LUNCHED WITH A MOVIE STAR

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Saturday morning!

Rain! It has been raining for a week. Only a few breaks for sun. We needed the rain. Enough is enough, however.

Terrific Key West Lou Legal Hour show yesterday morning. Post show comment indicated the story of courage told was the most popular. It concerned Claire Lomas who recently ran the London Marathon. All 26.2 miles of it. Took her 16 days. She is a paraplegic. Ran the race with the aid of robotic legs.

After the show, shopped Duval and Sears for sandals. Found none I liked. I will be looking again today.

I had a date for lunch. Granddaughter Ally! I was babysitting all afternoon. Lisa was busy with meetings.

Ally decided we should have lunch at Hogfish. Fun. Then we went to my home. She swam most of the afternoon. She is obviously feeling better.

Ally wanted to drive with the top down. I did on the way to Hogfish. There Ally was seated in back on her child’s seat with huge sunglasses on and her hair blowing in the wind. A movie star!

I stopped at the Town N’ Country last night for a bite. Congenial Robert bartending. I enjoyed salmon and fried calamari.

Seated nearby at the bar was a couple. The man said hello. Turns out we had met last year. I enjoyed their company. Especially his. He is a fireman who is also actively engaged in many civic community activities. It was a great conversation regarding the various problems confronting Key West. He was extremely knowledgeable.

Services for Larry Harvey today. A most beloved Key West resident! Larry passed away earlier this week at 92. His mass will be at St. Paul’s on Duval. There will be a celebration of his life later at the Hemingway House. Larry worked at the Hemingway House for thirty years. His spirit will be felt at both events.

I have yet make  my cell phone and tablet decision. Thank you for the many suggestions and recommendations. Apple or Google? I have to make up my mind this morning. I have a 10 o’clock appointment to buy.

Came across an interesting news release on Yahoo this morning. There is a 33 year old man in Knoxville, Tennessee who has fathered 14 children. He recently applied to the court to reduce his child support payments. He claims he cannot afford what he is paying as he only earns minimum wage.

The man lacks any sense of responsibility. The government should pay for his birth control. It would be cheaper than helping to support the 14 children.

It is not against the law to father children. Even outside of wedlock. How does society get this guy to stop? I can think of a solution, but society would consider it barbaric.

What bothers me most is not that society will support these children. Rather it is that they will grow up without a responsible father figure. Or any type father figure in all likelyhood.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOPPING AT SEARS / DINING AT BIG TEN SPORTS BAR

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Ten this morning! The Key West Lou Legal Hour!

Broadcast world wide on the internet. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

Join me. Fast moving and interesting.

My trip to Italy and Greece is just around the corner. About ten days away. I picked up some things for the trip. Like new shorts and bathing suits. Shopped at Key West’s store of choice for men. For women, also. Sears! There is nothing else of consequence in Key West.

Ally was still sick. I was scheduled to babysit in the afternoon. Lisa telephoned and said Ally wanted bagels. So I stopped at Publix and picked up six.

Ally looked a lot better. She had returned to the world of the living. It is amazing how young children look so beat up when they are ill. Ally was talking and coloring. The anti biotics were working.

Ate at John Lucas’ Big Ten Sports Bar. Watched Miami/Indiana. Miami obviously misses Bosh. Miami better get its game together. Or they are going to lose. They are already down 2-1. Miami was beaten by roughly 20 points last night. The difference in the score was not in any one’s contemplation.

John stopped by. Several times actually. It was his night off, but he came in any how. I like John. A good person. We have become friends.

Valerie and Clayton were at the bar talking with John as I was leaving. John gave me a hug, Valerie a kiss, and Clayton a hug. A big night for me!

Valerie and Clayton own Vino’s on Duval. A good place to stop. Enjoy a glass of wine, some good company, and watch the world go by.

I have to move this morning. Need to be at the studio one hour before the show to review my notes.

Enjoy your day!

FELL AGAIN / GREEK PEDOPHILES PENSIONED

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My day yesterday started with an early morning dentist visit. I followed the dentist up with Blossoms. Enjoyed Cuban cheese toast with tomato and Cuban coffee. Both to die for!

Then I headed over to Lisa’s. Ally still sick. I wanted to visit with her.

I did it again! I fell! Going up the one step to Lisa’s home. Stubbed my toe. Fell flat forward on hard tile. My chin, both knees and right elbow took the brunt of the fall. Right knee a bloody mess.

Lisa ran out. Would not let me get up. Little did she know,  I could not. Finally, I made it. Straight to the easy chair and ottoman in her living room. There we were. Ally and me. Ally on the couch. Poppa in the chair next to her. For five hours!

