COLD FRONT CAME IN

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I mentioned saturday morning that another perfect Key West day was in the making. There was a cool breeze coming in off the ocean.

It was not a cool breeze. Turned out to be the beginning of a cold front. Saturday was cool. Sunday cold. Too cold. The high was only 68. Today it is cold, also. Temperature at the moment is 66 degrees. High however will be around 80. The rest of the week will be days at or near 80, with evenings around 70 degrees.

It is the beginning of Key West’s fall season. It did not begin slowly. It came almost overnight. Speaking of nights, I needed a quilt last night to keep warm.

To my dear friends up north, I appreciate you have snow already. Cold in the Keys is different. When you go weeks at 85 degrees and all of a sudden it drops to 75, you feel it. Seventy becomes very cold. The high 60s freezing. Our blood is thin.

One of the nice things about living in  Key West is that every weekend there is a new and different party. This week the power boat races. Long sleek expensive boats. Crews of several persons. Dangerous driving on the ocean.

Exciting!

The boats turn me on. Yesterday, I went over to the Truman waterfront to look at them. They were on display. Magnificent!

The sport is only for the rich or corporations. Reflects how much money goes into acquiring/making the boats and maintaining them.

I hustled over to Duval afterwards to catch a bit of the boat parade. A large crowd. Enthusiastic.

The boat races start wednesday and end next sunday. If you have the opportunity to watch, do it. An experience you will not soon forget.

There are sayings used to make a point. One is …..Is the Pope Catholic? Well, maybe not any more.

There is controversy in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis is trying to open the windows to let in the fresh air of change. Conservatives within the Church who oppose his efforts are doing everything to hold them closed.

A significant number of Bishops are at odds with the Pope. On issues such as gays, divorced persons being permitted to receive communion, etc. They are becoming increasingly vocal. Now there is talk of a schism within the Church. There has not been one in a couple of hundred years. Emotions run deep. One Church leader suggested the Pope is the anti-Christ.

There is talk among conservative Cardinals and Bishops of deposing Francis and replacing him with Benedict. Benedict resigned making way for Francis. However, Benedict remains within the Vatican walls. He lives on the Vatican grounds. Benedict was a doctrinaire. A hard ass. Church doctrine did not bend under him.

You thought only Republicans and Democrats fought hard.

The Bishops have come out of the woodwork in the past few years and are expressing themselves publicly in many areas such as abortion and birth control. I am not sure it is healthy.

What happened to peace and tranquility? What happened to love? Everyone fights.

Enjoy your day!

 

LYNDA FRECHETTE

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Her name is Lynda Frechette. One of the nicest people in Key West. A dynamo. Involved in all sorts of Key West activities.

I ran into Lynda and her husband Bob last night at Tavern ‘n Town. It had been a while. We exchanged warm pleasantries.

Lynda also does a blog. She has been doing it for years. More years than mine. It is called Key West With Lynda. Purportedly a Key West social calendar. Actually more. It is sprinkled with love. I recommend Lynda’s blog to you.

It was Bobby Nesbitt time last night at Tavern ‘n Town. Many of his friends in attendance. Me included. He is probably Key West’s premier vocalist.

Seated next to me at the bar were Lisa and Allen Taylor from Cape May, New Jersey. One of my old haunting grounds. I spent many a summer at Stone Harbor. We would occasionally drive to Cape May for dinner. Lisa and Allen are snowbirds. They are down six months a year. They own a home in the Sanctuary on the golf course.

In their other life, Lisa and Allen owned three restaurants in Cape May. Allen is a chef by profession.

Enjoyable people. I hope to run into them again.

When the Marriott Beachside first went up, I did not think it would succeed. Too far out of the way. It has. Big time! The success of Tavern ‘n Town an example.

Several new motels are under construction immediately across the street from the Marriott. I suspect each will be successful, also. The bar/restaurants especially. A whole new social area opening up.

Sloan was over in the afternoon. I have her working on the new musical introduction to my blog talk radio show. She is the one who will be responsible for adding it into computer format.

Heard from an old friend yesterday. A telephone call from Rose Ann. I have known Rose Ann from the time she was 20. She is now 66. We have not seen each other in close to 20 years. Yet every year or so, I received a telephone call from her. Our conversation picks up as if we had talked the day before.

I admire Rose Ann. First time we met was in a courtroom. She was suing my client. I destroyed her. She lost. The defeat had a dramatic effect on her life. Changed her life completely. Rose Ann had a tough time for many years thereafter. However, she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and has had a very successful life since.

I met Rose Ann again after the trial about 2-3 years later. I was having lunch in a restaurant. All of a sudden, I got hit hard in the head with something. It was Rose Ann. She was a waitress. She hit me with her order pad. She started in immediately. Do you know what you did to me, she shouted.

We have been close friends ever since.

Syracuse football. Oh, what a year! Lost again yesterday. This time to North Carolina State. We are now 3-6.

There has been an ongoing investigation of Syracuse sports covering the last 10-12 years. The emphasis seems to be more on the basketball program rather than football. The results should be forthcoming soon. I hope they are not bad and in no way adversely reflect upon my friend Jim Boeheim.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

TAMMY U.S. CITIZEN TOMORROW

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I got a pedicure and manicure yesterday. Tammy was excited. Very. She could not wait to tell me the good news. Tomorrow she becomes a United States citizen. She takes the oath in Miami.

Tammy was very proud. Justifiably so.

She told me she was in Miami on monday to take the written and oral tests for citizenship. she beamed as she advised she answered every question correctly.

Congratulations Tammy! And God bless!

The more than a week of 80 degree weather ends today. A cold front is coming in. Tonight the temperature will drop to 63. Cold! Tomorrow the temperature will be 70 by day and 64 at night. Saturday the temperature will return to the high 70s.

Most Key Westers are thrilled when a cold front comes in. It is a break from the warm weather. I do not mind a cold front, except in the evenings. Sleeping alone in low 60 degree weather is neither comfortable nor comforting.

Worked a bit yesterday on friday’s TV/Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. The show is almost all put together. A good one. You will enjoy.

The show is at 10 in the morning my time. Airs on television throughout the Keys and Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. The show is also available world wide at www.tvchannel19.com.

Babysat at dinner time last night.

A first occurred. Robert and Ally were permitted to ride without car seats. They were excited!

We had dinner at Matheesson’s. The grandkids love the place. It has a children’s menu that is really for children. Order what ever and get fries with the order. Plus, ice cream! They each had cheeseburgers.

They get their own ice cream. They go to the counter and pick out the flavor they want. Then the toppings! Each knows exactly which toppings they want.

Afterwards to Publix. I needed a few diet items.

The scenario is always the same. First the fight as to who will drive the cart. Then they each have their own way of shopping. Robert touches everything on every shelf. Takes items off and returns them. Ally spins and dances her way down the aisles. She is always thirty feet or more ahead of the cart.

They both forget they wanted to drive the cart.

Tonight our bocce banquet. Like bowling banquets of old. It will be at Don’s Place. Filet mignon, creamed spinach, potatoes, etc. Always a good meal. I will neither be eating nor drinking. Just a couple of diet Pepsi’s.

I cannot leave without a political comment.

The gun issue is not driven solely by the NRA and its members. The behind the scene primary drivers are the gun manufacturers and retailers. It is all about money.

Two statistics  read yesterday. Two separate articles. I make no claim as to their accuracy. If correct, they are interesting.

One article said more guns were sold in the United States this past November and December than all the guns combined in the Chinese and Indian armies.

The other claimed more than 67 million guns have been sold in the United States since Obama was elected in 2008.

Follow the money!

Enjoy your day!