A UNIQUE FUN DAY

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It was bocce playoff time yesterday. Our team participated in the Big Pine portion. It was my first time playing in the Big Pine Tournament. I labeled it the NIT of bocce. Like we were second class citizens.

Turns out the Big Pine Tournament is one of the finest Key West events I have participated in over the years. I would be pleased and proud to play in it again next year!

As in Key West, Big Pine has four nights of bocce. The top team of each night’s competition comes to participate in Key West in what is labeled the Big Pine Tournament. One team from each of the four Key West nights is added to the Big Pine Tournament. The number 6 team from each evening. The top five teams play in the regular play offs. Which I would label as the big guy playoffs.

There was a difference between the two playoffs. The Big Pine one was fun. Big time fun!

Each team played til it incurred two losses. We played 6 games. Our second loss came in game six. Had we won, we would have played in the final game for the championship.

We won 4 out of 6. Not bad. Too bad we did not win the last one. It would have added to the day to have come out the overall winner.

One of the things that makes the Big Pine Tournament more fun is the competition overall. It is a step down from the big guys. More competitive in the sense that everyone has a chance to win. In the regular playoffs, only the very best have a chance to win. And they are the same teams every year.

There was an ambiance to the event. It was like an old time family picnic. Whole families came. Babies included. The league provided the goodies. Free hamburgers, hot dogs and ribs. Beer and soda. Everyone brought their own alcohol in addition.

Chairs were necessary. Many brought their own or sat on a blanket or grass in the shade. Don sent back to the bar for chairs. Made the day more comfortable. We sat around and watched the other games when we were not playing. We chatted and drank. Some of us slept. I usually nap from 3-5. I did not miss my nap. I fell asleep sitting in one of Don’s chairs under a palm tree.

There was a strong ocean breeze that made the day easier to handle.

Everyone on our team played well, except for me. Seriously. As those who were there would attest. As well as I played Thursday night, I sucked Saturday. I could not get the ball to the pollina. I constantly came up short. I played in the second game which we lost. No one asked me to play in the other games. I don’t blame them. I had no desire either to play after my performance in the second game.

It was a day long event. I arrived at 10:30. The first games started at 11. I finally left at 7 after our second loss.

It was a fun day! A different kind of Key West day!

I snuck out at 5:30 for Robert’s birthday dinner and cake. Always enjoyable. Afterwards, I returned to the bocce courts to watch my team play.

The annual Truman Symposium is this weekend. Tonight at 5 at the Little White House, there will be a discussion regarding Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb. The event is titled Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Several survivors of the bombings will speak. I plan on attending.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

BIG PINE TOURNAMENT

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I am not looking forward to bocce this morning. We play in the infamous Big Pine Tournament at 11. The NIT of bocce. It is for the also rans. Our team missed the big time playoffs by one game.

While we will be rolling on two courts at the end, the regular playoffs will be ongoing on the other courts.

The best part of the day will be lunch. Free burgers and chicken for the players. The burgers are the best! I ran into Frankie last night at Square One. He agreed, the burgers to die for!

I started yesterday with a noon manicure. Tammy at Lee Nails. I have to say it again…..What a business! She and her husband have captured the American dream.

Then to Publix for groceries This time the refrigerator was really empty, as was the freezer. My breakfast yesterday consisted in a cup of green tea and two old frozen pancakes. Publix got me good. I spent a ton of money stocking up.

The price of groceries is ridiculous. And nothing to indicate it is going to reverse itself and go down. I read somewhere this week that the cost of meat experienced the largest one month increase in years last month. Add on the 19 percent increase for 2013. We are taking a beating!

Dinner last night was with Stephanie Kaple at Square One. Dining with Stephanie is always  interesting. Stephanie is young, vivacious and full of drive. Her life is totally committed to the homeless.

I met a couple at the bar who also play bocce. They play in the tuesday night league. They came in first this season. They understood Big Pine Tournament background. Meeting them was like pouring salt on an open wound.

Betsy had dinner at the bar with friends. Betsy and I have spent the last eight Christmas Eves and Days together. Betsy is a good friend of Lisa’s and is always a guest at Lisa’s home for the occasion.

We exchange modest gifts. My gift to Betsy this past Christmas was a copy of my then recently published book The World Upside Down. I did not have a copy to give her, however. The book was back listed / wait listed till January 15. I told Betsy I would get it to her.

I am ashamed to say, I have not delivered the book yet.

As luck would have it, I ran into Betsy twice this week,  Square One being the second time. Where is the book, she asked. I promised this week.

