SYRACUSE / INDIANA TONIGHT

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It’s amazing! Here I sit in paradise. Key West is a wonder unto itself. Yet what is first on my mind today? The Syracuse/Indiana basketball game tonight.

The Vegas line picks Indiana by 5.5 points. I pick Indiana. Syracuse has already exceeded my expectations in the tournament. On the other hand, one never knows!

Don is a big time Indiana fan. We are going to watch the game together at his bar. The game starts at 9:45. Bocce will come first at 6:30. A busy night ahead!

On the way into town last night, I stopped at Don’s Place. Chatted with Don, David, and Jimmy. Then I was off to the Chart Room.

Lots of people.

Emily bartending. What a lovely girl! Beautiful and smart.

Ran into Bridget who I had met last week. She was with Scott. He was new to me.

Bridget you will recall is a travel guide. Her company has her in Key West for a few weeks. She is from New Hampshire.

Scott is from Colorado. He explained to me he is a walker. Walks large distances. Many miles. Has done so in several countries.

They are both staying at the hostel on South Street. I was surprised. I thought a hostel was for young kids. Apparently not. Bridget had been staying at the Hyatt. She is spending a few days at the hostel with Scott. Separate quarters. Dormitory living. Bridget with the ladies and Scott the men. People of all ages. They explained that they have done this before. It gives them the opportunity to meet many diverse people easily.

Obviously no sex involved between Bridget and Scott. At least not at the hostel.

Peter was at the end of the bar entertaining a group of young ladies and their male escorts. All relatively young. Thirtyish. The ladies in the medical field. One a doctor. A pediatrician. The others nurses. One of the couples visited Key West last year for four hours. They were on a cruise ship. Liked Key West so much, they have returned with friends for a whole week.

Pam said hello. We met last year. She is a local. A lovely lady. I loved her even more when she told me she listened to my blog talk radio show. A first for me. Most are aware of this blog, the TV show, the internet show, my weekly KONK Life column. Pam was the first person I have met who even mentioned the blog talk radio show. A sign the show must be catching on. I hope!

Belinda from last week was seated at the round table with friends. She said hello as I was leaving. I went over and gave her a peck on the cheek. I look forward to running into her again soon.

The weather is cold! 59 degrees at the moment. Hight today 70. Will be in the 60s when we play bocce tonight. Long pants!

Tomorrow morning at 10 the Key West Lou Legal Hour. Available for viewing on  television  and the internet. TV channels Comcast 87 and U-Verse 19. World wide on the internet. www.tvchannel19.com.

The main topic will involve Cyprus, Germany and the euro. What has happened and is happening in Cyprus is dangerous and fearful. I warned while in Greece last summer that the euro problems could lead to war. I wrote a major column on the issue two months ago for KONK Life. Germany started World War I and World War II. I suggested Germany might be responsible for World War III. I did not view the middle east as today’s primary danger spot. It was Germany and Europe!

I have to move my butt. I have an early haircut appointment with Lori. Always a pleasure to be in her company.

Enjoy your day!

 

TRICYCLES / TRIKES

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The streets of Old Town are fraught with danger. Tourists crossing streets without looking, crossing against the light, the trains and buses. One of the worst problems involves bicycles and now tricycles.

Bikes are rented all over Old Town. Key West is one of the best places in the world to ride a bike and enjoy scenery and serenity. Key West provides bike paths on many streets. Some streets are without.

Bicyclists appear to be under he impression that they are the only ones on the street. They forget there is automobile traffic. The bikes travel not on the bike paths and not to the left side. Generally down the middle of the road. Red lights and stop signs are ignored. It is as if they do not exist. Turns are made without signaling.

Driving a car can be a pressure packed experience.

Florida laws state that bikes are to be treated the same as motor vehicles. Bikes must follow the same rules of the road as autos.

Bicyclists do not.

The vacationing society is becoming older. Baby boomers are vacationing. Those older, also. A bike can be a difficult thing to maneuver as one ages. A wobbly ride as opposed to a smooth one. Ergo, the tricycle business has boomed. A tricycle is a three wheeled bike. Also known as a trike.

