The first time…..

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The first time…..

My friend Anna wrote me from Milan this morning.

Italy is celebrating an annual holiday today. She referred to it as a Freedom Feast. It celebrates a time during World War II when the Germans had been substantially driven out of Italy. Today’s date commemorates that event. April 26, 1945.

Anna was five years old at the time. She was living in Novara, a town about 30 miles from Milan. The American troops came through. Tanks, jeeps, soldiers on foot. The whole works. The liberators.

Anna ran out of her house to see them up close. The soldiers were throwing chocolate and gum to the people.

Anna had neither seen nor tasted chocolate and gum up to that time.

She recalls the sweetness of the chocolate. The pink of the gum.

Anna had no idea what gum was. She swallowed it.

The things we take for granted were unknown to a five year old that day. Lets hope that none of our five year olds ever share a similar experience.

Spent most of yesterday working on Friday’s Internet show. Sloan joined me in the evening and we worked further on spreading Key West Lou to more followers.

I have not done the show in two weeks. Because of my dental problems. I look forward to returning. The topics will include the column I wrote for this week’s KONK Life about eyeless shrimp and clawless crabs in Gulf waters due to the BP aspill.

There will be a bit on the Catholic Church. My Church. The Church is bending far right and supports many of the recent anti-female venom. Most recently the Vatican ordered the U.S. Bishops to step on the nuns in this country. There are 55,000 nuns. They have openly come out against the Church’s position on many feminist issues. The nuns are not listening to Rome. Their attitude is don’t tread on us.

Plus more interesting topics currently impacting our lives.

Vincent Zito is a well known man about town. A very much respected Key West person.

Some thirteen years ago, Vincent started the Key West Pops. He was its leader, its motivator and its director. He was the man up front waving the baton.

The Key West Pops was a class operation that presented class shows. Always the highest level of performance.

Vincent announced this week that the Pops was closing down. The reason economics.

Vincent and the Pops went out with the same class that both showed over the yeasrs. The Pops left no debt. Vincent was proud to say that as the doors closed, all bills had been paid.

Key West will miss Vincent and his Pops.

It was 76 and cold yesterday in Key West. Don’t laugh. That cold front off the ocean is still lingering.

This morning is bright and sunny. There is a wind however. That same wind that has been affecting us the past several days. I am wearing a sweat shirt.

Enjoy your day!

I got hacked last night.

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I got hacked last night. It was limited to my p0221 Yahoo address. It was enough. Sorry. However these things happen.

The problem was cleared up last night as soon as discovered. It is ok to write me at p0221 Yahoo. Again, my apologies.

As in the world itself, there are nuts out there who have nothing better to do than cause havoc. The admonition Get A Life applies to such persons.

Spent my entire yesterday home. Never went out. My day was devoted to writing. Since I did not finish till around 8, my evening became a home one also.

My appetite was ravenous after a day’s work. I am still married to the blender. Everything blended thus far has had at the very least an acceptable taste to it. Not last night.

I blended two cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli.

I keep the product in my home because (1) I like it, crazy as that may be, and (2) it is a quick meal to prepare.

The blended result was bad. I could not consume even half it. So bad that I probably will never eat Chef Boyardee again.

Donna emailed me yesterday. She and Terri have arrived in Los Angeles. She described their appartment. Marvelous! She told me that the view from the apartment is of the HOLLYWOOD sign in the distance and Silver Lake. Terri starts rehearsal Friday for the west coast opening of Follies.

Remember that cold front I mentioned coming in Saturday. It is still here. Sixty nine this morning. With a sharp cold 20 mph wind. The weather is scheduled to turn this afternoon. Temperatures in the mid to high 70s which will remain.

I read some where this morning that the cold front is not exactly like Siberia, but cold it is!

I know. The north east is buried in snow. We all suffer. I have to laugh. I complain about 70 degree weather and people up north are freezing.

That’s it. The message for today. Do not blend Chef Boyardee Ravioli and stay out of the cold.

Enjoy your day!

The weather! Plays a big part in our lives.

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The weather!

Plays a big part in our lives.

Yesterday, I commented on two days of wind and rain. Observed that it was coming from the south and moving north. It did. I suspect Key West’s unusual stormy weather was in some fashion connected with the nor’ easter which hit the north Atlantic states late yesterday. Snow. Big time! Like 8 plus inches in Jamestown, NY.