Enjoy your day!

 

GRANDSON ROBERT 10 YEARS OLD

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Robert was 10 years old yesterday. Happy birthday, Robert! Poppa loves you very much!

Robert’s birthday might not have been. He was born with cancer of the liver. Fortunately discovered at birth. He had two major surgeries at Miami Childrens Hospital within the first eight days of his life.

We thank God all went well.

There has been no Happy Birthday celebration as yet. Robert is in Disney World and some other such places for three days with his Montessori classmates. Wonderful!

Even for animals, mammals and fishes there has to be an almighty overlooking them. One who provides them with a sixth sense.

The Turtle Hospital in Marathon has a new patient. An injured green seas turtle swam into the boat basin of the Turtle Hospital yesterday. The turtle weighed 46 pounds. A fishing line was wrapped around the turtle. He had lost his left flipper. The other was cut to the bone. He also had swallowed some of the fishing line. Additionally and not related to the fish line, he had ten herpes type internal tumors.

The turtle is obviously in critical condition. The hospital will work hard to save him.

This was the second time a turtle showed up at the Turtle Hospital boat basin on its own for medical attention. The last time was 1986.

Bocce last night. We had to win all three games to make the playoffs. We won only two. I played in the one we lost. I had one of my better evenings shooting. However, I missed a basketball 3 pointer at the end. My last throw was an open shot a bit long. I came up short. Way short. A few throws later by the opposition and we were yesterday’s news. One game short of making the playoffs.

We were on the bubble re the playoffs going in. There is a consolation prize. We are eligible for the Big Pine Tournament. We play tomorrow morning at 11.

The Big Pine Tournament is comparable to the NIT in basketball. A hollow victory having been invited.

The Players Golf Tournament was last weekend. I played in a pool. I rarely gamble. Came in first. Won $340. Those afternoons I lie in bed watching pro golf paid off.

I shaved my beard last friday. No one noticed till wednesday evening. Emily finally did at the Chart Room.

Cool today. Overcast. Strong wind from the north. No tee shirt today.

Enjoy your day!

 

WAMPSVILLE

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Wampsville is Indian derived. Wampsville is a community in central New York. It is the county seat for Madison County. It basically sits between Oneida and Onondaga Counties. My hometown Utica is located in Oneida County.

In addition to Wampsville, note that Oneida and Onondaga are Indian derived names. The Oneidas and Onondagas were members of the Iroquois Indian Nation.

I tried many lawsuits in  the Madison County Courthouse in Wampsville. The Courthouse had a unique Supreme Court Room. It was round. Everything in the courtroom was round also. Counsel tables being an example.

Why the Wampsville history this morning? Blame Ted Kane. I ran into Ted Kane at the Chart Room last night. The third consecutive year we have met there.

Ted is an attorney from Wampsvile. He does not practice law per se. He is Confidential Clerk to Judge Di Stefano.

Ted updated me on what is going on in Madison County lawyer wise. We spoke again of my old friend Hugh Humphrey. Hugh and I are relatively close in age. Ted, also. Hugh and I used to try cases against each other in the Wampsville Supreme Court Room. We had other legal matters together which did not entail the court room. On occasion following a hard day’s work, Hugh and I would share a drink or two together. We were lawyer friends.

Hugh’s abilities were rewarded later in his career. He was elevated to the bench. He became a Judge in Madison County. He oversaw cases in the same court room we had opposed each other.

Joe Thornton was at the bar. Jean was off at Schooner Wharf for some event with Megan. They eventually showed up. The three were then off to dinner at La Trattoria.

Che showed up. Che, Emily and I were chatting away. Emily’s cell phone rang. It was Peter aka Captain Peter. Peter left us a couple of months ago. He went to live in his home on Wibey Island in Washington State. His venerable aged van made it!

Emily put Peter on speaker. Peter had just finished cutting the grass. He told us he intended to plant a garden. He prefers his food organically grown.

The organic thing got Emily wound up after the Peter call was completed. She and Che are organic food nuts. Emily insists I eat poorly, that I should imbibe organic foods. She even wrote me a list last night of what to buy when I go grocery shopping.

At the end of the bar sat a tourist couple. They got into the organic discussion. Both claimed to be organic addicts and proudly so. One of the reasons Emily wants to change my eating habits is so I will lose weight. The tourist couple at the end of the bar individually were much fatter than I. Each was at least two of me.

