CHRISTMAS TWO DAYS LATE

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Tonight, my podcast show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

Blog Talk radio had a technical difficulty last week. My show never aired. Neither I nor listeners were able to get in.

Last week’s lead topic never heard will be presented tonight. The American Christmas Story. Two days after Christmas. The story still fitting. One most of you have not heard. A touch of paganism, its celebration banned in Boston in the late 1600s, not a celebrated holiday during our revolutionary years, A Christmas Carol, Civil War impact, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and on and on till today.

Join me at 9 my time. A quick interesting half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Last night, Aqua! Monday night. Dueling bartenders time.

Liz and friends Mary and Josefina at the bar. I joined them.

Liz’s relative Christina was there. With Brian. Liz and Christina are related. Christina and Brian Liz’s house guests for the holiday.

Sheila at the other end of the bar. Went over for a kiss.

Tom and Rick singing. Bria a visiting performer. She stopped by for a moment and gave me absolution once more for my poorly expressed thoughts concerning her several weeks ago.

Tom sitting next to me. Met him for the first time. His wife Claire with him. I did not get to talk with Claire unfortunately.

Tom, a retired attorney. A major law firm partner. He and Claire live in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Key West visitors for many years. Snowbirds. Presently here for a four month stay.

Claire has an interesting background. Initially, a science teacher. Then returned to school herself and obtained a Doctorate. In statistics. Returned to the working world as a professional statistician.

Walked over to Bourbon St. following Aqua. Bria sings monday nights. I was unaware she would be appearing also at Aqua last night. I enjoy Bria’s singing so treated myself to seeing her twice in one evening in two different venues.

Syracuse basketball tonight. Cornell. Syracuse should win.

The true test of the team’s ability begins January 1 when the ACC starts its season. Syracuse plays Boston College New Year’s Day.

I fear I am going to bleed a lot of orange this season!

Debra and Patrick back in town! Great entertainers. The best. There was a time they spent the season at La Te Da. No more. They moved north to Richmond, Virginia. Return sporadically to Key West.

Tuesday January 3, Debra and Patrick will appear at Virgilio’s as part of Skipper Kripitz’s League of Crafty Musicians. On saturday January 7, they will appear from 5-8 at Salute’s Sunset Happy Hour.

Do yourself a favor. Go listen to Debra sing and Patrick play.

Only in Key West. This saturday at noon the annual Dachshund Walk. Other dogs may participate. Costumes suggested. Noon at the Monroe County Courthouse.

Enjoy your day!

CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA

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We are lucky this year. Two Christmas days. Yesterday, the actual holiday. Today the day after, a legal holiday providing workers with a day off.

For me, today will be a screw off day. Not sure at this point what I will do. Dueling Bartenders tonight a good shot.

I planned on starting a walking regimen today. I knock off ten pounds and then gain it back. Know full well exercise is half the battle.

My plan was to get up at six and get out! Good luck! Time not the problem. I wake at 5. Did get out of bed. Looked out the window. Dark and uninviting. My body was talking to me. Go back to bed! Screw the walking! At least for today. That is what I did. Listened to my body.

Maybe tomorrow the walking begins.

I have shared America’s Christmas with you the past few days. From the Puritans in the 1600s to the concluding portion today which will bring us to present times.

President Ulysses Grant is credited with making Christmas a national holiday. He did not. In 1870, Grant signed a bill into law which said Christmas “…..shall be a holiday within the District of Columbia.”

The District of Columbia, not the United States.

The States however began legalizing December 25 as a holiday. Oklahoma was the last to do so in 1907.

It is felt Christmas Day became a national holiday as a result of Grant’s District of Columbia bill signing and the States legalizing December 25 as a holiday.

Christmas received a further boost in 1897. The now famous editorial in the Sun of New York. The significant line, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

Christmas was practiced and recognized as a holiday through World War II. For whatever reason, it received its most gigantic step forward recognition wise and celebration wise following World War II. Everyone got into the act after the war. Maybe because people were happy and grateful to have won.

Fini to An American Christmas.

Christmas Day at Lisa’s is a morning brunch. Much too much food. All good, all tasty.

Ally is developing culinary talents. She made waffles from scratch. No box. Impressive! Enjoyed a couple of thick pieces.

