MOONSHINE

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This blog seems to be getting more interesting. Ladies panties, yesterday. Moonshine, today.

Till I settled in Key West, I had heard of but never seen nor tasted moonshine. Moonshine appears to be a Keys thing just as cockfighting is. A bit here and there. I have probably shared a sip on a couple of occasions over the years.

This morning’s Key West Citizen reports on a “moonshine still” arrest. An apparent moonshiner advertised on Craigslist a moonshine still for sale. $375. Some undercover police authorities contacted him. Not only did he offer to sell the still to them, he also admitted having used it to make moonshine. He still had almost a gallon available.

He was arrested.

I learned something new reading the article. Not that I should not advertise a moonshine still on Craigslist. Rather, the word moonshine derives from those who made the stuff years ago in Appalachia. They worked by the light of the moon to avoid detection.

One of the best things in the Keys is the Marathon Turtle Hospital. Another heartwarming turtle story.

Sapphire is a subadult female turtle. Weighs 129 pounds. Sixteen months ago, she was brought to the hospital. She could not dive and had a breathing problem. She still cannot dive. Weights must be glued on her back to give her the ability. The weights fall off eventually and Sapphire is/would be in trouble.

Sapphire is going on a 2,500 mile plane trip to a new home. To a place called The Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista, California. There she will live in a 21,000 gallon tank of properly temperatured ocean water and be attended to daily.

Sapphire is flying via Fed Ex. Two Marathon Turtle Hospital personnel are accompanying her.

Yesterday was Rosh Hashana. To my Jewish friends and all other friends, I wish a Happy Rosh Hashana!

Which leads me to…..Donna and Terri, where are you?

Went for my back x-ray yesterday morning. No x-ray. Technician out till friday. Have to return friday morning.

My back is considerably better. If I do not use it to any extent. The steroids are terrific. Keep the pain away and make me sleep well.

Yesterday, I decided to walk at Home Depot. Felt no pain so I thought it would be ok. I walked ever so slowly. A 20 minute walk took 40 minutes. At the end, my back and leg were hurting. Pain increased during the day.

What happens when I am off steroids?

Lunched at Harpoon Harry’s. Wednesday lunch there is becoming a habit. The special a turkey dinner. All the trimmings like Thanksgiving. Delicious!

Spent the afternoon writing next week’s KONK Life column. Bank Robbers. An interesting twist on an old time story. From Jesse James to the bank robbers of today.

Ally and I still painting. Actually Ally painting and I observe, comment, and direct. She is doing well. I think she is talented.

Yesterday, Ally learned it is not all painting per se. There is work involved. We have already gotten past keeping the brushes clean. Yesterday, it was the pallet. She had left the paint globs on overnight. She had a difficult time getting the pallet clean. All part of being an artist.

I had a very enjoyable time last night at the Hot Tin Roof. My first drink since sunday. Only one. The doctor said it would be ok. The meal as usual was outstanding.

My waitress was Shanya. A young beauty. She has worked at Hot Tin Roof several months, though last night was the first time we spoke. She is from the Boston area. Of Serbian extraction. That led me into Flora and Albania. Both Serbia and Albania are parts of the former Soviet Republic.

Shanya is in love! Good for her! She soon will be relocating to St. Petersburg to be with her man.

The Hot Tin Roof is perched directly on the Gulf waters. From the second floor location where I was sitting, I could see way out to the horizon. It was 1-2 hours before sunset. The sun shining. A sailboat drifted along the line of the horizon. It was another one of those days. God was in His heaven, all was right with the world. At least in Key West.

Bocce tonight. I have only played once in the past three weeks. It was either my back or shoulder. Tonight, I plan on playing. The steroids will help. I will not be moving around as much as I did walking at Home Depot. I look forward to playing.

Enjoy your day!

 

IMPORTANT DAY IN HISTORY

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September 22 is a significant day in our country’s history. Two major events occurred.

Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on this day in 1862. Note the word “preliminary.” Lincoln did not actually sign the Emancipation Proclamation order till January 1, 1863. When he advised the Nation of his intent on September 22, he said he would sign an order so directing within 100 days. Internal politics prevented him from doing so earlier. Nothing changes.

