FAIR SKINNED, GREEN EYES, RED HAIR

I began sunday with a walk at Home Depot. Twice around. Forty minutes. At a fast clip.

Outside was too humid to walk. The humidity is heavy for this time of year. It feels like August and September. If it is this way now, how will it be in August and September? Makes me wonder if global warming is at play.

The first storm of the season is somewhere off the east coast of Florida. Arthur. It is questionable whether Arthur will develop into anything. It is predicted to turn just before hitting Florida and moving north. Nothing to be concerned with in the Keys. Unless Arthur is fickle!

Driving home from Home Depot, I saw Red Zorro. I see Zorro 3-4 times a week. Many locals and tourists have seen him. He is a runner. Short and thin. Wears only shorts. Plus a big brimmed red hat. Something like Cardinals wear. Except, larger. He generally carries a large American flag on a pole across his shoulder. And shouts “whoop!” as he runs by.

Red Zorro is a Key West fixture.

My KONK Life column is due at the paper on wednesday each week. It is does not appear in print till one week later. I sometimes get tired, forgetful, what have you and am late getting the column in. As late as sunday night or monday morning. Much to the chagrin of publisher Guy deBoer.

Yesterday, I decided to get the column done early. I spent the afternoon doing it. The research had been done the day before. It is titled Politics As Usual. The story of Eric Cantor’s downfall and what has resulted therefrom. You will enjoy it.

I did not e mail the column to deBoer. Early delivery might spoil him. I am holding it till due day wednesday when with a touch of the keyboard, the article will be in his hands.

Dined at Geiger Key last night. Gray sky. Humid. I enjoyed a hogfish sandwich while starring at the open water. It was a contemplate my navel time.

Friend Anna is on the Greek isle of Fourni. Fourni is part of the Greek archipelago islands. Very small. Less than 1,000 inhabitants. Quieter than Amorgos.

Anna wrote that many of the local Greeks are fair skinned, have green or blue eyes, and red hair. Pirates are involved. Hundreds of years ago, corsairs (pirates) used Fourni as their home port. The corsairs were fair skinned, green or blue eyed, and had red hair. They intermingled, copulated and/or married the local ladies. The corsair gene is still there to this day.

Greece is full of fascinating revelations. Recall Amorgos and Greek food. It was my grandmother and mother’s Italian cooking I was eating. Greece way before the birth of Christ, sent a large number of its people to settle southern Italy and Sicily. They remained, married, etc. They brought their Greek cooking with them. That cooking became southern Italian cooking as we know it today..

It also suggested to me I must have Greek blood in me. My people came from southern Italy.

Have to hustle. Torture at the gym with Albert at 11.

Enjoy your day!

 

A BOBBY NESBITT SATURDAY NIGHT

My saturday nights have become routine. A good routine. Bobby Nesbitt!

Bobby entertains saturday evenings at Tavern ‘n Town. He has long been a favorite of mine. Going back at least 20 years.

Lately, I have been having dinner at Tavern ‘n Town saturday evenings just to hear Bobby.

I grab a couple of newspapers on the way in. Find a corner bar seat. Have a couple of drinks and dinner and read the newspapers. All the while enjoying Nesbitt at his best. I generally quietly sing along with him. I can be multi-faceted.

The bar was packed last night. A noisy crowd. Mostly tourists. I thought how sad they do not take a few minutes to quiet down and give Bobby time to enrich their souls with his singing.

I was reading saturday’s Keynoter. A twice a week local publication. On the editorial page, there was an old photo. Jack Williams’ Saloon at 101 Simonton. Back around 1890. The sign in the window said…..Draft Beer 5 cents.

No more 5 cent beers. No more Jack Williams’ Saloon.

I discovered a great article on Key West female foot attire in the Keynoter. Written by Leah Maki. She is a blogger and claims to be a fashion obsessed one. I enjoyed her column. I am adding her blog to my list of must reads. LeahsFabulousFinds.com.

The article was titled…..Find Your Keys Sole. Her knowledge and writing style caught my fancy. A discovery!

Five beauties walked into the bar at one point. Knockouts! Absolutely beautiful! Just passed the age of consent. One wore a sash saying Miss Centaro. They walked in smartly. Saw the bar was crowded and walked out just as smartly. I was disappointed.

I ran Centaro through the internet. I could not determine which Centaro the sash applied to. There were tons of them.

Cindy came by and gave me a kiss. Cindy is a casual Key West friend. Looked devastating in a black pants outfit.

