THE EVIL THAT MEN DO…..

Another immigration story. Involving a child. A 15 year old Honduran girl separated from her parents. She most recently has been kept at the Homestead Shelter for Unaccompanied Children. A detention center.

She escaped.

She ran down the streets of Homestead crying. Finally into a large auto shop. She cowered in a corner. Would not stop crying.

The owner was sympathetic. Everyone was sympathetic.

The girl was scared. Begged not to be sent back.

The police were called who in turn called Shelter officials. The girl was returned to the Shelter.

Ever to be seen again? To be treated well although she ran away? Will she disappear into the bureaucratic morass? Someone should track her existence to make sure no harm comes to her.

I cannot explain why, however I worry whether we are entering into a scenario similar to a returned escaped black in the South or a returned German concentration camp escapee. May sound crazy. However a lot of strange things have been occurring with regard to immigrants and their children in recent months. Nothing would surprise me.

I had planned to remain in last night. A restful evening in bed watching TV. Was not to be. Donna telephoned and said Terri would be singing with Larry Baeder at Blue Macaw.

Spent 3 hours at Blue Macaw with Donna and Terri. Terri her usual spectacular self. Larry Baeder always good.

It rained while we were sitting at the bar. Rain does not describe it. It poured! Then a strong wind. We were protected from the rain by the bar roof. The wind however began blowing the rain in sideways. Got slightly wet.

Key West weather was strange yesterday. The rain last night. The only rain of the day. At noon however, there was thunder. For about a half hour. The sun was shining. The thunder louder than normal. Real loud! One bang after another.

One of Key West’s most popular charity fundraisers is Schooner Wharf Bar’s Battle of the Bars. Next Sunday, the 25th anniversary of the event.

Key West bars participate. All kinds of fun and games whose purpose is to raise monies this year for the Southernmost Boys and Girls Club and the Sister Season Fund.

BOB’s next report concerns Bob Smith going “spiritual.”

Bob was kayaking in the back country. He was sitting on a beach eating lunch. The beach a part of a small uninhabited key.

I used to boat with Bob back when. He would take me out on his small sailboat. Always brought food. We would stop at some uninhabited key and lunch on the beach.

Bob saw a stone sticking up out of the sand. Square. Not small. A tablet. Later discovered to weigh 300 pounds.

There was writing chiseled on it.

Took Bob quite a while to dig it out. Then on the kayak to be brought to Key West. The 300 pound tablet almost sunk or tipped the kayak several times.

The tablet created quite a stir when it arrived in Key West. Bob glamorized it. Referred to the tablet as the “…..first of the new commandments…..Thou Shalt Not Start a Process Thou Cannot Reverse.”

Imagine the implications. Christian Churches were up in arms. Scientists wanted to test the stone.

Bob said no to testing. Shrugged his shoulders as to Church concern. He knew exactly what to do with the tablet. He wanted to place it over the bar at the West Indies Lounge. Nadine the owner would have not of it. She said no.

Bob thought Nadine did not see the value in exhibiting the tablet over the bar. Increased patronage would result. A bit of an upscale crowd. The wine list could be changed to show the better and more expensive stuff. Wine goblets purchased.

I don’t know what happened next. The story ends there.

Israel under Netanyahu has become too big for its britches. Netanyahu himself has turned into an authoritarian figure. One example is that Israel today is the world leader in assassinations.

Mossad is Israel’s secret police. Mossad generally does the assassinations. Since the end of World War II, Israel has been responsible for more deaths by assassination than any other country. Murders committed with more frequency in the past 10 years. Eight hundred during those 10 years.

The Jews suffered greatly at the hands of another authoritarian figure. Adolph Hitler. It seems Israel is adopting some of his methods.

Hot Dog Church at 4 at Aqua. I cannot make it. However, I plan to be at the Orchid Bar at 6 where Arthur will be bartending. Then  to the Rum Barrel where Lauri will be bartending.

Enjoy your Sunday!

FRUSTRATION SELF INDUCED

I was 95 percent finished with the rough draft of this week’s KONK Life column yesterday afternoon. Mommy, I’m Hungry. About Venezuela’s starving children. All of a sudden, the screen was blank.

I must have hit a wrong key. Went to retrieve the column. Good luck!
Nowhere to be found.

