LAZY DAY

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Started my yesterday with the gym. Nothing different. Grueling. I get through it by saying to myself…..Louis, this is the best thing you have done for yourself in years!

My plan for the rest of the day was to work on tonight’s blog talk radio show. My preparation was 70 percent complete. However, I could not get going. I did not seem to care. I just wanted to take it easy. As Howard Livingston would say, I was in Key West time.

I did nothing. Which means I have to do it today.

I went out for dinner last night. Geiger Key. Glad I did. Very few customers. Quiet and peaceful. Sort of went with the mood I was in. I enjoyed my time there.

I mentioned yesterday Phoenix’s Wally Collins won the Hemingway Look A Like Contest. Further mentioned that it generally took 10 years of participation before a person became a winner. Not in Wally’s case. He has only been participating 6 years!

When I went to bed, the sky was a bit overcast. Looked like it might rain. It did. Poured! Wind howled! I went out on the deck this morning. My deck chairs are blown all over and toppled. They are heavy. Had to be a strong wind.

Lisa and family were returning from the grandparents who live somewhere in northern Florida. About an 8 hour drive. The car died in Florida City. The family, including Jake, spent the night in a motel. They are hopeful they can get the car repaired and get back on the road today.

It was party time for Robert and Ally. Pizza delivered to the room. I am not sure what Jake ate.

Tonight, my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine in the evening. One half hour. Fast moving and interesting. Revealing. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics will include why the recent epidemic of police brutality situations, CIA owing Michigan more than $20,000 of employee withholdings for state income taxes, a real expose re the Detroit water problem, what happened to the 219 girls abducted in Nigeria, Microsoft to lay off 18,000 in the next 12 months, Muslim honor killings up, RJReynolds hit with a $23 billion jury verdict, Venezuela now taxing air (you read it correctly), and more.

If you are unable to listen this evening, the show is archived immediately. Additionally it is now available on my Key West Lou Facebook page every day.

Enjoy your day!

 

TOUCHES OF KEY WEST

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The Hemingway Look A Like Contest ran well into the evening saturday night. At Sloppy Joe’s. 131 contestants. Wally Collins, a Phoenix restaurateur won.

I do not know how many years Collins has been a contestant. The word on the street is it takes at least 10 years of participating before anyone is seriously considered. My friend Hank from Melbourne has been trying for 21 years. Has not made it yet!

Hemingway and Key West go hand in hand. He lived in Key West from 1931-39. Wrote To Have and Have Not and A Farewell to Arms while here. Worked on parts of other novels.

Tennessee Williams was another outstanding writer who made his home in Key West. From 1949-83, he lived at 1431 Duncan Street. One and a half blocks from where Lisa now lives. While visiting and not yet having settled in Key West, Williams wrote a first draft of A Streetcar Named Desire. He wrote it in 1947 while staying at the La Concha Hotel on Duval. The La Concha stands to this day.

During the Civil War, Florida seceded. Key West however remained in Union hands. The Union had a naval base and military personnel here.

A Conch today is a person who was born in Key West. A much respected designation. Those who came here to live but were not born in Key West, and have resided in Key West for seven years, are known as Freshwater Conchs.

The term Conch has a far deeper history. The first Conchs were persons of European ancestry who immigrated from the Bahamas. They came in increasing numbers beginning in the 1830’s.

By 1889, Key West was the largest and wealthiest city in Florida. The salt and salvage businesses though good were starting to decline. Cigar making was on the rise.

Key West was isolated prior to 1912. No railroad or highway. Water the only access. In 1912, Henry Flagler completed his railroad to Key West.  Flagler’s Overseas Railroad. Much of the railroad was destroyed by the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. It was never rebuilt.

US 1 was completed in 1938. A highway connecting Key West with mainland Florida. Called the Overseas Highway.

The one person close in Key West fame to Hemingway is Harry Truman. Truman spent a total of 175 days over a course of 11 visits while President. He stayed at a part of the Naval Base which is now Truman Annex. The building was known as the Little White House. It is now listed on the National Registry.

The Naval Base was first established in 1820. It remains to this day. Spread around and significantly smaller. At its strength, it had 15,000 military and 3,400 civilian personnel.

Cruise ships first docked in Key West at Mallory Square in 1984.

Key West is reputed to be the southernmost point in the United States. Close, but not actually. Ballast Key which is a privately owned island to the south and west of Key West is the southernmost point.

Cuba is a mere 90 miles from Key West. Closer than Miami which is 155 miles from Key West.

Hurricanes are always a concern. Yearly. Generally in the fall months. Though some on occasion a bit earlier. Wilma in 2005 and Georges in 1998 were the two worst hurricanes in recent years.

Hope you found these bits of information interesting.

Enjoy your day!