REMEMBER THE MAINE, TO HELL WITH SPAIN

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The U.S. battleship Maine was sunk on this date in 1898 in Havana harbor. The United States blamed Spain. The sinking and other factors lead soon thereafter to the Spanish-American War.

The title of this blog represents the cry of the people of the United States and their desire for a war of retribution against Spain. It was also the battle cry of the American troops in the subsequent war itself.

“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!”

Key West has three significant connections with the Battleship Maine.

The first is that the Maine left from Key West to go to Cuba.

The second is that a Board of Inquiry was held in Key West to determine the cause of the sinking.

Third, a number of the U.S. sailors from the Maine are buried in the Key West Cemetery.

The Board of Inquiry was held in what is now the Custom House. At the same time as the United States was holding its official inquiry at Key West’s Custom House, the Spanish were holding their own Board of Inquiry in Havana to determine the cause of the Maine’s sinking.

The U. S. Board of Inquiry concluded the Maine was sunk by some sort of mine, either a floating mine or a homemade bomb attached to the hull of the Maine. The Spanish Board of Inquiry determined the cause of the sinking to be the result of an internal explosion. One started by a fire.

Nearly three quarters of the men on board the Maine were killed. Many were sent home for burial. Some either had no homes or for whatever reason were not shipped home. They had to be buried. They were buried in the Key West Cemetery. There is a special monument acknowledging their resting place. A special ceremony is held each year to honor them.

I dislike staying in on a friday night. I did last night. St. Valentine’s day is big in Key West as it is all over most of the world. That means the restaurants and bars were packed with lovers. I was alone. Not a night out for me. I enjoyed some old movies on TV.

Since early December, there have been quiet rumblings in Key West concerning a man named Charles Eimers. He was in Key West either on vacation or had recently arrived. An altercation occurred with the police on Thanksgiving Day. It is thought that Eimers might have been beaten by the police. A number of officers were involved.

Eimers died a few days later on December 4.

An investigation has been ongoing. A quiet one. The walking on eggs type. Yesterday, a medical report was released that indicated Eimers had ten broken ribs. The cause of the broken ribs was attributed to “medical therapy.” A defibrillator was used.

I suspect the matter will receive more scrutiny and be the ongoing subject of news reports. Whatever occurred must be known. Let transparency not be an issue. Justice must be allowed to take its course where ever it may lead.

Syracuse basketball this afternoon. At 3. Against North Carolina State. I will be watching the game at Lukas’ Sports Pub.

This should be an easy one for Syracuse. I hope so. Very few have been easy thus far.

Enjoy your day!

OPENING NIGHT AT BOCCE

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You win some, you lose some. We only won one game last night.

Played Larry Smith’s team. A money game/a blood match. We won the first game 16-15. A battle! We lost the second game 16-15. Another battle! They out did us in the third game.

I played the second game. I was not up to par. I was not getting the ball there. The courts were damp from the rain and I did not have enough umph  to get to the polina.

Captain David has redone the parings. No longer will I be playing with Frankie. Keith is my new partner. We will work well together. Keith had a good evening last night.

I spent some time yesterday afternoon at the Plantation Coffee House. Had lunch there. Coffee and a toasted bagel. Read the newspapers. Chatted with Diane.

Before I forget, Happy Valentine Day! I have no one to give candy and flowers to at the moment. I am uncertain whether I will be out tonight. This is the busiest night for restaurants in Key West. Like New Years Eve.

After the Coffee House, I headed over to see Tammy. It was time again for a manicure and pedicure. Ran into Martha Robinson. I had not seen her for a while. A charming lady. One of Key West’s leading citizens.

Stopped at Publix on the way home. Needed food again. Basics. Bananas, grapes, strawberries, bread, and milk. The wrong time to shop. Too many people. Only four empty carts available when I arrived at the store.

Ran into Karen at Publix. Another person I have not seen in a while. She congratulated me on my book The World Upside Down. Said she had been trying to buy the soft cover edition. Each time she looked, there was a waiting period/backlog of 4-6 weeks. I suggested she order it and wait. The backlog has been that way since about a week after the book came out. I told her to check amazon.com and barnesand noble.com.