“I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” So spoke Nathan Hale on September 22, 1776 as the British were about to hang him. Hale was young. Late 20’s. A Yale graduate. Volunteered to spy for the Colonies. Worked the New York City area for several months. It is thought his cousin Samuel Hale turned him in to the British. Samuel was a Loyalist.

My back, my back, my back! I have not gotten more than two hours sleep in each of the last two nights. Cannot lie flat or in any manner. Cannot stand or sit. What do I do? See the doctor. Which I intend to do his morning.

The pain radiates around my back to my groin and then down the leg to my ankle. The worst pain is the top of my upper leg and knee. As I have already advised, gin relieves the pain. I had no gin in the house. Switched from heat to ice. The ice was a big help.

Needed a new hose. Was off to Home Depot yesterday morning. Home Depot is already replete with Halloween paraphernalia. Even real pumpkins. Exciting. I am still a little boy at heart.

Stopped at Don’s Place early afternoon to watch the Buffalo Bills game. Chatted with Don, David, Keith, and Larry. Left at half time. Sitting was difficult for me. I kept squirming to find a comfortable position.

I did have two drinks. They definitely helped.

Sunday dinner with Lisa and family. Lisa cooked a Thai dish. First time for this particular Thai dish. Excellent! Tasty! Don’t ask me what. All I know is that the noodles, chicken and vegetables were delicious in whatever the sauce she cooked them in.

Ally evidences a talent for sketching and painting. She gave me an acrylic several months ago. I was impressed. This week she showed me a parrot she had sketched. Right on!

Poppa decided to encourage her. I gave her my easel and unused canvases to go with the paints and brushes she already had. Bought her an eraser and some other things at Ben Franklin. the only place in Key West to buy paint supplies.

We started yesterday. She has pencil drawn the parrot on a canvas. Today after school, we start painting. We have already selected the colors. I have to show her how to mix white to get different shades. This is going to be fun for the both of us!

Enjoy your day!

 

CHICKENS / IGUANAS, NO…..DUCKS, YES

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Chickens and iguanas abound in Key west. Ducks a bit rare. I ran into a family of ducks yesterday.

I was driving on Grinnell. All of a sudden, ducks appeared crossing the street. A mother duck and five ducklings. All in a straight line, mother leading. I beeped the horn. They ignored me. I stopped and beeped the horn again. Still no reaction. The mother led her brood across the street as if she had not a care in the world.

Chickens and iguanas on the other hand run like hell to get out of the way.

I have been cleaning house a bit. Came across a brand new easel. It was a gift some dozen years ago when I decided I would return to painting. Something I had done for two years in the early 1960’s. By the time the easel arrived, I had painted a few canvases and decided whatever talent I thought I had was non existent. The easel never got used.

Granddaughter Ally is 9. She is into painting. One of her recent birthday gifts was a very good set of paints and brushes. She recently did a small painting of the ocean and a boat which she gave me. I was impressed. Yesterday, Ally stopped over. I made her day. I gave her the easel.

Last week, I stopped at Ben Franklin and bought her a pallet. This week I plan to sit with her a bit and show her how to mix colors with white and explain why.

The pool is fixed and filled. Some pea soup. Pool groom came over and shocked it. Should be crystal clear in a day or two.

Spent most of the afternoon yesterday watching golf and college football.

Last night was dinner at Roostica with Keith and Jennifer. Two interesting young people. Hard workers. We had a good time. Roostica also gave me an opportunity to treat my back medicinally with several gins. I do not drink at home.

Daytime was spent with the heating pad as often as possible. Last night the gins. My back was ok when I hit the bed. I slept well. Woke with no back pain.

I have had a bad back for years. I have learned that back ache/spasms come on suddenly and leave just as suddenly. I hope the present episode is behind me.

If the problem returns, I will take the advice of the many who wrote and recommended ice. I am not yet ready to take the advice of those who said see a doctor. I can be hard headed.

Enjoy your Sunday!

WALKING IN THE RAIN…..

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The title should be read with the tune from Gene Kelley’s Dancing in the Rain in mind.

