COW KEY BRIDGE RUN A SUCCESS

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The first time was yesterday. The Cow Key Bridge Run. More than 1,000 participants. A hundred plus dogs. Most humans and dogs costumed. The racers started in groups because of the large number number. The last participant crossed the finish line one hour fifteen minutes after the run started. Everyone completed the 360 foot route.

Jean and Sheila were dressed in some sort of short dress costume with hats and shoes. Saw them on FB. Looked Dutch to me. I don’t know. Twenty five Golden Cows were given as awards. Jean received one. The Golden Girl added to her gold collection.

US 1 was never closed. The runners/walkers used the concrete path on the left side of the bridge going north.

A new Key West tradition has been born.

I never made it. The thought of the race alone tired me. I stayed home in bed and watched TV.

Great basketball last night! The big guns went down. Such has been this basketball season. Unique!

I was at the Chart Room last night. Sean and I discussed the games. They were yet to be played. He was confident Florida was going to win it all. I told him I thought so, but this has been a topsy-turvy season and anything could happen. It did.

#1 Florida went down to defeat by #7 seed Connecticut. Florida had won 30 games prior to last night. Kentucky eked out a win over Wisconsin with a three pointer in the last seconds to win by one point. Kentucky was a #8 seed. My condolences to John Lukas.

It should be a terrific game Monday night!

I did not see the Connecticut/Florida game. I was having dinner with Jean Thornton at Hot Tin Roof. I did see the second game, however. What excitement!

Shane and Jessica came by while Jean and I were having dinner. Bocce friends. They had stopped for desert. A terrific couple.

Stopped at Don’s Place on the way home. Chatted a bit with Don. The topic was the basketball games. Bocce came into the conversation. One of the best bocce teams is Hell’s Rangers. A fearsome group! They beat everyone! We beat them thursday night. Two games out of three. A major win!

Enjoy your Sunday!

HOW DID MAGELLAN DO IT?

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Magellan sailed around the world hundreds of years ago in a boat constructed of wood.

A 75 foot replica of the ship Magellan sailed broke its rudder near Cudjoe Key. The Coast Guard came to the rescue. Minimal repairs were made. The ship is now docked at the Outer Mile Pole for further repairs.

How did Magellan make it without a Coast Guard? What did he do if and when a rudder broke? Did any repair facilities exist in the parts of the new world he explored?

You must admit. Quite a feat Magellan accomplished!

I finally got out yesterday!

Lunched at Geiger Key. Sat at the bar. Enjoyed looking at the people and view. In between sightings, read the newspaper.

Dinner was at Roostica. The last time there, I noticed the ladies at an adjoining table consuming an antipasto. The ladies and the antipasto both looked good! I ordered the antipasto last night. I suggest you order it the next time you are at Roostica. Beautiful to look at. Tasty to eat. Much too large for one person.  I took more than half of it home.

The Keys History section in this morning’s Key West Citizen contained an interesting note. Fifty years ago this March, total house sales for the month were $1,638,250. Today, many of the larger homes sell for that amount and more.

I am on my soap box again. Two short comments.

History does repeat itself. Many fail to recall. George Santayana said it best: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

The Supreme Court decision this week triggered much discussion re the financing of political campaigns. There is a simple solution. Have the government finance campaigns and limit the time for campaigns. It bothers me that the wealthy are able to exert so much influence in a campaign. Additionally, limit campaigning in a Presidential race to two months. We now are into a two year cycle for Presidential campaigns. Too much!

My book! My book! My book! Available for purchase on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. The World Upside Down.

The Cow Bridge Race at noon today. My enthusiasm is waning. It is not the distance. It is the parking. I will probably have to walk a mile each way from where I park and return. Too much!

Enjoy your day!

APRIL FOOL!!!

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There was a time the Key West Citizen had more of a sense of humor.

Approximately 20 years ago on April 1, I was sitting at the kitchen table in 1800 where I was renting for the season. I browsed through the newspaper while having breakfast. The front page was interesting. Jam full of topics rarely reported.

The major article proclaimed that the Key West City Commission had the night before passed a local law prohibiting smoking on public beaches and streets. I immediately exclaimed to my then wife, “They can’t do this. It’s illegal!”

