Another glorious sun rise this morning!

I figured out why I am noticing the rising sun more often lately. It’s because I am staying in bed later! With not going out waiting for my dental work to heal, I am remaining in bed longer in the morning.

The big hit of my yesterday was Sloan’s visit last night. We got a lot of work done in two hours. She was my only personal contact with the world yesterday.

Today will be different. I have a hair appointment with Lori. Need a haircut! I will let her do the talking. Afterwards, I may, no, I will, stop at the Plantation Coffee House. Just for a cup of coffee. I could not handle my usual toasted bagel. No way!

Then probably a visit with Lisa.

I was disappointed with the responses to yesterday’s blog regarding Petunia’s death. No one mentioned Petunia, how sad they might be, etc. My grandchildren Robert and Ally feel bad. Maybe you have to be a child to appreciate these things.

Revolt is upon us! Rebellion is in the air! Conch Republic days are on the way.

There was a time when the citizens of Key West were pissed at the Federal Government. So they seceded. Only for minutes. Called themselves the Conch Republic.

This event is celebrated yearly. Starts Friday and lasts ten days. A ton of events.

This Saturday is the Drag Rac on Duval. Funny!!!

Then a week from Saturday is the best of the best. The bloody battle between the Conch Republic and the United States. A real battle. Off Ocean Key and Schooners Wharf. Conch pirate ships. Crewed by men in pirate attire and ladies in bikinis. They have a water battle against ships of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rotten vegetables and fruit are thrown by the Conch vessels upon the Government boats. Both sides have forceful hoses which they shoot at each other.

There is an air battle at the same time. World war I bi planes comprise the Conch Air Force. Navy jets from Boca Chica the U.S. planes. The bi planes bomb the Border Patrol vessels with rolls of toilet paper. The rolls unravel as they fall upon the ships.

A guaranteed good time!

Donna and Teri left me a message yesterday. They were some where in Tennessee. Strange way to be driving to Los Angeles. Knowing them, they will zig zag across the country making several multi day stops along the way. They are seeing the USA. And not in a Chevrolet. A small foreign car instead.

Enjoy your day!

Petunia has died.

A long time Keys resident. Much admired.

Petunia spent most of her life on Stock Island. At the Monroe County Jail. The petting zoo and animal farm portion.

Petunia was a pig.

John Desantis is a staff writer/reporter with the Key West Citizen. In a front page article yesterday, he spoke of Petunia’s death.

For those unfamiliar with the zoo, it is maintained by the prisoners at the jail.

Key West dances to a different tune in many respects. An  example is its daily newspaper. The Key West Citizen. Yesterday’s front page news was all local. Not one bit of national news.

The front page articles were a story about the Governor being ready to sign a bill to upgrade Keys sewer projects, a large picture of two young girls holding a butterfly, the School Superintendent and alternative schools, the County Commission scheduled meeting to vote on new mooring rules, a political candidate forum, and John Desantis’ article on the zoo.

The national news was on page 7 across from the comic page. Probably where it belonged.

The valuable, the important, to Key West residents is that which is occurring locally. A factor recognized by the Citizen.  Those matters which affect them in a knowing fashion on a daily basis. The President, his security guards, Cuba, Romney and the like can wait. Till page 7.

The Citizen dances to the same tune as the citizens of Key West. A different one.

I am still home bound. I was tempted to step out last night for a time. A drink or two and some friends. But decided against it. I was not ready.

Enjoy your day!

Houses are colorful where I live.

I do not live in Key West itself. I am three islands up. 2.5 miles outside Key West. A hop, skip and jump!

Being landlocked up north, when I purchased a home in Florida it obviously had to be on the ocean. So I settled in Key Haven on the water. Water front homes are very few in Key West. The hotels own most of the ocean front areas.

I can see neighbors’ homes from my deck. There is a bright yellow one. Next to it a pale pink one. Then a light green one. Followed by a tan one. My home is basic in color. White.

Interestingly, very few homes in Key West itself are of color. Most are white.

I spent all of my day time Sunday at home. Read and watched TV.

Decided to go to Lisa’s for dinner. She had made a turkey with all the fixings. I could eat mashed potatoes covered with gravy. Which is exactly what I did! Delicious. No chewing required.

I was in bed early. Wanted to watch Mad Men at 10. Never made it. That is two weeks in a row I have missed the show.

Jenna telephoned last night. Told me Larry’s show was fantastic. A hit! Good going, Larry. Again, sorry I could not attend.

Enjoy your day!

I just saw the sun rise. A bright yellow ball behind a blanket of gray clouds. Beautiful.

