I am back to normal.

My upstairs air conditioning is fixed. It was a pleasure sleeping in bed instead of on the couch last night. Son in law Corey fixed my computer. We have become a totally dependent society where computers are concerned. To be without one is a calamity.

My morning yesterday started with a haircut. Lori time! Always good to be with her. Her personality is as lovely as she is.

She greeted me with a congratulations.What for? Your divorced. Turns out she was divorced 14 years ago. She told me it was the start of a new life for her and would be for me. I hope so.

Then to the Coffee House. I love the place! There is nothing like sitting in a green leather wing back, sipping coffee and reading the New York Times.

I have been following the case of the Iranian woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. The one who was sentenced to death for having committed adultery with two men. The incidents occurred some time after her huband had died.

Death was by stoning.

Ms. Ashtiani was to be buried up to her neck and then stoned by a group of men.

These people are nuts!

And they are in the process of developing nuclear weapons!

Because of the hue and cry of other nations, civilized ones, the Iranian government decided not to stone her. They are contemplating a more humane ending for her. Perhaps by hanging.

I am going to chat a bit about this case during my radio show The Key West Lou Legal Hour on friday. KONK 1500 AM. On the internet to be seen and heard world wide at http://www.ustream.com/.

George Steinbrenner died yesterday. The former owner of the New York Yankees. A dynamic figure.

I had the privilege of meeting Steinbrenner once. About 20 years ago. I had a client who was doing business with him. We met with Steinbrenner and his lawyers in New York City. Business was done and Steinbrenner said lets go to the ball game.

It was a limousine to Yankee Stadium. Dinner at a special Yankee dining room in the stadium. Then we all watched the game from Steinbrenner’s private box.

I am not particularly a baseball fan. Prefer basketball and football. However the game under the circumstances was a tremendous experience for me. The thing I remember most were the hot dogs. Those served in the box were the best I have ever eaten.

Now, from hot dogs to hamburgers.

Dinner last night was at MacDonalds.

It was Corey’s first full day home in 10 days. The grandkids wanted to celebrate by going to MacDonalds.

I joined them.

We consumed thousands of calories. All for $24.

Robert and Ally were thrilled. Especially with those kiddie bags. They are like the Cracker Jack boxes of old. Come with small toys and games. The MacDonalds deal seems better. You get a lot more toys and games.

As we were leaving MacDonalds, I thought how lucky we were to be dining at the only MacDonalds in the world situated on the ocean. There is MacDonalds, the Boulevard and the wide expanse of the Gulf. All for the price of a hamburger! An only in America thing! No, only in Key West!

Remember my friends Cindy and Tom of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am enamoured with Cindy. She has had several cancer surgeries, lost one leg and one breast to the disease and most recently broke her arm getting out of a boat.

Tom is now hospitalized with a heart problem. Aortic valve and a bleeding situation. Inconsistent problems. But that is their illness pattern.

Some of you know Cindy and Tom. They winter here in Key West.

I am confident Tom will be ok. It seems to be the nature of this couple. One tragedy after another. Yet they hang in there. And continue to have a positive outlook on life.

Golf again today. Twice this week. I am anxious to play again. I love hitting the ball long off the tee. Hopefully I may drop a putt or two today to go with it.

Enjoy your day!

Good morning!

I am writing today’s blog late. My computer still on the blink. I am at Lisa’s using hers.

Golf yesterday was terrific! I am hitting the ball! Long off the tee!

I played with Larry Smith. I even out drove him on occasion. And he hits the ball real long!

My short game sucked. My putting was non existent. I did not drop one putt yesterday. But I am happy. It will all come around. The golfer’s dream!

I played with the monday group. Larry, Chuck, Mark and Mike. All good guys. All good golfers.

I only lost $2.

Sunday I got a manicure. Tammy is my manicurist. She is a young Vietnamese lady. Married to a Vietnamese gentleman. They have 2 young children. Three and younger.

Tammy came to the United States 8 years ago. She went to work as a manicurist. Met her husband at her place of employment. They married.

