KANSAS’ RAYLENE AND GARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Northwestern was the university involved.

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

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

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

A NIGHT AT THE CHART ROOM

 

Yesterday began with an early morning visit to the bank. Then immediately home. I spent the entire day inside working on tomorrow’s TV/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour.

Great topics! With all the foolishness going on world wide, how could it not be! Stories like a tiny Eurasian country that announced its Presidential election results the day before the election, the shut down, Catholic Bishops out of line, and an update regarding the Vatican bank corruption scandal.

Plus, ATM changes, additional government waste examples, chemical weapons destruction in Syria, Greece considering grabbing personal bank accounts (shades of Cyprus), the great Social Security theft, global warming and walruses, and more.

The show airs 10 in the morning my time. It can be seen from Key West all the way up to Boca Raton via television on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. Worldwide via the internet. www.weyw19.com.

My first stop last night was Don’s Place.

A new bartender/barmaid. I am not sure which is the politically correct designation. A lovely young lady. I am embarrassed to say I do not recall her name. Next time.

Spoke with Jimmy. Where is Joanie, I asked. In Colorado. Her only son is getting married. Have a wonderful time, Joanie! For the past year, she has spoken to me on several occasions about the type and color of dress she should buy. I listened.

Hershel, Stan and Frankie at Don’s, also. Bocce discussed. We play tonight.

The Chart Room was the hit of the evening! I met and chatted with old friends and new friends. David, Peter and Emily friends of old. I am always happy to be with them.

Several of the new friends were women. No disrespect to the others, but Raylene  touched my heart! She was waiting to meet me. She told me she reads my blog every day and watches my TV show on You Tube. Thank you, Raylene!

Raylene and her husband Gary are from Garden City, Kansas. Five children, five grandchildren. They visit Key West once a year. This trip they rented a small private home in Old Town.

Raylene has been a county treasurer back in Kansas for 27 years. Gary is a general contractor. He builds the big ones. Hospitals, colleges, schools, office buildings, etc.

Gary is on his way to being a true Key Wester. He has not shaved since he arrived. He is half way to a beard.

After Raylene and Gary left, I chatted with Sarah and Chris. From Nashville. Sarah is a librarian in a middle high school. Chris, a corporate pilot. Interesting people. They are staying at the Casa Marina.

It seemed like I was moving down the bar. I finally got to talk with Dave and Nadene. Parrotheads! Obviously love Key West and Jimmy buffet. They have visited Key West many times. They hail from Columbia, Maryland.

Dave is a retired printer. Nadene is employed by Liberty Mutual as an administrative assistant. They have two boys.

Dave’s time if filled with the Parrothead world and the PT Cruiser world. Dave paints cars to reflect Key West. Air brushes most of them. His private vehicle is a 2004 PT Cruiser GT Turbo. He drives it around Columbia and all over the country to PT Cruiser events. Dave custom air brushed his personal PT Cruiser to reflect his passion for the Jimmy Buffet/Parrothead life style.

Dave has a website re his car and Buffet/Parrothead activities. You may want to take a look. www.HemisphereCruiser.com.

For me, it was a long night. Went directly home from the Chart Room. Had something to eat and then to bed.

Enjoy your day!