Got a head start on my friday Internet show yesterday morning. Did I come up with a terrific history story to compare/analogize with our Congress of today! You’ll love it! Guaranteed!

Walked later in the morning.

A light lunch at home.

Then the gym for a work out with Courtney Aman. Am I making progress? I say no. Courtney says yes. He tells me I am developing muscles. I tell him it is my stomach I am concerned with, not my muscles. So it goes.

Stopped in Don’s place after the gym for a glass of water. Don’s Place is next door to the gym. Todd bartending. I joined Don and Rob at the end of the bar. Stayed long enough for two glasses of water.

Decided to try the Plantation Coffee House again. Love the parking! Enjoyed the coffee. Read the newspapers.

Dinner was at the Big Ten Sports Bar. I wanted to give my friend John Lukas who owns the place some business.

Typical bar fare. I had potato skins and a burger. Good!

Nate was bartending in the back. He came out to say hello.

I had a selfish reason going to John’s new bar. I wanted to see how the acoustics would be when watching a game. I knew the Pitt/West Virginia game would be on.

There were about 40 people in the place. John set me in front of the TV that would be featuring the game. He put the game on the bar’s sound system.

It all worked out. Going to be a good place to view sports.

I have to hustle this morning. I see Lori at 10 for a haircut.

Lisa just telephoned. I forgot. I am supposed to pick the grandkids up at school today and watch them till dinner time. It had completely slipped my mind. Lisa is worried I will forget again and fail to show up.

Enjoy your day!

Another year. Another Craft Show. Each one spectacular!

Meandered the Craft Show yesterday. Interesting items being offered. Many odd. All quality. As usual, the crowd overwhelming. Added 15 degrees to the heat.

I did not see Harry Truman this year. I did one year. I look for him every year since.

The Craft Show is located on the perimeter of and partly into Truman Annex. Several years ago, I observed a man walk out of one of the Truman Annex sidewalks into the Craft Show. It was Harry Truman! Looked just like him!

The former President was wearing a blazer, white pants, white shoes, white shirt and red tie. Topped with a flat straw hat. Carrying a cane.

He nodded a pleasant hello as he walked by. I was moved.

I thought it was time for Anna to try Cuban toast. I was uncertain if she would like it. The bread is made with pig fat. Might be considered fattening or unhealthy by some. Could be. If it’s bad, it has to be good!

We went to the Cuban Queen. Just a shack off a City parking lot. No inside for customers. Three benches outside. If lucky, you sit. Otherwise, stand.

Anna sat. I stood.

Anna liked the toast! Loved it! Told me it was healthy. That I did not understand.

Sunday dinner at Lisa’s. Lisa made chicken and salad. Anna prepared and brought with her a risotto. A winning meal!

Lisa also made a key lime pie. From scratch. Even the crust. The crust, so good! A graham cracker crust. A successful finish to an already terrific meal.

There is a new lady in town. Zelda Feinberg. She has been religious reader of this blog for some time.

Zelda has been in Key West roughly a month. She lived here back in the 1970’s. This will be here last stop home wise.

I finally met Zelda at a Syracuse basketball game I was watching at the Sports Page Bar. She joined us for the game. I liked her very much.

Turns out she is a likable person to all who meet her. This is the feed back I have been getting from those who have run into her.

Welcome Zelda! Enjoy Key West!

John Lukas finally made it. His Big Ten Sports Bar opened friday. A wonderful pace! Visit it. Lower Caroline where the old PT’s used to be. You do not have to go to watch a game. His food menu is terrific.

The weather changed over night. I woke this morning to a strong cold wind coming in from the north. We have white caps. Sky is overcast. It could clear up by one. If not, it will be this way at least until tomorrow.

Enjoy your day!

I was all alone by the telephone yesterday, so to speak. Watched the Syracuse/West Virginia game at the Sports Page Bar. I was the only customer!

It almost was a sad day for Syracuse. The ‘Cuse played poorly. Only beat West Virginia by 2 points. 63-61. West Virginia out played Syracuse the whole game. Out rebounded Syracuse 41-20. Syracuse only made 4 of 20 three point attempts.

Syracuse might have lost for another reason. West Virginia got a bad referee call with 6 seconds to go. Refs should have called goal tending. Instead said Syracuse blocked a shot. The bad call might have changed the outcome of the game had it been correctly made.