The tricycles are even a worse danger. They are wider than an ordinary bicycle. Especially the back wheels. More for a car to hit!

I have written this dissertation not because I do not like bicycles and tricycles. I own two bikes. Ride them often. I write because accidents are occurring and more will occur. Simply because bicycle riders are not careful in the operation of their bikes.

Riding a bicycle/tricycle and driving a car have become sad events waiting to happen on the streets of Old Town.

Cold! Very cold during the night and this morning. Fiftys during the evening. Fifty seven at the moment. The high today is projected in the low 60s.

The cold front will have moved out friday and the temperature for friday and the weekend will be in the mid 70s.

Technically, this cold front is not a normal one. Key West cold fronts generally come off the ocean. This one from the northeast U.S. Whenever the weather is extremely cold up north, it stretches down to the Florida keys. We feel the impact. Our temps drop. Though no where near what it does in the north country.

Visited Jake yesterday. He was outside chasing tiny lizards/geckos. What a happy life!

Did Dante’s for lunch. An outdoor restaurant/bar on the water front. I ate at one of the bars. There were heaters overhead so the cold was not a problem.

Afterwards worked on last night’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou.

Sloan came over and worked with me a while.

The blog talk radio show last night was a good one. Discussed at length two topics. The Cyprus bank situation and the U.S. Supreme Court same sex marriage issue.

For the second week in a row, a screw up occurred. No one could hear me!

I do not know the source of the problem. Those who called in could hear me as they waited. Everyone else, nothing.

Frustrating!

The show is archived and available 24 hours a day. Even though I was not heard at the time of the broadcast, for whatever reason the archive recording was not affected.  Ninety per cent of my listeners tune into the archive and will be able to hear it at any time. Not all was lost.

I have been in communication with the blog talk people. An Allan is supposed to call me to work the problem out.

I apologize to those who could not hear me last night. Disappointing to all of us. Please return next week.

The Key West Citizen reported this morning that the lobster and stone crab fishermen are complaining that this has been one of the worse seasons ever. One fisherman claimed it has been the worst in 40 years.

We Key Westers have been aware of the situation. Fishing friends frequent the Chart Room and Hogfish. May next year be better!

I must go out on the town this evening! I have been in 2-3 nights in a row. Need to have a couple of drinks and enjoy the company of others.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

BLOG TALK RADIO TONIGHT

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The weeks move swiftly by. Tuesday is here again. Tonight at 9, my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou. One half hour of interesting insights. You can even call in and chat with me! Please do.

I plan this evening to talk first about banks and the Cyprus situation. Banks that were first too big to fail and then too big to prosecute are now putting their hands where they do not belong. They have become thieves and whores. On a world wide basis. And no government stops them.

The other topic concerns same sex marriage. The Supreme Court hears two cases on the issue today and tomorrow. As recently as last year, I thought the issue would fail by a 5-4 vote. Now I believe it can win by as much as 6-3.

Tuesday Talk can be found on the internet. Your computer is the radio. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

The show is 9 weeks old. Recent stats show already a following of 1,800.

Another cold front is upon Key West! Our winter has come late. We had no winter when we were supposed to. Actually, present weather is crazy. Key West goes a week or two in the 80s and then drops into the 60s or worse. Last night was in the mid 60s. The high today will be 67. It is 65 as I write this morning. Tonight, 57.

Yesterday, I walked the waterfront. Dante’s, Schooner Wharf area. Lunched at Blossoms. I make it sound like a swanky place. It is not. Its Cuban toast is the best, however!

Watched the balance of the Arnold Palmer Tournament. Glad Tiger won. He appears to have come back. I am surprised. I did not think it possible.

Stayed in last night and wrote. I feel good this morning. A sense of accomplishment. My time was well spent.

As you are aware, the Blue Angels were here with a spectacular show this weekend. The Key West Citizen reports this morning it may have been the last Blue Angles show for a while. Sequestration. Some Congressmen said do not worry. They were going to save the shows. They have yet to perform.

