JULY 4…..MOMENTOUS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY

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The Star Spangled Banner, God Bless America, Yankee Doodle Dandy, This Land Is My Land, etc. Bands will be playing such music through out the United States today. The birthday of the United States!

Most awesome will be the Boston Pops on the Charles River and A Capitol Fourth on Washington’s Capitol Lawn. Both available on TV tonight.

Fireworks included!

Key West fireworks will be off the White House Pier. Shot out over the ocean.

July 4 celebrate’s America’s birth date. Two hundred forty one years ago. July 4, 1776. The day recognized as the one where the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

The new nation’s population a mere 2.5 million.Native Americans excluded in the count. Today in the area of 350 million.

We have always celebrated.

On this day in 1778, George Washington and his troops were at Ross Hall, New Jersey. Washington recognized the day and its importance. He ordered a double ration of rum for his men and an artillery salute.

Big last night! Dueling Bartenders at Aqua. Terri White guest performer.

Two great renditions. Terri singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Rick Night and Day.

Joseph aka John the Baptist arrived assisted by his long pole.Randy Roberts at the bar joining in the singing. Tom and Rick the Dueling Bartenders.

Everyone joined in for God Bless America. Kate Smith’s voice missing.

Sally from Hot Dog Church showed up. A lovely woman.

Comcast in my new home in the early afternoon. I now have TV, wi fi and a land line.

Comcast never gets it right. I am missing the movie channels on my bedroom TV. Will call in today and probably will have to wait five days for a technician to come over.

Not complaining. At least, I have everything else. I will survive.

Still unpacking boxes. It’s like one step forward, two steps backward. Barbara keeps running to Home Depot to buy something else. The living room is as full this morning as it was yesterday morning.

Barbara cleaned the strawberries. Delicious!

She felt biscuits and whipped cream were needed. Off to Publix.

In the middle of this mess, Barbara baked the biscuits. We stood and enjoyed. No place to sit. No room. Not even on the floor.

Today committed to more unpacking. Hope Barbara does not decide we should have a standing prime rib dinner.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

Hot Dog Church

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There is a first time for everything. Yesterday, it was Hot Dog Church.

Lesbians gather at 3:30 sunday afternoons at Aqua’s Back Bar. Social time.

Donna and Terri regularly attend. Men are welcome. They have invited me. I passed each time. Probably because I hate seeing a woman I covet and can’t have.

Barbara is visiting. The girls invited the both of us. We went.

Called Hot Dog Church. Strange name. So called because many times hot dogs are grilled. Sometimes, the ladies do pot luck. Everyone brings a dish.

It was fun. Not too many people. I learned most of the lesbians who attend are snowbirds. Long gone this time of year.

I stood out. I was male. Everyone talked to me. Enjoyed myself.

Afterwards, the four of us headed over to Antonia’s for dinner. One of my favorite restaurants 15 years ago. No more for a number of reasons. Rarely attend.

TK bartending. Good to see him! One of Key West’s most loved persons.

TK did me a good turn when I first bought my home here 19 years ago. He invited me to a party at his home. My first invitation. I knew few people. Following the party, I knew everyone. The invitations came pouring in.

Enjoyed a great meal! Antonia’s has a standard $10 cost for a dish of pasta. Made for a cheap night. The drinks were the killer!

Terri sings tonight. At Aqua. Dueling Bartenders. I have to pick her up at 5. Donna will be working.

Terri is an exciting vocalist! Her voice stretches the walls. Powerful. A joy to hear.

I mentioned last week William Hackley was a slave owner. He purchased slave Daniel. Paper work was completed on yesterday’s date in 1856.

The bill of sale carried Matilda’s name as the new owner. For whatever reason, William did not want Daniel in his name and instead placed ownership in his wife’s name.

Greyhound racing remains popular in Florida. Fraud and chicanery discovered again. Twelve racing greyhounds recently reported positive for cocaine.

I am waiting for Comcast to stop by and hook up my wi-fi, TV and land phone. Operating at the moment off an app on my cell phone. Convenient. However expensive if used too long. I have been using it for several days.