Called Sloan and had her search. No luck.

Frustrated I was. No question.

It took 3 hours to draft the material lost. It would take me another 3 hours to rewrite. Then edit. Another 1.5 hours. I already had 3 hours in. No way. I did not have it in me to do. I was already tired.

So…..There will be no KONK Life column this week. Mommy, I’m Hungry will appear the following week. My apologies.

I watched the Olympics off and on yesterday. Not long. I could not get into it.

Early evening drove to Walgreens. Out of my acid reflux pills. It was 6:10. Pharmacy closed. Now closes at 6 on saturdays and sundays.

Then to Hogfish. Sat at bar. Watched some Olympic basketball. Enjoyed fish and chips. Hogfish fish and chips.

The Hackley saga for today. Mrs. Hews can no longer breast feed the baby. She is drying up. Matilda cannot. The Havana goat was dry. What to do next? Starch. Hackley reported the baby was taking to it.

Starch mixed with water is what mothers are feeding their babies in Venezuela. Makes for a full stomach. Not healthy, however.

Think how lucky we are. How far we have come. If a mother cannot breast feed, there are all kinds of baby formulas on store shelves.

This weekend’s newspapers uniformly mentioned that the FDA had approved testing for Zika in the Florida keys. The whole world may be thrilled. I am not. My message: Stay out of my back yard!

I forgot all about Battle of the Bars.

Somewhere this weekend, I came across mention of John Keats. Poet supreme! He died at the age of 25 in 1821. In Rome.

Thirty five years ago, I accidentally came across his home/the place where he died. I was walking around Rome. In the area as the Spanish Steps. The first building on one side of the Steps had a small dated bronze sign. Home of John Keats. A two or three story building.

I went inside. Walked to the top floor. Saw Keats’ bedroom. The place where he died. The rest of the floor was a museum of sorts.

Among the observable items were a number of original Keats’ works. His poems handwritten on crumbled paper. Under glass, of course.

I found the experience exciting and moving.

Big talk on TV this morning re a third party candidate with Republican dissident backing. Morning Jo said it’s for real. He received two telephone calls. The announcement supposedly will be made at noon.

During these days in 1975, Vice President Spiro Agnew came under attack. It was claimed that he accepted kick backs from contractors while Maryland governor.

He subsequently resigned.

Agnew was a hard ass. I think that is why Nixon selected him to run as Vice President. These were the days of campus unrest. Agnew frequently spoke out against the demonstrations. In tough guy fashion.

I never liked Agnew. For two reasons.

He constantly used big words. His vocabulary excellent. Much better than mine. It was as if he was trying to impress people all the time.

The other reason is that out of law school he became an Allstate Insurance adjuster. Allstate was a rotten company back then. Despicable the manner in which they ran their claims department. No respect for anything or anyone.

To this day, I think of Agnew as an Allstate adjuster rather than Vice President or crook.

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni had an interesting comment re Trump in a recent column. The thrust of the column was that the GOP was indulging Trump.

Bruni stated in his last paragraph that America “…..needs a grown-up who honors our values, not a brat who shreds them.”

Peggy Noonan wrote a column in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal re whether Trump was crazy. Her last paragraph introduced me to the word kakistocracy. Never had heard it before. From the Greek. Noonan said, “It means government by the worst persons, by the least qualified or most unprincipled.” Suggesting we might be on our way there if Trump were to be elected.

Enjoy your day!

TRUMP TIME

Donald Trump is in the forefront these days. More than previously. Justifiably so. The man is mad. America is viewing his instability. More and more each day. He is self destructing before our eyes.

Better now than later. If elected, I worry about him and the nuclear button. So should you.

I spoke of Trump on my blog talk radio show last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Half the show. Example after example of his instability.

Spent yesterday afternoon preparing for the podcast.

The Civil War has intrigued me since my college days. Today, I read everything I can get my hands on re the War.

The Key West Library is sponsoring a Civil War event. Titled Civil War Living History. In the Library’s Palm Garden. Saturday, August 13.

The editorial in yesterday’s Key West Citizen concerned Social Security. It was a republication of an editorial carried in the South Florida Sun Sentinel titled Put Priority On Solvency For Social Security.

