J P MORGAN CHASE, TURTLES AND THE AIRPORT

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It was Sunday. It was Mothers Day. I said hello to my Mom up above. Told her to take care of Dad.

Then I settled in to watch Meet The Press.

This J P Morgan Chase thing is an abomination! Losing $2 billion. This morning’s news says it may reach $3 billion.

The guest was Jamie Dimon. CEO of J P Morgan Chase. What a cavalier attitude! A few mistakes had been made, he said.

This morning’s news also reports that three heads will roll this week. All top people. All earning multimillion dollars a year. One is a woman by the name of Drew. She reportedly is earning $15 million a year. None of them worth their money if they lose $2 billion.

No word yet as to whether Jamie Dimon is on his way out. He should be. He was captain of the ship when everything occurred.

No one has faith in banks any more. And properly so. First they screwed Main street. Now they are screwing Wall Street, themselves.

Later in the morning, I had an airport run. A neighbor flying out who needed a ride. This task/help is a big thing in Key West. I am always happy to do it when asked.

The airport has changed. Key West is changing. Instead of a half dozen cabs, there are close to a dozen and a half. Instead of small planes, most are jets. They arrive three at a time. The arriving area is bursting with people waiting for their bags.

I was up and out. Might as well go to breakfast.  I ended up at Harpoon Harry’s. Eggs benedict crab meat and the Sunday papers.

Mothers Day dinner was at Lisa’s. Last year we went to the Yacht Club. This year we celebrated at home. Ally was sick. It was a pleasant family dinner, except for poor Ally. She looked terrible. Face flushed, eyes half closed, quiet, eating nothing.

It is turtle birthing time again. Smathers Beach has many places where the eggs have been buried. The hatching process takes 55 days. Once hatched, there are no mothers to take care of the little ones. The mothers are long gone. The baby turtles head for the ocean. They are directed to the water by the moon light. Such is their instinct.

A few years ago, the turtles became confused. They saw the street lights. The lights are located on the opposite side of the beach. The turtles assumed the street lights were the moon. They headed for them and the street. Obviously, many were run over.

Since then, all street lights along Smathers Beach are not turned on for a three month period so the baby turtles will not be confused.

We take care of our own in Key West.

Enjoy your day!

 

MOTHER’S DAY

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Happy Mother’s Day!

My mother died almost 25 years ago. My father this past week. I guess that makes me an orphan of sorts.

Many thoughts have run through my mind this past week. Like I am now the patriarch of the family. A position I  would gladly have forsaken if it meant keeping Dad alive. A position that means I am probably the next one to go.

Strange how children think of their parents after they are gone. Mom is gone a long time and she is still in my thoughts every day. Yes, every day. She is in my mind now more than when she was alive.

I know it will be the same with my father.

I apologize for the morbidity in my recent blogs. I am sure you understand. Life goes on, however. Commencing tomorrow my blogs will be as they were.

My Mother’s Day will be with Lisa. A good mother!

By the way, Robert finally got better after being sick for six days. Ally came down with whatever he had yesterday. That is the way it goes.

Enjoy Mother’s Day!

FAST BUCK FREDDIE’S CLOSING

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The pending demise of Fast Buck Freddie’s was announced yesterday. Shortly, the most magnificent tiny department store will be no more.

Fast Buck’s owner Tony Falcone made the announcement to staff and the world yesterday.

He is closing for economic reasons. He claims the cruise business hurt. Cruise ship people generally did not buy in his store. Falcone says the cruise boat people also kept the locals from coming downtown. Another reason for the closing he claimed was internet purchasing. Customers would come in to the store, see an item they liked, copy the numbers down, and then buy over the internet.

I like Tony Falcone. He has been a mainstay in Key West for many years. I do not however agree with his reasons. From my perspective, Fast Buck Freddie’s is going down because it was a bit too pricey. People either do not have money or are not spending it in this down economy. Fast Buck’s had to sell a cheaper item or lower its prices to stay in business. It did neither.