I still didn’t get it. I ranted on for a couple of minutes. Then it dawned on me. It was April Fool’s Day! The Citizen got me!

Strange how life turns. What was a joke yesterday, is fact today. Some public beaches do prohibit smoking. It would not surprise me if the day comes when smoking is not permitted on public streets.

I suggest the Citizen has lost its sense of humor because it no longer prints its traditional April Fool’s Day page.

Key West never fails to surprise. Nor do some of its leading citizens. Perhaps that is why Key West is at the cutting edge of many things.

This morning’s paper reported Commissioner Jimmy Weekly intends to introduce at this evening’s Commission meeting a resolution that Key West support two State bills seeking to legalize recreational marijuana. It is the next step in  the process. Florida citizens will vote in November whether to legalize medical marijuana.

What Jimmy Weekly will be doing this evening is not an April Fool’s joke.

My blog talk radio show tonight. Nine o’clock. A fast moving and revealing half hour. Listen and hear me share some goodies with you that you may not be aware of. Including some things our government and/or media fail to tell us. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics tonight include my take on why the banks will destroy Ukraine faster than the Russians, a new form of cannibalism (eating meat developed from celebrity tissue), why U.S. food prices were up 19 per cent last year, an expose of existing welfare for the rich and corporations, college athletes having the right to unionize, and more.

I thank everyone who has purchased my book The World Upside Down. People are reading it! The book is available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

My back still hurts. Yesterday the worst. To the doctor later.

Enjoy your day!

 

JJ…..WHERE ARE YOU?

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JJ was one of the bartenders at the Chart Room. He changed his place of work to the Galleon a couple of weeks ago. I decided to visit JJ.

Good luck! I have been twice to the Galleon and no JJ! The first time was my fault. I did not know his schedule and went on a day he was not working. Yesterday was my second time. However, I checked first. JJ was working thursday and friday from 4 on. I was there at 4:30. JJ nowhere to be found. The bartender Todd told me JJ had gone home.

The Galleon sits at the end of Front Street. Water on two sides. People own condos, time shares, and a few rent. I had been to the outdoor bar only twice. For weddings. Yesterday, for a drink.

The bar sits directly on open water. Boats going back and forth constantly. A large square bar, well shaded.

I did not enjoy my time there. The atmosphere was strange. Every bar I go to in Key West is full of friendly drinkers. Whether locals or tourists. No one talked to anyone at the Galleon. Everyone stayed to themselves. Most starred straight ahead. Even couples. Sad. Could it be the ownership factor? I do not know.

After the Galleon, it was the Chart Room. Quiet. Early. Around 5. Just me and Emily. Then me, Emily and Sheila. I had one drink at the Galleon. Was not in the mood to drink any more. Had two diet Pepsi’s at the Chart Room.

Ate some popcorn. Emily makes the best popcorn on the island!

Where to have dinner? I finally decided on Orgami. It was a while since I had enjoyed sushi. I sat outside at a small table.

Orgami is located in Square One. Just across from Square One Restaurant.

Big basketball tonight! Dayton/Florida. Six o’clock. I have decided to watch the game from the comfort of my home. I am curious to see if Dayton can continue its winning streak. A tough game. Florida is #1 on everyone’s list of top teams.

Enjoy your day!

KANSAS’ RAYLENE AND GARY

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Today’s blog going out very late! Sorry! I had a big morning. I had to tidy the house up. Realtor showing it this morning. Then had to get out early because the first group was arriving. Walked around Duval for an hour before my hair appointment. Then walked Duval some more. People watching. By the time I returned home, it was after noon and I was tired!

Began last night at the Chart Room. Glad I did. Met a couple I met sometime last year. Raylene and Gary from  Kansas. Dorothy country. They were staying for four days at the Pier House with their two young adult children. Good looking kids!

Raylene and Gary return to Key West early every October for two weeks. To celebrate their anniversary.

Nice people. I hope I get to see them before they leave this trip and definitely in
October.

Raylene is extra special. She she told me bought my book and read it! Also mentioned she was looking forward to my next book, Growing Up Italian.

The season is in full bloom. I walked the first 3 blocks of Duval. Jam packed! Walking impossible. Everyone moving at a snail’s pace.

