It is claimed Winston Church made the greatest speech in modern history.

It was June 4, 1940, The British were trapped at Dunkirk and facing annihilation. His own party lost confidence in his leadership and urged him to sue for peace with Hitler. Churchill stood alone with the British people.

Churchill addressed Parliament that historic day. He thundered he and the British people would fight “on the landing grounds, and in the streets, and on the beaches, and in the fields, and in the hills. England will never surrender!”

Courageous words at a time when England was at its lowest ebb.

Years later, John Kennedy shared his impression of Churchill’s words: “He marshaled the English language and sent it off into battle.”

One of Hemingway’s better remembered statements: “An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”

Hits home for me!

For years, friday night was couples night. My former wife and I would go to dinner with two other couples. The people and conversation always the same. The conversation never deviated.

The ladies were close friends and pretty much dominated the conversation.

It became too much for me. The solution came soon. When we arrived where ever we were to eat, I had 3 Beefeaters on the rocks in rather rapid succession. Followed by at least 2 more during dinner.

No problems! I handled these evenings for years afterwards. Smiled through dinner. Uttered an occasional yes , how wonderful, really?

Made it through the night. Hemingway was absolutely correct.

Truman loved Key West and Key West loves Truman. How many times do I say it! Never boring. Always true.

On this day in 1950, Truman returned to Washington after a month’s rest in the Key West sunshine. Good for him!

McConnell was quick to respond to Biden’s friday announcement that he was appointing a Commission to study the Supreme Court.

McConnell came back with a swift statement that Biden’s move was a “direct assault on an independent judiciary!”

Makes me laugh.

McConnell is a whore. He speaks through both sides of his mouth on every issue. He led the war for 10 yeas to pack the Court from the Republican perspective. He accomplished it. The Court now is 6-3 with conservatives in control.

McConnell was open about his aim over the years. His party and many conservative groups wee constantly lauding him.

There is nothing democratic about a Court overloaded with members of one party. The correct mix should be 4-4 with the 9th jurist a swing vote. Like rolling dice to achieve.

The Democrats cannot permit the Court to remain as it is. Neither fair, balanced nor democratic. Unless some sort of packing is permitted, what Congress and the President may want to do is meaningless. The Court will continue to be the final arbiter leaning to the conservative right in most instances.

Note that a 9 member Court is not sacrosanct. There have been differing numbers in different periods of American history.

Last night was Cocktails at 7 with Cathy in Seattle. It had been a bit of time since we last met via Skype.

As usual, pleasant. Nice lady.

We touched on many subjects. Nothing boring.

Occasionally cooking becomes a topic. She has cooked her whole life. I am a newbie at it. She has helped me with many of the simple things like how to defrost frozen meats and fish, what to throw away out of the freezer after months of sitting there, how to prepare certain dishes, etc.

A new one came up last night.

Somehow we got into egg salad. I told her I did not like store bought. Nor did I enjoy making it myself. The egg boiling, cooling, removing the shells, was too much for me. Not from a labor sense. It forced me to do things that did not turn me on. Cathy came up with the solution! Buy already hard boiled and shelled eggs. Simple from that point forward to prepare egg salad.

The eggs Cathy recommended came with this morning’s grocery delivery. I plan on making egg salad this afternoon.

It amuses me how my years of legal training are of no value in my attempts at cooking.

Tomorrow a big day! A very big one! I am leaving the house. Going out into the world. Associating  with virus laden people.

Today marks my 411 day in self-quarantine. A good boy I have been.

I am now 2 weeks past the second shot. Doctor says go out and enjoy! Keep wearing a mask and social distancing wherever you can.

Enjoy your day!

A David and Goliath situation may be developing. Waste Management wants to increase its charges for residential and commercial waste hauling. Mid stream!

Waste Management has a 4 year contract. It ends this year. Its last day 12/31/21. Waste Management has advised the City it would like to increase it charges since whatever they are doing is bringing in insufficient funds.

The contract was negotiated in good faith. By both sides. A strange request. Waste Management is big business. If there is a problem at their end, they can absorb it. Key West cannot. It would result in a significant increase for trash removal neither side anticipated.

Key West residents have taken a massive beating this year due to COVID-19. Things are tough for the people of Key West, also. However Key West is not a deep pockets community that can absorb an increase at this time.

No way should the increase be agreed to. The City Commission must stand tall and reject Waste Management’s request.

Economists have consistently told us this year that the one percent made billions of dollars. Whereas the 99 percent zip. Waste Management should dip in its own pocket to take care of what is their problem.

