BICYCLISTS AND THE BOULEVARD

The new North Roosevelt Boulevard is terrific! A pleasure to travel!

There are a few problems. Some in the process of correction. Others, not.

One is that the driving lanes on both sides are open to bicycle traffic. Bicycles are actually painted on the road way signifying A-OK. Envision it. Bicycles driving down the middle of a Boulevard lane.

A disaster in the making! Not yet, however.

Yesterday, the wrong of permitting the bikes was evident. Traffic is exceptionally heavy this week. A holiday week. Many tourists. Families.

Traffic was unusually slow on the Boulevard going into town. I thought there might be an accident. There was not. It was a family riding their bicycles.

Each helmeted. The only safety feature taken into consideration.

The father in the lead bike. A small child sitting in the basket in front. This is going to sound like the Three Bears story. Mama bicyclist on the second bike. Then three smaller bikes with three children riding them. The oldest could not have been ten. All in a straight line, one behind the other. Oblivious to the traffic hold up they were causing and the danger the family was in.

Publix’s parking lot was a no parking zone. I had to go around the lot three times to find a spot.

I had a noon appointment with Tammy for a manicure. Lee Nails was packed! Locals and tourists. I was the only male. The ladies obviously getting ready for New Year’s Eve. A lot of chatter and laughing.

I wrote one more chapter to Growing Up Italian. Concrete Sidewalks Grass Backyards. Who had a backyard?

Then spent considerable time preparing for tonight’s blog talk radio show. A good one. Some things are in my craw. Bothering me. Tonight,  I will vent. Tomorrow, some will write and tell me I’m crazy.

Some of the topics of note include my analysis of the New York City Police Department  problem, a lawsuit being filed against the New York City Police Department every 2 1/2 hours, Greece on a collision course with Germany which perhaps could result in war, some consider Ukraine the prelude to World War III, and the U.S. purportedly being out of Afghanistan.

My analysis of the NYPD situation and Obama’s comments re finally being out of Afghanistan are guaranteed to stir the pot.

Join me for an interesting and challenging half hour. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine this evening. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

SURGERY IN THE NEAR FUTURE

I have finally figured out why people have to retire. They need the time to doctor. Visiting doctors is almost a full time job as one gets older.

I missed doing yesterday’s blog because of a busy several hours starting 8 in the morning. Recall I fell six weeks ago. Missed a step to my front porch. My right shoulder was bothering me. I had an MRI last week. Received the results yesterday.

A torn rotator cuff. Complete tear. Surgery required. Not a big deal. However if I let the matter go unattended, in a year sewing up the tear will have become a right shoulder replacement.

My plate is full right now. Told the doctor I would get back to him when. He said he needed two weeks notice. I figure I will do it in November.

The Grand Jury has reported re the Charles Eimers matter. The police were not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. If my memory is correct, 32 witnesses testified. There may be another step. I suspect the Eimers family will bring a federal suit. The rules are different in a federal trial and an opposite civil result could easily come about.

I personally experienced a bicyclist on the Boulevard yesterday. I was heading up the Boulevard on my way home. It was a busy time. Traffic heavy, but moving. I was in the outside lane. All of a sudden the traffic to the front of me in my lane slowed down considerably. Like 10 miles an hour or less.

It continued. Moving into the passing lane was difficult because of the traffic. Cars in my lane were moving over as the opportunity arose. Finally, I was able to.

As I drove along in the passing lane, I discovered the reason for the holdup. There in front of a long line of cars in the middle of the lane was a woman riding a bicycle. She appeared oblivious to all around her. Both sidewalks were paved, open and available for bike traffic. There were no cars in her lane for 200-300 feet in front of her.

I had seen the brilliance of the State engineers in operation. As I have suggested several times, permitting bicycles on this heavily traveled road is an invitation to disaster. A given.

Less anyone say I am unaware of the law, I am aware that the law permits bicycles to be operated on roadways. I further understand that bicycles have the same rights as cars. Such does not mean the law or the Boulevard determination is correct.

