THE BEARD IS GONE

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I developed the habit of trimming my two year old beard once a week. On fridays. Yesterday, I screwed up!

I have an electric beard trimmer. The cutting blade trims close to the skin. There is a barricade /guard that has to be placed over it to avoid a full trim. The barricade/guard also permits one to determine the desired length of the beard.

I was doing the friday routine yesterday. Trimmed one side of my face. Don’t know where my mind was. I forgot the barricade/guard. Three sweeps and the left side of my face was bare.

Oh, shit!…..I thought.

Things have to balance. I intentionally shaved off the right side. Left me with a mustache and small chin beard. I did not think it looked good. Shaved the chin beard off. Did not like how I looked with just a mustache. The mustache went.

My face was entirely clean. The skin as smooth as a new born baby’s behind.

I liked what I saw. I have decided to go beardless for a while. The new me!

The interesting thing is that everywhere I went last night, no one noticed my beard was gone. Do people really look at each other?

The Chart Room was my first stop. Sean and Katherine were just leaving. I was glad I got to say good bye in person. They leave for Austin this morning. Katherine has a position with a Leading Hotels of the World there. God bless and good luck!

Ran into Dale. Met him last year. He spends six months in Key West and six months in Ocean City, New Jersey. Lives on a 44 foot sail boat. He is an independent contractor working with the pharmaceutical industry. I learned a lot I never knew about prescription drugs.

Decided to stop at the new Key West Pub to see how they were doing. They were not. A handful of people. The place was basically empty. I had a drink and chatted with the general manager, Eric.

There was a dance floor last week at the opening where a baby grand used to sit. The dance floor was gone. Replaced by tables. I suggested they bring Larry Smith in to play. I was told they had no piano. I said Larry had one. The one he bought when he left the Wine Galley.

My next and final stop was Square One. Ate at the bar. Enjoyed myself immensely.

Jimmy Olsen was seated at the other end. I rarely see him. It was good to say hello.

Good friend Patrick bartending. Always a pleasure to be in his company.

My former bocce partner Frankie the Plumber was having dinner at the bar, also. Chatted with Frankie and his friends. Frankie just returned from a three week cruise through the Hawaiian Islands. Jet lag still affecting him.

Mary Lou Hoover came in and sat next to me at the bar. She and Charley were waiting for a table. Mary Lou and I talked quite a while. The most we have ever talked. The first time I can recollect we have been alone to talk.

Mary Lou is both dynamic and a dynamo. Among her many accomplishments, she started Girl’s Night Out back in 2006 or thereabouts with six attendees. Today, it numbers in the thousands.

I was impressed once again with the crowd at Square One. Many standing and drinking waiting for a table. Happy faces all! Carmelo has done a great job in resurrecting the restaurant.

This afternoon, I bowl! Don is throwing a bowling party. At the Boca Chica Naval Base. The only bowling alleys in the area.

We did a similar party three years ago. We ate pizza and wings and drank.

This will be the fourth time in my life I have bowled. I think three years ago my high score was 70 something and my low 40 something.

No one wants me on their team!

Enjoy your day!

SHE RODE THE DONKEY

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Oia is a town on the Greek island of Santorini.

I spent ten days there last summer. You will recall it as the place where I failed in my attempt to climb the volcano.

Santorini is a huge cliff sitting in the water.  The sides run straight up to the sky. At one particular point in order to get to the bottom, one drives a car or walks. The walk is a wide pathway seemingly attached to the cliff. The cliff is at least 1,500 feet tall at that point.

The pathway is in reality a donkey trail. It has steps, widely apart. Donkeys carry people up and down. People walk the path also. However, they do so gingerly because of the dung along the way.

Others drive to get to the bottom of the cliff. I drove. There are restaurants and apartments at the bottom which sit on the sea. My favorite Oia restaurant Katrina Taverna is one of the restaurants.

About a month ago, my dear friends Bob and Helen Marks visited Oia. They walked the donkey trail. That same day, they climbed the volcano. Bob is 75 years old.