Needless to say, negotiations for the new contract to cover beyond 12/31/21 will be interesting. The City Commission will be earning their pay with this one. Whatever, the City Commission should remain hard ass in negotiations and let the chips fall where they may. There is always another garbage collector out there who would love to have the Key West account.

Mom’s Tea Room in the news again. Mom’s was a happy whore house for years first in Key West and then on Stock Island. Mom’s popped up in the news this morning as part of Keys’ History. Mom’s Tea Room on Stock Island burned down this day in 1953.

Mom’s Key West operation initially was at 1016 Howe Street in Key West. She was closed down and moved to Stock Island.

Mom’s was owned by Mrs. Griffin aka Alice Reid. The Madam of Madams!

Mom’s was shut down several times. All at the behest of the U.S. Navy who thought the activity in the houses was immoral and a place where venereal disease was transmitted.

Local police did not care as the Navy did. In fact, nowhere on police books in both communities was Mom’s listed. Those were the days.

Two of Mom’s girls committed suicide. Cecilia Thompson Trunk in 1941 and Rita Brown 1952.

When arrested, Reid was charged the same each time. I mention it only because it fits into a sex scandal in our nation today. Reid use to import her working girls from out of state. Generally, Georgia. A federal crime. The charge was transportation across state lines for purposes of white slavery. “White slavery” referred to today merely as “sex.”

Keys residents care about “theirs.” Which includes fish in the oceans.

Tuesday, an 11 foot female sawfish weighing between 400-500 pounds was found dead near Marvin Key. The body was immediately transported to Port Chester, Florida to determine cause.

Sawfish are a protected species under the Endangered Species Act.

Had the sawfish been found alive but hurting, it still would have been sent to some facility with experts to care for her.

Matt Gaetz getting a lot of publicity recently. All of which it can be assumed he dislikes.

A most recent example of publicity involves a billboard on route 485 near Hub City. The billboard a picture of Gaetz with the following notation below it: “Matt Gaetz wants to ‘date’ your child.”

Marion Anderson is a famous Black singer of days gone by.

In 1939, she was denied use of Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. by  the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Anderson was one up on the white Daughters. She instead performed April 9, 1939 at the Lincoln Memorial.

Rudy Giuliani fueled many false stories during the campaign. Generally one percent truth. Everything else blatant falsehoods. Most of the ‘stories” told when he was Trump’s “personal attorney” and constantly in and out of the White House.

Georgia’s Lt. Governor blames Giuliani for the recent adverse voting legislation. He says Giuliani would sit for hours “blasting” Georgia legislative members with phony information re ballot fraud.

The legislative members bought it. The result the new legislation which is an insult to all Americans, white or black.

Recall John Boehner (R-Ohio) when he was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was part of the group successful in impeaching President Clinton.

Boehner now several years into retirement. Wrote a memoir: “On the House: A Washington Memoir.” In it he clearly states he regrets not fighting against the impeachment: “I was not on board at the time, I won’t pretend otherwise. But I regret it now. I regret that I didn’t fight against it.”

Boehner claims Representative DeLay pushed for the impeachment. DeLay was #2 in the House at the time. He claimed the impeachment would help Republicans win more seats in the next election.

I have not enjoyed Cocktails at 7 in a while. Tonight a return to the festivity.

The lady in Seattle is Cathy. Cathy was visiting Key West 2 weeks ago. We have never met. We are pandemic virtual friends.

Carol wanted me to have dinner with her, etc. I refused, explaining my time in self-quarantine was not over. Ergo, I passed. Makes me wonder if the opportunity will ever arise again.

Enjoy your day!

Religion has been known to do more harm than good. From the Crucifixion of Christ to the Spanish Inquisition to the Crusades to the Salem Witch Hunt to religious conservative groups in modern day politics.

The Catholic Church a present day example.

Saving souls does not mean suppressing the vote in Georgia.

Major Catholic funders and power brokers are among those spearheading voter suppression efforts. Conservative Catholic philanthropists and pro-life leaders are key players behind efforts to limit voter access in a number of states.

Their efforts could obstruct the right to vote for economically marginal populations and racial minorities for years to come.

A number of Catholic organizations and donors pumped millions into the 2020 Presidential election and Georgia’s January Senate run offs.

The Catholic organizations and donors remind me of the inquisitors who sat in judgment of Joan of Arc. Hard headed and blind doing what they believe is God’s work.

In the wake of the 2020 Presidential election and Georgia’s January run offs for 2 Senate seats, a number of Catholic lead organizations and donors pumped millions of dollars into voter suppression efforts. Under the banner of “election integrity.”

Not all Catholic organizations and political donors are guilty. There are many who view voter suppression initiatives as a betrayal of Catholic values and a perpetuation of the false claims by Trump that the election was stolen.

