Am I late!

I stayed in bed longer than I should have. However, the bed this morning was too comfortable. It is raining big time here in Key West. The sound of the rain against the house and the wind blowing made the bed too restful to leave..

It seems like it has not rained in the keys forever. That long. The rain is needed.

This is a heavy rain. Rained all night also. My street is flooded. The storm is coming in from Atlantic. It will be an all day one.

The bars will do a big business today. The tourists will have no place else to go. Schooners Wharf, the Conch Republic, and Half Moon Raw Bar will be fun places. Drinking and dancing and whooping it up!

I got out for a bit yesterday. Needed a manicure. It was off to Lee Nails and Tammy. Because of my dental work, I speak little. After a while Tammy looked at me and said in her quaint distinctive Vietnamese dialect…..Why you no talk? Teeth? She and her husband read the blog daily.

Then a visit with Lisa. We did not converse. Not because of my problem. Lisa was on the telephone with a customer. The whole time I was there. I quietly read the newspapers and kissed the top of her good bye when I left.

Publix was my next stop. I was desperate for food for the blender. Purchased fruits primarily. Bananas and strawberries. Yogurt. Enough to carry me a few days.

I had planned on going out last night. Never made it. I don’t know if I was tired, changed my mind, or what. I went to bed instead. Perhaps tonight.

I had forgotten to do my KONK Life column for next week. The deadline to submit was 5 yesterday. At 3 I started working rapidly and diligently. An interesting article. I titled it Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs, Fish with No Gills: Thank You BP.

I will talk about it next Friday on my Internet show, also. A revealing subject.

The band keeps playing. Nothing like thunder off the ocean. And the lightning! Comes right into your home. If it were a 24 hour thing, there would have been no need for Thomas Edison to have invented the electric light bulb.

Enjoy your day!

I have spent 8 consecutive nights in. I have to get out!

Definitely tonight! I will just speak slower than usual and with less exuberance.

I plan on having a couple of drinks also.

This blender way of eating is not too bad. There is a definite side benefit. I have lost 11 pounds in 8 days. I agree, not healthy. But I needed it. I have roughly another week with my blender. If the weight loss continues, it will be a WOW!

Interestingly, I do not watch what I throw in the blender. I cook a meal as I normally would. Chop it up. Throw it in the blender. And drink away!  I am mixing everything. Protein, carbs and I know bad foods.

Dentist visit yesterday morning. This has been a long  and at times horrendous process. I thought I would have only one more visit after yesterday. Such is not the case. There are several more.

Conch Republic Days start today. A ten day festival. All kinds of fun parties and fun things to do. Like tomorrow’s Drag Race down Duval and in one week the Bloody Battle for secession.

I have been in the process of optimizing, etc. Key West Lou. It works. I have so many more readers. However, it is excruciatingly painful. Things keep happening that should not. Like I wanted to put a picture in somewhere on FB Fan of a party I threw about 8 years ago. My friend Gus from Utica was there. It was a hell of a party! As the photo evidences. It ended up in  the wrong place labeled as if taken the day before. Same thing happened with a photo of me and my lesbian wives which was taken about a year ago.

In due course, everything will smooth out. It is like my teeth, however. There is always something else to be done, to be corrected.

Tonight the streets of Key West. I hope I remember my way.

Enjoy your day!

Dick Clark is no longer with us. Not quite true. What he started, established, will be with us forever.

Two little known things about Dick Clark.

First, he was a Syracuse University graduate. I am partial to Syracuse.

Second, Dick Clark’s television career began in my home town, Utica, New York. Late 1940s to early 1950s. He was a TV announcer. He was not Dick Clark then. His name was Dick Clay.

Clark grew up in the Utica area. He started working radio first in one form or another in 1945 at radio station WRUN. His uncle owned the station. His father managed it.

Utica lived locally with Clark via his work in those times. Times covering my grammar and high school years. Then the world lived with him via American Bandstand.

Clark had an important life. He left his mark on American music. Fifty years from now, people will still be talking about him.

May he rest in peace.

No Internet show tomorrow. The Key West Lou Legal hour will not be seen for the second week in a row. My ongoing dental work prevents it. KONK will rerun one of my earlier shows. Listen in anyhow, you may have missed it. I will return next week. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

Donna and Terri.That telephone call I reported yesterday actually came a day earlier. I got screwed up.

