BEARD or NO BEARD

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Without question, I am well! God bless!

Felt ok yesterday. Thought about going out. Decided to remain in and try eating normally first. Toast with preserves for lunch. Dinner, a Thanksgiving meal. Several had sent Thanksgiving dinners.

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie. Easy. Did not over indulge.

Handled it all without a problem.

Watched Syracuse/Boston College in the afternoon. Syracuse won 42-21. Season over. Syracuse’s record 9-3. The best in 18 years. The best team we have had in 18 years. Finally! We are thankful Lord. Next week bowl bids will be announced.

The issue to be decided today is beard or no beard. I have gone a week without shaving. The start of a beard obvious. Messy, however. I look like a bum. Another week and it will look ok.

What to do? Not sure yet.

Wore a beard for 2 years several years ago. Enjoyed it. No shaving. A light trim once a week. Thought it went well with a bald head.

Problem is I am not sure my vanity will permit me to go the next week to get to the ok zone.

I plan on a normal Sunday out and about. The Chart Room, Blue Macaw, Rum Bar, and Sandy’s Cafe. Publix, too. Little food I had had to be dumped.

No Name Pub. A dining establishment of renown in the lower Keys. Pizza, chili, burgers, fries, etc.

I have not been there in a year. It’s a once or twice a year place. Sits in the deep woods outside Big Pine. On No Name Key. That is how it got its name.

People go for 2 reasons. The adventure in finding the place and the food. You can get lost. Proof of the pudding is a sign outside: You Found It!

The place is funky as is the food. An old beat up 2 story home. Tradition is to nail dollar bills to the walls and ceilings with your name and the date signed on them. Then try to locate the next time you are there. Impossible. There’s another $10-20 stapled over your bill!

Irma did minimal damage.

No Name Pub was a whore house back in the late 1930’s into the early 1940’s. Most famous old houses in the Keys were at some time in days long gone by.

Quotes turn me on. Words of wisdom generally from one smarter than I. Came across a Ernest Hemingway one yesterday: “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were required reading in my third year American literature college class. Tom Sawyer written first. Huck a character in it. Then Huckleberry Finn with Huck in the starring role.

The quote brought to mind Huck, Tom, Jim, and Pap Finn.

Wow! One of the great writers of all time acknowledging  a predecessor as perhaps even a greater writer.

Came across a Biblical quote yesterday also. Referring to women who cheat. Violate their marital vows. Before you get all discombobulated, I appreciate men do also.

The quote hit a sensitive cord. Reminded me of divorces involving persons close to me or who I randomly knew where the lady strayed. Proverbs 14:1 “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.”

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson played a match against each other a couple of days ago. The prize $9 million. Winner takes all!

Mickelson won on the 22nd hole.

A big prize! Turner Broadcasting the sponsor. The match on TV. Pay for view. $19.95. The reason why so much can be paid to the winner of such a sporting event.

A glitch occurred.A Bleacher Report Line ran it free. Everyone is being reimbursed their $19.95.

Lineage difficult and costly to trace. Someone did. The result amazing.

It was 1620. John Howland was on the Mayflower traveling to the new world. He was to serve a period of time as an indentured servant upon arrival.

The Mayflower carried 132, including crew.

A furious storm arose. Caused the Mayflower to lay heave. A rogue wave rode over the vessel. Howland was caught by it. He grabbed a line as he was thrown overboard. He was carried beneath the waves. Fortunately, the crew was able to pull him back in.

Extremely fortunate they did. American history would not have been the same if Howland went down and stayed down.

Howland worked off his indenture servant obligation. Married Elizabeth Tilley. They had 10 children who produced 88 grandchildren.

The 88 grandchildren over the next 200 years produced 200 million American descendants.

Including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Joseph Smith, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Humphrey Bogart, Chevy Chase, Alec Baldwin, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

Appreciate further from whence they all came. The reason they sought the new world. Howland and the others on the Mayflower were religious outcasts from Europe. A “migrant caravan” of sorts. These “migrants” changed the world for the better.