Robert and Ally met me at the door as I arrived. Both telling me at the same time what Santa Claus brought them. Each a laptop.

Amazing how our young ones are trained to use computers. They are already experts to a degree. Their own means they will no longer use their parents’ computers.

Liz’s for an open house in the afternoon. Good food and good company. Liz’s friends local and out of towners.

Liz’s food exceptional. The ham delicious! Egg nog, also.

I like Liz. A cooking expert and talented entertainer. An interesting personality and sharp mind.

Key West loves Harry Truman and Harry Truman loved Key West. I cannot make the statement too many times.

On this date in 1972, Truman died. Simply of old age. Pneumonia brought him into the hospital where his body organs began failing one at a time.

A question. Perhaps one of you may know the answer. My recollection is that I read somewhere Truman was in a nursing home prior to his death. I tried to corroborate my recollection. Could not find the answer.

Did he spend time before his death in a nursing home prior to being delivered to the hospital?

My concern is why this great man was not cared for at home rather than a nursing home. If the nursing home is a fact, Truman deserved better.

Enjoy your day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

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Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve at Lisa’s last night. A magnificent meal. Good company. Robert and Ally all excited.

Santa could not make his usual pre-dinner visit this year. He was busy up the keys visiting children he had not been able to in previous years. Robert and Ally were disappointed. They still believe.

Yesterday, I mentioned three writings that changed Christmas in the United States. Three writings that gave a new complexion to the holiday. A Visit from St. Nicholas, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Cooper, and A Christmas Carol.

The three writings got Americans on a new road. Christmas as celebrated today broke ground. Took many years to arrive at the point it is today, however.

Christmas divided the North and South. Not just slavery. Christmas was a Southern thing. The North paid little attention to it.

Lincoln wanted to demoralize Southern troops during the Civil War. The South believed Santa Claus was on their side.

Lincoln authorized a famous artist in 1862 to do a drawing of Santa Claus watching over Union troops. The drawing appeared on the front cover of a prominent national magazine on January 3, 1863.

Sort of a God is on our side thing.

Some historians believe the cover drawing achieved Lincoln’s desired effect.

Enjoy your Christmas Day!

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS…..

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Tonight! Christmas Eve! Santa Claus comes to town!

Love it!

Robert and Ally excited. Especially Ally. Just talked to them on the phone.

Dinner will be great! Seven fishes. Italian tradition. Last year, Lisa made it to five. Perhaps this year seven. In any event, what ever the number, Lisa’s cooking this special evening spectacular!

I started telling the story of Christmas in America yesterday. Not popular in the 1600s and 1700s. Banned in certain localities. Had to do with the pagan birth of the holiday.

This morning, three writings that had a decided impact on how we celebrate Christmas in America today. All three writings done in the first half of the 1800s.

Washington Irving one of our first great American writers. Most famous for the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.

Many of Irving’s writings were in the form of short stories and essays. Written over a period of years and compiled over that period of time into the Sketchbook of Geoffrey Cooper. Three short stories written in 1809:  Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Christmas Dinner.

Wrote not as the holiday was, but as how he conceptualized it to be. A peaceful loving holiday. The work set the mood for present day Christmas. Not a pagan festival. Rather the beginning of Christmas as we know it.

In 1823 came ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse….. The opening stanzas to A Visit From St. Nicholas. Written by Clement Clarke Moore.

‘A Visit From St. Nicholas was a poem. Really spelled out what our Christmas is today.

The third writing was an 1843 novel by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. Scrooge, Marley’s ghost, and crippled Tim Cratchet who as Tiny Tim touched everyone’s heart.

America was on its way to today’s Christmas! Not the entire country, however. Tomorrow, Christmas in the North and South, its Civil War impact, etc.

Made a Christmas visit to Donna and Terri yesterday. Sat outside and chatted.

Terri looked good and was on a high. She had chemo in the morning. Does not affect her the first day and leaves her feeling terrific. The second day, today, will be hell. All the adverse chemo effects will hit her.

Terri has thinned down. Thirty five pounds worth. Thin is good. Not the way she is achieving it, however.

Donna is hanging in there. Doing her loving spousal thing. Her tiredness obvious. She complains not, however.

