TRUMP LOOKED GOOD

Brevity my middle name this morning. Sloan coming over shortly. We have a number of things to do.

I do not recall ever saying anything nice about the President. My mind has not changed. Yesterday was rare. He was over the top good.

His appearance in Houston, other parts Texas and Louisiana Presidential. Caused a tear on occasion, The people needed him. He was there for them.

Wish he were able to continue being Presidential. It asks too much of him.

Bocce party last night. Arrived late. Group already playing. The Sons and Daughters of Italy. I continue to be glad I joined. Great people!

President Giorgi a first class guy. Chatted with him a while watching his group and he play.

Then to the Chart Room. Packed. Tourists. Knew not a soul. Watched the first half of the Alabama/Florida State game. Hurried home during half time to catch the second half. Number 1 and number 3 ranked teams playing in a season opening game.

The game was not impressive. Alabama won decidedly, but did not show #1 characteristics. Florida State a disappointment. I have a feeling they will be stronger as the season progresses.

Syracuse, my Syracuse! Won its opening game friday night. Decidedly. Beat Central Connecticut 50-7. Have not seen a win like that in years!

Syracuse has not played well for several years. The school’s schedule down graded. Nice to win. But against Central Connecticut?

Brewfest a winner! People lined up around the corner of Duval and South Streets waiting to get in. The party on South Beach.

Sponsored by the Southernmost Beach Resort and Sunrise Rotary. One hundred fifty different brews.

The event will continue throughout the Labor Day weekend.

Filled the gas tank yesterday. Price up $.20 a gallon. Not bad in view of the Houston refinery devastation.

I finish with a Eugene O’Neill quote: “Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.”

Enjoy your Sunday!

HERMINE FICKLE

I learned from sailing that wind is fickle. It blows every which way. Even at different levels at the same time.

Hermine is fickle. It has been blowing every which way for the past two weeks. Started out in the Atlantic as a 99L tropical wave. Then turned into a tropical storm. Followed by a class 1 hurricane. Back to a tropical storm. Today, perhaps back to a hurricane.

Initially, Hermine was to hit Key West as a tropical storm. Maybe even a hurricane. That was 9-10 days ago. I stocked up on hurricane food and water.

Missed Key West completely. Went out into the Gulf.

Turned around in the Gulf and headed back to Florida. Hit north Florida as a tropical storm. Did a number on the area. Turned into a hurricane as it moved up the Atlantic coast.

Veered out into the ocean around New Jersey. Supposedly to continue going east into the Atlantic. Diminishing in speed.

All of a sudden yesterday, it reversed course and headed back to shore. It is now a tropical storm. May become a hurricane again.

It is anticipated Hermine will sit in the Atlantic off the U.S. northeastern coast. New Jersey, New York and points north will suffer. Wind and rain. Rip tides. While Hermine rests for a few days.

If that ain’t fickle, I do not know what is!

Spent more time than I normally do yesterday writing this week’s KONK Life column. A lot of facts.

The title is Star Spangled Banner…..Birth To Today. I was motivated to write the article as a result of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s actions.

An interesting tale.

The column hits the stands wednesday.

I was tired afterwards. Unusual. Decided not to go out for a few drinks and dinner. However, I did have to leave the house for a short while. A prescription pickup at Walgreens and a few items of groceries at Publix.

The Key West City Commission continues to screw up. The group a disgrace.

The carport solar panels at the new City Hall. Bite the bullet and correct the situation. The City is in violation of its own carport law. If the City in this instance were a private property owner, the owner would be required to tear down and relocate the solar panels. Regardless of cost!

The sadness here will be the taxpayers dollars required to pay for the corrective work. Justice would be to have the Commissioners and City officials involved pay out of their own pockets.

Another City Commission screw up on the horizon. The GM mosquito problem. The Commission will discuss the issue at its wednesday meeting.

My suggestion is they keep their noses out or back the Key West residents who are opposed. Better, they stay out of it completely!

Citizens’ Voice in this morning’s Key West Citizen had an interesting comment/observation. The City had closed off a block of Duval for drinking and partying as part of Brewfest saturday night. At the same time, a drunk driving check point was located on Northern Boulevard at the intersection with Bertha and Palm.

Does not make sense to have had both events the same evening.

The great English actress and Academy award winner Helen Mirren will be in Key West, Big Pine and Marathon September 13-16. She is filming a new movie The Leisure Seeker. Production people are already in the area seeking locals to perform as extras.

Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago was published this date in 1958 in the United States. An immediate best seller. Soon made into a movie.

Pasternak was awarded that same year the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Soviet government would not permit him to leave Russia to accept.