Fab Melo did not play. Syracuse’s center. Still benched for academic reasons.

Next week St. John’s.

Visited Lisa and the grandkids after the game. They were helping their Dad outside. Cleaning the fence, raking the leaves. Ally looked cute as she brushed the leaves with a broom onto a shovel.

My stomach was off all day. I did not want to eat. Anna said I must. She recommended macaroni and butter. Not a dish I would have considered. But, I am easily infuenced and let her have her way.

The dish was delicious and I felt better afterwards! The foreign touch was effective.

I occasionally make macaroni and butter for myself. It is a quick easy dish to prepare. Always tasty. A comforting dish. Anna prepared it differently than I. In addition to the butter, she added some sage and a small piece of a chicken broth cube. The taste! A delicate improvement to my way of making it.

Key West has many annual events. One is the Key West Craft Show. It is this weekend. I intend going later this morning.

A terrific event!

It is held on Whitehead and Caroline Streets. On the edge of and into Truman Annex. Several blocks of white tents with artists offering their wares. Paintings, wood craft, jewelry and the like.

You will recall my artist friend Jack Baron. He and his partner Bob Burton had a tent every year. It was about 13 years ago that the following occurred.

Up to that time, I had not purchased a Jack Baron painting. Bob Burton tells me that today I have the largest Jack Baron collection in the world. However at the particular Craft Show recalled, I had not one yet.

For months I had been admiring at Jack’s gallery, a painting he did of a Black Madonna and Child. Magnificent! I was hemming and hawing about buying it.

When the Chart Show came about, I visited Jack and Bob’s tent. There was the Black Madonna and Child prominently hanging. I chastised Jack. What are you doing selling the painting? He correctly responded that I had not bought it for months and he had to make a living.

I bought the painting on the spot for $4,000. It proudly hangs in my Key West living room to this day.

Enjoy your Sunday!

This new Google thing sucks! Has me all confused!

Enjoyed doing yesterday’s Internet show. Hope you enjoyed watching.

Viewers email and telephone me after the show. Some run into me and tell me. The topic that most interested them. Yesterday it was Apple and why Apple does most of its manufacturing in China. An eye opener! For me and others.

After the show, I hustled over to Plantation Coffee on Caroline. My new coffee watering hole. The thing that excites me the most about the place is it has parking. Parking is a problem in Key West.

Relaxed. Sat reading the Key West and Miami papers. Sipped coffee.

The Big Ten Sports Bar is finally open. Congratulations John Lukas. It was a long hardous journey. The good guys won out, however! You made it! You climbed the highest mountain, swam the deepest river.

I stopped in at cocktail time. The place was packed. Boisterous. Old home week atmosphere.

I look forward to many happy times there with John and his crew.

Next was the Chart Room. Sweet Emily bartending. Sheila and David drinking. All good people. I enjoyed.

The Chart Room was noisy for a while. There is an organized scavenger hunt nightly in Key West. They invaded the Chart Room. Looking for a pink flamingo. Emily finally relented and pulled the bird out from behind some bottles of vodka. The scavengers went crazy! Adults playing children’s games. That is what Key West is about.

Stopped at Outback for dinner. Needed a good old fashioned steak after all the fancy eating I have been doing.

Anna was with me the whole day, except for the Internet show. She shopped while I was on the air. Bought some clothes. Tells me everything is considerably cheaper here in the States than in Italy. Surprised me. Twenty five years ago when I spent a month in Italy, I got 2,100 lire for every American dollar. A terrific exchange. Everything was dirt cheap in Italy. The reverse is true today.

This afternoon at one Syracuse basketball. Syracuse plays West Virgina. I will be at the Sports page Bar watching.

Enjoy your day!

Early and dark! It’s not even 6 and I am up!

My Internet show this morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour.

I have to get up early to be ready for it. The show is at 10 this morning. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

In addition to topics shared yesterday, today’s show will include a Governor Walker update, down and dirty Presidential politics, birth control and Obama care, an Afghan woman who had sextuplets, a troublemaker in the Vatican, Budweiser lowering its liquor levels, an Oklahoma senator who wants to ban the use of human fetuses in food, and more.

Current information shared. Some bordering on lunacy. Always interesting.

I spent most of the day sitting on the deck preparing for today’s show.

