

Yesterday, I decided to walk at Home Depot. Felt no pain so I thought it would be ok. I walked ever so slowly. A 20 minute walk took 40 minutes. At the end, my back and leg were hurting. Pain increased during the day.

What happens when I am off steroids?

Lunched at Harpoon Harry’s. Wednesday lunch there is becoming a habit. The special a turkey dinner. All the trimmings like Thanksgiving. Delicious!

Spent the afternoon writing next week’s KONK Life column. Bank Robbers. An interesting twist on an old time story. From Jesse James to the bank robbers of today.

Ally and I still painting. Actually Ally painting and I observe, comment, and direct. She is doing well. I think she is talented.

Yesterday, Ally learned it is not all painting per se. There is work involved. We have already gotten past keeping the brushes clean. Yesterday, it was the pallet. She had left the paint globs on overnight. She had a difficult time getting the pallet clean. All part of being an artist.

I had a very enjoyable time last night at the Hot Tin Roof. My first drink since sunday. Only one. The doctor said it would be ok. The meal as usual was outstanding.

My waitress was Shanya. A young beauty. She has worked at Hot Tin Roof several months, though last night was the first time we spoke. She is from the Boston area. Of Serbian extraction. That led me into Flora and Albania. Both Serbia and Albania are parts of the former Soviet Republic.

Shanya is in love! Good for her! She soon will be relocating to St. Petersburg to be with her man.

The Hot Tin Roof is perched directly on the Gulf waters. From the second floor location where I was sitting, I could see way out to the horizon. It was 1-2 hours before sunset. The sun shining. A sailboat drifted along the line of the horizon. It was another one of those days. God was in His heaven, all was right with the world. At least in Key West.

Bocce tonight. I have only played once in the past three weeks. It was either my back or shoulder. Tonight, I plan on playing. The steroids will help. I will not be moving around as much as I did walking at Home Depot. I look forward to playing.

Enjoy your day!

 

BOCCE AND SOCIAL SECURITY

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Bocce and Social Security. The two are related. Sort of.

Tonight the new bocce season begins. August 14, 2014. Exciting!

On this same day August 14 in 1935, President Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. Exciting, also! Without the law, there would be no Social Security and Medicare today.

A point of information. People are always saying Social Security is broke. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If the United States honored its obligations.

President Johnson needed money for the Vietnam War. He looked at all the money sitting idle in the Social Security Fund. He legally devised a method by which the government could take the unused funds for its own purposes. The government keeps taking and never pays back.

The United States owes the Social Security Fund $2.7 trillion. Social Security is the government’s biggest creditor. Number 2 China is owed less than $1 trillion.

When people yell Social Security is broke, they either intentionally forget or do not know what I have set forth. Even today the government continues to  borrow money from the Social Security Fund. Your money and mine.

My yesterday began with a manicure at Lee Nails. Love Tammy!

I spent the afternoon researching further next week’s KONK Life column. Glory and Disgrace. About Great Britain in the early days of World War II. I plan on writing the column this afternoon.

Don’s Place was my first stop last night. Don is back. I was glad to see him.

I chatted a while with Stan and Clare and Hershel and Erika. Bocce, of course. Said hello to Grant.

Then to the Chart Room. Buffalo’s Tom Dixon is back in town! A rabid Syracuse fan. A Buffalo Bills fan, also. I asked Tom how the football team was going to be this year. He said terrific. I could not understand. Syracuse football has not distinguished itself in years. Turned out he was talking about the Buffalo Bills.

Tom’s wife Fran joined us. A charming lady.

We were together quite a while. We agreed to dine monday night at the Hot Tin Roof.

I had dinner at the outside bar at La Te Da. Always an interesting venue.

The people of the Keys and the turtles who live in its waters are lucky to have the Marathon Turtle Hospital.

Pine Tyme is an 80 pound loggerhead. In June, some fisherman found him in the ocean off Big Pine unable to dive. They got him on their boat and brought the turtle to the Turtle Hospital. Where he was named Pine Tyme.

Pine Tyme’s problem was gas in his intestines. He was not expelling it. He was full of air. No wonder he could not dive.

Pine Tyme has been treated and cured with antibiotics. He will be returned to the ocean friday.

I have been discussing on my various shows and in writing the past two years what I describe as the militarization of our police. Police departments across the country are receiving left over war machinery from the government. Police have also become cocky since 9/11. An item I discussed on my blog talk radio show this past tuesday.

Validity for my remarks is what is happening in Ferguson, Missouri at the moment. People are demonstrating. Some looting. The police have prohibited protesting in groups. Last night, the police were out in military gear. Armored vehicles. Repeating guns on top of them. The police used smoke bombs and tear gas to stop the demonstrators. At this point the demonstrators were merely walking down the street in group fashion.

You cannot defecate on a people. The demonstrators retaliated with molotov cocktails.

See the pictures and videos on television and the internet. Decide for yourself whether the police went too far, whether the police incited the retaliatory violence by the crowd.

Enjoy your day!

 

TURTLE DIED, PRESIDENT DID POORLY, MY BEARD IS GONE

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Three items to be discussed this morning. The turtle that died, last night’s debate, and my beard. Each will be discussed in the order of their importance. Importance from my perspective.

