There are two ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Key West. You and your lady dress up a bit, have dinner alone at one of Key West’s better restaurants, and sip champagne while looking into each other’s eyes. Or you go to the Curry Mansion and whoop it up!

Last night was Curry Mansion for me. A traditional event. The 29th anniversary of a fundraiser for Wesley House. A party!

Howard Livingston was one of the entertainers. When not singing, he was enjoying the evening with his wife Cindy.

I saw something that warmed my heart. On the sidewalk looking over the wall into the party was a young couple. The father was holding their child. About 6 months old. The mother standing next to them with one hand on the carriage.

I thought at first they were tourists. Then I decided not. They were locals. Probably could not afford the $90 tab per couple. Nevertheless enjoying the event. Whether by accident or intentionally.

They were happy. Moving with the music. The father beaming as he pressed his baby’s head next to his own. A beautiful sight.

Jenna is joining me this evening. I think we will do some Bobby Nesbitt first at Aqua. No better way to start an evening. Then dinner somewhere.

My girls are on their way back. Donna and Terri. I should refer to them as they describe our relationship. My lesbian wives. They are due here on the 20th. Probably have already started the drive from New York. They take their time and visit friends along the way.

Follies closed to fantastic reviews in New york City. Terri’s were raving. It is now rest time. The show opens again in two months in Los Angeles for a two month run.

The girls will be visiting for six weeks.

Terri has to keep in shape between shows. She has an eight minute tap dance routine in the show. She is always tap dancing on my deck and on the hard floors inside. This trip another step has been added to her routine. Terri is going to teach tap dancing.  At Body Zone South on White Street. Friday and Saturday mornings.

I am considering learning. I wanted to do it when Bruce Moore was teaching. But never got around to it.

Another form of exercise. I observe my men friends who did it with Bruce. Even to today, their feet move to music. A tap step movement. Who knows, I may be another Fred Astaire in the making!

Sassy has been the primo bartender at La Te Da forever. Like probably 20 years. A good guy. I marvel that he never ages. He looks the same today as when I first met him 20 years ago.

Sassy is full of surprises. Several years ago, he got his Captain/Masters license. No easy task. Took much time and effort and testing. He can and does drive the big boats in Key West and up and down the Atlantic seaboard.

Sassy surprises me again. He is going to run in the Boston Marathon next month. Something like 24 or 26 miles. First time. He has been training. I am impressed.

Enjoy your day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Warm weather has returned. Syracuse won last night.

What more could man ask for?

The cold front departed last night. Temperature in the low 70’s at the moment. No breeze. Water moving slowly. Scattered white clouds. Today’s high projected at 77. High 70’s the rest of the week.

Syracuse beat Louisville 52-51. Too close for comfort. Syracuse played poorly.

Both teams played a zone defense. Louisville did a better job at defending than Syracuse. Syracuse only made 2 out of 30 attempted 3 pointers. It was not a Syracuse night. They were even missing the easy close shots.

Not Syracuse’s night. But they won! That is the important thing.

I had a scheduled business meeting at 10 yesterday morning. Lasted till 12:30.

I had to rush home afterwards to change. My gym appointment with Courtney was at 2. Yesterday’s gym activities did not bother me.

Afterwards, I stopped into Don’s Place for a cold glass of water. Chatted briefly with Rob and Todd.

I watched the game at John Lukas’ new Big Ten Sports Page Bar. A winner! The food…..outstanding! Unusual for bar food.

My Skaneatles friend Dan joined me. We suffered through the game together. There were four other Syracuse fans.

Dan and I agreed to meet at Don’s Place after the game. I was driving. Dan had his bicycle.

A small crowd at Don’ Place. Boomer bartending. Friendly Angus drinking. Todd and Skip there also.

I decided to leave after one drink. Dan was staying. I had bought the first round. Asked Boomer for the bill. I had no money! My money/credit card pocket was empty. I had forgotten my money at home.

Everyone laughed. Dan was kind enough to pay the bill. He also got stuck for dinner. He had bought.

This is an I don’t know day. I have no plans. No special desires. Days like this are a bit of an adventure. The interesting thing is that they generally turn out to be fun.

Enjoy your day!

Cold outside. Cold inside. ‘Nuff said.

One more point, however. I wore long pants yesterday.

Spent the morning reading the local newspapers and watching the talk shows.