The list of the anti-Christ types include organizations and persons whose names are not well known. The Susan B. Anthony List is one. A pro-life advocacy organization that together with other related entities committed to spending $52 million spearheading Trump’s pro-life activities in the 2020 election.

Individual donors sit on major public boards and those religiously based. Providing opportunities where from their own pockets or those of a board millions can legitimately be funneled into the coffers of those working to suppress voter participation laws.

Ernest Hemingway in the news big time in recent days. The PBS Ernest Hemingway 3 day 6 hour series Conversations with Hemingway one.

Notation by many that on this day in 1928, Hemingway and his wife Pauline arrived in Key West for the first time on the Peninsular & Occidental steamship from Havana. A 1 or 2 day visit turned into 10 years.

Eudie Pak wrote The Many Wives of Ernest Hemingway which was published in Biography 3/20/19. Pak did an update which was published in Biography 4/6/21. An interesting article.

As is well known, Hemingway in a career spanning almost 40 years enjoyed the company of 4 wives. Whether married or not, he was rarely without a woman by his side.

Hemingway’s 4 wives were Hadley Richardson, Pauline “Fife” Pfeiffer, Martha Gellhorn, and Mary Welsh.

Certain of the wives formed a bond. Wife #4 Mary Welsh described the “wife group” as “Hemingway University.”

Trump has finally spoken re Matt Gaetz. His comment was limited to he never discussed a pre-emptive pardon with Gaetz.

Trump believes he is the Almighty. Right or wrong, can do anything he wants.

He is doing it again. The repetitive credit card charges. Trump believes they are proper. He intends to begin using the same method once more to raise funds.

Not the best of mornings. I fell. Been a while since I have fallen. Stubbed my toe going up the stairs. I was almost to the top. I was carrying in one hand a large plastic glass containing a chocolate protein drink.

The drink is all over the carpet and on the wall. Ten feet high on the wall.

The wall doesn’t look bad. A Picasso.

Of course, I got hurt. My right knee bleeding. My head and neck ache. My forehead hit the wall and must have bent my head and neck back.

Tell you why this happened. A friend recently sent me a book on how to avoid falling. I began reading it. The subject matter not exciting in itself. I should have finished. I will now.

Too late to have helped me this morning, of course.

Enjoy your day!

Will we ever have true gun safety? Gun safety significantly better than today. Not merely something peddled as “gun safety.” A real move forward in correcting a problem contributing to the death of Americans every day.

Gun safety has a tendency to move backward when it should be moving forward. Iowa the latest example.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law permitting residents to buy and carry guns without permitting required.

Specifically, the law eliminated the requirement for law abiding Iowans to obtain a permit to purchase a hand gun from private non licensed sources. Additionally to carry a weapon, Iowans will no longer need to have a permit.

Big day in Sloppy Joe’s history!

On this day in 1935, Joe Russell moved his bar from one location to another. His original bar was on Greene Street, a few doors off Duval. Where Capt. Tony’s is located today.

Joe had a rental dispute with the landlord. He opted to move instead of paying the increase in rent.

The new location remains to this day the site of the world famous Sloppy Joe’s. Located on Duval at its intersection with Greene Street.

Joe’s friends, including Ernest Hemingway, helped him move. They participated in carrying everything from the old location to the new one.

There are so many Hemingway stories. Each pleasant in and of itself.

Hemingway said following the publication of A Farewell to Arms, “I rewrote the ending to Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, thirty nine times before I was satisfied.”

No wonder A Farewell to Arms and his other publications were so well received. Perfection in expression!

I am not happy with Joe Manchin. My disapproval for his methods is growing. He has become a squeaky wheel, power mover, and obstructionist. An opportunist as well. He immediately recognized the value of his one vote in a divided Senate and is using it to advance his causes, whatever they may be.

He is grabbing “the reins of history.” A phrase he once use in a statement regarding himself and West Virginia: “I want each and every West Virginian to have bragging rights. I want to stop playing defense and start playing offense. So, together, let us grab the reins of history.”

Matt Gaetz reminds me of the old Christian song that begins “Onward Christian soldiers.” Every day a new “fact” in his story.

I have wondered why Gaetz did not approach his “friend” Donald Trump for a pardon. Turns out he did. It was refused.

Wow! If Donald wouldn’t do something for him, who would?

Enjoy your day!

Frederic Remington still lives. Through his works. His art, sculpturing and writings will be as famous 100 years from now as they are today.

He is a Hemingway. Eternal. Both having had a connection to Key West. Though Hemingway’s time much longer.

Remington made his fame and fortune in the old west. A transplant of sorts. He was born and raised in Canton, New York. Near the Canadian border.

