BOCCE PLAYOFFS TODAY

We made it! The bocce playoffs!

We ended the season in 4th place. The top 5 teams in each of the four leagues make the playoffs. We play at noon today against the 5th place team of the wednesday night league.

A big deal! A festive occasion! Tons of people watching. Tents and food.

Another pleasant evening last night. Stopped at Louie’s Backyard first. Met Aziza. A local. Lives on Big Coppitt. Married. Four lovely children. Proudly showed me their pictures. Her husband prominent in the area. A realtor. Aziza a paralegal.

Aziza is originally from Russia. This led into Flora and Albania. Recall Flora’s Story in my book The World Upside Down.

A lovely interesting woman. She was killing time. She had an hour till her husband’s plane flew in from Washington where he had been on business a few days.

Then to the Chart Room.

Che at the bar. First time I have seen Che in three months or better. He was sick and rushed off to Miami. A stent problem and pneumonia.

Che is a robust appearing 82. He left, never telling anyone he was sick, etc. His door was locked, his car gone, no one answering the telephone. We all thought the worst.

I chewed Che out royally for not letting anyone know what was happening with him. We were all worried. Properly so. Chart Room regulars consider ourselves Che’s family.

Met Laureen and Chris at the bar. An enjoyable conversation evolved. Included Che.

Laureen and Chris have been visiting Key West for 18 years. They live on Amelia Island. Probably the northern most point in Florida. They come to Key West to visit Florida’s most southern point.

Laureen is CEO of a private health care company. Ted a third grade teacher.

Nice people.

Several movies have been filmed in Key West over the years. One is the 1947 Reap The Wild Wind. Starred John Wayne. The movie was based on a 1940 novel by Thelma Strabel. She serialized the story and sold it to the Saturday Evening Post.

Apparently the book resulted in big dollars to Strabel. She took the money and built a home in Key West. She did this immediately upon selling the story to the Saturday Evening Post.

The house was at 400 South Street. At the time, it was the southernmost house in Key West. The house no longer exists. Someone bought, demolished, and built another in its place.

My personal reading is not consistent. I seem to enjoy everything. Mid-week, I mentioned reading several World War II stories. Yesterday, I got into Fatima. Our Lady of Fatima.

Catholics believe that the Blessed Mother appeared before three Portuguese children in 1917. I am a fallen away Catholic. Nevertheless, I continue to believe Fatima occurred.

There is much to read regarding Fatima.

All that glitters is not gold. As we all know. I refer to a GMO situation not in the best interest of the American people.

The Agriculture Department has or soon will adopt a regulation permitting GMO Free to be put on the labels of all foods not containing GMOs. A sop!

The movement across the country is to have foods containing GMOs labeled as containing such. Monsanto and the other GMO big guys have been fighting this movement. By providing the opposite, the government has once again succumbed to the desires of Monsanto and friends.

GMO Free is not Contains GMOs. Intentional misleading.

Big sports day! The bocce playoffs and then the Preakness. I have always enjoyed racing. As a sport. A gambler I am not. I spent many an August day in Saratoga.

Enjoy your day!