Last year Tammy and her husband bought the business. They work hard at it. Employ many people. Stay open 7 days a week.

They have become Americanized. The proof of the pudding was sunday when Tammy told me she now has a live in nanny to watch the kids.

Only in America!

Corey has been away for 10 days. Up in Key Largo. Diving to find artifacts and perhaps bodies from the slave ship Guerrero. The Guerrero went down in 1827 near what is presently Key Largo.

Corey returned last night. He is black. From diving for 10 days. The water was not deep where the ship went down. Only 10-12 feet. So the sun was constantly on him.

He described the wreck as an unlikely one. Parts of the boat were strewn several hundred feet in every direction. No actual large boat parts remained. Only small remnants. Like nails, ballasts, pieces of pottery, glass bottles, a piece of wood from the ship itself and cannonballs.

No bodies. No bones.

A British ship had been pursuing the Guerrero. The British ship got stuck on a reef. In order to get off the reef, it threw many things overboard to lighten the ship. Corey said they also found some items from the British ship.

My evening started at the Chart Room last night. Che, Captain Peter and Michael in attendance. And others.

Che is a student of history. We spent well over an hour discussing all sorts of historical matter. Che knows his stuff!

Then it was to La Trattoria for me. Glad I went.

Jean Thornton was there. With Gail Miller.

Jean is one of the golden girls. She is from Indiana. About 15 years ago she was vacationing in Key West and dove with Mel Fisher himself. She personally discovered gold and emeralds on her dive.

Changed her life! Now she spends as much time as possible here diving.

A terrific woman! One of the best! I am happy to call her friend. And lest I forget, Gail is a good person too and I am pleased to have her as a friend also.

They both jumped up and hugged and kissed me when I arrived at La Trattoria. We ate at the bar and had a terrific time. Kathy was bartending. Always good to see her.

Met a new lady last night. Gallo. Kathy introduced me. Gallo already knew Jean and Gail.

Becha was there, of course. A kiss and a hug. Jean told her to marry me. Not a bad idea. I am joking, of course. Well, maybe not. Ho, ho.

My upstairs air conditioning went late yesterday afternoon. No help available till this morning. Hope they are at my home now.

It was a boiler room upstairs. I slept downstairs in the parlor on a couch last night. Not the same as a bed. But better than the intolerable heat upstairs.

Enjoy your day!

I am writing from Lisa’s home.

For years she would not trust me to baby sit. Said my attention factor was lacking. Now the story is different. I have them all the time! Either her need has become desperate or I have proven myself.

I think it is a bit of each.

I have to take the grandkids to summer camp at Montessori. Lisa has to be at work early. Corey is working up at Key Largo. So it is Poppa time! I had to be here at 6:30 am.

The drive in was delightful. The sun rising. Shining on the house boats and boats along the boulevard.

A sight to be seen only if one lives on an island.

Yesterday started with breakfast with Lisa and the grandkids. At Harpoon Harry’s. First time there for Robert and Ally. They liked it.

Robert had to pee. I took him to the men’s room. Occupied.The door locked. I took Robert back to Lisa and said take him to the ladies’ room. They went. Came back. Lisa said he would not go. Robert told her he was a boy and boys did not use the girl’s room.

Robert is becoming a man. He is all of 6 years old.

Later in the day we all went to the beach. Higgs Beach. Very few people. I like it that way.

I took a noodle with me. Went out a ways, put it under my arms and floated for a while.Then to my sand chair to read.

The sun was a killer if you were out of the water. So I bid the family adieu and left.

It was home and a shower. And then a nap on cool sheets.

Yesterday turned out to be family day all around. I did not want to leave Lisa alone with Corey gone. So I joined Lisa and the grandkids for dinner.

Lisa made a pizza. Almost from scratch. She buys bread dough and tosses it around. And works the pizza up from there.

The pizza was good! We ate and laughed. Robert and Ally are funny.

Then a treat! To celebrate my return.

Ice cream at Dairy Queen.

I do what the grandkids do. They had swirl on cones with sprinkles. So did I. Wow! Terrific! What a way to live!

