MOST RECENT BIGGIES

Key West is hurricane country! No question about it. The strange thing is that hurricanes do not occur with regularity. Fortunately. Weather is fickle and the hurricanes come and go as they please.

Some small, some big.

The threat of a hurricane lurks every season. We are warned a hurricane is on the way. Advised it is heading straight for Key West. People told to evacuate. Then the storm digresses and goes another way.

It has reached the point where locals pay little attention to warnings to evacuate. Most stay. Because they do not believe the reports. Also because they cannot afford to leave or have nowhere to go.

If the hurricane is 24 hours away and is still thought to hit, locals generally do the same thing. After protecting their homes or apartments, of course. They gather in the homes of a friend who lives on high ground. High ground is the second floor or a small area of Key West 10-12 feet above sea level.

Everyone brings food. It will only spoil if left home in the refrigerator. Electricity destined to go out. The food is all cooked before the storm arrives. Then eaten during the 1-3 days they all live together. Alcohol shared, also.

Some pick out a building that will with stand a major hurricane. Like Don’s Place. Concrete and building block. A protected party time area for the hurricane’s duration.

There have been two big hurricanes in recent years. Georges in September 1998 and Wilma in October 2005.

Georges was less than a 2 by the time it hit. Did some damage. Old Houseboat Row took a beating.

Wilma was the real monster! Started off as a 5 near the Yucatan. Hit on the Florida mainland around a 2. Key West was on the fringe.

The hurricane itself did little damage as it passed over. About a half hour later, the surge arrived. Unexpected. Damaged big time most homes and automobiles. Surge waters covered most of the island 6-7 feet. The water running suddenly through homes.

Water and humidity are a problem. Mold develops rapidly. Homes had to be gutted along the water line. Six to seven feet. Salt water soaked furniture had to be thrown out..

Forty eight hours later, the streets of Key West had mounds.  15-20  feet of plasterboard and furniture. Sitting in front of each home. A battle zone appearance wise.

Lisa’s home took a beating. Six and a half feet of water. Her car in the driveway went also.

Larry Smith tells the typical story. He and Christine were seated on their back porch saying how they were lucky to have missed it again. It being a bad storm. Suddenly, water began trickling from the house onto the porch. In minutes, six feet was gushing out.

Thus it was all over Key West.

The storm that really bothered me was not a hurricane. A mere tropical storm. Winds generally 50-70 mph. Heavy rains. Dark.

I cannot recall the name of the storm. Searched Google and telephoned several people. All remember the tropical storm. None recall the name. Maybe because it did little damage.

It sticks clearly in my mind as if it were yesterday.

My house was prepped for the storm. Plywood sheets covering every window and door. With one exception. A small door in the back leading to the deck. I needed a way to get in and out.

I did all the right things. Filled the bathtub with water to flush the toilets. Bought bottled water. Bought food that did not require heating before being eaten. Like peanut butter, crackers, dried fruits, etc. Candles and flashlights, too. The electric power always goes.

I hated the storm. It was supposed to last at most 24 hours. It lasted 5-6 days. It sat over Key West as a black cloud and did not move. I am stuck in my boarded up house all this time. Could not drive. The street in front of my home flooded.

The power went out on and off. Meant no TV,  no lights. Candle time. I figured I would read. I do not know how Abraham Lincoln read law by candlelight. I could not. So I spent a lot of time laying on my bed in the dark. Contemplating my navel.

I went out on the deck a couple of times. Dark and bitter. Just as bad as being inside. Except inside was dry.

We are into the hurricane season already this year. It lasts till the end of November. Nothing yet. Nor any warnings. However, hurricanes develop quickly. You never know.

Enjoy your Sunday!

HOUSEBOAT ROW

I am late getting started this morning. Had to be at the hospital early. Heart CAT scan. Part of annual check up.

The Keys History Section  in this morning’s Key West Citizen made mention of houseboat row. A part of yesterday’s Key West. A series of houseboats were tied off South Roosevelt Boulevard. In the area now fronted by an expensive condo complex.

The boats were of all sizes and shapes. Young and old. Some tied in a line. Others, helter skelter. A beautiful sight! A slice of the real Key West.

The houseboats were parked illegally. The State told them to get out. It took more than 25 years before the State succeeded. Most of the houseboats moved to Garrison Bight.

I loved the houseboat scene! I was disappointed when they were finally forced to move. A real Key West site forever lost.

I like the condos. The pristine water view where the houseboats once stood. However, it is Naples to me. I did not move to Key West to live in a Naples environment. I wanted to live in Key West time as my friend Howard Livingston would say.

Watched Jeb Bush yesterday. His Presidential announcement great show. Well orchestrated. One of the best I can recall.

I do not think Jeb Jush has it to win. The Bush family argument does fly. His comments from another time. He is out of today’s loop.

Bush lacks charisma. A necessary ingredient in a national and TV campaign. John Kennedy would not have won without it. Bush does not have it.

Judy Blume still on the road. She is touring introducing her latest book In the Unlikely Event. She is presently on the west coast. Every where she speaks, she is well received. a respected woman. a woman with a talent.

We await Judy’s return to her Key West home.

I started yesterday on the anti-gravity treadmill. I took it slow because of my recent sciatica problems.

Drove over to the Cuban Coffee Queen afterwards for Cuban cheese toast and coffee. I parked behind the new fire station on Simonton.

Key West has crazy parking machines. One gets a ticket out of the machine which is then placed on the dashboard of the car. There are two machines in the parking lot. Next to each other.

Both were broke. A City employee was trying to fix them. Success was not coming easy.

I stood around five minutes so I could get a ticket. No ticket on the dashboard and I would get a ticket! The gentleman from the City saw me standing there. He asked how much time I needed. I told him 1.5 hours. He said, ok. Be back by 1:30. I am calling in so no tickets will be given out till 1:30.

I asked…..Are you sure? No problem he retorted.

When I returned at the specified time, he was still working on the machines. I gave him a thumbs up and smile. He returned the same with a wave and smile.

A nice guy.

Big basketball tonight! Cavs and Warriors. Cavs have to win. Otherwise, it is all over for them.

My blog talk radio show tonight, also. Nine my time. Join me for some interesting comment. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics tonight include getting drunk on the front steps of your home not public intoxication, another police assault involving a 13 year old boy, why big company and government computers are being hacked, banks involved with FIFA scandal being investigated for failing to report money laundering activities, some Jeb Bush, an Austrian brothel owner who is protesting high taxes on his business by offering free sex in the afternoons, a Greece update, and more.

Enjoy your day!