Lisa cleaned and bandaged my right knee. I hurt all day and all night. Feel better this morning. Surprisingly, no bruises. I ache all over this morning, but no where as bad as yesterday.

Ally finally got to the doctor late in the afternoon. She has some sort of infection. She is being treated with an anti biotic. Hopefully she will be on the mend today.

I do not know why I fall. This is the fourth time in two months. Each time it occurs, it is because I stub my toe or miss a stair. I fear an aging infirmity is upon me.

Last night I spent in bed. With the computer on my lap. I published to Amazon Kindle an article I wrote about a couple of months ago for KONK Life. Titled: Greece and Pedophilia. The thrust of the column involved Greece developing a new code. It was expected to become law soon. In the code, pedophilia is one of the listed disabilities entitling a person to a government pension.

It is a crazy world! These things cannot be made up!

My concern was and is twofold. First, something is wrong wherein a government rewards a heinous crime such as pedophilia. Second, Greece is broke. On the verge of total economic collapse. Greece cannot afford this type pension. And along these lines, such is an example of why Greece is going down the tubes. Government pensions to pedophiles!

I was comparing Apple and Google yesterday. I am in the market for a new cell phone and I Pad. I was talking about some v thing. I could not recall the word. I am losing it. It was not a v thing. It was android.

Bocce tonight. I do not know if I am going to make it. My right knee is bandaged and does not bend well.

Enjoy your day!

J P MORGAN CHASE, TURTLES AND THE AIRPORT

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It was Sunday. It was Mothers Day. I said hello to my Mom up above. Told her to take care of Dad.

Then I settled in to watch Meet The Press.

This J P Morgan Chase thing is an abomination! Losing $2 billion. This morning’s news says it may reach $3 billion.

The guest was Jamie Dimon. CEO of J P Morgan Chase. What a cavalier attitude! A few mistakes had been made, he said.

This morning’s news also reports that three heads will roll this week. All top people. All earning multimillion dollars a year. One is a woman by the name of Drew. She reportedly is earning $15 million a year. None of them worth their money if they lose $2 billion.

No word yet as to whether Jamie Dimon is on his way out. He should be. He was captain of the ship when everything occurred.

No one has faith in banks any more. And properly so. First they screwed Main street. Now they are screwing Wall Street, themselves.

Later in the morning, I had an airport run. A neighbor flying out who needed a ride. This task/help is a big thing in Key West. I am always happy to do it when asked.

The airport has changed. Key West is changing. Instead of a half dozen cabs, there are close to a dozen and a half. Instead of small planes, most are jets. They arrive three at a time. The arriving area is bursting with people waiting for their bags.

I was up and out. Might as well go to breakfast.  I ended up at Harpoon Harry’s. Eggs benedict crab meat and the Sunday papers.

Mothers Day dinner was at Lisa’s. Last year we went to the Yacht Club. This year we celebrated at home. Ally was sick. It was a pleasant family dinner, except for poor Ally. She looked terrible. Face flushed, eyes half closed, quiet, eating nothing.

It is turtle birthing time again. Smathers Beach has many places where the eggs have been buried. The hatching process takes 55 days. Once hatched, there are no mothers to take care of the little ones. The mothers are long gone. The baby turtles head for the ocean. They are directed to the water by the moon light. Such is their instinct.

A few years ago, the turtles became confused. They saw the street lights. The lights are located on the opposite side of the beach. The turtles assumed the street lights were the moon. They headed for them and the street. Obviously, many were run over.

Since then, all street lights along Smathers Beach are not turned on for a three month period so the baby turtles will not be confused.

We take care of our own in Key West.

Enjoy your day!

 

FAST BUCK FREDDIE’S CLOSING

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The pending demise of Fast Buck Freddie’s was announced yesterday. Shortly, the most magnificent tiny department store will be no more.

Fast Buck’s owner Tony Falcone made the announcement to staff and the world yesterday.

He is closing for economic reasons. He claims the cruise business hurt. Cruise ship people generally did not buy in his store. Falcone says the cruise boat people also kept the locals from coming downtown. Another reason for the closing he claimed was internet purchasing. Customers would come in to the store, see an item they liked, copy the numbers down, and then buy over the internet.

I like Tony Falcone. He has been a mainstay in Key West for many years. I do not however agree with his reasons. From my perspective, Fast Buck Freddie’s is going down because it was a bit too pricey. People either do not have money or are not spending it in this down economy. Fast Buck’s had to sell a cheaper item or lower its prices to stay in business. It did neither.

Whatever the reason, there will be a huge gap in the middle of Duval Street where Fast Buck Freddie’s has sat these many years. A sad reflection  of the times.

Follies opened in Los Angeles last night! Terri White was a hit as usual.