Bocce last night. My shoulder does not hurt when I let the bocce ball go. Probably because no big back swing and the ball is generally thrown with very little speed.

We lost the first two games. Badly. Won the third. A close battle. As Don said afterwards, we won the last game because of the girls. Jennifer and Clare. They played terrific! Stan was a big help all night. His off the board shots were right on.

Labor Day Weekend starts today. Have a great time! Drink and drive carefully. Don’t maim or kill yourself or anyone else else while enjoying the holiday.

IS, or ISIS as some still describe the organization, threatens the U.S. often. In the last 48 hours, the Pope has been in touch with the family and has made public statements re the beheading of the American reporter. As a result, the Pope has made the Vatican the recipient of IS’ most recent threats.

IS announced yesterday that it “…..will arrive in the Vatican” and that the “…..Vatican will become Muslim.”

I received several e mails yesterday from Italian friends regarding the threats. A big deal in the Italian media. I could find no reference in American news.

Readers comment daily regarding statements made in this blog. Some days only a few comments. Other days a nerve is hit and many are received. This morning, I received the most ever. People commenting on the Uzi/9 year old girl story. Regardless of whether a gun supporter or not, the comments were 100 percent to the effect that the 9 year old girl should not have had a Uzi in her hands.

Enjoy the beginning of your Labor Day Weekend!

A SPECIAL SUNRISE

I was out of bed early this morning. As I walked outside, the sun was rising. Breaking over the horizon. There was a light gray cloud bank. It muted the bight orange ball to a radiating pale yellow.

A beautiful sight! I was a lucky man.

Bicycle riding on the newly paved Boulevard is an item under much discussion by locals. To a person, everyone thinks it is down right stupid! Don’t write and tell me it is the law. I understand. It makes no difference. Bicycle riding on the new road is an invitation to disaster.

The ten foot promenade remains on the ocean side. Such has always been the place bicycle riders have used. Hopefully common sense will prevail and the promenade will continue to be the path of choice. It will for locals. It will not for some visitors. They will see the bicycle markings on the roadway and opt to drive in the road. Families. Parents and children. Little children. The same persons that would not ride a bike thusly back home.

Sean Kinney wrote an excellent article on the issue in this morning’s KONK Life E-Blast. You may want to read it.

My sunday was quiet again.

I had breakfast at Harpoon Harry’s. Ham and eggs. The best eggs in town. Taste fresh all the time. I know that last statement may sound strange. However, there is something to Harpoon Harry’s eggs that makes them taste better.

I spent part of the day lying around. Watched some golf. Amazing golf. Spent a couple of hours researching this week’s KONK Life column. It will have to do with the 1925 Scopes trial. The trial concerned itself with evolution and the Bible. Turns out the trial was a phony. It was rigged from the beginning.

The Key West Citizen in its Crime Report section told the story of a couple allegedly ripped off at a local adult entertainment club. Not the first time such has been reported at this particular club.

My problem is with Key West police in such a situation. Credit cards are generally involved. Sometimes a higher number is charged to a credit card. Significantly higher. There are other games played. Generally again with credit cards.

Police policy is to regard such matters as civil, not criminal. A contract is involved and one party claims the consideration was not as intended. The police advise the persons purportedly cheated that if they wish to pursue the matter, to sue civilly.

Wrong! Credit card abuse of this nature is larceny on its face. If the police were to make one or two arrests, this sort of thing would come to a glaring end.

The police should reconsider how they handle these cases.

Key West is an adult fun community in many respects, People visit here to dance to a different tune. To do what they might not do back home. Ninety nine percent of the tourist businesses play by the rules. They all should.

Enjoy your day!

AU REVOIR ERIKA AND HERSHEL

Good bye Erika and Hershel! Good friends! Great people!