Enjoy your day! Hope you have it off and it is part of a long holiday weekend for you!

I PANICKED

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Strange experience yesterday.

It is difficult for me to become discombobulated. I did yesterday. Panicked!

Barbara was driving from Utica to visit. I last heard from her 7:30 in the morning. She had just passed through Jacksonville. Expected to arrive in Key West around 2.

Two came and went. As did 3, 4 and 5.

I tried telephoning. She did not answer her cell. Finally at 5:30, I telephoned the police. Assumed the worst. She had been in an accident.

Florida does not have a one call line system for accident information. An area by area system. Each has to be called individually. I started with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. Then to the State Highway Patrol in Miami-Dade, Jacksonville, Orlando, and finally the Florida Turnpike itself.

All courteous. No help, however. No record of an accident. The Turnpike operator the best. I expressed concern. If she had not been in an accident, something worse must have occurred.

I was in the process of filing a missing persons with the Turnpike operator when my cell rang.

It was Barbara. She had been held up by traffic in Islamorada for 3 1/2 hours.

Respectfully, I ripped her a new a..hole. Why wasn’t your phone on? It was. No, I called six times and left messages. Must have been while I stopped to go to the bathroom. No, you don’t go to the bathroom that often.

Whatever.

I was glad she was alive and well. I had visions of her in a roadway ditch with her throat slit. Don’t laugh. We live in strange times.

She finally arrived a little after 9. She was mad. Felt Florida should have a better system of dealing with heavy traffic through the Keys. I was upset she had the phone turned off.

We were not on the same wave length.

Again, the police officers were helpful and sensitive to my concerns. One complaint. The State should have one number to call for accident victims. Not a sort of county by county system. In the age of computers, such cannot he difficult to set up.

A quick shower and we were off to get a bite to eat. Ended up at Tavern ‘n Town at 10:15.

As is said, all’s well that ends well!

Barbara brought several baskets of fresh strawberries and a big bag of peas from upstate New York. The season for them there. The strawberries not GMOs. Not big and shiny. Different sizes. Most small. Sweet and juicy. Enjoyed them for breakfast this morning.

The peas will likewise be delicious when we get to them.

I am in Starbucks again this morning. Comcast comes late tomorrow morning.

Starbucks packed again this morning. Most European tourists. Like a United Nations. I hear no one speaking English.

Some studies are just plain unreliable.

I love Key West. It has many pluses. Many negatives, also.

A company called WilliamHub (no space between first and last name) recently released a study. Key West was determined to be the second best Beach Community in the U.S. Two hundred twenty seven beach areas studied.

The criteria primarily involved housing costs, share of waterfront homes for sale, and the quality of beach water.

WilliamHub obviously used bad data.

A sadness yesterday. A 15 year old boy died while snorkeling at Fort Zach Beach. Cause not yet known. His family pulled him from the water and tried to resuscitate him.

Hemingway ended his life on this date in 1961 at his Sun Valley, Idaho home. Another sadness.

I close with a Trump reference. Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus in a  6/29 column wrote: “Authoritarianism does not announce itself. It creeps up on you.”

Enjoy your Sunday!

DISNEY STILL GETS ME

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A child at heart. I am glad I still am on occasion.

Last night was one of those times. I enjoyed the children’s favorite Aladdin Jr at the Waterfront Playhouse.

I never would have attended were it not for Larry Blackburn’s daughter Sydney playing the female lead Princess Jasmine and Donna and Terri’s granddaughter Lev performing as the Matron.

Both outstanding. The entire cast outstanding! The show professionally performed.

I stopped at the Chart Room first for a drink. Then Aladdin. Then back to the Chart Room again.

John bartending.

Glad I returned to the Chart Room. Met Tim and Stephanie. Locals, also. Though our paths never crossed before.

Tim works for David Wolkowsky. One of his responsibilities is taking care of Ballast Key.

When Tim mentioned he worked for David, I brought to his attention the KONK Life article I did several years ago about David. Tim surprised me. He had read the article. David had read it. David referred Tim to it.

At the time, David laughingly referred to the article as his obituary. A pang of guilt hit me for a moment. Then I realized such is David’s nature to comment in a joking fashion about some things.