Enjoy your Sunday! I plan on enjoying mine!

 

 

MUCH TO TALK ABOUT

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It’s amazing! yesterday, I was tired. Dead tired. Doing the blog an ordeal. Never got to researching this week’s column.

This morning totally different. I am alive! Slept well.

Ergo, I have much to share this morning.

I have decided not to do a KONK Life column for this week. I should have researched it yesterday. Would have written it today. Generally, five hours for research and five hours for writing. Means a ten hour effort today.

Too much in one day. Would also effect the quality of the writing. When tired, I tend to get sloppy. Rewriting takes a long time. So, I am skipping. Playing hooky. Forgive me.

I am cheating at the moment. One eye on the keyboard. The other on the TV set. The British Open. Mickelson and Stenson in a real battle. Yesterday and so far today. Exciting golf.

I mentioned yesterday I was pulling for Mickelson. As big a star as he is, Mickelson has not won in three years. His age the problem. Forty six. In that time, he has been in or close to the lead many times. For three days. Loses his energy on the fourth. This is probably his last shot at winning another major.

William Hackley reports today that Baby is improving. Seems ok, except for some throat sores.

Hackley mentions he paid $12.50 for the Havana goat. The goat that failed to provide milk. $12.50 a lot of money in 1855.

I pushed myself to go out last night. If I stayed home, I would have fallen asleep early. To wake early. I wanted a normal night’s sleep.

Went to Tavern ‘n Town. My usual Saturday night haunt. Bobby Nesbitt time. I sit at a corner of the bar reading the newspaper and eating slowly while humming to Bobby’s singing. Love it!

David Brown is the Dallas police Chief.  He is becoming an American folk hero. Properly so.

He recently said, “We’re asking cops to do too much in this country.” He may be correct. Worthy of thought.

As I think of his words, I am reminded of what we have been putting our troops through in the last 15 years. Multiple deployments. Three and four times.

Hemingway Days begin this week. Two interesting/exciting events.

Nancy Sindelar is an Ernest Hemingway scholar. She is speaking at the Custom House thursday evening. Her topic: People and Places That Influenced Ernest Hemingway.

I am a Hemingway buff. Her talk sounds interesting.

Boat race time, also. One of the events is the Key West Marlin Tournament. Three days. Cash prizes totaling $50,000. Bicardi the sponsor.

Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West has never stopped loving Truman. He enjoyed 175 days in Key West over a period of 11 trips.

Today, an historical day for Truman. Not President long and World War II still ongoing, Truman met Russia’s Joseph Stalin for the first time. At the Potsdam Conference. The two were alone for this first meeting.

Imagine these two guys sizing each other up!

Some politics.

Watched Trump introduce Pence yesterday morning as his VP selection. Trump did not seem to care. He spoke for almost a half hour in introducing Pence. About himself. Rarely Pence. Trump failed to stay on stage while Pence spoke. At the end of Pence’s talk, Trump’s whole family came out. Pence only his tiny wife.

I suspect Trump really does not care about the VP spot. He will be the winner or loser. He is the star. The campaign will be run thusly.

I was not impressed with Pence. He did not seem ready for the big time.

Watched Pence on the Hannity show two nights ago. He worried me. He made it clear that we knew where ISIS was. We should go in and clean them out. The inference: War! War! War!

Reminded me of the square I visited in Milan. Someone pointed out the second floor balcony of a building on the square. Told me Mussolini stood there and announced to his people: War! War! War!

Trump is a prophet. Going to do this and that. A false prophet. Beware.

There has been talk of a small group trying to change the Republican voting process so as to deny Trump the nomination. It appears to have failed.

The last time such was attempted was in 1976. Reagan trying to steal the nomination from Ford. Ford defeated the move. Reagan had to wait 4 more years before he could run for President.

Ford’s floor manager who lead the effort which defeated Reagan was a young Paul Manafort. The same Paul Manafort heading Trump’s election efforts today.

Enjoy your Sunday!