My hometown Utica is in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York. Adirondack animals were always of great concern to the authorities. Especially deer.

In the Florida keys, it is the creatures of the ocean.

Makes sense.

Two men were arrested yesterday for allegedly killing a turtle. Meat parts were found in a bag by wildlife officers when the culprits’ boat docked at Stock Island. If convicted, they will probably do time. Properly so. Turtles generally are an endangered species. Keys people have a great concern for their well being. Evidenced in part by the fact there is a Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

The significance of the crime is that out of every 100 turtles born, only one will survive and make it to adulthood.

Enjoy your day!

HAPPY PASSOVER!

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Happy Passover one and all!

This evening my Jewish friends sit down to a special meal. One that recalls the suffering of their people. An interesting evening. A special one. Clothe in warmth and tradition.

I have been favored over the years with having been invited to many Passover seters. The correct word. However, I am not sure I spelled it correctly. If not, my apologies.

Donna and Terri are back in Key West. For Passover. Donna is a tough Jewish Mom. She requires all her children to be with her for Passover. Donna has flown in from Los Angeles. A daughter lives here in Key West. Her three sons Boston, Detroit and I am not sure where else. Tonight Passover will be celebrated at the daughter’s home in Key West.

Jake continues to be the center of attention. He has only been with Lisa and family about two weeks. They are inseparable. Jake is fortunate. He has found a good and loving home. In return he expresses his love for all the family. Me, too. Sometimes.

There seems to be a story a day with Jake. Jake is tiny. From the top of his head to his paws no more than 18 inches. He weighs just under 10 pounds. He fears not! Especially big dogs!

He is very territorial. If a dog walks by, he is at the door on hind legs barking like crazy. Regardless of the dog’s size. The neighbors across the street have two tinier dogs. They bark all the time. Jake does not seem to like them. He returns the barking.

Frankie the Plumber and Lisa are neighbors. Their backyards abutt. All that separates the two yards is a chain link fence.

Frankie has a monstrous dog. Big enough for my grandkids to ride!

Frankie’s dog and Jake are best of friends. No barking. They get up to the fence and rub noses. If one walks one way, the other follows. I find it amazing that Jake does not consider Frankie’s pet a danger or intruder.

I made a mistake yesterday afternoon. Late in the afternoon. I was on my way to Lisa’s for Sunday dinner. I ran into the traffic leaving Boca Chica. Took forever to reach Key West.

After dinner, I stopped at the Chart Room. Sheila was there. It appeared she was waiting for me. She handed me a bag of tomatoes. Sheila has a green thumb. She raises vegetables on her third floor terrace. I look forward to enjoying the tomatoes.

JJ bartending. He introduced me to Andras. In all the time I have been in Key west, this was the first we met.

Andras is around 50. Originally from Argentina, he has lived in Key West many years. He presently waits tables at Antonia’s and Rooftop. He has to be an excellent waiter. Both are top shelf establishments.

At one time, JJ and Andras were roommates. Andras introduced JJ to his now wife.

Key Westers are known as one human family. I break it down further to one family.

Men and women share apartments, condos, homes. Rent is high. Sharing a necessity. The men and women live as brother and sister. Sex  not involved. A very common Key West arrangement.

Mary bartends the Chart Room monday evenings. She has a roommate. You guessed it! Andras! A small world.

JJ told me the Chart Room will be 45 years old June 15. The Pier House is planning a party. A big one! Sounds like a fun time ahead.

I watched the Indiana/Temple game yesterday. The winner is scheduled to meet Syracuse later this week in the Sweet Sixteen. Temple beat Syracuse earlier this season when Syracuse was ranked #3 nationally. A good team.

An excellent game! Temple almost won. They lost the in the last two minutes. The score was 58-52. So it is Indiana for Syracuse in a few days.

Indiana is a #1 seed. Syracuse a #4. It should be an interesting game.

I make no predictions. I thought we would have been out of the tournament by now. It has been a topsy turvy Syracuse year.

What pisses me off are the media commentaries through the weekend and this morning. Every team gets talked about. But Syracuse. It is as if Syracuse does not exist. It is assumed Indiana will beat Syracuse, I suspect.