Erika and Hershel came to Key West several years ago. Erika became Comptroller at the Key West Citizen. Hershel an engineer with Keys Electric and most recently has been working at Don’s Place. Both fun people!

They are leaving Key West. Sad. They are returning home to Indiana.

A going away party was held in their honor last night at Don’s Place. A huge crowd to bid them farewell.

Erika and Hershel were given many going away gifts. Stefanie was in charge of the gifts. Stefanie just returned from a month in Indiana where she and Don have a summer home. Indiana winters and Key West ones are not the same. She gave Hershel a long hand knitted scarf for the Indiana winters. She knitted the scarf herself. Erika got one even bigger. Store bought. Plus a series of other gifts. Most representing the winters they are going to face in Indiana. David and some others also gave gifts.

Erika and Hershel have been the best. Key West will be a little less because of their absence.

Earlier in the day, I spent several hours writing. I am back to Growing Up Italian. I have  departed Greece for a while.

Yesterday’s weather was deadly. Extremely hot and humid. I could not find yesterday’s numbers. However, Jimmy told me last night the temperature was up to 98 and the heat index 120. He should know. He was outside all day on a ladder painting a house.

Today will be cooler. The high projected at 89 and the heat index 97. Jimmy should be painting today!

I presently have three complaints about the new North Roosevelt Boulevard.

It was announced in yesterday’s paper that there will be a back up for cars coming down US 1 to Key West on Monday. Work will still be ongoing at the triangle. The back up is projected at 30 minutes. The article claimed it will back up cars to Key Haven. That is where I live. Means a 2.5 mile back up rarely moving.

With the old Boulevard, there never was a problem for cars coming down US 1 which would make a right onto the Boulevard. There was never a light. A sign several hundred feet before the turn saying in effect cars turning right keep going.

Now there are two lights controlling traffic going in the same direction. Sometimes they will be red. I have noticed the past several days that each time the lights are red, the backup on US 1 has gone beyond College Road to the mid point of the golf course. And this is not season with its increased traffic.

I have been told the lights are for pedestrians to cross. Pedestrians have crossed for years without any lights. I am aware of no accidents.

Finally, the driving lanes in both directions are marked for bicycle traffic. Death on wheels in the making! The worst place for bicycle traffic! No bike paths marked. The sidewalk along the water is huge enough to handle pedestrian and bike traffic as it has for years.

The Ferguson curfew did not work last night. Armored cars, tear gas, and some arrests after midnight.

Today it is Ferguson and race. I worry that tomorrow it will be several communities and the issue salary inequality.

Enjoy your Sunday!

A GOOD TIME LAST NIGHT

I had a good time last night.

Stopped first at the Chart Room. A quick hello to Emily and left. Did not have a drink.

Crossed the street to the Hot Tin Roof. Jenna was joining me for dinner.

Jenna was late. Joseph and I chatted a bit. The man is an intellectual. I enjoy our brief moments together. He made mention that he very much enjoyed my KONK Life column on Detroit. Thought I set forth the necessary background data and frankly represented the situation.

Jenna arrived! We had not seen each other in close to two months. It was reunion time!

We talked about everything. I enjoy her company. She, mine. Too bad she is 52 years younger than me.

I stopped at Don’s Place on the way home. Don was there. We sat and talked quite a while. Big party tonight at Don’s Place. A going away party for Hershel and Erika. They return to Indiana later this week.

Megan came over to say hello. Megan the bartender from Roostica. I have mentioned her before. An excellent bartender. Always makes sure I am well taken care of. I introduced her to Don. The three of us chatted for a while.

Megan looked terrific! Under 30 I suspect. One beautiful woman. Gracious and pleasant.

Jenna and Megan in one night. What could be better!

My day started at the bank with Yeleini. She has been my bank person for years. I needed some information.

Then to Publix. I bought nothing. Cost $51. How do families do it?

