HAPPY JULY 4TH

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Happy 4th of July! A day of American pride. Independence day.

To my readers living in foreign lands, this is the day in 1776 that a group of men signed the Declaration of Independence. The written document by which the colonists declared their independence from England. An act of courage by these men. They were now traitors. Never the less, they stood tall.

Arthur continues to vent as it leaves North Carolina. Turned into a #2. Could have done more damage than it did. Fortunately, Arthur is a swift moving hurricane. Hits and gets out. Surge is still a concern.

I find Key West weather at the moment absolutely amazing. Quiet. Nothing is moving. There is not a speck of wind. Yet 800 miles north, Arthur is blowing up a storm.

A big day in Key West. A big day in every community across the United States.

Party time here in Key West. One of the events is the 6th Annual 4th of July Pub Crawl. Key West celebrates everything with a pub crawl! It will be attended by local military personnel. Those making the bar stroll will be attired in red, white and blue. The crawl starts at 2 at Schooner Wharf.

Tonight, fire works! Always a big event in Key West. Per custom, off the far end of the White Street Pier. Everyone will be there!

Last night for me began at Don’s Place. Don has been away for several days. A family reunion in Buffalo. He returns sunday. I chatted with Jimmy, David, and Hershel. Exchanged hellos with Grant, John, and Erika. Michael was bartending.

Jimmy and I were into golf again. His head is totally immersed in the game. We also talked about what precipitated the Revolution. I thought the Boston Tea Party. Jimmy said the Massachusetts Massacre. I suspect both had something to do with it.

Then to the Chart Room. Emily bartending. Looked good! Chatted with Che, Ollie, Sheila, Frankie and others.

As I was leaving, ran in to David. David showed me his leg. Something bit him more than a week ago. It happens in Key West frequently. Whatever it was gave him an infection. David said it hurt like hell and he is medicating. I told him he should not complain, the bug probably died after biting him.

David is one of Key West’s best people.

Stopped at Burger Fi for a cheeseburger. I was not very hungry. Lucas was bartending.

Met Scott from Boulder, Colorado. He is visiting with his wife. Cindy is her name. I met her later in our conversation. They are in Key West with their 13 year old daughter. Scott is in property management.

The family is staying at Casa Marina. Their room $420 a night. Wow! Next weekend, it will be half the price.

I asked about the pot situation in Colorado. Recreational marijuana is now legal. I was surprised at Scott’s response. Thought he would be enthused about it. I view it like gay marriage. It is something whose time has come.

Scott is concerned. Apparently, there are problems. Pot comes in many forms. One is candy bars. It is suggested that one square at a time be eaten. Teenagers are getting hold of the candy bars and eating the whole thing at one time. With adverse consequences. Alarming. Better control is obviously required.

Enjoy the 4th!

KEY WEST NEW YEAR’S EVE HIGHLIGHTS

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The big night is tomorrow. New Year’s Eve. It has a flavor all its own in Key West.

The bars and restaurants will be full. Not just on Duval, everywhere. Duval cordoned off in certain spots. People mobbing the streets.

The biggies are Key West’s own rendition of the ball falling on Time’s  Square. Three places for sure. Perhaps one more.

The Bourbon Street Pub drop will be crazy. Probably the best drop on the island. Sushi comes down in a red shoe. People yelling in the street.

Sloppy Joe’s has its own drop. A conch shell from the top of its building. For a couple of hours prior to midnight, a band plays on Sloppy’s roof. People in the street watching, dancing and raising a bit of hell.

Schooner Wharf is an exciting place to be, also. Schooner’s party is known as New Year’s Eve Madness. There will be a schooner docked nearby. A pirate ship for the evening. A wench will be dropped from the mast.

I understand the Ocean Key House Pier will also have a drop of some sort. I believe this year will be the first. Bound to be good.

What I enjoy most New Year’s Eve are the fireworks at the White Street Pier. Magnificent! The whole community comes out to watch. Many families. The fireworks can be seen as far away as Duval Street.

Yesterday was Sunday. A good day. However, things were not as anticipated. I was lazy once again.

I did my blog early morning. Then back to bed to watch Meet the Press. I had completed my research for next week’s KONK Life column the day before. Tax Bicycles? I wrote the article. When finished, I felt tired. Back to bed, this time for a nap.

I planned on going out in the evening. Hogfish. I did not want to battle the tourists downtown. My plans changed when I saw that Lawrence of Arabia was going to be shown on the Turner Classic Channel at 8. A great movie! Four hours long. I fell asleep four times during the movie. Probably viewed less than half of it. Such is life!

Since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, I will not be airing my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. I doubt very many would be listening. I suspect I will be out also.