Yesterday was a rain day. Big time! Rain is forecast for the rest of the week. We are into the rainy season.

It is amazing how the weather changes so dramatically in the Keys. Storms come out of nowhere. As do cold fronts. If anyone had told me sunday that this would be a rain week, I would have laughed.

Merely for information purposes, the hurricane season started June 1.

Rain flooded the streets. As usual. I was wandering around downtown. Front Street was flooded. Only ankle deep. People were walking through the water shoes in hand.

I attended Ally’s graduation in the morning. Wearing a yellow slicker, hat and crocs. Rain attire.

Cute is the only way to describe the ceremony. They were 9 year olds. A bit uncomfortable. All proud. Ally was beautiful! Robert was there as a school elder I assume welcoming the graduates with a rose.

My blog talk radio show has been going smoothly the past several months. Audio perfect. No hitches. Not last night, however. When I went to sign in, I could not. Technical difficulties. I could not figure it out. I improvised. I ended doing the show over my cell phone. I did not even know if anyone could hear me. Apparently everyone did. Two e mails this morning said sound was ok No hiccups.

The Spectrelles are new to me, though old to Key West. I think they are terrific singers. They are appearing tonight at the Bull, tomorrow night at the Key West Pub, and friday night at La Te Da. Enjoy them, if you can.

Police raids across the country are getting out of hand, Too much modern equipment and too much aggressiveness.

Habersham County Sheriff Deputies were conducting a drug raid. The county is in Georgia. Middle of the night. No warrant required. Just bang on the door and rush in.

The Phonesavanh family were visiting. Mom, Dad and four little ones. One of the children was 19 month old Bou Bou. Bou Bou was sleeping in a play pen. When the deputies opened the door, one of them threw a flash bang grenade in. It landed in the play pen and went off in Bou Bou’s face.

The baby’s face is badly burned and swollen. A picture was exhibited on the internet. Bou Bou is in  a medically induced coma. Doctors give the child a 50 percent chance to survive.

No drugs were found. Later the next day, the son of the homeowners admitted to police that he was involved with drugs. Bou Bou’s family had nothing to do with the drugs and were leaving to return to Wisconsin the next morning.

All of Georgia is upset from the Governor down. Bou Bou needs our prayers.

Judges are getting cantankerous/out of hand, also. Such was evident in a Viera, Florida courtroom this week. Judge John Murphy got upset with defense counsel. He invited the attorney outside with the following words “…..let’s go out back and I’ll beat your ass.” Prior thereto, the Judge told the attorney to “…..stop pissing me off.”

They did go outside. The Judge hit the attorney.

The Judge is not working today. He is undergoing anger management counseling.

The events in the courtroom were recorded on a closed circuit camera.

I am back to the gym later this morning. Neck and thighs still hurt, though not as much. Will advise trainer before I start.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

ALLY GRADUATES TODAY

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Grandaughter Ally having a big time! Her ninth birthday Sunday past! Today, she graduates from third grade at Montessori. Without getting into the whys, Montessori graduates their kids from the third and sixth grades. Ally is all excited! So am I! I will be there.

Gym and trainer yesterday. Day 3. Harder each day. Still not as bad as first day in December. I woke this morning with neck spasms. Not often. However when one hits, wow! Hope I am better by tomorrow morning when I have another hour with the trainer.

The gym yesterday was 11-12. I went straight home and to bed afterward. I was exhausted! The workout tires me out big time.

Spent last night working on tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me for a quick paced half hour of interesting and revealing items. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics tonight include the government wanting to close all Social Security field offices, the government’s big return on student loans, Medicare’s new ruling that sex change surgery now covered, why the price of food is so high and continues to rise, the human organ trade, and more.

Larry and Christine Smith are talented and well respected Key West entertainers. Christine is also a noted artist. Their daughter Journey lives in Hawaii. She is visiting. Mother, father and daughter will appear together next Tuesday evening at Virgilio’s. Journey is a musical talent in her own right.

Larry told me a trip to Europe is planned for the near future. First stop will be England to visit John and Ali. Then here and there in Europe. One stop will be Camogli on the Italian Riviera. I love Camogli, having been there several times. Apparently it is one of Journey’s favorite places and she wants to show it to her parents.

