Ducks gliding along a pond. Tranquil.

Sex lives not. At least for the female.

The male is always horny. Looking for sex. Scientists describe it as “sexual conflict-driven genital evaluation.”

The male penis is generally longer than the bird itself. Shaped like a corkscrew.

Copulation is “forced” upon the female. The act comparable to “human rape.”

The female has evolved a maze-like vagina structure that corkscrews in the opposite direction as the male’s penis. The vagina also includes several dead-end pockets which serve to lessen the chances that an encounter will lead to an unwanted pregnancy.

We live and learn. Reminds me of a story I have shared many times. Involving chickens.

I was always under the impression the rooster “cock a doodled” to waken people. Not so. The rooster is actually announcing he wants sex.

Proof in the pudding is watch chickens when you hear a rooster sounding of. The hens rapidly run in an opposite direction.

Caronavirus is returning big time. Reasons include those who refuse to be vaccinated, those who refused to wear masks, and new variants. Whatever, the virus is returning in increasing numbers.

Even to those vaccinated.

Syracuse friends were back to Key West last week visiting. I was with them a week ago saturday at the Chart Room for a drink. No one anywhere in town wearing a mask. Including me. From my perspective, the worse was over. It was back to normalcy. I had even terminated my self-imposed quarantine of 412 days.

I hugged and kissed Chris. Don and I even hugged.

Both Don and Chris had been vaccinated. Don with Pfizer.

Received a tweet from Don last night. He was recovering from coronavirus. Began with congeston and a cough.

He was not the first case to have come down with the virus in spite of having been vaccinated. I became aware this past week of several similar cases in Key West. Vaccinated and still got sick.

A scientist I am not. I do know however that I react to protect myself when danger might occur. I am back to wearing a mask. Quarantine again? Not as severe. It was torture on occasion.

Dr. Fauci said over the weekend the U.S. was headed in the “wrong direction” as coronavirus cases were spiking among the unvaccinated. I would go a step further. I believe vaccinations may not be working as we thought up to a week ago.

Scary.

Dr. Fauci also said indoor wearing of masks and booster shots may be required.

Even though many in the U.S. would oppose the reinstatement of masks, forced inoculation and quarantine not well received could be on the horizon. Then what? In addition to an epidemic, violence in the streets?

The Hemingway Look-Alike Contest selected this year’s winner. Sixty three year old Zach Taylor from Alabama. A total of 136 contestants participated.

TACOS paragraphs 9 and 10.

The La Concha lobby was a favorite of mine / It was like stepping way back in time / Dark, dusty, and spider webs everywhere / It looked just like Disney’s “Tower of Terror.”

At nights kids went to the White Street Pier / To race their cars and drink some beer / The City decided to put some speed bumps in / They called them, “Sleeping Policemen.”

A doctor visit this morning. I shall be wearing a mask.

Enjoy your day!

Steve Thompson is on a roll. Today a brief recollection of Louie’s Backyard and the old Kress building.

TACOS paragraphs 7 and 8.

There are just a few bricks left around the front door / And some of the foundation under the floor / An actor used to live right there on the sea / In a nice little house quiet as could be / A cook named Signorelli lived upstairs next door / He wanted his own restaurant on the first floor / So he asked his neighbors for permission / And got them to sign a zoning petition / The actor was furious he said, “No way!” / Put his house on a barge and sailed away / He said he’s going as far as he can get / It’s now Louie’ Backyard and the Afterdeck.

We would go to the old Kress store all the time / It looked like the original five and dime / It even had a soda fountain still / now it’s the bar at the Margaritaville.

The old Kress building came to house on the first floor the finest department store in all of Key West. Fast Buck Freddies. Fast Buck’s now gone. Replaced by a CVS.

The top floor/roof  became David Wolkowsky’s penthouse home. Magnificent! With David gone, rented now to tourists.

The Hemingway Days Run of the Bulls yesterday afternoon. The some 70 Hemingways Look-Alikes actually raced constructed bulls. Those watching on Duval ran every which way to avoid being gored. It was Pamplona all over again.

A local wrote the “affinity for the famed author was ‘no bull.'”

The contest for the Look-Alike was down to 25 last night. Don’t know who won. Too late for me. On top of which the Key West Citizen does not have a Sunday edition.

Florida has enjoyed many firsts in its history. The most recent not one to be proud of. Florida leads the U.S. in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The virus is moving with significantly increased speed. The Delta variant the reason.

Washington is considering a national mask mandate. Governor DeSantis is walking around bragging if it happens, he will have a law passed giving Florida permission to ignore the Washington mandate.

An ass! I don’t even know if legally it can be done.

Whatever, DeSantis is the man the Republican right want as their Presidential candidate in 2024 if Trump does not run. God help us!

South Carolina has achieved a “distinction ” of sorts. In June, 90 percent of COVID-19 cases and deaths were of persons unvacinated.