Enjoy your day!

DAY 22

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I am never going to get out of Mikonos!

The Greek gods are working against me.

First, I wanted to go to Fourni. No way. The boat to Fourni had been discontinued. I decided to stay in Mykonos a few extra days.

Tomorrow, I was planning on leaving for Amorgos. Someone told me there is a monastery worth seeing. The monks provide water and food to visitors through a hole. The monks never see nor speak to anyone from the moment they enter the monastery. Also, Amorgos is considered one of the prettier of the small islands.

I went down to get my boat ticket for Amorgos this morning. Down by the waterfront. I wanted to leave tomorrow. No boat to Amorgos today or tomorrow. Everything cancelled. Even planes. The weather.

Strong winds today. The kind we get in Key West when the water breaks against the White Street Pier and splashes 20-30 feet high. I was on the waterfront this morning. Ten feet from the water. Hitting the beach and shooting up and over all nearby. Including me.

I am becoming knowledgeable about Mykonos weather.

When I first arrived, it was hot and humid. No breeze at all. The last three days big winds. No humidity.

Some natives tell me that is the way the weather is this time of the year. Three days humid. Then three days of wind.

I also started hearing that today’s wind is unusual for June. It is September wind.

Who knows? I just want to leave Mykonos. I have been here too long. It is not my type place. Too touristy for me. Key West is mild by comparison. The flavor and grandeur for which Mykonos is known was in the 1960s and 1970s. Gone. Today’s players are wannabes to that life style.

A great place to visit for a few days and leave.

Wednesday is my scheduled departure day now.

Yesterday was Paradise Beach. The place I had been seeking. All my desires were satisfied. I saw it all! I was a little embarrassed. I never showed mine.

Stayed in last night again. Dined in the hotel’s dining room.

I have been eating Greek food for more than two weeks now. I yearned for something else. I enjoyed a huge portion of spaghetti bolognaise.

Christina is in charge of the dining room. She does a top notch job. Great service, great food and the right touch with personal amenities.

Christina is 35 years old. Looks 25. A short lovely blonde. Fair skinned. A single mother of a 4 year old boy.

I asked Christina where she works in the winter. Mykonos is a summer town. Closes down for the winter months. She says she can always find work somewhere in Mykonos in the off months.

A hard worker. A talented person. I wish her well.

The Greek election. Yesterday. I called it right. The euro supporters won. It was close. The euro people got 29 percent of the vote. The non-euros 26 per cent. Several other minor parties grabbed anywhere from 12 per cent of the vote downward.

Twenty nine per cent is not enough to control. A coalition is required. It is anticipated the winners will form the coalition with the party who got 12 per cent of the vote. Still not enough to make a majority. However, under Greek law the party receiving the largest number of votes automatically gets an additional 50 seats in the national legislature. That puts the euro people over the top. A crazy country!

Forget what you read in the papers and on TV today. This new government is not going to work. The Germans have already suggested they might ease some of the time payment dates. But that is it! The big hard dollar payments still remain. Greece will not be able to make them. The new government and the euro will fail. I give it three to six months.

To put it all in proper perspective, this election is not even a band aid. Some one took a rag and merely brushed the blood aside. A very temporary solution to an ongoing aggravating problem.

I noticed yesterday that many of the older Greek homes have what I thought was some religious design on each house. All alike. A bunch of small triangles set in a large square. The square sits on one of its points. There apparently is space behind the openings. I noticed the newer buildings did not have the design. My initial thought was that whatever it was was intended to keep evil spirits away.

I was wrong. The triangular openings were for doves.

At one time there were many white doves flying above Mykonos. Predatory birds discovered the doves and came in large numbers to feed upon them. This was many years ago. The citizens of Mykonos enjoyed and favored the doves. Ergo, as homes and buildings were constructed, these triangular openings became part of the construction. The doves could fly inside and evade the predator birds.

It must not have worked. I have seen no doves in my time here.

Terri White makes national news again! She was selected by GO Magazine as one of the 100 Women We Love. Take a look at the 6/15/12 edition of the magazine. A terrific pic of Terri and a concise litany leading to her success.

I survived yesterday’s hit and run. Woke this morning with a swelling half the size of as golf ball on my arm. No pain.

I have a pretty good tan. The sun is strong in the Greek isles. Much stronger than Key West. Between walking around and a bit of sun bathing, I am getting dark. Very dark.

I have only shaved once in the four weeks I have been gone. I look pretty bad. I apologized to one woman I met for having such a sloppy growth. She thought it looked sexy. I may never shave again. I wonder how I will look if I do not shave the balance of this trip. Another three weeks.

Enjoy your day!