I am twittering!

Started yesterday!

A bit confusing.

Follow me also on Twitter if you are a member.

Key West Lou is my username. What else!

Yesterday started with a walk along Smathers Beach. I am adding weight. Treating myself too well. Overeating. I have to get back into good health big time!

It is difficult to do.

Some paper work at home after the walk.

Followed by cuban toast at Lucky Day Cafe.

Decided to spend some time meditating on the beach. Selected Smathers again. Found a lone palm tree at the far end of the beach. Planked my sand chair down in the shade of that tree. And thought. And read the newspapers.

The Hemingway look a like contest is over. The gent who won was in his twelvth year of trying. There were a total of 123 contestants this year. Wow!

This past weekend was the Baseball Hall of Fame induction at Cooperstown. It remindedd me of Sergio Sanchez.

Serge is my cousin through marriage. A Conch. Born and raised in Key West. His family are Castilian Spanish. Came over from Spain and settled in Key West in the 1840s.

High school baseball is big in Florida. Serge was a star pitcher on the Key West team while in hight school. His team played against a North Miami team for the State Championship. Serge pitched the game. Opposing him as pitcher for North Miami was Steve Carlton.

Serge won 2-1.

Carlton went on to a professional baseball career and the Hall of Fame.

Serge did two tours of duty in Vietnam and then became a math teacher in the Key West school system. He is now the head of the math department for the Monroe County School District.

About 10 yeas ago, Carlton was elected to the Hall of Fame. Serge mentioned he wished he could be there. Those were the days when I had some influence. I arranged for Serge to attend Carlton’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

Serge and his stepson, who was attending the U.S. Naval Academy at the time, had a private breakfast the day before the induction with Carlton at the Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown. They met many baseball luminaries at the time, including Yogi Berra. The next day Serge and his wife Karen sat in the front row of the ceremonies as Carlton became a member of the Hall of Fame.

A nice thing for Serge. A nice thing in every respect.

I take advantage of Serge on occasion. He has taught every student who has gone through the Key West school system. They all remember him and like him. Occasionally I have been stopped for speeding in Key West. Always a young police officer. At some point I politely ask if they know Sergio Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez? is the reponse. I say yes. Then I add, he is my cousin. The atmosphere changes. I am immediately told what a great guy he is. And after a few more kind words, I am on my way having made a new friend and, of course, no ticket.

There was an historical note in the sports section of the Miami Herald. Concerned professional basketball player Rony Seikaly. It was July 27, 1989. Seikaly was in his second year playing center with the Heat. He could not make foul shots. That was the thrust of the article.

Seikaly went to Syracuse. I watched him play there for four years. He could not make foul shots at Syracuse either.

Seikaly never improved at foul shooting. Never the less, he had a distinguished career in pro basketball.

I was reading the Miami Herald yesterday anticipating the article regarding hurricanes and drinking in Key West. You will recall a reporter interviewed me and some others at the Chart Room friday night. She thought the article would be in monday’s paper. No article. I shall continue buying and reading the Miami Herald this week till it appears.

Blood work this morning. I have been fasting. Maybe I should have blood work every day. Then I would not eat so much.

Enjoy your day!

2 comments on “

  1. That's a great story about your cousin Lou! He should be considered every bit of a hero that Steve Carlton is. Two tours in Vietnam and devoting his life to education is quite admirable……and this is coming from a rabid baseball fan.

    Matt
    Boston,MA

  2. Lou that was great what you said about Serge…he was my math teacher at Horace and taught me about bullying. There was a girl in my class that would get bullied and he told me I need to watch out for her. When people would say not so nice things about her I would always say you better leave her alone because you wil have to deal with Serge eventually they left her alone…I don't think she ever knew why. He had a kind heart and I never forgot that.
    Susan
    Dallas, Texas
    sdburrow@verizon.net

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