The sun came out towards the end of the afternoon yesterday in Key West. Temperature was in the low 70s. Warm for you northerners, cold for us in South Florida. It did not make any difference to my grandchildren. Robert and Ally showed up with Mom and Dad around 4 to swim. Crazy.

Sloan visited me for a couple of hours yesterday morning. We worked hard on all the things we are doing to expand this site. I would never have been able to do this alone. I would not even have known where to start.

I appreciate there are a lot of screw ups. Bear with me. We’ll have it down and correct in due course.

The balance of the day was spent researching and writing.

Solares Hill is a weekly publication. It comes with the Sunday Key West Citizen as  an enclosure. There is a column entitled Soundings by Mark Howell. An interesting column. I would describe it as a conglomeration of useless and little known information. I enjoy reading the column. Occasionally, I come across something to be shared.

Recently, Soundings commented on the coming Republican convention this summer. It is being held in Tampa, Florida.

Tampa officials issued a list of items considered security threats and prohibited at the convention. Included were water pistols, masks, and pieces of string. Not on the list were firearms. Why?  You can pack a concealed gun in Florida. It is legal. Florida law prohibits local restriction on the right to carry arms.

Perfectly legal. The Supreme Court said so some time ago. The Second amendment is to be upheld, with little if any restriction.

An inevitable scenario will develop. At some point in the near future, persons will walk around with a gun belt and gun on their hips. Shoot ’ems will occur. Like in the Old West and prohibition days of the 1930s.

Again why? Because the Supreme Court said it is ok to carry a gun, concealed or otherwise. Literal Constitutional interpretation overcame the need for reasonable restriction.

I got out for dinner. At Lisa’s. Mashed potatoes covered with gravy for me. Not bad. A change from blender created food.

Enjoy your day!

I did it! I went out last night!

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I did it! I went out last night!

Terrific!

Went to the Chart Room first. Except for JJ, I knew absolutely no one. Did not even have a drink. Left.

Headed immediately for Don’s place. Everyone there.

Don and David at the bar. Erika, Herschel and Tom seated along the windows. Tom gave me a big hug. Every one seemed genuinely pleased to see me again. I was more pleased to see them!

The names in the preceding paragraph are all members of my bocce team. Much of our conversation centered on bocce.

In the my two week absence, the team went 2-1 and 3-0. Six games. Five wins. Not bad! Obviously my bocce talents were not missed!

Position changes were made in my absence by Captain David and Don. Fortunately, I was left alone. I have played from the same end of the court for 5 years. It would be traumatic to go to the other end.

Tino stopped by. Walking his dog. He leaves next week to return to Chicago. He will be missed.

I had a couple of drinks. Enjoyed the companionship. It was a pleasant evening.

Yesterday’s day time was rain, rain, rain. I never left the house. Worked on friday’s Internet show.

The Drag Race was scheduled for Duval at 2. I don’t know if it took place. I suspect it did. Drag queens move where others fear to tread.

The weather is blistery this morning. No rain, yet. It will come. The wind is from the south. A sure sign that the weather will be bad. I have learned over the years that a southerly wind carries with it horrible weather.

I checked the weather report after I noted the wind direction. There is a Severe Weather Alert. From Miami north. The keys were warned to beware. Tornadoes and hail. The report also said a front was coming in from the south that was driving the bad weather.

I should have been a weather forecaster!

My best companion continues to be the blender. It will so be for another week. I am accustomed to it.

Today is sunday. The very least I will do is have dinner tonight with Lisa. Maybe more.

Enjoy your day!

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Am I late!

I stayed in bed longer than I should have. However, the bed this morning was too comfortable. It is raining big time here in Key West. The sound of the rain against the house and the wind blowing made the bed too restful to leave..

It seems like it has not rained in the keys forever. That long. The rain is needed.

This is a heavy rain. Rained all night also. My street is flooded. The storm is coming in from Atlantic. It will be an all day one.

The bars will do a big business today. The tourists will have no place else to go. Schooners Wharf, the Conch Republic, and Half Moon Raw Bar will be fun places. Drinking and dancing and whooping it up!

I got out for a bit yesterday. Needed a manicure. It was off to Lee Nails and Tammy. Because of my dental work, I speak little. After a while Tammy looked at me and said in her quaint distinctive Vietnamese dialect…..Why you no talk? Teeth? She and her husband read the blog daily.

Then a visit with Lisa. We did not converse. Not because of my problem. Lisa was on the telephone with a customer. The whole time I was there. I quietly read the newspapers and kissed the top of her good bye when I left.

