I had a comforting day yesterday. I spent it in bed. Lazy. Watched old movies and the Syracuse/Louisville game.

Syracuse got drubbed! The #1 Syracuse ranking will have lasted all of a week. Such is life!

It was the Chart Room to begin the evening. Michael bartending. Che, Captain Peter, Sean and Katherine indulging.

I talked with Sean and Katherine at length.

Sean is a local newspaper reporter. Katherine in mangaement at the Ocean Key House. Both Mississippi graduates. Live together here in Key west. Contemplating marriage.

Sean is going to be 25 years old April 28. He is sad. Considers 25 an aging milestone. What a joke! Look at me I told him. I am soon to be 75!

I had a desire for Chinese food. I stopped at the Chinese restaurant near Publix. Ordered egg drop soup and chicken egg foo yong. Delicious! The bill was $8 and change. Can’t beat that! My only complaint was that the fortune cookie contained no fortune. I felt cheated!

Today is a big day for two reasons.

First, it is Sunday. I love Sundays! There is something special about the day.

The other is that there is a big event at the Little White House today. The annual croquet tournament.

Everyone must dress in Victorian style costumes. That means white suits for the men and long white dresses for the women. The men will also be wearing flat topped straw hats. The ladies wide brimmed chapeaus. The game will be played on the lawn in front to the Little White House.

Harry and Bess Truman will be in attendance. They are every year.

The person who plays Harry Truman at these events looks just like him. A dead ringer in every regard.

I should know. I lived during his Presidency. And got to see him up close on 2 seperate occasions.

The first was when I was in grammar school. It was 1948 and Truman was running for President against Dewey. Campaigning was from the back of trains in those days.

My friends and I rode our bicycles down to the railroad station. I pushed my bike up front till I was right under the back of the railroad car from which Truman was speaking. We could have touched. We were that close.

Truman had a hard campaign. He won by criticizing at every stop the do nothing Congress, as he described it, that he had to deal with. Sound familiar?

The next time I saw Truman was 1960. This time I was really close to him! I sat next to him at a luncheon table for all of 3 hours!

Truman was long retired. He had come to Syracuse University to speak. The University had arranged for him to have a private lunch with the purported 12 outstanding students on campus. I was a senior at the Law School at the time and was selected to represent the Law School.

The luncheon was in a small dining room. Two round tables. For whatever reason, my place card had me sitting immediately next to Truman at his table.

A mind boggling 3 hours! A regular guy! Yet obviously profound from experience.

The 1948 election was a difficult one. The country had gone to bed election night believing Dewey had won. The Chicago Tribune put its paper on the street with the headline Dewey Wins. A noted radio commentator at the time was H. V. Kaltenborn. He was on national radio election night telling the country in his distinctive voice that Dewey had won.

The Chicago Tribune and H. V. Kaltenborn obviously had egg on their face the next morning.

Truman had a copy of the Tribune front page with him at the luncheon. He also had an audio tape of Kaltenborn’s radio show.

The best part was when Truman proceeded to mimick Kaltenborn’s voice and words.

Truman Annex’s Harry Tuman looks real. I shall take a walk this afternoon by the Little White House looking for Truman. He will be wearing a white suit, flat topped straw hat, metal rimmed glasses and swinging a cane. Just like the President of old!

Enjoy your day!

I have a Facebook friend in Jakarta, Indonesia. Angie.

She occasionally reads my blog. She and her friends however religiously watch the Key West Lou Legal Hour on the internet. You might call them groupies.

Two of Angie’s children are sick in the hospital. Dengue fever. Sad. Bad.

Say a short prayer for them.

Yesterday’s radio show was terrific! Very good! Such humility! But it was. I put a lot of time into the show’s preparation. And try to spice the presentation up a bit.

One of the items I talked about yesterday was the birth of the French croissant. It was not born in France. Rather Vienna, Austria.