The organic food discussion made me hungry. I went to Outback for a prime rib and baked potato with butter. Emily will throw her arms up in frustration when she reads this.

I spent most of the day time yesterday writing next week’s COMMENTARY column for KONK Life. Titled it Screwing America. About Timothy Geithner and the banks, off shore banking by major corporations, and the pharmaceutical industry big bucks operation.

I bruised/cut my arm. No big deal. I read somewhere aloe was an excellent healer. I have two urns loaded with aloe on the terrace outside my bedroom. They have sat there for 15 years. Never touched by man.

I decided to try the aloe cure. Cut half a stalk off. Messy. Drippy. Smelly. I applied the aloe to my minor wound. I let it sit for a half hour. Even after drying, the smell was terrible. The odor would not easily wash away. I had just taken a shower. Took another one. Still the smell. Used shampoo on it. That got it!

Bocce tonight. This is the last night for bocce this season. We have to win all three games tonight to make the playoffs. My confidence factor is lacking after the beating we took last week.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WESTERN EDUCATION A NO NO / SEXUAL SLAVERY OK

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Needless to say, the 300 young girls abducted in Nigeria is disturbing. Watching the scenario play out difficult to understand.

First, it took two weeks for the international media to pick up on the event. After the oh how terribles, the four week search has yet to find and recapture the girls. Whereas millions were spent and are still being spent on the Malaysian plane that went down, the dollars to find these youngsters does not compare.

The 5/13/14 Miami Herald had a column by Frida Ghitis on the abduction issue. Ghitis is a world affairs writer for the Miami Herald. Certain portions of Ghitis’ column were directly to the point informationwise and otherwise.

Re the Islamic radical group Boko Haram responsible for the abductions, she wrote: The group’s name Boko Haram means “Western education is a sin…..but …..the kidnapping and selling of girls – most likely into sexual – is somehow acceptable.” She further wrote, “The gang of radicals want to impose…..their twisted version of Islamic law, Sharia.”

Why do I write about this situation. Simply, it bothers me. As it must you. The girls are reportedly 3-17 years old. Even if all were women, it would be bothersome. Certain interpretations of Islamic law permit young girls to be married and permit sexual slavery. Such situations in Nigeria and the Middle East are religiously motivated and/or justified.

How can the Western world combat such beliefs which are in direct contradiction to their own? I do not know. The problems reflected have been ongoing for many years. Attempted solutions in the past have failed. The differences may not be reconcilable.

Enough. Off the soapbox!

It was Blossom’s for lunch yesterday. I was the only customer till I was leaving. I lunched there two weeks ago and noticed fewer customers. I suspect a problem.

One problem is the new owners are not making the sandwiches the same as the former ones. The former ones made them as they had been prepared for some 20 years at Paradise Cafe. There is an old adage…..Never screw around with something that works.

My Cuban toast with tomato is never the same. Different size, never enough butter, sometimes on the cool side, not always crushed. The same with the Cuban coffee. Sometimes warm, sometimes luke warm. Never hot.

A greasy sandwich to eat. Fingers become licking good. Two napkins  before, only one now.

I have not had the courage to share my experiences with the new owners. They seem so happy and confident in what they are doing. As a result, I have gotten into the habit of going to Blossoms for lunch less frequently.

I spent the afternoon fine tuning last night’s blog talk radio show Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. The show went well. I spent the first half beating up Tim Geithner, banks, big corporations with off shore deposits, and insurance companies. Deservedly so.

Robert’s picture was in the Key West Weekly. There were a series of photos of the miniature golf event last week. Robert and a classmate were responsible for erection of hole 9. The hole was described as “…..one of the most artistic.”

A proud grandfather am I.

Enjoy your day!

 

A TALKING NIGHT

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Last night was different.

I went to Tavern ‘n Town for dinner. Grabbed a newspaper and sat at the bar. The bar was crowded. Surprising for a  monday night in off season. Only one empty seat at the bar. It was mine!

Was sipping my first gin and reading the newspaper. The menu sitting on the counter to my side. A brief glance at the menu was all I got. I spent the entire evening chatting with new and old friends. Never got to eat.

I was sitting next to a charming couple. David and Pam. Their first time in Key West. They were staying at Marriott Beachside. They hail from Roswell, New Mexico. The home of the first UFO crash.

Dave was inin the paper business. Retired now. Was a dealer of paper towels, toilet paper and the like.

Dave and Pam drove to Key West from Roswell. They stopped at several places on the way down the length of Florida to Key West. They are looking for a place to stay for a month next year and if they like, perhaps permanently.

