INTERSECTION WATERWAYS

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Happy Sunday!

No relief from the weather. Rain and wind continue. Ocean a blanket of white caps.

Yesterday afternoon it rained extremely heavy. Monsoon type rain.

South wind is rare. About a half dozen times a year. I saw it for the second time this week yesterday. Guaranteed rain!

Key West is at sea level. Flooding a problem. Especially at high tide.

I knew downtown would have flooding all over the place. For certain at some intersections. Like the intersection of Duval and Front. Another, Eaton and White. Sometimes as much as three feet. I recall once seeing some college students swimming in the Eaton/White intersection. Many times a kayak or two on Duval.

Driving difficult. Impossible to enter some streets. Decided not to go downtown last night. For fear my Volkswagen would float away or some salt water get in the engine.

Opted instead for an early movie at the Regal in the Sears Shopping Center. Four o’clock. Saw Revenant with Leonardo DiCaprio. Excellent movie. A bit gruesome. DiCaprio deserves an Academy Award for his performance.

Everyone must have had the same idea. Rainy. Go to a movie. The line to the ticket window ran all the way to the back street. Fortunately, the rain stopped during my 20 minute wait to get a ticket.

Senior citizen time. All contemporaries. No one young.

Got out at 6:30. Choice was to eat at Outback or go home. Tried Outback. Packed. Fortunately, I saw a couple leave a booth in  the bar and grabbed it.

Spent my afternoon reading and snoozing.

In December, there were two school bomb threats the same morning. One at Key West High School. The other at Marathon High School.

The police have made an arrest. A 15 year old female student at the Marathon High School. She did not make the calls. However, she is being charged as an accomplice. She provided telephone information to the male who actually made the calls.

The sadness of it all. She never met the man she provided the information to in person. Only over the internet.

We live in strange times.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

8 FOOT CROCODILE IN POOL

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We have everything in Key West.

Used to have many cats. Now, few. Some think the iguanas ate the cats. Chickens still around, though in fewer numbers. Pythons into the Keys. Only one so far in Key West. Two years ago. An 8 footer along the runway at the airport. Some think it may have been droped there.

Now, crocodiles?

Over the years, there have been a few sightings in the lower keys of a crocodile in a canal. Recently, one in an Islamorada pool.

A home fronting on the ocean. A pool between the home and ocean. Yesterday morning, an 8 foot croc seen in the pool. Authorities called. Nothing to do. Crocodile climbed out of the pool on its own and returned to the ocean.

No one wants a crocodile in their back yard. Whether Islamorada or Key west. Hope this was a one time occurrence. Islamorada is 77 miles from Key West.

What bugs me is that crocodiles are considered a threatened species. So says the federal government. Can’t kill them. Does not make sense. Crocodiles can kill humans, but humans cannot kill crocodiles.

Back on the treadmill yesterday. Felt good. Went slow. Spent the rest of the day writing. Dinner last night at La Trattoria Oceanside.

An excellent crowd. I walked around to determine local/tourist mix. I must have been the only local. Knew no one.

I spent five days nursing my cold. All five days spent at home. Killed the cold. Also rested my body. I felt rested yesterday. Ready to go! Must have needed the down time. I have been complaining to myself lately how tired I felt.

This week’s KONK Life column Late Night Diner published wednesday in KONK Life. Today, it is running in E-Blast.  It was also linked to my Key West Lou website this morning.

It is the story of artist Edward Hopper and his painting Nighthawks. People in a diner late at night.

Yesterday was National Hugging Day. Also known as National Hug Day. Not new. Began in 1986. Has grown dramatically world wide. Consideration is being given to renaming the day International Hugging Day.

The day was started to get people out of the lull/depression which hits between Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

There is a most hugable person each year. The Most Hugable Person 2016 is Tim Harris of Albuquerque. Tim is a 30 year old Down Syndrome individual.

Tim has hugged people on National Hugging Day for purposes of charity fundraising. In 2014, he hugged 1,000 people and raised $6,000. Last year, he hugged 2,000 people and raised $13,000.