Los Angeles critic Paul Hodgins wrote that “…Terri White tears up the stage as a larger-than-life Stella in Who’s That Woman.”

Go Terri!

This morning my Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Ten o’clock in the morning my time. Join me for what I promise will be a most interesting show.

Enjoy your day!

USS MOHAWK

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Yesterday was a quiet day for obvious reasons.

The emails and telephone calls being received are overwhelming. As George M. Cohan used to say…..My Father thanks you, I thank you.

There is an old Italian saying that death comes in threes. It may be every group subscribes to such a belief. Number two is Larry Harvey. He died Wednesday at the age of 91. Larry was the most loved gay in Key West. I was always impressed by the respect the community had for him. I suspect he must have been one of the first that outed himself. Many years ago.

Rest in peace, Larry.

My home town is Utica, NY. It sits in the Mohawk Valley. The Valley is named Mohawk because way back when there was an Indian tribe living there by such a name. The Mohawks were part of the larger Iroquois Nation.

Many Revolutionary battles were fought in the Mohawk Valley. A significant one was the Battle of Oriskany. Oriskany sits to this day in the Mohawk Valley. The colonists made such a fight of it that the British were delayed in getting to Saratoga. That delay was instrumental in the colonists winning the war.

In 1814, the United States government commissioned the first USS Mohawk. Named after the Indian tribe and Valley. There have been four more since. Some having participated in various wars. With distinction. The last Mohawk vessel was commissioned in 1935.

That Mohawk sits in the Truman Annex waterfront portion of the Key West Harbor. Heretofore, it has been a museum for tourists. The cost to maintain the vessel is $400,000 a year. It can no longer be afforded. The Mohawk will leave shortly for a place off Sannibel Island where it will be sunk. The purpose is to have it evolve into an underwater home for fish and a place for divers to enjoy.

A worthy final resting place. Especially when the alternative was being sent to a naval junk yard and scrapped.

The Mohawk will have a home for all time as the Vandenberg which was sunk for similar purposes off Key West several years ago.

Tomorrow, the Key West Lou Legal Hour. Yes, I am doing the show. Ten in the morning my time. Join me. Great topics to be discussed. www.konkbroadcasting.com. Topics include a misogynist, Limbaugh’s Rich Babes for America, 9 Muslims sentenced in England for raping and prostituting young white girls, North Carolina same sex marriage vote, drunk driving at its worst, a paraplegic woman who ran the London Marathon, Fortune 500 companies, and viewing child porn decreed legal in New York. Plus more.

Enjoy your day!

FROM A SIX YEAR OLD TO DAVID IGNATIUS

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Yesterday was a pleasant uneventful Sunday.

The day started with Sloan in the morning. We worked long and hard on You Tube. I had thought we would be ready to go live by the end of the week. Now it looks like some time next week. There is a lot more to it than I had thought. Lighting, where I sit, introduction, etc. I was under the impression I would download or whatever You Tube and speak.  It is that simple. But not if you want the product to have a quality to it.

Walked. The Casa Marina area. Parked my car and started with a walk through the Casa Marina grounds. The Casa Marina is one of Key West’s finest hotels. Then around the neighborhood. I ended up at Salute’s, a beach side restaurant near the Casa. Sat outside at a little round table and watched the ladies in their swim wear. A pleasurable activity for a senior citizen!

Sunday dinner once again at Lisa’s. Ally is six years old. In the first grade. She was doing homework. She had to write a sentence using the word “grip.” She did not know what the word meant. She did not ask anyone. She walked over and picked up this big blue book. I asked what the book was and what she was doing. She said I have to write a sentence using the word grip and I do not know what it means. The book was  a dictionary.

Some TV commentary.

I love Mad Men. It is a 1960s story. I started practicing law during that decade. The show has been a hit for several years. Last night I got the feeling it might have run its course. The show is becoming unreal.

I watch at least the first hour of Morning Joe every morning. A guest this morning was The Washington Post’s David Ignatius. He was being interviewed about a column he recently wrote. It had to do with where the United states would be/could be by 2020. Only eight years away.

A couple of his opinions I found interesting and informative.

Ignatius says that our national gas production will be so significant by 2020 that the United States will be exporting natural gas to the same extent that Saudi Arabia is oil now.

Another was that international companies are beginning to change their minds about opening plants in China. Labor in China is 60 per cent of what it would cost in the United States. There has been a slowly  increasing cost to Chinese labor.

So why the United States over China for a new plant? Productivity. United States workers turn out more and better. The difference in labor costs is overcome by the productivity factor.

Both of these opinions is dependent on a separate and distinct factor. Washington must get its act together. It will only happen if the politicians work together.

