I’M FOLLOWING IN HARRY TRUMAN’S FOOTSTEPS

Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West loves Harry Truman. Forever more.

It was 1948. The week in which Truman unexpectedly won the Presidential election. Truman said he was in need of a vacation. He was going to Key West.

He arrived in Key West the evening of November 7. His administrative team was with him. Bess and Margaret could not come on such short notice. They were not expected till sunday morning November 11.

For whatever reason, Truman decided neither he nor his team would shave till the ladies arrived. Each began growing beards and moustaches.

Truman referred to his small developing beard as “chin whiskers” and “goatee.” A moustache was on the way also.

Truman and his buddies permitted their beards and moustaches to “flourish.”

The reporters did little to bother Truman re the face hair. He was told the press had put a “lid” on the matter. No one’s business but the President’s. Would not happen in a similar fashion today.

On thursday, Truman was poolside. One of the reporters however politely asked, “Is that a Van Dyke?” Truman replied,  “No, it’s not a Van Dyke, it’s a Jeff Davis.”

Truman silently thought for a minute and added to his response, “If I kept it I would look like Jeff Davis, Uncle Sam, and Abe Lincoln, my Uncle Rube andmy two grandfathers.”

Bess and Margaret were due sunday morning. Truman told everyone beards off before the ladies arrive. He doubted Bess would like how they looked.

Beards and moustaches came off.

Truman’s experiences were recorded in logs. The person doing the recording was Commander William M. Rigdon. Rigdon was the Assistant Naval Aide in the White House from 1942-1953.

Included in the logs were matters of national and international importance. As well as things like the beards, Truman’s poker games, and the college football games they all betted on one season.

Beards have gone mainstream. Men are back to growing them. Even me. I am in my sixth week and the beard looks terrific at this point. Too bad Truman could not let his grow six weeks. What a difference a few weeks makes!

The weather man reports humidity has been unusually high September and October. No question about it.

Such being the case, it was time for my air conditioning unit to go kaputz. The air conditioning man is here now working on it.

Reminds me of winters up north. On the coldest evening of the winter, the oil burner would go down.

Friday night a major event at the Key West High School. Homecoming.

A very special evening for Ally. Her first formal dance, her first date. Ally wasn’t the only one excited. Lisa, too. Lisa was with Ally every step of the way preparation wise. From new shoes, the dress, manicure and pedicure, hairdresser, etc.

Robert went, also. He is a sophomore. Went the year before. No date, but had a good time. This year no date again. Enjoyed himself even more. I suspect because he danced. Dancing was not his forte last year.

I was thrilled for Ally. However, more thrilled for Lisa.

Made it to Dueling Bartenders last night. Arrived a bit late. Stopped at Tammy’s for a manicure.

Jean, Lynda, and Mary at the bar. Terri singing. Mary told me as I walked in the ladies, except for Terri, said to each other, “All of Lou’s girls are at the bar!”

Donna showed up later. She has been having a lot of medical problems in recent months. She has recovered well. She loses the brace on her knee today. It was put on bcause she fell and broke her knee. She is still using a cane.

The Golden Years are wonderful. Except a cane becomes part and parcel thereof. Just like a ton of medical visits, emergency room visits, etc.

Bob was with Lynda. Joe left Jean a few days ago to return to Birmingham.

John from the Chart Room showed up. I have not seen him in a while. Not drinking keeps me away from the dens of iniquity I enjoyed all my life.

He came to see me. Much appreciated. John is a good guy. Forty four. Young! Compared to me at least. Told me he had been having chest pains. Did a stress test 6:30 yesterday morning.

Tonight, tonight, like every tuesday night…..Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. So much to talk about. Please join me. Listen to me rant and rave for a half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Powerboat Races this week. Practicing till wednesday. Wednesday the races begin.

Jean Thornton called this morning and suggested I watch the boat races with her from Ocean Key’s deck. I would have loved doing it. Unfortunately, doctoring/testing most of tomorrow because of what happened a few days ago.

Then comes thursday. Another doctor visit for the same reason.

Congratulations to Fran and Tom Dixon. The best of the best. Their daughter was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force this past weekend. They both attended the event.

Daughter is Frances Jo Dixon. Fourteen years in the military. Eight on active duty. The past six in the National Guard.

Frances Jo is pregnant. Just under 7 months. Her uniform still fits.

Between the service and now, she earned an MBA from Harvard. On the staff now of Boston Consulting. A high earner. Her hard work over the years paid off.

Key West is a small island. 1 1/2 x 4 miles. A good surge could carry us out to sea.

Global warming may be hurrying such an event.

Whenever it rains, Key West streets flood. Not all. A certain…..more than few.

Used to flood following a heavy rain and be gone in hours. No more. Takes 4-5 days for the flooded streets to drain.

Every year the problem is more evident. Enough ice continues breaking away in Antarctica and most if not all of Key West will be gone.

The year 1906. On this date, 9 inches of rain fell on Key West in a 48 hour period. Water only flooded the intersection of Southard and Margaret Streets. The flooding took a mere 24 hours to dissipate.

Key West is much bigger now. More areas to flood. The only safe point in the event of severe flooding will be Solares Hill.

I worry a mass flooding of Key West is inevitable. We do not seem to be doing much to prevent it. Homes on the ocean will disappear first. Then the water will move towards the heart of the island.

When? Who knows. Sooner rather than later. Ten to 20 years. Could be.

Can’t believe it! Did a whole blog without once mentioning Trump. What a good boy am I!

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

8 comments on “I’M FOLLOWING IN HARRY TRUMAN’S FOOTSTEPS

    • What a lovely person you are. You always have a kind, warming thought for everyone. Just your being around puts a smile on everyone’s face. It’s nice to know there are well-wishers like you in the world. I bet your mother and father are proud of you.

      Have a nice day.

  1. Trump’s base needs to be seriously studied by a consortium of psychiatrists, anthropologists and behaviorists. There is something unique going on there.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *