A PEEK AT FANTASY FEST

I have done very little Fantasy Fest this year.  Goombay the first night. Goombay is not really Fantasy Fest, however. A family event. Beginning sunday is when the adult stuff comes into play.

Due to the weather, I have not done Duval street yet. Last night however, while having dinner at the bar at Tavern ‘n Town, I got my first glimpse. The bar was pretty packed. In walks a 60ish man with a young lady in her 20’s.

My first thought was how lucky he was. That was only seeing her face. Then came a break in the crowd. I got it all! She was wearing a black thong. Less than a thong if there can be such a thing. Topped by a tiny thin black leather brassiere.

The man was dressed Key West fashion. Shorts and a sport shirt.

They had a drink and left. Probably to one of the parties downtown.

The rain directed me to Tavern ‘n Town last night. It was pouring. I went from my garage to the Marriott Beachside parking garage. I did not have to deal with the rain.

The rain is limiting some events. The Pet Masquerade and Parade got cancelled. Sad because it is an event adults and children alike enjoy. It is not being rescheduled this year.

It seems these several days of rain are the result of what has now been labeled Tropical Depression Nine. Must have been labeled by the Mexican government. US names are simpler.

Anyhow, Tropical Depression Nine is off the coast of Mexico. It will be crossing the Yucatan peninsula today. Then head for the west coast of Cuba. It is anticipated Key West will only suffer heavy rains.

The usual streets and intersections are flooding. A foot or more in some places. Tourists not discouraged. They wade through wearing toe or crocs. Ponchos also, of course.

Tonight is the test as to whether the rain will keep party people off Duval. Tonight is Toga Party at Sloppy Joe’s. Inside and out on the street. I suspect few will miss the event. The ladies will show their wares in exchange for beads. The more beads, the more one gets to see.

I do not plan on going. It will be wet and sloppy. My eyes have seen enough over the years so it will not matter if I miss a year.

I asked yesterday for help in finding decent lamps in Key West. I thank those who responded and gave me direction. Hopefully today I will find what I am looking for. If not, I have located a site on the internet.

Enjoy your day!

TUTU PARTY

I was at Goldman’s for a late lunch yesterday enjoying a pastrami sandwich. A friend walked in. Came over to say hello. A big guy. Probably a lineman on a football team in his younger day. Bearded.

He was all excited. He was going to a tutu party last night. I am old and retarded. I did not know what a tutu party was. As he talked, I figured it out. Men in dresses.

As I later found out, tutu dresses are short, generally chiffon, perhaps with a bit of crinoline so they flair out. He had the dress. Even a brassiere, which he was going to stuff. He was going to be the Bearded Lady.

He said I should try it next year. I can’t see me doing it. Something does not set right in my mind. Additionally, I doubt I would look good in pink chiffon.

Less I be misunderstood, this guy is perfectly straight. Straights dressing as women is not uncommon in Key West for party purposes. A tutu party is one example of life in Key West during Fantasy Fest.

I hope my friend did not get his hair wet. It poured like hell all day yesterday. It will rain today and tomorrow. Some kind of tropical storm developing off Mexico. The rain is supposed to let up saturday during the day. I hope so. The big parade is saturday night. Sixty thousand people will be lining Duval watching the parade. I do not know where they all sleep afterwards. There are not 60,000 beds in Key West. Not even close.

The weather will only minimally detract from festivities. The parties are mostly inside. Everyone has at the least ponchos. No one will permit the weather to dampen their spirits.

I went shopping for two new lamps yesterday. I need a floor lamp and a table lamp. Pickings were slim. I went to K Mart, Ross, Home Depot, and Sears. Found nothing I liked. Stock was limited.

I don’t know anywhere else in Key West to buy a lamp. If you do, let me know.

Fine tuned my blog talk radio show in the late afternoon. Hosted the show at 9. I thought one of my better shows. It did not matter. Audio was cut off after two minutes. I did not know. Kept going in my usual excited manner. It was only after the show that I learned I was the only one who heard me.

The problem was at the Blog Talk people’s end. Sloan is trying to figure out why this morning.

In between prep and doing the show, I watched the Crist/Scott debate on TV. A disgrace. Too much personal mud slinging. What ever happened to issues?

