I lay by the pool yesterday working on my tan.

What a joke! The temperature never got out of the 50s!

I stayed in most of the day bundled up.

It is 55 degrees this morning. Going to get better though. A high of 70 is predicted for today.

I spent most of the day working on Friday’s radio show and writing.

Tomorrow’s show has many timely topics. Like incest. Can you believe! It is in the news! From Columbia University to Switzerland! One of the issues is the legalization of incest.

We live in a crazy world!

Other topics include the military officer who refuses another deployment to Afghanistan because he is a birther, Iran angered at the US because we refer to the area they are in as the Arab Gulf rather than the Persian Gulf, the Indonesian Catholic who is beat up because of her religion, airport security, the federal judge who found part of the health care bill unconstitutional and now it turns out he may have had a conflict of interest, Amanda Knox’s Italian appeal, the Indian boy who brought a religious dagger to class, a jilted bride who is suing her fiancee for damages after he dumped her, $30 million of Vatican assets seized by the Italian government, and more.

In addition to all of the above, I have two guests who I will be interviewing on the last two segments of the show. Terri White and Donna Barnett. I intend to zero in on the discrimination in their lives. Being black, being gay, being a woman and same sex marriage. You have no idea! Or, maybe you do.

Join me at 10 am tomorrow. Listen on the radio in the Florida Keys and Cuba on KONK 1500 AM. Watch and listen world wide on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/.

I skipped golf because of the cold. It was 48 degrees. Turns out I was the only one who failed to show up. I received many criticaal phone calls later in the day chastising and otherwise making fun of me.

I did hit the gym later in the afternoon. Good health is important. I am proud to report that I have lost 19 pounds in the past two months. I started a diet while in Phoenix. A couple of more pounds and I am done. Just in time for Christmas!

Dinner was at Lisa’s last night with the family.

Lisa had made some Christmas cookies. Robert and Ally helped her. They were eating them after dinner. It killed me! I wanted one desperately!

I had intended to go to Larry Smith’s show at the Bottle Cap at 9. Dinner was over at 6. Too long between the two. And too cold! I went home to my warm bed instead.

Spoke with Jenna this morning. She tells me the show went over well. A good crowd. Christmas caroles and rock ‘n roll. A Key West combination!

Tonight is a big night! For Terri White! She appears live at La Te Da’s Crystal Room at 9. The show is called Live From Broadway. Go see her! You have no idea the quality of her performance. You will be glad you joined her.

The spouses are both working tonight. Donna is showing her jewelry at the Stone Soup Gallery on White Street. Part of the Walk on White tonight. The showing is from 6-9. Beautiful pieces.

Enjoy your day!

On behalf of Key West and the Florida keys, I want to thank our northern friends for sharing their weather with us!

Today is the best! At the moment, it is 48 degrees!

I spent as much of yesterday as I could in bed. Not because I was tired. Because it was warm. My second floor is heated, the first is not.

I did go to the gym later in the afternoon. Worked out hard. Never broke a sweat. Too cold.

Jenna arived by prearrangement at my home at 5. We worked on Friday’s radio show.

When we finished, we went to La Trattoria for dinner. I should have called for a reservation. The place was packed. Erin said no room at the bar for at least an hour. People standing around for a table. I walked over to Becha an quietly asked if I could have a table for two. In moments, we were seated. Besides prompt attention, I also got a hug and kiss.

I was home by 9:30. Drove by Don’s Place on the way home. Saw Rob and Bebe at the bar. Was going to stop for a drink. Then I thought…..too cold! So I went directly home.

Poor Terri. She has a bad toothache. Dentist has her on antibiotics. She is going crazy. He can do nothing till the infection goes away.

Terri has a show tomorrow night at La Te Da’s Crystal Room. Live From Broadway! A rehearsal today. She will do it all. And no one will know. She is a trouper. The show must go on.

Today is Wednesday. Wednesday is golf day. Not for me today. Too cold! I chickened out. The rest of the group is playing.