Cowboys, Indians, the land and its people simply stated turned Remington on. He loved painting the old west. He is best known to day for his sculptures of cowboys and Indians. Close your eyes and see a horse standing on his hind legs with a cowboy seated waving his hat.

Nothing is forever. By 1890, the old west was fading big time. Almost totally gone.

The 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee marked the last big clash between the U.S. Army and the Indians. By 1894, Remington stopped traveling west. Everything he had known was gone. It was a new day.

Remington spent time working in his studio in New Rochelle, New York. Whether a painting, sculpture or writing, all were done from memory.

Harper’s gave him an assignment which took him to Florida. His assignment was to write about Florida’s cowboys, cattle and the land.

He disliked all. None similar to the west of old. The cowboys did not sit tall in the saddle and appear to be tough guys. None the heroic images of he old west.

The cattle were not the husky animals he viewed on the western plains. Skinny in comparison. Remington described them as “scrawny creatures not fit for a pointer-dog to mess on.”

The land the worst comparison wise. No mountains, deserts and canyons. Only scrub lands.

He returned to New York. After a brief stay, an assignment arose which would take him to Key West and Cuba.

Tensions existed between the  U.S. and Spain. Spain owned Cuba. Cuban revolutionaries in the mountains were causing the Spanish havoc.

Remington first visited Key West in 1890. William Randolph Hearst owned the New York Journal. He sent a wirier by the name Richard Harding and Remington to Cuba. It took a while for them to make it. They were stuck in Key West for three weeks.

Hearst had the fastest speedboat in the world at the time. Called Vamoose. Vamoose was to take Harding and Remington from Key West to Havana for a meeting with revolutionaries.

Two reasons offered why the had difficulty getting to Cuba.

The ocean was rough. Three times the trip was attempted. Three times it could not make it and had to return to Key West. There is a second reason. The Spanish fleet had blockaded Havana harbor which prevented Vamoose from breaking through.

Only one of the two reasons is accurate. Historians are split. Some believe it was the blockade that prevented Harding and Remington from reaching Havana. A fact that Hearst’s ego and reputation could not stand. No way anyone or anything could stop Hearst from doing what he wanted.

Whatever, Harding and Remington eventually got to Cuba. They took the steam boat like everyone else.

The two spent 3 weeks in Key West attempting to make the trip to Cuba. It was a wonderful three weeks for them. Harding and Remington were “gentlemen” of the day. Brought all the social niceties of New York with them. When recollecting those 3 weeks, Remington referred to them as “three years.” Insinuating they wee that good.

They were guests at dinner parties, luncheons and informal receptions ashore and on war vessels. They were social hits! The ladies were fond of them. The two brought charm and comradeship with them. Relationships were made that lasted lifetimes.

Harding and Remington returned home.

Remington detested Key West itself. The people wonderful, the City not so. He called Key West a “dusty smelly bit of sandy coral, and the houses built like snare drums; they are dismal thoroughly, and the sun makes men sweat and wish to God they were somewhere else.”

Hearst sent Remington back to Key West. This time to await the Spanish-American War. As far as Hearst was concerned, it was inevitable.

Remington sat around for quite a while waiting for the war to begin. His job was to do illustrations of the fighting once it had commenced.

Hearst was rabble rousing the war in New York. He had the north in a pro-war frenzy. Remington while waiting had made it to Cuba. He did not believe there would be a war and was sick of Cuba. He wired Hearst: “Everything is quiet. There is no trouble. There will be no war. I wish to return.”

Hearst responded: “Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”

Hearst was obviously correct. The Battleship Maine was sunk in Havana harbor in 1898.

No one has ever suggested Hearst had any direct involvement in the sinking of the Maine.

Greed was the motivating factor why Hearst wanted the war. It would improve circulation of his newspaper.

Remington was there for the war. A close friend was Teddy Roosevelt. Remington went up San Juan Hill in close proximity to Roosevelt.

Remington did not enjoy the war. He personally hated war. The death and heat were too much for him. On top of which, he came down with yellow fever.

He returned home. His thirst for war and killing satiated. He said, “From now on, I mean to paint fruits and flowers.”

Big entertainment evening last night. The PBS show re Hemingway and the Championship Game of the Final Four.

I am a Hemingway fan. More precisely, fanatic. I was first introduced to his writings in college. Those works I did not read at the time, I consumed over the next 10 years.

Spending almost 30 years in Key West, I have further become familiar with Hemingway. His personal habits, tastes, etc.

I did not enjoy the PBS show. Too may facts crowded into 2 hours. Expansion of some parts was required.

