THE BAND IS PLAYING

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When my children were small (oh, so long ago!) and it thundered big time, we used to tell them it was a band playing in Heaven. They came to accept the explanation and it soothed them.

Lightning was hard to explain. We let them curl up with us.

Thunder and lightning are different on the ocean. This morning is overcast and the band plays on! It has not stopped thundering for two hours. Loudly. Like the sky is going to crack open.

A couple of nights ago, I was driving home and observed bright lights in the sky. Lightning! Out over the ocean. When the lightning occurred, the sky lite up as if it were day time.

I enjoyed a treat yesterday morning. I got to watch my TV show from my bed uninterrupted. Because of technical difficulties, I was required to record my friday show thursday morning. A one time event. Worked out well for me. I was impressed with the show. First time I had seen it all, including commercials, uninterrupted. Excuse my humility.

Wrote a bit afterward.

Sloan arrived mid afternoon. It took us quite a while to figure out and eliminate the crackling sound that occurred during last tuesday’s blog talk radio show. I hope it is now ok. I will not know till the next show on tuesday night.

Big time last night! Dinner with Jenna!

Jenna and I have not been out together for at least four months. We had an especially good time!

Jenna does my ego good. She is 27 and I am 78. Besides which, she is a knockout!

We have become very good friends over the past five years.

We stopped for a drink at the Chart Room. Emily was bartending. She came over to me. She appeared concerned. Where have you been, she asked. We have been worried.

It had been better than a week since I was in the Chart Room. The last time there, I mentioned concern with my blood pressure problem. Then I dropped out of sight. She and my bar brethren thought something bad had happened to me.

Nice of Emily and nice of the others to be concerned.

Except for bocce, I did remain home every evening.

Jenna and I picked at this and that at the Hot Tin Roof. Included were a dozen raw oysters and shataki. Shataki consists sushi which you cook/heat a bit yourself over a tiny grill brought to the table.

We had fun.

The Key West Citizen made mention this morning that a prior owner of Sloppy Joe’s bought the property in 1917. It was a restaurant at the time called Victoria’s. The property was purchased for $7,800. $7 million would not buy it today!

Syracuse football tonight. Against Northwestern. Northwestern is ranked #19 in the country. I suspect Syracuse will give Northwestern a battle. Syracuse could win. Syracuse looked good last week in losing to Penn State.

How swiftly fortune passes by! Last week’s Syracuse/Penn State game was nationally televised. No national TV for Syracuse this week.

Enjoy your day!

I FORGOT!!!!!

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The last two days have been interesting. I forgot to do my blog yesterday morning. I was just wrapping up this morning’s blog and lost it. I need brain pills!

I missed yesterday because my day got screwed up. I had to be at the television studio at 8 in the morning to record this morning’s show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Ten my time.

I recorded the show, went to Blossoms, read at Blossoms and at home. Napped. Thought to myself what a beautiful lazy day!

Then the telephone calls and e mails started coming in. Where is the blog? It was now close to 5. I had to be at bocce by 6. No time to do it that late.

I am sorry. What can I say?

Watch my tv/internet show at 10. It is good! My take on Syria, Greece and food, blaming Obama, Florida high school athletes may have to take urine tests, examples of a poor judge and a good judge, and more. Available on television from Key West through Boca Raton. Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Via the internet world wide. www.weyw19.com.

Bocce last night. A disaster. We lost 2 games. Long, also. We were the last teams playing. The courts were deserted, except for us.

Stephanie Kaple played on the opposing team. She threatened to rip her bra off as I was shooting to distract me. She should have. She might have inspired me. I probably would have shot better.

Kathleen Peace was in Key West visiting. She came to bocce. A hug and kiss and some amiable chatting. One wonderful lady! I miss her. All of Key West misses her.

I enjoy old movies of TV. Ergo, I especially enjoy Ted Turner’s Classic Movie Channel. The other morning I watched The Jazz Singer. The first talking movie. 1927. Starred Al Jolson. Remember him? Mamie!!!

I had not seen the movie before. It was a silent film till Jolson sang. What a difference! He was loud and clear. It brought a tear to my eye. I was watching history. Imagine how the people back then felt when they heard Jolson sing in the movie. Wonder of wonders! A movie that talked!

There was a sport’s page article yesterday in the Key west Citizen regarding Evan De Roche. He is a 17 year old Key West High School student. He is also one hell of a golfer! He has won many titles and otherwise distinguished himself nationally. You may hear his name several years from now on the pro circuit.