Today’s Key West Citizen has on its front page with both a large picture and title, an iguana story. Iguanas are all over out island. My rear deck and front yard, roadways, the golf course, where ever you go. They are stoic. They generally sit and face the sun. They fear humans not. You can walk right up to one and the iguana will not flinch.

I dislike iguanas. They eat my shrubbery and flowers. Defecate in my pool and on the deck. I am not the only one who has no love for them. Most do not.

The Citizen article had a subtitle…..The Rats of the Reptile Kingdom. Says it all.

Interestingly, iguanas are considered good eating. In Central and South America. Not here. Though some have tried iguana. It supposedly tastes like chicken. I cannot envision myself indulging!

I spent my daytime yesterday researching next week’s column for KONK Life. I am getting a head start on the column this week. It will be about politics. I think I may title it Politics As Usual. It will begin with Eric Cantor’s recent defeat and go from there.

The Second Annual Key Lime Festival is July 3-5. Typical of Key West, it starts with a bar crawl on July 3. Spelled in this instance K R A W L. Pink lime martinis and margaritas the featured drinks.

Enjoy your sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPERMAN

I have been working out at the gym with Albert for four weeks. Albert is my trainer.

Albert is a good looking guy. 6′ 3 “. A tight muscular body. He was not always that way. He showed me a photo of himself back in college. What a difference time and determination have made! He was fat back then. Even his face. He decided to change. He did. Now he is trying to bring about a change in me.

I must admit the photo is a great motivator. You would not believe the change!

Albert has gone all the way. Today, he is Superman. If you need proof, take a look at page 5 of this morning’s Key West Citizen. There stands Superman! Albert in a Superman costume.

Albert is posing for a health article written by Dan Reynen. Dan owns the gym WeBeFit.

The article was interesting and informative. It is entitled The Healing Power Of Fecal Transplants. Does wonders for colitis. Medical professionals are experimenting with the treatment to see if it will affect obesity.

Albert did not lose weight with fecal transplants. He did it the old fashioned way. Exercising and dieting.

I spent all of yesterday’s day time doing nothing, except reading and writing. The weather turned. Got black and cloudy. Thunder all day. Little rain. I expected a deluge and decided to stay in.

I did go out last night. Could not let the weather keep me away from a friday night in Key West.

My evening was simple. I spent a couple of hours at Don’s Place. Chatted with Erika and Hershel and Malcom.

On the way home, there was lightning. Constant. Lightning over the ocean is different. I have made mention of this several times. And it is not always the same. Last night the lightning was thin ragged white lines. The sky looked like a cracked mirror.

Sloan will be here shortly. I have a busy morning.

Enjoy your day!

THOMAS CLINTON

The weather!

Worthy of being mentioned first. Continues to be outstanding. Everything still this morning. Nothing moving. The silence deafening. If there is a negative, it is the humidity. Heavy. Key West is experiencing August/September humidity late in June.

Made a new friend yesterday. Tommy Clinton. His name sounds much like one half Thomas Jefferson and the other half Bill Clinton. A nice guy. A charming personality.

I was at the bar at Don’s Place when Tommy came in and sat next to me. He carried a large camera with him which he laid on the bar. Expensive, I asked. Not really, he said. And so started the conversation.

You can find Tommy on Facebook. He goes under two names. One is Tommy Clinton-Key West. The other was something like Tommy Nikon. Not correct, however.

Tommy is a retired government employee. Retired after 30 years. Now lives full time in Key West. Rides his bicycle around Key West everyday taking pictures. He claims he takes upwards of a half million a year. He even took one of me at the bar.

He has a track record. He has published five photo books.

I have a new friend.

Before Tommy came in, I was talking with Jimmy and John. Jimmy has recently returned to golf. He is in to it. He explained thumb position, wrist position, stand tall, bend over with your ass out, hit the ball this way, hit it that way, etc. Once again, no question. Golf is back in Jimmy’s life!

After Don’s Place, I headed over to La Te Da. Enjoyed dinner at the outside bar. I sat in the corner and listened to the back and forth talk between the locals and tourists.

Earlier in the day, I stopped to see Dr. Jackie Lefferts. My right shoulder continues to hurt. No change. It has been three weeks since I fell. She thought it might just be some sort of internal bruising. Sent me for an x-ray. I do not have the x-ray result yet. We talked of the possibility of a rotator cuff tear. We shall see.

