BRICEN, MACARIO THE MONKEY, LAKOTA THE LION, AND HERMAN……CHATHAM VILLAGE BEARS

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I met the parents of the Chatham Village Bears last night. Art and George. Designers and producers of tiny animals. Cute little ones. Like Brien, Macario the Monkey, Lakota the Lion, and Herman. Plus hundreds more. Too many to mention.

Art and George are Key Westers. Many years. They started making these soft furry animals. The animals caught on. Their business now world wide.

I met Art and George last week at Hot Dog Church. Art missed services this week. I arrived near the end to meet Donna and Terri. We had planned to have dinner together. George at the bar.

We invited George to join us. He called his husband Art. The five of us enjoyed a fun filled dinner at Antonia’s.

Take a look at  George and Art’s website. www.chathamvillagebears.com. You will be impressed. I ordered Macario the Monkey to sit on the corner of my desk. I need company.

Laurie was bartending for the Church at Aqua’s Back Bar. A personality! Originally from France.

I complain about traffic. Bicycles, also. Key West has become overburdened with people and machines.

A perfect example is what was reported in Citizens’ Voice this morning. Someone had driven to Fort Zach Beach. Had to go through “customs.”  The toll booth. Twenty three cars ahead of him.

The worst I have ever been is number 3 in line, with no one behind me.

The topic yesterday on Key West Lou Live, my Facebook video, were wedding cookies. I can only take so many days of talking about Trump.

The Wall Street Journal’s weekend addition had a front page article about wedding cookies. They have superceded the wedding cake and in many instances replaced the wedding cake.

A recent Youngstown, Ohio wedding had 500 invited guests. Eighteen thousand cookies consisting of 150 varieties served. No wedding cake.

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was to be read to the people from the steps of Independence Hall. Printed copies were to be handed out.

The reading and distribution of copies had to wait till July 8. The printer could not get them out earlier.

On this day in 1925, the Monkey trial began. Also known as the Scopes trial. Evolution the issue. William Jennings Bryan for the People. Clarence Darrow for the Defense.

I wrote a lengthy article re the trial several years ago for KONK Life. The trial was a fraud. A phony. Perverted American history till recently.

The community involved was a small Tennessee town called Dayton. Business was poor. The city fathers decided something dramatic had to occur to correct the situation.

They decided on a trial involving a matter of national interest.

Evolution was much discussed back then. Whether man evolved from God or beast. It was against Tennessee law to teach evolution evolved from anyone other than God.

The city fathers convinced a young school teacher John Thomas Scopes to say he had taught evolution in his classes. Man evolved from animal.

The community leaders, the judge and Scopes were all part of the chicanery. No one else knew.

The trial did get national attention. The attorneys on both sides were unaware of the fraud being perpetrated and fought like hell in the court room. So much so, that William Jennings Bryan died five days after the trail.

Paris’ birthday this year will find the City more than 2,000 years old. Somewhere between 2,066 and 2, 267 years old. The actual date of its founding uncertain. 250 BC generally utilized. Historians acknowledge the uncertainty.

Enjoy your day!

LAZY GECKO…..SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, ADIEU

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Today, the last for Lazy Gecko. It closes at the end of business this evening. I give the Gecko a Sound of Music goodbye. Well deserved.

The Gecko has been part of the Park Ave. 200 block of Duval for many years. Seated between Sloppy Joe’s and Irish Kevin’s.

Word on the street is someone bought the building Gecko is in and raised the rent. Beyond what Gecko proprietors thought they could pay.

The number I hear is $30,000 a month.

High, but not high in comparison to rents of other lower end Duval properties.

Word on the street also suggest Irish Kevin’s got a kick up in the rent. To $65,000 a month. Irish Kevin’s is significantly larger than the Gecko and does a much bigger business each night than the Gecko.

There is a party tomorrow night at the Gecko for its regular customers. A going away event.

Gecko’s demise sad. Life, however.

My new neighbor is gone, also. The golf course crocodile.

The croc was a she. Nine feet long, 200 pounds. Caught in the middle of the night after a four hour struggle. The croc was taken somewhere up the Keys and released.

She was caught at her home at the 11th hole pond.

The crocodile had traveled a bit. In the less than the month’s time she lived at the pond, she had also been sighted on Stock Island and Key Haven. Key Haven my former residence.

Stopped at the Chart Room first last night. Who calls out Lou? My political adversary/friend from the other evening. Paul. The fellow from Indiana who lives in Mike Pence’s district and knows him. The same Paul who got excited while talking in support of Trump.

The guy is my friend! No question. We talked long last night. No politics. Met his wife Kim. A honey. Typical midwest. Warm and friendly.

Pete came in for a beer. We started talking. Age came into the discussion. I advised him I had just turned 82. He told me he was 76. Looked exceptionally great for his age.

Pete has been in Key West since the 1970s.

He still works. A civilian employee for the federal government. Said he had to. He has a 14 year old son to educate. Born of his fourth marriage.

I laughed, he laughed. It is funny when you think about it.

I admired his desire to make sure his last child’s education was totally paid by him. He had done it for his other children.

I told him I understood. I educated my four children. One hundred cents on the dollar. I did not want them to struggle financially through school as I had.

The one hundred cents on the dollar included a car and spring break vacations. I frequently thumbed. Spring break? What was that?

Near the time I was getting ready to leave, Jessica walked in. A Miss America type! Actually, Mrs. America. Around 40. Lives near Los Angeles.

I was in a hurry to eat. It was 9 and I had not had anything since breakfast. The growling in my stomach took precedence over Jessica.

My destination was Tavern ‘n Town. They have a new Happy Hour from 9-11. Tapas and drinks half price.

Last night was my fourth visit.

I like the late Happy Hour. A tapas, two drinks and a light bill. $18.

Can’t go wrong.

I made an error in yesterday’s blog. Mentioned Mel Fisher Days was ending today. Not so. Mel Fisher Days has not yet begun. It starts next thursday and runs through saturday. The event commemorates Fisher’s discovery of the Atocha.

This weekend’s edition of The Wall Street Journal carried an interesting article front page. Cookie tables at wedding have  become larger and more common.

I recall cookie tables at the weddings of my children. Their mother, the family and friends baked for weeks in preparation for the cookie table. I was unaware that it had now grown into a big time expensive item for what the Journal described as “modern weddings.”

The article reported a recent wedding in Youngstown, Ohio where 18,000 cookies consisting of 150 varieties were served.

Enjoy your sunday!