I had not seen Scott before. I was not impressed.

There are two Fantasy Fest events which I especially enjoy. Toga Party and the Pet Masquerade Parade. The Pet Parade is this afternoon at Casa Marine. The Toga Party thursday at Sloppy Joe’s.

The Pet Parade will have pets galore. All dressed in costumes. Beautiful! Most of the owners dressed also. I will talk about toga tomorrow night. Not a family event.

There are times when the powers to be in Key West do things the wrong way. This time it is price gouging. The City parking garage on Caroline will have a flat rate rather than an hourly on friday and saturday. $30. The City is copying the hotels who jack their prices for special events. Key West biting the hand that feeds it.

Enjoy your day!

 

SLEEP!

I finally got a good night’s sleep last night. Thank you, Dr. Jackie Lefferts!

My back had been killing me for upwards of two weeks. Prior to last night, the previous two nights had been hell. I got very little sleep each night. I could not lie in any fashion in bed, sit in a chair, stand, walk, etc. I was in constant pain from my back down to my ankle.

Dr. Lefferts says sciatica. I will be taking an x-ray to make sure it is nothing worse.

She put me on steroids. First time ever for me. Will I get muscles?

She said…..Drop your pants! I did. A shot in the butt to start. Now pills for 5 days. She also gave me a painkiller, if I needed it. I did not last night. The steroids are to decrease inflammation.

It worked last night. Not one moment of pain. A great sleep. I had forgotten in a short time how it is good to sleep soundly and peacefully.

Let’s hope the steroids continue to work.

I missed TV last night and the bombings of Iraq and Syria. I was sound asleep early. Caught up on the news this morning.

I am glad five Arab nations joined us. I do not know what will come of this. An air of uncertainty.

I fear heads may role today. Perhaps more.

Visited Tammy at Lee Nails for a manicure and pedicure late morning yesterday. How tired was I from lack of sleep? I fell asleep three times while getting my manicure. Not the pedicure. My head dropped and I would pull up suddenly. Like when you start drowsing at a movie.

Did lunch at a strange place for lunches. Outback started a new program and is providing lunches, also. Glad I did! It was good. And cheap!

Robert was bartending. He wanted to know where I had been. I have not stopped by for dinner in a while. He showed me the new luncheon menu. Simple. Only 3-4 items, but in a mix and match fashion.

I had a cup of onion soup, a huge hamburger, and glass of diet Pepsi. Outback now gives an AARP discount. Robert wanted to know if I qualified. Was he kidding? I am 79 years old.

The entire bill was $10.23. You can’t beat it!

There were very few customers. More should try it. The lights are kept down. There was a peacefulness with the lights subdued.

I spent the afternoon working on tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou and on next week’s KONK Life column. The KONK column will concern itself with bank robbers. With a special twist.

The show will cover a multitude of sins. Like, it is now Constitutional to take a cell phone and shoot up a woman’s skirt IF she is wearing panties. Plus, the bombing, the US now leading developed nations in low wage jobs, a SWAT team used to investigate a barber shop to determine if the barbers were licensed, a shocking revelation re generals who appear on TV talk shows recommending war, and more.

Join me at 9 my time for the show. A quick half hour of dialogue. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

I visited Walgreens at dinner time to get the steroids and painkillers. I spend a ton of money on prescription drugs. It still costs a lot and I have the AARP super dooper drug program. It is the donut. I am in the donut. The steroids and painkillers were cheap. It cost me $128 for my blood thinner. A 30 day supply. Terrible!

Dinner at Hogfish at the bar. Chatted with a couple of local fishermen while enjoying a lobster roll.

It rained big time during the night. Raining now. Will rain all day.

I love rain by the ocean. Ever since I was a kid. It comes in  buckets. Loud. Sometimes so thick a person cannot see very far ahead. There have been times I cannot see the MTV house across the water.

Syracuse plays Notre Dame at the Meadowlands saturday. I am concerned. Prior to last week’s game against Maryland, I thought Syracuse would crush Maryland. I obviously was wrong. I expect the opposite this saturday. I see Notre Dame killing Syracuse. At the moment, Notre Dame is an 11 point favorite.

