I am irritated. So let me get right to the point. I take umbrage with that segment of the Bill O’Reilly Show entitled Watters’ World. A deplorable piece concerning Key West was recently run on the show. Disgraceful. A bald faced misrepresentation.
The man is Jesse Watters. A traveling reporter. He recently did a video piece on Key West. He was here in Key West. He asked the questions and did the interviewing. Someone else filmed. The product he brought back to the Bill O’Reilly Show was unrepresentative of our community.
Watters must have envisioned the show he wanted to film. He cherry picked his characters and set the scene. Rigged the production, in effect. He made it look like Key West was composed of homeless, derelicts, druggies, and mental defectives. He interviewed all over Key West. The Southernmost Point, the waterfront, several spots on Duval, and in front of and in the parking lot at Don’s Place.
My friend Rob was interviewed. How he got caught up with this bunch I do not know. He was the only intelligent person interviewed. That does not mean I agreed with everything Rob said, however.
The video was unquestionably insulting. It stomped on Key West with both feet!
O’Reilly and Watters chatted a bit after the video was shown. O’Reilly described Key West as an outlaw town. He said he had been visiting Key West since 1971. I would like to know when. I have never seen him or had knowledge he was here. I question whether O’Reilly is a Truman of sorts. In addition, O’Reilly appeared to suggest that Key West was not a good vacation spot for children. I do not know if he only visited the strip clubs and the clothing optional bar on top of the Bull. Did he visit at all Fort Zachray Taylor Beach, the Fort Zach Museum, The Mel Fisher Museum, the Custom House, the Hemingway House? Did he partake of the various fishing trips, fish off the sidewalk next to the Atlantic, experience sunset at Mallory Square? Just some of the things that parents and their children do.
Fair and balanced the O’Reilly Show was not with regard to the Watters’ World report.
There is a Key Wester who writes a blog of sorts. He goes by the name of Jester. His comments concerning this situation are better than mine. He calls it as it is in no uncertain terms. Read it. Jester/Key West.
There are honorable people in Key West. I was pleased this week to note that Home Depot had the flag atop its building flying at half mast. A respectful company . Watters should have gone to Home Depot and interviewed the staff and customers if he wanted to meet real Key Westers. Home Depot being merely one example.
Larry Smith is still on the mend. His name came up last night at the Chart Room. I was chatting with Emily and David. Then a couple sitting next to me. Scott and Cathy Walker from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. A town near Penn State. They have visited Key West before. In fact, they were here celebrating their anniversary. One year ago on December 7 they were married in Key West. Not kids. A mature couple.
Either Scott or Cathy has had a knee replacement. They told me to say hello to Larry. They had met him on one occasion and were sorry that he was no longer at the Wine Galley.
They told me their friend Mary Angel Coploff was a close friend of Larry’s and that I should mention her name to him. And let Larry know that Mary had both knees replaced at one time as Larry had. Mary did it two years ago.
Scott is in an interesting business. He builds log cabin homes. They are built for the cold. There was and is a market for them up north. There were many in the Utica area. What surprised me is that several years ago, he was sent down here to build one on Big Pine.
Bocce season has been over for a month. We do not start again till January. This past season’s bocce party is tonight. At Don’s Place. It will be a good time!
Enjoy your day!