MY BABY IS 50 YEARS OLD TODAY

Time moves on. Lisa is 50 today. Happy birthday, Lisa!

It makes it easier for me to accept I am 79.

I remember the night Lisa was born. Lisa was to be our fourth child. It was night. Her mother said it was time. We hurried to the car and started the drive to the hospital. Ten to 15 minutes away. Half way there, her mother said…..We are not going to make it….. the baby is coming out!

The hospital emergency room was configured so there was a long walk to it. I sped around to the back of the hospital to where I knew it was located. Jumped out of the car, ran up a ramp and into a hallway shouting…..My wife is having a baby…..hurry!

Everyone did. In seconds, not minutes, mother and prospective child were being stretchered into the hospital. Ten minutes later, Lisa was born.

For me, the experience was not difficult. It never is for the father.

Turned out Lisa’s mother never made it where ever in the hospital babies were delivered. Nor were her clothes removed. Back then, it was customary to shave a woman’s personal parts prior to delivery. A shaved pubic area was not in vogue as today. Mom never got to be shaved.

Lisa was a beautiful baby. Then a beautiful girl. Followed by a beautiful young lady. Today, a most beautiful person inside and out!

There is one other aspect to Lisa’s birth. We expected her to be a boy. We had already had a son followed by two daughters. It was natural to expect the next would be a boy. He was to be Louis.

It took us four days to come up with a name. I cannot recall how we decided on Lisa.

Fifty years ago, it was not in the hospital today, deliver today, and go home tomorrow. It was a 4-5 day stay. We needed the time to come up with the name Lisa.

Saw the sunrise this morning. One made for Lisa. The orange ball broke over the horizon midst some small clouds. A pretty sight!

Lunch yesterday was at Harpoon Harry’s. I went in for ham and eggs. Had meat loaf instead. I must have needed comfort food.

I spent the afternoon working on tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. A half hour of political and social commentary. Join me. Guaranteed you will enjoy. www.keywestlou.com/key-west-lou.

Stimulating topics. Like, I am glad Holder is on his way out, Iceland still throwing bankers in jail, JP Morgan Chase de-risking porn star accounts, the Secret Service in need of shaking up, Ferguson updates, men only streets in London, and more.

Visited a bit with Jenna. She is interviewing me again for her morning TV show. She advised the prior taping screwed up. We will be taping friday. We also talked about her interviewing Congressional candidates at a forum last night at the Tennessee Williams Theater. I suggested she hit them with the high cost of maintaining federal prisoners for bullshit crimes.

I decided to do the other side of the island last night. Visited Louie’s Backyard. One of Key West’s prettiest settings.  Enjoyed a couple of the drinks and the magnificent view.

I had intended to grab a fish sandwich for dinner at Salute’s. Decided against it. The meatloaf lunch was still with me.

Enjoy your day!

A SPECIAL SUNRISE

I was out of bed early this morning. As I walked outside, the sun was rising. Breaking over the horizon. There was a light gray cloud bank. It muted the bight orange ball to a radiating pale yellow.

A beautiful sight! I was a lucky man.

Bicycle riding on the newly paved Boulevard is an item under much discussion by locals. To a person, everyone thinks it is down right stupid! Don’t write and tell me it is the law. I understand. It makes no difference. Bicycle riding on the new road is an invitation to disaster.

The ten foot promenade remains on the ocean side. Such has always been the place bicycle riders have used. Hopefully common sense will prevail and the promenade will continue to be the path of choice. It will for locals. It will not for some visitors. They will see the bicycle markings on the roadway and opt to drive in the road. Families. Parents and children. Little children. The same persons that would not ride a bike thusly back home.

Sean Kinney wrote an excellent article on the issue in this morning’s KONK Life E-Blast. You may want to read it.

My sunday was quiet again.

I had breakfast at Harpoon Harry’s. Ham and eggs. The best eggs in town. Taste fresh all the time. I know that last statement may sound strange. However, there is something to Harpoon Harry’s eggs that makes them taste better.

I spent part of the day lying around. Watched some golf. Amazing golf. Spent a couple of hours researching this week’s KONK Life column. It will have to do with the 1925 Scopes trial. The trial concerned itself with evolution and the Bible. Turns out the trial was a phony. It was rigged from the beginning.

The Key West Citizen in its Crime Report section told the story of a couple allegedly ripped off at a local adult entertainment club. Not the first time such has been reported at this particular club.