The City of Vienna was under seige in 1683 by the Turks. King John III of Poland brought his army over and saved them.

The Turkish flag had and still has a crescent on it. A crescent is like a quarter moon. The bakers of Vienna in celebration of being saved baked a pastry in the shape of the crescent. They called it a kipfel which is German for crescent.

Notice no French croissant yet.

About 100 years later, the 15 year old Austrian Princess Marie Antoinette went to France to marry the future King Louis XVI. The French baked kipfels in her honor. The French people came to enjoy the kipfels as a breakfast treat. The kipfel acquired a new name. The French croissant was born!

Approximately 30 years later…..”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Remember Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. The French Revolution! The earlier beloved Marie Antoinette was beheaded. But the French croissant lives on to this day!

The bagel had its beginnings following the Turkish seige of Vienna also.

Vienna’s bakers wanted to honor their saviour Poland’s King John III. The King was a horseman. Horsemen wear stirrups. Stirrups are round. So the bakers made a small round bread with a hole in it. They called it a bugel. Bugel is German for stirrup.

We Americans finally gave bugels the name they are known by today. The bugel became americanized to bagel.

The moral of the story is things are not as they appear. The origins of the French croissant and
bagel are not as we might have thought. Or even cared for that matter. But an interesting historical tale in any event.

I spent the rest of my day reading. First at the Coffee House. Chatted further with Rock. I made a mistake in writing about him yesterday. He is not bartender at Azur. He is a waiter there.

Then to Borders and more of The Shack.

Following which I stopped to visit with Lisa. She had some left over macaroni in the refrigerator. I heated and ate it. This was at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The pasta became my dinner. I never went out nor ate last night.

Worry not, my weight is good. Though it may not sound it, I am watching myself. I cannot deny however that my body is crying out for carbohydrates.

Enjoy your day!

This is the day!

My radio show this morning!

The Key West Lou Legal Hour! 10 am. KONK 1500 AM radio. Better heard and seen on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/.

Join me, if you can. I would appreciate having you with me.

The moral of the story is don’t shave and drive. Especially your privates!

At bocce last night one of the players from the team we were playing asked if we had heard about the accident. What accident? He claimed a woman was driving, shaving her bikini area at the same time and had an accident.

At first, we thought he was joking. No, he was serious. We laughed. I thought who could make up a story like that. I figured if it is for real, it would be in the morning paper.

It is. The headline reads…..”Driver Lacked Razor-Sharp Focus.”

A woman was driving on U.S. 1 at mile marker 21 in Cudjoe Key. She had a date with her boy friend. She was shaving her privates while driving to him. Her ex husband was in the passenger seat. He took the wheel to assist. An accident occurred.

This is better than don’t drink and drive! Don’t shave and drive! Especially your personal parts!

Only in the Key West area would this happen! No question about it!

Lunched yesterday at the new Kennedy Cafe. It is located in the strip mall off the Boulevard on Kennedy Drive. Dan and Lisa from Skaneatles had recommended it to me last week. Since they own and have operated a restaurant up north for more than 20 years, I figured they knew what they were talking about.

They did.

I had what Dan ate. A bowl of chicken and rice soup with a chunk of some kind of bread. Good! Great!

The restaurant is called Kennedy Cafe. Specialty is Mediterranean food–what ever that is. Appears to be American, Turkish, Italian, Cuban and Uzbek foods.

I will return.

I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon at the Coffee House absorbing the New York Times.

Seated near me almost every day is the same fellow. We talked yesterday. His name is Rock. He bar tends. Summers at Martha’s Vineyard. Winters some place warm. This year Key West. He made a mistake. Not warm. We laughed about it.

Rock bar tends at Azur. I am ashamed to say I have never eaten at Azur. Azur is about 2 years old. The cook from Antonia’s went there and opened his own place. Antonia type food. Since I no longer eat at Antonia’s, I should try Azur. Soon.