I left them afterward and headed home. Early to bed and sleep. The sun had knocked me out.

After I drop them off at Montessori summer camp this morning, I will be heading for the golf course. Playing with Larry Smith and the monday morning crowd. Whoever they may be. It has been two weeks since I have played. I am anxious to hit the ball. I have a feeling I will play well this morning.

Enjoy your day!

Good morning!

I have returned!

I am back in Key West!

A good feeling! I am home!

Travel back from Utica was a bit long. I left at 7:30 in the morning. Had a one hour drive to the airport in Syracuse. Three planes to accomplish the trip.

Syracuse to Detroit no problem. Detroit to Atlanta a disaster. Took off 2 1/2 hours late. Which meant I missed my Atlanta flight to Key West. Had a 3 hour lay over in Atlanta. Finally arrived in Key West at 9:30 in the evening.

A 14 hour trip! Worth it! Key West is here I belong!

I spent my down time in the airports reading and girl watching. Both satisfying pursuits.

The book is New York by Edward Rutherfurd. Recently published. I do not think it is a top 10 best seller. But should have be! I am taken by the book!

It starts in the 1500s when Manhattan was first discovered by Henry Hudson and others and concludes with the TwinTowers disaster of 9/11. The book follows the lives of several families over that period of time.

Engrossing! An I can’t put it down type book.

It is over 800 pages long. My War and Peace days are long gone. I avoid lengthy books. So I started the book at around page 400. The Civil War chapter. I love Civil War tales. I was a history major and took extra courses in the Civil War.

Before you knew it, I finished the book. From somewhere in the 400s to page 862.

Then…..I went back to page 1 and started the book where I originally should have. I am presently at page 268. About 150 pages to go.

I agree. A stupid way to read a book. But that is what happened in my reading of it.

I recommend the book! Big time! Excellent! Again, engrossing!

Women watching was my other time killer in the Detroit and Atlanta airports. Not a bad pass time. Something I have not done with such interest in many a year.

I think I know why.

Besides turning 75 last tuesday, I was in court. Divorce court. My wife of 52 years decided she wanted me no more. She had sued me for divorce. Tuesday was the final court date.

I am single once again.

I suspect my new single state contributed to my opposite sex gazing.

My observations were surprising and interesting.

The best looking women were black. Black women were never my cup of tea and I suspect will never be. However they were the best groomed and attired. Regardless of age. They took pride in their appearance.

The other group of women I found attractive were middle aged. Specifically flight attendants. Still stewardesses to people of my age.

When I first started flying in the 1950s, stewardesses/flight attendants were young. Very young. It was a requirement of the job. No more. Today it would be age discrimination.

The ladies I saw yesterday, those in the their 50s, were sharp! Lovely! Carried themselves well!

I ran into Melissa while killing time in the Atlanta airport. Melissa is a Key Wester. She is Executive Director of the Mel Fisher Museum. Corey’s boss. I have known Melissa for years.

Melissa was returning from a conference in Virginia. She had earlier in the day visited Georgie’s home as she put it. Mount Vernon.

I enjoyed my brief time with Melissa. Our paths cross too infrequently here in Key West.

Sitting next to me on the last flight into Key West was Ash. Ash lives in Milford, Connecticut. He is involved with recruitment at the University of New Haven. Travels the world looking for students to attend his University.

Ash is 34. Jordanian. Describes himself as Jordanian Greek. He is of the Greek Orthodox faith.

We had a most interestng conversation covering a multitude of things.

Ash is gay. He was booked into the Island House. Wanted to know if it was a correct selection. I assured him he had made a wise choice. It is problably the finest gay guest house in Key West.

Lisa met me at the Key West airport with the grandkids. It was 9:30 in the evening. Late for them. They were in their pajamas. Wide awake! Yelling and screaming. Welcome home Poppa! We love you Poppa!

I love them!

Corey was out of town last night. Up in Key Largo diving for the Museum. So Lisa and the grandkids slept over with me. Robert in my bed and Ally in Lisa’s. I don’t know about Ally, but Robert was out as soon as his head hit the pillow. It was 11 in the evening! They do not stay up that late.