My problem is with Key West police in such a situation. Credit cards are generally involved. Sometimes a higher number is charged to a credit card. Significantly higher. There are other games played. Generally again with credit cards.

Police policy is to regard such matters as civil, not criminal. A contract is involved and one party claims the consideration was not as intended. The police advise the persons purportedly cheated that if they wish to pursue the matter, to sue civilly.

Wrong! Credit card abuse of this nature is larceny on its face. If the police were to make one or two arrests, this sort of thing would come to a glaring end.

The police should reconsider how they handle these cases.

Key West is an adult fun community in many respects, People visit here to dance to a different tune. To do what they might not do back home. Ninety nine percent of the tourist businesses play by the rules. They all should.

Enjoy your day!

A GLORIOUS SUNRISE

 

A glorious sunrise this morning!

I was up early for a dentist appointment. As I leave my home, I drive towards the ocean. Fo

ur homes ahead is open water. As I approached the open water, the sun was breaking over the horizon. A bright orange ball!

The drive home gave me another beautiful viewing. Involving the water once again. I was driving up Southern Boulevard with the Atlantic on my right. The sun caused some sort of mist on the water. Like a light fog. Beautiful!

I needed a new tire on the Volkswagen. I had shopped around. The usual places such as Sears were extremely expensive. Someone told me about a business that comes to your home and changes the tire. I was further told that the price would be relatively cheap. I was not disappointed. I made a telephone call on Friday. Put in the order. I was told they would be at my home 10 o’clock monday morning. They were on time. It took 15 min. to change the tire.

The company is called Pit Stop Tire Shop. The owners name is Junior. The telephone number is 305-414-3992. The price was $100 cheaper than was quoted anywhere else. Do business with these people!

I did my blog talk radio show last night at nine in competition with the President’s State of the Union message. Such is life! I hate cannot wait to see the numbers. I am interested in how many listeners I ended up with.

I was advised this morning that the same audio problem I had last week occurred last night. We thought we had it beat. We will be working with the blog talk radio people this week to correct the situation.

Tonight is Syracuse basketball! Wake Forest the opponent. Nine o’clock. Syracuse an 8.5 favorite on the Vegas line.

I need to watch the game from my bed because of the teeth situation. I am not leaving home. I do not know if the game is televised. Someone help me. What is ESFC and can I get it on TV.

I stopped at Publix yesterday afternoon to pick up some liquid food. I will not be able to eat solid food today. Hopefully, I will lose a pound or two.

This week in driving up and down the Boulevard, I noticed that Checkers was closed. I figured they were either out of business because of the Boulevard construction or had closed down for remodeling. Turns out Checkers will be no more in Key West. The Checkers lease runs out February 1. Starbucks got in competition with them for the new lease. Starbucks out bid Checkers. Ergo, there will be a new Starbucks on the Boulevard. A good spot and size for a Starbucks.. The only other Starbucks in town is in the La Concha Hotel. I never stop him because it is too small. I’m sorry to see Checkers leave. They made a terrific cheeseburger.

Enjoy your day!

GRAVITY

 

What a picture the sunrise created this morning! The sun came up behind a bank of stretched out gray and white clouds. The sun radiating its brilliance through the openings. Multi colored! A sight to behold!

A good day yesterday.

Watched Meet the Press in the morning. Did this week’s column for KONK Life. Enjoyed a drink with Jenna. Went to the movies to see Gravity with Jenna. Enjoyed a drink and lite fare at the Marriott Beachside Bar afterwards. With Jenna, of course.

Gravity is one of the finest movies I have ever seen. Without question! A work of art!

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star. Sandra Bullock is outstanding! An Academy Award performance. I will be shocked if she is not nominated and does not win. The movie itself could very well get the Best Picture award.

Tense! The only way to describe the film. Every moment of it. Bullock plays an astronaut lost in space. Outside her space ship!

Gravity normally is not my type movie. Space ships, science fiction, etc. This one excited me no end, however.

The movie is in 3D. Try to watch it in 3D. We caught an afternoon showing which was not in 3D.

Jenna and I were together from before the movie till long afterwards. I picked her up at the TV studio at 3:30. She was working. Said she had some catching up to do. We drove to the Regal. We were an hour early for the film. My fault. I read the time table wrong on the internet.

Not one to waste a moment, I suggested a drink. We walked down to Outback. It was empty mid afternoon  on a sunday. Maybe three customers. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a drink as well as each other’s company.

Then the movie. Again, a WOW!

After the movie, we drove to the Marriott Beachside. Sat at the bar and ate some kite fare.