My friend Dee from Cape Cod and Cudjoe Key has an interesting family. Her uncle (her father’s brother) was baseball great Stan Musial. Turns out movie star  and Oscar winner of yesteryear Jack Palance was a close friend of her grandparents. He used to winter one to two months with them at their Florida home each year. Dee posted several photographs of her grandparents and Palance on Facebook yesterday.

Dee’s grandfather is still alive. 100 years old, blind and lives alone! The family is of Ukranian heritage. As was Palance. All tough people. Worry not about Ukranians protecting themselves against Putin and his thugs.

You have discerned from my writings the past three years that one of my favorite places world wide is Courmayeur. A small village in northern Italy sitting half way up Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps.

A beautiful community. Out of books. Swiss chalets, streets without vehicles, high end shops, warm people. A money town. Must be the local government wanted outsiders to know Courmayeur as a ski town. A referendum was held to rename the town Courmayeur-Mont Blanc. Voted down overwhelmingly. Properly so.

Two Key West eateries changing hands. Square One has been sold. Presently closed for renovations. Finnegan’s to close June 19. The new owner plans renovations also before reopening.

Sad to see the proprietors of both places moving on. Good people who significantly contributed to the odyssey known as Key West. Square One’s Carmelo and Carolyn will remain in Key West. They still own and operate the Bottle Cap.

A stupid study of no significance was worthy of comment on Morning Joe and in the Key West Citizen today. The study revealed that female named hurricanes were worse than male ones.

One of my favorite poems is Casey at the Bat. The opening line fits every sports occurence wherein one’s team loses. “There is no joy in Mudville, Mighty Casey has struck out!” How many times I have used the line to refect Syracuse defeats.

Today is Casey at the Bat’s birthday. 126 years old. It was first published on this date in 1888 in the San Francisco Examiner.

Enjoy your day!

 

KEY WEST & BICYCLES

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Bicycles on the road scare the hell out of me! Especially during tourist season. Each time I drive is a disaster in the making. Ant the funny part of it all is that those riding the bicycles are not even aware of the situation.

Front page in this morning’s Key West Citizen was an article concerning Key West getting a crash course in safety. Turns out the #1 small city in bicycle accidents is our beloved Key West.

Bicycle riding has become an integral part of the Key West vacation package. It must be retained. However, it needs fixing. It needs more than a special police program to assist in making riders aware of the road rules regarding bicycling. It requires the City fathers, the City Commission, to stand up and get involved more deeply than it has in the past. Thought must be given to revamping the scenario. Not to do so is to court disaster.

Note that I am not critical of Key Westers who utilize bicycles as their means of transportation. They are experienced and know how to ride safely.

Katharine! The great white pregnant female shark making her way into the Gulf of Mexico. I stopped at Schooner Wharf in the afternoon for a drink. Chatted with some old time fisherman who were standing at the back end of the bar. They all said the same thing. Each had thought that large fish such as sharks lived in one area as part of a group. The GPS tracker affixed to the dorsal fin told another story. Great whites travel great distances. They can cover a 100 miles in one day. Astonishing! The GPS tracker had radically changed their knowledge/view of  how great whites live and their traveling habits.

Old time crucifixions are on the rise in the Middle East. Renounce your Christian faith and accept Islamism…..or be crucified. This weekend it was first announced that the Sudanese women who was sentenced to death because she would not reject her Christian faith was to be released. Twenty four hours later it was reported not so. The government made the initial decision. Now the government has backed off and said it is up to the courts. In the meantime, it was also reported that the woman was required to give birth in jail while her legs were chained/shackled.

We think we can teach these people democracy? The crazies are in Washington, not the Middle East!

An article I wrote re the crucifixions appears in my COMMENTARY column published in today’s KONK Life E-Blast. Read it if you have the opportunity You will find it interesting.

Ally’s birthday party last night! Fun as anticipated. Worked out just as I had predicted. Ally was thrilled. Ran the whole show. Lights out, sing, Robert don’t get in the way! My Princess!