Someday, I must meet Key West’s Roger Kostmayer. He writes letters to the editor. Expresses himself via that medium and any other he can. He shares his opinion. Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes not.

Kostmayer had an interesting right on Letter to the Editor in this morning’s Key West Citizen. He asked where is the outrage over Russia’s hacking?

His final paragraph crystallized his position: “When did it become acceptable to view your neighbor as the enemy because he or she belongs to a different political party, while admiring a brutal foreign dictator who is attacking our core American institutions?”

I close on this special day with the final line of A Visit From St. Nicholas: “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

THE EARLIEST SCROOGE OF RECORD

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Christmas today is not the same as those of yesterday.

The holiday under different names was celebrated centuries before the birth of Christ. Pagan in substance. Drunkenness, sexual orgies, human sacrifice, etc.

What follows is a brief history of Christmas as practiced in early America. Specifically, the 1600s and 1700s.

The Puritans were the earliest Scrooges of record. Descendants of the English Reformation. Christmas had no place in England because of the pagan history of the holiday. Oliver Cromwell banned the practice of Christmas in England.

The Puritans did not recognize Christmas nor would they permit the few who wanted to to practice it. Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659-1681.

Colonials during the American Revolution did not recognize the holiday. English influence prevailed.

Several years after the Revolution, a handful of colonists began celebrating Christmas. The English influence no longer carried the weight it did prior to the Revolution. It was not Christmas as we know it. The event was rowdy. Similar to Mardi Gras and Fantasy Fest.

Tomorrow, I will trace Christmas in America a bit further. The story interesting.

Spent 1.5 hours yesterday morning getting examined. All kinds of tests. All that remains is the actual physical by the doctor which will take place next week.

Stopped at Publix afterwards. Needed a few things. Very few shoppers. However, those that were there were pushing extremely full carts to the cash registers. Early Christmas grocery shoppers.

Peter Max will be in Key West in February. Three separate visits. He will be showing at the Key West Gallery.

His visit exciting!

The Berlin terrorist was caught and killed in Milan.

All Italian cities are beautiful. Milan perhaps the most beautiful. I have visited several times.

Milan is a business and governmental center. Its people as beautiful as the City.

The Piazza del Duomo is one of Milan’s most exciting areas.

The Milan Cathedral aka Duomo di Milan sits at one end of the Piazza. Huge. Magnificent. Steeples galore. Took almost six centuries to build.

I recall one day when the heat was getting to me. I needed cool. Air conditioning is not as prevalent in Italy as in the U.S. Electricity not sufficient to air condition everything. Especially a huge cathedral.

Churches are always cool. Thick stone walls, small colored windows.

I went inside the Cathedral. I fell asleep for two hours. Slept till an attendant/guard nudged me awake. Told me I could not sleep in the Cathedral.

On one side of the Pizza sits a three story stone building. The second floor has a huge balcony. Mussolini stood on the balcony shouting to the crowded Piazza…..War, War, War! He was announcing Italy’s entrance into what would become World War II.

A few blocks off the Piazza is the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The home of the Last Supper. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495.

The Last Supper is painted on the wall of the dining room. Quite large. 15′ x 29′.

I never  knew it was that large or painted on a wall till I saw the painting for the first time.

An awesome sight! The painting captures the instant moment when Jesus revealed to his friends that one of them would betray him. Da Vinci captured what would have been the shock and rage on the faces of the apostles.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

HUMILIATION

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I must be brief this morning. An appointment for fasting blood work and other tests at 8:30.

Last night was the worst performance of a Syracuse basketball team that I can recall. Defeated by 33 points by St. John’s. 93-60.

Pure humiliation. I felt it. Don Teich texted me with a one word message: Humiliation!

I am sure Boeheim was embarrassed. I watched his post game interview. Took less than 5 minutes. He assumed full responsibility. The team did not execute, did not defend. Boeheim’s fabled zone defense was non-existent.

Boeheim said he “had to coach better.” Of the team, “they have to play better.”

The team played like a bunch of high schoolers. They could only lose.

Boeheim is a class act. A great coach. His record speaks for itself. He has three quality players on this season’s team. They did not look like quality players last night.

The team taken as an whole looked to me to be a bunch of scholarship kids putting in their time to justify the free ride. Nothing more.