Spent part of the day writing next week’s KONK Life column: EPA…..Government Shutdown?

I received a happy birthday e mail from June Hudson this morning. My birthday is next week. June was all excited. She leaves today for Italy with a granddaughter. I told her to keep an eye out for Larry, Christine and Journey.

My friend Anna reports that Athens is quiet. No where near the number of tourists that usually are there this time of year. Significantly more stores closed on Athen’s busiest commercial street. No beggars to be seen. No people, no money. The lack of beggars is a sure indication things are dramatically worse. There were beggars all over the street the times I visited Athens.

What am I going to do today? I don’t know. My day will develop as it goes. Whatever, Key West is always a pleasure.

Enjoy your day!

 

HEMINGWAY HOUSE

The last time I visited the Hemingway House was 15 years ago. I decided to give it another shot yesterday. I am a fan and admirer of one of the world’s great writers. Imagine, he lived in Key West for ten years!

I did the touristy thing. Stood in line for a short while to purchase my admission. I think, $13. I thought the amount a bit steep. Did not recall paying that much 15 years ago. But then, it was 15 years ago!

The thing that impressed me the most was the same that did 15 years ago. The room where Hemingway wrote. It was over the garage. The garage was not attached to the house. No stairs to the room. Entrance was gained by sliding a board from a second floor window in the house to a window in the top floor room of the garage. Hemingway’s intent was to isolate himself. Not to be disturbed while he was writing.

The six toed cats intrigued me once again. Unusual.

There are a couple of urinals sitting on the lawn. By urinals, I mean those things men step up to and relieve themselves in. About five feet in length. Made of ceramic tiles. Bright tiny tiles.

The urinals have been hooked up to water lines and now serve as the cats’ drinking fountain.

The urinals are from the original Sloppy Joe’s on Green Street. Now, Captain Tony’s. When Joe was moving from Green Street to his present location on Duval, his friend Hemingway helped him. A bunch of guys literally carried the bar furniture from one place to another sometime after midnight one evening. A bit tipsy, I am sure.

Joe was not taking the urinals. Hemingway thought they were too attractive to leave. He disengaged them from the wall and had them removed to his house. The story is Hemingway carried them. I doubt it. Two or three together would be too heavy and cumbersome. On the other hand, Hemingway was a big man.

Then to the gym. One hour with Albert. Tough! I could get to dislike Albert.

Spent the rest of the day researching next week’s KONK Life column. It will involve the House of Representative threat to shut down the government again. This time over the EPA. The column will be revealing. I spent the last 25 years of my career in the environmental field. I know the motivations of the players first hand.

I find it interesting that this Congress that has passed little legislation has the time once again for a government shut down. And as of yesterday, Speaker Boehner announced the House intends to sue the President for purportedly over extending his Constitutional powers. Better the House do what they were elected to do. Pass legislation. Not be involved in political ploys.

The Supreme cCurt decided yesterday that cell phones are free from police seizure and inspection without a search warrant. Strange that the conservative portion of the Court supported the decision. Chief Justice Roberts even wrote it.

There is an Op-Ed column in this morning’s New York Times by Linda Greenfield. The title explains it…..Supreme Court Justices Have Cell Phones, Too.

Enjoy your day!

LADY WITH A HEART

One of Key West’s best people! A person full of love and warmth! A lady with a heart!

Diane Schmidt.

Diane is special. She cracked the glass ceiling a  long time ago. She has been the General Manager of the Westin Key West Marina and Resort for many years.

It came to her attention that an injured Afghanistan veteran and his fiancée were in Key West and wanted to get married. The young man had suffered a traumatic brain injury. He has difficulty walking, some speech impediment and other problems. Diane decided the couple should have a first class wedding at Westin’s Sunset Key. At Westin’s expense!

The event was last night. A story book wedding.

Diane and Westin came through again. Thank you Diane. Thank you Westin. We are proud that you are part of the Key West family.

I started my yesterday with a late morning manicure. I find my time with Tammy therapeutic. We talk about everything. I admire the success she and her husband are achieving. The American dream. The reward of hard work.

Then to the gym. Not for a scheduled work out. Merely to ride a stationary bike for a while. Not the simple kind. This one was hard hard! Albert was there. He made sure I spent 15 minutes on the bike. I was ready to quit after 5. In the end, I had ridden the equivalent of 4.5 miles. The sweat was pouring off me.

I was tired. Went home. Intended to finalize my blog talk show for last night. Needed an hour’s nap first. Then to completing the prep work for last night’s show.