My friend Bob Marks vacationing at the Cape, what do you think? Bob is a Syracuse fanatic as I am.

I never read the comics. Have not dome so in 60 years. For some reason yesterday, my eyes caught a comic strip called SHOE. It was penned by a Robert MacNally. There were three pictures. An elderly man sitting in a classroom as a student. He was taking a quiz. The question was…..What is Plutonium? His answer…..The name of Mickey Mouse’s dog in Latin.

Mickey Mouse was everyone’s friend in my age bracket. We who attended Catholic high school took three years of Latin. The elderly man taking the quiz could have been me.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

WE DRINK SALTWATER

Water has become the topic of the day. Detroit recently. Followed by Toledo. The drought in southwestern United States. Now Fairfield, Texas is in the news.

Fairfield has water problems like other areas of the United States. They came up with a partial solution. They drink wetlands water. Yes, the place where snakes and vermin crawl about. Fairfield filters and treats the water chemically. The result is good drinking water.

Key West and the lower keys have been ahead of the game. I have had a home in the Key West area for 16 years. From day one, I heard that part of the drinking water was desalinated salt water. True!

Key West and lower keys’ water comes from two sources.

The primary source is the Everglades National Park. The four thousand square mile Biscayne Aquifer is located there. The water is extracted, treated, and then sent 130 miles via a pipeline to Key West.

Key West recognized many years ago that the water coming in was not sufficient to meet Key West’s needs. A process to convert salt water to fresh water came into being. Two desalination plants were constructed. One on Stock Island, the other in Marathon. The process is known as Reverse Osmosis Desalination.

The bottom line is that up to 4 percent of the drinking water in the lower keys is fresh water converted from sea water.

You never know by drinking it!

Bertha still  out there. No significant damage or injuries yet. Bertha has missed directly passing over the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas. There is rain, however. Everyone everywhere needs rain so that is good.

Speaking of rain, the last three days have been rain, rain, rain here in Key West. It will rain again today. Each storm a storm! Heavy rain, thunder and lightning. During the night, I could hear the rain slap hard against my bedroom windows. The power went out. Did not mean it was always dark in my bedroom. The lightning came right through the closed wood shutters.

Two golf observations.

Poor Tiger Woods. His back again. He had to withdraw from the Bridgestone Tournament. You could see him hobbling.

Tiger has not been the same since the scenario with his wife several years ago. Though he has won a few tournaments, he is not the Tiger Woods of old. Everything seems to not work properly. Age is a factor. He is now 38. I doubt he will ever be the golfer he was.

The new Tiger Woods appears to be Rory McIlroy. A youngster relatively speaking. I think 25 years old. He has already won three majors. He won the Bridgestone yesterday.

The gauntlet has passed.

Enjoy your day!

 

WALKING IN THE RAIN…..

The title should be read with the tune from Gene Kelley’s Dancing in the Rain in mind.

Yesterday was a rain day. Big time! Rain is forecast for the rest of the week. We are into the rainy season.

It is amazing how the weather changes so dramatically in the Keys. Storms come out of nowhere. As do cold fronts. If anyone had told me sunday that this would be a rain week, I would have laughed.

Merely for information purposes, the hurricane season started June 1.

Rain flooded the streets. As usual. I was wandering around downtown. Front Street was flooded. Only ankle deep. People were walking through the water shoes in hand.

I attended Ally’s graduation in the morning. Wearing a yellow slicker, hat and crocs. Rain attire.

Cute is the only way to describe the ceremony. They were 9 year olds. A bit uncomfortable. All proud. Ally was beautiful! Robert was there as a school elder I assume welcoming the graduates with a rose.

My blog talk radio show has been going smoothly the past several months. Audio perfect. No hitches. Not last night, however. When I went to sign in, I could not. Technical difficulties. I could not figure it out. I improvised. I ended doing the show over my cell phone. I did not even know if anyone could hear me. Apparently everyone did. Two e mails this morning said sound was ok No hiccups.

The Spectrelles are new to me, though old to Key West. I think they are terrific singers. They are appearing tonight at the Bull, tomorrow night at the Key West Pub, and friday night at La Te Da. Enjoy them, if you can.