It will be many more years before David has need of an obituary. He is only 98.

To those who may be unfamiliar with David, he is Mr. Key West. The Key West of today would not have been were it not for him. Even to Jimmy Buffett.

Buffett tells how David gave him his first paying job. At the Chart Room, no less. The same chart Room we were in last night. The same Chart Room David constructed as part of the Pier House which he built.

It was after 10 when I left the Chart Room. Had not eaten since breakfast. Stopped at Tavern ‘n Town on the way home. Tavern ‘n Town has added a Happy Hour from 9-11. Perfect for me last night!

Today an historical one in Key West. Uber and Lyft are finally allowed to provide service in Key West.

I read an article yesterday that Key West is the last major market for Uber and Lyft service. Disgraceful. We should have had it two years ago. However, the Key West Commission continues to operate via the Bubba system.

An even better example of the Bubba system in operation is that no new cab licenses have been issued in Key West for 75 years. Called taking care of your own, generation after generation.

Got a manicure thursday at Lee Nails.

No Tammy. I forgot she was taking her two children home to visit the family. Tammy is originally from Vietnam. I recall her telling me the trip would take something like 34 hours. Three or four stopovers included.

Husband Rickie stayed home. Someone had to run the business.

When I telephoned and discovered Tammy had left, I panicked. Who was going to do my nails? You, Rickie? No Mr. Lou, he said. You get a beautiful girl. The prettiest. Nina.

I could not place Nina. When I showed up friday, we met. Loverly! Came to the U.S. two years ago from one of the eastern bloc countries. Loves Key West people and weather.

Nina is 23 years old. A bashful 23.

Tammy had obviously left Nina with marching orders as to how I liked my nails done. Nina did a magnificent job. Especially the buffing.

Yesterday, I wrote about cursive writing. Most do not seem to appreciate handwriting as much as I do. It has to be my age. I learned to hand write when 6. The computer did not enter my life till many many years later. I am less adept with the computer than with handwriting.

My friend Tom in Des Moines believes there is no need for cursive today. Initially intended to speed things up from hand printing, today not needed. The computer is everything.

I mention cursive again this morning because typing on a screen came to be on June 29, 1975 around 10 in the evening. In a small California town.

Prior thereto, man had never hit a key and a letter appeared on a screen.

The mere fact that it happened gave birth to multiple changes in the way we live. The future of business changed, how we communicate with each other changed, etc. The world changed.

The responsible individual was Steve Wozniak.

Ten months later Wozniak and two others formed Apple. The other two, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne.

Last year, Apples revenue was in excess of $215 billion. Its employees, 116,00 world wide.

Enjoy your day!

YESTERDAYS FEW KNOW

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I have gotten old. Eighty two in less than a week. Some recent experiences brought the fact clearly to mind.

I stopped into Verizon to learn how to wi-fi through my cell phone. The young lady working was also babysitting her two children. Six and eight. Summertime.  The Verizon store their day camp that day.

The kids were playing with their cell phones. I mentioned how smart kids are today. Laptops, cell phones, etc.

Mom agreed. She said she remembered when all she had was a flip phone. I would say she was in her late 20’s.

I immediately thought…..If she only knew!

I was born in 1935.

In the late 1930’s into the first part of the 1940’s, our phone was the corner grocer. No one had telephones, except business people. the grocer took calls for the block.

If a call came for my father, the grocer (his name was Frank) would go out on the street and yell…..Tell John he has a call! Someone would transfer the message to my Dad or to another neighbor to relate.

Then we got a telephone. A four party line. Meant four homes had the same line. If you picked up and heard talking, you hung up till the line was free.

We graduated to a two party line. Then the time came when the only line was ours. We had a private line.

A big deal!

Cell phones did not make an appearance till my mid law practice years. Big and bulky.

The phones got smaller. I recall the flip top.

I am absolutely amazed that my cell phone today is in effect a computer. I can do everything with it.

Only took eighty two years!

When I am gone, will anyone remember?

I was surprised to read recently that typewriters are making a come back. People join together with their vintage machines and have Type-Ins.