My house guest Anna from Milan cooked again for lunch. What a lunch! What an experience!

Anna prepared vetello townato. In English, veal with tuna sauce. Everything is veal with the Milanese. Anna is learning that veal is difficult to find in Key West.

The veal is first boiled. Then thinly sliced. Covered with a delicious white sauce. The sauce is what does it. The sauce consists of tuna, lemon, a slice of bread, milk and capers. All thrown in a blender at one time. The white sauce resulting. Notice, nothing bad in the sauce.

The sauce is poured over the thinly sliced veal and refrigerated. When cold, the dish is served. Magnifico!

The Chart Room first last night. Cheryl and Roger leaving. They stayed to have a drink with us. Emily bartending. We enjoyed some good laughable conversation.

I wanted chicken wings. Amazing! From that great Milanese dish for lunch to good old chiclken wings for dinner!

It was Kelley’s. Poor Anna. She does not eat like this. However, a trouper. She enjoyed the wings. At least she said so.

Show time soon! Again, please join me at 10 this morning if you can.

Enjoy your day!

Walked in the morning yesterday. A long walk. Started at Dante’s, walked the waterfront, ended up at the Hyatt, made the return trip through town and down Caroline.

Knocked me on my ass! I was tired. A combination of the heat and being out of shape, I assume.

Stopped at the Coffee Plantation on Caroline. Perhaps my new coffee house. I am irritated with the new owners at the Coffee House which is now Club Mako. David suggested I try Coffee Plantation.

Very nice. A wrap around porch with comfortable chairs. The inside well done. Comfortable seating. Lovely decor.

Coffee was good. A small was at least a third more in volume. The price much cheaper than Club Mako.

The big inducement/feature is that the new place has parking. A wow!

I will be trying the Coffee Plantation for a while.

Anna was with me. A natural athlete. A woman who takes care of her body. She walks 6 miles a day and swims. Eats healthy. Drinks little. She did not tire on the walk.

My house guest is an interesting lady. I discover new things about her each day. As we were walking along the docks and viewing the many sized boats, she tells me that for many years in Italy she had a Captains/Masters license. She was approved to operate vessels carrying up to 110 passengers.

Drove by John Lukas’ new place, the Big Ten Pub. His new sports bar is still under renovation. Codes is giving him a hard time. John was walking in front of his bar with the cell phone pinned to his ear. We saw each other. I made a motion with my hands like when? He looked at me with pain in his eyes. Threw his arms up as if to say…..who the hell knows!

Poor John.

My neighbor Andrew told me to try Cole’s Peace Artisan Bakery on Eaton. Told me to buy the dark bread. He is enamoured with it. Slap a little butter on it and eat away, he advised.

I bought the bread yesterday. Impressive looking. More expensive than a dark bread at Publix by about $2 a loaf. I am having it for breakfast. It is a German bread. Don’t think I like it. Heavy.

German foods are in my life the past 24 hours. Anna made German potato salad for lunch. Another delicious dish! Besides potatoes, light mayonnaise, yogurt, peas, capers and carrots. Healthy and tasty!

I continued to be tired from the walk. I spent the afternoon in bed sleeping.

I was not in the mood for a big evening. Anna and I drove to Tavern ‘n Town at the Marriott Beachside. Ate at the bar. Listened to the music. Watched the Missouri/Oklahoma State basketball game. Robert bartending.

Anna had a bowl of mussels. I a bit of salmon and a caprese salad.

Today I have to work all day. Tomorrow’s Internet show not yet complete. What I have completed and ready to go will include a very informative piece about why Apple builds its products in China. You will be astounded!

I will also touch on infant vaccine deaths, legislative immunity, Greek tax dodgers, Soros’ thoughts on the world economy and the United States, and New Jersey Governor Cristy’s pending veto vote on same sex marriage.

Join me. Interesting. Revealing. 10 am my time. World wide on the Internet. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

Enjoy your day!

Another great day weather wise yesterday!

I walked Smathers beach in the morning. There was a cool breeze which made the sun bearable.

Lunch at Hogfish.  Enjoyed hogfish. What else!

Spent the early part of the afternoon writing outside on the deck. The balance of the afternoon sunning myself. My tan is waning. Not playing golf for several weeks or otherwise being in the sun, I am beginning to look like a tourist who just got off the plane.

