NIPPLE MOVEMENT

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A nipple movement! By ladies, supported by some men.

Active in Key West. Though I have not seen any results on the streets. Active also nationally. Nipple Movement has a Twitter page. 168,000 followers.

If I understand the movement correctly, it is to give women equal rights as men regarding public display of breasts. The right to bare them. Free the Nipple the cry!

I for one would not be opposed. Lets see ’em!

I joke. With tongue in cheek. If the women of America want this right, they should have it. Called equality. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. And vice versa.

Key West photographer Nick Dole is a leader/helper in Key West.  He photographs the nipples. What a job! Thus far 89 women showed up for Doll’s first shoot. He is going to have two more.

I recall ten years ago a national movement re the same issue. On a specified day, women across America were going to walk bare chested. A number of women said they were going to do so in Key West. The Police Chief said no. If you do, you will be arrested.

The ladies folded. My recollection is that they walked, but none exposed their breasts.

A pic solely of a woman’s nipples is easier to do. Assuming the face is not involved. Easy to be brave where identity is hidden.

Pub crawls are big in Key West. Though an excuse is never needed to drink. A pub crawl is an organized walk stopping prearranged at several bars. A drink, a tee shirt.

There was a pub crawl yesterday. To celebrate the Fourth. Called Bar Stroll Red White and Blue. In the Harbor walk area.

Last night was Tavern ‘n Town for me. Bobby Nesbitt time.

Two fellows sat next to me. We struck up a conversation. A good one. Lasted through dinner. Greg from West Palm and David from St. louis. Both originally from Columbus. They return home today, unfortunately. Hope to hear from them the next time they visit.

I spent the best part of the day researching this week’s KONK Life column. Calling it Illegal Human Trafficking.

Not what you think.

Brunch later this morning at Martin’s with Dee.

A big day in Greece. The vote! Anna failed me this morning. I have not yet received her daily report. She arrived in Santorini yesterday. I am anxious to know her further observations.

Enjoy your Sunday!

FOURTH OF JULY

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Fourth of July. Independence Day. Happy July 4th everyone!

Tonight big in Key West. Fireworks at the White Street Pier. A huge party at the Casa Marina. People everywhere watching the fireworks. Easy to watch from most places on the island. Standing on street corners and sitting on porches. Fun time!

The day has historical aspects, also. In addition to being celebrated as the birth of the United States.

Technically, Independence Day is not July 4. It is July 2. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence. Whereas, July 4 was the day the Declaration began to be signed. It was not signed by all that day. It took a month to get everyone’s signature.

The Founding Fathers thought July 2 would be forever celebrated as Independence Day. Somehow July 4 took on the honor.

Three Presidents in a row died on July 4.  John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were two who signed the document. They both died on the same day. July 4, 1826. James Monroe is considered a Founding Father, though not a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died on July 4, 1831.

Fantastic music and July 4 go together. Great patriotic songs. John Sousa type music. For years, it was the Boston Pops Orchestra. I looked forward to watching. The Boston Pops was knocked off national TV after 2012. The claim viewing was down 20 percent. The Boston Pops is still carried locally on TV in the Boston area, however.

The big musical TV event now is the Capitol Fourth. Full name, A Capitol Fourth. On the lawn of the Capitol. Five hundred thousand in attendance. Followed by  the best fireworks in the land.

I will be viewing the Washington show on TV. I gave up going to the scene of the Key West fireworks several years ago. Merely a mood change. I miss saying hello to friends. However, I enjoy the comfort of laying back and watching on TV from home and listening to some great music beforehand.

Dave was 65 years old yesterday. Happy birthday, Dave!

We partied at the Hot Tin Roof last night in his honor. David, his son Keith, grandson Justin, Jennifer, Don, Stan, Claire, and me. Fun time!

Ran into Rick Boettger and Cynthia Edwards at the bar earlier. Two great people. Their home the first of three places where I fell on three consecutive days. Rick and Cynthia speak out publicly re issues of public concern. Always correct. Enjoy them both!

Anna reports. Demonstrations every day in downtown Athens. Not just in front of Parliament. On the adjoining streets also. Bigger numbers than the first night. Last night 25,000 listened to Tsipras speak. A few blocks away, the other side was demonstrating. Fifteen thousand. The vote Sunday important.

Italy’s President came out the other day in favor of the Eurounion. Yesterday, leaders of the Italian far left were in Athens to support Tsipras’ government, which is a far left one also.