I took a typewriting course in high school. My parents bought me a new portable for college. A Smith-Corona. Part of the Super 5 Series. Portable.

Used it all the time in college. Term papers!

Ribbons to change. Always ended up with dirty fingers. Carbon paper for copies. Dirty fingers again. A mistake had to be corrected. A bit of erasing and whiting over.

Now, vintage typing parties!

Even writing came into play this week. Cursive writing. Handwriting.

I write. I can write my name and everything else.

No big deal for me. I learned in the first grade. It was called Palmer Method.

I mentioned earlier this week that at Dueling Bartenders monday night two young ladies sat next to me. At best in their late 20s.

They saw me making notes about our conversation. They said/asked…..You can cursive write?

They could not. They could not even write their names. Both had college degrees. Into well paying jobs. However, Bush 2’s no child left behind made them computer genius. But, not hand writers.

They were impressed I could write!

I have a lot more for today. However, I shall save it for another time.

Enjoy your day!

 

STARBUCKS

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Here I sit again this morning in Starbucks. I am beginning to like this place.

There are several Starbucks in Key West. The one I am frequenting is located in the relatively new North 54 Hotel on the Boulevard.

Note the last time I was in a Starbucks was 10 years ago in Boston.

I am impressed. Cross-currents of society in and out. From all over the world. I rarely hear English spoken. From young families to seniors. Mostly millennials.

The help and I are becoming friends. Most from distant lands.

I sense stories abound. I hope I pick up on one or two in the next few days.

I am a Starbucks regular mornings till July 4. Can’t get Comcast to get me hooked up at the new house till July 3.

After a couple of hours, my ass gets sore. The seats are not that comfortable. Probably not selected for someone like me who is sitting 3 hours.

No TV at the new house. No wi-fi, either. I am lost!

Back in the distant recesses of my mind, I recalled Verizon providing me with a wi-fi app two cell phones back. Went to Verizon yesterday. I was correct.

I can get wi-fi via my cell phone. Terrific! Could be expensive. Only good for six mega bytes. Then $15 an hour.

Whatever, it will fill in some empty/lonely hours at my new home.

Spent the rest of my day time yesterday doing nothing. I continue to be shot!

Last night, Tavern ‘n Town. Very few at the bar. Enjoyed a piece of salmon and read the newspapers.

A new bartender. Simon. Met him for the first time. Told me he used to read my KONK Life columns. Excites me when someone recalls them. Five years of good work.

Some of the early articles formed the basis of the book I published five years ago. The World Upside Down. The world is more upside down today than five years ago.

Names change, but not the illness.

The bubonic plague of yesterday is referred to as the human plague today. Perhaps not to scare those who might be or could be affected?

Santa Fe Country, New Mexico, has three cases of the plague. The first case was a 63 year old man. Then two women: 52 and 62. All three hospitalized and treated. All now out of the hospital.

The plague can be successfully treated if caught early.

Health authorities are still investigating the cause. The plague generally comes from infected fleas, rodents and dead animals.

If my memory is correct, the plague of centuries ago was primarily caused by infected rats. Fleas inhabited the rats. An event preceded the rats becoming infected. The Catholic Church responsible.

For a reason I cannot recall, the Catholic Church decreed rats were no good. Something unholy. Killing cats became the thing.

No cats, more rats. Within a hundred years, the plague overcame the world.

I read an article yesterday concerning world wide global feelings re Trump. He is considered arrogant, intolerant, and dangerous. There is also a feeling that he does not care about ordinary people.

Perceptive people.

Enjoy your day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATM

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Everyone, everything has a birthday. Two days ago, ATM. Fifty years old. the first ATM having been opened on June 27, 1967. Barclay’s Bank in London.

Prior to ATMs, you could only get money out of a bank during bank working hours: 8-3. On weekends, not at all.

We have been spoiled!

Move completed yesterday. I am surrounded by boxes. Every room. Taking today off. Tired. Will get at arranging things hopefully tomorrow.

I am at Starbucks at the moment. Still do not have wi-fi or anything else Comcast provides.