My mental expansion re Hemingway hit speed here in Key West. A lot of people living here who knew him personally or who knew those close to him after his death. Those who knew him personally were children at the time.

One was Dink. He died last year. His father was one of Hemingway’s personal friends, his driver and a fishing buddy. A drinker, also. Dink died last year.  He still had a room full of boxes containing Hemingway works which his father had left to him.

A Hemingway discussion generally works its way to his sexual tastes. As PBS slid over last night, his mother frequently dressed him in girl’s clothes. One of his wives was a lesbian. The question always comes down to whether he was in some form bisexual.

No one knew. No historian had ever come up with the answer.

The PBS show was at 8. On another channel immediately before the PBS show was the film A Farewell to Arms. Magnificent! Made in 1932. One of Gary Cooper’s finest performances. Emotions galore.

Then came the basketball game. Baylor/Gonzaga. Baylor won 86-70. The game interesting. No where as good as Gonzaga/UCLAS two nights earlier.

Tuesday comes around rapidly each week. My blog talk radio show tonight. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time.

You’ll love it! Join me! www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

The title to this blog is also the title of a 4/3 New York Times article authored by Shane Goldmacher.

Somehow, I missed it 2 days ago when it first appeared. I do not recall seeing it anywhere at the time.

The information about to be shared first came to my attention early today on Morning Joe. Thought it significant. Did some research. Again, the New York Times article the only one I came across.

The New York Times article lengthy. I suggest you read it for complete details.

Basically involved is a simple fraud scheme.

It began in September and October during the campaign. Biden’s operating funds were going thought the roof. People were contributing to  him big time. Trump’s on the other hand went in the opposite direction. Contributions were down! Not enough was coming to to compete with Biden.

The same scenario about to be described was also utilized following Trump’s defeat to finance among other things Trump’s need for money to fight the fraudulent ballots.

The cry went out in each instance for more money. Trump’s supporters responded with small to large contributions. Credit cards were used. A one shot contribution situation.

One of the Republican/Trump groups requested the monies. The funds were handled/disbursed by a for profit group called Red Wing who processed the donations.

The sin involved is that the campaign organization and/or Red Wing processed the credit card contributions more than once. To be clear, a one time credit card contribution was put through several times over a period of one to two months.

An example is one contributor who donated a one time $500 contribution which in less than 30 days became $3,000. Or, a $5 one which after several transactions turned into multiples of the $5.

When people received their credit card statements, they noticed the improper charges and most contacted credit card fraud departments.

The amounts were outstanding! Big! The Republican entities involved moved as swiftly as possible to reimburse those who had been defrauded.

Numbers tell the story. In the last 2 months of 2020, Republican entities refunded $643 million to 530,000 contributors. There were other time frames and reimbursements. All in large numbers.

The Democrats had similar problems.  The article did not suggest the Democrats repeated chargings were wrong in any fashion. Numbers appear to support the conclusion. In the same 2 month period at the end of 2020 when the Republicans were refunding $643 million to 530,000 contributors, the Democrats refunded $5.6 million to 37,000 donors.

Something stinks. Something is wrong. The Republican scenario should be investigated. Those determined to be guilty in any sense should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The article suggests prominent persons include Trump and Kushner.

A special television night this evening. A doubleheader.

PBS has a 2 hour show beginning at 8 titled Conversations with Hemingway. The Championship Game of the Final Four beins at 9:20 on CBS when Gonzaga and Baylor face off.

I will be moving the remote control back and forth.

America loves the underdog. Also a person who once was great and then fell. America pulls for that individual to return to former glories.

Tiger Woods an example.

Another, Jordan Speith.

Speith began his career with a bang. Won 11 tournaments. Including 3 majors.

All of a sudden, he lost his talent in 2017. Never to win again till yesterday. Win #12. The Valero Texas Open. Speith previously went 82 consecutive tournaments without winning.

He seemed to be coming back 5 or 6 tournaments ago. Could not put it together to win on the final day, however.

He did yesterday. The purse $1.8 million.

The Masters is this weekend. Speith will be among the favorites. He’s back!

Numbers always reflective. A study was done comparing “working” Wall street persons (the people on the floor, staff help) and their hourlies to “minimum wage workers.”.

The study indicated that the minimum wage would be $44 an hour if it had grown at the same rate as Wall Street bonuses. Which, for example, averaged $184,000 in 2020. The number reflecting a 10 percent increase from 2019.

Since 1985, bonuses increased 1,217 percent. The $44 an hour figure appears again. If the federal minimum wage had grown at the same rate, it would be $44 an hour today.

The study also reflected an additional downside for minimum wage persons. The pay gap made the social and gender pay gap worse. White men dominated the Wall Street employee force.