It is always this way with media reporting and Syracuse. We are the long lost brother and no one seems to care.

I hope Syracuse surprises every one! Beware of sleeping dogs!

Every one I have run into this weekend that had an opportunity to meet the Robinsons were impressed. All saw them as down to earth warm hearted people. All mentioned that the Robinsons appeared to be taken with Key West. Some suspected they might buy here.

For an island that was home to Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Hershey, and other notable writers of all type works, the Robinsons would be a welcome addition.

I spent a bit of yesterday working on tuesday night’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou. Join me at 9 for what should be an interesting time. One of the topics will be Cyprus and banks. The banks in this instance best described as whores. Interesting chatter awaits. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Long winded today. Sorry. I had much to share.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

A BIG VISITORS WEEKEND

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Charles Kuralt considered Schooner Wharf the center of the universe. I believe it is the Chart Room. We may both be wrong. It may be Key West itself!

This weekend is a biggie for Key West visitors. Many notables.

Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson spoke at The Studios of Key West friday night. He had been here the whole week. His wife Avis is notable in her own right. She is an artist. Her work has been showing all week at the Studios.

The Blue Angels are in town! No one has to tell you! They can be heard. Several times a day for the past few days. Flying low over Key West. Low low! I stood on my second floor balcony to watch them fly over. I thought if I put my hand up, I could touch the planes. Some one commented the planes were flying so low, he could see the pilot clearly. The Blue Angels are performing this weekend at Boca Chica Naval Base.

My bocce partner Erika flew with the Blue Angels friday. Not in a jet. In a large C-130 cargo plane. Called Fat Albert by the Navy.

Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, and Tippi Hedren were in Key West friday evening. Perhaps you have to be my age to know/remember them. Sad if that is the case. They were big movie stars of another generation. My generation.

All three were here for an opening at Rote’s Gallery on Duval. All three friends of owner Adam Scott Rote. Reynolds and Dickinson drove up in a Rolls-Royce.

Burt was a big time male star in the 1960s through the 1980s. Comparable to Tom Cruise who followed him. Reynolds interestingly has a sort of connection with the Blue Angels who are performing this weekend in Key West. In 1960 and 1961, Reynolds appeared in several episodes of the TV show Blue Angels.

Angie Dickinson was a wow! The loveliest of the lovelies! A big time female star. She worked with all the major male stars. She also was engaged heavily in television. A close friend of Frank Sinatra, she starred in the first Oceans 11 movie with Sinatra.

Tippi Hedren is best recalled by The Birds. The beautiful woman being chased by an army of run away birds.

Last but not least, the Budweiser Clydesdales are in town. All eight of them. They made a delivery on Duval Street friday. They performed at the Blue Angels air show saturday.

Key West Lou was here, also. I never got to see or meet any of the luminaries mentioned. My fault. A shame.

This blog is very late this morning because I was up after midnight watching the Syracuse/California basketball game. Syracuse won 66-60. Syracuse once had a 14 point lead. It got widdled down to 4 thereafter. Syracuse’s defense won the game for them. They completely tied up California’s big time star Crabbe. He scored only 8 points. You could see the exasperation on his face.

Syracuse went 12 minutes in the second half without even taking a shot. Can you imagine! They were fouled constantly, however. It was not Syracuse’s evening to shine on the foul line. The team only made 15 of 41 foul shots.

Onward to the Sweet Sixteen! Either Indiana or Temple. Those two play this afternoon.

Jake. Made his first long car trip yesterday. To Miami and back. Lisa said he was very good. He either rested on the floor or sat in someone’s lap looking out the window.

I noticed something unusual about Jake friday. The way he runs. He bounds. Maybe leaps. Whatever. He is a small dog. Each bound/leap is good for five feet. He is fast. Ain’t nothing that is going to get away from him.

Key West weather continues to be fantastic! 83 yesterday. It will be the same today. No humidity. Such a pleasure!

Enjoy your sunday!

 

POST WAR COSTS

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I spent an enjoyable morning yesterday doing the Key West Lou Legal Hour.