Whatever the reason, there will be a huge gap in the middle of Duval Street where Fast Buck Freddie’s has sat these many years. A sad reflection  of the times.

Follies opened in Los Angeles last night! Terri White was a hit as usual.

Los Angeles critic Paul Hodgins wrote that “…Terri White tears up the stage as a larger-than-life Stella in Who’s That Woman.”

Go Terri!

This morning my Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Ten o’clock in the morning my time. Join me for what I promise will be a most interesting show.

Enjoy your day!

USS MOHAWK

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Yesterday was a quiet day for obvious reasons.

The emails and telephone calls being received are overwhelming. As George M. Cohan used to say…..My Father thanks you, I thank you.

There is an old Italian saying that death comes in threes. It may be every group subscribes to such a belief. Number two is Larry Harvey. He died Wednesday at the age of 91. Larry was the most loved gay in Key West. I was always impressed by the respect the community had for him. I suspect he must have been one of the first that outed himself. Many years ago.

Rest in peace, Larry.

My home town is Utica, NY. It sits in the Mohawk Valley. The Valley is named Mohawk because way back when there was an Indian tribe living there by such a name. The Mohawks were part of the larger Iroquois Nation.

Many Revolutionary battles were fought in the Mohawk Valley. A significant one was the Battle of Oriskany. Oriskany sits to this day in the Mohawk Valley. The colonists made such a fight of it that the British were delayed in getting to Saratoga. That delay was instrumental in the colonists winning the war.

In 1814, the United States government commissioned the first USS Mohawk. Named after the Indian tribe and Valley. There have been four more since. Some having participated in various wars. With distinction. The last Mohawk vessel was commissioned in 1935.

That Mohawk sits in the Truman Annex waterfront portion of the Key West Harbor. Heretofore, it has been a museum for tourists. The cost to maintain the vessel is $400,000 a year. It can no longer be afforded. The Mohawk will leave shortly for a place off Sannibel Island where it will be sunk. The purpose is to have it evolve into an underwater home for fish and a place for divers to enjoy.

A worthy final resting place. Especially when the alternative was being sent to a naval junk yard and scrapped.

The Mohawk will have a home for all time as the Vandenberg which was sunk for similar purposes off Key West several years ago.

Tomorrow, the Key West Lou Legal Hour. Yes, I am doing the show. Ten in the morning my time. Join me. Great topics to be discussed. www.konkbroadcasting.com. Topics include a misogynist, Limbaugh’s Rich Babes for America, 9 Muslims sentenced in England for raping and prostituting young white girls, North Carolina same sex marriage vote, drunk driving at its worst, a paraplegic woman who ran the London Marathon, Fortune 500 companies, and viewing child porn decreed legal in New York. Plus more.

Enjoy your day!

BIONIC DENTISTRY / REAGAN AND THE MILITARY

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Sunrise this morning was a fiery orange ball breaking through a bank of dark gray clouds. Pretty.

Busy day yesterday. Began with the dentist. One of my implants was screwed up. Actually, not screwed any longer. Something fell out. A tiny gasket. Took all of ten minutes to correct. These implants are amazing. I feel like the bionic man. Bionic as far as my teeth are concerned.

After the dentist, I went over to Publix. Robert was sick and had a fever. Lisa wanted popsicles for him.

I spent the rest of the day working on You Tube. The technical aspects. Like where to do the show from. It will be my home. But where specifically?  I decided to move around. Inside and out, depending on the day.

I was hopeful You Tube would be locked in by the end of this week. It will not. I now suspect it will take till the end of next week.

Lisa telephoned in the middle of the afternoon. She needed me to babysit a while. She had to pick up Ally from school. It was easy. Robert was sound asleep on the couch. He looked sick.

I spoke with Corey this morning. Robert is still aching. Still sick. But on the mend. He ate last night which was good. He was still asleep. Unusual for Robert. He is generally awake by six. It is now 8:30.