Steve Harmon was a 34 year old Californian living just outside Los Angeles. He was a non believer and refused to be vaccinated. He utilized social media to share his convictions.

Steve will never see 35. He died Wednesday in a Los Angeles facility where he had been hospitalized because of the virus.

U.S. athletes in Tokyo no better at respecting warnings than Steve. It was announced yesterday that many are unvaccinated. When confronted, many had the same response. Whether to be vaccinated  is a matter of “personal choice.”

Should any of the athletes become infected and die, the tombstone of each should read: “I knew no other way to be me. I only knew I had to be me. It was my personal choice to die.”

Enjoy your Sunday!

Jeffrey Burrill was a high ranking Catholic cleric till last wednesday. On his way up in the Church hierarchy. A bishop in the making. Perhaps a cardinal.

A top administration for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. General Secretary.  A leader in the move to deny President Biden Communion. He carried a heavy load in the organization.

Burrill was the chief organizer for the fall Bishops Conference which is scheduled to review the final document intended to deny Communion to Biden and other Catholic politicians who support a woman’s right to choose.

By going after Biden, Burrill placed himself in the big leagues. One which did not work out well for him.

Burrill’s story is one of hypocrisy at the highest level. May involve retribution. Perhaps God’s silent hand punishing a wrongdoer.

It became public wednesday that Burrill was a user of the app Grindr and visited gay bars. Grindr is the largest social networking app for gay, bi, transsexual, and similar type people.

Burrill immediately stepped down when the news became public.

What’s worse? Burrill’s Grindr app and patronization of gay bars or Biden’s support of a woman’s right to choose? No comparison from my perspective.

Burrill in opting to blacken a leading Catholic and basically good person forgot the Good Book: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” John 8:7.

God works in strange ways: “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.” Romans 12: 17-18.

Another noteworthy religious item to report today.

Resurrection School is a Catholic school in Lansing, Michigan. School officials and 2 parents brought a lawsuit in federal court involving freedom of religion. The suit’s basis the mandating that school children had to wear masks. Their specific argument being mask mandates violate religious rights by hiding faces created in God’s image.

This is the fourth lawsuit regarding masks.  The first three which involved restricting peoples’ freedom, represented government intrusion, and distorting science.

We are told we are created in God’s image. Therefore covering the face covers God’s image.

Who thinks up these arguments?

COVID-19 is on a rampage again. Cases up dramatically. Refuse to be vaccinated or wear masks. Dissenters claim they cannot be forced to do either.

Most governmental and medical leaders are the the end of the line. Tired, frustrated, don’t know what to do next. The hospitals are filling up or have already reached that level. Hospital personnel cannot work harder. Raises two questions. Will the government be required to mandate vaccines? Masks?

Australia interesting in this regard. Things got out of hand in Australia. Laws were passed mandating the wearing of masks and prohibiting persons from leaving their homes without a reasonable excuse. Forced quarantine, in effect.

Australia now in the fourth week of the restrictions. People are extremely upset. Thousands protested this week in Sydney and other places.

Strange in a sense. The COVID numbers keep surging. People are reluctant to protect themselves as told by the experts. The protesters carrying signs “Freedom” and “Tell the Truth.”

I don’t under understand. The real issues are life or death.

Coronavirus has been on the rise in the Keys since July 4. The holiday weekend. New cases prior to July 4 were 2-3 a day. Since, an average of 12 a day.

Numbers don’t lie.

The national figures reveal 99.5 percent of those dying are persons who were not vaccinated.

Again, numbers Don’t lie.

Unless vaccination numbers and mask wearing increase, we could be heading to mandated quarantines and mask wearing.

January 6. Dating sites  have become a way to discover who was involved.

Andrew Taake of Texas has been charged with several felonies. He was in Washington, D.C. and apparently wanted to enjoy a woman following the attack.

He went to the Bumble dating site seeking a match near the Capitol. He represented he was at the attack “from the very beginning” and “spent 30 minutes in the building.”

Someone he communicated with on Bumble turned the information over to the FBI. When questioned, Taake admitted he was in Washington, but only stood and watched. Denied participating.

Authorities were able to match Taake’s photo with the reams of videos it has. Taake caught. He was videoed in what has been described as “two violent attacks.” One involving the use of pepper pray against a police line. The other striking police with a metal whip.

Taake is the second person caught via a dating site. The first was several months ago involving a New Yorker.

Living in William Hackley’s 1856 obviously different in many ways from how we live today. Two examples in Hackley’s journal bearing today’s date.

The first: “Julia Tift pulled a cup of gruel over and was burned from her neck to her feet on the left side. I told them to cover her with flour and sent over a car.”

The other: Gave Walberg “some of Matilda’s hair to have made into a guard chain.”

TACOS paragraph 6.

Every other Sunday you’d see nobody around / They were at the end of White Street, everyone in town / There was a huge flea market on the big empty lot / You could buy anything from key limes to pot / Rednecks, hippies, conchs, Cubans, and gays / Everyone got along, boy, those were the days.