Viewers always attach to an issue or two. The topic garnering the most interest yesterday had to do with post war costs. We do not stop paying when a war ends. The costs are ongoing for many years. There are military pensions, disability pensions and ongoing medical for war inflicted wounds.

The United States spends $40 billion a year for such costs. Interestingly, we are still paying pensions to two descendants of Civil War veterans. $876 per month to each.

After the show, I visited with Lisa. I am beginning to wonder if it is Lisa I go to see or Jake.

Jake got in trouble yesterday. He got out of the fenced back yard. Today, Jake will experience his first long car ride. To Miami and back. Lisa says he will handle the car ride without any problem. We shall see.

It was friday afternoon. Time to write next week’s KONK Life column. Entitled it Our Enemy The Banks. Interesting reading. More of too big to fail and too big to prosecute tied into the Cyprus situation and how it could impact us. I was pleased with the final product. So I published it on Amazon Kindle, also.

Chart Room last night! Busy!

Chatted with Emily off and on. A smart woman. Then spent some time talking with Peter. Always a pleasure.

Ran into a couple I met a year ago. Al and Donna. We met in the Chart Room. They are Key West residents. Al works for the City of Key West as a welder/fabricator. Donna is in the State Attorney’s Office.

Nice people.

They are originally from Tampa. Wanted to live in Key West their whole lives. Finally made the move two years ago.

In came Cheryl and Roger with another couple. Cheryl and Roger. My friends from Kankakee, Illinois. Hope I spelled it right. If not, Cheryl will most assuredly correct me.

Cheryl and Roger are snow birds. Down here about 6 months a year. They have an RV. Park it at Boyd’s Campgrounds on Stock Island. Probably the nicest RV park in the lower keys.

The couple was Belinda and Ray from Michigan. They are snow birds. First time we have met, however. They reside during the season at Boyd’s. Belinda is the Social Director at Boyd’s. Ray is a retired body shop owner.

The four of them were having a drink before scooting across the street to Hot Tin Roof for dinner. The makings for a terrific evening.

I stopped at Don’s Place on the way home. Ran into Hershel. He told me of Erika’s flight yesterday with the Blue Angels. I thought it was to be a small pursuit plane. Not so. It was some kind of big plane. Hershel had a photo of Erika sitting in the cockpit. Looked the size of a bedroom.

Syracuse basketball again tonight. At 9:40. Play California. I make no prediction. It has been a tough season.

Enjoy your day!

 

BOCCE, BLUE ANGELS AND EUGENE ROBINSON

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A spectacular bocce evening last night!

We won all three games. We played well. On top of which, I shot what has to have been the best bocce of my life! They were falling in for me. I could do no wrong.

Thank you, Lord!

Frankie and I were partners. He is recovering well from his heart surgery. Frankie mentioned in passing that five years ago he was in Rome, NY and played in the International Bocce Tournament . An annual event.  His team played a team from Italy. The team had been the overall winner the year before. Frankie said his team got killed! So bad that he could not wait to get out of Dodge the next day.

Rome is 15 miles from my home town of Utica. The bocce tournament is a big deal.

The Blue Angels arrived in Key West yesterday. The US Navy daredevils of the sky. They arrived by flying low the length of Duval Street. Then up the road to the Naval Base at Boca Chica. They will be performing this weekend.

My other bocce partner Erika is Controller at the Key West Citizen. The Citizen is one of the sponsors of the Blue Angels event. Tomorrow Erika will be flying in a two seater pursuit plane which will be overseeing the Blue Angels. Excited she is!

Once again Key West is blessed with the presence of a person of fame and reputation. Eugene Robinson. Pulitzer Prize winner, syndicated columnist, Associate Editor of the Washington Post, round table member of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and whatever else. Robinson is speaking this evening at 6 at The Studios of Key West. The event is free and open to the public.

Robinson’s wife brings him to Key West. She is a painter. Her work has been showing all week at The Studios.

Another person of repute arrived in Key West yesterday. Terri White is back! With wife Donna Barnett. They are in Key West to celebrate Passover with family.