My friend Ryno has several comments on Facebook this morning. About the nut who stands on our street corners carrying signs to the effect that God hates fags. He says it is time to counter demonstrate or something.

My first reaction is that we live in a strange community. This guy can carry his hate signs for the world to see. However women cannot go topless. They will be arrested.

From a layman’s perspective, both should not be tolerated. On the other hand, I am a lawyer. I understand the sign carrying guy’s right to free speech. I also understand gender equality. So my position is that both should be tolerated.

Sorry I cannot agree with you Ryno. No disrespect intended. I just believe that if we do not permit the nut to carry those signs, then you and I some day will not be permitted to speak out in opposition to our elected leaders. It is called freedom of speech. As distressing and sickening as it may be in some instances, the worst of it must be tolerated to preserve our rights in other regards.

Lisa, Robert and Ally are taking me out to breakfast this morning. To celebrate my return! My choice. Harpoon Harry’s. The grandkids have never been there. They are excited!

Enjoy your day!

Middle of the night.

Not sleeping well.

Probably because I have to get up early. Flying back to Key West today.

The day yesterday was quiet. Breakfast and the morning with my father. Visted a lawyer friend. Read.

Last night I stayed in. Read some more. Packed. Early to bed.

Lisa and the grandkids will be waiting for me at the Key West airport. Can’t wait! The plan is to go out to dinner together.

Good bye Utica. Hello Key West. Here I come!

Enjoy your day!

I am still in Utica. This is my last day. I return to Key West tomorrow.

I spent yesterday with my father. I did not know we had so much to talk about. We are chatting non stop.

We lunched at Cavallo’s. A big local bar that serves cheaply priced food.

I used to lunch there often when I was practising law. It was interesting yesterday. Nothing had changed in the four years since I had last been there. The same people were coming in and out for lunch. All moving at the same pace as yesteryear. Some fast, some slow.

My father is from the old school. Obviously. At 96, what else!

I make mention of this fact since he has dinner at 5. Precisely. Early for me. Timely for him. We had just finishedf lunch at 2. And there I was at 5 downing a steak and potatoes.

I watched Lebron James last night at 9. The show was a bore.

I anticipated he would go to Miami. Why not! The opportunity to play with two other great players. The possibility, no probability, of a basketball dynasty and several championship rings.

Now lets see if he was correct. Some times the best layed plans of mice and men do go astray.

My Key West shoe girl friend Stephanie Kaple had an interesting comment on Facebook this morning. How can she get mad at Lebron James she asked. She left Ohio for Florida also!

I am having breakfast with my father at 9 this morning. More food! They are going to charge me for two seats on my return flights!

Enjoy your day!

Birds chirping. Loudly. Every morning. I forgot the sound. It is nice to wake to. The chirping is common here in the north country in the summer. In the winter, nothing. They have all gone south.

I spent time with an old friend and former employee yesterday. Bob.

We visted in the afternoon. Had dinner together last night.

I had not seen Bob since I retired 4 years ago.

He showed up in the afternoon with a sandwich for me. Wrapped in aluminum foil. Still warm. Fried eggs and peppers on thick white Italian bread. From a little hole in the wall sandwich shop named Rosa’s here in Utica. I had already had lunch. But ate the sandwich anyhow. My diet is being absolutely destroyed this trip!

Bob and I had a pleasant time talking about days gone by.

I first met Bob when I was a young lawyer. Very young. Twenty five. Just out of law school. Working for an older lawyer.

Bob owned a dog. Ollie. Ollie bit a baby that was visiting someone else in the building where he lived. Pretty badly. Thirty two bite mark scars on the little girl’s face after healing. This was 1961. The art of plastic surgery back then was not what it is today.

Bob had no insurance.

He and his parents hired the older lawyer I worked for to represent Bob when he was sued by the little girl and her parents. I was assigned the trial. My older lawyer employer told me it was a loser. That was why it was assigned to me. The dog had bit three other people previously in three seperate attacks. A good case to bite my teeth on, he thought.

