DRUG TEST ELECTED OFFICIALS

Monroe County’s tobacco testing of its employees continues to bother me. It is the law carried a step too far.

Justification for the new law is to save taxpayer dollars.  Elected officials are also on the County payroll. They should be tobacco tested. They get paid with taxpayer funds. Let them be tested. Pee in the cup. What is good for the goose, is good for the gander!

This same thought process should be applied where States and other governmental subdivisions/agencies require drug testing for welfare recipients. Again, elected officials are paid with taxpayer dollars. If one segment of our governmental process is to be subjected to abuse, let all bear the indignity.

The amusing thing about drug testing of welfare recipients is that studies have shown small numbers came up positive. Around 1 per cent, if I recall correctly.

Whatever, let the Governor as an elected official pee in the cup also to justify his continued right to be paid. Whether the Governor receives his full salary or $1.

My yesterday afternoon saddened me. Big time. Syracuse lost. Badly. 34-20.

I watched the Syracuse/Maryland game at Don’s Place with Don, John and David. John is a Maryland graduate.

I thought after watching last week’s game that Syracuse was on its way to a terrific season after a number of years of struggling. I was wrong. Syracuse got whipped.

No fun ahead for Syracuse either. Next saturday it is Notre Dame at the Meadowlands.

I got to Don’s Place at noon. Left at 5. Went to Lisa’s. Enjoyed Saturday night dinner with the family.

Then it was back to Don’s Place at 7. Keith’s 37th birthday. Party time! Jennifer had arranged for some goodies to be picked at. There was a line at the bar. Everyone celebrating the occasion.

I left at 8:30. I had had enough of Don’s Place for the day.

Enjoy your Sunday!

A SANTA CLAUS LIE

Since my first born was able to comprehend Santa Claus, I have lied about Santa Claus. A good lie. The lie has continued to present day. More than fifty years.

Probably to boost my image in their eyes, I have repeated the same lie every year to my children and grandchildren. The grandchildren are now all adults, except for Robert and Ally. The lie is that Santa Claus is my friend. We talk on the phone all the time. I have even arranged for Santa Claus to telephone me while one or two of them were with me. It was  proof that Santa and I were buddies.

Every Christmas, I arrange for Santa Claus to visit where ever I am at dinner time Christmas Eve. The kids knew he was coming. He was my friend! They waited excitedly. When he arrived, he would talk with each of them. Of course he knew all their secrets, whether they had been good or bad, etc.

I prepped Santa Claus each year to greet me as…..Louis, my friend!….. as he embraced me.

I think it may be the end of the line. The lie may not be able to be perpetrated further.

Last night Robert and Ally sat down in front of me and asked…..Poppa, how is Santa Claus your friend? I made up some cock and bull lie. Another one. Oh, the web we weave when first we seek to deceive.

I am not sure they accepted my answer. Both were very serious during the conversation.

I have a feeling that between now and Christmas, Robert and Ally will sit me down to tell me the truth. They are 10 and 9 respectively. It is time.

Friday night in Key West was packed. Bikers in town. Beautiful big expensive bikes all over. Black leathered bikers and their ladies attired in leather. A sight to see!

I had a drink at the Chart Room. Emily told me the Wine Galley had been redone and was open for business. I took a walk over.

The Wine Galley and I go back at least 20 years. When I first went, it was Bobby Nesbitt’s room. Every week without fail. The room was smaller than it is now. However, comfortable and intimate. Then it was Larry Smith’s room. The Wine Galley was redone and made  larger.

Now the Wine Galley is no one’s room. There is neither place nor room for a piano.

The new Wine Galley is stunning. Magnificent. A cocktail lounge. Sexy. The room was packed with biker/tourists last night.

Although spectacular, the new Wine Galley cannot stand up to the room when it was Bobby Nesbitt’s and Larry Smith’s. There was something missing last night.

Stopped at Don’s Place on the way home. Jimmy was there. A different Jimmy from yesterday’s blog. Jimmy I met first years ago at the Southernmost Complex. He was  a handyman/gardener. Lisa worked there six years. They became friends. Jimmy also played bocce thursday nights for years, though no more.

Jimmy is now retired. I had not seen him in several years. He came over and greeted me with …..You’re Lisa’s father!

It was good to see Jimmy again.

At 12:30 today, the Syracuse/Maryland football game. Syracuse back to a 1 1/2 point favorite. Big deal! I have a feeling we have better team this year and we will win this game by more than a couple of points.

I will be watching the game at Don’s Place.

Today is Keith’s birthday. Happy birthday, Keith! There is a small bash as 7 tonight at Don’s Place in his honor.

Enjoy your day!

LOOKIE LOU

My name has been misappropriated. A public agency has a program which encompasses Lou in its title. Lookie Lou. The agency is the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FWC for short.

Lookie Lou involves state wildlife officers searching for violations, safety errors, etc. while out on a separate mission. Ever vigilant.