I am going to head over to Verizon when I am done. I have a vague recollection I have wi-fi on my cell phone.

Chart Room first last night. Sat and slowly drank. Not crowded. Three couples sitting at the round table. From New York City. Boisterous. Loud. Laughing. Having fun.

Their bar bill over $300 for six people. When leaving, they apologized for the noise, etc. No problem. They said they were from the City and that is how NYC people are.

They tripped onto the Chart Room. First time. Loved it!

I got to show off a bit. Two of the ladies wanted to know about the names and ashes of those in the bar.

Dinner after the Chart Room at the Hot Tin Roof. One of my favorite dining places. Not last night.

I was not that hungry. Ordered bread and fried calamari. Asked for the bread first and quickly. Told the bartender I had been drinking.

Note the Chart Room charges for bread. $3. Stupid, but that’s the way it is. My bread did not arrive till I was almost done with the calamari.

Some nights you just can’t win!

May such be one of my biggest problems in life

A lawsuit has been filed in California federal court. Some group wants fluoridation of water stopped. Claim neurotoxicity and not consistent with the Toxic Substances Control Act.

I recall when fluoridation came to New York State. I was in high school. A bitter war. Many opposed.

Ten years later, dentistry as known then was not the best of careers. Fluoridation had cut back dramatically tooth decay. For many years, dental school was avoided by many.

Dentistry is back big time these days. Implants, etc. Fluoridation still around. Pseudo experts claiming it unhealthy.

I am 81 and still here.

Florida’s Senator Rubio is sometimes his own worst enemy. I happen to like him. However, he sometime says stupid things. He needs more maturity. Like another ten years. Then he might be Presidential timber.

His latest statement giving me concern is the Republican healthcare bill. He is not concerned that 22 million will be without coverage by 2016. He considers by that number “…..only a small percentage will be hurt.”

One of Key West’s favorite people was married on June 28, 1919. Harry Truman married Bess.

Enjoy your day!

MY ANNA CAUSES TERRORISM SCARE

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Anna caused a major terrorism scare today. All by herself.

Anna lives in Novara. She was on her way to the Milan Airport (the bigger of the two) by cab. On her way to Greece. A major accident occurred. Anna’s cab was in the middle of it. Escaped however with some skidding and no damage.

Scarred her. Anna is easily frightened. Sounds justifiable in this situation, however.

She made it to the airport with a few minutes to flight time. She sat and to compose herself. She had her suitcase with her. When she boarded the plane to Athens, she forgot to take her bag.

Anna and her plane are in flight. I can picture Ana recalling she left her bag back at the airport. The crew became involved. Anna already involved. The Milan Airport security and police got involved. I don’t know who else.

Everyone suspected Anna’s bag contained a bomb. Her bag and the area where it sat was cordoned off. The bomb squad called.

A major furor. Properly so. Anna questioned upon arriving at Athens. I can picture her. A wreck! Speed talking and crying. I am not a terrorist!

A wonderful woman! Sensitive! Her one negative, she is easily excitable. A trait common among Italian women. .

Anna’s trip to the Greek Isles will be delayed by one day. She is too tired to move on from Athens. An evening in Playka and she will be fine.

I envy Anna. She is off to Santorini, Armogos, Lesbos and I do not know where else for six weeks.

I am sitting in Starbucks. Late tuesday afternoon. Wiped out. Moved today. In spite of having professional movers, I had to direct where everything went. Too much stuff. It is going to be hard/impossible to fit 3,300 square feet of furniture into 1,600 square feet.

Don’t know when Comcast is going to come. Still waiting for a call. No wi-fi, internet or land line service. I will not be able to do my podcast tonight. Need my own land line to do it.

This blog you will read tomorrow. When I finish, I will set it up to publish at 5 in the morning.

True dedication!

My mover was Henrik Olsson. Owns Tropical Movers. He and three of his men provided yeomen service. Bulls! Oh, to be young again!

Guaranteed I am going to have a couple of drinks tonight.

Last night was Dueling Bartenders at Aqua. Bob Nesbitt the featured guest. The best male vocalist in Key West.