I watched the game at Jack Flats with Larry and Marilyn Taylor from Owensboro, Kentucky. They own a home on Emma St. Snowbirds. Marilyn still working. Plans on retiring in July. Larry a retired school teacher.

I was getting cross eyed. Larry and Marilyn are Kentucky fans. Syracuse was on one screen. The next screen was the Kentucky game.

Enjoy your day!

 

LOU HARRIS…..POLLSTER EXTRAORDINAIRE

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Another notable who made Key West his home has died. Lou Harris. He died saturday. Key West his retirement home more than 20 years. Harris was 95.

My recollections of Harris are vivid. He came into prominence as I was finishing law school. He was a pollster. Preferred to be called a political analyst. First of his kind. He went into homes to gain polling information. Used telephone interviews also. Other pollsters talked with the political powers in an area as opposed to the voters themselves.

His first client of prominence was John Kennedy. Harris’ data/information was of significant value to Kennedy in winning West Virginia and the Kennedy-Nixon debates.

Harris wrote a column syndicated in over 100 newspapers. Appeared on many TV news shows.

While living in Key West, Harris became a friend of the library. Each year, he gave a lecture on behalf of the Friends of the Key West Library. Always packed. I attended several times. His message always on point.

Peter Hart is a pollster who began his professional career working with Harris before going out on his own. He said over the weekend, “Lou was to political polling what Henry Ford was to the automobile industry.”

Lou Harris, rest in peace.

The best laid plans of mice and men…..

I remained in yesterday fine tuning and further preparing for last night’s podcast. I decided to spell out the history of Christmas. Would have absorbed half the show. Worth it. The topic most interesting, surprising and revealing.

I never got to do the show. When I went to sign in, I was told there would be no broadcasting for 24 hours. A new problem to me. Once, I failed to pay timely and was turned off. I was paid up this time, however. Three listeners called and asked where is the voice? Only my picture appeared.

Sloan’s headache. Sent here an email. Her responsibility to figure out what happened.

Sloan reports a screw up at blog talk’s broadcasting studio. They wanted me to do the show this thursday. They would fit me in at my usual time.

Tuesday evenings are dedicated to the show. Listeners are aware I will be on at 9 tuesday. They are not aware re a thursday show. Christmas week contributes to my reluctance. I missed two parties last night. Thursday is shaping up as a fun evening also.

Worry not, the Christmas portion will be broadcast by me next tuesday. Too good not to share. Obviously, I am pleased with what I will be reporting.

David Taylor is a long time follower of this blog. He and his wife Marilyn are in Key West this week. The three of us will be watching two basketball games tonight at the same time.

Syracuse/St. John’s and Kentucky/Louisville. Both at 7. We will be watching the games at Jack Flats.

I have never met David and Marilyn face to face. David however writes long comments to some of my blogs.

I look forward to this evening and our meeting!

A sad day in American history. On this date in 1988, Pan American flight 103 was blown up by terrorists over Lockerbie, Scotland. Everyone on the plane killed.

Thirty five of those killed were Syracuse University students returning from studying abroad for a semester. One of those who died was the daughter of a friend.

Heavy.

A bit more Christmas shopping today and I will be done.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

EVENING CUT SHORT

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Busy day yesterday. Running around doing all kinds of tasks. Including Xmas shopping.

Do not get the impression I am buying a ton of gifts. Not. I am walking around trying to purchase the most thoughtful gift for the few I buy for.

So busy, I never had lunch. Which affected my evening activities.

I had a three pronged plan for last night. Aqua, Alex, and Bourbon Street. Only made Aqua.

Sheila at Aqua. Love her.

So too, Liz. And her friends Mary and Josefina. Joined them at the bar.

Liz dressed all in black. Dynamite!

I enjoyed three drinks with the ladies. They left for dinner at La Trattoria. I remained as it was too early for Alex.

Then my stomach started. Could not understand why. Finally realized that Louis had not stopped for lunch.

So much for Alex and Bourbon Street.

I started home. Knew I had to eat something. Bulk up. Figured 5 Guys would do it. It did. A cheeseburger and fries. I felt fine even before I finished the burger.

Tom and Rick singing at Aqua. A lot of Christmas carols. A lot of people. Twice the normal crowd. Obvious people starting to drift into Key West for a Christmas holiday.