The turtle. Good Hope. Found August 24 on a St. Croix beach. Beat up, cut up and sick. Pregnant. Airlifted to Marathon Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys. Several surgeries. Carrying over 100 eggs. C-sectins done to extract some of the eggs. Sand brought from the St. Croix beach to the hiospital and placed with the eggs in incubators. The mission…..Save the mother and the eggs!

Good Hope succumbed yesterday. From her injuries and pneumonia. Previous to her death, 61 eggs had been removed. After her death, 58.

When the eggs hatch, the new born turtles will be flown to St. Croix and deposited on the same beach where their morther was found. That evening, the turtles will walk into the ocean guided by the moon light. The hatched turtles must be returned to the St. Croix beach within 24 hours of their birth or they will expire. Plans are in place to see that the transfer takes place in a timely fashion.

The mother Good Hope made a valiant effort to survive and give birth to the eggs within her. Roughly six weeks. Over 100 of her eggs will become turtles. Thanks not only to the courage of Good Hope, but also to the Marathon Turtle Hospital and all others involved in the effort to save the mother and her offspring.

The debate. Romney finally arrived. The President fell far short of what was expected of him.

No question. Romney out did Obama. He still spoke of many things inaccurately. However, his enthusiasm and the President’s lack thereof made Romney’s misrepresentations go unchallenged and not noticeable.

The Predident was bland and sluggish. Rarely inspiring. He failed to take advantage of the many openings Romney gave him.

I sensed from the start that Obama was going to have a bad night. The first question had to do with how would you improve the economy. The first item Obama duiscussed was education. Where was the infrastructure bill? The bill provides an immediate kick in the ass to the economy. Education is important. However, in a hierarchy of things, it is not near the top at the moment.

I still do not trust Romney nor would I want him as President. Was last night representative of how Obama has been conducting his Presidency? I cannot belikeve it.

My beard. The third item on today’s agenda in order of importance. The beard is gone!

I purchased beard trimming equipment. I took too much off on one side yesterday. Tried to balance the appearnance by taking a bit nmore off the other side. Kept screwing up. Kept going back and forth. Beard kept getting smaller. Continued to look unbalanced. Finally I said…..Screw it! I took the whole thing off!

I enjoyed having a beard. I will return to one some day.

Woodward’s The Price of Politics continued to absorb my attention yesterday. I continue to read of a President less capable than I thought. I continue to read of a Vice Presidnet who is an extremely ingenious individual. Cantor has not chaged. He continues to be a worm. Valerie Jarrett is an excellent keeper of the President’s back, but too hyper. She sees shadows where none exist.

There will be no Internet show tomorrow morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour will not be broadcast. Sorry. The show will return next week.

My mornings are always busy. A haircut today at 10. Lori and me. An enjoyable time. She will be shocked when she sees me beardless! Lori trimmed and shaped the beard before I purchased the equipment and started doing it myself. She was responsibe for the beard’s initial shaping and development. Looked pretty good till I screwed it up.

Jean Thornton is back! Key West the better for it. Key West loves you, Jean!

It just started raining. No, pouring! the rainy season seems to me to be more than normal. In past years, it was usually five minutes a day around 1 in the afternoon. This year it pours big time several times a day.

Enjoy your day!

A TURTLE STORY

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There is talk on the street. Local media is commenting. Key West’s daily newspaper the Key West Citizen reported the story in detail.

A pregnant turtle fighting for her life.  Turtle professionals fighting to save her and the more than 100 eggs she carries.

It is a story of love and compassion.

Isaac did its damage throughout the Caribbean. The U.S. Virgin Islands were hit. Isaac ran over St. Croix and its surrounding waters.

A beat up sick turtle was discovered on a St. Croix Beach. The turtle was pregnant. The St. Croix persons involved hoped the mother and eggs she was carrying could be saved. The pregnant turtle was airlifted to the Marathon Turtle Hospital here in the Florida keys.

The turtle was badly hurt. She had wide wounds on both shoulders. Thought to be from gaffing or shark bites. She was suffering from drowning. Her lungs partially filled with fluid.

The prognosis is not good. Obviously the hope is to save the mother and her eggs. If the mother cannot be saved, it is still hoped the eggs can be. The eggs then hatched. The baby turtles surviving.

So far the staff at Marathon Turtle Hospital have induced labor and the mother has released 15 eggs. It is hoped more will be able to be induced. If it is determined the mother cannot survive, a caesarean will be performed.

The released eggs are immediately placed in incubators. The incubators have sand in them from the St. Croix beach. This is so  as the eggs hatch, the baby turtles will feel they are in their natural habitat. It will help them to survive now and when they are returned to St. Croix.

Within 24 hours of the eggs hatching, the baby turtles will be flown back to St. Croix. They will be released in the sand and hopefully walk into the ocean and a full life. If the mother survives, she also will be returned to St. Croix.

Why so much time and effort for a pregnant turtle that will probably die anyhow? The reasons are two fold.

First, why not. Saving the mother and eggs is humanitarian. Some believe there is an obligation to help God’s lesser creatures. That is why we have a turtle hospital here in the keys.

The other reason is that hawksbill turtles are an endangered species. Ergo, there is a need to save as many of the eggs and subsequent babies as possible.

That is the story. I will keep you advised.

This turtle story is more important than anything else I could report today. More important than my beard trimming by Lori yesterday,  working on friday’s show and the trip photos, drinks at Don’s Place with Don, David and Herschel, dinner at Pepe’s, Clinton’s eloquent speech,Womanfest, and bocce tonight.

Enjoy your day!