HARRY TRUMAN’S FATHER A FIRM DISCIPLINARIAN

Again…..Harry Truman loved Key West, Key West loves Harry Truman.

Truman’s early years were spent living on a farm. Both of his parents taught their children. Father Truman farm work, mother Truman reading. Character a given.

Harry had a pony. One day his father told him to come along with him to check the farm’s barb wire fences. Harry rode his pony.

Soon the barb wire inspection was complete. Harry’s father said lets check the cattle now to see if any are sick or injured.

They came across one of the cattle laying on the ground. Harry bent over to see what might be wrong with the animal. He fell off his pony.

Harry was not hurt.

His father was incensed, however. His face red with anger. 

Harry’s father said, “A boy who cannot stay on a pony has no business riding one, Harry. You’ll walk home from here.”

Father Truman took the reins of the pony and rode off. 

It was a long way home. Harry cried all the way.

That evening, Harry could hear his father and mother arguing.  His mother thought her husband had been abusive to Harry.

The Back Door at Aqua began my evening last night. Lauri Thibaud back!

Initially, I was her only customer.

Lauri all excited. In addition to her return to Aqua, she has another job. A new one for which she has no formal experience. Fear not, she will be a winner!

Lauri is going to have her own radio show. Drive at 5. Station 105.7. Three days a week from 4-7. The station a new one. Touted by its owners as the Keys only party station. 

Lauri will make it a big time party! She knows how to talk, make people laugh, etc. For 17 years, she emceed many of Aqua’s live stage shows.

Two gents from San Francisco stopped in. Lauri knew them from the night before. Jeff and Robert. The four of us discussed San Francisco and California’s many problems.

Liked the guys. Recommended they do Dueling Bartenders tonight.

I had a strange experience while sitting at the Back Door’s outside bar. I was seated beneath a huge tree. All of a sudden I heard a huge “plop” and felt something wet on my arm. An iguana had defecated on me…..almost. The main excretion landed on the bar a foot from my arm.

I hate iguanas. They shit in my pool, eat my flowers. No one likes them, except tourists who think they are cute. Three times I have had to empty my pool because of their crap polluting the water.

Florida has finally realized iguanas are propagating big time and taking over in a sense as the pythons have. The State is trying to figure out how to eradicate them. The iguanas are some sort of protected species. 

Would you believe!

Then to the Chart Room. John barftending. The bar itself crowded. 

There is a national group of lawyers who over the years have supported the legalization of marijuana. They have a one week convention each year at the Pier House. Hundreds attend.

The attorneys have won. Pot smoking welcomed in varying degrees in most States.

Stopped on the way home at Fernandy’s for Cuban toast and coffee. Fernandy’s Is Sandy Cafe’s new name.

Key West has become a small island with big cruise ships. The waters can be difficult in the winter months. Currents and winds a problem.

The inevitable finally occurred. A cruise ship was pushed by wind and current into a mooring as it was attempting to leave the Mallory Square port of call. The Silversea Silver Spirit, 691 feet long.

Damage was to a large concrete block atop pilings. Cost to repair estimated at $500,00. Three months to fix.

Fortunately, Key West has 2 other ports of call. The Outer Mole Pier and Margaritaville Resort Pier. However, Key West will lose one third of its cruise customers for 3 months. A significant financial hit to merchants.

The Studios of Key West continues to do itself proud. A roof top terrace is under construction. To be called Hugh’s View. One of the highest spots in Key West. The plan is to use Hugh’s View for sunset celebrations, intimate concerts, and quiet moments.

Our weather these days is like a yo yo. Winter is upon us. Seventy six the high today. Sixty this evening. A drop!

Wyoming was the first state or teritory to give women the right to vote. It was a territory at the time. December 10, 1869.

Gender equality had nothing to do with it. Sex the primary motivation. Wyoming had 6,000 adult males at the time and only 1,000 adult females.

The Khashoggi killing in Istanbul by Saudis disgusted the civilized world. The man was not only murdered, his body surgically cut into pieces for removal in suitcases. There is a question as to whether Khashoggi was dead before the chopping began.

History reveals similar other atrocities. One involves a wealthy white woman living in Louisiana in 1834. Delphine La Laurie. Slaves were money. She owned many slaves.

A sadist at heart, Delphine tortured and killed her slaves at random. Never made sense since she was killing off pieces of her wealth each time she did so.

An arson fire occurred at her home in 1834. The fire revealed the extent of her sick nature. African-American bodies were found hung, necks stretched, body parts stretched, limbs torn from bodies, intestines cut out and wrapped around waists like belts.

Delphine obviously had to leave town. She fled to Paris where she lived out her life.

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade has turned me on since I first read the poem in high school. The bravery of the men involved!

Every opportunity to mention the writing, I do. 

The Battle of Balaklava was fought October 25, 1854. Six weeks later, Lord Tennyson published his famous work.

The words I find most inspiring: “All in the valley of death / Rode the six hundred….. / Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die.”

Enjoy your day!

5 comments on “HARRY TRUMAN’S FATHER A FIRM DISCIPLINARIAN

  1. Lou, it is unusual to find an older gentleman who is pro cannabis legalization. Care to offer some of your opinion in support?

    I can’t figure if Trump is mentally ill, a callous Robber Baron or just ignorant. He has taken so many positions that contradict and compromise the values of America. Khashoggi’s violent and calculated murder is just one more for the pile.

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