I explained to them you cannot just stop and go. It is necessary to stop and stay and then return and return some more. You must be sure before you buy.

They have only been in Key West a few days. They missed much of what they should have seen. I suggested they do the one month thing here next year to see if they like Key West enough to eventually settle here.

Then an angel descended upon me! Lee Anne. I have not seen Lee Anne in a couple of years. She was with her realtor friend Suzanne. We talked quite a while.

Lee Anne’s condominium in Truman Annex comes to mind. One of the loveliest in the complex. A beauty.

Spent the daytime yesterday working on the Greece book. My first days in Santorini. The cave I lived in, the donkey trail, and the volcano. Only the view of the volcano. I have not yet reached the part of my ill fated attempt to climb the volcano.

David Kaufelt recently passed on. A Key West resident who loved and lived Key West. A man who touched many lives.

My blog talk radio show tonight! Listen in! Nine my time. A quick half hour covering political and social matters requiring a bit of exploring. Many things discussed are revealing. Eye openers. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Amongst other things this evening, I will be discussing some excerpts from Tim Geithner’s recent book. Did he miss things! He failed to see what was to be seen! Blinded by his bank background and bank friends.

I will also be talking about a Spanish judge who sent the CEO of a large bank to jail for wrongdoing. The CEO was out in days. The Judge, also. He is now in court fighting for his job and reputation. A good guy getting screwed!

Also, the recent federal court decision finding drug testing of Key West  municipal employees unconstitutional.

Enjoy your day!

 

GREECE REVISITED

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I revisited some of my Greek days yesterday from the deck of the Pier House.

It was open house again. About the sixth Sunday the realtor has had one.  I had to disappear for four hours.

I grabbed my computer and headed out. Not sure where I was going. Ended up at the Pier House.

Merri working. The Beach Bar crowded. Grabbed a Beach Bar table, ordered a diet Pepsi and went to work. The noise and the entertainer’s singing did not bother me. I was working on my Greece book. Editing and rewriting some of the days from the first trip.

I felt guilty after a while. I was taking up a whole table and drinking soda. The waiter was losing money on me. Tourists spending money and tipping big could be sitting at the table.

I went up on the deck extending out from the Beach Bar. Took a table on the side under the awning. People rarely sit there.

Opened the computer again and went back to work.

There were constant distractions. Pleasant ones. The view. Blue water and white boats. Bikini clad lovelies running around.

Hard as it was, I was able to work. Got a lot done in the four hours I sat there.

Spent some money. I got hungry. Ordered a Cuban sandwich pressed and hot.

There I was. Sandwich in one hand and the other hitting the keys. Like riding a bicycle with one hand and eating an ice cream come with the other.

Such was my exciting Sunday. It was ok by me. I was still tired from the day before’s bowling. Age!

Enjoy your day!

BOWLING

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Happy Mother’s Day!

My mother is long gone. I miss her. I sound like a child when I say it. That’s the way it is. We are all children when we think of our mothers.

Yesterday, my second bowling event in three years. Prior thereto, sometime back in the 1960s. Total bowling times in my life, 4-5.

It was a Don bowling party at the U.S. Navy Air Base at Boca Chica. There were 25 of us. Don divided us into five 5 person teams. My team mates were Stan, Tom, Clare, and Hershel.

We played well. Very well! We won! We had the highest score each of the three games played. Don’s team was second. We spotted them 15 points in the third game and still won.

I was of exceptional assistance. 84 in the first game. Followed up by something in the 60s the next two. Everyone was better than me! Did not bother me in the least. I had a wonderful time! Did not bother my team mates either.

One problem. The ball was heavy. Every time I picked it up. For real. I dropped it three times as I was in my stride preparing to throw the ball. I attribute the heavy feeling and dropping the ball to my age and being out of shape. More to being out of shape.

The food and drink were appropriate to the occasion. There was no gin of quality. I drank a brand I never heard of. Tom jokingly told me not to light a match near it. The food consisted of chicken fingers, onion rings and pizza.

Travel time and bowling itself consumed five hours. It was six when I arrived home. I had intended to go downtown for the Songwriter’s Festival. Duval was closed yesterday. A stage was erected in the street in front of Sloppy Joe’s. A free concert was scheduled  for 7. I never made it. Did not even try. I was tired. 

Another open house today. Will my home ever sell? I have to find a quiet place to sit with my computer and work on the Greece book.

Enjoy your Sunday!