Italian politics is back in the news. Prime Minister Enrico Letta is resigning as of today. His own party dumped him. Mark what I am saying. Burlusconi will be back! Not soon, but soon enough. Not as an elected official. Rather as the power behind the throne.

I love talking politics with my Italian friends. Every politician they do not like  they refer to as Mafiosa.

Italy presently has 45 per cent unemployment. The highest in 40 years. It is right behind Greece on the poor economy list.

I have a bug up my ass again. A situation has developed in Connecticut. The State passed a gun registration law. It went into effect. A very low percentage of known gun owners registered their weapons. We are noyttalking about handguns. The law covered those modern day machine gun types.

Very few  gun owners registered the guns per the law. An act of civil disobedience or does it border on anarchy? Interesting.

A society cannot survive where its members decide for themselves which laws to follow and which not.

Syracuse/North Carolina State tomorrow. We should win. My recollection is North Carolina has lost 8 games. Syracuse, none. But…..Syrcuse is due. Most Syracuse wins have been close this season. I wish we would win one going away. My heart cannot take these last second (note not minute) victories.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

IT DID NOT RAIN ON SYRACUSE

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What a night! What a game! Snow and rain falling on most of the country. But not on Syracuse! Syracuse beat Pitt 58-56 at the buzzer. There was joy in Mudville!

Tyler Ennis threw in a 3 pointer from 35 feet at the buzzer with two Pitt defenders on him. A beautiful high arcing shot. Wonder of wonders!

I had given up with two minutes to go. It was a Pitt win. Pitt was up by one point with 4.4 seconds to go. Who expected Ennis’ shot? Probably only Ennis. He said in an interview after the game that he thought the ball was going in as soon as it left his hands. He was not bragging. He is not the type. Just telling how it was.

Saturday, North Carolina State.

It started raining during the game last night. The heavy stuff. Continued all night. I had to drive the boulevard on the way home. Big time flooding. The street in front of my home flooded, also.

It is not raining now. However, very overcast.

Bocce season starts tonight. I doubt we will play. There could be a boat race on the courts at the moment.

Some things are aggravating! Some things are wrong! I am not talking about the rain soaked bocce courts. I am talking about Comcast.

It was announced on TV this morning that Comcast is buying Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion. Comcast already owns 100 per cent of NBC. The new acquisition will make Comcast a giant among giants.

Mergers and buys of this type should not be permitted. Our country is more and more owned, controlled and operated to satisfy the needs of corporate giants. Once there were laws prohibiting these mergers. They are still there, but now ineffective. New laws are required. Such will not occur. Not with a Washington dominated influence wise by corporate America.

I had to smile. The CEO of Comcast was asked in an interview this morning why Comcast was so successful.  Service, he said. Bullshit! Comcast provides the worst service in Key West. I know and every one else that subscribes to Comcast knows. There is an erosion at Comcast’s base which is eating away at its foundation. Giants topple when they forget how they became big.

Enjoy your day!

SPRING BREAK MADNESS

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March is Spring Break time. The college kids storm the beaches. Key West jumps for 3-4 weeks.

The madness in the title is not attributed to the college students. Rather to Key West Commissioner Tony Yaniz. He wants to bring the Spring Break Court back.

I can recall ten or better years ago when spring breakers descended in mass upon Key West. They did not seem bothersome, except it was no time for locals to hit the beaches. The collegians covered them completely. Duval merchants were happy. Business boomed in the evenings. The motels happy, also. Rooms were filled, even though their might be ten people to a room.

Key West city fathers at the time decided that a different way of handling what they perceived as wrong doing was required. If the kids got in any trouble, they would be hauled before a special Spring Break Court. The punishment for whatever wrongdoing was generally eight hours the next day cleaning Key West streets.

My sense at the time was that there was an extra effort to apprehend alleged wrongdoers. There was a special court to deal with them and it should be kept busy. It was.