I am in my last week of self-quarantine. In Willie Nelson’s words, I’ll be back “on the road again” sometime this weekend.

Hurrah!

Enjoy your day!

Happy Easter!

“He is not here, He has risen. Just as He said.” Matthew 28.6

One of the most revealing events in Christian history.

Gonzaga/UCLA perhaps the most perfect and exciting college basketball game ever played. Gonzaga won in overtime when its star player hit a long 3 pointer precisely at the moment time was to expire.

Today will be a quiet one for me. A lounging around morning. A holiday meal Lisa will send over. I am still in self-quarantine. Six days to go.

Plan on finishing a book I began 3 weeks ago and never got back to.

A couple of movies and a nap at some point.

Easter 2021 for me.

Whatever your religion, may your God hold you in His Hand.

Enjoy the day!

Key Westers are a loving caring group. The story about to be shared appeared in yesterday’s KONK Life. Unquestionably proof of the loving and caring people who reside in Key West.

In January 2020, Angie Majors was taking a Key West Cemetery stroll. She noted the grave sites of many babies. Babies in years gone by who died. Now forgotten.

Many of the graves a 100 years old. Families long gone. The graves of the innocents unattended for many years. In a state of almost total disrepair.

The babies were mostly buried in the Passover and Windsor sections. One hundred sixty seven in all.

The 167 number at first glance may appear to be “no way.” Forget not however, 100 years involved. Recall also that couples had many children in years long gone by. To assist with living and helping to support the entire family as they got older. If they got older. Forget not that years ago many babies were born dead or did not survive even their first year. Disease was rampant, medical care not the same as today.

It was obvious the graves of the babies needed attention. A renewal of sorts.

Angie had a friend who was a former Key Wester. She had left and not returned for years. She was coming for a visit. She had a baby she lost who was buried in the Key West Cemetery. She was looking forward to visiting her baby’s grave site.

Angie was concerned and upset. No way could she leave the baby’s grave in the condition it was. The shock to the mother would last forever.

Angie got together with her friend Linda Downs. The two of them decided something had to be done. Not to just one grave. To all of the baby graves. They were all in the same condition. Needed help.

Angie and Linda soon learned that the total number of baby grave sites were 167. They assumed the task of seeing that all would be restored.

The two made a generous donation to get the work done.

Volunteers were found to assist. A local sculptor Craig Berube-Gray    created 2 benches. One for each section.

The grave sites were leveled, landscaped and a border installed to keep debris and dirt off the graves.

Volunteers assisted with the work.

Thursday a celebration was held to congratulate Angie and Linda for spearheading the restoration and the sculptor for Berube-Gray for the newly created benches.

The restoration of the grave sites is evidence once again of the goodness and thoughtfulness of Key West residents. It’s for real.

I miss Italian holiday meals.

Two specialties stand out. One cassata, the other sausage pie. Made the same way by my grandmother, mother, and former wife. Certain traditions never die.

Cassata is a ricotta cake of sorts. Candied fruits and shaved chocolate added.

The mixture baked in a big pan. A thick flour crust surrounding the mixed ricotta, etc. Top, sides, and bottom. At least a quarter inch thick. The cassata itself standing at least 3 inches high.

Such would be cooked the day before Easter.

Also prepared and cooked the day before was sausage pie. Again, a thick crust all around. Sausage chopped up inside. Herbs added. Baked in the over also.

The odor of the two treats cooking permeated the house.

The cooking completed, the two were left sitting to cool off. Then refrigerated overnight. Ready as a desert treat on Easter Sunday.

The cassata had one negative. As good as it was, as tasty, it sat in your stomach for hours. As did the sausage pie. Not complaining. Merely sharing.

Atlanta taking a beating. As it should. As all of Georgia should. The newly passed Georgian voting laws restricting access for people of color a disgrace in 2021.

Delta and Coca Cola first came out and nailed Georgia. Georgia retaliated. Told Delta a $1 million tax break under consideration was off the table.

Yesterday, Major League Baseball announced it was moving the All-Star game from Atlanta to another city.

The Blacks have never been better organized. And with a white President totally supporting them.

Republicans know they are a dying group. People of color have slowly been growing. Now a large vocal body. Ten years from now, the Republican Party may not even exist.

The question arises in my mind: Why didn’t Trump pardon his friend Gaetz?

I read this morning that Gaetz may soon be arrested. Word is “his friend” Joel Greenberg “has been singing to the feds.”

A researcher at Florida International University performed a study as to the clarity of Key Waters ocean waters in the time cruise ships have not been permitted entry. His determination: Key West water clearer with the cruise ships gone.

Enjoy your day!