When I was in high school, I worked in what was then called a supermarket. The time 1949. Supermarkets then were not the huge stores of today. Not even close. One of my jobs was to stock the shelves. One of the items was Campbell Tomato Soup. Five cents a can. I noticed Publix was having a Campbell Tomato Soup sale. Four cans for $4.95. $1.24 a can.  Although more than 60 years later, still a major increase!

I mentioned Pine Tyme the other day. The 80 pound sick loggerhead turtle that had spent three months at the Marathon Turtle Hospital getting better. Pine Tyme was released into the ocean yesterday. With a satellite tracking device so we will know where her travels take her.

A huge crowd was present for her walk over the sand to the water. Many children. Plus Congressman Joe Garcia. A good guy. Also a politician who knew the best place for him to be yesterday.

Ferguson did not die down. One night of calm. Then Ferguson erupted again last night. Some of the armored trucks were brought out to keep the crowd at bay.

I have an interesting inquiry. Military equipment has been distributed to large and small police departments all over the country. From two sources. The Department of Defense/Pentagon. No cost. Supposedly left over and no longer needed military equipment. Also the Department of Homeland Security. The municipalities have to pay, but get a special deal.

Ferguson is a community of only 21,000 people. Key West is larger. Twenty nine thousand. Has the City of Key West Police Department received from either source military equipment of any nature? Similar to what was seen on the streets of Ferguson. What of the Monroe County Sheriff Department?

The public has a right to know. Transparency is required. Let not the first time we become aware be the day we have public disturbance and the armored vehicles suddenly appear.

Enjoy your day!

SHIRREL RHOADES…..MAN OF THE YEAR

My publisher received a big time award! Shirrel Rhoades was honored recently at a gathering in Montreal, Canada. He received the 2014 Professional Man of the Year Award by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Shirrel is a full time Key West resident and an owner of Absolutely Amazing E Books, the publishing house.

Congratulations, Shirrel! Keep up the good work!

North Roosevelt Boulevard. Grand opening yesterday. Don’t know why all the politicians were taking bows. It took 2.5 years to complete a 1.5 year job.

Yesterday technically was the first day for 5 lane traffic. It existed Monday, also. Monday must have been a practice day.

I drove the Boulevard twice yesterday, in and out. It is lovely! The palm trees in perfect order. Reminded me of the flags at the United Nations. All the same height in perfect line.

Traffic was moving well. Moving along. No slow downs or one way traffic. To a point. I was driving with the palm trees and water to my right. All of a sudden, traffic slowed down to a snail’s pace. All cars moving into the left lane. The problem. Two police officers on bikes had pulled a speeder over. Same thing again a quarter of a mile down the road. Crazy! All I could think was what the hell good is this new road if we are going to be faced with new delays!

I recalled reading in the Citizen earlier in the day that the speed limit was still 25 mph  because of some final work being done. There is a regular and higher speed. I cannot remember it, however. It has been that long!

Did an MRI of my right shoulder in the morning. I was concerned because the doctor had told me the MRI was closed. Those of you who have had MRI’s will understand.

My age came into play. My first MRI has to have been 30 plus years ago. When the machine first came out. It was a closed box all the way around. Smaller and tighter than a casket. The top of the box inches from my face. I panicked for a moment. A bad feeling!

Several years later, they came out with an open MRI. Much better, depending which part of your body was being observed. If the stomach, your head and legs were not covered. If a shoulder, as mine was yesterday, then the head and shoulder covered. More room, however.

Now they have what is described as a truly open MRI machine. Space all around. No chance of claustrophobia coming into play.

The MRI machine I was subjected to yesterday was described as a closed one. Obviously the medical people were a generation or two behind me. I was in the middle one. The original I had my first MRI in was for real closed!

Time different, also. My first MRI took one hour and a half. Yesterday, 20 minutes.

Spent the afternoon fine tuning last night’s blog talk radio show. I thought the atrocities being committed on Mount Sinjar would garner the most response. I was wrong. It was the story of the man who went into a hospital for a circumcision and left with his penis having been amputated. The penis comments were all from men.

