TAX BICYCLES?

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TAX BICYCLES? is the title of this week’s KONK Life column. An interesting subject. Taxes have been imposed in some communities already. The article will be especially interesting to Key West readers since Key West is a bicycling town.

The column is researched. I will write it later this afternoon and this evening.

My computer is fixed, but not in my hands. I will be picking it up after I finish this blog. I am presently at Lisa’s.

My yesterday started with the TV/internet show The Key West Lou Legal Hour. A multitude of sins were covered. The topic that seems to have garnered the most interest was the story of the Dallas VA Hospital that would not let local fourth graders deliver hand made Christmas cards to patients. The administrator said no Christmas cards containing Merry Christmas or God Bless You were permitted.

The administrator relied on a VA Handbook that established the rule. Some idiot in Washington apparently came up with what might be perceived as a political correctness item. I do not blame the administrator. I blame whoever in Washington came up with the idea. I wonder what the impact was on the fourth graders, what they thought, how the rejection was explained to them.

Then to Lisa’s to do yesterday’s blog.

I followed the blog up with an hour well spent at the Plantation Coffee House. Got to visit with Diane, enjoy a bagel, and read the morning newspapers.

I went to Don’s Place just before 6 last night to watch the Syracuse/Minnesota bowl game. Don advised that a group was going to Benihana at 8 for dinner. Would I join them? Of course.

I got to watch the first half of the football game. Syracuse was winning 7-0. I never got to watch the game further. While I was eating, someone passed by mentioning that Syracuse was down 3 points with 3 minutes to go.

I checked the game result  when I returned home. Syracuse won 21-17. Locked the win in with 1.5 minutes to go.

More Syracuse this afternoon. Syracuse/Villanova basketball at 2 on CBS. Should be a great game. Both teams undefeated. Syracuse ranked #2 and Villanova #8 nationally.

Dinner at Benihana was a lot of fun. There were 8 of us. Don, David, Keith, Jennifer, Clara, Hershel, Erika,and me. Stan was working.

Russ was at Don’s Place. I had not seen him in many months. He is now chef at Blue Heaven. We spoke of Big East basketball. We both agreed it was a shame Syracuse had left the league. Russ is a St. John’s fan.

A crowd at Don’s. Besides those already mentioned, Toni, Michael, Jeff, and Grant.

I go now to Tim Reynold’s to get my computer.

Enjoy your day

 

FORGET ABOUT #1

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Last week I was irritated Syracuse was not ranked #1 after beating Louisville. Only #3 and #4.

Yesterday Syracuse played unranked Villanova. A few nights ago, Villanova defeated Louisville who was ranked #5 at the time. Yesterday, Villanova beat Syracuse.

Two top 5 teams in one week!

An accomplishment!

Syracuse limped away.

Excuses/reasons. Two of our starting 5 fouled out. The bench gets smaller in height as you move down it. In the first half, the ball just would not go in the basket. That simple. Too many shoots missed. Many were lay ups.

Syracuse played better in the second half. But not good enough to win. Villanova came out on top in overtime.

Such is life!

I watched the game at the Big Ten Sports Pub. I was the only Syracuse fan there until the overtime when Dan and Lisa came in. Where were the 20-30 Syracuse fans who usually show up? They were there for the first two Syracuse games. The crowd has dwindled till yesterday it was basically only me.

Why, again? I doubt it is me. I shower before each game. I have concluded it has to be the Big Ten Sports Pub. The fans may not like the way it is configured, the noise, etc. I do not know. All I know is that something is wrong.

I also do not know where they are watching the game. John’s place is the best venue in town for sports viewing in my opinion.

Remember the former college guys at the Chart Room the night before raising hell. They were celebrating their ten year reunion. They were at the Big Ten yesterday during the Syracuse game. They were not watching the game. They were playing foosball. Had a competition going. Yelling and screaming same as the night before. Downing shots every few minutes.

Gentlemen they were. They asked me to play foosball with them. I declined. I am too old for the sport. Ho ho.

The Wizard of Oz will be playing a major part in our lives for the next month. Robert and Ally are munchkins in the high school play to be performed at the end of February.

Robert has graduated. He is playing a munchkin with a speaking role. Robert has 25 lines. Wowie!

Chittenango is a little town between Utica and Syracuse. It is on Route 5, a two lane New York State highway. Route 5 runs right through the center of downtown chittenago. Downtown is modest. All of 5,000 people.

Lisa said she had a vague recollection that Chittenango had something to do with the Wizard of Oz. I did not know. I knew the town was famous for hams. It is the Ham That Am town.

I checked Lisa’s comment on the internet. She was correct. Chittenango and the Wizard of Oz are tightly related.

L. Frank Baum wrote the Wizard of Oz in 1900. He was a resident of Chittenango at the time. To commemorate the event, Chittenango has a yellow brick road. The sidewalks on both sides of downtown Route 5 are painted yellow. There is a store called Auntie ‘Ems. There is also an annual three day festival. Several of the surviving munchkins show up each year. Munchkins from the 1939 movie which starred Judy Garland.

A small world!

Enjoy your Sunday!

LOVELY CHARLOTTE

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There was a rumbling on Duval last night. Charlotte was back in town!

Lovely Charlotte!

Really!

Charlotte visits Key West 3-4 times a year. She is from North Carolina. The only negative about her is her employer. United Healthcare.

Charlotte appears to be good friends with Emily. Emily was bartending last night. The two probably hit the Green Parrot after Emily shut down.

Ollie was at the Chart Room, also. I spent my time chatting with Ollie and Charlotte.

The Chart Room was noisy. About ten mid 30 guys were seated at the round table raising hell. The noise! Turned out they were on the first night of their college reunion.

It was reunion time at Don’s Place, also. I stopped at Don’s before heading over to the Chart Room.

David was there with three Ohio high school buddies and their wives. David had not seen his buddies since high school. They were making more noise than the thirty year olds at the Chart Room.

So it all can be placed in perspective, David is 60. His high school buddies had to be 60 also.

Syracuse plays Villanova at 11 this morning. I have to hustle. I will be watching the game at the Big Ten Sports Pub. If Dan and Lisa are still in town, I am sure they will be joining me.

Syracuse could lose. I know I say it every week. It is that time of the year and that type of team.

I did the Key West Lou Legal Hour yesterday morning. Great show! Such modesty! But it was and they are.

I discussed three examples of fraud. From Subway to jailed criminals to an Italian bank. Made sort of a trilogy out of it. Turns out viewers enjoyed the fraud stories the most.

I have had a slow leak in one of my tires. I went to Sears. The slow leak could not be mended due to the nail’s location. Needed a new tire. Only 12,000 miles on the car. It is a 2010 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Purchased new.

Volkswagen stopped making the Beetle convertible in 2010.

I was told the tire had been discontinued and there were none available. Sears found a substitute. Discontinued also.

I could not win. I was tired from having hung around Sears for two hours besides.

Put the tire back on the car. The air will hold for about three weeks. In the meantime, I have to find a tire. Any suggestions? I plan on telephoning Volkswagen in Miami monday.

The spare would not work while waiting for a new tire. It is one of those donut things and is not made for a week or two of miles.

The world continues to become more crazy. Especially with the gun issue here in the United States.

A Wisconsin sheriff yesterday told his residents to learn how to handle a gun and to get one. For economic reasons, his department had been cut 48 jobs. He felt he could no longer do an effective job.

Enjoy your day!