Enjoy your day!

Pope Francis one of the best! The man is pure goodness. Not all Popes have been.

Sunday July 25 is a new day of recognition officially established by him.

It is the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. Shortened version is World Day of Grandparents.

Francis has been working to establish the Day since his inauguration in 2013.

The reason therefore in his own words: “Old age is a gift…..The Holy Spirit still stirs up thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly today…..They remind us that old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between generations passing on the experiences of life and faith to the young.”

World Day of Grandparents will be celebrated on the fourth Sunday of July on the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents.

St. Peter was the rock Jesus was building the Church on. The rock is becoming somewhat fragile in its old age. The Catholic Church is no longer one solid unit. Fraught with all kinds of problems. The Church is divided in a similar fashion to the United States and authoritarian countries. Fifty/fifty. One half liberal, the other far right.

Conflicts on a daily basis.

A leader of the far right is the U.S. Conference of Bishops. Radical. Part of the gang who want to take Francis down.

Sound familiar?

The most recent issue is whether political leaders are to be denied Communion if they are pro-choice. It is a war which has in its roots the embarrassment of Biden.

The Republicans captured the evangelical right years ago. Then married certain Catholics to right wing thinking and support. The Catholics whose thinking reached beyond God, were thrilled with the recognition the evangelical tie was giving them.

Francis wrote the U.S. Conference of Bishops a month ago to cease and desist in their efforts to deny Biden Communion. Francis saw what the Bishops had become blind to: The separation of Church and State.

The Bishops backed off Biden to an extent. Instead turned their attention to lesser political figures. Like State legislators.

Two New Mexico State Senators. Both Democrats. Senators Menoz and Cervantes. Each has been denied communion for having voted pro choice.

The Communion denial in New Mexico and wherever else attempted has at its base the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973.

The decision 48 yeas old. The battle still being waged. Mississippi announced this past week that it has  a case seeking the total reversal of Roe v. Wade presently on its way to the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Conference of Bishops, their supporters and those otherwise anti-Francis forget “we are all God’s children.”

Some of today’s newsworthy items.

Monica Lewinsky’s birthday today. Forty eight years old. I have always thought she was maltreated by those seeking to bring Clinton down. She has kept her head up and walked with dignity.

The Surfside building has revealed 98 bodies so far. There are several not yet discovered who may never be discovered. Ninety seven bodies have been identified so far. One still incapable of identification. The last few bodies have been difficult to identify. DNA analysis was required to identify them.

The Olympic games open today. Exciting. The world’s finest athletes competing against each other. Other than some 700 dignitaries, no spectators will be present. A move to thwart coronavirus which has become rampantly alive the past few weeks.

I thought the games should be called off in their entirety. How many of the thousands of athletes will become infected? The fact that each has trained hard for 4 years is of no consequence where some may die and infect others who may die.

Florida continues to achieve “greatness” under Governor DeSantis. Florida is the fourth state with the most coronavisus cases. Data this week indicated Florida had 20 percent all of coronavirus cases in the U.S.

DeSantis is selfishly blind, a Trump in disguise who wishes to become President.

The man is also insulting to those who are deserving of praise. He continues to mock Dr. Fauci. DeSantis is presently selling “Don’t Fauci My Florida” tee shirts.

The Delta variant is more powerful and moves faster than the initial COVID-19. I have a sense masks may be nationally required soon. DeSantis said if such was done, he’ll have the Florida legislature ban the federal mandate in Florida.

Key West is into its 40th annual Hemingway Days. All kinds of activities this weekend. The contest to decide who is this year’s Hemingway Look Alike. A street festival on Duval all day today. The race of the bulls tomorrow.

Bum Farto to gain some additional notoriety soon. A musical in the works: Bum Farto the Musical.

Key West receiving all kinds of recognition this past year. It is considered one of the top three vacation spots in the U.S. Its hotel rates the highest in the U.S. Now two top restaurants. Latitudes is #4 nationally in fine dining. Better Than Sex #11 in desserts.

TACOS paragraph 6.

Sunshine and BJ made their own show / The movie was really professional / It showed Key West around 1973 / Now you can watch it on your TV / Someone snitched on BJ, something to do with pot / I think it was two or three years he got / Sunshine was left with two kids all alone / She was forced to make it on her own / She kept smiling the whole time / I guess that’s why her name is Sunshine / She had a key lime tree she said, “Take all you want / And sold key lime pies to every restaurant / When times wee tough she just shifted gear / Now she’s one of the most successful here.

Enjoy your day!

It was 1968. David Wolkowsky’s Pier House an immediate success. Lacking in one thing, however. A bar.

The power brokers wanted a place to gather, mingle, make deals. Wolkowsky heard them.

The Chart Room immediately appeared out of nowhere. Wolkowshy took a standard hotel room, brought in a mahogany bar, and a few chairs. The Chart Room was born.