The movie continues to be well received to this date. I cannot recall how many times I have watched the film. It is frequently shown on television.

Tolstoy’s War and Peace is another great historical Russian novel. Written in 1869. Movie starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Mel Ferrer released in 1956. One of my all time favorite movies!

The problem is I have only seen the movie two times. When originally released in 1956 and several years ago on television. For some reason, War and Peace is not rerun as frequently as Dr. Zhivago. Why, I cannot understand. Both outstanding films based on outstanding novels by outstanding writers.

War and Peace, where are you?

Enjoy your Labor Day!

 

SOME KEY WEST INFO

Current Key West information.

Marriott Beachside is an exciting hotel. Perhaps the most exciting in Key West. Marriott announced it is adding to its facilities. Marriott guest facilities. A marina and a boat taxi service to downtown Key West.

Melody has been a Key West fixture for more than forty years. An exemplary entertainer. A lovely voice. She is leaving Key West. Sad. She is moving to Ashville, North Carolina.

Wednesday evening Melody will be giving a good-bye performance at The Little Room Jazz Club.

The Key West Brewfest has been ongoing this week. Ends sunday. Venued at the Southernmost Beach Resort. Saturday afternoon through evening the 1400 block of Duval will be closed for street partying.

On this day in 2013, Diane Nyad completed her record swim from Cuba to Key West. One hundred ten miles. She walked out of the water at Smathers Beach to the cheers of hundreds.

The hurricane season is upon us. Hermine doing its dirty deed in northern Florida and soon along the eastern seaboard up to New York City.

There was a more devastating hurricane in 1935. This date in 1935 was Labor Day. A class 5 hurricane hit the mid keys. Four hundred killed. The Overseas Railroad wiped out never to be rebuilt.

My yesterday began with a visit to my primary care/internist physician. Dr. Jackie Lefferts has cared for me for 10 years. I received good and bad news yesterday. Your health is good, I am retiring in one month.

One of the problems of aging. At 81, I have outlived certain of my doctors or seen them retire.

Change bothers me. Most people. A doctor change especially. Dr. Lefferts and I have come to understand each other. I am not the easiest of patients. She can be a tough doctor.

I consider her an excellent diagnostician. She has helped me over the years. Discovered problems early before they might have become serious.

Early on, she told me I had a heart condition. I told her she was crazy. How could I have a heart condition? I fought her on the issue for a year before I agreed to see a heart doctor. I had a heart condition. It has slowly gotten worse. I am alive, however. Were it not for Dr. Lefferts, I might not be here today.

Drove over to Lori’s for a haircut after meeting with Dr. Lefferts. Lori recently did a three day Bahamas cruise with girl friends. Actually, a bachelorette party. Big time fun, she said. The men did a fishing trip to Islamorada.

Then lunch at the Cuban Coffee Queen. No Ruby. A new guy doing her job. A young man. From England. Only here one month so far.

My KONK Life column this week is New Face In Price Gouging And Political Influence. It appears in this morning’s E-Blast.

When 99L was in the news last week, we were told it would be named Hermine if it turned into a tropical storm. It did not as it passed near Key West. Turned out to be nothing. 99L went out into the Gulf. Then turned around and headed northeast towards northern Florida. It hit north Florida yesterday as a class 1 hurricane.

The first hurricane to hit Florida in ten years. May it be ten years before another hits.

I must make a Trump observation. There are those of you that will disagree with me.

I have written and spoke of the following for 1 1/2 years.

Trump is a bully and thug as was Hitler. Hitler made the Jews the cause of Germany’s problems. We know what happened to the Jews.

I believe the immigrants of today are the Jews of yesterday. Trump is using immigrants as Hitler did the Jews.

Some say I am obsessed with Hitler. It is not obsession. It is recognition of a fact. History repeats itself. Unless we have learned from it.

Trump seems to attract fleas. Disruptive people. Not necessarily for the common good. It was announced yesterday that David Bossie has become Deputy Campaign Manager for Trump. Bossie’s name may not be familiar to you. His organization is. He is President of Citizens United.

I spoke briefly about North Korea President Kim Jong Un on my podcast broadcast tuesday night. Merely for background purposes, I mentioned the President not only kills his people in large numbers, but also those high in government. For bullshit reasons. Summary death.

Kim Jong Jin was 63. A Vice-Premier of North Korea. Jong Jin slouched during a Parliament meeting at which Jong Un was speaking. He was executed. His slouching was considered an act of dissent under North Korean law.

This whack has nuclear weapons. Can you picture he and Trump having a dialogue? Followed by Trump misrepresenting their conversation after the meeting. As Trump did with the Mexican President re the wall.

Enjoy your day!