Last night was bocce. The driver’s story was the hit of the night. Bocce for our team certainly was not. We lost the first two games. Badly. I played the second game. None of us had it. A bad night! A very bad night!

And very cold! A damp chill. I was buried in clothes. Layered. I have no more clothes to wear. The chill ate into my bones. I left after the second game. Intended to go straight home to my warm bed. I stopped at Lisa’s on the way to visit the family.

Robert and Ally had just finished their baths. We sat and talked. They had had their first Spanish lesson in school yesterday. They both were impressing me with the words they were rattling off in Spanish. They each knew all the colors.

It was time for Poppa to impress them. I stayed away from the Spanish however. I picked up the newspaper. Asked them if they knew what it was. The both said paper. Then I asked them if they knew what paper was made from. This was my moment to impress them.

Ally gave me a blank look. Robert shouted out…..trees!

So much for impressing the grandkids!

Again, please watch my radio show on http://www.konkam.com/. I already had a good show prepared. Now it is even better. My opening comments willl obviously concern an admonition against shaving one’s privates and driving!

Enjoy your day!

Golf yesterday.

We played in the cold. Nothing new. High 50s. The wind was brutal. Cutting.

I played with 3 great guys. Don, Larry and Bill.

My game was the best in a long time on the front side. I was hitting them long and straight. Putting good. Then I lost it. Don says I tire as I go along. I think he is correct. My 74 years catches up with me.

All in all, my game was not that bad. I lost no money nor won any. I broke even. Don was the big winner.

Marty has returned! The drums rolled and the band played last night!

He is only here for a couple of days. Then it is back to his Hallendale home.

We hooked up at the Chart Room. Che there also. Factoring the item of discussion. I had not heard that word in years. It has something to do with financing in the garment business in days gone by. Che was in the garment business years ago.

Dinner was at the bar at Square One.

Patrick bartending as usual. Michael Stewart hosting his special restaurant.

We talked about Square One’s beginnings. It was 20 years ago. I remember.

My wife and I were visiting Key West for the first time. We were staying at the Hyatt. A bell boy suggested we dine at a restaurant called Square One. We did. Turns out the bell boy by day was a waiter by night at Square One.

Square One had just opened. We met Michael. It was the beginning of a long run and a long relationship.

Patrick became bartender a year later. He has been at Square One 19 years. He became a best friend. Even to my Lisa. They come no better than Patrick.

The meal was good. No, excellent. I watched what I ate. A small steak and some vegetables. Worry not, I will not blow the benfits of my diet. Interestingly, at least a dozen people mentioned to me yesterday to beware. They had read about my eating debacle at I Hop.

Radio show time tomorrow!

The Key West Lou Legal Hour. 10 am. KONK 1500 AM. Even better on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/. You can see as well as hear!

Some intreresting topics. Like how do you find an impartial jury in the age of the internet. A story about the French croissant and bagel. And some weird dumb laws. This time from the State of Texas.

Enjoy today!

I screwed up big time two ways yesterday!

I went to I Hop for lunch. The fundraising lunch for Miami Childrens Hospital. I sat at a booth and told the waiter I was there for the free short stack for the fundraiser. He said no you’re not. It was last week!

What to do?

I had never been to I Hop before so I opted to stay for lunch. What a menu! Everything! Rich and gooey appearing!

The waiter could tell I was a novice. He suggested the special. Two eggs, hash browns with small pieces of ham all covered with melted cheese and a two large pancake side. OK!

I buried the pancakes in two syrups. Raspberry and maple. It already came with a huge gob of melting butter.

I ate everything! Left nothing! So good! Very good!

After 3 months on a 1,000 calorie a day diet, I blew it big time!

It is wonderful to sin!

Last night was Syracuse basketball at the Sports Page Bar. Syracuse beat St. Johns by about 20 points.

Don and Chris were there. We watched the game together.