Ended up at Kelly’s. Jennifer and Amy working the bar. Two lovely ladies. I enjoyed an order of wings and read the newspapers.

Two fellows sat near me at the bar. They appeared to be Europeans. Speaking English. Jennifer asked if they were from Holland. Yes, they responded. She could tell from their accents. Jennifer’s grandmother was from Holland, also.

The new Netflix TV series I mentioned earlier this week  will start shoting in the next few days in Islamorada. As previously mentioned, Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek stars. I discovered her co-star last night. Sam Shephard. What a combination!

This has been a spectacular lobster season! Not the most lobsters caught in a season. But the most dollar wise. Prices per pound wholesale are up. The Asian market has opened big time. Daily flights take the lobsters live packed in ice to Asian markets.

I find it amazing how the Florida lobster trade has grown world wide.

Frankly, I do not enjoy Florida lobsters. I am a Maine lobster snob. I rarely eat a Florida lobster. They are good. However, once you have tasted Maine lobster, it is  difficult to enjoy local ones.

An American tragedy occurred yesterday. The NLRB announced that scholarship college athletic students are employees and accordingly have the right to unionize. I disapprove of the ruling. The fallout is going to be fantastic. It will in effect be similar to 9/11. Change will take place in college athletics. Big time!

Northwestern was the university involved.

President Obama has been in Italy the past two days. Surprisingly, my Italian friends wish he had not come. They are not happy with him. Much of Europe is not.

Bocce tonight. I am going to cheer my team on. With a glass of gin in my hand, of course. I will not be playing. My back. Besides the pain,  I fear that one of the times I bend over, I will not be able to return to a standing position.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

BILL GATES…..THE WAY IT IS

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Woke to the big band! Howling wind, thundering sky and monsoon rain! Interestingly, from the south. Very unusual. Occurs only a few times a year. Just happened two times in one week.

My blog talk radio show tonight. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine o’clock. I am kicking ass! www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

I am 78. I do not think I am old. I do not feel old. But, obviously I am. The number of years on earth make me feel I have lived through a significant portion of history. I have, as has everyone in my age bracket.

I was born six years before World War II. My parents were poor. I was born on whatever the welfare program was at the time was.  My parents tried to give me everything. They wanted a better life for me. They instilled the work ethic in me. Work hard and succeed. Plus, you MUST get an education.

The generation following mine were the baby boomers. We of my generation screwed up in raising them. We wanted everything for them. Gave them everything. I for one did not want my children to “suffer” as I did in working several jobs in high school, college and law school, in having to pay for most of my education, in not having a car till I graduated from law school and could afford one on my own, etc.

Ergo, I and most of my generation gave our children the world. So much more so than our parents had given us. The baby boomers turned out not such an admirable group. They were the age of entitlement. They wanted everything. They were entitled to everything. They did not want to work for anything. Along the way, most forgot their aging parents.

Now is the time of the children of the baby boomers. They are more world wise than their parents. They believe the world owes them everything. Because they are. Because they exist. For no other reason.

Bill Gates recently gave a talk to a group of high school students. He set forth eleven rules they did not and would not learn in school. His remarks stated that today’s kids were feel good, politically correctly imbued and that such had created a generation of teens with no concept of reality. He said such set the kids up for failure in today’s world.

June Hudson of Key West, Delaware and Jersey Shore fame sent me a copy of Gates’ 11 rules. I set them forth intact and unedited for your reading. The rules say it all.

Rule 1. Life is not fair–get used to it.

Rule 2. The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3. You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4. If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity.

Rule 6. If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7. Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8. Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in life.

Rule 9. Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. (Do that on your own time.)

Rule 10. Television is NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

Enjoy your day!

 

CALABRIA…..THE FOOT OF THE ITALIAN BOOT

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The sky is overcast this morning. Accompanied by a moderate breeze. The breeze is carrying the morning smell of the ocean into my kitchen. Pleasant.

It was back to bed yesterday. My back! Thought I was ok. Apparently not. The spasm takes my breath away. Not much better this morning. Been through this before. At some point, the spasm will cease. I wish it would hurry up!