The room became the watering hole for the leaders and monied people of KeyWest, including drug dealers and fishermen.

The place where Jimmy Buffett and Bob Marley got their starts.

Today, the Chart Room is one of Key West’s greatest hidden treasures. A place where locals and guests meet and swap stories.

The dim lights and dark wood create a certain aura. The peanut barrel (shells on the floor the custom), a popcorn machine, and hots dogs add to the ambiance. All free.

Rosie von Engel in a 1998 piece in Solares Hill marking the Chart Room’s 30th birthday wrote: “The Chart Room is one of the last pieces of the soul of Key West.”

Today, the last piece.

TACOS paragraph 5. Steve Thompson’s recollection of the Chart Room back when.

The Chart Room Bar was a place to see / If you were anybody that’s where you’d be / A guy named Capt. Earl with the gift of gab / Said, “Never forget to pay your tab” / I appreciated the advice he was giving / He said, “Don’t ask anyone what they do for a living” / There was a guy with a pit bull named Bobby Brown / He told me he was the Sheriff in town / Jerry Jeff and Jimmy could sit at the bar / Like they were down in the islands at a Jack Tar / No one would bother them, no one would care / That’s why they came here, that’s why they were there / The bartender’s name was Chris Robinson / With his long black hair he looked Indian / To find a better bartender would be pretty hard / He also worked Bagatelle and Louie’s Backyard / Skeeter called information while while paying his tab / To get the phone number for Five Sixes cab / He just came from the drive-in on the far side of town / The movie just started when the screen blew down / The smugglers were generous and they’d spend a bit / But the lawyers ended up with most of it / Sometimes the boat captains would find a bale / And a lot of them ended up in jail / There were two phones side by side on the wall / With the Sheriff on one taking a call / A smuggler on the other waiting on hold / For news from a shrimp boat about his load / Manny was the City attorney’s name / His dad the Police Chief was Jimmy James / When Manny was charged with cocaine he fought it / When reporters asked his dad he said, “He was adopted.”

A tall guy named Mel and his wife were there / He said he looked for treasure most everywhere / He’d drop a gold hotdog in your hand as a gesture / Then asked if you’d like to be an investor /The Chart Room is still the best bar in the Keys / But the only thing left are the memories.

Enjoy your day!

A comment in Citizens’ Voice this morning: “If you are unvaccinated, the virus is going to find you. It is just a matter of time.”

Right on. The unvaccinated are playing with dynamite.

Get vaccinated!

The validity of the statement is found in today’s COVID Delta variant statistics. The variant makes up 83 percent of all new coronavirus cases. The 83 percent is up from 50 percent just 2 weeks ago.

Andy Slavett, former adviser to Biden’s Covid Response Team, told CNN last week: “It’s twice as infectious. Fortunately, unlike 2020, we actually have the tool that stops the Delta variant in its tracks: It’s called vaccine.”

I am compelled to return to a philosopher of note. Forrest Gump. He was correct in saying “stupid is as stupid does.” From my perspective, those unvaccinated are stupid.

An adverse Comment to a blog a couple of weeks ago suggested I was unaware Gump was not for real, etc. To the contrary, I made the statement in jest. I assumed everyone was intelligent enough to understand.

Let us not forget Forrest Gump was a star collegiate football player, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and became rich.

Our country is in dire danger should Florida’s Governor DeSantis ever become President. The man is worse than Trump.

DeSantis visited the Texas border recently. His people were selling Tee shirts and koozie cups attacking Dr. Fauci. They carried the imprint “don’t Fauci my Florida.” The sales were the beginning of another fund raising effort by DeSantis.

Is there no respect left anywhere in this country? Fauci is already responsible for saving more lives that DeSantis will, no matter what position he holds.

On this day in 1929, the Scopes trial ended. Also known as the Scopes Monkey trial.

Few are aware the trail was actually a ploy. The facts falsely presented so as Rhea County, Tennessee would receive national attention. It did.

Rhea County merchants needed business. They concluded they could bring droves of people in if something big occurred in their area.

Scopes was a young school teacher. He was accused of teaching evolution in his class in violation of a Tennessee state law. Nothing was ever more fraudulent nor phony.

Scopes was found guilty. Fined. On appeal, his conviction was overturned.

Who was in on the scheme originally? Certain business men, of course. Scopes. Perhaps the judge. I cannot believe Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan were. Both too big and respected to be part of such a shady scheme.

TACOS a hit! Many favorable responses.

Today paragraph 5.

Then big Afro Dave showed up at my door / All by himself he built my first store / He drove into town all ready to work / Found me in a bar and I felt like a jerk / He asked me to get some lumber if I could / And laughed when I pointed at an old pile of wood / Then Miss Jessie wanted us to work for her / She didn’t realize how busy we were / I told her we’re still working on the store / So she said I couldn’t live there anymore / She said , “Get out, you’re finished, you’re through, / And take that bushy haired friend with you.”