Yesterday for example 29 Cubans successfully made it to American soil. Good for them! They set foot on Loggerhead Key. The FWC went out to pick them up. On the return trip, the FWC crew came upon fisherman with four undersized snappers and also made several boat safety stops.

Lou is universal. A name from the ages. I have used it for eight years as Key West Lou, 79 years as Lou. The FWC has been in business since 1999. I do not know when the FWC started Lookie Lou.

My blog talk radio show went well last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. I had a good time doing the show.

No boots on the ground appears to have drawn the most comment. Obama says no U.S. boots on the ground. The European and Arab nations who have joined with the U.S. to combat ISIS have all said no boots on the ground from their end. All willing to provide air assistance. Nothing more.

Who fights the war then? Unless nuclear bombs are used (which I cannot conceive the U.S doing), a war cannot be won by air action alone. Soldiers on the ground are always required.

My conclusion was and is that military contractors would be hired by the U.S. to do the fighting. Mercenaries. Solely in the beginning and partially later on if American ground troops are sent in. My question was why have we not been told this? The government should be honest with the American people. Lay it all out now. The good, bad and indifferent.

A physiotherapy session yesterday. I was not impressed with the treatment. Be that as it may, I threw my back out while doing it. The therapy exercises were extremely simple. One short movement however and my back hurt! Hurt all night and still hurts this morning. I am back to where I was.

My back hurt, I felt sorry for myself. Decided I was entitled to a treat. My lunch was a chocolate milk shake at 2Scoops. Didn’t help my back. Did help my state of mind.

Some afternoon time was spent in final preparation for last night’s blog talk radio show.

The line re saturday’s Syracuse/Maryland game has changed. It dropped from 2 to 1 1/2. Syracuse still favored.

I know I am sticking my neck out. However, I think Syracuse walks away with this one. By a significant number. I was impressed with Syracuse’s play against Central Michigan last week.

Enjoy your day!

 

NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND A JOKE

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou. Nine my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. A quick moving eye opening half hour.

One of the topics involves Obama’s representation that the U.S. will have no boots on the ground. If we do not have soldiers fighting and the other nations joining us do not, who is going to wage the ground war? I suspect mercenaries. Military contractors will provide the boots.

Why is this not mentioned? Why the secret? Who will be paying the mercenaries?

Other interesting topics include the Pentagon providing college campus police with grenade launchers, Guatemala striking down Monsanto Law, and Pope Francis’ statement that World War III may already have begun.

Yesterday started with a visit to the main Post Office downtown. I did not receive mail this past week. They are looking into it. I get too much mail to miss even one day.

The Post Office is a good place to run into people. Caught David walking back to his job with his lunch in hand. Ran into Jim from Joy Gallery. He has my Jack Baron’s for sale. We had a good conversation.

Next was a business meeting at the Marriott Beachside. Every time I walk into the lobby, I think how lucky we are to have this hotel with a touch of New York City situated in Key West.

Roostica for lunch. Megan at the bar. Not working. A guest. What a beauty! Got two hugs and kisses. One when I first came in and one when she was leaving.

Worked on Growing Up Italian. Wrote a chapter, refined and rerefined. Got to get my ass in gear with the bookwriting. It comes in spurts.

Stopped at Don’s Place for a drink early evening. Chatted with Grant. Petey at the other end of the bar. Petey from saturday at JDLs. She came over and gave me a hug and kiss. I love the attention of these young beauties. Even if it is only because I am a likable old man.

Then to the Chart Room. Spent some time chatting with Che. I have not seen him in a couple of months. Che my friend with a Cuban name who is a New York City Jew. Love it!

Syracuse plays Maryland saturday. Syracuse a 2 point favorite. Which means no one knows who is going to win.

The Key West Citizen ran a front page article on tegu lizards. Every kind of lizard eventually finds its way to the Keys. Tegu is new. Was found in Key West. First one. Experts say probably a pet that the owner did not want anymore and set free.

Only four have been discovered to date in the Keys. Not nice guys. They have sharp teeth and claws and are aggressive. The one found in Key West turned out to be a honey. It is now at the Sheriff’s Animal Farm. The attendants say the lizard is docile and likes to be touched. Not consistent with its purported nature.

Enjoy your day!

GREAT BLOG TALK RADIO SHOW TONIGHT!

Insanity rears its ugly head once more. The word now is that Sandy Hook never occurred. Just like the Holocaust never occurred. Military families on food stamps. $8.5 trillion (equal to half the national debt) missing/unexplained from Department of Defense and Pentagon budgets. Mega corporations receiving benefits under Farm Law need not be identified. Americans starting to push back against government. JP Morgan to lay off thousands more because their mortgage business has not returned.

These and other revealing topics will be discussed on my blog talk radio show this evening. You will enjoy! Nine o’clock. A quick half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Last night was Syracuse basketball again. I am becoming exasperated. I do not understand. Syracuse is an excellent team. The announcers mentioned several times that Syracuse would be a #1 seed in the big tournament. Yet Syracuse had to play hard with their fingers crossed the last few minutes of the game last night against Maryland. Syracuse won 57-55. Maryland is not ranked and had lost 12 games going into the fray.