Dinner at Roostica. Megan bartends and was bar tending last night. I was sitting at a table. She generally comes over to get me started. Not her job. Just a real nice person. Bobby is blessed with a good staff.

The Islamic religion is the fastest growing religion in the world. Over two billion members. Many kill non-believers. Especially Christians. Convert or die. They believe the killings will get them into heaven. If such is the case, how can we ever hope to stop the killings? Our enemy is religious fanaticism.

Enjoy your day!

KATHERINE PREGNANT?

Before every one gets excited, I am not referring to Katherine of Katherine and Sean Kinney. This story is about Katherine the Great White Shark.

The Miami Herald reported yesterday that a great white shark was sighted off Key Largo. She was 14 feet long and weighed 2,300 pounds. Her name is Katherine.

Katherine’s dorsal fin has a tracking tag attached. It was implanted last August off Cape Cod. Every time Katherine’s fin is above water, it pings. Repeatedly. Katherine is topside more than normal. The scientists are thrilled with all the pinging she is providing.

At the moment, Katherine’s pinging will help them learn the various directions great white sharks take to get from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico.

Pregnancy comes into play. If Katherine is pregnant, she will end of in Gulf waters this summer. if not, she will be back in the Cape Cod area. The Cape apparently is a breeding ground for great white sharks.

Katherine is popular. Even before her recent sighting in the upper Keys. She has a following in the social media world. Her Twitter account has 4,000 followers.

Stay tuned! Hopefully, I will be able to let you know at some time if Katherine was/is with child. If so, the baby will be an instantaneous media star.

The boulevard construction continues to be a gigantic pain. However, I suspect Key Westers have all become adjusted. Each of us have our special streets we take to avoid the construction.

Yesterday, for whatever reason, I decided to use the boulevard on my way home. It was mid afternoon. Suddenly, traffic was jammed up. Movement if at all was in tiny steps. Finally, the police moved us in and out of side streets. The morning paper reports there was some sort of construction accident which caused the boulevard to be closed down for a couple of hours.

We will all be happy when the construction is completed. We are told mid summer. Then the game plan is to reconstruct the first few miles of Route 1. I am sure that will take a year plus. I live 2.5 miles up Route 1. Ain’t no short cuts off Route 1!

I had a quiet dinner reading the newspapers at Roostica. Business very slow. Maybe a half dozen people in the place. More staff than customers. Attributable to the time of year.

Did my blog talk radio show last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

I have been hitting on the lack of transparency in government and the failure of the media to report ALL the news in recent shows. I have a suspicion that on occasion, government may influence the media as to what it reports.

I do not think what I am about to state has anything to do with the preceding. However, it is another shade of the problem. I talked about it last night.

Roughly three weeks ago, we learned of the 30 Nigerian girls who were abducted from a boarding school in Nigeria. The United sSates and most other nations were immediately inflamed. My concern was the timeliness of the news report. The abduction had taken place two weeks prior to the media reporting it.

Within a week after learning about the 300 girls, it was reported 59 young boys were also abducted by the same Nigerian radical Islamist group. The boys’ abduction occurred some two plus months before the female abduction. Whereas, the girls were initially to be sold into slavery, the boys were taken down a different road. All 59 were killed. Some shot. Most burned to death in a building. It was reported only ashes remained.

We never learned about the incident involving the boys till almost three months after it occurred.

Why were we not told of these events as they occurred? Certainly, they were newsworthy. There is a pattern developing as to what we are told and not told. It bothers me.

Don and Chris are returning today! I hope to have a couple of drinks with them tonight at the Chart Room.

Enjoy your day!

ANDY WILLIAMS / RONALD REAGAN / RYDER CUP

Good morning!

A beautiful Key West day to rise and shine to!

Scattered clouds. Sunny. Humid. This is the rainy season. It will rain once or twice today. Hope it does not rain later this afternoon or this evening. Today is thursday and thursday is bocce!