This house guest thing is pretty good! Anna cooked dinner last night.

I am enjoying Italian dishes I have never had before.

Last night was bistecca alla valdostana. The English translation valdostana steak.

Some background information. Mount Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe. It separates Italy and France. A valley on the Italian side is known as Aosta. A dish native to that area is valdostana steak. That is what Anna prepared last night.

A thin slice of veal, lying on an even thinner slice of ham, topped with fontina cheese. Sautéed in olive oil in a frying pan.

To die for!

I have been Italian all my life. I have nevr eaten dishes as Anna is making. She is from the Milan which is in the north of Italy. It is a different type cooking from that which my ancestors knew. I am of Naples stock.

I stayed home last night to watch the State of the Union. Always entertaining. Rarely informative. Last night was no different.

I subscribe to much I what Obama would like to do. But it will not be. With a divided government, I would be surprised if even one of his major items is achieved in this election year. The government will remain dysfunctional.

Enjoy your day!

Key West weather this season has been absolutely terrific! We could not ask for better. Yesterday’s high was 78. The evening was in the low 70’s. Tee shirt and shorts time.

My house guest from Italy cooked lunch for me. Anna made chicken scallopini. Absolutely outstanding! I sat outside in the shade of the tiki hut enjoying it.

Did the gym with Courtney training me. Yesterday was very hard. Increased weights and increased repetitions. It was an effort. I was impressed I could do it.

After the gym, I visited Tammy for a manicure. She and her husband keep busting their butts. The business is thriving. I wish them continued success!

Went over to the Coffee House for coffee and to read the newspapers. It is not the Coffee House anymore. It is now Club Mako. Sounds exotic. It is not.

The Coffee House has changed hands. Renovations must have taken place overnight. An entirely new decor. No where as good as the old one which was Key West all the way. The new decor is bland.

Gone also are the comfortable chairs. Replaced primarily by 4′ x 6′ hardwood tables with straight back chairs. I suspect the intent is to attract computer and I Pad people. Whether they will, I do not now. No one had a computer or I Pad yesterday.

The comfort factor is gone. So are the newspapers. Only the New York Times.

The locals discount has taken a beating also. Prices are relatively the same. As the Coffee House, my discount was $1.25. Under the new ownership, it is $ .22.

I dislike change. My whole life. I hate adjusting. If there is to be change, perhaps I will seek out a new coffee house. The island is loaded with them.

Syracuse beat Cincinnati 60-53 last night. I thought we were going to lose many times during the game. Syracuse was generally behind.

Cincinnati is a good team. They play with 4 guards. Each can shoot 3’s. They were last night. Made 4 out of 5 to start the game.

Syracuse misses center Fab Melo. Opposing teams are getting through the middle to score and also garnering rebounds. Melo has academic problems. Supposedly we will know more this week.

I watched the game at the Sports Page Bar. Kristen bartending.

I rushed home after the game to catch the Republican debate. My impression is simple. Two wrong people pursuing the nomination. Romney and Gingrich. Their statements are fraught with inconsistencies and misrepresentations. The Republican Party should be ashamed it could not offer better to the American public.

Today is a I don’t know day. Not sure what I will be doing. Whatever, it will be good.

Enjoy your day!

Joe Paterno passed away this weekend. Good and bad things are being said about him. Most of the bad seems to be coming from a younger generation that reflects a lack of tolerance on their part.

His failings, if any, in the the Penn State scandal were ordinary and minimal. He waited 24 hours to report to higher authority. He failed to notify the police after his Penn State superiors did not do so.

A great man whose life is now besmirched. Shakespeare said it best. Through Marc Antony. Marc Antony’s words in eulogizing Julius Caesar.” The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones…”

A shame.

Enjoyed Meet the Press yesterday. It is a disgrace that Newt Gingrich may very well be the Republican presidential candidate. The Republican Party could have done better. The Nation requires better.

I spent a good portion of the rest of the day sitting on the deck. The weather was fine. The sun shining. A small breeze. I sat under the umbrella and did one of the things I enjoy best. Sunday newspaper reading.

I also wrote my column for this week’s Konk Life. It will be published Thursday.

The subject was Joran van der Sloot. He was the young man who was thought to have murdered Natalee Holloway several years ago in Aruba. He was never held for trial. The police said there was insufficient evidence.