The Wichita/Kentucky game last night will be remembered as one of the greats. Kentucky squeaked out the win. Coach Louis thought the difference between the teams and the reason for the Kentucky win was conditioning. Towards the end of the game, the Kentucky players were still going up and down the court as if the game had just started. Wichita began making mistakes. Mistakes that seem to have been brought on by the tired factor.

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog how much money Patrick raised at the fundraiser. Patrick cut his very long dreds for charity. Raised $12,000! Good for you, Patrick!

A couple of weeks ago, I told you Fuddruckers was opening up next door to Burger Fi. I was wrong. Not Fuddruckers. It is Johnny Rockets.

I have never seen a Johnny Rockets. Most people have, however. They tell me a 1950s place, waitresses on roller skates, etc. A burger joint. I look forward to trying it.

My Italian friend Antonio spent an interesting few days this past week. Antonio lives in Novara. His wife I love dearly. Mariam from Morocco. A chef, she cooked a birthday dinner for me a couple of years ago.

Antonio and two of his buddies went on what was described as a hiking trip. Into the Sila Mountain range. Still snow covered, much of the trip was made wearing whatever one wears on their feet while walking on deep snow. I am experiencing a mental block. Permit me to describe them as  like tennis rackets. Snow shoes?

Sila Mountain is in southern Italy. In Calabria. Calabria is located in the boot of Italy.

The Sila Mountain range consists of three separate mountains. One of the mountains is called New Greece or Greek Sila.

You will recall that during my first Greece trip, I realized I had to have Greek blood in me. I who thought I was pure Italian my whole life.

While in Greece and especially the small islands, I noticed the Greek food I was eating was exactly like the Italian food I had been raised on. My grandmother and mother’s cooking. Everything. Even down to the bread.

I started asking questions. Then went to the books to verify what I had been told. I wrote a blog about this three years ago and did a segment on my television show.

Greece way back when was a great commercial nation. Way back when means hundreds of years even before the birth of Christ. Greek ships conducted commerce throughout whatever the known world was at the time.

Greece was interested in doing business with southern Italy and Sicily. Hundreds of Greek citizens were sent to these two areas to settle and develop trade with Greece. The Greeks and Italians got along extremely well. The Greeks remained. Intermarriages were common.

We are all aware that northern and southern Italian cooking are radically different. The difference is a result of the Greek immigration. For whatever reason, the Greek food predominated. Ergo, the Italian food I grew up on is the same as the Greek food I ate on the tiny Greek isle of Amorgos for a month.

Interesting.

Enjoy your day!

RIP

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Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. Grant them eternal rest, oh Lord.

The season ended for Syracuse last night. The team lost to Dayton 55-53.

It was a game like most Syracuse games this season. If you saw one, you saw them all. Close. The last few seconds everything. Whether against a good team or bad, the games played out that way.

I am glad it is over. I did not enjoy the season. An emotional strain!

Never the less, I congratulate Coach Boeheim and the team for their 28-6 record. The numbers are good. The actuality not.

I watched the game at Lukas’ place with the lovely Stephanie Kaple. Second time in a row I have enjoyed her company. She was cheering for Dayton Her parents went to school  there or live in Dayton.

We both were emotional. At one point, she claimed I hit her. I had not! I pushed her. Anyhow, she text her mother re the abuse. Mom text back…..Hit him! She did.

Everything else that occurred yesterday was non-consequnetial in comparison to Syracuse’s defeat last night.

I am in mourning.

Enjoy your Sunday!

DON AND CHRIS BACK

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Don and Chris hail from the Syracuse area. They visit Key West a half dozen times a year. They have returned! Came in last night. Friend Ed is with them.

Their favorite haunt is the Chart Room. I am sure they drank with Emily last night. We are meeting tonight at 7 at The Sports Pub to watch the Syracuse/North Carolina State game. Ed, also.

I am sure Don and Chris were shocked to hear JJ was no longer at the Chart Room. When I diet, I do not drink. I try to stay away from bars.  I fear succumbing to the near occasion of sin!

I do not know why JJ is no longer at one of my favorite drinking holes. He is now at the Tiki Galleon. I have never in all my Key West years drunk there. I will now, however.

Syracuse and North Carolina State met once during the season. Syracuse won by one point 56-55. A different time, however. Yersterday’s success does not guarantee today’s. What has gone before does not count. It is the post season and some teams have improved vastly. Some just get pure lucky. Tonight’s game will be interesting.