This day in 1912 was a big one in Key West. Overseas Railroad’s first train arrived in Key West. Multitudes welcomed the train.  It was Henry Flagler’s dream come true. A train from Florida’s mainland to Key West.

The 1935 Labor Day hurricane wiped out a good portion of the railroad and killed hundreds. The railroad took its biggest hit in the middle keys. The hurricane was a 5. Was labeled Storm of the Century.

The railroad bed and bridges were not rebuilt. The railroad had not been making money. Remnants of the bridges can be seen in a drive on US 1 through the middle keys.

There was no blog published wednesday. Many of you contacted me yesterday asking where it was. I don’t know. I did what I always do and thought it published. I went back yesterday and tried to find it. No way. I must have hit a wrong key and the blog is out there somewhere in never never land.

Sorry.

Enjoy your day!

LATE NIGHT DINER

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edward hopper pic

 

One of the most respected American artists of the modern era is Edward Hopper (1882-1967). His most famous work Nighthawks. The name misleading. The painting easily recognizable. A diner late at night with three customers and a counterman. All at the counter. Two men and a woman seated. The counterman behind the counter.

The painting an oil on canvas.

It took Edward one and a half months to complete the painting. It was completed January 21, 1942. He then had the painting shown for sale at his dealer’s gallery.

Soon thereafter, Edward and his wife Josephine were were at a gallery showing by another artist. In attendance was Daniel Calton Rich. Rich was Director of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Josephine suggested Rich stop by the gallery showing her husband’s work and look at Nighthawks. She thought he would like it. He did. He purchased it for the Art Institute for $3,000. A lot of money at the time. In today’s dollars adjusted for inflation, $43,200.

The statement reflecting the sale shows that Edward’s net take from the sale was $1,971. The gallery’s commission was one third or $1,000. Out of pocket costs totaled $29.

The Art Institute has never sold the painting.  Its present day value has to be in the millions. A Hopper painting not as popular East Wind Over Weehawken was sold by Christie’s in 2013 for $40.5 million.

Edward and Josephine married in 1924. They kept a journal of each of Edward’s paintings. Edward’s contribution was a pencil sketch of the painting and a precise description of technical details involved. Josephine’s was information about the theme of the painting and any interesting/helpful information.

The name Nighthawks is unusual when one considers the painting is of persons in a diner late at night. Nighthawks are birds.Their beaks are small sharp pointed bills.

In a letter to a relative, Josephine wrote that the name Nighthawks was in reference to one of the men sitting at the bar. The man next to the woman. He has a long sharp nose.

In another letter to Edward’s sister Marion, Josephine wrote that the subject for one customer and the counterman was Edward. He viewed himself in the mirror as he drew them. Josephine was the model for the woman.

The site of the diner is not certain. Experts agree it is in Manhattan. Some say on Greenwich Avenue. Edward at one time said it was the interior of a cheap restaurant which he simplified for the painting.

The diner and figures in Nighthawks are so widely recognized that subsequent works by others include some portions.

Gottfried Helnwein’s Boulevard of Dreams (1984) was somewhat of a replica. A spoof of Hopper’s Nighthawks. The persons in the painting were easily recognizable. The three customers were Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. The counterman, Elvis Presley.

Nighthawks appears in some form in novels, short stories and poems. Even movies. The movies include Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pennies From Heaven, Deep Red, and Blade Runner.

A comic book cover also. Archie cover #649. It showed Archie, Jughead and Hotday eating at Pop Tate’s diner.

Hopper was influenced by early 1930 crime movies such as Scarface and Little Caesar. The darkness in Nighthawks represents that influence.

There is also a feeling of isolation. Represented by the few number of people and the diner having no door. Hopper was attempting to portray the feeling of loneliness one can have in a crowd. Especially in a city like New York. Hopper has been quoted as saying, “Unconsciously, probably I was painting the loneliness of a large city.”

Hopper was inspired by Hemingway’s 1927 short story The Killers. As to the diner setting. In the Killers, there is a corner restaurant scene. Hopper drew loneliness from it.