Tomorrow, the Chart Room.

Enjoy your day!

Why the lies? Why the deception? Not by Trump. By the major companies and people who support him.

Take the issue as to the need to be vaccinated.

FOX News more than 200 times has suggested not getting vaccinated. Vaccinations unnecessary, even dangerous.

FOX has made vaccinations an issue with its employees. Get vaccinated or you’re fired! One or the other. No vaccination, no job.

Management and the broadcasters must get off on it. A form of political debauchery.

It has become known as “dismissive vaccine coverage.” Particularly dangerous to FOX’s older audience.

An example. A few weeks ago, FOX News host Laura Ingraham did what she has done over the past year: Scoffed at the danger posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

She was interviewing Florida’s Governor DeSantis at the time. Ingraham stated, “They just can’t let the pandemic go.” DeSantis agreed simultaneously dismissing the idea his State was at risk.

Since DeSantis’ appearance, his reelection committee has begun selling merchandise mocking pandemic restrictions. Also since the appearance, the 7 day average of new coronavirus cases has quadrupled in Florida.

The first Capitol offender charged with a felony has been sentenced. Eight months in prison.

The length of the sentence disgraceful.

Thirty eight year old Paul Hodgkins pled guilty last month to obstructing Congressional proceedings – specifically the counting of electoral votes. He had been in the Senate chamber 15 minutes wearing a Donald Trump tee shirt and carrying a Trump flag.

Federal Judge Randolph Moss said Hodgkins deserved some leniency because he pled guilty “exceptionally early,” was not involved in violence, and issued a “sincere apology.”

Judge Ross was wrong. Off base in the sentence. It was way too lenient. Hodgkins was involved in an insurrection in one of the most sacred American buildings. His presence alone warranted a significant sentence. Federal judges normally do give credit to a defendant who pleads “exceptionally early.” Hodgkins’ crime was not a normal one, however.

When was there a previous insurrection at the Capitol? Never! The insurrection itself was a “unique experience requiring a unique application of justice.”

Amazing. Defecate on the U.S. Capitol and walk away with a slap on the hand meager sentence!

The sentence imposed by Judge Ross has set a standard by which the other 500 plus defendants will expect to be sentenced.

Kasie Hunt. An outstanding TV journalist. Always charming. Right on. No bullshit. Called them as she saw them. Never wrong.

She announced last friday she was leaving MSNBC. A quick comment to that effect at the end of her 5 am show Way Too Early. She was interviewed later when she appeared on Morning Joe. No one asked her why she was leaving, where she was going, etc.

It now appears to have been revealed. Hunt is going to CNN. Her responsibility to develop streaming control platforms. A burgeoning area in television.

Money has to have been a part of her judgment factor. She was earning $250,000 a year at MSNBC. Her new position with CNN will pay between $1 million to $1.5 million per year.

No one can argue with her move.

The word on the street is NBC could not match CNN’s offer.

The college football season less than 2 months away. Coach Dino Barber announced Tony DeVito has the “edge” to be starting quarterback.

I am disappointed DeVito might be the starting quarterback. He failed last year. I was not impressed. He simply did not have it. I feel it will be the same this year.

Syracuse fans are desperate for a “good season.” It has been years. It should be a new quarterback for a new Carrier Dome.

The Olympic Village in Tokyo is being labeled “anti-sex.” The beds are constructed of cardboard and easily fall apart with more than a sleeping body on them.

The Olympic hierarchy claims the purpose of the cardboard beds is to prevent coronavirus from spreading.

The athletes look at it differently. They believe the real reason is “to avoid intimacy among athletes.”

All good the cardboard beds will do. Where there is a will there is a way. Youthful roaring sex drives will not be denied.

Gold, etc. from Atocha found again last friday. The strike did not provide anywhere near as much as in previous discoveries. However it will keep the Mel Fisher divers at their work.

The strike revealed 1 gold coin, 2 silver ones, and an ancient musket ball.

Atocha went down 400 years ago. The gold coin found still bright and shiny. It was 30 feet down under 10 feet of sand.

The diver comes from a family who have found gold and other items from Atocha in years gone by. In 1985, the diver’s father was part of the team that discovered a bonanza. One hundred sixty five pounds of gold finger bars and chains. At another time, his mother was part of the team that discovered treasure from the mother load itself.

I have begun sharing Steve Thompson’s recollections of Key West beginning in 1973 for a very simple reason. People want to know what went on back then.

Today TACOS paragraph 4.

I met the big guy named Bud Man / He had a glass of rose in his right hand / He always had a smile on his face / He rented me my first taco place / He owned the Old Anchor Inn next door / It was the old town underground drug store / All the locals called it the “Snake Pit” / ‘Till the Feds moved in and closed it / He invited me to his house one day / And immediately gave me a glass of rose / He had chickens and ducks and rabbits too / The doors were all open they just walked right through / Bud Man and Dorothy were legends here / They sure helped me out that whole first year / Everyone remembers Bud to this day / With that big warm smile and a glass of rose.