Good company. Cindy and Jim. longest I have never chatted with Cindy. An interesting conversation. She an Evangelical Republican. I, a Democrat. Intelligent and calm from both perspectives.

A young couple on the other side of me. Kia and Meagan. Visiting. Staying in Marathon. Drove down for the day.

Kia a software programmer. Meagan, I apologize. I cannot read my handwriting as to your occupation. It happens.

The Republicans are doing well! Spent the last seven years telling us how they were going to repeal and replace Obamacare when they regained power. What a joke!

Food for thought: If the Republicans are not able to negotiate with each other, how can they negotiate with the Democrats.

The Republican healthcare proposal is a humane one. Sacrifice 22 million lives of ordinary citizens to give the wealthy a huge tax break.

Ain’t no other way to cut it!

Honesty always the best policy. Teenager Emily Walsh and her mother saw a bag in a cart in a hallway at Las Brisa. Emily opened the bag. $30,000 in bundles of cash together with some deposit slips and receipts.

A cell phone company owner’s money. Obviously forgotten/mislaid.

Emily and her mother took the bag of cash to the Police Station.

Bless them. That’s what should be done.

I hope the cell phone company owner has the good sense to reward Emily and her mother. At least $1,000.

I’ve had it. I am off to a shower at my new abode. Then a search for some clean clothes. And out for the evening!

Enjoy your day!

 

LE PETIT PARIS

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I discovered a new place! Le Petit Paris. A tiny restaurant on Duval. Dining inside and out. The outside tables a taste of Paris.

My mid afternoon lunch yesterday absolutely delicious. Lobster Benedict. Served by a cheerful pretty waitress. Cooked obviously by a skilled chef. Though I did not meet him, I testify to the quality based on what I ate.

I would have enjoyed meeting the chef. I understand he is the owner, also. Next time.

The menu suggested meals ranging from breakfast to lunch to dinner. Mouth watering.

Prices neither cheap nor expensive. Down the middle.

I intend to return. Soon!

There will be no blog tomorrow and perhaps wednesday. Maybe not till thursday. I am moving. Reducing the size of my home. From 3,600 square feet to 1,600.

When I bought my Key West home 19 years ago, I had a wife, 4 children and 7 grandchildren. Wife no more. Children and grandkids do their own thing. It’s all alone by the telephone for me.

I am moving to the Golf Course. The Sanctuary. A single two story home. Huge front porch. Small yard surrounded by an 8 foot wall. Jacuzzi in the corner. Waterwise, I am downsizing also. From ocean to jacuzzi.

Comcast screwed me up today. Turned off my internet, TV and land line at 5:30. Supposed to be done tomorrow.

Donna saved my ass! She is concierge at the Fairfield. I am in Fairfield’s lobby working.

First time in Fairfield. A modestly priced hotel. Gorgeous lobby! Looks like a good place to stay.

Met Mike Kelly and Eric Bove. Mike is the general manager of Fairfield and three other new hotels on the Boulevard. Called The Keys Collection. Eric general manager of the Fairfield.

Comcast hookup at the new house wednesday or thursday.

It is good for me to be out with the people as I describe it. I rarely run into what other people come up against.

Gross impoliteness this morning! Two places.

Comcast the first. Nothing is ever easy with them. I was returning the old equipment. Everything else done in a 3 hour phone call friday.

The woman simply was impolite. Did not care about me or my problems.

I observed everyone was treated in a similar fashion.

Then the Post Office.

I have found in the years since the Post Office went private, most of the employees don’t care. They have an attitude about them

All I wanted to do was file a change of address  card. The place was not busy. Empty most of the time.

I was boring the counter person. She was bothered answering my questions. Handed me a package and said do it.

The Post Office must make a ton of money off advertisements. There had to be a good dozen in the packet. Filled out the wrong form. Not an advertisement. It looked like the right one.

I had a concern. Back to the counter asking if I had done it properly. I had not. She looked at me as if I was an idiot. Bothering her. No other customers at the time.

I miss the days when someone else took care of Comcast, Post Office and other problems. I am an 81 year old inexperienced man when it comes to every day mundane things.