I remember golf in the spring up north. We were all desperate to play. It was still cold. The snow had disappeared just a few days before. But…..we had to get out on the course!

My cut off temperature wise was 50 degrees. It had to 50 or better. Otherwise, I would not play.

I applied the 50 degree rule this morning.

Lisa is doing a good business for Christmas with her internet department store Via Key West. www.viakeywest.com. Take a walk through her store on your computer. You might find some interesting Christmas gifts to purchase.

Tonight is the Larry Smith Variety Show at the Bottle Cap. At 9. Larry and the lovely Jenna hosting. Christine and Kathleen singing Christmas caroles. Ray guest appearing with his crazy electronic guitar.

A show worth seeing! If the cold keeps you in, you can view the show on the internet at www.konkam.com.

Enjoy your day! Stay warm!

I will not complain about the weather here in Key West. The rest of the country is suffering much more. My hometown of Utica, NY is buried in snow. The temperature is 11-15 degrees. That is cold!

Permit me to share with you one item about the weather here. Not a complaint. Merely an attempt to be informative. The temperature dropped to 49 degrees during the evening!

I stayed in most of yesterday. Probably the weather. Then in the afternoon I headed over to the gym. It was a good work out! Especially hitting the big bag.

I returned home and wrote for a while. It was my intent to have dinner at La Trattoria. A little bit of Becha and Kathy. But the cold intimidated me. Especially the wind. Around 40 miles per hour.

I stayed home.

It was early to bed. I have heat on the second floor. None on the first floor. That explains it.

About three weeks ago, I had this divine intervention. I was leafing through a Lands End kids catalogue. Saw winter jackets. Those bulky warm things with hoods. Decided to buy Robert and Ally each a jacket. Glad I did! They are coming in handy in this weather!

I owe an apology to my friend Ray Sigismondi. He was Larry Smith’s featured guest Sunday night at the Wine Galley. I intended to go. I forgot. Sorry, Ray!

It was Ray’s 10th anniversary appearing on Larry’s showcase. Ray plays a crazy electronic guitar. Rock ‘n roll is his specialty. Every comment I have heard since the show is that it was absolutely outstanding!

Hollywood movie star Christian Slater has been vacationing here in Key West the past few days. He stopped in to hear Ray play. Big!

Enjoy your day! And stay warm!

Another beautiful Key West day!

Appearance wise.

Sun shining. Blue sky. Everything bright.

But cold! Colder! Coldest!

62 degrees. High today 63. Low tonight 50. 40s predicted for tomorrow night.

Wind! 40 miles per hour. My pool has waves!

Strange weather!

All week it was cold. Yesterday started out warm. Mid 70s. Tee shirt and shorts weather. Then the new cold front started coming in. Just like that. It will be with us all week.

Still better than the snow and minus weather up north!

I spent yesterday morning in bed watching Meet the Press and Chris Matthews.

The afternoon was Don’s Place for pro football. Everyone there. Don, David, Tino, Tom, Nancy, Steph, Kurt, Angus, and more.

Then to Lisa’s.

Robert was at a friend’s house playing. Corey upstairs on the computer. Lisa and Ally making Xmas cookies.

Ally was all excited. She was putting the sprinkles on the cookies. She proudly offered me one. Delicious!

I stayed a while and read the Sunday papers.

Then to Walgreens and Publix.

Jennifer works in the drug department at Walgreens. She also plays bocce. On Thursday evenings, as I do.

Jennifer’s team made the playoffs, as Larry Smith’s did. With the same result. They were wiped out! Jennifer said the experience was horrible! I told her there always was next season. This was the first time Jennifer’s team had made the playoffs. She should be proud of that fact alone.

By dinner time, the cold front was in. I decided against going out. Missed the Gardens again!

Worked on next Friday’s radio show a while. Then a light dinner and off to bed.

Enjoy your day! Stay warm, where ever you are!

A lovely Sunday morning!

Sun shining. Sky blue with an occasional white cloud. Very little breeze. Water calm.

But it is still cold! 62 degrees!

I did a lot last night.