My plan was to start with the Chart Room last night. I never made it. I opted instead to stay in. I read. I am still reading Rachel Maddow’s book Drift. I dislike her writing style. Her paragraphs are loaded with details and her opinions. Too much of both. Makes for difficult reading.

The story itself is interesting, if you can hang in there. Has to do with the use of military power by Presidents. Assuming her research of the Reagan years is correct, Reagan mislead everyone as to Grenada and the strength of Communist Russia. I find it amazing that she has come up with facts to support her premise. I consider Reagan to have been one of our great Presidents. Even if what she says about Reagan is true, his results overshadow the means used to achieve them. I recall President Johnson saying once that Presidents have to be devious. He gave us Vietnam.

Enjoy your day!

FROM A SIX YEAR OLD TO DAVID IGNATIUS

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Yesterday was a pleasant uneventful Sunday.

The day started with Sloan in the morning. We worked long and hard on You Tube. I had thought we would be ready to go live by the end of the week. Now it looks like some time next week. There is a lot more to it than I had thought. Lighting, where I sit, introduction, etc. I was under the impression I would download or whatever You Tube and speak.  It is that simple. But not if you want the product to have a quality to it.

Walked. The Casa Marina area. Parked my car and started with a walk through the Casa Marina grounds. The Casa Marina is one of Key West’s finest hotels. Then around the neighborhood. I ended up at Salute’s, a beach side restaurant near the Casa. Sat outside at a little round table and watched the ladies in their swim wear. A pleasurable activity for a senior citizen!

Sunday dinner once again at Lisa’s. Ally is six years old. In the first grade. She was doing homework. She had to write a sentence using the word “grip.” She did not know what the word meant. She did not ask anyone. She walked over and picked up this big blue book. I asked what the book was and what she was doing. She said I have to write a sentence using the word grip and I do not know what it means. The book was  a dictionary.

Some TV commentary.

I love Mad Men. It is a 1960s story. I started practicing law during that decade. The show has been a hit for several years. Last night I got the feeling it might have run its course. The show is becoming unreal.

I watch at least the first hour of Morning Joe every morning. A guest this morning was The Washington Post’s David Ignatius. He was being interviewed about a column he recently wrote. It had to do with where the United states would be/could be by 2020. Only eight years away.

A couple of his opinions I found interesting and informative.

Ignatius says that our national gas production will be so significant by 2020 that the United States will be exporting natural gas to the same extent that Saudi Arabia is oil now.

Another was that international companies are beginning to change their minds about opening plants in China. Labor in China is 60 per cent of what it would cost in the United States. There has been a slowly  increasing cost to Chinese labor.

So why the United States over China for a new plant? Productivity. United States workers turn out more and better. The difference in labor costs is overcome by the productivity factor.

Both of these opinions is dependent on a separate and distinct factor. Washington must get its act together. It will only happen if the politicians work together.

My day is starting rapidly. Lisa telephoned that Robert is upchucking. Buy popsicles. Yesterday one of my implants broke and the teeth don’t stay in. I just called the dentist. I have to be in his office at nine.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

A MISSED BIRTHDAY PARTY

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I screwed up.

I hurried over to the Chart Room at 4:30. It was Sean Kinney’s birthday. His wife to be Katherine had planned a party for him. I had been  invited.

As I walked into the Chart Room, I saw Sean and three other people. Did not make sense. Sean is a very popular Key West figure. I shook Sean’s hand and wished him a happy birthday. I asked…..Where are all the people. What people, he asked in return. For your birthday party, I said. That was last week, he responded.

Oh, well!

I stayed anyhow. Chatted with Sean and JJ. The bar got crowded. The most people I have ever seen at the Chart Room. All there for the Kentucky derby. I stayed around and watched. Even got into a pool.

I forget who won. But it was a terrific race.  A long shot horse and a first time jockey came on strong at the end to beat the favorite. An American success story!

Sean told me Ryno is back in Key West. He left for the north country several months ago. Ended up in Syracuse. Disc jockeyed a radio show for three months. Now has returned to us. Ryno is very much loved. Sean said he was disc jockeying four hours a day at one of the Key West radio stations.