Publix was my next stop. I was desperate for food for the blender. Purchased fruits primarily. Bananas and strawberries. Yogurt. Enough to carry me a few days.

I had planned on going out last night. Never made it. I don’t know if I was tired, changed my mind, or what. I went to bed instead. Perhaps tonight.

I had forgotten to do my KONK Life column for next week. The deadline to submit was 5 yesterday. At 3 I started working rapidly and diligently. An interesting article. I titled it Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs, Fish with No Gills: Thank You BP.

I will talk about it next Friday on my Internet show, also. A revealing subject.

The band keeps playing. Nothing like thunder off the ocean. And the lightning! Comes right into your home. If it were a 24 hour thing, there would have been no need for Thomas Edison to have invented the electric light bulb.

Enjoy your day!

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I have spent 8 consecutive nights in. I have to get out!

Definitely tonight! I will just speak slower than usual and with less exuberance.

I plan on having a couple of drinks also.

This blender way of eating is not too bad. There is a definite side benefit. I have lost 11 pounds in 8 days. I agree, not healthy. But I needed it. I have roughly another week with my blender. If the weight loss continues, it will be a WOW!

Interestingly, I do not watch what I throw in the blender. I cook a meal as I normally would. Chop it up. Throw it in the blender. And drink away!  I am mixing everything. Protein, carbs and I know bad foods.

Dentist visit yesterday morning. This has been a long  and at times horrendous process. I thought I would have only one more visit after yesterday. Such is not the case. There are several more.

Conch Republic Days start today. A ten day festival. All kinds of fun parties and fun things to do. Like tomorrow’s Drag Race down Duval and in one week the Bloody Battle for secession.

I have been in the process of optimizing, etc. Key West Lou. It works. I have so many more readers. However, it is excruciatingly painful. Things keep happening that should not. Like I wanted to put a picture in somewhere on FB Fan of a party I threw about 8 years ago. My friend Gus from Utica was there. It was a hell of a party! As the photo evidences. It ended up in  the wrong place labeled as if taken the day before. Same thing happened with a photo of me and my lesbian wives which was taken about a year ago.

In due course, everything will smooth out. It is like my teeth, however. There is always something else to be done, to be corrected.

Tonight the streets of Key West. I hope I remember my way.

Enjoy your day!

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Dick Clark is no longer with us. Not quite true. What he started, established, will be with us forever.

Two little known things about Dick Clark.

First, he was a Syracuse University graduate. I am partial to Syracuse.

Second, Dick Clark’s television career began in my home town, Utica, New York. Late 1940s to early 1950s. He was a TV announcer. He was not Dick Clark then. His name was Dick Clay.

Clark grew up in the Utica area. He started working radio first in one form or another in 1945 at radio station WRUN. His uncle owned the station. His father managed it.

Utica lived locally with Clark via his work in those times. Times covering my grammar and high school years. Then the world lived with him via American Bandstand.

Clark had an important life. He left his mark on American music. Fifty years from now, people will still be talking about him.

May he rest in peace.

No Internet show tomorrow. The Key West Lou Legal hour will not be seen for the second week in a row. My ongoing dental work prevents it. KONK will rerun one of my earlier shows. Listen in anyhow, you may have missed it. I will return next week. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

Donna and Terri.That telephone call I reported yesterday actually came a day earlier. I got screwed up.

Donna telephoned again yesterday morning. They are really moving at this point. They expected to arrive at the Grand Canyon in the afternoon. In the evening, they would begin a two night stay in Vegas.

Not a bad trip!

I published yesterday another article on Amazon Kindle. The column is known as Key West Lou Law. The article was entitled Mexican Flag Yes / American Flag No. It has to do with what I consider a bad federal court decision in California.

Mexican and American high school students constantly fight. Each side portrays its country’s flag by carrying one and wearing them on their tee shirts. The decision said it was ok for the Mexicans to do so, but not the Americans. Mexican flags yes. American flags no.

Why do some court decisions take us further away from our basic values and rights?

I must say again something I have in writing and on the air  for the past few years. America for Americans! Our way or the highway!

Moto, my friend. You are ill.

Moto has been a loyal blog reader it seems forever. He comments frequently. He reported yesterday some stomach problems, testing, and more testing today. Thinks it might be gall bladder. Whatever, I wish you good luck. My prayers are with you.

It is all part of the aging process. Some body part breaks down occasionally. As long as the problem is fixable, care not. If repair is not possible, then worry.

I see the dentist this morning.

Enjoy your day!

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Another glorious sun rise this morning!

