HEMINGWAY EVERYWHERE ONE LOOKS

Getting out of the house yesterday started with a mid afternoon appointment with Dr. McIvor, my heart specialist.  I was almost an hour late. McIvor said you should not have worried…..it took me 45 minutes to get in from the hospital!

The Boulevard construction has us totally screwed up. Now only one lane each way into town. Yesterday’s problem was at the triangle at the end of US 1 and the beginning of Key West. They were rewiring and otherwise working on the triangle. Police trying to help. Directing traffic. It took me 40 minutes to travel 2.5 miles. From where I enter onto US 1 at Key Haven until I reach Key West.

Part of my examination was my blood pressure. The nurse took it. It was high. To be expected! Took it 15 minutes later and everything was ok. McIvor said I was in good shape…..see you in 3 months.

It was well after 5 by the time I left the doctor’s office. Headed over to Don’s Place. Enjoyed time with Jimmy and Joanie, Erika and Hershel, and Grant.

My next stop was downtown. Duval! I wanted to see how Hemingway Days was doing.

Everywhere I walked there was a Hemingway. More than 130 are entered in this year’s contest. There was one or more in every bar and on the streets. Sloppy Joe’s had quite a few holding court.

Hemingway was a bit of a drinker. Quite a bit. He also was a bit paunchy. Today’s Hemingway Days activities  besides drinking include two athletic events. A 5K race and a paddle boat race. Not Hemingwayish.

Most of the contestants actually look like Hemingway. Not just his famous beard. The paunch!

Today is the actual look a like contest. Sloppy Joe’s at 1. Today also the famous Run of the Bulls. A sight to see!

Soapbox time again! Something is bothering me.

The 50,00 plus children who immigrated here. Washington is not doing enough. The Republicans are bucking the President. In the meantime, the children are in a downward spiral situation. Katrina all over again.

Don’t believe me. Go to the internet and search through the many photos appearing of the children. A picture does say a thousand words. We should be ashamed!

Illness is creeping in. Some of the kids are not getting proper physicals or follow ups. More children will get sick. What ever the bugs, they will find their way into our lives.

We need a better system/organization to deal with the situation. Obama’s $3,7 billion request would help.

My grandfather came over from Italy at the age of 12 around 1910. Alone. He never knew his parents. He grew up alone on the streets of Naples. When he arrived at Ellis Island, he had some communicable disease. Typhus, I think. Though I am not sure. Ellis Island had a hospital. My grandfather was hospitalized for three months before he was permitted to enter the United States.

The 50,000 plus children are living in makeshift facilities without proper care. There are those trying to help. Trying soon will not be enough.

I became aware that Florida is starting to receive some of the children. The Governor and his people are concerned. About communicable diseases.

Today is the anniversary of Don’t ask, don’t tell. Clinton put it into effect in 1993. I thought he was crazy at the time. He was avoiding the issue. I have since changed my mind. He was correct. He sensed the country was not ready to accept gays. His program turned out to be a bridge to today. Smart guy, that Clinton!

Tomorrow is the anniversary of man stepping on the moon. July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong. I shall never forget. The greatest happening in my 79 years.

Enjoy your day!

SPRING BREAKERS ON BEST BEHAVIOR

Parents of America! Be proud! Your children are well behaved while on spring break in Key West!

Key West set up a Spring Break Court to deal with the college students partying here. I wrote last week that I thought it was not needed. My perception was that the police could handle the situation. If not and some matters proceeded to the regular court, the Judge could deal with whatever occurred in a lenient manner so the student walked away with a clean record. I was also of the opinion the whole idea was a waste of money.

The Spring Break Court was open and operating for four days. Fourteen different people at different time assisting, one a Judge. In those four days, the Court had no business come before it. Not one college student was brought before the Court.

Spring Break Court is no more. The city closed it down.

Which says to me that (1) the police were doing their job and (2) the students were behaving.

I was in all day and night yesterday. My back still bothering me. I thought it was better. Apparently not. I am still getting spasms. Though not as bad.

I was supposed to meet with grandson Robert yesterday after school. Because of my back, I could not. Robert had telephoned me earlier in the week and asked if I knew what the Parthenon was. He is studying Greece.

I have put many of my Athens pics together. Robert and I are to sit down so I can relate my Parthenon/Acropolis/Athens experiences to him while showing him the pictures at the same time. We are now going to do it saturday. I am excited! Probably more so than Robert.

The weather continues to be outstanding. High 70s by day. Cool at night. Sleep with the window open. There is a touch of humidity. Some days heavier than others. Today is one of them. I am standing in the shade of the tiki hut near the water. I stand because my back hurts if I sit too long. The sweat is running off me as I compose this blog. From the humidity, not pain.

Bocce tonight. No way can I play. Bending over would kill me!

Putin continues to be in the news. He has the world balancing on the point of a pin. Two interesting things have come to light. Each occurred in the past few days.

Putin has been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. By a Russian advocacy group. A proper nomination. His nomination is for his activities which are claimed to have brought about a peaceful resolution in the Syrian/United States dispute regarding chemical weapons.

He could win. To me it would be like Hitler receiving the award for his actions with regard to Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938. The world is changing. Our European friends who presently are speaking out against Putin will not be there when the chips are down. They need Russia for their gas and oil.

President Clinton made an interesting observation regarding Putin. He said Putin can be trusted. “He kept his word in all deals we made.”

A few days later, Hillary blasted Putin. She said he was tough but thin skinned.

The happy couple obviously do not agree 100 per cent on all things. Which to me is a good sign if Hillary is to be President. I want our President to make the decisions, not her husband.

For the past two years, I have in effect been knocking the courts. Here, on television, on the radio and in my newspaper column. You do not have to be a former attorney to understand. The courts have changed. The people sitting as Judges have changed. Many decisions are far out and generally to the detriment of the majority of the citizenry.

On this day in history in 1857, the United States Supreme Court said slaves were property in the Dred Scott decision. It took the Civil War which started four years later to turn the decision around.

Why did it take a four year war with over a half million dead to accomplish what nine men could have done?

The Dred Scott scenario is representative of the type of wayward decisions being decided by today’s courts.

Enjoy your day!