Jenna came by at 5 for a prearranged meeting. We worked on next Friday’s radio show. I have graduated. She is now my producer.

Then we were off to the Chart Room. Michael bartending. People coming in and out as they worked their way to the Pier House deck to watch the boat parade.

Mick Barnes and his charming wife walked by. Mick and I talked a bit. I like Mick. A down to earth guy. One of Key West’s premier attorneys.

Jenna and I then headed to the Sports Page Bar. Syracuse v. Colgate.

We had dinner and watched the game.

Kristen was bartending. A lovely gal! Owner Patrick was there. We exchanged pleasantries. He found the Syracuse game for me.

A disaster for Colgate. Final score had Syracuse winning 100-43. We left at half time when the score was 50 something to 8. The game was boring. I felt bad for Colgate.

Although I had not intended to watch the boat parade because of the cold, we walked over to the outer deck of the Pier House to take a look. I have seen many boat parades. Always from a boat. Jenna had never seen one.

The deck stuck out on the water. We lasted all of five minutes. The cold wind was cutting. Jenna agreed I was wise to have given away my boat tickets last night.

Cold or otherwise, the boat parade was lovely. As usual. Boat owners go crazy with the Christmas decorations! Just like on homes! A sight to behold!

We walked by the Wine Galley. Larry was playing. The place was packed with customers. People smartly watching the boat parade from inside the bar. We said hello to Larry and waved to Kathleen and Christine. And our friends from England, John and Ellie.

It was a little after 8. We had done all that in about 3 hours. It was time to take Jenna home. Which I did.

On the way to my home, I stopped at Don’s Place.

Nicky was bartending. A lovelier bartender one could not ask for! Kurt sitting around. He was to go on duty at 9. I chatted for a while with Kurt and David. Karen gave me a hug and kiss. David and Karen leave Wednesday for a couple of weeks in Paris and other parts of France.

I made one last stop on the way home. Lisa’s.

Ally was sick yesterday. A temperature. 103.4.

When I arrived, Alley’s temperature was down to 101. She was active and well. Like nothing was wrong with her. Lisa reports this morning that she barely has a temperature. So whatever came is almost gone.

I definitely will watch Meet the Press this morning. And then Don’s Place for some pro football followed by the gym. Then a visit to Lisa’s. Will I make the Gardens this evening? I am not sure. I seem to fade as the day gets longer.

My friend Ray is Larry Smith’s guest performer tonight. The Wine Galley at 9. Ray is a good guy and a hell of a musician. He plays some crazy type guitar and blows the room out with his music. A good place to be this evening.

I hope I make Ray’s show!

Oops! Almost forgot! Cheryl and Roger. Ran into them in the Chart Room. From Kankakee, Illinois. Good people, good friends.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Key West weather remains consistent. Cold! 63 degrees this morning.

I enjoyed doing yesterday’s radio show. Apparently many who listened and/or watched enjoyed it also. I received a ton of compliments on the World War II portion.

I did about 15 minuts on World War II. As I remembered the war. I was 6-10 years old at the time. I related homefront events that have stuck in my mind over the years. And compared them to life in the United States today with wars going on in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Homefront sacrifice is different. Actually non existant today.

I also talked about the Afghan child bride who was unhappy. She ran away from her Taliban husband. He caught her. As punishment, her husband, father in law and brother in law cut off her ears and nose. Nice people! And we have been over there fighting for 10 years. For what? The twain shall never meet between our societies.

I was up in Big Pine later in the afternoon. On the way back, the sun was setting. To my right off US 1. A bright orange ball cutting the water. Absolutely magnificent!

Tonight is the Christmas boat parade! A big deal!

A large number of boats will be decorated Christmas style. As homes are decorated. Perhaps 50 or more boats. All done beautifully!

They will be moving on the Gulf side in the area of Schooner’s Wharf.

The parade lasts about 4 hours.

I have been on a boat several times for the parade. Fun! Drinking, eating and dancing! Everyone in a festive mood.

Last year it was cold. Not as cold as this year. Nevertheless I froze my butt off! Even though I was dressed for the weather. Took the fun out of the event.