Donna telephoned again yesterday morning. They are really moving at this point. They expected to arrive at the Grand Canyon in the afternoon. In the evening, they would begin a two night stay in Vegas.

Not a bad trip!

I published yesterday another article on Amazon Kindle. The column is known as Key West Lou Law. The article was entitled Mexican Flag Yes / American Flag No. It has to do with what I consider a bad federal court decision in California.

Mexican and American high school students constantly fight. Each side portrays its country’s flag by carrying one and wearing them on their tee shirts. The decision said it was ok for the Mexicans to do so, but not the Americans. Mexican flags yes. American flags no.

Why do some court decisions take us further away from our basic values and rights?

I must say again something I have in writing and on the air  for the past few years. America for Americans! Our way or the highway!

Moto, my friend. You are ill.

Moto has been a loyal blog reader it seems forever. He comments frequently. He reported yesterday some stomach problems, testing, and more testing today. Thinks it might be gall bladder. Whatever, I wish you good luck. My prayers are with you.

It is all part of the aging process. Some body part breaks down occasionally. As long as the problem is fixable, care not. If repair is not possible, then worry.

I see the dentist this morning.

Enjoy your day!

Another glorious sun rise this morning!

I figured out why I am noticing the rising sun more often lately. It’s because I am staying in bed later! With not going out waiting for my dental work to heal, I am remaining in bed longer in the morning.

The big hit of my yesterday was Sloan’s visit last night. We got a lot of work done in two hours. She was my only personal contact with the world yesterday.

Today will be different. I have a hair appointment with Lori. Need a haircut! I will let her do the talking. Afterwards, I may, no, I will, stop at the Plantation Coffee House. Just for a cup of coffee. I could not handle my usual toasted bagel. No way!

Then probably a visit with Lisa.

I was disappointed with the responses to yesterday’s blog regarding Petunia’s death. No one mentioned Petunia, how sad they might be, etc. My grandchildren Robert and Ally feel bad. Maybe you have to be a child to appreciate these things.

Revolt is upon us! Rebellion is in the air! Conch Republic days are on the way.

There was a time when the citizens of Key West were pissed at the Federal Government. So they seceded. Only for minutes. Called themselves the Conch Republic.

This event is celebrated yearly. Starts Friday and lasts ten days. A ton of events.

This Saturday is the Drag Rac on Duval. Funny!!!

Then a week from Saturday is the best of the best. The bloody battle between the Conch Republic and the United States. A real battle. Off Ocean Key and Schooners Wharf. Conch pirate ships. Crewed by men in pirate attire and ladies in bikinis. They have a water battle against ships of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rotten vegetables and fruit are thrown by the Conch vessels upon the Government boats. Both sides have forceful hoses which they shoot at each other.

There is an air battle at the same time. World war I bi planes comprise the Conch Air Force. Navy jets from Boca Chica the U.S. planes. The bi planes bomb the Border Patrol vessels with rolls of toilet paper. The rolls unravel as they fall upon the ships.

A guaranteed good time!

Donna and Teri left me a message yesterday. They were some where in Tennessee. Strange way to be driving to Los Angeles. Knowing them, they will zig zag across the country making several multi day stops along the way. They are seeing the USA. And not in a Chevrolet. A small foreign car instead.

Enjoy your day!

Petunia has died.

A long time Keys resident. Much admired.

Petunia spent most of her life on Stock Island. At the Monroe County Jail. The petting zoo and animal farm portion.

Petunia was a pig.

John Desantis is a staff writer/reporter with the Key West Citizen. In a front page article yesterday, he spoke of Petunia’s death.

For those unfamiliar with the zoo, it is maintained by the prisoners at the jail.

Key West dances to a different tune in many respects. An  example is its daily newspaper. The Key West Citizen. Yesterday’s front page news was all local. Not one bit of national news.

The front page articles were a story about the Governor being ready to sign a bill to upgrade Keys sewer projects, a large picture of two young girls holding a butterfly, the School Superintendent and alternative schools, the County Commission scheduled meeting to vote on new mooring rules, a political candidate forum, and John Desantis’ article on the zoo.

The national news was on page 7 across from the comic page. Probably where it belonged.