It was tee shirt time. Black tee shirts with OXI printed on them. OXI means No. Vote No to accepting the Eurounion’s plan.

Greek’s Nazi Party is known as Golden Dawn. Represents the far right. Golden Dawn has been quiet during the demonstrations. Beware, these neo Nazis are standing in the shadows in the event an opportunity arises to take control. Anna says that members of the Italian Nazi Party were in Athens wandering around. Known as Alba Dorata, which means Golden Door. They are in Athens supporting their Greek brothers.

Anna is presently on the plane to Santorini. I am interested to learn her observations of the situation as it exists on Santorini. Santorini is a prosperous island. I suspect its citizens will be in support of the euro and Eurounion.

Enjoy your Fourth!

 

MARRIED PEOPLE FATTER

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I was married 52 years. Bone thin when first married. Fifty pounds more when divorced. Now four years since the divorce. I have lost 35 pounds. There may be a reason other than dieting that caused me to be thinner.

The Journal of Social Science and Medicine recently announced that married people are fatter. Marrieds have a higher body mass index than singles.

Sounds crazy. Perhaps not. The Journal’s conclusions were based on a study. A detailed one. Ten thousand people studied living in nine European countries.

My thursday evening simple. The Chart Room first. My friends Don and Chris at the bar. I chastised them for not contacting me. I knew they would be in this weekend.

Don hit me between the eyes! I texted, left a message and e-mailed you. He had. I had not checked my phone or computer timely.

What could I say?

Tasted my first prime rib in six months at Outback later in the evening. The thin cut. Delicious!

Key West is packed for the holiday weekend. Most hotels full. No room at the inn. Tourists started coming in last night. Going to be a fun weekend!

Anna reports. Prices cheaper in Athens. No credit cards. Cash only accepted. Many tourists. Europeans and Americans. An ad hoc demonstration yesterday in Parliament Square. Those opposed to keeping the euro. Not 10,000 like the other evening. Maybe 2,000-3,000. Quiet. People of all ages milling around. Many carrying the Greek flag.

Anna reported an interesting experience. Does it reflect the Greek financial situation? I do not know. Anna was at the pay out counter in a store. She dropped a euro on the floor. The euro in coin form. A well dressed gentleman behind her quickly bent down and grabbed it. He immediately put it in his pocket.

Anna yelled…..That’s mine! He sheepishly returned the euro to her.

Don’t screw around with Anna!

Talk in recent years has been to the effect that a reason our jails are overcrowded is mandatory sentencing. Especially for minor victimless drug crimes. The move is to get many out of jail who were unfairly but legally sentenced to an unreasonable number of years.

Nancy Gertner is a retired Federal Judge. U.S. District Court. She is speaking out. Considers the War on Drugs a failure. Believes its destruction as bad as that of World War II. Compares it to Prohibition, which was a failure.

She believes a whole generation of African Americans have been lost because of the long term sentences.

Note that the good Judge had no choice when sentencing. The law was mandatory. X number of years for a particular crime.

In my mind, the situation comparable to that which existed in Nazi Germany in the mid 1930s through World War II. German judges enforced what many believed were grossly unfair and inappropriate laws. Like euthanasia and forced sterilization.

Years have passed. It is only now that some are speaking out re sentencing inequities.

Judge Gertner’s words call for attention. She should know. My problem is sitting Judges have not spoken out regarding the issue.

Enjoy your day!

ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILL, CUBAN COFFEE HOUSE, HUMIDITY, DUVAL, ETC.

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My yesterday. Typical.

Started late morning with the anti-gravity treadmill. A wonder! Then to the Cuban Coffee House for lunch. Cuban toast and a large Cuban coffee.

Walked Duval a bit. New Gap Factory Store open. Good size. Homey. Missed the phony hostage/guest house scenario which closed two blocks of Duval. Stopped at Tucker’s. On Duval near Antonio’s. Great sports attire for men and women. Pricey. Will go well with tourists who might not care about price. Doubt many locals will buy there.

Summer definitely here. I could feel the humidity big time as I walked Duval. This is only the beginning. Wait till August and September!

Last night, Don’s Place early. Don. Stan and Claire. Jeneane and Mary from the Pier House at the bar. Sisters. Lovely ladies.

Dinner at Tavern ‘n Town. Mood music. Put me in the mood. Mellowed me right out. Did not get the name of singer. He was busy talking with others when I left.

Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights bill into law in the 1960s. He said it would “…..bring peace to our land.” Unfortunately, he was wrong. The black church burning in Georgia a few days ago proof.

The Charleston shooting was June 17. Since then, a mere two weeks, there have been seven black church fires in the South. All but two have already been declared not arson. The two, hate crimes.

I do not buy the results. The non arson ones. The judgment in each case was made by a local fire chief and department. Like the early cops shooting blacks. A Chief and Prosecutor evaluating whether the police shooting was justified.

These cases should all be investigated by top notch experienced arson people. They exist in one place. Insurance companies. They should be on the job immediately together with some expert federal officers to determine cause. The goal being an untainted report.

I wonder, how many white churches had fires during the same two week period.

Anna reports. Credit cards no good in Athens. Most merchants want cash. Will not sell without cash payment. ATM machines busy this morning. Nowhere near the crowds of yesterday morning.

Everyone is at fault to differing degrees re the Greece situation. The consensus is developing that Germany’s Merkel has contributed greatly. She has been labeled as self righteous. Also as having pushed too hard.

Would you believe…..Another Rocky film coming out. Rocky VII. Sylvester Stallone managing , not fighting. Managing Apollo Creed’s son.

Oregon legalized marijuana for personal use. Limited amounts, of course. The fourth State to do so. If anyone had told me in the 1970s and 1980s that this was going to happen, I would have thought them crazy. Similar to same sex marriage. Who would have believed?

Enjoy your day!

 

AMAZING GRACE REVISITED

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I FIRST WROTE THIS ARTICLE EIGHT YEARS AGO. THE ONE YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS ITS SIXTH PUBLICATION. AMAZING GRACE TOUCHED ME AND CONTINUES TO DO SO. THE PRESENT PUBLICATION WAS MOTIVATED BY REVEREND CLEMENTA PINCKNEY’S SERVICE AND PRESIDENT OBAMA’S EULOGY. THE PRESIDENT BEGAN SINGING AMAZING GRACE ALONE AS PART OF THE EULOGY. WITHIN SECONDS, THE ENTIRE CONGREGATION JOINED IN.

 

AMAZING GRACE

 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

 

There is a story that goes with these beautiful words and the song from whence they came. It starts with slavery.

 

Most are unaware that the Founding Fathers dealt with the issue of the importation of slaves to the United States in the Constitution. Article I, section 9, stated in effect that the government could not ban the importation of slaves for at least 20 years.

 

Why such was placed in the original Constitution is not certain. I suspect that the Founding Fathers, most of whom were slave owners, were of the opinion that twenty years would give them enough time to propagate additional slaves. Since slaves had a significant monetary value and one’s worth was often measured by slaves owned, it made sense that there had to be a time when no more would be permitted entry to the United States. An overabundance of slaves could conceivably diminish the value of each slave.

 

Twenty years passed. The Congress could not wait to pass a law banning further importation of slaves to the United States. They did it one year early in 1807. Thomas Jefferson was President at the time. He is also considered the Father of the Constitution. He supported the proposed law and did not hesitate in signing it. The law went into effect January 1, 1808.

 

From that day forward, the United States Navy was on the lookout for any ships that were attempting to bring new slaves to American shores. The Navy was kept busy. Slavery was a big business. It took till 1862 for the Navy to finally eradicate the problem.

 

Although the final three slave ships were captured in 1862 when the Civil War was already two years old, their capture had nothing to do with the Civil War. It was the result of continued enforcement of the 1808 law.

 

The last three ships captured were the William, Bogota and Wildfire.

 

The demand for new slaves was overwhelming in the 1700s and first half of the 1800s. They were needed for work in North and South America. It is estimated some twelve million were imported during those years.

 

Cuba was in need of great numbers of slaves. The sugar fields needed workers. It is estimated at least 100,000 slaves were delivered from West Africa to Cuba.

 

Slaves had to be replenished. Most of the slaves delivered were young. Teenagers. They did not live long. They were literally worked to death. The need to replenish drove the slave industry.

 

John Newton was a slave trader. A bad guy in his early years. Very bad. Mean. He was known by people acquainted with him as a despicable person.

 

On one of the trips across the ocean, Newton and his ship engaged a violent storm. Newton thought he was going to die. He learned to pray. He asked God to save him. God did.

 

Newton continued as a slave trader for a few years. However, his conscience was now bothering him. He quit his chosen profession and went to theology school. Newton became a minister.