I watched the sun rise from my bed. I am lucky. I can watch the sun rise from anywhere in Key West, including my bed. My bed looks out over the ocean through two glass sliding doors. I slept with the doors open last night. When I woke, the sun was creeping over the horizon.

Spent yesterday in. Much of it spent in bed. Some TV, some writing. Did a bit of reading, also. A new book. Drift by Rachel Maddow. It is about the United States being constantly involved in wars of late. I am not sure I like it yet. It is the writing style. Loaded with detail. Perhaps too much for my me. We shall see.

I look terrific. I have not shaved since Wednesday. My mouth appears a bit strange. I cannot chew. Which means I cannot bite.

I was supposed to attend Larry Smith’s show at St. Paul’s at 4 today. No way. Sorry, Larry. I had two ladies accompanying me. Jenna and Jean. A big night!  Larry and dinner afterwards. Gone!

Those of you who are local, go see and hear Larry’s show. I am sure it will exude his usual greatness.

Blending is not so bad. Last night I had a shrimp cocktail. I threw a dozen cooked shrimp on a bed of ice in the blender. Covered the shrimp with cocktail sauce. A bit of water. Voila! Shrimp cocktail! The night before I had a ham sandwich. A bed of ice covered with a lot of cold cut ham. Two slices of rye bread. Some mustard. Blended it. Twenty seconds later, a ham sandwich I could drink.

I am not crazy. Just inventive. Necessity is truly the mother of invention!

Today will be lived the same as yesterday. Not my choice.

Enjoy your Sunday!

I feel good this morning!

Let the band play and the trumpets roar!

I even slept last night.

Yesterday was not good. All day.

I hope the discomfort is now behind me. The blender is not. It will be with me a dozen more days. I consider the blender my best friend!

I did do one thing yesterday. Wrote next week’s column for KONK Life. My deadline was 5 pm yesterday. I had no choice.

The column concerned itself with oral arguments before the US Supreme Court regarding Obamacare last week. Seems the Court and attorneys involved missed the boat on one key issue. Cost. Everyone assumed there was one expensive cost to each person. Not so. The law provides for three different levels of payment.

Appears they all missed the boat. Appears also that no oned read the entire law. As Justice Scalia indicated from the bench during oral argument…..The law is 2,700 pages…..You don’t expect me to read them all.

The thrust of my column is that no one did their home work on the cost point. A shame.

I spoke three years ago on my radio show about the Lingerie Football League. Ladies play in bra and panties. Don’t recall writing about it.

The news this morning is that the League will not be playing the 2012 season. They are skipping over to 2013.

I  thought some of you might be interested in the information.

Enjoy your day!

THERE WILL NOT BE A LIVE INTERNET SHOW TODAY. THE KEY WEST LOU LEGAL HOUR WILL NOT BE BROADCAST.

Instead, a rerun of the audio portion of a past show will be broadcast. No visual.

I am out of commission. Dental work again yesterday. Not as bad as in the past. It is the aftermath which is causing me difficulty. I did not sleep all night. The pain pills are making me sick. Still bleeding. Etc.

The blender and I are dating again. For two weeks, my dentist advises. I am not permitted to chew.

I thought yesterday was the end of it all. I started this whole process January 7th last year. It is not.  I return in one week for removal of stitches. Then in two weeks for what I hope will be the final step in the implant insertions.

My day yesterday was nothing. The dentist in the morning and bed the rest of the day. Took pain pills of course which made me drowsy. A welcomed relief.

I have to get out at some point today. Need groceries. Those that are blender friendly. I did not expect to need the blender. I need fruit, protein drinks, and the like.

Sorry for the uneventful blog. But that was my day yesterday. And yes, it did suck!

Enjoy your day!

My day time quiet yesterday. Ran some errands. Read the papers and enjoyed a cup of coffee at the Plantation Coffee House. Rested. Otherwise, nothing.

Last night was another story, however.

The evening began as usual at the Chart Room. Lovely Emily bartending.

Captain Peter and Tracey at the bar. I have not seen the Captain in months. It was a pleasure running into him.

Captain Peter lives 2 miles out into the ocean. He moors his boat out there. Motors a rubber dingy back and forth.

The story came up about one of his dangerous trips home recently. It was late at night. As he was getting out of the dingy and onto his boat, he fell into the water. He could not get back into the dingy. The water was cold. About 70 degrees. He tried for two hours. Was feeling chilled and then cold. The thought that he might drown occurred to him.

And then, by act of God or pure luck, a boat came by. Peter yelled and was picked up.

He spent the rest of the evening in his bunk under blankets. He could not shake the cold feeling.

Peter should move his boat closer to shore. Actually tie it up some where around Schooner’s Wharf. Or better yet, become a landlubber.