My day is starting rapidly. Lisa telephoned that Robert is upchucking. Buy popsicles. Yesterday one of my implants broke and the teeth don’t stay in. I just called the dentist. I have to be in his office at nine.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

A GOOD FRIDAY!

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What a glorious Key West morning!

A God in His Heaven, all is right in the world, morning.

Sun bright. A sprinkling of white clouds. No breeze. Palm trees and water still.

Terrific show yesterday morning. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Based on post show comments, the Chen Guancheng story proved to have generated the most interest. He is the Chinese activist in the news. My comments during the show were critical rather than supportive. Whatever, the comments got people talking about the topic.

After the show, I went to the Plantation Coffee House. Ordered a plain bagel toasted with cream cheese and a cup of coffee. Sat down and read the papers. The bagel was a further testing of my new chewing prowess.

A couple own Plantation. The husband is Theos. I do not know his wife’s name. I am ashamed. She knows mine. She reads my column in KONK Life religiously and comments on it when I come in.

I spent the afternoon at home writing. One of the things I wrote was next week’s column for KONK Life. It has to do with jailed prisoners receiving better health care than you and me.

Kurt telephoned at dinner time. Let’s have dinner! We met at Michael’s a half hour later.

We ate at the bar. Kurt introduced me to the bartender. It had been a while since I was in Michael’s. His name is Tim.  A nice guy.

Suzette was waitressing. She came over to talk to us. She knows Kurt well. Suzette and I have met but are simply on a hello basis. The last time I saw Suzette was 4 years ago. The night of the Fantasy Fest parade. We were at a party upstairs in the old theatre building on Duval. It has a huge balcony. A perfect place from which to watch the parade.

Suzette had a husband at the time. I had a wife. Neither of us has a spouse now. Her husband Emmett was a good guy. He used to bartend at Michael’s. We occasionally played golf together and had a drink at Don’s Place.

Suzette is extremely lovely. A knock out. A charming personality besides. The three of us had interesting chatter together.

I was still testing my chewability. I ordered the veal chop. It is the house specialty. To die for.

The veal chop consists of a large veal cut. It is served on the bone. The chop is stuffed with a bit of crab meat. Not much. The outside of the chop is covered in a light film of bread crumbs held on by a touch of oil.

Everything went well! I chewed with no problem at all. Enjoyed the taste even more. It was a pleasure to be dining on real food again and experiencing individual food flavors.

I stopped at Don’s Place afterwards with Kurt. Kurt was scheduled to work last night. From 9 to 6 this morning. We had a drink at the outside bar.

Nine o’clock arrived. Kurt went to work. I went home.

I was in bed by 9:30 and slept like a baby all night.

Enjoy your day!

Good morning world!

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Good morning world! Another lovely Key West day in the making. I woke this morning with a fiery orange ball confronting my eyes. Bright. I had to turn away. It was the rising sun.

In recent days, I have spent much time  at home. Generally writing. Yesterday was that way. A good part of the day was spent on Friday’s Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Interesting material. The show is easy to put together. The world about us is crazy. Every week more and more of the unbelievable occur. I merely report the happenings. With a comment or two, of course.

This week’s show will include the high school valedictorian who is facing deportation in Florida, Muslims burning a Catholic Church in Sudan, toxic tushes, an update on the Ladies Lingerie League, and the best of all…..a new Arizona law that says conception begins the first day of the woman’s last menstrual cycle.

The last item re the new Arizona law is really crazy. In effect it says that a person exists even before the egg and sperm unite. Even before the sex act was performed.

My Internet talk show can be found at www.konkbroadcasting.com. Friday mornings. Ten o’clock my time. Join me for a fast moving hour of life today.

Amongst other things yesterday, I published a new article to my Amazon Kindle blog. Key West Lou Law. It is called Santa Claus And Guns. Kids sitting on Santa Claus’ lap with all kinds of sophisticated guns behind Santa. Happened in Arizona the past two years. The same state that decreed life begins the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period.

One of the things that bothered me about the Santa and guns story is the advertisement which resulted in a standing line crowd: “Get your holiday pictures with Santa and his machine gun.”

Donna posted a lengthy comment to yesterday’s blog. She and Terri went to a Hollywood party. They ended up watching a movie. An old B film. Stella Stevens was at the party. I remember her. The wacky girl friend in the first Poseidon movie. Also the Asian boy from 16 Candles. I do not recall him. However, loyal reader Moto did and commented on him.

Bocce tonight. It will be the first time in three weeks that I will have ventured out to play. I look forward to it. Fun, people and a drink or two.

Ryno is returning! A great guy. He left Key West last year for Syracuse. Missed Key West. Calls it home. Ryno was my teacher when I started doing my radio show. Glad he is returning.

Enjoy your day!