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Join me. Lots of fun. Louis ranting and raving. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

From all sources, the news is the dramatic rise in COVID cases primarily involves the unvaccinated. A surge has developed that threatens the nation.

All for one and one for all does not apply as far as the unvaccinated are concerned.

Two breaking news items this morning support the proposition.

The first is the stock market soon after opening dropped 700 points. The basis the skyrocketing number of new cases and increased deaths most of which involve the unvaccinated.

The other that a national organization of pediatricians has recommended that all schools require masking again as students return.

Experts admonish the risk associated with the acceleration is caused by the most serious virus of peoples’ lives.

Some examples substantiating the conclusion.

First Maryland. Since June, 130 persons have died as a result of the virus. All 130 were unvaccinated. Maryland’s new cases and hospital confinements are up 95 percent and 93 percent respectively.

Louisiana a similar story. Since February, new cases and deaths are up 97 percent. In the past 14 days alone, up 177 percent. All unvaccinated persons.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Catherine O’Neal said, “We really have two choices, we are either going to get vaccinated and end the pandemic or we are going to accept death, a lot of it.”

Alabama the same story. Ninety six percent of deaths since April 1 involved the unvaccinated.

Wear a mask and get vaccinated. Otherwise be prepared to meet your deceased family members and friends.

The Chart Room last night.

A new bartender. Jocul. From Indonesia. Filling in for John.

A good number of locals including Jean, Sheila, John and Cheryl.

Met Cheryl for the first time. She has been living in Key West since the early 1980’s.

An attractive and charming woman.

Cheryl, Jean and I sat at the bar and had a most interesting conversation. Covered a multitude of sins. And they were “sins!”

Jean and I moved over to the Prime Steakhouse. At least 5 years since I had been there. A lovely place. Top of the line food and service. Prices to match.

Jean was celebrating my birthday with me. I never got out on July 6 the day of my birthday. Prime was my idea. I wanted to celebrate 86 at an excellent restaurant. Additionally living in Key West where the fish is fresh, most become fish eaters and seldom enjoy a steak. My situation.

My meal as it would be in a New York City steak house: filet mignon, hash browns and creamed spinach.

I heard last night Marylin’s was closed. So soon? I was surprised. Hard to believe since the 3-4 times I had been there business was good.

Telephoned Donna this morning. Yes, closed but only for one week. The owner doing additional renovations. Terri will return to sing.

Steve’s sister in law Linda lives in Alaska and Orlando. Mentioned her yesterday. Inadvertently failed to mention her husband Rich. An Alaskan fisherman. He is the one who actually got his wife and a sister involved in reading the blog. I knew it and forgot Rich’s involvement. My apologies!

Before I share TACOS paragraph 3 with you, a few items of explanation.

Jesse Porter is prominently named. At one time, she owned a whole block of prime property in Key West. One block of Caroline extending from Duval to Whitehead. Beginning cross the street from today’s Bull.

The corner house on Duval facing Caroline was the Porter House. Today, the Porch.

Jesse’s property had a number of small cottages on it. One cottage was occupied by the poet Robert Frost for 16 consecutive seasons. Which one, I am uncertain. It may have been the one named Carrier Pigeon House. It might have been the one Steve stayed at. Steve not sure and I could not figure it out.

The Porter House/Porch was built in 1838. Jesse’s grandfather Dr. Joseph Yates Porter Jr. bought it in 1845. Lived there 80 years. He died in the room he was born in.

Dr. Porter was a distinguished physician and well known nationally for his work with yellow fever. Even back then, mosquitoes were a problem. Dr. Porter was instrumental in devising methods to control yellow fever, reform sanitation and quarantine.

Time for TACOS paragraph 3. It begins with Steve arriving in Key West for the first time.

It was early dawn when I pulled in alone / I thought I had just entered the Twilight Zone / I drove down Duval to Shorty’s Cafe / And parked right in front thinking it was ok / I knew a couple house painters who invited me down / They rented a conch house in the middle of town / I slept all day on their porch it was nice / When I woke I knew I was in paradise / Old friends from Ft. Lauderdale named Bobby and Wayne / They said, “Welcome, Bubba, we’re glad you came” / I said I wanted to open a taco stand / They said let us know if you need a hand / Everywhere I looked I thought was neat / I met this little old lady on Whitehead Street / She said her name was Jesse Porter / She had a small cottage and needed a boarder/ It was in the garden and kind of secluded / Fifty bucks a month, utilities included / Dr. Perry was her grandpa’s name / Getting rid of yellow fever his claim to fame / She said the first Pan Am flight took off from right here / And I wondered if she had been drinking beer / Then I asked her about the hole in the wall / She said carrier pigeons, they had no radios at all / And Robert Frost slept right here in this bed / And I believed nothing she said / I didn’t know for a year or two / That everything she had told me was true.