A good late afternoon and early evening!

I spent my morning into the early afternoon writing this week’s KONK Life column. Columbus Needs A Pied Piper.

Columbus, Ohio has a big time rat problem. An even bigger problem is Columbus does not have the money to deal with it. My suggestion was Columbus find a Pied Piper.

I had been considering writing about the Columbus rat situation and mentioning the Pied Piper. I mentioned the story line to several people the past few days. I was interested in what their reaction might be. No one knew or had ever heard of the legend of the Pied Piper. The people ranged in age from the mid 20s to 50.

I read the Pied Piper when I was in grammar school. Is it still read? If not, sad.

To make sure everyone understood the Pied Piper’s involvement in the article, I told the story of the Pied Piper in the first half of the column.

Tomorrow night is blog talk radio time. My internet show at 9. The shutdown will obviously be discussed. Also the U.S.’s recent raids into Libya and Somali. I question the wisdom and propriety of these raids. The issue will make for interesting talk. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Today is a significant day in history. My history. My Mother, were she still alive, would have been 99. Happy Birthday, Mom!

She died 24 years ago at the age of 75. I still miss her terribly. She continues to be in my mind almost daily. I talk with her. She was a wise woman. I generally ask her Why? when something not to my liking occurs.

Enjoy your day!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERT!

 

One of the nice things about living in Key West…..I saw the sun rising this morning. A bright golden ball.

The band is playing. The drums roaring. Today is grandson Robert’s ninth birthday! An event! We celebrate tonight with dinner and cake. This will be Jake’s first birthday party. I wonder how he will react.

Nine years ago today was a tragedy. Robert was born…..with cancer of the liver. The tumor larger than his liver. Robert had two major surgeries the first 8 days of his life. At Miami Children’s Hospital. A great place.

Robert is ok today. You would never know he came into this world facing great odds.

I have yet to buy my grandson a birthday present. As soon as I finish this blog, I will be off on the search. Not easy in Key West. Stores are limited for a gift for a 9 year old. For me it will be K-Mart and Sears. Ain’t no place else to go!

Yesterday’s Key West Citizen in its historical Key West section made mention of Thelma Strabel, a book she wrote, and her obtaining a building permit to build a home in Key West. The year was 1940.

What captured my attention was the name of book. Reap The Wild Wind. It was made into a movie. I recall it clearly. About salvaging out of Key West back when. John Wayne and Paulette Goddard starred in the film.

I have seen the movie. I did not like it. The reason simple. John Wayne played a bad guy. The only John Wayne movie where he was not a hero. It did not fit his mold.

Reap The Wild Wind was written in 1940. Made into the movie mentioned in 1942.

Thelma Strabel scored with the book! The Saturday Evening Post serialized it. The movie followed.

Strabel took the Saturday Evening Post monies and built a home at 400 South Street. It became the southernmost house in the United States. Her property attracted visitors galore.

400 south Street was supposedly the last house on the block. Looking south, a person could almost see Cuba.

Strabel’s home no longer exists. It was torn down by a subsequent purchaser and a larger home built.

I am not sure exactly where 400 south Street is. I do not know if the number still exists. I assume it is whatever the last house is on South Street. Next to the present day tourist attraction recognizing the spot as the southern most point in the United States. Today or soon, I am going to go to that point and see if I can locate a #400. I will share my finding with you.

Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou last night. My blog talk radio show. Loved doing it! Glad many of you are listening via the internet. The show is archived and can be heard anytime.

I spent yesterday afternoon working on last night’s show. Breaking news daily so there is always last minute adding, detracting, and/or editing to be done.

Monday night I had dinner at Hot Tin Roof. With three lovely ladies. All related. Jenna and her Mom and Aunt who were visiting. I had a wonderful time. How could I miss? The only man in the company of three women!

I have done two recent blogs regarding the Pier House. Zeroed in on the Chart Room and Wine Galley. I am absolutely amazed at the response. Everyone loves the Pier House! Especially the Chart Room! All are saddened by the sale. All hope the two special rooms remain as is and open.

Enjoy your day!

 

GREAT SUNRISE

I was lucky this morning. I woke just as the sun was breaking over the horizon. Just me, open water and the sun. Magnificent!

Yesterday was Sunday. Turned out to be an odd ball day for me. I had a business project to complete. Thought it would take an hour or two. Took all day.

The only time I left the house was to have Sunday dinner with Lisa and the family. Corey is growing a beard. Looks good. Robert is into baseball. Has a first baseman’s mitt and a hard ball. Ally could care less about anything.