I never met anyone who rode a donkey. Until last night. Her name is Elaine Jette. Met Elaine and her husband Fred. They are visiting Key West for a few days.

Elaine likes to travel. She goes all over the world. In addition to Greece, she recently visited Africa. Fred does not like traveling so he stays home. He mentioned that the only places he travels to are the Bahamas and Key West..

Elaine was in Oia. She rode a donkey! It had to have been a fearful experience. If you fall off, you fall off the pathway also. Into the sea below.

Fred and Elaine are from Stuart, Florida. Fred is a civil engineer. He builds roads and bridges. Elaine works for Merril Lynch.

I met Fred and Elaine at the Chart Room.

Frankie came in while we were talking. Frankie is Admiral of the Conch Republic Navy. A big deal! Frankie got into the Sea Battle which takes place every year. Fred and Elaine listened attentively.

I pointed out to them that you can’t experience anything like the Sea Battle in Stuart. They agreed.

I wrote about killer whales yesterday. I forgot to mention how they got the name killer whales.

Killer whales do not kill humans. There is no record of any human fatality, except with whales in captivity. Turns out their name initially was the reverse of what it is today. Whale killers. Why? Because killer whales kill bigger whales of a different breed.

We all know dolphins are not afraid of whales and that whales fear dolphins. Killer whales are not whales. They are dolphins.

Interesting!

This morning my tv/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Ten my time.

I will be chatting a bit more regarding killer whales. I will also get into Senator McCain’s recent foray into Syria. A bit on the Catholic Church and hypocrisy. Some words about Father Andrew Greeley who died this week. Plus more.

Join me for a fast moving informative hour. The show can be viewed on television from Key West all the way up through Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Via the internet world wide. www.weyw19.com.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

KEY WEST LOU TV SHOW TOMORROW

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Tomorrow morning at 10 my time…..The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Via television and the internet.

Stimulating topics. Like the Boston bombings from several different perspectives, the New England-New Jersey tsunami risk, a dirty Tulsa dentist and an equally dirty Philadelphia doctor, food poisonings on the rise, Congress mini-managing rather than legislating, an NRA tee shirt gets an eighth grader suspended from school and arrested, kilts enhancing sperm count, more avalanches, the TSA pocket knife issue, FBI arresting the wrong person in ricin case, and more.

One of the more includes U.S. hospitals shipping immigrant patients back to their home countries to avoid the hospitals getting stuck with non-covered medical costs. The hospitals even pay for their flights to where ever they came from. An example of care being overridden by cost. A shame situation.

The show can be seen on television from Key West through Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. On the internet world wide. www.weyw19.com.

Again, 10 tomorrow morning.

I trimmed my beard yesterday. All of it. By myself. First time. I have been doing part and Lori part. I figured it was time for me to do it all. Came out good!

It was wonderful getting out last night!

My evening started at Don’s Place. Don, Jimmy, Hershel and another person playing cards at the bar. Erika having a drink. I stayed a while. It felt good being there.

Then to the Chart Room.

Emily had the popcorn waiting. Finger licking good! Just enough butter and salt.

Kisses from Sheila and Jean who were sitting at the bar.

Buffalo friends and Key West lovers Tom and Karen Dixon were in. Spent some time with them. Good people. Good company. It is a family trip for the Dixons. Met their daughter and her husband. They have a son here also. Did not meet him. He was in bed resting from the rigors of Key West.

Dinner at the Hot Tin Roof with Jean and Frankie. Dined with celebrities last night. Jean is Key West’s  Golden Girl. Frankie is the Admiral of the Conch Republic Navy.

This is Conch Republic Week. The nation that seceded has survived 31 years.

Big doings tonight. The parade down Duval. Described as the World’s Largest. People step off the curbs, come out of restaurants, etc. to join in the walk.

I made a mistake yesterday. Misinformed you. The Conch Republic Sea Battle is not saturday. It is friday. Tomorrow night. At 7. Get to the gulf side of the island early to get a good spot to watch from. The event is very much worth seeing.