Syracuse was leading at one point  in the first half by 11. With six minutes to go in the game, Syracuse was up by 11 once more.

This has not been an easy season for Syracuse nor me nor Syracuse’s many other fans. Please Lord, let Syracuse blow out the opposition in one of these games!

Saturday, it is Virginia. A top ranked team, also. Virginia has lost only 1 game in the ACC. Syracuse, 2. Without question, it will be a good game. Close.

It was 104.9 time at the Sports Pub where I watched the game. The radio team did not broadcast. They were at John Lukas’ place enjoying food, drink and the game.

Skip is 104.9’s premier talk show host. The best! You can catch him most evenings from 6-10. He brought his boss with him. The owner of 104.9. Stephen Butler.

An interesting figure. We talked a while. A self made man. Nationally, he owns six radio stations. He is involved in many other successful business ventures. Key West should be pleased he noted the value of our community and invested in it.

Word has it that Dollar Trees is going to open another Key West store in Habana Plaza on Flagler. I am going to complain. Habana Plaza is where Tammy has her business. It is where I get my manicures and pedicures. Parking has been tough since  City Hall moved into the Plaza. It is going to be impossible with Dollar Trees there.

There was a note in the Key West Citizen this morning that in 1913 the 16th amendment to the Constitution went into effect. The amendment gave Congress the right to levy income taxes.

The 16th amendment was not the first time the American people were confronted with an income tax. Lincoln had one imposed during the Civil War. He said he needed it to pay for the Civil War. After the war, the income tax was dropped.

I wish Bush 2 had found a way to increase taxes during the Iraqi War. He fought it, but did not pay for it. It is one of the reasons the national debt is so high.

My book The World Upside Down continues to be available for purchase. amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. If you enjoy this blog, my blog talk radio show,  and former TV show, you will enjoy the book. Buy it! If you did not, don’t waste your money.

Enjoy the day!

 

 

 

LEARNED AS CHILD, FORGOTTEN AS ADULT

Blog is being written late today. It is noon. Sorry. I had an early morning appointment in Key West which took up most of the morning.

Mandy Miles is a colorful writer. She pens a column each Sunday for the Key West Citizen. Front page. Always interesting.

Yesterday’s was titled Who In their Right Mind?

Mandy was at the corner of Duval and Caroline. Her car had the light. Someone walked against the light in front of her. Fortunately, Mandy was paying more attention than the pedestrian and no accident occurred.

Mandy was sufficiently upset to write the column mentioned. She referred to the walking wrongdoer as a color blind pedestrian.

I want to add my two cents to her comments.

What I am about to say pertains to locals and tourists alike. As adults they have forgotten the rules of the road they learned when young. Simple things. Like look before you cross.

Pedestrians forget there are cars on the road. As mentioned, they rarely look before crossing. Bicyclists are equally as bad. Guilty of all the same things as pedestrians, plus running stops signs and lights. Mopeds are guilty of everything. However, on a lesser scale.

Driving a car downtown can be a nerve wracking experience. I drove a cab in New York City while in college. It was a hell of a lot easier than driving Key West streets.

I rarely agree with Key West Citizen editorials. Yesterday, I did. The Citizen said it was time for America’s iron curtain to fall as regards Cuba. I have written and spoke recently to the same effect. Enough of the punishment. What happened was 50 years ago. It is time to end the embargo and travel restrictions.

I can understand the pain of the families who were forced to flee Cuba and who came to our shores penniless. That was two generations ago. The Cuban society succeeded. It is time to move on.

Bebe Rebozo. A name I have not heard in years. Bebe was President Nixon’s buddy. They traveled and fished together. Most of the time in south Florida.

I read this morning that Bebe bought a home in Key West some fifty years ago. An old conch house at 513 Whitehead Street.

Robert and Ally came over yesterday. To swim. The pool is not heated. It did not bother them. Ally wanted to go in the canal, also. Not yesterday. No one wanted to go in  with her.

It was close to the mid 80s yesterday and very humid. Great February weather! Jake looked like he could not handle the humidity. He stayed inside my air conditioned home with me. This was the first time Jake had been permitted to roam free in the house. He appeared hesitant to move about. Lisa carried him from room to room on the first floor acclimating Jake to the house. Everything was fine thereafter.

I had a dinner date tonight. Key West’s Shoe Girl Stephanie Kaple. I was unaware Syracuse was playing this evening. Called Stephanie to cancel. This is the second time I have. She knew when she heard my voice that I was backing out. We have rescheduled for Wednesday evening.

Syracuse and Maryland at 7. At Maryland. We lost 2 games last week. We have lost a total of 2 games. Maryland has lost 12. Means nothing. Boston College that had lost 19 beat Syracuse earlier last week. I suspect/hope that Syracuse will be sufficiently aggravated over the losses and come out strong against Maryland.

I will be watching the game at John Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Pub.

Enjoy your day!