A superb meal! Dessert the best. Crumb cake by Lisa.

I spent ten days on Amorgos. I would like to spend ten years. As you will recall, the only way in and out was the once a week boat. I obviously took it.

My goal was to get to Athens. Not easy. Although only one boat ride. the trip took nine hours. The boat was a local. It stopped at every small island on the way to Athens. Five hours into the trip and I was still within 50 miles of Amorgos.

I got on the boat at 6 in the morning. It was dark. Four of us.

Coming to Amorgos, I rode tourist class. Packed in like sardines. if you think nine across on an airplane is bad, how about thirty. Ten, ten and ten. I learned there was a business class. Business class is first class on the boat. I went business class.

It was well worth it!

The trip was not bad. I actually enjoyed it.

Business class consisted of a huge room on top of the boat. Well done. Service. All kinds of amenities, food and drink. Enjoyed breakfast. A drink or two. Lunch. A chocolate ice cream soda. An occasional coffee. I slept on and off. Actually slept most of the way. Missed some terrific sights I was told. Business class was surrounded with huge windows offering a view of everything.

There are only three photos of the nine hour trip. All are of me sleeping.

The three photos are shared with you this morning. Scroll down.

Enjoy your day!

DAY 30

An interesting experience this morning.

I was sitting on the terrace reading. It was very early. The sun had just risen.

I assumed the rest of Amorgos was still sleeping. It was. Except for one elderly Greek woman.

She came walking by. Wrinkled face. White hair. Tanned. Dressed in black dress and stockings.

She stopped and talked with me. She spoke smilingly and occasionally excitedly. In Greek, of course.

I sat there smiling at her. Nodding my head in agreement on occasion.

I never spoke a word. Nor did I understand the Greek she was throwing at me.

At the end of whatever she was telling me, she gave me a big smile and walked away.

Notice how well I speak Greek!

Yesterday, I walked. Once more to the other side of the bay. About 2 miles. My gait and wind are much better. I was moving along.

I lunched at an outdoor cafe overlooking the harbor. A spectacular view. All views are spectacular here in the Greek isles.

I ate at Demetrius’ again last night. Why not. The food is outstanding.

Demetrius’ place is nothing appearance wise. An old old small building with a beat up awning outside. Maybe a dozen small tables.

The place is packed every evening by 9.

Last night, I had ceci peas. Soft. Covered in a tomato/oil sauce. With De Vito type bread on the side to clean the plate.

My entre was a chunk of lamb and boiled potatoes covered in a similar sauce as the ceci peas. I was told the lamb was local. I suspect the poor animal had been killed within 24 hours of it showing up on the plate before me.

The lamb melted in my mouth.

I showed up for dinner at 9. Finished at 11. The Greeks eat slowly.
Then to bed.

Tonight is my last in Amorgos. I will have been here a week. I leave tomorrow for 2 days in Athens. I am returning to Athens to do some things I did not when last I was there 3 weeks ago.

I shall miss Amorgos.

Permit me to share some random observations with you about this island.

I suggested this past week that Amorgos probably had 2,000 residents. I was close. 1,859. On an island more than 50 miles long.

Amorgos is as it was 200 years ago. Perhaps even before.

The houses are concrete. All white. Each more than 200 years old. High ceilings. Irregular walls.

The people are 80 to 100 years ago. Throwbacks from another time. Simple people. Good people.

There are few cars on Amorgos. Two means of transportation exist. Your feet and three wheeled bicycles. Three wheelers all over the place with big baskets on the back.

The men generally 50 plus. Many 70 plus. Paunchy. White haired. Dress in black. The women the same. For whatever reason, the women’s faces are especially wrinkled.

The reason both sexes dress in black is that it supposedly is cooler than wearing a lighter color.

Honesty prevails! Eleni and I discovered each other when first I arrived. I had one big bag. She insisted on rolling it along. Not far. She stopped in front of a building. Note we are standing on the harbor front. Busiest place on the island. She told me to follow her. But she left my bag alone. What about my bag? Don’t worry, she said. No one will steal it.

Her husband drives a three wheel bike. He parks it outside at night on the concrete walkway in front of this building. A public thoroughfare. No lock. Any one could ride it away. No one does.

My apartment sits on the bay of Amorgos. I see the boats come in and go out. Not that many. There are no big boats. Some evenings, 2-3 big sailboats. People put in for the night. Otherwise, the boats moored or otherwise tied up in the water are small.

Really small.