A couple had come into the Chart Room and were seated to my right. Emily told me they were from upstate New York. We introduced ourselves. The couple was from Jamestown. Somewhere south of Buffalo. Upstate yes, but a four hour drive from my home town Utica.

The couple were John and Kim Ognibene. Both school teachers. John the sixth grade. Kim the first. They have two sons. One has already graduated from the college. The other in his last year.

Their second time in Key West. Last year their first. I suspect they are hooked on Key West. They will be back again next year..

As we were talking, John got excited and asked if I was Key West Lou. He has been reading this blog every day for a year!

Nice guy. A nice couple.

The people I spend a part of my life with each day have become characters in the blog. Emily, Captain Peter and Jean Thornton, for example. It was a pleasure for me to introduce all three to John and Kim. John already knew them from the blog. Wild!

I told Kim she must start reading my blog daily, also. If she can put up kindergarten children, she can certainly handle me.

Then it was over to Don’s Place. I knew Don would be there. It was Wednesday evening. Don plays golf in the morning into the early afternoon. Afterwards, he remains at his bar into the evening.

Don was there. Chatting with David.They are best friends. Rob at Don’s, also.

Don beat me up again regarding bocce and the number of prescribed pills I take. Thinks I should throw the pills out and live! I thought I was doing a good job at it. I appreciate Don’s concern, however.

Met a beautiful and interesting young lady at Don’s. Nikki. Twenty two years old. She had the breath of freshness about her.

Nikki is from West Texas. An artist. Why else Key West. She does Japanese animation. She works with pen and ink.

She is in love. Her boy friend was still at work at Home Depot. Nikki was waiting for him.

Nikki has to eat. She works on the side to support herself while she sketches. Two jobs. Across the street from Don’s at Wingmasters. A small diner type restaurant. She also works part time for a catering company.

Nikki is young. Not afraid of hard work. Has her sight set on her goals. And most importantly, she has the enthusiasm of a twenty two year old.

The world is hers for the taking.

Dentist again this morning. He already warned me I would hurt afterwards. I had my pain prescription filled yesterday.

Enjoy your day! I suspect mine will suck!

Yesterday a work day off and on till about eight o’clock. I had to prepare for Sloan who was going to work with me starting at six.

I did get out in the early afternoon for lunch at Hogfish. Then returned back home to continue working. Enjoyed fish and chips. Hogfish fish. Exceptionally good yesterday.

Donna and Terri are still here. They leave tomorrow after a two month visit. I shall miss them. They are good company. Their visits take the edge off living alone.

Yesterday was Donna’s birthday. I will not reveal her age. But will tell you she is now eligible for Social Security. A big party was planned for last night at La Te Da. The party to start at 9:30. I never made it. I told Donna at six when they were leaving for dinner with Lynda and Bob Frechette first that I would be too tired to clean up and go into town and party. My age affects me on occasion.

The other night as I was walking to Kelley’s, I noticed a new store in the 200 block of Duval. Two doors from Sloppy Joe’s and next to Irish Kevin’s. A Clog store. Nothing but clogs. All kinds and descriptions. The store excited me. I have worn nothing but clogs for five years, with the rare exception of boat shoes. Love them! I have clogs for every season. Summer and winter. The winter ones are fleece lined. Even have golf clogs which I did not like and used only once.

The store should do well. It is in the middle of the busiest block of Duval. It has to do well. The rent is probably $35,000 a month. For real!

I heard from Anna. The superb Italian cook. She had never had wings before her Key West visit. She enjoyed them at Kelley’s. She tried to make wings recently. They did not come out like Kelley’s. She said they lay in her stomach a whole day.

You have heard me mention Larry Harvey. He is the most loved gay person in Key West.

Larry celebrated his 91st birthday last week. This week he is in the hospital. Not well at all. Everyone say a prayer that Larry makes it.

Lynda Frechette is a dynamo. One of her talents is a column she writes advising everyone what is going on in Key West. This morning’s column had what Lynda describes as a pun. I found it to be an interesting one and share it with you…..A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Bad news yesterday. It was announced that Albertson’s was closing its Key West store April 28.

Presently there are three supermarkets in Key West. Publix, Winn Dixie and Albertson’s. Now there will be two. Albertson’s did a good business. Their prices cheaper than the other two. Sometimes by as much as 30 per cent. The key attraction to Albertson’s besides pricing was that it was open 24 hours and on holidays.

The closing is one of 13 Albertson’s which are being closed through out Florida. There has to be a message here. Probably that the stores were not making money. And further that groceries cannot be delivered as cheaply as Albertson’s had been doing.