A bad editorial. Avoided discussing the real reason why Social Security has money problems. The reason being the government borrows surplus monies in the Social Security Fund and never pays back. The government owes Social Security $1.8 trillion. Social Security is the biggest creditor of the United States. Ahead even of China.

The issue of pay back is always avoided in articles. If the government started paying back over a long period, the monies would be more than sufficient to keep Social Security payments at a level where cuts would not be required. Not even discussed.

The American people continue to get screwed by a government that borrow’s their money with no intent to ever pay back.

The William Hackley saga continues. Baby doing much better. Visited Mrs. Hews four times this date in 1855 for breast feeding.

A quick Venezuela update.

Two weeks ago, Venezuelans were eating their pets. This past weekend, they were invading zoos and stealing the zoo’s inhabitants. For consumption purposes obviously.

Curacao is one of the largest cities in Venezuela. Has a large zoo. Some people snuck into the zoo in the middle of the night. They were after a horse.

When the zoo keepers arrived in the morning, all that remained of the horse was the head and ribs.

A Venezuelan revolution is long overdue. Recall three years ago they ran out of toilet paper. The country is still out of toilet paper.

My column in this week’s KONK Life is German Persecution of Homosexuals. Sick, sad. Hits the stands today.

Key West has many fun events. One of the local favorites is the Battle of the Bars. Bartenders and servers engage in a competition down Duval Street. The winner gets bragging rights for a year.

The Battle of the Bars this sunday at one.

Enjoy your day!

 

MISS KEY WEST 1940

Another magnificent morning! The beauty shines as bright as the sun. Blue sky, blue waters. Mangoes and palm trees reflecting the sun.

Who could ask for anything more?

There has to be one happy woman this morning in Key West. Ninety year old Gloria June Suarez White. She grew up at 617 Grinnell St. In 1940, at the age of 15, she was Miss Key West 1940. This morning’s Key West Citizen has a picture of the lovely 1940 beauty queen. I wish they had run a picture of Gloria in her 90 year old glory, also.

I spent yesterday afternoon writing this week’s KONK Life column. It publishes wednesday. The Selling of America. The story of how political contributions rule America. Guaranteed enjoyable reading.

Tavern ‘n Town for dinner in the evening. Interesting reading and interesting people.

I was glancing through the Key West Weekly. A couple of great lines/thoughts. Like Trump…..It’s his hair! Another …..You might be a Bubba if…..You’ve been kicked out of Don’s Place for a dress code violation.

I had the good fortune to sit next to James “Jim” Wallis and friend Arlene. The conversation was interesting. Jim lives on Torch Key. He works at Little Palm Island. A great place to be employed!

Jim once ran for President. President of the United States. I could not understand how. Write in, whatever. He got two votes. Good for him! He is probably the only living former Presidential candidate living in the Keys.

Yesterday was Battle of the Bars. A local charity fundraiser. In its 22nd year. Bartenders do all kinds of crazy competitive things. Like racing each other with a tray of drinks. Cannot lose a drink!

Battle of the Bars is a Schooner Wharf centered event. The best place for it! Last year’s winners both of the event and the bragging rights that go with it was the Half Shell Raw Bar.

Unfortunately, I missed the event yesterday. I did not plan my time properly. Getting this week’s KONK Life column out took precedence.

Monroe County is considering using tax money for affordable housing. As I consistently hold, Key West businesses should pay higher wages. You can’t pay a mortgage on $10 or $12 an hour. The hotel and tourist businesses have had five consecutive good years. Spread the wealth a bit! Leave tax dollars out of the equation.

Those who have been here a while can remember. The Copa Nightclub. Burned down in a fire this day in 1995. Rebuilt, though not as the Copa of old. A similar business has never made it in the same location. The magic went down with the fire.

Hemingway finished writing A Farewell To Arms while living in Key West. I enjoy old movies. During the night, I had difficulty sleeping. Flipped on the TV set. There was A Farewell To Arms staring Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones.

Hemingway and his A Farewell To Arms characters spent much time at Lake Maggiore. Lake Maggiore sits between Italy and Switzerland. The row boat escape took place on Lake Maggiore.

I have been fortunate to have visited Lake Maggiore several times. Beautiful old Italian towns. Obviously once a high end place to vacation. Still is. The hotels are old, though well kept. I drank in Hemingway’s favorite hotel/bar. Like going to Church!

Enjoy your day!