Shot over to Roostoca for a pre-show dinner. Veal marsala. Outstanding!

Then home to do the show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. A lot to talk about. We live in a crazy world. Crazier by the day.

Post show comment indicated much interest in the 50 percent Detroit water customers who cannot pay their bills. The United Nations is looking into helping. I tied the Detroit story in with the 50,000 children coming over the border into Texas. I am concerned that we might not be standing up to our responsibilities in properly caring for them. I noted the world was watching.

The thrust of my talk was that we were beginning to suffer the plights of third world countries and might be slipping into a third world morass. Think about it.

Moses said…..Let my people go! I wish the Sudanese government would stop screwing around and let the Sudanese woman they have been holding go. The lady who was sentenced to death by hanging because she refused to renounce her Christian faith.

She was finally let go 48 hours ago. She, her husband and their two children were at the airport intending to fly out of the country. She had the necessary documentary papers to leave. She was not permitted to do so. The authorities said something was wrong with her travel documents A “criminal violation.”

Two days later, she is still at the airport. Not arrested. Merely detained.

These people never let up. Let this woman go!

Enjoy your day!

A TOUGH DAY

Before getting into the difficult, let me speak of the nice.

This morning!

Beautiful once again. No wind. No clouds. Blue sky. Still waters.

Across from my home sits the MTV house and Ed Swift’s home. The MTV house is yellow, blue and pink. Ed’s lime in color. The sun reflecting on both makes for a dramatic view! Even Gougan could not have painted the scene.

That is the good. Now for what might be considered the bad. My gym time yesterday was absolute torture. The worst yet. One hour of pure agony. Albert worked me harder than ever before.

This is my fourth week. He gradually increases the tempo, etc. each session. Yesterday it seemed like I stepped into another millenium. I left exhausted and aching.

Three hours later, I was sitting at home researching topics for tonight’s blog talk radio show. The real aches set in! Wow! Nowhere specific. Everywhere.

I went to bed. I hurt.

Four hours later, I felt a bit better. Only a bit. This morning, I am 80 percent recovered.

Albert is not overpushing me. The problem is I come to him in terrible shape. He is moving me slowly. I can see when I compare myself to the other old timers in the gym are doing. I have given Albert a worn out body that has not really exercised in many years. I am convinced that if I can survive, a year from now I will be glad I did this.

While I was sitting at the counter working on tonight’s show, my left eye started bothering me. Pain and pulsation. Shit, I broke a blood vessel! I went to the mirror. No broken blood vessel. Something had bit me. My eyelid was swollen, bright pink and almost totally closed.

Yesterday was a day I could not win with my body.

Great blog talk radio show tonight. Topics include the Pope and his excommunication of the Mafia and his no no re marijuana, organ implants, youthful immigrants still coming into Texas, the Republicans threatening a government shutdown over the EPA, half of Detroit residents cannot pay their water bills, a water war in the making between Arizona and California, Australia to produce GMO milk, and more.

Great material! interesting! In many instances revealing!

Join me at 9 my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

The Seven Mile Bridge will have delays all day tomorrow. Ford Mustang is shooting a commercial. Movies, TV and advertising love using the bridge as a site. Why not! An extremely beautiful setting! An experience crossing it! Seven miles of bridge between open ocean on both sides. With the sun shining, it cannot be beat.

My today will be subdued. A manicure at 11 with Tammy. An afternoon spent completing tonight’s show. Then the show itself this evening. Maybe Roostica for dinner.

Big day for travelers today and tomorrow. Larry and Christine Smith and daughter Jordan leave Key West today for a three week journey. England first to visit John and Ali. Then Italy. Anna flies out of Milan tomorrow for Athens and three weeks in the Greek isles.

My friends, enjoy!

Each of you enjoy your today!

MONOPOLY

There came a point yesterday afternoon when I played Monopoly with Robert and Ally. Though I had not played in years, one never forgets. Ally ended up the winner. Big time! She had all the houses and all the money!

I had to get out of the house for a few hours. There was a showing. I went to Lisa’s. No one home, except for Jake. I sat at the kitchen table, opened my computer and wrote this week’s KONK Life column. Bank Stories. Three random tales involving banks and how ravenous and gluttoness they are. All the while I was working, Jake sat next to me. Only occasionally moved. and then no more than five feet away. My friend!

