OUTSTANDING FLAGLER RAILWAY EXHIBIT

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Slept late. Bed followed by a meeting. Ergo, blog late today. Sorry.

I went to the opening of the Flagler Railway Exhibit at the Custom House last night. Outstanding!

Curator Dr. Cori Convertino performed well. She was in charge of the exhibit. A permanent one. A lot of work and time had to be involved. The finished product made it worthwhile.

I could not find Nicky’s drawing of Flagler. It’s there. I will return when there is no crowd and I can take my time looking.

Dr. Convertino in attendance, of course. All decked out in long. Looked terrific! A hug and a kiss of congratulations.

Ran into George. George is a female. She bartends at Hogsbreath. For at least 15 years.

I had not seen her in years. She never changes. I told her so. Looks the same as when I first met her at Lisa’s wedding 13 years ago.

Walked over to the Chart Room following the exhibit. Another fun evening.

Sheila was there. First time in three months that I have seen her. Sat next to her.

Linda Cunningham seated next to Sheila. She contributed to making it an enjoyable evening. In her other life, Linda was an editor. In Key West, she is a Board member of The Stars and Stripes.

Kevin and Holly at the other end of the bar. Chatted with them briefly. Holly her usual lovely self.

Met Grace and Steve. They reside in one of the Villages. Visiting Key West for the holiday weekend.

Grace into legal case management. Steve a former crane operator. Now, retired.

Nice people. Steve especially expressive.

John handled the bar well. Joined in the conversations when he could.

Zbigniew Brzezinski died. Eighty nine years old. A distinguished American. He was National Security Adviser under President Carter. He succeeded Henry Kissinger in the position.

Brzezinski’s family escaped Europe before World War II. Amazing the heights Brzezinski attained.

He is the father of Mika Brzezinski, one of the Morning Joe hosts.

The Rainbow Flag. One and a quarter miles long. From one end of Duval to the other. An expression gay pride.

A portion of the flag is referred to as Section 93. It has been exhibited in several parts of the U.S. and as far away as Australia.

On January 11, Section 93 will participate in a unity and pride parade in Washington, DC. The Equality March for Unity and Pride. It will lead the parade.

Big time sailboat races no more in Key West. For thirty years, the Key West Race Week held in waters off Key West. A big deal!

Unfortunately, participation has dwindled. In 2001, 326 boats. In 2016, 130. This past January, 90.

The numbers explain the cancellation determination.

At a Trump rally in March, Senator Jim Kane’s son was present. Senator Kane was Hillary’s Vice-Presidential running mate.

The son is Linwood “Woody” Kane.

Young Kane was opposed to Trump. He and friends disrupted the rally. One threw a smoke bomb.

That was March. He was arrested this week for his activities at the rally. My question: Why did it take two months to arrest him? Does not make sense.

You can always find an outside the box event in the Keys. This afternoon a dog wash fundraiser. Sponsored by the Sheriff’s Department. Being held at the Keys Animal Hospital. The proceeds go to the Florida Keys SPCA.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

BUBBA POLITICS AGAIN

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Small town, small town politics. Favoritism sneaks into governmental decisions.

In Key West it is referred to as the bubba system. Friends taking care of friends.

The City Commission had before it a proposed increase in cab licenses. There have been 72 since 1992. Amazing! No need for an increase in all those years! Twenty four years!

Uber and Lyft came into the discussion. The City Commission’s position remains the same…..Wait till State officials rule on the matter. Called passing the buck. Additionally, the State may never rule on the issue.

One of the Commissioners came up with the excuse that Uber and Lyft would put too many cars on streets already congested. Bullshit! One of the purposes is to help relieve congestion. Encourage people to leave cars at home.

There is a saying the blind cannot see. In this instance, the Commission is not blind. Merely arbitrary. Protecting the 72 licenses as they have since 1992.

Which brings me directly into my Rotary installment for today. Installment 14.

In  1932, the Key West Chief of Police and Monroe County Sheriff were at odds. Harmony lacking between the two departments.

At the September 29, 1932 Rotary luncheon meeting, Police Chief Ivan Elwood and Sheriff Cleveland Niles were invited.

The problem being too much crime in Key West. The Police Department could not handle the volume. The Sheriff was reluctant to help.

Only one police officer on duty nights. To guard the entire City. Too much for one officer. Gangs were in vogue and breaking into homes and businesses on a frequent basis.

The Rotary pushed the Police Chief and Sheriff to work together. Join forces to combat the Key West crime wave.

Judge Jefferson B. Browne gave his opinion as to why Key West was experiencing so much lawlessness. Too many laws on the books. Covering minor things. Local emphasis had been placed on minor wrongdoings. So much so that there was no time for serious crime attention.

Key West is never without amusing occurrences. Probably what makes the community so popular.

The Key West Citizen reported this morning in its Today In Keys History section an interesting court proceeding. This day in 1993. A Court hearing for a retrial. Which was ultimately denied.

Rocky was a two year old 5 pound chihuahua who impregnated Camella, an 80 pound rottweiler.

The Court ordered Rocky’s owners to pay Camella’s owners $2,567.50 in damages.

An expensive sexual interlude.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…..” Opening words to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

On this day in 1859, the final installment of the novel was published. The last of three installments. Makes one believe the book was published in three parts.

Finally, yes. Initially, no.

Dickens published a weekly literary work. All The Year Round. He initially published A Tale of Two Cities in the weekly. Forty five chapters over a period of 31 weeks.

Interesting.

Tonight my podcast show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Topics will naturally include Trump’s election and the protests following. Other topics include Gingrich’s wanting a new House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities (shades of Joe Mc Carthy), and Necons, 9/11 involved persons and Goldman Sachs people on Team Trump.

Also, Nestles granted double water extraction 120 miles from Flint, schools offering counseling to students disturbed by Trump election, robots will soon take 2/3s of all jobs in the developing world, and more.

Again, 9 this evening. A fast moving revealing half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

 

TONIGHT…..SANCHEZ AT CUSTOM HOUSE

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Mario Sanchez, one of Key West’s greatest artist! A world wide reputation.

Many of his works will be exhibited for several weeks at the Custom House. The show’s opening this evening.

More than 70 pieces from the collection of David Wolkowsky a part of the exhibit.

I plan on attending.

Prior to the exhibit, I have an appointment with Dr. Mc Ivor to get my test results.

My evening yesterday began at 5 with Tammy. Needed a manicure.

Tammy’s 9 year old son had emergency appendectomy surgery last week. He is doing well.

Then to Don’s Place. cCatted with Don and David. Shane joined us.

I had to pull Don out so we could go to dinner. Don may be able to do without food. I cannot.

We ate at the outside bar at La Te Da. Tonto bartending. A business discussion. We compared the operations of a bar and law office. Interestingly, many similarities. Business is business.

I was home at 9. In time for the Cavaliers/Warriors game. Great basketball. If you are a Cleveland fan. I am. Next, game 7. The world championship on the table. One game for all the marbles.

I did not fall asleep during the game.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department will have its officers wearing body cameras beginning monday. A good move. All police departments should require body cameras.

My KONK Life column this week The Rape of Social sScurity. Sounds boring. Not. Extremely interesting and revealing. Everyone should read.

The column was posted on this morning’s KONK E-Blast.

Bernie Sanders ran the good race. The way it is. He should stop his campaigning or whatever he calls it. When you lose, you step back. He does not seem to know how.

He tried to climb Mt. Everest. Failed. The last 100 feet were too much for him. His effort respected.

Enjoy your day!