I met them last year. They visit Key West about 4 times a year. They are from the Syracuse area. Both work for Davis-Standard in Fulton, just outside Syracuse.

Apparently their compnay is doing big business in China. They both have a couple of trips there in the near future. Their business cards are double duty. One side in English and the other in Chinese.

Many other Syracuse fans watching the game also. One a celebrity of sorts. Bernie Fine’s brother in law.

Bernie Fine is the assistant Syracuse basketball coach. Bernie has been Boeheim’s assistant for more than 30 years. He could have left to be the numero uno coach elsewhere, but opted to stay at Syracuse and work with Boeheim.

I never got the brother in law’s name. Sorry. He is from Syracuse also. He had brought his motorcycle down to Tampa on a trailer on the back of his car. Then he rode the bike to Key West. Fun!

This morning golf. I am looking forward to it. I did not play last week.

The high today temperature wise will be 63. I have to dress warm. Nothing new!

The Key West Lou Legal Hour can be seen and heard friday at 10. http://www.konkam.com/. A good show this week. Includes French croissants and bagels. The law and these two bakery products!

Enjoy your day!

Lisa better. She went to work yesterday. She sees her doctor today. Whatever it was seems to have come and gone. A ruptured ovarian cyst seems to be the best diagnosis at this time.

Thank you all for your concern.

I spent my day reading. For pleasure. For Louis.

First at Borders. I finished Game Change. A good political book. Covered the Presidential primaries and election of 2008.

The last chapter concerned itself with Obama’s choice of Hillary for Secretary of State. He wanted her from day one. Not necessarily for political reasons. But because from his perspective she was the best for the job! Hillary was against taking the position till the very last moment. For many reasons. One the Bill thing. Another she still hurt from the primary. She finally relented and agreed.

Obama pursued her with diligence. She was the best person for the job at this time in history. He considered her acceptance a major accomplishment and addition to his team.

One book closes, another opens…..

I started The Shack.

A short novel. A psychotherapist’s dream. A best seller now in paper back.

I read only the forward and first two chapters. Too early to really comment. Except I was very impressed with the writing style. It is different.

Then to the Coffee House. Read the local paper and the New York Times.

Last night was a return to civilization for me. A dinner party. At Jackie Grimm’s.

The food was outstanding! Glad I am off my diet. Desert was white chocolate mouse ice cream with sugary rasberry sauce.

The company was even better. An artsy group. Culture abounded.

A New York pychotherapist was a guest. I asked him about The Shack. He said a great book. He agreed that the writing style was different and was the first thing he noticed also. That is as far as he would go. He did not want to ruin the reading experience for me by telling me more.

I never got to working on this coming friday’s radio show. So this morning I must. I am always concerned that I shall fail to prepare and will spend the hour trying to figure out what to talk about.

Lunch today at I Hop. Free pancakes. A fundraiser for Miami Childrens Hospital. Join me there for lunch!

Oh, I almost forgot! Syracuse is ranked #1! Go Cuse!

Enjoy your day!

Good morning world!

The sun is up and bright here in Key West. Not a cloud in the sky.

The temperature is not where it should be this time of the year. Still low. Still cold. Only 56 this morning. High will be somewhere in the mid 60s.

What a crazy year weather wise!

Interestingly, the lodging statistics show an increase so far this year over last year. The tourists are coming in droves. And enjoying themselves! The bars and estaurants are full. They are even taking sunset cruises. Wearing of course their winter gear from up north!

Lisa still aching. But on the mend. Tests showed nothing bad occurred. The hospital doctor thought she might have ruptured an ovarian cyst. She has to see her gynecologist today.

I visted Lisa yesterday afternoon. She was laid out on the sofa. Laid out is the proper term. The hospital had drugged her big time. It was an effort for her to even open her eyes. But no pain!

Robert and Ally were dutifully caring for their Mother. Cute!

Tomorrow is a big day at I Hop. Free short orders of pancakes from 10 am to 2 pm.