Joran van der Sloot pled guilty this past week to murdering a 21-year-old woman in Peru. He admitted strangling the lady to death in a casino hotel room. He was sentenced to 28 years in jail.

From my perspective, it was a victory for justice. Similar to the O. J. Simpson cases. If society does not get a wrongdoer for one thing, it will ultimately for another. Justice triumphs!

I was at Louie’s Backyard late in the afternoon. I went over to have a couple drinks, watch the setting sun and observe the tourists. By the time I left, the stars were out. I was there that long.

I had no desire to either go out to eat or to eat last night. Having a house guest has certain benefits. Terri enjoys gardening activities. I can always depend on her when she’s here to trim the palm trees, the shrubbery and generally tend to the foliage. Anna cooked for me yesterday.

A Sunday morning traditional dish in many Italo-American  homes is fried meatballs. I have not had fried meatballs in years. Anna made them for me yesterday. Beef, egg, mint, bread, milk, salt and pepper. Plus, the oil in the frying pan. Absolutely delicious!.

Sufficiently delicious that I ate too many. I kept munching on them all day until I left for Louie’s Backyard. There was no room left in my stomach after that!

I occasionally quote my Facebook friend Jim Brown who lives in Crete. The man has many profound thoughts! Today’s is an example.” I don’t like Monday, whose idea was it to make the weekend two days only?”

Syracuse basketball again tonight. Cincinnati at Cincinnati. We should win. I hope so. There is a degree of hesitancy after Syracuse’s defeat 48 hours ago at Notre Dame.

As usual, I will be watching the game at the Sports Page Bar. The game starts at seven o’clock.

Enjoy your day!

There is no joy in Mudville. Mighty Casey has struck out.

It was inevitable. It had to happen. Syracuse finally lost last night. Notre Dame beat Syracuse 67-58. It was Notre Dame all the way. Syracuse just did not have it.

I offer no excuses for my alma mater. But…..the 3’s did not go in, rebounds ended up in Notre Dame hands, and Syracuse’s fabled defense did not perform. Plus our starting center, Fab Melo, did not play. He was benched for academic reasons.

The preceding offered not as excuses, but rather the sharing of some factual details.

Anna seemed to enjoy her first basketball game. Even if she did not, she was a trooper to sit through it.

We watched the game with Chris and Don. At the Sports Page Bar, of course. Zelda joined our group.

Zelda is a Facebook friend. She recently moved to Key West from Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has become a permanent Key West resident.

After the game, Anna and I took a walk over to the Wine Galley. We had a bite to eat and enjoyed the playing of Larry Smith.

The top was down as we drove back to my home. All of the sudden, the sky was ablaze with fireworks and noise. Big noise! I thought it might be to celebrate  the first trip to Key West by Flagler’s railroad. This weekend is a celebration of that event. I found out this morning I was correct.

Henry Flagler was an interesting man. He made a lot of money. He started the Standard Oil Company with one of the Rockefellers. Says it all.

Flagler was taken with Key West. In the very early 1900s, the only way to get from the Florida mainland to Key West was by boat. There was a semblance of a road, but not much. No railroad existed.

Flagler thought a railroad should run from the Florida mainland to Key West. In those days, a distance of 128 miles. He put his money, brains and influence to the task. His dream of a railroad was considered Flagler’s Folly. The route contained too many small islands and too many large water spaces. It would be an impossible task to construct sufficient bridges and trestles to handle the trains.

The Key West Citizen in this morning’s paper describes what Flagler had in mind best. Flagler wanted to build a railroad “…where nature never intended…a railroad.”

Flagler accomplished his dream! The railroad made its first trip from the Florida mainland to Key West 100 years ago today on January 22, 1912.

The railroad was short lived.

Flagler’s railroad died never to be resurrected on Labor Day 1935. A hurricane hit the upper Florida Keys. The hurricane has been described as one of the most intense hurricanes ever to make landfall. Four hundred people died.

Flagler’s railroad was wiped out. Trestles blown away, bridges broken, rails destroyed.

The railroad was never rebuilt.

The Flagler railroad celebration continues today, also. There will be a parade on the Duval at one. I am going to try to make it. Key West parades are terrific!

An interesting bit of information. The locomotive pulling the railroad cars in that first trip was manufactured in Schenectady, New York. Hooray for upstate New York!

Enjoy your Sunday!