Gym time this morning at 11. I walked the past three days. Once on a tread mill and the other two times around my house. Twenty minutes each time. I am trying.

Enjoy your day!

NANCY…..NICE LADY

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Bocce party last night! The league one. An outstanding event! Good people, good drink, and good food!

The party was at Charlie Mac’s. Next door to the Green Parrot. Our team, Don’s Place, went as a group. We met first at Don’s Place and then cabbed over.

I had never been to Charlie Mac’s. About 10-15 years ago it was the Meteorite, a rib place. I infrequently went, though the ribs were outstanding. There have been three owners since, with Charlie Mac’s being the third. The place has been totally renovated. A big bar with an attractive adjoining dining room. Just the right flavor. In keeping with Key West.

The food to die for! Three whole roast pigs! Big ones. Probably should be called hogs. Barbecued ribs! Oh, so good. I am not a particular fan of cornbread. Last night, outstanding!

After dinner, I was outside chatting with some friends. I was introduced to Mitch. Turns out Mitch is one of the cooks at Charlie Mac’s. He does all the smoking. He had cooked the pigs and ribs last night.

Rob sat me down to eat with two friends of his. Turns out the two were on the winning team. They were the #1 team in the Monday night league. They were #1 in the playoffs, also. I was impressed. I was sitting with the best of the best. Later, I learned Rob was also on the winning team. Up to two years ago, he played with us. He made the big time!

I was walking away from the buffet with my plate full when I heard someone call out…..I read you! A lovely woman at a nearby table. She introduced herself and then me to her friends.

Her name was Nancy. She reads the blog and KONK Life column. As excited as she was to meet me, I was pleased to meet her. Vanity, I guess.

When I was outside after dinner, Nancy stopped by to say good night. She told me she does not agree with everything I write. However, she enjoys reading the material. I do not care whether people agree with me. I am pleased and humbled they read my written thoughts. One of my aims is that hopefully people will think about things they might not.

I liked Nancy. She obviously is a bocce player. Not a Thursday night one, or I would have known her. Hope we run into each other again. I would enjoy knowing her better.

Overall, it was an exceptional evening!

This morning’s Key West Citizen ran an article on the Burmese pythons which have overtaken the Everglades, with a danger of moving into surrounding areas. The article was referencing a recent study by some individual. I disagreed with one of his conclusions. That the pythons are a “tiny risk” to human safety.

I did a TV show on the python issue some three years ago. The pythons are not native to south Florida. However, they have overtaken the Everglades. There are many estimates as to how many now exist. Reliable numbers are somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000. The reason that there are so many is that the pythons have no natural predators in south Florida.

I believe the Burmese pythons are reason for concern. If they ever break out of the Everglades, the danger will be obvious. Not many humans live in the Everglades. Many do in the surrounding areas.

Thus far, pythons have been seen as far south as Key Largo. Three years ago, one was found beside one of the runways at the Key West Airport. No one was certain if it found its way on its own or someone dropped it off nearby.

I was home early last night. Made myself a cup of tea and went out on the dock to sit. There was a quarter moon, a slight breeze, and absolute calm. A reason for living in Key West.

Today is Ally’s birthday. Nine years old! Happy birthday, granddaughter! We celebrate tonight with dinner and a cake. Ally is big on the blowing out of the candles part. It is her night. If she is true to form, she will direct when the lights are to be turned off, where the cake is to be located on the table, and for her brother Robert to stay out of the way. Robert likes to blow out the candles with her.

Enjoy your Sunday!

ALLY’S BIRTHDAY…..NOT TODAY

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I screw up re birthdays, anniversaries and the like. I forget or do the happy greeting on the wrong day. I cannot blame it on age. I have been this way my whole life.

I did it again this morning.

I thought it was Ally’s birthday. Nine years old. I telephoned to wish her a Happy Birthday. Poppa…..My birthday is tomorrow!

Oh, well.

I returned to the gym yesterday morning. Not for a scheduled work out. Just to use the tread mill for a while. The gym by the way is WeBeFit.

I figured I would do an hour. Slowly. Like 3 mph. Good luck! I was fortunate to make 20 minutes. A mere 3/4’s of a mile. I was tired! Felt it the rest of the day. My body got more tired as the day progressed.