Anyone who has spent time in Key West is aware that the Key West Citizen has a crime report section. It is entitled Crime Report and is at the bottom of page 2. It generally reports some odd ball criminal thing that occurred the day before.

Yesterday’s was more than normally interesting. It was the story of an adult man who apparently got ripped off by a massage parlor. At 5 in the morning. The individual claimed he wanted a massage of his right shoulder. Paid with a credit card. The bill was to be $500. The massage parlor charged $9,000 to his bank card!

Later when he discovered the error or rip off, depending on how one might view it, he contacted the police. The Key West police. He was told there was nothing they could do about the situation since he in fact did receive the massage. The police considered the overcharge a civil issue.

I think the police were wrong. But that is another matter. An $8,500 overcharge on a bank card is larceny in my book. Grand larceny!

I suspect there may be more to this story than we have been made aware of.

I did not know massage parlors were open at 5 am. I am usually in bed by 10 or 11. The bars close at 5. I am unaware of any place to eat at 5 am. Then again, it is not my world at 5 in the morning.

This is not the first story of this nature about which I have heard. A couple of years ago a man was at a gentlemen’s club. A strip club. He was there during normal business hours. His credit card was charged close to $15,000.

I hope he had a good time for that kind of money!

The balance of my day consisted of a normal Sunday. Quiet. A visit with the family, coffee at Plantation coffee, browsed through the New York Times. And a manicure. Late in the afternoon with Tammy. Jenna was there. Enjoyed running into her.

Tonight Syracuse basketball! The season is winding down. Only 5-6 games left before tournament time.

Syracuse plays Louisville. Louisville generally beats Syracuse. I hope not tonight. Syracuse is the better team. However, that means nothing in a Big East game.

I shall be enjoying the game at John Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Bar.

Enjoy your day!

Whitney Houston. What can be said. A troubled person. May she find the peace in the hereafter which eluded her here.

It is amazing! Just yesterday I commented at length about the weather. Specifically, how great it has been. I should have waited one more day. A cold front came in yesterday afternoon. Last night the temperature was in the 50’s. The high today will be 63. The cold front is with us through Tuesday.

Long pants time!

My day yesterday started with the Syracuse/Connecticut game. Watched it at the Sports Page Bar.

What a crowd! About 25 Syracuse fans. Orange tee shirts and all. I sat with Don, Lisa and Marty.

The score does not accurately portray the game. Syracuse won 85-67. It was not a blowout. It was close to about six minutes to go. Then Syracuse came alive. The last two minutes of the game Syracuse was a power no one could beat.

Fab Melo made a new contribution. He sank three long shots. Jump shuts. All 2 pointers. From long range, however. A few inches back and they would have been 3 pointers. Melo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday night it is Louisville. Louisville is not as good this year as previous years. Syracuse has not beaten Louisville in years. It is the Rick Pitino thing. Hopefully, Syracuse will get by Louisville this time.

I get irritated at the sports media. Syracuse is #2 in the country. Syracuse has only lost one game. Rarely does a commentator write or talk about Syracuse. It is as if Syracuse does not exist. It has always been this way. I can understand comment re Kentucky. However, I am sick of hearing and reading a lot about teams like Missouri and Ohio State and little about Syracuse.

Stopped by Lisa’s after the game. Robert and Ally doing homework. Both quiet and involved in what they were doing. No complaining. Ally admonished me not to talk to her as she was doing homework. Tomorrow’s Einsteins in the making.

Then Walgreen’s and Publix.

At some point the government has to deal with the pharmaceutical houses. Not Obama, however. He found it necessary to make a deal with them to get his health care program through.

The cost of drugs is outrageous. Even with insurance. There have to be many who go without because they cannot afford. The solution is simple. A one party payor system. Medicare for all with drugs provided. It will come, though not in my life time.

I stayed in last night. Wanted to watch Kentucky play. They are ranked # 1. At some point Syracuse and Kentucky may meet. I wanted to check out the competition. Kentucky is one hell of a team! To be respected. Offensively Kentucky seems better than Syracuse. Defensively, Syracuse has the edge. What a game it will be!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Good morning!

What a beautiful morning! Another spectacular Key West day in the making.

We have been lucky this winter. Yes, Key West does experience winters. Not bad, but bad enough. Temperatures in the 50’s and 60’s. This year not. A couple of isolated days. That’s all.

I had an early morning drop off yesterday morning. Anna at the airport. She was returning to Milan.