Police raids across the country are getting out of hand, Too much modern equipment and too much aggressiveness.

Habersham County Sheriff Deputies were conducting a drug raid. The county is in Georgia. Middle of the night. No warrant required. Just bang on the door and rush in.

The Phonesavanh family were visiting. Mom, Dad and four little ones. One of the children was 19 month old Bou Bou. Bou Bou was sleeping in a play pen. When the deputies opened the door, one of them threw a flash bang grenade in. It landed in the play pen and went off in Bou Bou’s face.

The baby’s face is badly burned and swollen. A picture was exhibited on the internet. Bou Bou is in  a medically induced coma. Doctors give the child a 50 percent chance to survive.

No drugs were found. Later the next day, the son of the homeowners admitted to police that he was involved with drugs. Bou Bou’s family had nothing to do with the drugs and were leaving to return to Wisconsin the next morning.

All of Georgia is upset from the Governor down. Bou Bou needs our prayers.

Judges are getting cantankerous/out of hand, also. Such was evident in a Viera, Florida courtroom this week. Judge John Murphy got upset with defense counsel. He invited the attorney outside with the following words “…..let’s go out back and I’ll beat your ass.” Prior thereto, the Judge told the attorney to “…..stop pissing me off.”

They did go outside. The Judge hit the attorney.

The Judge is not working today. He is undergoing anger management counseling.

The events in the courtroom were recorded on a closed circuit camera.

I am back to the gym later this morning. Neck and thighs still hurt, though not as much. Will advise trainer before I start.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

16 YEAR OLD UMBRELLA DEAD IN THE POOL

I bought and furnished my Key West home 16 years ago. Deck furniture was among the items purchased. Included was a round table with a blue shade umbrella. The umbrella survived all 16 years till yesterday. Let me say first that the enemy of anything on the ocean is sun and salt. Neither bothered the umbrella. I was impressed. It took strong winds to bring about its demise.

Yesterday was sunny and lovely. In the afternoon, a storm came upon us that quick. In a matter of minutes, it gets dark, the temperature drops 10-20 degrees and it begins raining like hell.

I worked for a while. Kept the glass sliding doors behind me shut. The rain would have gushed in. After a while, I was tired. Took a nap. Two hours later, I woke. Still raining, but not as bad. I went downstairs and opened the glass sliding doors.

The first thing that hit my eyes was the pool. The wind was was still strong. There were ripples on top of the pool which clouded the water. I saw what I thought was a body in the deep end. I hurried out to investigate. It was the umbrella. The metal parts I could see where broke. Lying on top of the umbrella was a large ceramic vase. It was the vase that gave the initial impression of a body.

The vase was purchased 16 years ago, also. I have two sitting at the shallow end of the pool by the steps for decorative purposes. The vases are heavy. Three feet tall, 1.5 feet wide and thick. It takes all I have to lift one one inch.

The metal umbrella post must have snapped.Then it hit one of the chairs at the table. The chair is destroyed. The umbrella must have then hurled sideways of the chair and picked up the ceramic vase on its way into the pool.

There is a 30 foot distance between the table and where the umbrella landed in the pool. Had to be a hell of a wind!

I already called Keith. Told him to come over saturday with Jennifer. Wear their bathing suits. Get the stuff out of the pool!

It is not going to be easy. It is about seven feet down. The vase has to be full of water. The umbrella will hold water in its pocket as it rises. Not a job for Louis. It would be heart attack time.

The loss of the umbrella is my fault. I know better than to leave it open during a storm.

ABC and Good Morning America did themselves proud this morning. Key West was featured on the show. ABC has been doing this show in Key West for several years. I always thought the show sucked. They did not show Key West as it truly is. From what I saw this morning, this year they did.

ABC’s Ginger was broadcasting. The first shot was of her and a crowd of shorts and tee shirted people at Mallory Square. Yes, the rain and wind are gone. It is sunny and warm once more.

The next segment showed two Key West favorites. Key Lime Pie and Stone crabs. A great last meal! The following segment were walkers at Smathers Beach. Then came the Westin Dock with a huge cruise ship in the background.