Musicians have been inspired by Nighthawks. Tom Waits’ Nighthawks At the Diner. Also, the song Masters and Angels whose setting is in a diner reminiscent of the one in Nighthawks.

Television has relied on Nighthawks for various scenes. CST: Crime Scene Investigation being one. Would you believe, the Simpson’s. All at a counter eating.

I love Turner Classic Movies. Watch the old films every day. Turner pays homage to Nighthawks in an introductory sequence. Look for it the next time Turner has the band rolling and scenes moving fast to introduce the next movie.

Why did I opt to write this week about Edward Hopper and Nighthawks?

Jack Baron was a longtime Key West friend. To know him was to love him. He was an artist. When I met him, he was already working out of his gallery in Square One.

Every morning, several of us would get together with Jack and his partner Bob to solve the world’s problems.

I had known Jack for several years. Though a collector, I never bought Jack’s paintings. They were local. Seldom do local paintings take off dollar wise.

One day, Jack handed me a beautifully leather bound book titled America’s Greatest  Artists. He opened the book to the page showing Edward Hopper’s Nighthawk. My thought was everyone knows Hopper. He’s big.

Jack then turned the page. The next page was Jack Baron and his black ladies.

Within two weeks, I purchased fourteen of Jack’s works. My Key West dining room was solely Jack Baron. His works all over the house.

I thought…..Am I going to make money! Someday.

Jack died 7-8 years ago. Unfortunately, the value of his paintings never went up. They went down. Dramatically.

I still love Jack and his paintings, however. I learned a lesson. One I have experienced many times in life and never seem to really learn: All that glitters is not gold.

FISH AND MUDDY WATERS

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I live and learn.

This morning’s Key West Citizen has an interesting front page article re the weather. The cold a given. Significant waves. Waves outside the reef this weekend will be 11-14 feet. Winds 25-30 miles per hour.

Few fishing boats going out. Water too rough. Fishing questionable.

This is what I learned. Weather makes water muddy. Fish cannot see the bait.

I am not a fisherman. Many of you are. Many, not. The information is for non-fisherman.

The weather still cold. The cold front will continue. Through the weekend. The weekend to be colder and windier. Temperature at the moment 63 degrees. High however will be 73.

I am recovered. Went out yesterday. Felt fine. It was good to return to the world. My everyday world.

Decided on lunch at Harpoon Harry’s. Wednesday lunch is their turkey special.

The block on Caroline where Harpoon Harry’s is located blocked off. Big time road construction. Just what I would expect during the tourist season. The busiest street in the waterfront area blocked off.

The parking lot across the street full.

Went to 5 Guys instead. A healthy cheeseburger awaiting me. With fries.

Then to Publix. Spent some money. Not only was I out of food, I was out of paper products. Ran into Stan and Clare.

Last night Don’s Place. Felt good to be there. Chatted with Don and David. The three  of us to VFW for dinner. VFW is becoming a wednesday thing for Don and me.

Sounds like a big night. it was not. I was home at 8:30.

Some things I do not understand.

Pope Francis is getting a hard time from the Vatican hierarchy. The Cardinals who elected him Pope are now fighting him at every turn. The Cardinals are traditionalists. They do not agree with the changes the Pope wants to bring about.

Sometimes it is hard to breath fresh air.

I was listening to a radio talk show yesterday. The issue was gun violence. It was mentioned that Wal-Mart is the largest seller of guns in the United States. I did not know. It was further mentioned that Hillary Clinton sat on Wal-Mart’s board for eight years. I did not know this either.

Sarah Palin should go home. Her family needs her.

Soon after getting the VP nomination, we learned she had a pregnant unmarried daughter. Trump brings her out recently to support him. Soon after, we learn her son was  more recently arrested for hitting his wife in the face.

Her recent speeches contain many incoherent comments.

She brings baggage.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

KELLEY MC GILLIS / FLAG FOOTBALL

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The 25th annual Kelley McGillis International Women and Girls’ Flag Football Championship games begin January 25 in Key West. A welcome event every year!