Terri and Donna refer to themselves as my lesbian wives. They are. I can’t wait to see them. They are not staying with me this visit. I have been abandoned.

Syracuse won its first tournament game last night. Beat Montana 81-34. Big! Syracuse plays California saturday. May Syracuse continue to be victorious!

I had intended to lunch yesterday at Hogfish. Never made it. Final preparations for today’s TV/internet show took more time than I expected.

This morning the Key West Lou Legal Hour. Ten my time. Available on television all the way up through Miami-Dade County on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Available world wide via the internet. www.tvchannel19.com.

Join me. A good show. I am going to beat up the banks a bit, discuss the tragedy of Cyprus, and make comment regarding a 1349 massacre of Jews. Plus more.

Dee, where are you?

Enjoy your day!

 

JUST DONALD AND ME…..

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It was a Donald night last night!

I stopped into Don’s Place. I knew Don would be there. Wednesday is his golf day. He follows the game up with time at the bar.

Don and David were chatting. I joined them. One of the items discussed was bocce. This evening is league night. We are playing a team that has won only one game. Hopefully, we will win three. You never know, however. Bocce can be like the recent college basketball season.

Our team is in 4th place. Not bad. There are 14 teams. Fourth place is where we have been the past couple of years. Better than last place or way down in the rankings as we used to be.

The team won all 3 games last week. Without me. I could not make it. Perhaps I should stay away more often.

I said my good byes. Told Don and David I was off to the Chart Room. Don decided to join me.

As interesting as the Chart Room can be, it was more so last night with the presence of Don. He chatted away with Emily, met Peter. We  met Mary from Chicago. In Key West on vacation. She visits frequently. Knows Key West well.

Chicago Mary had been to Don’s Place before. We were returning there. She asked to join us. I took her in my car.

We chatted some more at Don’s Place. It was time for me to leave. Mary asked for a ride to Willy T’s on Duval. A tourist place. Across from La Trattoria. I drove her over.

I was home in bed early.

My morning began with a manicure. With Tammy at Lee Nails, of course. Tammy is the personification of Asian beauty. It is always a pleasure to be with her.

Then to Lisa’s. I am still bonding with Jake.

Lisa had taken Jake to the Vet’s for the first time earlier in the morning. She said he was very swell behaved. The Vet told Lisa that Jake is as big as he is going to get. He is a terrier mix of sorts. Stands about 15 inches tall and weighs 9.5 pounds. One year old.

It was a beautiful day. I have become pale. I do not spend enough time outside. I put the top down and drove US 1 to Sugarloaf and back. My sun lamp. Thirty minutes. It did some good. My cheeks are rosy red this morning.

I spent a couple of hours at home working on friday’s TV/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Some interesting material has been accumulated. I will be speaking on the Iraqi War and its effect on the national debt, the Cyprus situation, the shame of Congress regarding its failure to entertain the assault weapons ban, a money strapped city that required male employees to bring their own toilet paper to work, the Gutenberg bible, a 1349 massacre of Jews, the early New York Yankees, and more.

Join me. Good stuff!

The show is at 10 in the morning my time. It is available on television via Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19 from Key West through Miami-Dade County. The show is available world wide via the internet. www.tvchannel19.com.

All of a sudden, I was tired. I plopped on the bed and slept for 2 hours.

Sloan arrived. We worked on perfecting the blog talk radio show.

Emily told me last night another cold front was coming in today. Not a bad one, however. It is here this morning. It is a bit chilly. The high today will only be 73. Cool for us. Warm for you folks up north. I am not complaining. Merely sharing information.

The Florida keys are experiencing a manatee problem. Better stated, the manatees are experiencing a problem. An algae has developed out in the ocean that is not healthy for the manatees. Over 100 have died so far. I feel bad. I am sure most others in the keys do also. Manatees are big friendly hulks. Loved by all.

When I have bocce, I go out for lunch. Bocce starts early so I do not have time for dinner. Today my thought is Hogfish.

Enjoy your day!

LIFE FRUSTRATING ON OCCASION

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A life frustration hit me squarely between the eyes last night!