Worry not. I am not pushing myself.

Lunched at the Pier House. The Beach Bar was packed so I sat on the outside deck. Spent a couple of hours reading through newspapers and watching the bikini clad ladies prance about. Always an enjoyable experience.

I arrived home a little after 3. Laid down. I was feeling the tread mill experience.

Decided to stay home again. I was too tired to go out!

It was an interesting evening of television.

I watched Havana with Robert Redford. About the Castro revolution. At the end of the movie, it is 1963 and Redford is driving his car down this street running along the ocean. I said to myself…..That’s Key West! It was as was made known seconds later. He was driving along Smathers Beach, stopped his car and walked out onto the sand. Reminiscing about Cuba and the love he left behind.

Another movie was of 1955 vintage. It starred Rhonda Fleming. A most beautiful woman!

I met Rhonda Fleming around 1980. I would have been 45 at the time and she 57. We were both at La Costa. La Costa was a well known fat farm in those days. As the Golden Door is today. I visited at least a dozen times.

The men were placed on 800 calories a day and the women 400. More, if you liked. I did the 800 one. Not much to eat! Exercise was constant from 9 to 5. No stragglers permitted. Not hard to handle, however. Each day included a massage and facial.

Lunch was in a large dining room with floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking La Costa’s famous golf course and mountains on the other side. I used to sit at lunch and dinner with my back to the dining room and its guests. I would stare out at the mountains and wonder about the safety of the homes I could see which were built on pilings on the sides of the mountains.

I noticed Rhonda Fleming sat at the table next to me. The seating was prearranged. I recognized her from her many films. She still looked good! High cheek bones, magnificent skin, a winning smile.

She asked one day if I disliked people. My back being always to the other diners. I responded everyone looked drawn and tired from the diet with very sorrowful faces. The mountains were much prettier and comforting.

We became friends. We lunched and had dinner together the next two days. We also hung out in the bar for a while after dinner drinking Perrier or some type water. No alcohol permitted on the diet. One glass of gin would have blown it to hell.

The brief time with her was a most enjoyable experience. I checked her out on the internet this morning. She is still alive and 91.

Vera Schiff was an integral part of Key West for many years. A widow from Pennsylvania, she moved to Key West. Loved by all. Threw great parties. Exemplary parties!

She left several years ago. I understand she is back in Key West. I assume for an extended visit. I look forward to running into her.

Big party tonight! The league bocce party. As opposed to the special 5 team party next thursday at Don’s Place. The bocce parties remind me of the bowling banquets of old. My team is meeting at 5:30 at Don’s Place and will go together. The party is at the restaurant next door to the Green Parrot. The name escapes me. It is a relatively new owner and name.

I sense a good party. Good food and drinks. We will probably all end up at the bar at the Green Parrot. The Green Parrot is one of Key West’s oldest and favored spots. A touch of old Key West like Schooner Wharf. I rarely go to the Green Parrot. I look forward to it tonight.

Enjoy your day!

KEY WEST / EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

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My son in law Corey Malcom is an archeologist. He has been the Director of Archeology at the Mel Fisher Museum for more than 25 years. Corey loves the old. He searches for it.

I was at Lisa’s yesterday for Ally’s birthday party. Dinner and cake. Corey had received a special piece of mail. It was an original New York Herald newspaper dated February 11, 1863. The pages were tanned and gave off an odor. Both indications of age. The print was very small. There is no publication today with print that small.

Corey said he had been searching for that particular date of the New York Herald for years. Finally found one. Cost him $15.

Corey is the recognized world expert on Caribbean slave ships. Part of the expertise involves Africans and Bahamians who reached Key West shores. Some were slaves. Most here because the slave ships they were being transported on sank.

Some continued to be slaves. Others feared they would become slaves. None wished to be slaves.

Corey was interested in an article in the February 11, 1863 New York Herald that had to do with black Key West at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation.

He let me read the article. With the admonition to be careful. The pages were brittle. He did not want any to break.

Permit me to share some observations regarding the article.

