HI-YO, SILVER! AWAY!

Too much seriousness lately. A bit of levity in order.

The Lone Ranger.

Virtue and honor.

His loyal horse Silver and Indian side kick Tonto.

The Lone Ranger…..Hi-yo, Silver! Away! Tonto…..Me Tonto, you Kimosabe.

I loved the Lone Ranger. Grew up with him on the radio in my youth. On TV in my early adult years.

The Lone Ranger debuted in 1933 as a Detroit radio show. The brainchild of two WXYZ staff. They backed the show with the theme from the William Tell Overture.

The show probably succeeded because of the Lone Ranger’s character. Fidelity to a strict code of conduct. He never smoked, swore, drank alcohol. His speech was grammatically correct, free of slang. He never shot to kill.

We need another Lone Ranger to please us, to show us right from wrong in the most basic of ways.

Spent yesterday afternoon researching my tuesday night podcast show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

Spent a few hours in the later afternoon and early evening with Liz. Enjoy her company. We chatted over drinks and a light dinner.

Liz still a die hard Trump supporter. Surprises me. Then again, I am surprised at all who support Trump. In spite of his recent mishaps, she still thinks he is doing and will do great things. From a woman who was Dean at two law schools!

The weather. Cold this morning. Sixty one degrees at 6 when I woke. I need a wife or girl friend to sleep next to.

The high today 72.

An example of how the weather affects southerners as opposed to northerners. About 8, I went downstairs to make a cup of tea. Per my usual custom, I opened the doors to my deck. Cold!!!

The house across the water from me is a renter. There outside was a woman walking around in a bikini. My blood thin. Hers thick so 60 degree weather does not bother her.

Lynda Frechette returns tomorrow night at Aqua with Aqua Idol. Her fundraising vocal competition. An annual event. A lot of work. Do yourself a favor. If in Key West, stop by at 6 and enjoy.

Many of Trump’s executive orders are causing upheaval and concern. The immigration/refugee order one of them.

It is coming out that the order, as well as most of the executive orders Trump signed this past week, are the work of two White House advisers. Done without consultation with appropriate Cabinet Secretaries and their staffs.

Two have gained power with Trump. Appear to be leaders of the White House Office team.

One is Stephen Miller. Thirty one. It blows my mind that a 31 year old is suggesting and making major decisions. Young is ok. however more years are required to garner the experience to make the correct judgment. Can’t beat experience.

Miller is a bit of an extreme. He accused poet Maya Angelou of racial paranoia. He was secretary to Congresswoman Michele Bachman. a nut in her own right. From 2009 to 2016, an aide to Senator Jeff Sessions.

The other is Stephen Bannon. He has an abnormal influence over Trump. He is in the process of solidifying himself as the power figure in Trump’s office.

Breitbart News is a white supremacy website. Bannon was Executive Chairman till moving into the White House. Donald Duke and the KKK announced Bannon’s strategist appointment an excellent one.

Bannon is anti-Semitic. Democrats and Republicans alike oppose him. The man is simply bad news.

Someone said this past week that Bannon makes Cheney look like Mother Teresa,

What goes around comes around!

Oliver Cromwell lead the move to depose the English King. Had him beheaded. Cromwell established a new English Commonwealth to replace monarchy government.

Cromwell ruled with an iron fist. When he died, the power went with him. A year after Cromwell’s death, the monarchy was restored.

Cromwell in death was tried for treason. Found guilty. His body was buried at Westminster Abbey. It was disinterred. His dead body was then hung from the gallows.

Cromwell’s popularity really had diminished!

Al Jolson visited Key West around this time in 1947. He attended a U.S. Navy event and later attended a March of Dimes campaign event at the Casa Marina.

Going Live with Key West Lou fundamentals finally locked in. I am pleased with the past weekend’s shows. Camera and Louis coordinated. I am at ease.

Check the show out on your cell phone. App Facebook. Enter Key West Lou. There I’ll be. See and hear me.

Enjoy your day!

 

THE EARLIEST SCROOGE OF RECORD

Christmas today is not the same as those of yesterday.

The holiday under different names was celebrated centuries before the birth of Christ. Pagan in substance. Drunkenness, sexual orgies, human sacrifice, etc.

What follows is a brief history of Christmas as practiced in early America. Specifically, the 1600s and 1700s.

The Puritans were the earliest Scrooges of record. Descendants of the English Reformation. Christmas had no place in England because of the pagan history of the holiday. Oliver Cromwell banned the practice of Christmas in England.

The Puritans did not recognize Christmas nor would they permit the few who wanted to to practice it. Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659-1681.

Colonials during the American Revolution did not recognize the holiday. English influence prevailed.

Several years after the Revolution, a handful of colonists began celebrating Christmas. The English influence no longer carried the weight it did prior to the Revolution. It was not Christmas as we know it. The event was rowdy. Similar to Mardi Gras and Fantasy Fest.

Tomorrow, I will trace Christmas in America a bit further. The story interesting.

Spent 1.5 hours yesterday morning getting examined. All kinds of tests. All that remains is the actual physical by the doctor which will take place next week.

Stopped at Publix afterwards. Needed a few things. Very few shoppers. However, those that were there were pushing extremely full carts to the cash registers. Early Christmas grocery shoppers.

Peter Max will be in Key West in February. Three separate visits. He will be showing at the Key West Gallery.

His visit exciting!

The Berlin terrorist was caught and killed in Milan.

All Italian cities are beautiful. Milan perhaps the most beautiful. I have visited several times.

Milan is a business and governmental center. Its people as beautiful as the City.

The Piazza del Duomo is one of Milan’s most exciting areas.

The Milan Cathedral aka Duomo di Milan sits at one end of the Piazza. Huge. Magnificent. Steeples galore. Took almost six centuries to build.

I recall one day when the heat was getting to me. I needed cool. Air conditioning is not as prevalent in Italy as in the U.S. Electricity not sufficient to air condition everything. Especially a huge cathedral.

Churches are always cool. Thick stone walls, small colored windows.

I went inside the Cathedral. I fell asleep for two hours. Slept till an attendant/guard nudged me awake. Told me I could not sleep in the Cathedral.

On one side of the Pizza sits a three story stone building. The second floor has a huge balcony. Mussolini stood on the balcony shouting to the crowded Piazza…..War, War, War! He was announcing Italy’s entrance into what would become World War II.

A few blocks off the Piazza is the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The home of the Last Supper. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495.

The Last Supper is painted on the wall of the dining room. Quite large. 15′ x 29′.

I never  knew it was that large or painted on a wall till I saw the painting for the first time.

An awesome sight! The painting captures the instant moment when Jesus revealed to his friends that one of them would betray him. Da Vinci captured what would have been the shock and rage on the faces of the apostles.

Enjoy your day!