The games have become closely associated with Kelley McGillis. A former top movie star. She was the female lead to Tom Cruise in Top Gun and Harrison Ford in Witness.

Kelley lived many years in Key West. She and her then husband owned three restaurants. Kelley’s on Whitehead is named after her. Kelley now resides on a farm in Pennsylvania.

She returns every year for the flag football event. She is an active participant in peripheral  activities. I do not know whether she still plays the game.

These championship games have grown. Sixty teams will arrive in Key West to participate. Primarily from North America, Latin America and Europe.

Cuba got into the picture in 2005. They now have an active flag football league.

Today is the day! Out of the house! I am ok. Feel fine. Need to shave first. Look like a bum.

I need food! Bad! Publix a definite stop. Tissues a must. Amazing the number of boxes you go through when you have a cold.

I want to go out tonight. I need to go out. Something easy. Like Don’s Place. I miss everyone.

Cold! 58 degrees at 7 this morning! High today 71. Even that number is cold for Key Westers, though better than high 50s. I am glad I have heat. My cold would have turned into pneumonia if not.

Many do not have heat in Key West. Key West is in the sub-tropics. Supposedly always warm. Not true.

You can get along without heat if you have a spouse. Two warm bodies next to each other. I did not put the heat in till after my wife left me.

The Flint, Michigan thing a disgrace. Lead in the water. Should not occur in modern America. Does not happen in the United States of today. But it did!

There will be a lot of blame to go around. Properly so. Thousands of children will develop brain problems in later years because they drank the water. I know about these things. My firm handled a number of lead poisoning cases years ago.

I spoke re the Flint problem on my January 5 blog talk radio show. The #1 topic. Somewhere the same day of the show, I came up with something about the problem. I could not understand why the national media were not dealing with it. It is only this past week they have gotten into it.

Cause and effect always an issue. I was aware that Flint got its water for many years from Detroit. Detroit had been in bankruptcy. Flint was under some kind of manager. The governor had taken over the running of Flint because of its financial problems.

At the time, I said money had to be the problem. The cause. The effect obvious. I thought the trustee in bankruptcy might have raised the cost of water to Detroit water users. Recall how Detroit was turning off water to thousands of homes where people were three months behind on their bills.

I took it another step. Thought that Flint had to drop Detroit water because it was too expensive. The governor appointed manager had to find ways to cut also. He concluded use Flint River water.

I cannot believe the Flint River waters were not tested. It is the way things are done. Another mistake in this scenario?

Big time snowstorm predicted up north. Two to three feet. A lot of snow. Many will be snowed in.

We went through this several times over the years in Utica. Never minded being snowed in. The 2-3 days were family time. Just me, the wife and children. There was a calm involved. Except when the kids were at each other’s throats!

Enjoy your day!

AUTHORITARIANISM

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Still nursing/babying myself. At 80, you do this. Cold much better. Another day should do it.

Yesterday was typical of a person on the mend. I read, watched TV, and napped. A lot of napping.

I took my time researching tonight’s blog talk radio show. Great topics! Authoritarianism and Trump, Gaddafi and the predicted Jihad that followed his death, an Israeli study showing marijuana an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s, Congress adding $64 billion to Budget Bill for Ukrainian neo-Nazi party, Saudi Arabia buying up water deprived farm land in California and Arizona, Uber getting into helicopters,and more.

June Nelson e-mailed me an article she thought would interest me. It did. I am going to talk about it a bit this evening on my blog talk radio show. I share the theme/tenor with you at this time.

It is an article in Politico. Titled: The One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You’re a Trump Supporter. It is by Matthew Mac Williams 1/17/2016. I recommend you read it. It can be found on www.politico.com.

Briefly, authoritarianism is a blind submission to authority. The authoritarian leader generally having a short tenure. It is the opposite of Democracy. It involves the loss of individual freedom.

Authoritarianism has been studied by social scientists since the rise of Nazi Germany.

With authoritarianism, people rally and follow a strong leader, respond aggressively to outsiders (especially when feel threatened). Things such as I will make America great again, build a wall on the border, close the mosques, bar Muslims, and the like.