New York law at the time was known as the one bite rule. An owner was liable if the the dog bit one person previous to the case you were involved in. The one bite put the owner on notice of the dangerous propensities of the animal.

Such was my first civil case to defend. A loser.

I could not accept that I was going to lose. Such was the nature of the beast. Me.

I visited the 3 previous people who had been atttacked by Bob’s dog. I found out none had reported the bites to Bob. Bob confirmed that no one ever told him about the attacks. Interesting. The notice of his dog’s dangerous propensities had never been conveyed to Bob.

I defended the case on the lack of notice. After a 3 day trial, the jury returned a verdict for Bob. The jury said he was not responsible.

I won my first civil trial. Bob was not liable.

Ollie never knew. Bob had the dog put away after the attack on the little girl.

I saw Bob off and on over the years. We lived in the same small town. There was no relationship. We were just two people who knew each other and would say hello.

Bob married Jeanette.

They worked hard. Never quite made it. Owned a restaurant in Old Forge for several years. It failed. They were forced into bankruptcy. Lost their home to foreclosure.

Bob futzed around. One odd job after another. Just making enough money. Sometimes not enough.

I ran into Bob about 14 years ago. Asked how he was doing. Terribly, he said. He was out of work. Things were tough.

I gave Bob a job in my law firm. Always room for one more employee.

Bob became the firm’s gopher. A glorified one! It was he who called himself the gopher. He ran errands. We had offices in Utica, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Saratoga Springs at the time. He drove to them for various reasons. He went to the courthouse to file papers, went to Rosa’s to get me lunch, did some data entry. He had his own small office. If any odd ball thing had to be done, it was…..call Bob!

We all came to depend on him.

In the meantime, Bob remained gainfully employed with the law firm, taking home a pay check every week, had hospitilization and a pension plan. He even bought a new house.

Yesterday was the first time in 4 years that we saw each other.

Bob retired two years ago. After 12 years with the firm.

He is now 73. He has aged a bit. Lost a lot of weight. Has a hip problem that slows him down. And his wife Jeanette of 51 years died 4 months ago.

How sad! He is still grieving. I grieved with him yesterday.

He is ok money wise. Just sold his house at a handsome profit. The same little house he bought while working for me. He has his pension from the firm and Social Security. He has found a nice apartment in an excellent complex in Utica.

He and Jeanette were blessed with two loving daughters. He has grandchildren. Hopefully time will heal his wounds over the loss of Jeanette.

I told him to get himself down to Key West to visit. That would fix him up!

It was good to spend some time with an old client who had become an old friend.

Enjoy your day!

Good morning friends!

Actually it is the middle of the night. About 2 in the morning. Woke and decided to write.

I am still in upstate New York. Brutally hot. Not hot like Key West. Different. The air is heavy. Difficult to breath. No one stays out doors. Air conditioning is the requirement of the day.

Better than snow, however. The cold here in the winter time is worse. I miss it not since I moved to Key West.

Yesterday was my 75th birthday. It seems like I have been celebrating and mentioning it for the past week. I promise to say it no more after today.

I had a good 75th! Spent it with my 96 year old father yesterday afternoon and evening.

The older I get, the more we seem to have in common. Especially the aches and pains!

Dad, his friend Frances and I had dinner together last night at a local restaurant. A good time! A terrific time! One of the best birthdays I ever celebrated!

We talked and laughed the whole evening. He is sharp for his age. Mind good. Body wearinmg down unfortunately.

I ate badly. For some reason, I was unusually famished. I devoured a whole 18 ounce rib eye. For shame.

My father and I shared a cannoli for dessert. An unusually large one. About 8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. A cannoli is an Italian pastry. A thin cylinder crispy crust filled with sweetened ricotta, an Italian cheese. It was covered in chocolate syrup.

We devoured it like two kids!

I think the dinner is why I am awake at 2 this morning. Acid indigestion!

It was worth it!

Modern science is wonderful. Lisa sent me a video of Robert and Ally screaming and singing Happy Birthday! over her cell phone to mine. It came in the middle of dinner. My father was thrilled with it! As I! Lisa is the best!

