The Great Sea Battle tonight! The height of the Conch Republic Celebration!
Seven pm. Key West Harbor. Best place to watch anywhere from the Ocean Key Sunset Pier all the way to the Galleon. Any spot along the way.
Watch the Conch Republic’s Air Force and Navy battle U.S. jets and battle ships. Like nothing you would believe!
The battle is over at 8. Followed immediately by a Surrender Ceremony and Victory Party at the Schooner Wharf Bar.
I will mis the event tonight. Too old to watch the battle. Too much walking. Too much water and whatever else sprayed on spectators. Instead I will enjoy a pleasant dinner with with Steve and Cindy Thompson at La Te Da. We will be dry, except for a drink or two. Roomy and comfortable.
Steve and Cindy have seen more Conch Republic battles than I. They have been part of Key West 20 years longer than I. I’m sure I will hear some stories, however. Always a pleasure to be with them. They lived through those “days” beginning in the mid 1970’s. The foundation for today’s Key West.
Manatee Dually (pronounced Doo-Lee) was rescued for the 13th time by the Grassy Key Manatee Rescue Team. Monday in Key Largo.
Same problem for the 13th time.
Dually weighs 1,400 pounds. Fishing lines entangled her muzzle and face, both pectoral flippers and tail. She could neither breathe nor eat. In danger of death. The doctors considered her problem “life threatening.”
Rescued and saved again! The doctors hope she has learned this time and will be more careful in her drinking and eating habits. Dually has to learn to stop being a “serial entangler” and “beggar.”
The way it was during Prohibition in Key West.
On this day in 1926, Sheriff Deputies made raids seeking Prohibition violations. Despite attempts to pour it down the drain, booze, along with a slot machine, were found at Mexicano’s Stand at Petronia and Elizabeth Streets. A large quantity of illegal liquor was also found at La Concha Café on Duval Street.
Only in Key West. On this day in 1992, police made a gruesome discovery at a house on Southard Street. They found a man who had been dead for two months and his room mate was unaware he was dead.
Is the tide turning?
Abortion bans failed to pass in two conservative states this week. Bills that would have restricted abortions. The states South Carolina and Nebraska.
Why? Could be conservative legislators are heeding the signs that anti-abortion laws will galvanize women to vote them out of office.
A correct observation. Repeal of Roe v. Wade and its aftermath is bringing women of all ages and parties together.
On this day in 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee Italy.
Their bodies were taken to a gas station in Milan and hung upside down from a metal pole. People then shot at and beat the dead bodies.
On one of my many Milan visits, I visited the location and the pole. All I could think was how Mussolini’s people turned on him. He initially created a better life for them. Then became a megomaniac. He decided to become a major authoritarian figure as his hero Adolph Hitler. He partnered with Hitler and together they brought Italy down.
Eventually, Hitler brought himself down.
History shows us most if not all authoritarians end up the same way. Despised by their own people. Killed by their people or themselves.
Beware authoritarian wanna be figures in the U.S. History repeats itself!
A Mary Jane Holan wrote and asked if she and her husband could meet with me and have dinner when they visit in June. They are Jack Baron collectors and have read Irma and Me.
I would be delighted and wrote them accordingly. Only problem is I somehow lost their email and my response.
So Mary Jane, please write again so I can respond. Write me at chairmansuls@gmail.com.
Enjoy your day!