An interesting article.

My blog talk radio show Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou is at 9 tonight my time. Join me for a quick moving half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

COHABITATION A CRIME

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Cohabitation is living together without benefit of marriage. Sex and/or passion presumed. Early in American history, cohabitation was a crime. Once in many States. Now, only three.

Florida is one of three. Conviction means a fine up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.

No one has been charged and/or convicted of cohabitation in ever so long. An antiquated law. No one pays any attention to the law. Properly so.

Yet, Florida has been trying to get the law off the books for years. The State Legislature fails to cooperate. Another try is in the works this year. Why can’t Florida get the law off the books?

I stayed in all day nursing my cold.

Spent the afternoon writing this week’s KONK Life column Late Night Diner. The story of Edward Hopper and Nighthawks. A little Hemingway and Jack Baron included. The column publishes wednesday.

WOW, is it cold! Low last night 60. 63 at the moment. High today 65. My body picked a good time to get a cold!

Syracuse/Duke tonight. At Duke. Duke a 10.5 point favorite. I will be watching. I am fighting depression this season.

The World Almanac section of today’s Key West Citizen has a pointed quote by the French philosopher Baron de Montesquieu: “Not to be loved is unfortunate, but it is an insult to be loved no longer.” Right on as to a dumped lover or spouse.

I have three appointments today. Dentist, physiotherapy and doctor. Have to cancel all three. The cold controls.

Enjoy your day!

 

SUDAFED

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I bought Sudafed for my cold. Interesting how it works.

The pill is non-drowsy. The last time I took a cold pill, there were no no-drowsys for sale. The pill knocked you on your ass. Today’s pill obviously much better.

The pill is good for four hours. Then almost immediately, the symptoms return. A negative.

I will stay home today and continue nursing myself.

The only item on the agenda is to write this week’s KONK Life column. Research completed. Ready to go. Title: A Late Night Diner. The story of Edward Hopper’s famous painting Nighthawks.

Getting sexy with the column. I will run a picture of the subject matter. A first time thing. It will be a picture of the Nighthawks painting. Most will immediately recognize the work.

Crazy weather. Yet, typical January. Problem is we are spoiled. Januarys have been great weatherwise the past four years. This January a tough one.

You live long enough in Key West, you develop your own sensors as to what the weather will be. For me, it is the two palm trees on my deck. Maybe a half dozen times a year, they bend northward. Means the wind is coming from the south. A guaranteed storm!

Yesterday, the palm tress were bending north, wind from the south. Actually, southwest. I noticed this when the sun was shining and the wind moderate.

There is a tornado out there somewhere. Came up on Florida from the southwest. The wind started in the middle of the night. Loud! Weather reports indicate gusts 39 miles per hour. This morning cloudy. The winds still at a good speed, though less than 39 mph.

Weather report says high today of 79. Terrific! However, tonight it will drop to 60 degrees. Cold! It will stay generally cold the rest of the week.

I feel bad for tourists who catch a bad week. All that money and they sit cuddled up somewhere trying to keep warm.

Syracuse beat Wake Forest decisively yesterday 83-55. Duke monday night.

Enjoy your Sunday!

PROJECTS MOVE AT SNAIL’S PACE

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My cold first. No better. Worse. Going to shower and go buy something over the counter to relief symptoms.

Key West does not get things done in a timely fashion. When it finally gets to a project, the costs are much more than anticipated.

Monroe County is guilty of similar sins. Especially in the lowers Keys.

The big news this morning is that Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores. More than half in the United States and a significant number in Brazil. Appears not to be a big deal. The cut backs represent less than one percent of Wal-Mart’s global revenue. Wal-Mart has 11,000 stores worldwide. The dent by reason of the closings insignificant.

A Wal-Mart has been scheduled for construction up U.S. 1. Not far from me and Key West. Everyone excited.

Where is the store? Construction not even started. Three years so far since the announcement.

I recall an article in the newspaper a couple of month’s ago that things were moving slowly. No one particular person’s fault. Enough guilt to go around.