Then my Friday morning Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. What an interesting show! As I continue to advise, it is not me. What makes the show what it is are the world’s inhabitants who do sad, stupid or odd ball things.

Post show comment clearly indicated that my discussion of the Catholic Church contraception debate was the top received issue of the day. I shared a few personal thoughts. The contraception battle is more than 50 years old. The Catholic Church should get off the issue. The Catholic Church is run by old men who do not understand some of the basics of life. The Catholic Church is and has been in a down hill spiral the last 30 years. The national organization of bishops does not speak for me.

I was in no way being offensive to the Catholic Church. I am a Catholic. Attended Catholic grammar school, high school and college. I am a fallen away Catholic, however. Attend Church rarely. Yet communicate with my God frequently. I  have never forgotten how to pray.

I spent the rest of the day sitting outside under the beach umbrella working on one of my books. My book writing had received scant attention in recent weeks because of my house guest.

I had intended to go out last night. Then I looked in the refrigerator. The left overs looked better than anything I could purchase in a restaurant. I stayed in. Enjoyed reheated left over goodies.

Spent the balance of the evening in bed watching TV.

Syracuse basketball again today. Connecticut at Syracuse. Should be good.

Pre season Connecticut was thought by many to be the best team in the Big East. For a number of reasons, it has not worked out that way. Connecticut is not even ranked. Nevertheless a threat to Syracuse.

Game time is 1 pm. I shall be watching the game at the Sports Page Bar with some other Syracuse fans.

Enjoy the day and weekend!

I arrived at the doctor’s office for my 10 o’clock appointment yesterday morning. No appointment. It is next week.

I was up and out. No sense in wasting the morning. Headed over to Blossom’s for Cuban toast and coffee. Then home to finalize today’s Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal hour is at 10 AM this morning, Join me for what will be an interesting and exciting show. www.konkbroadcasting.com.

The Chart Room first last night. Emily bartending. Chatted a while. Then to the Hot Tin Roof for a light dinner.

My house guest Anna leaves this morning. Returns to her home in Milan, Italy. It was a pleasant experience having her here. She flies Key West to Miami to Zurich to Milan. A long trip. Twenty four hours. Generally not that long, but she wanted to spend today in Miami shopping.

We live and learn. Anna told me yesterday she could not run the dryer. I thought it strange. I suspected some thing was amiss. There were always clean clothes hanging all over the place drying while Anna was here. Turns out Italy does not have dryers. Not enough electrical power. Nor do they have air conditioning in their apartments. The same reason.

Mussolini made the water good and the trains run on time. Either he or one of his successors should have worked on the power problem.

Again, please enjoy my Internet show at 10 this morning.

Enjoy your day!

I spent the day yesterday working on tomorrow’s Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour.

Another week of interesting world wide developments provided an abundance of items to be discussed. Those selected for discussion tomorrow include the Catholic Church contraception issue, Pfizer’s
recall of 1 million packets of birth control pills, Lee Westwood’s Mom making him apologize for using a bad word on the golf course, a college vending machine offering the day after pill together with condoms and pregnancy kits to students.

Also, DeGeneres and J.C.Penney, Proposition 8 shot down again, a 15 pound Chinese baby born, a whole California school staff transferred because of sex issues, and an interesting bit about Leonardo Da Vinci.

And more.

Join me at 10 in the morning my time tomorrow. Friday. Available for viewing on the Internet world wide. http://www.konkbroadcasting.com/.

Syracuse basketball last night. Watched the game at John Lukas’s new Big Ten Sports Bar. Watched  with Dan and Marty. Don showed up. Nate bartending.

Syracuse beat Georgetown in overtime 64-61. A close one. All the way. Syracuse could have lost.

Syracuse exhibited its unique ability to win the close ones once again. They have not lost yet when the game has been neck and neck going into the last few minutes.

Syracuse’s weakness is consistent. The team is not rebounding. They were out rebounded last night 52-35. Reminds me of days of old when Syracuse could not make a foul shot. Now they make foul shots, but cannot rebound.

Anna was a trooper again last night. Sat through the game with me. Her third basketball game ever.

I watched Kentucky play a couple of nights ago. They are good. Appeared better than Syracuse. Time and chance will tell.

I have to hustle. Another early morning doctor visit. Gets frustrating after a while.

Enjoy your day!

Yesterday…..spectacular!

Lunch the high point.