The predominant vessel is a row boat. Yes, these fisherman go out into the sea to catch their ware in row boats. If you think about it, it is not so strange. In Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, the fisherman was out on the ocean in a row boat the whole story.

There are some ancient type boats, also. A couple of feet longer than a row boat. A rudder in the back.

The boats are evidence of my representation that Amorgos is significantly behind the times.

Few tourists. The island is off the beaten track. Only two boats a week. I think Amorgos is absolutely fantastic! And cheap! Everything costs nothing. A person could easily live here on a Social Security check. And still have money left over!

The tourists are from all over the world. They all come for the same reasons. Peace, solitude and the cheap cost.

The locals are a happy group. Difficult to know at first. They are wary of strangers. But in less than a week, I have become a welcomed guest on their island.

There are young people. However, not that many. The proof of the pudding. There is only one disco on the island. The younger people probably leave Amorgos for bigger and better things when they come of age. I hope some of them return in due course. Everything they will be looking for in later life is already here.

Internet and wi fi service comes and goes. Every restaurant and hotel claims they have it. Impossible to find! You become adjusted. Take it in stride. Eventually it returns.

Fresh fruit a delight! An example is a gift Eleni’s husband gave me. He has a garden next to my building. It runs three stories up a little hill. Everything runs upward on Amorgos. He has an apricot tree. One day, he brought me a bowl full of apricots. They were small and ripe. Delicious. Made my mouth water.

As else where in Greece, clothes lines everywhere. Front porches, sides of buildings, where ever. Even I have had a clothesline this past week. At the far end of my terrace. For my sole use. I have used it.

I leave tomorrow at 6 in the morning. I have no choice. The two boats a week in and out both leave at 6. It is a 9 hour trip to Athens. Going to be fun. Not really. However, I am going business class and am told it will make the trip considerably easier.

Due to the time constraints tomorrow, I may not be able to do the blog. We shall see.

I have experienced four Greek places this trip. A brief evaluation is in order.

Athens I liked. It is a big city like New York. Excitement everywhere. The reason I am returning for two days more.

The best viewwise was Santorini. Spectacular. I sat with God. The food was not that good, however. Santorini is in transit. It is going from a small unknown island to a major tourist attraction. It is closer to being a major tourist attraction.

Mykonos I did not like at all. It is a tourist trap. It sells yesterday to people who want that life style. I have no desire to return to Mykonos.

Overall, Amorgos is the winner. The view is good. Plus the island has a great package otherwise. Quiet. Solitude. Good food. Nice people. The opportunity to travel at your own pace.

That’s it. The next time you hear from me will be from Athens.

Enjoy your day!

BIONIC DENTISTRY / REAGAN AND THE MILITARY

 

Sunrise this morning was a fiery orange ball breaking through a bank of dark gray clouds. Pretty.

Busy day yesterday. Began with the dentist. One of my implants was screwed up. Actually, not screwed any longer. Something fell out. A tiny gasket. Took all of ten minutes to correct. These implants are amazing. I feel like the bionic man. Bionic as far as my teeth are concerned.

After the dentist, I went over to Publix. Robert was sick and had a fever. Lisa wanted popsicles for him.

I spent the rest of the day working on You Tube. The technical aspects. Like where to do the show from. It will be my home. But where specifically?  I decided to move around. Inside and out, depending on the day.

I was hopeful You Tube would be locked in by the end of this week. It will not. I now suspect it will take till the end of next week.

Lisa telephoned in the middle of the afternoon. She needed me to babysit a while. She had to pick up Ally from school. It was easy. Robert was sound asleep on the couch. He looked sick.

I spoke with Corey this morning. Robert is still aching. Still sick. But on the mend. He ate last night which was good. He was still asleep. Unusual for Robert. He is generally awake by six. It is now 8:30.

My plan was to start with the Chart Room last night. I never made it. I opted instead to stay in. I read. I am still reading Rachel Maddow’s book Drift. I dislike her writing style. Her paragraphs are loaded with details and her opinions. Too much of both. Makes for difficult reading.

The story itself is interesting, if you can hang in there. Has to do with the use of military power by Presidents. Assuming her research of the Reagan years is correct, Reagan mislead everyone as to Grenada and the strength of Communist Russia. I find it amazing that she has come up with facts to support her premise. I consider Reagan to have been one of our great Presidents. Even if what she says about Reagan is true, his results overshadow the means used to achieve them. I recall President Johnson saying once that Presidents have to be devious. He gave us Vietnam.

Enjoy your day!