The Spring Break Court worked so well that college students stopped coming to Key West. Word spread rapidly through the college grapevine. Key West was not a good place for spring breakers.

Only a handful kept returning. Significant business was lost. The Spring Break Court had done its job well.

In recent years, college students have started returning. No where in the numbers they had years ago. But it is obvious more are on the way.

Key West Commissioner Tony Yainz wants to bring back the Spring Break Court. I believe he is wrong. Leave well enough alone. Let the usual police/court system deal with any problems. Permit the chicken that lays the golden egg to return. The college students were never that great a problem.

My blog talk radio show went well last night. Comments since the show aired indicate listeners were most interested in government waste. Items in the new Farm Law, the $5.4 million the State Department spent on new exquisite crystal glassware for U.S. embassy parties, and the $100,000 outhouse in Alaska seem to have attracted the most attention.

The Farm Law issues are dealt with in detail in my KONK Life column this week.

Tonight, Syracuse/Pitt. Going to be a tough game. Syracuse beat Pitt by several points at the Carrier Dome a couple of weeks ago. Tonight’s game is at Pitt. Difficult! The spread is 1.5 points, in favor of Pitt.

We shall see.

The game is at 7. I will be watching it at John Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Bar.

Finally, bocce returns! Tomorrow night!

Enjoy your day!

 

 

TERRIFIC NIGHT!

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I was uncertain whether to go out last night. I thought I might just sit back and do some pleasure reading. Going out won over staying in. Glad it did.

Started the night at the Chart Room. Mary bartending. I was surprised to see Charlotte. Charlotte is from North Carolina and had returned home about two weeks ago. I thought she was not due back for a couple of months.

There is a reason for her returning to Key West so soon. Her boy friend. Skip Sher. Skip is a  new Key West radio celebrity. He does a music/talk show on 104.9 from 6 to 10 evenings. Charlotte told me she intends to move to Key West full time and should be down here in about three months. A welcome addition to the Key West family!

It was a big night at the Chart Room. Nate was there with friends. Nate my team golf partner when I played. Nate a Don’s Place and Schooner Wharf bartender.

An old friend Ron John at the bar, also. Plus Sean, Key West’s premier newsman.

Charlotte and I had a long and enjoyable conversation. I suggested she try Burger Fi. She said she intended to meet Skip there for dinner. I agreed to join them.

Burger Fi was booming. As I thought it would be. By the way, the season has arrived. No question about it. Tons of people.

Skip came in. He had left his program airing with recorded music. However, he had to return soon. He asked if I would come over later to join him on his show. I agreed.

While at Burger Fi, met Steve Lieber. He is director of Franchise Sales for Burger Fi. A nice guy.

Dougie was bartending once again. He told me they had just turned out 200 burgers in an hour. Impressive!

Skip left. Charlotte and I remained for a while chatting.

Then to the 104.9 studio. It was like the whole world was there. Met some new and interesting people. Jack Allen Terry who I already knew. He is a bartender at Hot Tin Roof. Bobbie who has run the Southern Guest House the past ten years.

And Gary Ek. A most interesting individual!

Gary is a radio man, also. His show starts at 10 when Skip’s ends. His show is from 10 in the evening till 6 in the morning. Wow!

Gary’s radio moniker is Soundman From Hell. His show is also available on the internet at www.thexkeywest.com. Gary has been doing blog talk radio for seven years. If I can stay up late enough one evening, I have to listen to Gary’s show.

I ended up a guest on Skip’s show. Two times last night. One with Skip alone, the other with Skip and Gary. Some Key West chatter followed by heavy political commentary.

I enjoyed myself very much!

As I was leaving, Gary was pitching my book The World Upside Down to his audience and that it was available for purchase on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

A terrific evening chock full of interesting people!

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

Fast moving and timely topics. Tonight I will be revealing some shocking aspects of the new $1 trillion Farm Law, new examples of governmental waste including a $100,000 outhouse in Alaska, UN criticism of the Vatican, NSA spying on Congress, freedom of speech and speed trap warnings, and more.

Again, please join me for a fast moving half hour of political commentary. I might even throw in a bit of Syracuse basketball. Syracuse plays Pitt tomorrow night.