Welcome back, Ryno!

This is Songwriters Festival time in Key West. Musicians from all over come to participate.

Duval to Caroline was closed off for the festival. Streets and bars had bands/groups playing. I went from the Chart room to the festival.

Enjoyed a Mexican band on the street. Stopped into Smokin’ Tuna. First time. It has been open about a year. On a small one block side street. Kurt had told me he would be hanging out there.

Smokin’ Tuna was jam packed. Bodies pressed together. Good luck finding Kurt. I wiggled my way in. Listened to the music a while. Don’t know who was playing. It was country music and sounded good to me.

Rumor has it Kenny Rogers was in town Wednesday night for the start of Songwriters Festival. I was told he showed up at the Pier House’s Wine Galley and visited with Larry Smith.

I was hungry. It was past dinner time. I headed over to Hot Tin Roof.

Another filled up place! I found a seat at the bar, however.

Angie was bartending. I like her. Pleasant. Soft spoken.

I enjoyed scallops piccata. Four huge scallops over a bed of wide pasta and cooked to absolute softness greens. The food at Hot Tin Roof is spectacular!

Joseph was there. He manages the Hot Tin Roof. John Lukas was the previous manager. John developed the restaurant over a 3-4 year period. When he left, Joseph who had been a waiter was given the responsibility of managing. Joseph has taken the Hot Tin Roof to another level.

I was home in bed around 10. Not a bad evening.

Enjoy your Sunday!

A GOOD FRIDAY!

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What a glorious Key West morning!

A God in His Heaven, all is right in the world, morning.

Sun bright. A sprinkling of white clouds. No breeze. Palm trees and water still.

Terrific show yesterday morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Based on post show comments, the Chen Guancheng story proved to have generated the most interest. He is the Chinese activist in the news. My comments during the show were critical rather than supportive. Whatever, the comments got people talking about the topic.

After the show, I went to the Plantation Coffee House. Ordered a plain bagel toasted with cream cheese and a cup of coffee. Sat down and read the papers. The bagel was a further testing of my new chewing prowess.

A couple own Plantation. The husband is Theos. I do not know his wife’s name. I am ashamed. She knows mine. She reads my column in KONK Life religiously and comments on it when I come in.

I spent the afternoon at home writing. One of the things I wrote was next week’s column for KONK Life. It has to do with jailed prisoners receiving better health care than you and me.

Kurt telephoned at dinner time. Let’s have dinner! We met at Michael’s a half hour later.

We ate at the bar. Kurt introduced me to the bartender. It had been a while since I was in Michael’s. His name is Tim.  A nice guy.

Suzette was waitressing. She came over to talk to us. She knows Kurt well. Suzette and I have met but are simply on a hello basis. The last time I saw Suzette was 4 years ago. The night of the Fantasy Fest parade. We were at a party upstairs in the old theatre building on Duval. It has a huge balcony. A perfect place from which to watch the parade.

Suzette had a husband at the time. I had a wife. Neither of us has a spouse now. Her husband Emmett was a good guy. He used to bartend at Michael’s. We occasionally played golf together and had a drink at Don’s Place.

Suzette is extremely lovely. A knock out. A charming personality besides. The three of us had interesting chatter together.

I was still testing my chewability. I ordered the veal chop. It is the house specialty. To die for.

The veal chop consists of a large veal cut. It is served on the bone. The chop is stuffed with a bit of crab meat. Not much. The outside of the chop is covered in a light film of bread crumbs held on by a touch of oil.

Everything went well! I chewed with no problem at all. Enjoyed the taste even more. It was a pleasure to be dining on real food again and experiencing individual food flavors.

I stopped at Don’s Place afterwards with Kurt. Kurt was scheduled to work last night. From 9 to 6 this morning. We had a drink at the outside bar.

Nine o’clock arrived. Kurt went to work. I went home.

I was in bed by 9:30 and slept like a baby all night.

Enjoy your day!