Evan has been a familiar sight on the Key West Golf course over the years. He started into the sport early. I can recall about 10 years ago, Kevin approached Larry Smith on the golf course. Evan said to Larry…..I will give you a stroke a hole and we play a dollar a hole. The kid had to be 7-8 years old. Larry told me afterwards he had played him several times. The young man always gave Larry strokes and still beat Larry.

Womenfest Week this week in Key West. Womenfest is best described as a southern most party for lesbians and their friends. The week has been ongoing for more than 25 years. A bevy of beautiful women are all over town enjoying themselves. Welcome back, ladies!

A major disappointment! This morning’s Key West Citizen ran an article advising that Solares Hill would no longer be published. Solares Hill is a free weekly published by the Citizen. The Citizen claims there no longer are sufficient advertising dollars available to keep the paper afloat.

Sad! Solares Hill was a most enjoyable publication. I looked forward to reading it every sunday.

Enjoy your day!

JAKE AND I

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I think Jake and I may have finally become friends.

Lisa and family were over yesterday afternoon to swim. Jake was with them. He swam a bit. Made no fuss about it. He rested at my feet. Made no fuss about that either..

Last night was Sunday dinner at Lisa’s. Both before and after dinner, I sat on the couch reading the newspapers. Each time, Jake jumped up and laid down next to me.

I finally made it! Jake likes me!

Robert and Ally love the water. It is a pleasure to watch them dive and swim.

I spent part of the afternoon watching golf. May Sergio Garcia hold onto his lead today to win. He fell into the background after a great start his first years playing the game.

Mickelson and Woods are disappointments. On the other hand, the greats cannot be great all the time. Not in golf.

I stopped at Don’s Place. Chatted briefly with Don. A lot of people at Don’s. His bar is like a social club. His followers are there all the time.

Needed to grocery shop. Cupboard was bare again. I enjoyed the experience, as usual. Also, I find it good exercise pushing the cart up and down the aisles of the new Publix. A huge store!

Sunday’s Key West Citizen carries the bocce standings in its sports section. Surprise of surprises! Our team is tied for third place. Only 2 games out of first. We have only played 3 weeks. Two of the three we played well. The middle one a disaster. My sense is that every team is having a difficult time early in the season. There is no consistency.

Diana Nyad will add to her famous career this evening when she puts her feet down on a Key West Beach. Diana is 64. A long distance swimmer. She left Havana a couple of days ago. Her destination Key West.

This is Diana’s fifth attempt to swim the distance. It is only 103 miles. A tough 103 miles. The problems are sharks, jelly fish and the tides. She is doing the swim without a shark cage to protect her. The waves reportedly are 3-5 feet high.

It is claimed that the area between Cuba and Key West is the most difficult in the world to swim.

This morning finds Diana only ten miles off shore. I hope she makes it.

The Key West Citizen reminds us today of the Hurricane of 1935 which destroyed the Keys. The hurricane hit on Labor Day. Hundreds died. Buildings and homes were leveled. A train was actually blown off its tracks.

The hurricane was a Category 5. Winds reached 200 miles per hour. The tides were 18-20 feet above normal.

It was not a good holiday!

Tomorrow is tuesday. which means my blog talk radio show tomorrow night. Nine in the evening. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. Join me for some interesting chatter about hacking the new way to wage war and Obama and Syria.

Enjoy your day!

SYRACUE MY SYRACUSE

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A new football season. A new Syracuse team.

Syracuse lost yesterday to Penn State 23-17. I was not disappointed in Syracuse’s performance. I would rather the team had won. Syracuse played well. They could have, might have, won.

Syracuse is still a rebuilding team. They are working towards being what they once were. A great team. Oh, so long ago. It is coming, however. The team I saw play yesterday was the best I have seen in years. Everything is a step at a time. In this instance, a year at a time.

After the game, I headed down to Duval. Brewfest!

I walked Duval a few blocks. The streets were jammed with people. Stands selling beer.

I stopped into three places. Sloppy Joe’s, Smokin’ Tuna, and Captain Tony’s. Enjoyed the people and a beer at each place.

David frost died yesterday. He was 74. British. A talented journalist, broadcaster, and media personality. His Richard Nixon interviews represented his best work. Each show was dramatic and thrilling. Frost will be best remembered for the Nixon interviews.