I figured out why I am noticing the rising sun more often lately. It’s because I am staying in bed later! With not going out waiting for my dental work to heal, I am remaining in bed longer in the morning.

The big hit of my yesterday was Sloan’s visit last night. We got a lot of work done in two hours. She was my only personal contact with the world yesterday.

Today will be different. I have a hair appointment with Lori. Need a haircut! I will let her do the talking. Afterwards, I may, no, I will, stop at the Plantation Coffee House. Just for a cup of coffee. I could not handle my usual toasted bagel. No way!

Then probably a visit with Lisa.

I was disappointed with the responses to yesterday’s blog regarding Petunia’s death. No one mentioned Petunia, how sad they might be, etc. My grandchildren Robert and Ally feel bad. Maybe you have to be a child to appreciate these things.

Revolt is upon us! Rebellion is in the air! Conch Republic days are on the way.

There was a time when the citizens of Key West were pissed at the Federal Government. So they seceded. Only for minutes. Called themselves the Conch Republic.

This event is celebrated yearly. Starts Friday and lasts ten days. A ton of events.

This Saturday is the Drag Rac on Duval. Funny!!!

Then a week from Saturday is the best of the best. The bloody battle between the Conch Republic and the United States. A real battle. Off Ocean Key and Schooners Wharf. Conch pirate ships. Crewed by men in pirate attire and ladies in bikinis. They have a water battle against ships of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rotten vegetables and fruit are thrown by the Conch vessels upon the Government boats. Both sides have forceful hoses which they shoot at each other.

There is an air battle at the same time. World war I bi planes comprise the Conch Air Force. Navy jets from Boca Chica the U.S. planes. The bi planes bomb the Border Patrol vessels with rolls of toilet paper. The rolls unravel as they fall upon the ships.

A guaranteed good time!

Donna and Teri left me a message yesterday. They were some where in Tennessee. Strange way to be driving to Los Angeles. Knowing them, they will zig zag across the country making several multi day stops along the way. They are seeing the USA. And not in a Chevrolet. A small foreign car instead.

Enjoy your day!

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Petunia has died.

A long time Keys resident. Much admired.

Petunia spent most of her life on Stock Island. At the Monroe County Jail. The petting zoo and animal farm portion.

Petunia was a pig.

John Desantis is a staff writer/reporter with the Key West Citizen. In a front page article yesterday, he spoke of Petunia’s death.

For those unfamiliar with the zoo, it is maintained by the prisoners at the jail.

Key West dances to a different tune in many respects. An  example is its daily newspaper. The Key West Citizen. Yesterday’s front page news was all local. Not one bit of national news.

The front page articles were a story about the Governor being ready to sign a bill to upgrade Keys sewer projects, a large picture of two young girls holding a butterfly, the School Superintendent and alternative schools, the County Commission scheduled meeting to vote on new mooring rules, a political candidate forum, and John Desantis’ article on the zoo.

The national news was on page 7 across from the comic page. Probably where it belonged.

The valuable, the important, to Key West residents is that which is occurring locally. A factor recognized by the Citizen.  Those matters which affect them in a knowing fashion on a daily basis. The President, his security guards, Cuba, Romney and the like can wait. Till page 7.

The Citizen dances to the same tune as the citizens of Key West. A different one.

I am still home bound. I was tempted to step out last night for a time. A drink or two and some friends. But decided against it. I was not ready.

Enjoy your day!

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Houses are colorful where I live.

I do not live in Key West itself. I am three islands up. 2.5 miles outside Key West. A hop, skip and jump!

Being landlocked up north, when I purchased a home in Florida it obviously had to be on the ocean. So I settled in Key Haven on the water. Water front homes are very few in Key West. The hotels own most of the ocean front areas.

I can see neighbors’ homes from my deck. There is a bright yellow one. Next to it a pale pink one. Then a light green one. Followed by a tan one. My home is basic in color. White.

Interestingly, very few homes in Key West itself are of color. Most are white.

I spent all of my day time Sunday at home. Read and watched TV.

Decided to go to Lisa’s for dinner. She had made a turkey with all the fixings. I could eat mashed potatoes covered with gravy. Which is exactly what I did! Delicious. No chewing required.

I was in bed early. Wanted to watch Mad Men at 10. Never made it. That is two weeks in a row I have missed the show.

Jenna telephoned last night. Told me Larry’s show was fantastic. A hit! Good going, Larry. Again, sorry I could not attend.

Enjoy your day!