It is a project in Monroe County. Monroe Country should ride herd on it and make sure things move. Enough of the excuses.

Key West the worst. The Truman waterfront property has been in the works 15 years. Ground breaking finally late last year. I do not believe any actual construction has begun.

Fifteen years has to be a record!

The Key West City Commission has the obligation to ride herd on projects within the City. No excuses. The City Commission is in charge.

I fear Wal-Mart is going to pull out and the Truman waterfront never gets done.

Between sneezes, a running nose and watering eyes yesterday, I researched for a column topic for this week’s KONK Life. Have not zeroed in on one yet.

Search your heart. Be generous. There but for the grace of God could go you and I.

Today’s Crime Report in the Key West Citizen tells of a 22 year old homeless person who was arrested in the 600 block of Duval yesterday for panhandling. He had $1,000 in cash in his pocket.

Syracuse plays Wake Forest at noon. I have no idea who will win.

Cruz’s $1 million loan from Goldman Sachs has come under scrutiny. Trump says he feels sorry for Cruz. However, the matter should be investigated and he hopes Cruz has no problem.

Cruz is not that old. I was not aware he was so rich he could borrow $1 million dollars and do it on margin. A high roller. Or, something amiss.

My concern is Trump and his banking. He has borrowed everywhere and in voluminous amounts. His projects very costly. The media should look into his banking record.

Fair is fair.

Enjoy your day!

BIKE RIDING IN KEY WEST

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Bicycle riding a problem in Key West. A problem for bike riders, cars and pedestrians. Anyone who says it is not does not, does not know what he/she is talking about.

Note the State of Florida gives Key West a ranking as the top Florida city for fatal crashes involving bikes. ‘Nuff said.

Key West has hired a Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. His name Chris Hamilton. He comes to us from Virginia where he was involved with transportation issues. Says he has been visiting Key West for 20 years. He is now living on Stock Island and rides his bike to work at Habana Plaza on Flagler every day. No problems.

Hamilton claims it is a joy to bike ride in Key West. He always feel safe.

Respectfully, Hamilton does not know what he is talking about.

The bike problem is not on Stock Island or Flagler. It is primarily in Old Town and on Northern Boulevard. I suggest he ride his bike on Simonton from Caroline to Front late afternoons between 5 and 6. Duval in the afternoon. The length of Caroline, also.

It is an obstacle course. for vehicle drivers trying to avoid hitting tourists bike riding. Includes families with young kids and seniors who have not been on a bike in 50 years.

The problem is not with local bike riders. It is with the tourists. Don’t tell me there are not enough tourist bike riders to be a problem. Check the number of bicycles rented daily in Old Town.

I have a cold. I have not had one in years. A head cold. My fault. This has been a cold and wet week. I am on the anti-gravity treadmill five days a week. Raise a big sweat.

I immediately leave the building when I am done. Sweating away and no jacket. The car a 100 feet away. Normally, no problem. In this week’s cold, a big problem.

I deserve the sneezing and stuffed head I am undergoing this morning.

No treadmill for me today.

Immediately following the treadmill, I was at Lori’s getting a haircut. Still sweating.

Last night, a new experience. An English speaking opera at The Studios of Key West. A Thousand Splendid Suns. The lives of females in a Muslim country. Very subservient. Forcibly so.

The opera a work in progress. We only saw the first act. There is more to come at some time.

I went to learn about female life in an Arab nation. I learned nothing new. The ill treatment of women shown was what is already known by most. It was hard for me to follow the forceful singing. The sheer volume deafened the sound.

I am being critical, I guess. The story took too long to tell. I actually dropped off in sleep two times.

I compliment the Studios for offering this performance. Key West is bare of opera activity. I also compliment the performers. In spite of my negative comments.

Dinner followed at Hot Tin Roof.

Kissing is the title of this week’s KONK Life column. A history of kissing. The article was linked to my Key West Lou website this morning. It is also carried in today’s E-Blast.

I will not be doing my usual friday noon 15 minute radio interview with Don Riggs today.

Enjoy your day!