Hemingway excitement begins monday! PBS is running a 3 part 6 hour series titled Conversations About Hemingway.

The film explores the life and work of the legendary man and his enduring influence on literature and culture.

John McCain was interviewed for the series prior to his death in 2018. The interview primarily discussed For Whom the Bells Toll and McCain’s hero, Robert Jordan.

McCain was 12 years old when he came upon the book. He read it in one sitting. Could not put it down. Hemingway’s Robert Jordan became McCain’s hero: “He was willing to fight and do whatever he could for the cause of justice and freedom. I always wanted to be Robert Jordan.”

The statement made me think McCain may have been the last All-American Republican. He represents the hope, dreams, and fiber of what was America.

Matt Gaetz. It seems like a story with no ending.

On this day in 1805, Hans Andersen was born. One of history’s most famous writers of fairy tales. In addition, Andersen wrote plays, travelogues, novels, and poems. He is best remembered however for his fairy tales.

Over the course of his lifetime, he wrote 156 fairy tales consuming 9 volumes. His fairy tales have been translated into more than 125 languages. His fairy tales accessible to children world wide. His fairy tales teaching them lessons of virtue and resiliency in the face of adversity.

His fairy tales in most instances are based on his adverse upbringing followed by success in adulthood.

Respectfully, Andersen was a nut. Not minimally. Big time.

He has been described as a wanker.

The man was obsessive. He kept a diary as to how often he shook the hands of his milkman. Entries such as “I had a double sensuous ++.”

Andersen never married. Celibate his whole life. He was pure and chaste, subject however to lustful thoughts.

He visited Paris brothels. Never actually had sex. Paid the ladies to sit and talk with him. Following which he would return to his hotel and record in his diary the experience.

Many were his unrequited loves. Involving both sexes. History is clear he never had a sexual relationship. His private journals record his refusal to have sexual relations.

His practice was to fall in love with unattainable women. He was shy around women. His attraction to men was the same as with women. No physical contact. No relationship went further than letters of endearment which he wrote.

Historians are clear Andersen never had physical contact with men. Such would have been contrary to his moral and religious ideas.

Some of his fairy tales were autobiographical. The Ugly Duckling is based on his own young life. He wrote subsequent to its publication that the “story is, of course, a reflection of my own life.”

He met Charles Dickens on a visit to England. They corresponded thereafter. Dickens invited him to visit England again ad stay as a guest in his home. A move Dickens late regretted ad infinitum.

The invitation was for 2 weeks. Andersen remained 5. Andersen’s wacky nature was in full bloom during the visit.

He told Dickens it was a Danish tradition that the oldest son of the person being visited was required to shave the guest every day. The request did not fly. Andersen and Dickens were both offended, for different reasons of course.

The matter was resolved by Dickens having Andersen visit a barber each day and Dickens paid for the shave.

Another time, Andersen received a rejection letter from a publisher. He threw himself face down on Dickens’ lawn and sobbed like a baby.

Following Andersen’s departure, Dickens wrote a note which he left in Andersen’s bedroom for all to read over the years: “Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks – which seemed to the family AGES!” The AGES capitalization Dickens’.

The friendship ended with the visit. Andersen wrote Dickens a few times. Dickens never responded.

Andersen had a lot of phobias. He was afraid of dogs. He was afraid of being buried alive. He was afraid of contacting the pig parasite illness trichinae.

Regarding the fear of being buried alive phobia, Andersen went to sleep each night with a bedside note: “I only appear to be dead.”

Andersen’s most famous fairy tales include The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Match Girl, Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, The Nightingale, The Red Shes, The Princess and the Pea, and of course The Ugly Duckling.

William Hackley had a bad day this date in 1856. Today in Keys History reported Hackley rose and took his usual long walk. He returned home to bathe. “There was no water in the tub or well so I could not bathe.”

The well went dry!

Appreciate today’s water systems.

Enjoy your day!

It was the late 1840s. Catholics a small group in Key West. Priests non-existent.

Prior to that time, a priest would suddenly appear unannounced. One or two times a year to administer the Sacraments.

Such is all that is available historically re the Catholic Church into the 1840s. No records were kept.

Key West was in the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia. Key West was the out post of the Catholic Church in the southern U.S.

Key West’s first Mass was celebrated on October 10, 1846. A priest from Havana said the Mass. It was celebrated in City Hall.

City Hall at the time was in a 2 story building erected over the water at the foot of Duval Street. The first floor of the building was a meat and fish market. The second floor City Hall.

The first Catholic Church was built on the southwest side of Duval about 100 feet from the corner of Eaton. The Church was dedicated in 1852. It was named the Church of St. Mary, Star of the Sea.