Bocce tonight. I missed last week. I am anxious to play tonight. I was advised our team won only one game last week. Probably because I was not there. Only joking! We are not doing well this season. I doubt we will make the play offs. But…..We are having fun!

Larry Smith will not be playing tonight. He has a special show at the Wine Galley. I attended his last special event. Terrific! Limited seating, an admission fee, great entertainment. I recommend the event to all.

Enjoy your day!

 

TURTLE DIED, PRESIDENT DID POORLY, MY BEARD IS GONE

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Three items to be discussed this morning. The turtle that died, last night’s debate, and my beard. Each will be discussed in the order of their importance. Importance from my perspective.

The turtle. Good Hope. Found August 24 on a St. Croix beach. Beat up, cut up and sick. Pregnant. Airlifted to Marathon Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys. Several surgeries. Carrying over 100 eggs. C-sectins done to extract some of the eggs. Sand brought from the St. Croix beach to the hiospital and placed with the eggs in incubators. The mission…..Save the mother and the eggs!

Good Hope succumbed yesterday. From her injuries and pneumonia. Previous to her death, 61 eggs had been removed. After her death, 58.

When the eggs hatch, the new born turtles will be flown to St. Croix and deposited on the same beach where their morther was found. That evening, the turtles will walk into the ocean guided by the moon light. The hatched turtles must be returned to the St. Croix beach within 24 hours of their birth or they will expire. Plans are in place to see that the transfer takes place in a timely fashion.

The mother Good Hope made a valiant effort to survive and give birth to the eggs within her. Roughly six weeks. Over 100 of her eggs will become turtles. Thanks not only to the courage of Good Hope, but also to the Marathon Turtle Hospital and all others involved in the effort to save the mother and her offspring.

The debate. Romney finally arrived. The President fell far short of what was expected of him.

No question. Romney out did Obama. He still spoke of many things inaccurately. However, his enthusiasm and the President’s lack thereof made Romney’s misrepresentations go unchallenged and not noticeable.

The Predident was bland and sluggish. Rarely inspiring. He failed to take advantage of the many openings Romney gave him.

I sensed from the start that Obama was going to have a bad night. The first question had to do with how would you improve the economy. The first item Obama duiscussed was education. Where was the infrastructure bill? The bill provides an immediate kick in the ass to the economy. Education is important. However, in a hierarchy of things, it is not near the top at the moment.

I still do not trust Romney nor would I want him as President. Was last night representative of how Obama has been conducting his Presidency? I cannot belikeve it.

My beard. The third item on today’s agenda in order of importance. The beard is gone!

I purchased beard trimming equipment. I took too much off on one side yesterday. Tried to balance the appearnance by taking a bit nmore off the other side. Kept screwing up. Kept going back and forth. Beard kept getting smaller. Continued to look unbalanced. Finally I said…..Screw it! I took the whole thing off!

I enjoyed having a beard. I will return to one some day.

Woodward’s The Price of Politics continued to absorb my attention yesterday. I continue to read of a President less capable than I thought. I continue to read of a Vice Presidnet who is an extremely ingenious individual. Cantor has not chaged. He continues to be a worm. Valerie Jarrett is an excellent keeper of the President’s back, but too hyper. She sees shadows where none exist.

There will be no Internet show tomorrow morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour will not be broadcast. Sorry. The show will return next week.

My mornings are always busy. A haircut today at 10. Lori and me. An enjoyable time. She will be shocked when she sees me beardless! Lori trimmed and shaped the beard before I purchased the equipment and started doing it myself. She was responsibe for the beard’s initial shaping and development. Looked pretty good till I screwed it up.

Jean Thornton is back! Key West the better for it. Key West loves you, Jean!

It just started raining. No, pouring! the rainy season seems to me to be more than normal. In past years, it was usually five minutes a day around 1 in the afternoon. This year it pours big time several times a day.

Enjoy your day!