Ginger kept referring to Key West as Paradise. She was correct.

I could give the show no more time. I have a big morning. I believe my friend Howard Livingston is going to do a guest appearance at some point. The best of the best.

The only negative in the show was that I saw no locals during the time I watched. They were all tourists. I recognized no one.

Bocce obviously rained out last night. I did not have to call in and beg off due to my back.

Two Ukraine observations.

First, what is going on is not unlike our Civil War. The South seceded. They had no right to do so under the Constitution. Crimea is in effect seceding from the Ukraine. This matte can only be handled properly and honorably if there is an Abraham Lincoln in the Ukraine of today.

The other observation involves the pipelines. Russia’s income comes from its oil and gas exports. Seventy five per cent. The pipelines go through Ukraine. One of the reasons Ukraine is important to Putin. I think Ukrainian leaders should slowly start sabotaging some of those pipelines. With the added threat that if Russia interferes in any way, all the pipelines will immediately be blown up. Putin has to back off immediately. The opposition for once would have the upper hand. The problem will then be possible of immediate resolution. Fire must be met with fire. When dealing with a bully, you must hit harder back than he hit you.

So thinks Louis.

Enjoy your day!

BANDAR bin SULTAN

I spent the better part of Sunday yesterday working on my next KONK Life column. The one that will be published next thursday.

The article traces Bandar bin Sultan’s Middle East involvement and importance. He is part of the Saudi Arabia hierarchy. He has been a behind the scenes player in the Syria situation. Bandar is the man pulling the strings. The one seeking to orchestrate developments.

The column took six hours to complete. During that time, it was raining (actually pouring).

It was dinner time. I threw on my yellow slicker and headed over to Lisa’s for Sunday dinner.

Jake was not very welcoming. Our friendship may not be as solid as I thought. He was barking like crazy and confronted me in an attack mode. I think it was the bright yellow slicker. On the other hand, I thought dogs were color blind. I do not know why he did not like me. It took a while for him to settle down.

It was still raining when I left Lisa’s. I headed straight home. A little TV and then to bed.

A quiet day.

Tomorrow night my blog talk radio show! Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me. It will be a fast hard hitting half hour. Syria and Bandar bin Sultan will be discussed. As well as Larry Summers. I was glad to hear this morning that he had withdrawn his name from consideration to head the Federal Reserve. I have always thought Summers was out of step with the American people. He consistently favored the banks to the detriment of the public.

You can hear the show at www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

BRADLEY MANNING WANTS TO BE A GIRL

Just when I think I have heard it all, that I can not be surprised, something occurs to prove me wrong.

This morning on the Today show it was announced that Bradley Manning wants to be a female. He said in a written statement read that he wishes to be referred to from this point forward as Chelsea and hopes to immediately begin hormone therapy.

Manning is 25 and was sentenced this past week to 35 years in jail for leaking 700,000 pages of secret government information. He was considered by many to be a hero rather than a wrongdoer.

The only advice I have for Manning is to watch out when he is in prison.

Worked a bit yesterday on tomorrow’s television/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Compiled interesting information. Bradley Manning, of course. Then the Muslim treatment of Christians in Egypt, breast implant bombs, Obamacare and spousal coverage, Pope Benedict’s God told me to resign statement, ingesting tapeworms to lose weight, insulting the office of President, Rudolph Valentino, The Butler, and more.

Join me. Ten Friday morning my time. On television all the way up the Keys and through Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Via the internet world wide. www.weyw19.com.

I guarantee you will enjoy the show.

Spent a significant portion of yesterday working on my first book to be published. A reality in the making.

Worked with Sloan for two hours organizing and editing material for the book.

Babysat from 5 to 7. Enjoyed the time immensely with Robert and Ally. We talked about school, teachers, Jake and Monopoly. I heated their dinner and sat and chatted with them as they ate.

Jake and I continue to have problems. I think it is my voice. If I forget and speak loudly, he feels threatened.

The grandkids wanted me to play Monopoly with them. I agreed. By the time the fight was over as to who was going to be banker, who got what piece, and the board set up, Lisa returned. I had to go. We agreed to play another time.