We are in the middle of the Labor Day weekend. Labor Day used to be a big deal. Labor itself was big. I remember as a youngster the parades. Huge. Everyone marching. Everyone excited.

As labor’s influence and strength have diminished over the years, so too has interest in Labor Day as a time to remember labor’s achievements. Today, it is a time for cook outs and partying. The successes of labor are forgotten and buried in the closet.

Enjoy your holiday Sunday!

BIG SATURDAY…..LABOR DAY WEEKEND

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A big day today! Saturday of the Labor Day Weekend. America will be partying.

Two major happenings in Key West.

This is the weekend of the Key West Brewfest. Beer galore! Everywhere! People will be consuming.

The Brewfest is well planned. More events than you would have thought. Everything involves beer, of course. There is a beer school, beer breakfasts, beer dinners, beer seminars, beer brunches, a beer football tailgate party, beer parties otherwise, and a beer tasting festival.

Key West is packed this weekend. Some to merely enjoy the island and its waters. Others to enjoy the Brewfest.

Boating will be exceptionally heavy this weekend. I am sitting on my deck composing this blog. Boat after boat has gone by and is going by me. Big and small. People already partying on the boats. They are heading out either to fish or enjoy a day at one of the keys.

Key partying is popular. Most boaters have their special key. It is for them a private gathering place. Friends in other boats will join them. The boats are beached. An all day cookout ensues. The beaches are lovely. The water clear. The booze flows. A good time is had by all.

I will do a bit of the Brewfest today. I will not be boating. No one invited me.

The major event in my day involves Syracuse football. It begins! Syracuse is playing Penn State at 3:30. The game is being televised on ABC and ESPN2. Penn State is an 8.5 point favorite.

All I can say is…..Go ‘Cuse! We love you!

As reported yesterday, due to technical difficulties my tv/internet show was not broadcast. However, I did do a recording which at some point this week will appear on You Tube.

I now have my own You Tube account. It is under Lou’s Legal Hour. Three weeks of shows are already posted. Take a look. Again, Lou’s Legal Hour.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon and into the early evening writing next week’s KONK Life column. A New Way To Wage War. Cyber war is not the wave of the future. It is already here. Computer hacking will be as volatile and painful as bombs and missiles.

This past week’s hacking of the New York Times website by the Syrian Electronic Army turned me onto the topic.

I was tired when I finished writing the article. It was not within me to take a shower and get dressed to go into town. Instead, I cooked a light meal and went to bed early.

I will make up for last night’s absence today.

Enjoy your day!

WHERE DO I BEGIN…..

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Several disjointed items to share.

Today’s blog is being done even later than yesterday. I was up and out very early this morning. A friend was in distress. Needed help. When I returned home, there was only time to shower and rush to the TV studio to do my show.

It was a terrific show! One of the best I have prepared!

No one got to see it, however.

Technical difficulties. Audio was good. No visual, however.

It was decided to record the show. Different equipment from televising. I started again. The show has been recorded. It will run on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19 at 4:30 saturday afternoon and 3 sunday afternoon.

Sorry the show did not air today as scheduled.

A special sorry to Valarie from Delaware. Valarie wrote and said she would be watching the show. Valerie, I hope you can get to it this weekend.

The lead item in the show was the hacking of the New York Times website. Even more important than Syria from my perspective. I view hacking as the new way to wage war. The issue is sufficiently heavy in my mind that I have decided to do next week’s KONK Life column on it.

Bocce last night! We won all three games. Everyone was on. The courts swift. We destroyed the opposition. Humbled them.

You will recall we were destroyed last week. Badly. The team we decisively beat last night killed the team that beat us last week two weeks ago.

That’s bocce!

At the present, my television show is available in 325,000 homes. Beginning next week, that number increases to just under 600,000. My station is expanding its coverage area up through Boca Raton.

As you may recall, my tv/internet show is You Tubed. It has been You Tubed as part of the station and Jenna’s shows. I have graduated. I now have my own You Tube account.

Because of name problems, I cannot use Key West Lou as the site name. Lou’s Legal Hour is the title/name. Merely go to You Tube and enter Lou’s Legal Hour. There will be my shows standing alone. The past three weeks are in. Earlier shows will not be entered. However, they still can be viewed by entering the Key West Lou Legal Hour and searching for them from the station’s other shows and Jenna’s shows.

Please do not let me confuse you. Lou’s Legal Hour is solely for the purpose of going to my You Tube account. It has no other purpose. Key West Lou lives on!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!