The valuable, the important, to Key West residents is that which is occurring locally. A factor recognized by the Citizen.  Those matters which affect them in a knowing fashion on a daily basis. The President, his security guards, Cuba, Romney and the like can wait. Till page 7.

The Citizen dances to the same tune as the citizens of Key West. A different one.

I am still home bound. I was tempted to step out last night for a time. A drink or two and some friends. But decided against it. I was not ready.

Enjoy your day!

Houses are colorful where I live.

I do not live in Key West itself. I am three islands up. 2.5 miles outside Key West. A hop, skip and jump!

Being landlocked up north, when I purchased a home in Florida it obviously had to be on the ocean. So I settled in Key Haven on the water. Water front homes are very few in Key West. The hotels own most of the ocean front areas.

I can see neighbors’ homes from my deck. There is a bright yellow one. Next to it a pale pink one. Then a light green one. Followed by a tan one. My home is basic in color. White.

Interestingly, very few homes in Key West itself are of color. Most are white.

I spent all of my day time Sunday at home. Read and watched TV.

Decided to go to Lisa’s for dinner. She had made a turkey with all the fixings. I could eat mashed potatoes covered with gravy. Which is exactly what I did! Delicious. No chewing required.

I was in bed early. Wanted to watch Mad Men at 10. Never made it. That is two weeks in a row I have missed the show.

Jenna telephoned last night. Told me Larry’s show was fantastic. A hit! Good going, Larry. Again, sorry I could not attend.

Enjoy your day!

I just saw the sun rise. A bright yellow ball behind a blanket of gray clouds. Beautiful.

I watched the sun rise from my bed. I am lucky. I can watch the sun rise from anywhere in Key West, including my bed. My bed looks out over the ocean through two glass sliding doors. I slept with the doors open last night. When I woke, the sun was creeping over the horizon.

Spent yesterday in. Much of it spent in bed. Some TV, some writing. Did a bit of reading, also. A new book. Drift by Rachel Maddow. It is about the United States being constantly involved in wars of late. I am not sure I like it yet. It is the writing style. Loaded with detail. Perhaps too much for my me. We shall see.

I look terrific. I have not shaved since Wednesday. My mouth appears a bit strange. I cannot chew. Which means I cannot bite.

I was supposed to attend Larry Smith’s show at St. Paul’s at 4 today. No way. Sorry, Larry. I had two ladies accompanying me. Jenna and Jean. A big night!  Larry and dinner afterwards. Gone!

Those of you who are local, go see and hear Larry’s show. I am sure it will exude his usual greatness.

Blending is not so bad. Last night I had a shrimp cocktail. I threw a dozen cooked shrimp on a bed of ice in the blender. Covered the shrimp with cocktail sauce. A bit of water. Voila! Shrimp cocktail! The night before I had a ham sandwich. A bed of ice covered with a lot of cold cut ham. Two slices of rye bread. Some mustard. Blended it. Twenty seconds later, a ham sandwich I could drink.

I am not crazy. Just inventive. Necessity is truly the mother of invention!

Today will be lived the same as yesterday. Not my choice.

Enjoy your Sunday!

I feel good this morning!

Let the band play and the trumpets roar!

I even slept last night.

Yesterday was not good. All day.

I hope the discomfort is now behind me. The blender is not. It will be with me a dozen more days. I consider the blender my best friend!

I did do one thing yesterday. Wrote next week’s column for KONK Life. My deadline was 5 pm yesterday. I had no choice.

The column concerned itself with oral arguments before the US Supreme Court regarding Obamacare last week. Seems the Court and attorneys involved missed the boat on one key issue. Cost. Everyone assumed there was one expensive cost to each person. Not so. The law provides for three different levels of payment.

Appears they all missed the boat. Appears also that no oned read the entire law. As Justice Scalia indicated from the bench during oral argument…..The law is 2,700 pages…..You don’t expect me to read them all.

The thrust of my column is that no one did their home work on the cost point. A shame.

I spoke three years ago on my radio show about the Lingerie Football League. Ladies play in bra and panties. Don’t recall writing about it.

The news this morning is that the League will not be playing the 2012 season. They are skipping over to 2013.

I  thought some of you might be interested in the information.

Enjoy your day!