Europeans and Asians included. Germans and Japanese primarily.

The Custom House tonight for its first special Christmas event. Music and holiday lights on the porch/promenade. The Custom House itself open to visitors. Should be good!

My podcast show tonight. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. A fast moving interesting and revealing half hour.

Topics include more on robots replacing workers, General Motors closing five factories for 1-3 weeks, China returning U.S.’s submarine drone, whether Russia’s Turkish ambassador being shot in Turkey an Archduke Ferdinand, purpose of the electoral College, two separate groups of pharmaceutical houses sued by government for price fixing and doctor bribing, and more. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your Day!

 

ST. PAUL’S CHRISTMAS SHOW

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Liz invited me to join her at St. Paul’s Christmas Show. Liz a St. Paul parishioner.

We stopped first at the lobby bar in La Concha. across the street from St. Paul’s. A hidden treasure. I have known and utilized the bar’s services several times. Not often enough, however. La Concha is not located in the areas of Duval I frequent.

A classy modern lobby and bar. Great happy hour food.

A few drinks later, we headed over to St. Paul’s. Liz did not drink. The night before she had a diabetic reaction. She had not eaten  all day. Compounding the situation, she was not carrying a chocolate bar in her purse.

All is well that ends well. Liz was up to going out last night.

The show itself was its usual success. First class! Top shelf!

A contrast to Larry’s show the previous evening. Larry’s Christmas tunes were ones with which we are all familiar. St. Paul’s a mixture. Some oldies I never heard of. Nevertheless, enjoyable.

Former Hot Tin Roof manager Joseph Lyles is Senior warden at St. Paul’s. Another way of describing chairman of the board. Joseph was helpful in arranging for special seating.

It was back to the La Concha lobby bar for a night cap following the show. Then home.

Did some Xmas shopping yesterday. I hate shopping. Of any kind. A burden. Without a wife, it now falls on me to do the shopping.

Still more to do today. Do not get the impression I am buying a lot. I am not. It is just that the selection in Key West is limited. Understandable when you realize Sears and K-Mart are our two largest shopping facilities.

Next year, I will use the computer. Internet sales.

Big night tonight! Hope I get it all in. First, Aqua for Dueling Bartenders. Then across the street to hear Alex play. Followed by Bourbon Street and Bria.

The Custom House is having an unusual event tomorrow night. A first. Might be described as unique. The Key West Art & Historical Society is sponsoring a holiday concert. Outside on the Custom House’s sweeping historic porch/promenade. In addition to the concert, there will be what has been described as an extraordinary light show. No charge for the evening’s events.

ZIKA. Come January, it will be one year since we were warned of the dangers of ZIKA. Almost a year later, the problem still dangerous. Though less so. Sufficiently less that the World Health Organization in November advised ZIKA was no longer a global health emergency.

Still a problem, however. A DNA vaccine is presently being tested. Vast movement made thus far in the development of a vaccine.

ZIKA and Ebola are two medical crisis of the past few years. Or, so we have been advised. Everyone went crazy. From the U.N. to the U.S. Congress to whoever. In the end, Ebola petered out as a major crisis. It appears ZIKA is taking the same path.

Benjamin Franklin was 26 years old in 1732 when he published the first edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac.

Poor Richard’s Almanac was published continuously for 25 years. Its popularity never diminishing. Ten thousand copies a year. A sizable number for those times.

Enjoy your day!

 

CHRISTMAS FEELING…..FINALLY

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I’ve been wandering around not into Christmas. The Christmas feeling never arrived for me. Till last night!

Larry Smith’s Christmas show at The Studios of Key West. Outstanding! His best yet!

I have been walking around since with Christmas tunes and carols repeating in my head. Even visions of sugarplums!

I am into Christmas!

Even more so after tonight. Liz and I are attending St. Paul’s Christmas event. Another winner!

Key West is dead. Few people on the streets and in the restaurants. The week before Christmas always quiet.

Then comes Christmas evening! Key West will be jam packed! No room at the inn! Always so.

We have  een blessed with fantastic weather. Low 80s. Dry. Great!

I am into Christmas gifts today. Shopping, etc.

Enjoy your Sunday!