Headed home afterwards. Stopped at Publix to pick up a couple of things. Sunday afternoon is family time. Especially mother and child time. The kids are always good. Occasionally one will try to put something in the cart that Mom does not want. Always interesting. The battle between the young and old.

The rest of my day was a lazy Sunday. Watched golf. A lot of it. Ron Steelman impressed me with his seven straight birdies to win the Travelers. Michelle Wei likewise with winning her first major.

After golf, movies. Saw Love Is A Many Splendored Thing again. For about the 88th time. Love the movie! Love love! Jennifer Jones and William Holden.

Did a little reading in between. Still with the Hillary Clinton HRC story.

Later this morning, the gym again. I am at the point I look forward to it. I can sense it is doing me good. Energy wise. Not weight wise as yet.

Enjoy your day!

 

A PLEASANT YESTERDAY

Before getting into yesterday, let me tell you about today. This morning to be specific. It is absolutely beautiful outside! Calm everywhere. No breeze. The water a mirror. A blue and white sky. The MTV house across the way radiating.

If today ended at this moment, it would have been a perfect day.

My yesterday was easy going all day. Just flowed along from one pleasant experience to another.

Lunch at Roostica. With the grandkids. I was babysitting. I have to find a new word. Babysitting does not seem to fit any more. Robert and Ally are big. Ten and 9 respectively. They act like adults.

We decided to order two things and share. A meatball sub and four cheese pizza. We agreed the sub was outstanding. None of us were completely pleased with the pizza. One of the cheeses was gorgonzola. I enjoy gorgonzola on a salad. But heated and melted on top a pizza, too rich!

We tried to figure out what the cheese was that was adversely affecting the pizza. Robert came up with the gorgonzola

The grandkids wanted to make their own pizzas. Unfortunately, there was no room at the bar. Four other kids were seated making theirs. We agreed, another time.

Took a three hour nap in the afternoon.

Started my friday evening at Don’s Place. Always a good crowd fridays. Chatted at length with David. Hellos exchanged with Don, Hershel, Erika, Toni, and others.

Decided to grab the newspapers and have a quiet dinner at Tavern ‘n Town.

As I walked through the lobby of the Marriott Beachside, I ran into two of the nicest people in Key West. Mike and Tina. Love them both. Tina more. They had just finished dinner with friends.

The room was relatively quiet. I sat at the corner of the bar. A few locals nodded hello.

On the way into Tavern ‘n Town, I picked up a copies of this week’s KONK Life and yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. My reading material while eating.

Mike Emerson was playing the guitar and singing. I enjoy his work and him personally. He was playing Cole Porter’s Night and Day. A few days ago, I researched Cole Porter for one of my writings. The music was nostalgic. Not because I researched it. Because it brought to mind Cary Grant and Kevin Kline, both of whom played Cole Porter in separate movies. I preferred the Cary Grant one.

Harmony and Andrew were working the bar. Harmony took care of me so I did not have a chance to chat with Andrew. Perhaps next time.

I read my column in KONK Life each week to make sure there are no printing errors, phrases left out, etc. This week’s column involved the almost 50,000 children who made their way into Texas from Mexico. No mistakes present. A good column. Read it, if you have not.

Early on in this week’s edition, KONK Life had a questionnaire for two candidates for the school board. The first question asked of each was…..How old are you? One was 67 and the other 70.

I will be 79 in two weeks.

I thought how amazing it is that people our age are still out there functioning and doing things. When they say 70 is really 60, I think it might be 50. When I was must younger, I viewed the 60s and 70s as old disabled folk. Not necessarily so today.

KONK Life was followed by the Wall Street Journal. I rarely read the Journal. Too conservatively slanted from my perspective. I was glad I did last night. There was an Opinion article by Rand Paul. Not only do I generally disagree with the Journal, I also generally disagree with Rand Paul. Too far to the right.

The article was titled America Should Not Choose Sides In Iraqi’s Civil War. His thrust was that the United States should stay out unless there was a clearly defined objective and reasonable support from the American people. I totally agreed with what Rand wrote. A rarity. However when a person is right, his position cannot be disputed.

Another article in the Journal involved bocce. Bocce’s popularity is spreading. The Journal reported upscale new apartment buildings in New York City, Cambridge and San Francisco have bocce courts in addition to fire pits, swimming pools, and fitness centers. My Italian relatives of old would be both surprised and pleased.

Today should be fun. I have a pool party to go to this afternoon. I can’t wait. I look beautiful in a bathing suit! A joke, of course.

Enjoy your day!