Enjoy your day!

How many times do we hear I wish I had been in Key West in the 1970’s? Understandably. It was an exciting time.  A time close to us that some remain who recall it.

Two are Steve and Cindy Thompson. The stories they have to tell!

The Chart Room was closed during the pandemic. Reopened two weeks ago. John Holster back as bartender. John was cleaning the place up for opening night when he came across a writing by Steve Thompson. A short book.

It’s title TACOS.

Steve showed me a copy of it the other night at the Chart Room. It should be shared. Surprised it was not.

For whatever reason, Steve got the itch to write about his Key West years 10 years ago. TACOS the result.

The reason my blog today is titled The Robert Frost of Key West is that Steve’s book is written in a poetic style. The lines rhyme.

I asked Steve why the poetic style. He was unaware it had the tinge of poetry to it. Claims it’s just the way it came out.

I assumed Steve had an English/poetry background from college. Not so. His college time involved two years of studying accounting.

There is a game plan to what I am sharing with you at the moment. Steve’s writing so good and so interesting it should be read by all with a Key West interest. Steve has given me permission to do whatever. The plan agreed to is to share a paragraph or two a day with you. It will take several months of course.

I guarantee you will be interested and pleased.

Key West in the hand written style of Robert Frost.

The last shall be first. A two line comment by Steve at the end of his work: TO ALL THE PEOPLE I EVER MET IN THIS TOWN, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO SAID “WRITE IT DOWN.”

Not the moment yet to share Steve’s opening paragraph. I believe his words will be better appreciated if a bit is known of Steve and Cindy’s background.

Steve was born in Seattle, Washington January 22, 1949. Cindy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 13, 1946. They were introduced in the Chart Room bar in 1978. Cindy will quickly state it was “merely an introduction.” Nothing special.

They did not meet again till 1979. Again, in the Chart Room.

Married in 1981. Created two wonderful daughters. Seven grandchildren.

Steve attended Seattle Community College for 2 years. It was Vietnam time. Rather than be drafted and sent off to the Vietnam to fight and possibly die, he volunteered to be part of the Air Force Band which played at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Cindy graduated from the University of Wisconsin. She openly admits she was a hippie. I suspect there is a little of it still in her today.

Instead of going to work, she and her boy friend at the time took a trip to India. She made several other trips here and there. One of her boy friends told her about Key West. She decided that would be her next stop.

Steve, Cindy and Jimmy Buffett were neighbors. The corner of Olivia and Pearl.

In 1985, Buffett stopped his car and asked Cindy if she wanted a job. He needed some help. Her full time employment with Buffett lasted 27 years. She partially retired February 24, 2012. She still works part time for him.

Steve wanted to go south. He hitchhiked to Fort Lauderdale from Seattle in 1971.

Bartended a while. Had a desire to own something of his own. His choice Tacos!

Steve came to Key West in 1972 for the first time. Settled in full time in March 1974.

He opened a taco shop in a small building at 208 Duval Street under the name of the Key West Taco Co. The business grew. Eventually, he was operating 4 taco stores in Key West and an additional 4 in other parts of Florida.

Two reasons motivated his settling down in Key West. People had told him Key West was laid back. He was also told that everyone watched the sunset go down.

It was his kind of town.

Time for the beginning of TACOS. Paragraph 1.

You drove down US 1 to where the Keys began / There was no Homestead Extension on the Turnpike then / Florida City was just empty land / Except for a Texaco and a hot dog stand / I closed up the bar and drove with no rest / There were no lights or cars all the way to Key West.

Paragraph 2.

I got to the Seven-Mile Bridge at 4 am / My car seemed wider than the lane I was in / It was raining and the sky was pitch black / But I could see the side rail, an old train track / Actually I was scared to death / For seven miles I held my breath / That was the scariest drive I ever had / ‘Till the next bridge, it was twice as bad / A 1912 trestle built only for trains / With boards across the top to fit two lanes / A few days later I read the paper in town / “The Bahia Honda Bridge has finally closed down.”

More tomorrow.

Enjoy your Sunday!

A lot of James Bonds out there. People with licenses to kill. Pseudo doctors in a sense. Not really physicians. However know it alls when it comes to COVID-19 and vaccines.

They are anti-vaccine at every turn. Refuse to be vaccinated. Tell everyone not to be. Reasons therefore many. The vaccine not yet dependable. Tests for the vaccine inadequate. Part of a Democratic conspiracy. Etc.

Proof in the pudding? Covid-19 cases are up in all 50 states. In every area, it is the unvaccinated who are being attacked by the virus. In excess of 90 percent of new cases involve those not vaccinated. Some areas have reached the point of not being able to handle the new huge numbers arriving for hospital care.

Two California areas with diametrically opposed ideas how the surge is to be handled.