Drinks and dinner last night at the Yacht Club. I was heading for Don’s and the Chart Room, stopped into the Yacht Club for a drink, and never left.

Bocce tonight. I hope. It has rained heavy the past two days. It has already rained heavy twice this morning. In between, the sun shines bright. It is going to take a lot of sun today to dry the courts.

Enjoy your day!

IT RAINED…..RAINED AGAIN…..RAINED SOME MORE

August and September are Key West’s rainy season. Yesterday was an example.

I was driving into Key West in the early afternoon. I had a 1:30 appointment with Lori for a haircut. It had not rained up to that point in Key Haven where I live. Threatened, but no rain.

When I was half way down the Boulevard, I ran into rain. It soon became obvious that it had been raining heavy in Key West for quite a while. The roads were flooding.

By the time I reached the parking lot behind Antonia’s, it was impossible to see more than 5-10 feet. I sat in my parked car waiting for the rain to stop. It did not. Finally, I said screw it! I was dressed for the rain. My blue rain slicker, a hat and crocs.

I stepped out of the car. My left foot was immediately covered with water. Above my ankle. It was at least 6 inches deep.

The whole parking lot was in that condition.

I walked to Lori’s. Got soaking wet on the way. My blue slicker finally had it. I have owned it for about 10 years. It has been everywhere with me, including Europe. A couple of holes developed in the neck line. I was drenched!

Lori’s hair dressing salon was taking on water. Towels were strewn on the floor on the street side to absorb the water as it came in.

Lori dried off my wet back.

The Key West Citizen reports items of local interest. Sometimes too much. Important national news is not always printed. I looked at this morning’s paper to read the Citizen’s report on yesterday’s deluge. Fully expecting it to be there. Nothing!

I returned home immediately. Had to finalize my notes for last night’s blog talk radio show.

I enjoyed an early dinner at Roostica’s on Stock Island. Lasagna. I could only eat half. There is another meal in the refrigerator.

Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou was a pain! Show time was 9. I could not get in. Apparently, technical difficulties at Blog Talk Radio’s end. After 15 minutes, I was able to connect via telephone.

I did an abbreviated show. Fifteen minutes. It irritates me when this happens. I had prepared for 30 minutes. I do not know how many were still tuned in. Few I would assume. Fortunately, the fifteen minutes are archived.

I probably talked too fast. I felt like I was in a race.I wanted to cover the Egyptian situation in detail. Also, the breast implant bomb story. I could only get a bit of each in.

The North Roosevelt Boulevard construction is a disaster. Two lanes into town. The return trip on Flagler.

This morning’s Key West Citizen reports the Key West City Commission voted last night to go to three lanes sometime in October. Two one way, the other in reverse. The disaster will continue and be greater! Guaranteed!

I have only two things scheduled for today. Sloan in the afternoon and babysitting at 5. I plan however to be out tonight. I need some Chart Room and Don’s Place.

Enjoy your day!

HOME…..

 

I am back in Key West!

I missed Key West. This is home.

The trip back was uneventful. Delta did its duty by God and country.

Washington, DC was a great place to visit. Probably a good place to live, also. Neat is the term to best describe it. Quiet and clean. Well organized. People and vehicles moved in an orderly unhurried fashion. People welcoming.

An All American City. As it should be!

I would like to return.

As reported, I got rained on big time in Washington. When I landed in Key West last night, I could see it had rained heavy yesterday. Large pools of water on the runway. Streets flooded in certain areas on the drive home from the airport.

No food. I was hungry. No lunch during the day. I headed over to Hogfish. That is when it hit me how much I had missed Key West. Hogfish is Key West. It is my kind of place.

Publix is on the list of things to do today. A necessity.

I have to get ready for tomorrow’s tv/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. I screwed off while in Washington. The show is nowhere near ready. I will be spending some time today preparing.

I will definitely be commenting on the surveillance issue in the news. The government’s collecting of telephone numbers and e mails. I have opinions to share. Washington’s homeless another issue. The only negative I found with the city. Plus whatever my research today develops.

Join me for the show. Ten my time. Available on television from Key West through Miami-Dade County via Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Worldwide on the internet. www.weyw19.com.

Till tomorrow…..enjoy your day!