Tonight will be even colder than last year. I had two free tickets on one of the boats. I gave them away. Decided I did not want to endure the cold out on the water tonight.

I will enjoy my evening, however. Syracuse basketball! Syracuse is playing Colgate. I shall watch the game at the Sports Page Bar.

Syracuse should drub Colgate. Syracuse is 9-0. Colgate is 0-7. But…..you never know. Recall the LeMoyne game last year.

Syracuse basketball will get tough starting December 28. Big East Conference play begins. Syracuse opens against Providence. Six Big East teams are in the top 25 nationally.

It’s going to be big time basketball!

Enjoy your day!

Cold!

Colder!

Not Key West weather!

I am told it might stay this way till Christmas.

A great radio show this morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. 10 o’clock. Listen in in the Keys and Cuba on radio at KONK 1500 AM. Better yet, watch and listen world wide on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/.

This past week was interesting. News breaking all over the place. I shall cover most of it. From Washington to Afghanistan.

I am also going to do a bit on life in the United States during World War II. Contrast it with our present day lives with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Quite a difference!

Yesterday was mostly spent fine tuning today’s show. Later in the afternoon, I went to the gym. I am at the point where I would miss it if I did not go.

Then it was to Lisa’s. Babysitting time. Lisa and Corey had a Christmas party to attend. On the pier at Ocean Key House. The worst place for a party last night! With the cold wind coming in off the ocean!

I have become good at babysitting. I let Robert and Ally babysit me.

It was bath time. No big deal. They bathe themselves.

We played. Talked.

Lisa and Corey came home. Ally let them in. I was asleep in the easy chair. Robert in bed.

Lisa said as she came through the door, ” I told Corey we would find you (me) sleeping and Ally babysitting!”

Right she was!

When I got home, my living room was bright with Christmas colors. Donna and Terri had found my artificial tree and put it up.

Five years ago when I started living alone, I bought an artificial tree over the internet. Cost me over $400. I got a good one. With 400 lights. My thought process was it would be easy to put up and would need no additional decorations. Four hundred lights were enough.

Christmas tree decorating was never my thing. Back in Utica, my wife and grandchildren would do it.

One of the things I miss is the boxes of balls and other decorations that a family accumulates. My former wife has those. One of the tree ornaments was a small gold frame with my Mother’s picture in it. Even though she was gone, she was yet with us at Christgmas time. The grandchildren were trained to search for Grandma Petrone on the tree. Even those who never knew her.

My tree last night had balls and red tinsel. Looked terrific! Donna and Terri thought the tree was bare without additional decoration. They went out and purchased the extra goodies.

My Key West home is Christmasie and warm. Thank you, Donna and Terri!

Join me at 10 this morning for the radio show, if you can. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Enjoy your day, also!

The weather outside is frightful…..

So goes the lament from the song.

Yesterday at this time it was 56 degrees. This morning 62. Should be warmer. It is not!

The wind is howling down from the northeast. The palm trees are bending. Waves and whitecaps in the water.

Lisa just telephoned. She is already at work. Coldest day yet, she says!

Again I recognize that I should complain not. My friends in the northeast are buried in snow and temperatures in the teens.

Played golf yesterday morning. The worst I have played in 6 months! Bad!!!

I lost $34. Never lost that much money!

Played with Yankee Jack, Robert and Rob.

Robert shot an 85 and Rob an 86. Rob shot par golf the first 5 holes. While I was shooting 8s and 9s.

No excuse.

I have to admit though it was a lot of fun! These are good guys and we had an enjoyable round.

At my expense!

I visited the gym in the afternoon. Needed to get rid of my frustrations after golf. Not really. It is my present commitment to good health. Hit the big bag a while. Then a walk on the treadmill.

Last night it was my intention to go out to dinner and then to the Bottle Cap to see Larry Smith’s show. I never made it. I was too tired. No wonder after my physical day!

I was in bed at 8 and asleep by 9!

