Stopped into the Orchid Bar around 4 yesterday. Rose bartending. She told me Victor did not come on duty till 5. Too early for me to drink. Rose let me sit in the Orchid’s cool bar and read the papers till my 5 o’clock drinking hour arrived.

Five is the universal time to begin drinking. No one in the bar but me till 5. Then, too many for the small space.

Joe and Debbie Curcillo the first couple to arrive. From Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Joe retired from 30 years as a criminal defense attorney. Now a mentalist. He has unusual mental powers. Able to motivate people in a proper direction. Refers to himself professionally as The MindShark. Turns good thoughts into great thoughts.

He has authored a couple of books, appears at corporate gatherings as a keynote speaker, provides consulting services, and sometimes hops on a stage and uses his special talent to entertain.

An interesting man! He is sending me two of his books so as I might better understand what he does and how he helps people.

Wife Debbie is a Judge. Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Handles criminal and civil matters.

A lovely sensitive woman.

I am impressed with both. Practicing law is hard work. No one knows better than I. I spent 46 years in the courtroom. Joe and Debbie have somehow escaped. Joe lectures and Debbie judges. Lawyers view judging as retirement.

Two additional couples came in. Separately. Both relatively young. Both at the same stage of their lives. Last college tuition paid! Mom and Dad’s time now! The present trip to Key West their first. Hopefully more trips and play time everywhere.

As I was leaving Josh and Heather appeared. Locals. Know them from the Chart Room.

I wanted to visit with Laurie a while. She spent the past 17 years working at Aqua. She moved over to the Rum Bar two weeks ago.

Love her! A better person does not exist.

Mary was seated at the bar. Years since I have run into Mary. When I first bought my home in Key Haven 22 years ago, Mary took care of the property for several years. A jack of all trades. She refers to me as Mr. P. Good to see her again.

Mary proudly announced to everyone ours was the first family she worked for in Key West.

Only 7. However, I was tired. And hungry. Headed home. Stopped at Five Guys on the way for a burger and fries.

I was tired because my day started early. Five am. Up that early because I knew my day was full.

Got my blog completed and published. Also did my Key West Lou Live show on Facebook. All before 10. Watched Meet the Press at 10.

Sloan was due at noon. We had a lot to do. Covered several technical matters.

I left Sloan working and hustled over to Lee Nails where I had a 2 o’clock appointment with Tammy for a manicure. Unusual for Tammy to work on a sunday. However her husband took the kids somewhere and she dd not want to stay home alone.

The shop was busy. A money maker!

Tammy and I talked about our mutual friend Jenna. Jenna has been in Greece now going on 3 weeks. She and her love. I sense marriage in the air.

Jenna has sent me several e-mails and photos of her on various Greek isles. She and Greece in the background make for beautiful viewing. She spent several days in Oia on Santorini. One of my favorite places.

It was now 3 and I had not eaten all day. Stopped at Sandy’s Cafe for Cuban cheese toast with tomatoes and a Cuban coffee. Remained a while reading the sunday newspapers.

The lobster industry is big in the south Florida Keys. Millions of spiny lobsters a year harvested and sold to China. The tariff war will hurt the industry badly. China has imposed a 25 percent tariff. China is looking elsewhere to purchase lobsters because of the tariff war.

The lobster fishermen took a devastating hit last year because of Irma. A big time hit! Two of the larger lobster business lost 1,500 traps each because of Irma. They each had 2,500 traps out.

This tariff war is going to adversely impact them a second year in a row. Some will not survive financially.

As I reported yesterday, July was the hottest month in Key West in recorded history. Records began being kept in 1871. Little air movement in July. The weatherman reports today’s temperature will be 90. He follows it with: Breezy…..Hallelujiah!

A touch of Key West humor. The lower Keys suffered a power outage two nights ago. A Key Wester commented in the Citizens’ Voice this morning he opened the refrigerator during the outage and was surprised the lights were out, too.

Only in Key West!

I tell people Key West in small town conservative America. They look at me like I’m crazy. They fail to realize Key West is more than the first 4 blocks of Duval Street.

A new Key West crime report is out. It reports 2,199 crimes committed in 2002. In 2017, the number down to 910. A 58.6 percent decrease over 15 years.

Conservative small town America.

Today a serious one in history. The atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima this day in 1945. Eighty thousand killed instantly. Thirty five thousand injured. Sixty thousand more died by the end of the year.

The manner in which immigration has been handled has resulted in a moral crisis. ICE has gone rogue. It operates unchecked. Controls lacking. A system out of control.

Thank you, Donald Trump. He has permitted ICE to grow and act in its present fashion. Some believe Trump views ICE as his private military. A danger in itself.

Trump spoke at an Ohio rally over the weekend. He indicated during the rally with a broad smile concerning ICE…..They’re great!

Tonight, Dueling Bartenders at Aqua.

Enjoy your day!