Things like this blog and Facebook also make it possible for us to expand our friendship base and communicate. I received over 200 Happy Birthday messages from around the globe. Wild! Thank you all!

I had assumed in retirement people would forget me. I would just fade quietly into the sunset. It has not been that way. My relationship base has expanded dramatically. Interesting.

Enjoy your day!

My bag finally arrived. My cell phone started working on its own again. All is well!

Today is special. My birthday. A big one. 75!

Wow!

My Father is 96. Will I?

It is amazing the distance this blog travels. Yesterday I received two comments regarding my lost bag and cell phone. One was from Jim Brown who lives on Crete in Greece. The other from Rita Botha who lives in Capetown, South Africa.

Marty wrote last night. He and Tom were partying late in the Key West in the Chart Room. About 10 o’clock. Che and Michael were with them.

In came two lovely women from Massachusetts. Where was Lou? Key West Lou? One of their moms back in Massachusets reads the blog every day. The ladies were there to meet Lou.

Instead they met some Chart Room regulars and visiting Tom. I could say poor ladies. But I cannot. Marty, Che and the rest are all good guys. I am sure a fun time was had by all.

Marty says the ladies will be returning tonight.

May everyone enjoy another Key West evening!

It is amazing the things we learn!

I was watching Moby Dick last night. The classic starring Gregory Peck.

Starbuck was Ahab’s first mate. Starbuck was from Nantucket. He was against Ahab’s destructive pursuit of the whale.

Turns out the owners of Starbuck named their coffee business after Moby Dick’s Starbuck. Originally they wanted to name the business after Ahab’s boat the Peguod. However after some wrangling decided the name was a bit strange.

And so Starbuck it was!

What will this day bring? How will my 75th birthday play out? We shall see.

Enjoy your day!

I’m having fun. Not really.

My plane got into Syracuse late last night. I made it. My bag did not. A big Delta jet and I was the only one not to get his bag. It is after 12 noon today and I am still waiting.

My cell phone works this morning in every respect, except one. I cannot receive calls. People who call get a busy signal. And no message to me that someone has called.

I went to the AT&T store here in Utica. Spent 1 1/2 hours there. Every one very solicitous. They do not understand the problem. So…..I was told I have to go 50 miles to Syracuse for a remedy. To Apple. It is the nearest Apple store. Why? I bought the phone from AT&T. It is only 4 months old. It is one of those sexy 3G things. Does everything. I was told because my contract with AT&T provides that Apple is responsible. No one told me that when I purchased the phone.

Wow!

I bought the phone in Key West. Is there an Apple store in Key West? Or do we have to go 155 miles to Miami for service?

What a screw job!

Go buy some one else’s phone!

Other than those two events, the trip back was ok. Uneventful. Not that many people traveling on Sunday of the holiday weekend.

The gender equality parade was yesterday in Key West. Because of my trip, I did not see it. However, Marty and many other people did. Marty reported to me.

Only about 8 women showed up with bare breasts to march. Each had their nipples covered. One was arrested. But not for bare breasts. There apparently was an outstanding warrant against her.

I am disappointed that the women covered their nipples. Not for viewing reasons. This was a nationally hearlded female bare breasted demonstration to support a woman’s constitutional right to go bare breasted. If a man could do it, so could a woman. It is called gender equality. NOW supported these ladies.

Local Key West law provides the nipple area has to be covered.

The ladies apparently opted to back off from the issue. They had been publically clamoring for weeks of their constutional right. When push came to shove, they did not put their nipples where their mouths were.

All to avoid arrest.

The blacks in the 1960s faced confrontation when they marched in support of civil rights. Worse confrontation. Not just arrest, but also water hoses, beatings and slurs.

You cannot stand for an ideal or right unless you are willing to go the route for it. These ladies backed off. For shame!

The weather here in Utica is delightful. Just like Key West. Warm and humid.

I have to deal with the phone issue. Rest assured I am not going to Syracuse. I plan on seeing my Father. And I don’t know what else.

Enjoy your day!