Big night tonight! I babysit. Lisa and Corey are going to Lisa’s Christmas party. The grandkids are excited. I am excited. Should be a good time.

Tomorrow morning the Key West Lou Legal Hour. At 10. Listen in on KONK AM radio at 1500 on the dial. Better yet, watch and listen world wide on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/. The show continues to be exciting and challenging!

Enjoy your day!

Cold!

56 degrees.

‘Nuff said!

Syracuse basketball! Back!

I watched my first Syracuse basketball game of the new season last night. Syracuse v. Michigan State. At the Sports Page Bar.

The game was played on a neutral court. Madison Square Garden. Syracuse won decisively. 72-58. It was Syracuse all the way!

I was surprised. Syracuse was 8-0 going into the game. Ranked #7 nationally. But had only beaten non entity teams so far. And by close margins.

Michigan State was ranked #8. A battle of giants. Syracuse’s first true test.

Michigan State’s great coach Tom Izzo said it correctly after the game. He “…felt like the New York Jets.” He also observed that his team had been “…manhandled.” Said respectfilly. His best line was something to the effect that his team did not play like blue collar workers on the inside.

Jenna watched the game with me. A good person to have by your side for an athletic event. She is a professional TV sports broadcaster. Or was till the recession caused her to lose her job.

I received an e mail yesterday from Don. Don lives in the Syracuse area and is, of course, a Syracuse die hard fan. He told me he and Chris would be back just before New Years and could not wait to join me at the Sports Page Bar. By mid January, I will be sitting with 15-20 Syracuse fans for each game!

My day yesterday started with a haircut. Lori time. Always a good time!

Then to the gym. Cold in the gym. Impossible to raise a sweat.

Afterwards, I had some time to kill. So I started my Xmas shopping. Just looked. Visited a few stores. Xmas shopping places one in a festive mood. I felt good when I was done.

It was manicure time. Visited Tammy at Lee Nails. Lori and Tammy in one day! Wonderful!

Tammy and her husband work hard at their business. It is thriving. They are experiencing the American dream. Good for them! Hard work sometimes still does have its rewards.

I returned home to some more writing. Got bored. Decided to return to the gym. Hit the bag for a while.

This morning golf! I will start play in the mid to high 50s and probably finish in the mid 60s. Temperaturewise, that is. Not scoring. Tiger Woods I am not! I will dress for the weather. Long pants, a shirt, sweatshirt and jacket. That way I can peel as I go along. If the weather permits.

Enjoy your day where ever you are! Stay warm!

Good morning!

From cold Key West!

Mid 50s.

To all my friends north, it is worse! Hang in there. Spring is only 4 months away!

I turned the heat on last night. First time.

Kurt telephoned me yesterday morning. He needed a ride into Key West. He had left his car at Don’s Place.

I took him and then stopped at the gym to work out. There was another young lady in the gym. Attractive. Tiny. Slender build. Mid 20s. And she was lifting barbells/pressing.

Puts me to shame! However I have neither the inclination nor desire to try what she was doing at my age. Boxing and the treadmill are enough.

After working out, I walked next door to Don’s Place for water. My oasis on Truman Ave. Kurt was sitting at the bar. So was Tommy. I had two glasses of water and read the morning papers.

I stayed in during the afternoon. It was warmer than being out. Did some writing and took a nap.

Last night was dinner at Outback. With Donna and Terri. Always fun when we are together.

Outback was packed. People waiting for tables. A favorite locals’ place.

Donna and Terri went out after dinner. They were heading for the Monkey Bar.

I went to Lisa’s to visit. The grandkids were already asleep. Chatted a bit with Lisa and Corey. Lisa was freezing. She was all wrapped up in a blanket.

This morning I have a haircut with Lori at 10. Then the gym.

Tonight I return to Syracuse basketball. Syracuse is 8-0. I have not seen them play yet this season. Tonight I will. They play Michigan State. I shall watch the game at the Sports Page Bar.

Last friday’s radio show available on demand at www.tikilive.com/video/28854. Take a look!

Enjoy your day!