An example of getting lucky, etc. was last night’s game between Villanova and Seton Hall. Seton Hall won. Over a Villanova team ranked #3 nationally and considered a #1 seed in the Big Dance.

Enjoyed lunch wednesday with June Hudson at Geiger Key. Fun! Two old friends chatting away!

June leaves tomorrow for her home in Delaware. She is driving back alone. Does not seem to concern her.

June is going to Italy for 10 days in June. With her 14 year old granddaughter. The two alone. June is excited. She said her granddaughter is, also.

Bocce last night. I did not go. I would have passed out bending over to pick up the balls! My cell phone is on the blink this morning so I do not know if we won or lost.

Got a tweet from a voice from the past. Kurt Lubs. One of Key’s Wests most famous bartenders, he left more than a year ago to return home to Indiana. He will be in next week. Terrific! A friend!

Strange weather the past 24 hours. Temperature dropped to 64 last night. I could have used a body next to me. Presently, 68. Will reach mid 70s in the afternoon. Tonight, high 60s.

After the Syracuse game, I will be heading over to Don’s Place. Grant from Bad Boy Burritto will be on national TV at 10. The cooking channel.

My book, my book, my book! Buy it! People are. I should not complain. However, it would be nice if more did. Trust me, you will enjoy it. The World Upside Down is available as an e book or soft back cover on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. My picture on the cover alone is worth the price of the book!

Enjoy your day!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEILA

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One of Key West’s most loved persons is Sheila. Today, she celebrates her birthday. Happy birthday, Sheila! I am sure you will be well honored tonight at the Chart Room. I am sorry I cannot be there. I have prep time and then my blog talk radio show itself. We shall drink together another night.

Kim Novak was a presenter at the Oscars Sunday night. She was a beauty in the 1950s. One of the biggest stars of the time. Her face alone took your breath away.

Kim disappeared in the 1960s. Actually retired from show business. Except for a few brief forays back in, she lived first on Big Sur and now in Oregon. Oregon was initially her home.

Now 81, Kim’s years showed. Unfortunately. Physically and a bit mentally. She is 81. She was well received by the audience.

I am 78. Is this what I am to expect in three years?

Tonight, my blog talk radio show Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Please join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. Nine o’clock.

I suspect I will spend quite a bit of time on Ukraine. Not what is already known. Not what is in the papers. Rather some of the things not known by many. Like we have to be careful that whatever happens, it is not another Munich. The seeds are all in place for one. Most are unaware of the neo-Nazi party’s influence in the good guy group. The group the United States has already given in excess of $5 billion to. The stupidity of downsizing the military when we have hot spots all over the world, including Ukraine and Afghanistan. My displeasure with Kerry always talking on television about what he is going to do, who is good and bad, etc. Diplomacy is quiet and behind doors. How Europe will not stand tall. They depend on Russia for gas. Finally, how Ukraine banks have clamped down on depositor accounts this week. Some are limiting withdrawals to $100 a day.

Good stuff! Interesting! Revealing!

Good Morning America is coming to Key West. Friday morning. Live from Mallory Square. Go down and be part of the event.

There was a note in this morning’s Key West Citizen. It said there are 77,271 eligible Americans waiting for transplants. That number and the lack of organs is why there is a thriving black market in human organs world wide.

I remain down trodden re Syracuse. Syracuse plays again tonight. Against Georgia Tech at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse is 25 or 26-3. Georgia Tech 13-16. Syracuse dropped in the weekly rankings to #7.

Unfortunately, I will not be watching the game. Maybe for the good. Each game this year beats me up. I will be doing my blog talk radio show. Syracuse will be my first topic. World events have taken second place to Syracuse basketball this season. I have been talking about the team at the start of each show.

When I get sick, it seems to run in spurts. One type illness after another. The weekend was food poisoning. I saw Dr. Jackie Lefferts yesterday for a persistent cough. I had x-rays also. Somehow during the day, I threw my back out. When spasms hit, intolerable is the only way to describe them. This afternoon I see the dermatologist. I have had a small growth on my upper arm for years. It has grown the past two weeks and is sore.

I am doing good!

Enjoy your day!