Blacks were obviously involved. They were the thrust of the article. However, they were not referred to as blacks, Africans or Bahamians. The disgusting word n—-r was used. Obviously no political correctness in 1863. The term appeared frequently in the article.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves. Abraham Lincoln signed it on January 1, 1863.

News traveled slowly in those days. It took roughly five weeks for the news of the signing to reach Key West. The black community went crazy with joy! They celebrated their officially recognized freedom with a big parade. The parade was followed by a dinner for 250 persons. Primarily black. All in attendance dressed in their best attire.

Sandy Cornish was mentioned prominently. He was an African who had arrived in Key West thirty some odd years earlier. He had become a free man. He owned and operated a huge farm where the corner of Truman and Whitehead exists today. He became the wealthiest black in Key West and one of the wealthiest men in the Keys generally.

He led the parade and was a key figure at the dinner.

There is more to Cornish’s story. Much more. I save it for another day.

I spent a considerable part of yesterday working on my blog talk radio show and how to post cell phone pictures on the internet. Tiring for this old man!

I also wrote next week’s column for KONK Life. Hypocrisy. The recently revealed story of the Catholic Church having provided certain of its unionized employees with a health care insurance policy covering contraception and abortions. This coverage became part of an employee package in the 1990s and continues even to today.

The article also goes into free  conscience and my view that the Catholic Church should not be involved in such a public/political fashion with regard to matters.

Jean Stapleton died yesterday. Those who viewed All In The Family from 1971-1979 will recall her. She played Edith Bunker. A great television series. Edith was a bit of a dim wit and naive. Her husband, the bigoted Archie, was played by Carroll O’Connor. Stapleton’s performance helped to make the show the success it was.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the musical tune associated with the show. Each show began with Edith and Archie sitting at a piano and singing…..Those Were The Days!

They were.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

ALLY AND I WENT TO THE NUTCRACKER

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After doing yesterday’s bog, things changed. Sick Robert did not mind it Ally and I went to the Nutcracker. Ally wanted to go. I wanted to take her. We went!

Ally was excited. This was her second visit to the Tennessee Williams Theater. Her school attended the Symphony there a couple of weeks ago. She thought the Symphony was in her words…..Awesome!

The Nutcracker was better! Had to be. All the lights, color and dancing. Ally thoroughly enjoyed herself. She sat on the edge of her seat taking in every movement on stage.

Ally is 7, however. At intermission, she thought the show was over. She was ready to go home, she told me. She was tired. The look on her face was priceless when I told her we were only at the half way point. She hung in there without complaint. The ballet second act blew her out.

I have seen many Nutcrackers over the years. This was the best! The show was reworked to give it a Key West flavor. Things like chickens, fish and the Atocha replaced the mice, etc. of the original show.

Joyce Stahl is responsible for Key West’s Nutcracker. A Key West icon, she is a former ballet artist herself. She has dedicated many years to the Key West production.

The show was first class. Perfection. Not one item or move out of place. No small town production. I was very impressed!

Key West should be proud!

I returned Ally home after the show. Visited with sick Robert. Though he was energetic while I was there. Read the Sunday newspapers.

During the Nutcracker, I was looking at the children participating. I could not get Ally and Robert out of my thoughts. The Newtown tragedy is with me. Ally is 7 and Robert 8. There but for the grace of God…..

Chilling!

Tomorrow the day! The morning the time! Seven to be precise. The first ever talk radio show by me. The Key West Lou Blog Talk Radio Show. Shortened, the Key West Lou Talk Show.

I am excited!

I appreciate 7 am is early. However, many are up at that time .Please join me. Call in and participate. We will talk about anything and everything.

The show can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com.

Not that simple, however. You cannot just click on the site and be there. More is required.

I spelled out in yesterday’s blog (12/16/12) the instructions as to how to get to the Show to (1) listen and (2) participate/call in. You must follow the instructions. Otherwise, you will never find me. Return to yesterday’s blog (12/16/12) and follow the 10 step program to arrive at the show.

Grab a cup of coffee and listen. Call in, if you like. Only one half hour. It will be fast moving and interesting. I hope!

My next blog will be after the talk show tomorrow morning.

Enjoy your day!