I did my blog talk radio show at 9. Immediately thereafter, the phone calls and e mails started coming in….. Where were you?….. I could hear nothing!

That is the way it goes! I do not know what happened.

To compound the situation, people were also advising me they could hear the archived version which is published immediately following the show.

Tell me why!

Visited with Lisa in the morning. Spent some time bonding with Jake. Apparently I needed it. I thought we were friends. When I walked in yesterday, Jake started barking like I was the enemy.

Jake got out of captivity. Lisa’s rear yard is fenced in. Somehow Jake got out into the front yard. Fortunately, the front yard is also fenced in.

Jake has come king pin in the Malcolm household!

Key West weather the past few days has not been very good. On the sucky side. This morning brings a change. It is magnificent outside! Blue sky. No clouds. Bright sun. Comfortable temperature. I suspect we are on the way to an 80 degree day.

The mighty fall! The mighty have been falling all year in college basketball.

Last night it was Kentucky’s turn. Kentucky did not make the NCAA tournament. The team was not considered good enough this year. An insult since Kentucky won it all last year and was ranked #1 nationally.

Second class teams get invited to the NIT. Kentucky was so invited this year. They were seeded #1. First round games were last night. Mighty Kentucky lost to pipsqueak Robert Morris. Insult upon insult!

Friday’s TV/internet show is around the corner. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Nine in the morning. Join me. Interesting today topics discussed.

Enjoy your day!

SLOPPY JOE’S

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I did the unusual last night. I went to Sloppy Joe’s. A rarity for me.

The place was packed. The music blaring and good.

I ate bad. Sloppy fries. French fries covered with ground beef, tomato sauce and melted cheese. To die for!

It was the end of an era. I noticed no one was smoking. No ash trays on the tables. Sloppy’s has permitted smoking for 85 some odd years. It is against Florida law for any establishment that sells food to permit smoking. Sloppy Joe’s got away with it for many years. The only Key West food serving establishment that has.

I attribute the freedom to the fact that Sloppy Joe’s was and is Key West history personified.

One wall has pictures of Ernest Hemingway. One big one. All I could think was that Hemingway was looking out and saying…..What the hell is going on!

The waitress told me no smoking was 3 weeks old. The law said stop!

My day was spent running errands. Walgreens, Home Depot and Publix. Stopped at Lisa’s afterwards. Wanted to see the new family member Jake. He has it made!

Lisa constantly mothers him. The grandkids love him. While I was there, he was outside in the back yard. Chasing 2 inch geckos. They were too fast for  him. But he kept up the pursuit!

I lunched at Blossoms. My whole day was spent eating not so healthy food. I enjoyed a Cuban cheese toast with tomato and a cup of Cuban coffee. The Cuban toast dripped with hot butter. So good! Bad food from a health perspective, however.

My first stop last night was the Chart Room. At first it was just me and Mary. Then they started coming in. Including Peter. Peter and I had our usual enjoyable conversation. We are two old guys. We were into medical problems last night like colonoscopies, prostrate problems and the like.

Bridget came in. New to me. I had never seen her before. Though she has been to Key West before. She is a tour guide. A special tour guide. She travels with groups of 30-40. High end type people. She and the group are staying at the Hyatt.

Bridget has an interesting job. She does not solely do Key West. She travels to all sorts of interesting places. Like London and Australia.

Bridget has an even more interesting background. As we all seem to do. She is originally off a 175 acre Maine farm. Then a farm in New Hampshire. Now a world travel guide.

I enjoyed Bridget’s company. I hope we run in to each other again.

Today is Tuesday. Tuesday is Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou. Blog talk radio. Nine my time. One half hour of interesting chatter. Some call ins. Join me. I guarantee you will enjoy. Topics include all kind of current events and Syracuse basketball. Tomorrow night I hope to touch on the lack of truth in government as it relates to the deficit problem. You will be surprised at what I have to share with you. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

I have to hustle this morning. I have a doctor’s appointment at 8:30. The start of my annual physical. A two day venture.

Enjoy your day!