Enjoy your day!

 

SUNDAY NIGHT SYRACUSE BASKETBALL

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The games do not get any easier! Tough on the stomach! Syracuse won again last night. Beat Clemson 57-44. What bothers me is we are not blowing anyone out. Syracuse may not all season. Boeheim has a new strategy this year. No more running. Wait for the shot. Slow the pace.

As long as it works, so be it.

A tough game coming up wednesday. Pitt again. This time at Pitt.

I watched the game with Dan and Lisa. They had a couple of Skaneateles friends with them. Dan and I suffer alike during the games. We moan and groan.

Stopped at Don’s Place after the game. Got into the new farm law with one of the customers. He was knowledgeable. Disagreed with me. An interesting conversation.

I had spent the better part of the day writing this week’s KONK Life column. New Farm Law…..A Gravy Train. Guaranteed you will enjoy the article. It’s an eye opener.

The Syracuse game was at 6. I was out of Don’s Place by 9. Stopped at Publix on the way home. Sunday night at 9 is a good time to shop. Next to one in the place!

Tomorrow night my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine o’clock. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

I find that my agenda for the show keeps changing right up to show time. Things keep happening. I want the show to be as current as possible. One item that will definitely be discussed is the new farm law. There are some bad things about it which don’t seem to get shared with the American public.

Enjoy your day!

 

THE BEST OF YESTERDAY…..MIKE AND TINA

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The best part of my yesterday was dinner last night with Mike and Tina. Key West friends I have not seen in several months. We had dinner at Deuces Off The Hook Grill.

Mike and Tina are world travelers. They fly worldwide doing business for their clients. They related to me a recent family trip to Italy. Tina was born in Italy. They went back to visit her Mom. Mike took his parents along. A good time was had by all! They did some traveling. Visited Switzerland. They were away a whole month.

Tina told an interesting story. They were somewhere in Italy and there was a traffic screw up. The Italians were blaming the Americans….They did not know how to drive. The mob was unaware Tina was born Italian and understood the language. She got out of the car and ripped them new butt holes.

An ugly american? I think not.

I was hurt. They have not ordered my book The World Upside Down. I hope they will now. Speaking of buying the book, Billy Schott wrote that he and Cindy received their copy from amazon.com yesterday.

On the way home, I stopped at Don’s Place. Good company. Stan, Clara, Hershel, Erika, and Stan and Hershel’s sister who has just moved to Key West.

I spent most of my day at the computer. Researching further the farm bill. I will be writing the KONK Life column later this morning. Read the article! It is revealing! You will be shocked at who eats off the law.

Tonight, tonight…..Syracuse basketball. At 6, Syracuse plays Clemson. Syracuse is undefeated, Clemson has lost 6 games. I will be watching the game at Lukas’ Sports Pub. Syracuse fans join me!

I worry about every game at this point. Someone is going to beat Syracuse. Could be any team on the right night.

Enjoy your Sunday!

THE BEST OF KEY WEST

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Key West has many beautiful, intelligent, today women. Two of the very best are Amy Culver and Jenna Stauffer. Both celebrated birthdays yesterday.

Amy’s bash was at Salute’s during cocktail hour. Jenna’s a dinner party later on at Tavern ‘n Town. I intended to go to both. Made it to neither. My apologies to the  ladies.

Amy and I have known of each other for many years. It is only recently we have become personally acquainted.

Amy’s background is dramatic. The only way to describe it.

Mangoes on Duval was her baby. She made it what it is. She sold the restaurant several years ago.

Amy is big into Africa. Somewhere along the way, she discovered Africa. Not the civilized portion. The deep dark jungles and the poor natives who reside in them. She visits Africa yearly. I fear some day she may not return. Her trips are somewhat dangerous because of the areas she visits. Amy is Director of the Busara Project, a not for profit to help Africans. Her African connection has also resulted in a business venture. She designs and organizes customized African safaris.