I walked big time again yesterday. Twice up and down the aisles of Home Depot. Took about 45 minutes. I walk at a good clip.

Spent my afternoon writing. Rained off and on. So I worked at the kitchen counter next to the sliding doors. Doors open, of course.

I published another article on Amazon Kindle yesterday. It is the story of a sitting Texas judge who warns that a civil war is coming. If Obama is reelected. The judge believes Obama will turn the sovereignty of the United States over to the UN. He further believes the people will not stand for it and will rebel. The article is entitled Texas Judge Warns Of Civil War.

I published this same article in KONK Life several weeks ago. KONK Life’s distribution is limited Key West to Miami. My readers here are world wide. Thirty plus countries. That is why I republished the article on Amazon Kindle yesterday. To provide every one the opportunity to read it, if they so desire.

Dinner at Tavern ‘N Town last night. A prime rib. Excellent. Kept me on the Atkins diet.

I had a charming companion with me. Lu Kramer. An intelligent person. We discussed many things.

Tavern ‘N Town has a new gimmick to attract diners on a wednesday evening. I had forgotten. I did not go for that reason. But it was interesting. As well as a terrific customer attraction.

At the end of dinner, the manager comes to your table. He flips a coin. If the customer calls it correctly, there is no bill to pay. If not, the customer pays the bill with no penalty. Nothing to lose!

I lost. Called it wrong. Paid. It was a fun experience.

The Chart Room’s Emily had dinner at Tavern ‘N Town the week before. She won the toss. No bill.

Tomorrow, The Key West Lou Legal Hour. On the internet. World wide. Ten in the morning my time. People will be watching the show also from more than 30 countries. Watch, if you can. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

Topics include the morning after pill for New York City high school students, a national fair tax, the purported benefits of castration, Florida’s amendment 8 which is up for vote, and more.

During last week’s internet show, I complained of the boulevard construction. A 2 year job. Key West is screwed up big time traffic wise because of it. One of my complaints was that no one was working. The day before in mid afternoon I drove the length of the job counting. Only 6 workers.

This morning’s Key West Citizen has several complaints registered by readers on the page 2 column for such purpose. From 2 to 4 workers. This is a multi million dollar two year job. Work it and get it over!

It is not the driving problem alone. The businesses along the way are being crucuified. Some down as much as 30-40 per cent.

The Ryder Cup starts today. A big deal in the world of golf! The competition will be played at the Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois.

Upstate New York, Rochester specifically, has a golf course of international reputation. Oak Hill. The Ryder Cup was played there about 15 years ago. Oak Hill has also hosted the PGA, US Open and other big time tournamnets.

I did the last Ryder Cup at Oak hill. The whole four days. Somehow I became a guest of NBC. The hotel, meals, transportation and tent were all on NBC. I was not aware I was NBC’s guest till after the tournamnet concluded.

It was an exciting event!

I have also driven to Rochester to view the other tournaments.

The big deal in watching a professional tournament is to be corpoate America’s guest. I mentioned already I was the guest of NBC for the Ryder Cup. In previous tournaments, I was the guest of Oldsmobile and IBM.

The corporate guest thing is important because each corporation has a tent. A hospitality tent. Huge. White. Aluminum poles. Air conditioned. Living room type fuurniture. Sit back in an easy chair and enjoy. Great bathroom faciliites. All day. Breakfast. Lunch. Other foods to pick at. Liquor. Huge TV sets to watch the tournament from in comfort and cool. All free!

Andy Williams died yesterday. Of Moon River fame. He was 84. Close to my age. I spent a life time listening and dancing to his songs.

Paths have strange ways of crossing. One involves Williams and Ronald Reagan. Williams was 8 years old and was part of a singing program with his two older brothers at Radio Station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa. Ronald Reagan was the Station’s young sportscaster at the same time.

Time to walk.

Enjoy your day!