 

In 1779, Newton wrote Amazing Grace. Not as a musical piece. Not as a song. But rather, a poem. His congregation would recite, not sing, the words at services.

 

The poem continued to 1835. At that time, someone put it to music. There was an English tune New Britain. It became the melody for Amazing Grace.

 

Prior to the 1960s, Amazing Grace had no particular popularity. Except in the black churches. It became a song of hope and redemption. An African American spiritual.

 

Then came the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The marches, the boycotts, the assassinations. Amazing Grace gained national prominence and popularity during that era.

 

It also became a top selling recording.

 

Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley and Tennessee Williams all recorded it. So did Althea Franklin and Judy Collins. And most recently, Susan Boyle.

 

Amazing Grace’s history began with the United States Constitution, the law of 1808, John Newton finding God, someone putting the words to music and finally the civil rights movement.

 

Today the hymn is sung everywhere. Both for the living and the dead. Warm and uplifting.

ELECTRIC STREETCARS

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Lets start with a bit of nostalgia this morning.

The History Section of today’s Key West Citizen tells us buses replaced streetcars in Key West on this day in 1926. I am impressed. Utica’s population in 1926 was well over 100,000. Key West a pip squeak in comparison. Utica did not replace its electric streetcars till the late 1930s.

I remember streetcars! I remember riding them in the late 1930s. I was probably 4-5 years old. Then they were replaced by buses. I am assuming just before World War II. The rails however remained imbedded in the streets till after the War.

Did the dentist routine early yesterday morning. I did have a problem. Dr. Lindner said I had an infection in one of the implants. The cause of the pain and swelling. Why? It happens, he said. He gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. I have thus far taken three. Pain and swelling gone.

I hurried home to fine tune last night’s blog talk radio show. The show went well. I limited myself to four topics.

The past week was a big week and I wanted to hit what I considered the major issues…..Obama and Amazing Grace, a Greek update, and two significant Supreme Court decisions.

If you missed the show, it is archived on Blog Talk Radio and You Tube. It also is linked to my Key West Lou website keywestlou.com.

Later in the afternoon was a must do trip to Walgreens. I had to pick up five prescriptions. Four that were ready to be picked up and the antibiotic. One thing I have learned is that as one matures (a nice way of saying gets older), doctors and pharmacies become necessary friends.

From Walgreens to Don’s Place. Enjoyed a drink with David and Keith.

Then to Roostica for dinner. Fried eggplant at the bar while enjoying the newspapers.

A significant portion of last night’s show involved Greece. It is the most crucial spot in the world these days. Depending on what happens, a European and/or worldwide recession could occur.

Anna arrived yesterday in Athens. She reported no lines in front of the ATMs in the afternoon when she arrived. This morning the streets are blocked with people trying to get money out of the ATMs. She sent pics.

Greek banks have been shut down for six days. Withdrawals from ATMs is limited to 60 euros a day. Yesterday, the ATMs only permitted a 50 euro withdrawal. There had been such a rush to withdraw that the banks ran out of 10 and 20 euro bills.

Anna reports the demonstration in front of Parliament last night was much larger than the night before. Last night’s was for the group that wants to remain with the euro.

This morning’s news reports that Greece apparently blinked. Greece defaulted yesterday. Last evening, the Greek government announced it would accept the Eurounion’s package with some minor changes. The Euro group is meeting as I write to decide if they will accept Greece’s submission. The Euro group has no choice. To leave Greece outside the Eurounion would be the death knell for the Eurounion.

Anna tells me yesterday hotel rates were low. This morning, they had shot up. Her hotel however was honoring her lower reservation price.

I drove by the Glynn Archer school building yesterday. Or what remains of it. It is being transformed into a new City Hall.

This renovation is going to cost Key West a bundle over and above projected cost figures. Of necessity! The building has been completely gutted internally. Only the outside walls remain. Propped up with metal beams.

The new structure will in reality be a new building with the old outside. It is going to cost a ton more than if an entire new building had been constructed.

Another alternative would have been to use the old Glynn Archer. Move only a few walls internally. Bring in new water and air conditioning systems and whatever else is required. Cosmetically finish off the rest. A new home for City Hall at a much cheaper dollar.

Typical Key West governmental bungling.

Cuba and the U.S. are going to exchange embassies this week. Good! Lets keep moving the reunion along.

Enjoy your day!