THE BEARD IS GONE

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I developed the habit of trimming my two year old beard once a week. On fridays. Yesterday, I screwed up!

I have an electric beard trimmer. The cutting blade trims close to the skin. There is a barricade /guard that has to be placed over it to avoid a full trim. The barricade/guard also permits one to determine the desired length of the beard.

I was doing the friday routine yesterday. Trimmed one side of my face. Don’t know where my mind was. I forgot the barricade/guard. Three sweeps and the left side of my face was bare.

Oh, shit!…..I thought.

Things have to balance. I intentionally shaved off the right side. Left me with a mustache and small chin beard. I did not think it looked good. Shaved the chin beard off. Did not like how I looked with just a mustache. The mustache went.

My face was entirely clean. The skin as smooth as a new born baby’s behind.

I liked what I saw. I have decided to go beardless for a while. The new me!

The interesting thing is that everywhere I went last night, no one noticed my beard was gone. Do people really look at each other?

The Chart Room was my first stop. Sean and Katherine were just leaving. I was glad I got to say good bye in person. They leave for Austin this morning. Katherine has a position with a Leading Hotels of the World there. God bless and good luck!

Ran into Dale. Met him last year. He spends six months in Key West and six months in Ocean City, New Jersey. Lives on a 44 foot sail boat. He is an independent contractor working with the pharmaceutical industry. I learned a lot I never knew about prescription drugs.

Decided to stop at the new Key West Pub to see how they were doing. They were not. A handful of people. The place was basically empty. I had a drink and chatted with the general manager, Eric.

There was a dance floor last week at the opening where a baby grand used to sit. The dance floor was gone. Replaced by tables. I suggested they bring Larry Smith in to play. I was told they had no piano. I said Larry had one. The one he bought when he left the Wine Galley.

My next and final stop was Square One. Ate at the bar. Enjoyed myself immensely.

Jimmy Olsen was seated at the other end. I rarely see him. It was good to say hello.

Good friend Patrick bartending. Always a pleasure to be in his company.

My former bocce partner Frankie the Plumber was having dinner at the bar, also. Chatted with Frankie and his friends. Frankie just returned from a three week cruise through the Hawaiian Islands. Jet lag still affecting him.

Mary Lou Hoover came in and sat next to me at the bar. She and Charley were waiting for a table. Mary Lou and I talked quite a while. The most we have ever talked. The first time I can recollect we have been alone to talk.

Mary Lou is both dynamic and a dynamo. Among her many accomplishments, she started Girl’s Night Out back in 2006 or thereabouts with six attendees. Today, it numbers in the thousands.

I was impressed once again with the crowd at Square One. Many standing and drinking waiting for a table. Happy faces all! Carmelo has done a great job in resurrecting the restaurant.

This afternoon, I bowl! Don is throwing a bowling party. At the Boca Chica Naval Base. The only bowling alleys in the area.

We did a similar party three years ago. We ate pizza and wings and drank.

This will be the fourth time in my life I have bowled. I think three years ago my high score was 70 something and my low 40 something.

No one wants me on their team!

Enjoy your day!

BOCCE…..WE FALTERED

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There is a line in Peter Pan…..Dreams do come true. I don’t know.

All week my bocce team has been hyped about playing last night. We had come back from nothing by winning 8 of the last 9 games. We could be heading for the playoffs. We needed to win 4 of the last 6 games of the season.

We played three of those games last night. Against a team that had lost 9 straight.

They done us in! We lost 2 of the 3 games. Which means we have to win all 3 next week.

I was surprised at last night’s result. We were geared up and ready to play. Confident. It was kill time. We got killed!

I spent all of the day yesterday writing next week’s column for KONK Life. It is titled Misuse of Little Ones. The abduction of the 300 girls in Nigeria, coupled with the crucifixions and beheadings, including children, in Nigeria and Syria, motivated the article.

Yesterday was the 69th anniversary of VE-Day. Victory in Europe. The was against Germany was over.

I was ten years old at the time. The event sticks in my mind as if it were yesterday.

The news first came over the radio. No TV in those days. People rejoiced. They stood on their porches banging spoons against pots and pans. They cried. They yelled words of joy to each other. The streets flooded with people. Everyone crying. Everyone kissing.

There have been several wars since. I can recall no such rejoicing when each ended.

Speaking of anniversaries, today is the second anniversary of my Father’s death. He left us on May 9, 2012. He would have been 100 years old today. He had a good life. The second half was better than the first. I loved him and miss him.

Enjoy your day!