My neighbors Andrew, Jazz and baby Kai were to join us for lunch. Anna cooking her good Milanese food. Jazz, a Zurich transplant, anxious to enjoy it. Milan and Zurich are not far apart. They enjoy the same style cuisine.

Twenty month Kai never showed. His parents left him home with a baby sitter. I was disappointed. Kai was present at two previous lunches. We had become friends. I laid out some of Robert and Ally’s old toys on the oriental carpet in the living room for him. A good host am I, even to a twenty month old!

Lunch was outstanding! Absolutely!

Anna prepared many dishes. She had three separate servings. She wanted the meal to be enjoyed Milanese style. It is impossible for me to describe the dishes. There were many. It would take reams to do them justice. Let me describe the lunch thusly…..It could not have been better!

Jazz brought the dessert. Apple strudel Swiss style. With a delicious white sauce.

A little wine.

It was a party!

The conversation was terrific. How could it not be. Anna with her world travel stories. Jazz with her European tales. Even Andrew is a bit of a world traveler and made his contribution. Mine was minimal. I have only traveled to Europe on two occasions. A month in Italy and a week in London.

Later in the afternoon when we were alone, Anna decided to swim in my pool. I stepped outside to see her. She was suddenly very apologetic. For not wearing a bathing cap. Odd! Turns out that in Italy it is against the law for any one, male or female, to swim in a pool without a bathing cap. For health reasons. Anna says one can be arrested for so doing.

I told Anna not to worry. I would not report her to the Key West police.

I was full from lunch. No dinner last night. A quick stop at the Chart Room for a drink and then back home.

Tonight Syracuse basketball. Georgetown v. Syracuse at 7. The sports writers say it will be a test for Syracuse. Syracuse is # 2 nationally. Georgetown # 12. Syracuse has lost 1 game thus far this season. Georgetown 4.

I plan on watching the game at John Lukas’ Big Ten Sports Bar. Dan and Lisa from Skaneatles will be joining me. Also, Marty from the Syracuse area. We will be whopping it up for Syracuse!

Enjoy your day!

Yesterday started with an early morning doctor visit. Just to have blood drawn.

I was hungry. Required to fast for the test. Decided to try Blossom’s for breakfast.

I have not been to Blossom’s in at least two years. The food part then was being operated by the former owner of Paradise Cafe. The best Cuban toast and sandwiches in Key West! I stopped going because there was no air flow inside. No vents, no windows open. My clothes smelled like a smoke stack when I would leave.

There are apparently new owners. I did not see my friend of yesteryear. There was a small vent. Two windows wide open. The problem no longer existed.

The quality of the food the same. The best! I shared a Cuban toast and a cheese tomato toast with Anna. Good! I will be returning soon.

Blossom’s is located on White Street, just off Eaton.

It was gym time again with Courtney in the afternoon. I survived. I am getting better. Three weeks ago when I began I was pumping 20 pounds. Yesterday 80.

Stopped into Don’s Place for a glass of water afterwards. Rob and Russ at the bar. Boomer bartending.

Russ is an avid St. John fan. We talked about the Syracuse/St. John game.

Then home for a long nap. I was tired. I continue to be tired. That is why I took the blood test in the morning.

Dinner last night was at Pepe’s. Anna loved it. Home cooked food. I had a half of a barbecued chicken with mashed potatoes buried in gravy. The plate overflowing.

A big lunch today.

My neighbors are coming for lunch. Andrew, Jazz and Kai. Jazz is from Switzerland. Anna lives in northern Italy, just a stone’s throw from Zurich where Jazz worked.

Anna started cooking last night. The meal and conversation are guaranteed to be excellent. I am looking forward to Andrew and family’s visit.

Enjoy your day!

Terrific day yesterday. I did nothing.

Rain and the game determined yesterday’s activities.

It poured big time all day. Sufficiently so, that there was no desire to leave the house.

Last night the game! What a game! Exciting!

Otherwise, I laid around and ate. Anna prepared foods for me off and on all day. She is a fantastic cook. I suggested to her we should open an Italian restaurant in Key West. Key West already has some great ones. Like La Trattoria and Antonio’s. A Milanese restaurant would be a step above both.

I start today with a doctor visit. Have to give blood for testing. No food or drink till after the test. I will probably have breakfast afterwards at Blossom’s. Coffee and Cuban toast.

Enjoy your day1