One the Los Angeles County Sheriff. A crazy man! Not just because he endangers himself. He forgets if he is wrong, he is endangering the people he swore to protect.

California COVID cases are surging. Governments have passed new local laws or guidance procedures. One involves the mask.

The Los Angeles Sheriff will not enforce the new mask mandate. He claims it is not “backed by science.”

Who made him so smart and who gave him the authority to refuse to enforce a law?

Another California area is making news with a new mask guidance. The San Francisco area.

The San Francisco bay area has reinstated mask requirements. Discharge or not hire in the first instance all workers who refuse to wear masks. Masks are required to be worn in all indoor areas, including homes and restaurants.

Lack of having been vaccinated a primary cause of the coronavirus resurgence. The other failing to wear a mask.

As a result of the two causes, medical professionals in some parts of the country predict “the worse is yet to be seen.”

This past week Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards reported: “Since February, 97 percent of cases and deaths related to COVID-19 are those who are not fully vaccinated.”

Many will die because of pure unadulterated stupidity.

The Arizona audit back in the public eye. CEO Doug Logan of Cyber Ninjas says his company does not have enough time to finish its audit. The results are due soon. His cry is for more time. Many Arizona politicos support him.

Logan claims he requires more Senate subpoenas to obtain more records and survey tens of thousands of voters at home.

The Logan led audit was to take 60 days. Such was advised several months ago. An adjusted time schedule for completion is being requested.

The Arizona situation is being audited to death. There have been 3 “audits” already prior of Logan’s work. The three involved a hand count of a statistical sample of ballots which in the end matched the machine count and 2 post-election audits which found no manipulation of machines.

Those opposing any further time or money to complete what is considered by many to be a fraudulent and illegal audit, have spelled out that items pointed out by Logan are consistent and typical to auditing and not audit errors (in other words, Logan and his people do not know what they are doing), and the injection of an “alternate reality.” by Logan’s people. Alternate reality involves made up facts to arrive at a conclusion.

Simply stated, the audit is finding errors where none exist and many of the claimed improprieties are due to inexperience in auditing rather than actual wrongdoing.

Matt Gaetz, the boy wonder. He has already spent $1.95 million preparing his defense to sex with a minor charges for which he has not yet even been indicted.

He hired a “crisis management team” which thus far has cost nearly $1 million. The company has only 2-3 employees. He also has hired Roger Stone himself or a small company owned by Roger Stone for “strategic consulting.” Cost so far, $20,000.

I suspect Gaetz’s monies would have been wiser spent hiring the best team of lawyers he could find. If indicted, it will be a court room and the law he will require to be acquitted. Not the “people in the streets.”

Those who deny climate change are of the same mentality as those who deny the efficacy of the vaccine.

How can climate change be denied with all the crazy things happening: The catastrophic flooding in western Europe, drought in California, wildfires, frequent hurricanes, frequent cyclones, melting of glaciers in Antarctica, and deadly heat?

Today is the international day set aside to honor Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela Day was established years ago by the United Nations.

A theme is associated with the Day. This year: “The Rule of Law and Food for All.”

The theme is consistent with what I reported yesterday re legal and food problems in South Africa.

No question, a booming real estate market exists in south Florida. Especially in Key West. It has been described as “red-hot.” Property values and the cost of homes has sky rocketed.

The average selling price of a house today is $1 million more than a year ago.

My admonition. I have seen this happen before in the Keys. There is an old saying. What goes up, must come down. It will happen with the real estate market and sooner than most think.

Prostitutes, B-girls, and whore houses had a difficult time in the 1930’s, 1940’s and into the 1950’s in Key west. The U.S. Navy frowned on them and were constantly on the backs of local police authorities to do something about them. The Navy claimed the evil women “preyed on young sailors.”

Local police agencies cooperated at various times. “Various times” because most were customers of those being arrested.

Today’s sex for pay is found in the telephone book and massage parlors.

One of the famous houses of ill repute was Mom’s Tea Room. Alice Reid the proprietor of each. Three times Alice was shut down. Even did time as a result of one of the arrests.

Several years ago, I considered writing a book on the history of prostitution in Key West. Thought it might be a best seller. I could not find an excellent detailed one on book store shelves. Nor buried anywhere.

I got together with Diana Millikan and asked her to help with the research.

I am aware some of you dissect her for any number of reasons. Permit me to advise however, she is one of the best research persons I have come across in my lifetime.

Even Diana could not come up with much.

I pursued the Key West prostitution book no further.

Spent a comfortable time yesterday watching the British Open. Excellent golf! Today’s professional golfers are way better than those of yesteryear. They hit the ball farther. Sink longer putts.

Probably because of increased quality in clubs and balls, working out daily in physical fitness programs which the older players never did, and having full teams to assist them. An example is many have psychiatrists or psychologists. To help them keep their heads on straight as problems arise.

Enjoy your day!