Tomorrow is a big dentist day for me. Some gum cutting involved. However the last time I will confront pain in a process which started more than one and a half years ago. This time I will be prepared. I picked up the prescription for the pain killer I will need after the procedure yesterday. I am having it filled at Walgreen’s today. I will be popping a pill immediately when the dentist finishes tomorrow.

Enjoy your day!

Big day today. My Father’s birthday!

The magic number 98!

Wow!

Happy birthday dear Father. And much love.

Dad is still in relatively good shape. Lives with his lady friend Frances. Gets out to breakfast a couple of times a week. Dinner at least once. Goes grocery shopping with Frances. He pushes the cart. Hangs on to it for balance at the same time. He tells me my time is coming, I should learn from what he does.

Fathers never stop teaching.

His sister Mary passed on last year at 102. My Father is now the last of six children.

This blog begins with joy and sorrow. Joy as to Dad’s birthday. Sorrow as to the Sports Page Bar. It closed last night.

I was at the Chart Room when I heard of its demise. I hurried over for a last drink. I expected a crowd for the last evening. I was wrong. I was one of three customers.

The word is that it will reopen in a few days as another type restaurant. Without Patrick.

We shall see.

Lunched at Harpoon Harry’s yesterday. Then to Lee Nails for a pedicure and manicure by Tammy.

Tammy personifies the beauty of the Orient. A pleasure to look at. A nice person.

Wrote for a couple of hours.

Chart Room last night. Mary bartending. Ran into Jean and Frankie. Chatted a while. Stephanie is normally with Jean. Not last night. She was home packing for a trip she is taking this week to somewhere to visit friends.

Then my last visit to the Sports page Bar. Sad. I told one of the bartenders to save the Syracuse flag for me. It’s like taking the colors down.

I was dying for wings. Went over to Kelley’s and enjoyed a plate full.

The season as we call it in Key West is over. The tourist season runs to Easter Sunday. You can see its end by the traffic. Forty eight hours ago, it was heavy. Bumper to bumper in many places. Bicycle riders  all over. People dashing across streets. A dangerous time to be driving

Driving into town last night was  a piece of cake. Most of the tourists are gone. The few left will leave by Sunday.

Then quiet till June.

It is the same every year.

Sloan is coming over this evening. I have to spend the day getting ready for her. I am in the process of optimizing and opening new sites. A lot of work! Beyond me!

Enjoy your day!

Hello world!

Key West is bright and alive this morning! So am I!

To be contrasted with yesterday morning. I never made the egg hunt and breakfast at Lisa’s. I woke tired. Stayed in bed.

The egg hunt turned out to be at sunrise. Robert and Ally could not wait to see what the Easter bunny brought. It was too early for me.

When I finally got up, I realized I had forgotten to buy Easter baskets for the grandkids. I was off to Albertson’s. Albertson’s had a whole aisle of them. All sizes, all prices.

The baskets were lined up on shelves. The top shelf about four feet high. As I was picking at the baskets to decide which one, I committed a grievous error. I somehow knocked a whole shelf of baskets over and onto the floor. About fifteen of them.

It is called embarrassed.

Fortunately, there was a lovely young lady nearby who worked for Albetrtson’s. She came over, gave me a big smile, and said don’t worry. My shame immediately disappeared.

The baskets I selected were terrific. The grankids liked them. Lisa thought they were perfect.

No candy. Just several small toys right for their ages.

Afterwards, I went over to Home Depot. Walked again. One time around the store. I was still tired. Especially my legs.

Then drove to Plantation Coffee House. The Sunday papers!

I was seated across from a man who I sensed was a minister. From his dress. Black shoes, black socks, black pants, white shirt, and black tie. Not normal Key West attire.

He was chatting with Theo, Plantation’s owner. I could not help over hearing. Even participated a bit. The minister was interesting, though I did not always agree with his positions. I was a stranger to the group. Remained silent, except for the few incidental comments I made. I would like to run into the minister again and engage him in depth.

The Masters dominated most of the rest of my day. Great golf! Bubba Watson played extremely well. Some outstanding shots and putts. His emotion afterwards was warm and genuine. His victory is a life  changer for him and his family. The $1 million  plus prize is nothing compared to the endorsements he will contract for over the next few weeks. He will become a millionaire several times over!

Easter Sunday dinner was at Lisa’s, of course. Robert and Ally had been at a birthday party at the beach. They came home in wet bathing suits.Their hair was a mess from the water. Both looked cute!

Once changed, they started skate boarding in the house. They are not there yet. I give it another two days before they will be proficient.

Lisa out did herself as usual. The meal was fantastic. Fish and pasta. I miss the gazzad and sausage pie. Hope I spelled gazzad correctly. They are Easter foods from another life.

Enjoy your day!