On top of which, I am tired. Two days of packing. Anna working with me. The upstairs air conditioning went kaput late saturday. Fun packing the upstairs!

I apologize for complaining. Needed to vent.

Let me close with something I do not understand.

The U.S. Supreme Court rendered an intermediate decision with regard to the Trump travel ban law. A victory for Trump. The Court is going to render a full decision in the Fall. Suggests to me the Court will go with Trump again.

I disagree with the decision. My country is falling apart. Not just because of one decision. In most respects.

In addition to no blog for a couple of days, I will not be able to do Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou tomorrow night. Need my land line. I suspect I will be getting the Facebook videos in. Done on the cell phone.

Enjoy your day!

 

LOVELY REBELLIOUS PRINCESS JASMINE LARRY BLACKBURN’S DAUGHTER

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A wonderful evening!

Stopped at the Ocean Grill for a bite to eat. Sat at the bar. Soon after, Larry Blackburn and family arrived.

Larry is well known in Key West. His profession photography. A photographer extraordinaire. Special. He literally captures the world around him.

Larry’s daughter Sydney Blackburn was with him.

To say Sydney is a beauty is to minimize her attractiveness. She is absolutely lovely! Naturally so.

Sydney is only 14 years old. I was surprised. Could pass for 18-20 with ease.

Sydney is appearing at the Waterfront Playhouse thursday and friday. She plays the female lead in Aladdin.

World famous. Aladdin is a Middle East folk tale. It has been seen on Broadway, a national tour, and as a Disney movie.

The beautiful and rebellious Princess Jasmine the female lead role.

I look forward to seeing Sydney in the role.

Key West’s premier videoer is Tim Dahms. He will be videoing Aladdin. Larry is doing the photography and public relations. Campo Bravo the sponsor.

Not to be forgotten is Stephanie Hellstrom, Larry’s wife. She and I chatted quite a while. She operates the Panama Hat Shop on Fleming.

Before going to the Ocean Bar, I stopped at the Chart Room. Shaun doing a great job. He has the Jimmy Buffett story down pat.

Where were you Charlotte? A former Key Wester now living somewhere in a mid Atlantic state, e-mailed me she would be in for the weekend, would we be able to meet? I e-mailed back the Chart Room. Nothing etched in stone. Charlotte generally spends most of her Key West time at the Chart Room.

Not last night. No Charlotte.

I was disappointed.

An interesting couple sat next to me at the bar. Very interesting. Charlie and Rhonda from Charleston, South Carolina.

Not newbies to Key West. Visit often. Charlie an engineer. Repairs train engines. I mentioned that in his other life, Howard Livingston was once CEO of a Chicago plant that made diesel railroad engines.

Charlie and Rhonda were familiar with Howard. They attend his shows frequently. Charlie said they have every CD Howard has made.

Rhonda’s job exciting. She is an ophthalmic technician. Thirty two years. I have bad eyes. Eight surgeries. I totally respect those in medicine who help people continue seeing.

They have been married 33 years. Two children. Their daughter a marine biologist. Their son an Army captain. The son is being deployed to Afghanistan soon.

So much for Charlie and Rhonda’s history. More impressive was our discussion that began with boiled peanuts.

I never heard of boiled peanuts. Roasted yes, boiled no.

Boiled a big deal in the Charleston area. They took me through the whole process. Boiled in the shells. Canned. When time to enjoy arrives, heat the peanuts in the micro.

Delicious!

Charlie is into grit mills also. Another education. His family got the recipe 80 years ago.

The food followed by a Charleston Bloody Mary mix. Special. Add horseradish before serving.

Charlie brings the boiled peanuts, grits and Bloody Mary mix with him when he visits Key West for his Key West friends. He and Rhonda have made many Key West friends over the years.

Charlie too nice. He wanted to rush back to his hotel to get a bag of the goodies for me. He said it would only take 15 minutes. I said no.

The compromise is he is going to leave a bag full for me at the Chart Room bar.

Something struck me about the couple. They are very pro Charleston. Their home town. Proud and big time supporters of the community.

It was a good night! Nice people at both places. Enjoyed myself.

Enjoy your sunday!