The building was enlarged in 1870 at which time a large pipe organ was installed.

The coronavirus of today was the scarlet fever of that time. The presence of the constructed Church meant priests were sent to service the Church and Catholics Key West. The priests ministered to all afflicted with scarlet fever.  Four priests died between 1861 and 1879 as a result of the fever.

Blacks in those early days were referred to as Negroes. Many members of the Church’s early congregation. Some free, some slaves.

Segregation existed in Key West back then. No human family as yet. The Negroes were assigned a part of the Church separated from the whites. The  house of God segregated.

A sparse but informative history. Not much more exists.

Sir Walter Scott in 1808 in the epic poem Marmion: A Tale of Flooden Field wrote “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

History’s shorten version: “Oh the web we weave, when first we seek to deceive.” The today version is in every trial lawyer’s stock in trade. I used it in summing up to a jury many many times. Caught a witness lying and threw the lie in his face with the words. Words a jury understood.

Matt Gaetz is tangling himself in a web. In a mere 48 hours. Every time he opens his mouth.

He better get a lawyer. And fast!

I am not going to run through each story he has rendered. Gaetz is much like the man he greatly admired. As with Trump, Gaetz’s story keeps changing every time he speaks. A word of truth surrounded by fabrication. The most recent the orgy added to the $25 million extortion plot and a U.S. hostage.

Last I read somewhere this morning, he claims the 17 year old girl does not exist.

One thing is obvious in the George Floyd murder trial. The defendant police officer Derek Chauvin better get new lawyers. His present ones are inept.

The defense team is permitting the prosecution to “get away with murder.”

Rules govern the type of questions an attorney may ask. If a question is out of line, opposing counsel will object and the judge will prohibit the question from being answered.

I have been watching parts of the trial. One thing is obvious. Chauvin’s counsel do not know when to object.

Many of the prosecution’s questions are leading. A no no.

Another type question goes to a witness’ state of mind. A witness may only testify to what the witness saw or heard. Many of the questions are framed in what did you think verbiage. Another no no. What a person thinks is not admissible in evidence. Think is not a fact. The thought subject to creation, change, etc. following an event. Does not portray the event based on having been seen or heard.

Sao Paulo, Brazil devised a new way the people of a community could prove loudly and clearly they thought their political leaders were full of it, doing an inept job, etc.

It was 1959. Students in Sao Paulo were tired of the city’s overflowing sewers and inflated prices. A city council election was being held. The students decided to run a campaign to elect a rhinoceros.

The rhinoceros won! Big time! By 90,000 votes! The people had expressed themselves!

The rhino’s name was Cacareco. A female. Her name in Portugese translated in English to “rubbish.” It was no bar to her election.

Elections a bit different in Brazil at the time. There were 540 candidates for 45 seats. Cacareco got 100,00 votes. Her nearest competitor 10,000.

Absolutely a protest vote!

The lady was not permitted to serve. She was animal and not human. Never the less, the students made a point.

Baseball opening day! Most of America excited. Considered by many to be the national sport.

Around 2 this morning, it was thought there was a problem at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. What appeared to be an explosive device was found outside between Terminals 2 and 3.

The airport was immediately closed down All flights placed on hold. All roads into the Airport closed.

It was determined at 7 this morning that whatever found was not an explosive. Everything back to normal. Except for many of he travelers who are stuck with rescheduling.

When I was young (up through high school), Easter Sunday was an event. Everyone dressed for church. Men wore suits. Even young Louis. Going to and returning from Church was like an Easter parade. Actually, it was.

Key West is holding its annual Easter Parade and brunch this Sunday. The public is invited.

The Parade will begin at noon. Begins at the Curry Mansion. Everyone will walk down Duval to La Te Da. For those who want to brunch, one will be available at La Te Da.

Ladies are invited to wear Easter bonnets. Men and women Easter finery.

Enjoy!

I continue to advise Florida’s Governor DeSantis is incompetent. Totally inept. For real.

About 10 days ago and just before Spring Break. he removed all COVID-19 restrictions. As he said, he was opening Florida to business.

Stupid because Florida has almost consistently the past several months been in the top three states infection wise.

It was announced yesterday that Florida presently has the most B.1.1.7 variant cases.

The variant cases are spreading through the U.S. like wildfire.

Florida has 11,500 cases of the variant.

The CDC announced this week also that a surge in new cases is expected. I believe Florida will see a definite increase in virus cases.

Thank you, Governor DeSantis!

Here I go again. Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West loves Harry Truman. His town. The same as Ernest Hemingway’s.

On this day in 1950, Truman’s wife Bess and daughter Margaret joined him at the Little White House.

Enjoy your day!