My friendship with Amy really developed with my interest in Dominique D’Ermo. I have been researching a book about him for more than a year. Amy knew D’Ermo well. So well that she was one of those asked to eulogize him at his funeral service in New York City.

Jenna, my love! Strikingly beautiful. Talented. The world her oyster.

Jenna is relatively young. She has accomplished much. Television her forte. She presently is General Manager of WEYW-TV in Key West, where she also hosts the Good Morning Florida Keys talk show. Prior to her time in Key West, Jenna was the sports anchor at WNCT-TV in Greenville, North Carolina. She always reminds me she wore heels while running up and down the football field interviewing people. No flats for her. She was woman!

Jenna and I became friends about the time she first arrived in Key west. She worked with me on the Key West Lou Legal Hour at KONK Broadcasting. Taught me some of the tricks of the trade. Later, she produced my television show at WEYW-TV.

One of you who follow my blog wrote and recommended a new restaurant on Duval for the best burger ever! Your name escapes me. I apologize. I went back through the multitudinous comments and could not locate yours. Thank you for suggesting it, however. I tried the restaurant yesterday.

Go! Run! Do not miss it! Once you go, you will return on a frequent basis. I intend to.

The place is called Burger Fi. A burger joint with a touch of class. Inside and out dining. A great place outside in the back. A bar. A full bar. Hard stuff, beer and wine.

The place could be a shack. Though it is not. The important thing is the quality of the burger. The best I have ever eaten! Puts 5 Guys to shame. I had a double Angus cheeseburger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and Burger Fi sauce. Delicious! Plus a diet coke.

There is a 20 per cent locals discount. Big! My total bill was $7.47. You cannot eat cheaper and better!

I met Dougie. The bartender. He has been returning to Key West for ten years during the winter. He comes to Key West by way of California.

Burger Fi is located at 221 Duval. The same block and on the same side as Sloppy Joe’s. Across the street from the Bull.

Burger Fi also has several TV sets. I may do a Syracuse basketball game there.

Tonight, I am having dinner with friends I have not seen in months. Mike and Tina Mazzorana. Their Key West home is by the cemetery. Tina picked the place to dine. She says it has become her favorite. New. It is a small place on Simonton, near Gary the Plumber. Dueces Off the Hook. I look forward to the experience.

Forget not my book! The World Upside Down is available on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

EARTHQUAKE AGAIN

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I was surprised when I walked into the Chart Room last night and Emily asked me about the earthquake. What earthquake? Turns out there was another one about 8 miles off the coast of Cuba wednesday night at 10:20. About  seven miles below the water’s surface. I who read the newspapers all the time had failed to read yesterday’s Key West Citizen. I was unaware.

The earthquake was a 5.1 on the Rector scale. Apparently no damage anywhere. I did not feel it in Key West. Nor did Emily and others at the Chart Room last night.

I have a concern. Earthquakes in this area are uncommon. Now there have been two off the coast of Cuba in a month. Do these two earthquakes portend something? Is there a big one in the making? Should we be concerned about a tsunami?

Don’t laugh! So far the weather media has not discussed this aspect. I am not overly concerned. Such thoughts occur to me, however.

Conch Republic Admiral Frankie was part of our bar discussion last night. Besides the earthquake, the discussion involved the Olympics and skiing. Turns out Emily was/is a skier and a pretty proficient one at that. I thought she was born and raised in Key West. Not so. She was born in Indiana, spent time in Virginia and elsewhere. She developed her skiing prowess in those places.

Before heading to the Chart Room, I stopped at Christine’s opening night of her art exhibit. Christine Cordone has risen to a new level. She now has people in her paintings. I was impressed. Her water colors warm the heart and brighten a room!

Ralph Kiner died yesterday. A baseball great! Played many years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then spent even more years as the Mets broadcaster. He is a Hall of Famer.

My recollection goes back to the mid to late 1940s. Baseball was everything. My buddies and I used to spend some summer afternoons sitting around on the floor in someone’s living room listening to major league baseball games. One of our heroes was Ralph Kiner.

Listening is the operative word in the previous paragraph. There was no television back then. It was radio!

Enjoy your day!