I do not normally do pancakes. But I will tomorrow. Not because they are free. It is actually a fund raiser. The pancakes are free, but you are expected to leave a donation for a worthy cause.

The cause is Miami Childrens Hospital.

I have a personal interest in Miami Childrens. My grandson Robert.

Robert was born with cancer of the liver. Not common. Humans are not born with cancer. It is an after birth acquired affliction. Robert was treated at Miami Childrens Hospital. He had two major surgeries. On the 4th and 8th days of his new life. He is now 5 years old and ok. Still must see the doctors at Miami Childrens till he is 18, however. And they are the same doctors who saved him 5 years ago.

I saw much while at Miami Childrens Hospital with my grandson. Children from all over the world. Being treated for all kinds of afflictions. Money immaterial. If you had none or no insurance plan to pay, you were still cared for. By the best professionals with the most modern equipment.

So…..stop into I Hop tomorrow for a free order of pancakes. And after you enjoy them, leave a few dollars to help the hospital that helps kids from all over.

I stopped at Publix to buy some things I have not eaten for the last 3 months while dieting. One was fruit. Bananas. I ate one. In the car while driving home. So good!

I spent the day in. I was tired from the night before. Watched the Michigan State/Purdue game. Purdue lost. Too bad. They were ranked #3 nationally. They lost prior to the game their star forward Robbie Hummel. The impact of his not playing was obvious.

The new rankings come out today. The top 3, Kansas, Kentucky and Purdue, all lost over the weekend. Syracuse beat Villanova. Syracuse should be #1 in the new rankings. A wow! Syracuse was not even ranked preseason.

I plan on spending part of this day getting ready for this week’s radio show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour will be seen and heard on friday at 10 in the morning. http://www.konkam.com/. Plan on being with me.

Enjoy your day!

6 am. I am at Lisa’s. Been here since 2:30. Got a phone call. Lisa had big pain in her side.

Lisa now in emergency room. Blood work ok. Presently getting a cat scan.

Lisa’s words as she went out the door concerned Ally. She is going to wake up and freak out when she discovers I am gone.

Ally woke up. She wanted Mommy. No problem. I gently explained what was going on. And that Mommy would be home soon. I invited here to join me on the living room couch. She said no, she was going back to sleep.

A melt down avoided.

Now we have to get Lisa back in ok shape.

Daytime yesterday was uneventful. I stayed in bed till early afternoon. Then ran some errands. And back to bed till the evening. I guess I was tired.

Last night at 9 was the Syracuse/Villanova basketball game. Big! Syracuse ranked #4 nationally and Villanova #8.

Game was played at Syracuse. A sold out crowd. Over 34,000. Biggest attended college basketball game ever! So you can appreciate the size of the crowd, Madison Square Garden only holds 19,000.

Syracuse won by roughly 20 points! What a game!

Villanova came out hot. Syracuse cold. It was Villanova by 8 ten minutes into the game. I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Then Syracuse came alive!

Syracuse ahead by 10 at the half. And 20 at the end.

A major win!

#1 Kansas lost. So did Kentucky. Just maybe Syracuse will be #1 when the updated rankings come out Monday.

I watched the game at the Sports Page Bar. With Skaneatles friends Don and Lisa and Key Wester Steve again. Plus Sandra and Robert, also from Skaneatles. Sandra owns a florist shop there and Robert is a realtor. And many other Syracuse supporters throughout the bar.

There was lot of yelling and screaming as the game progressed.

It was Don and Lisa’s last evening in Key West. They return home today. Sad. Nice people. I shall miss them. Especially at the Syracuse games.

Don bought dinner. I ate a lot. Not because he was buying. I did not know when I was ordering. The diet is over so I thought I might splurge a bit.

Did I!

A prime rib dinner. 14 ounces of meat! Oh, so good!

Followed by a piece of chocolate cake covered with whip cream. Even better!

My conscience was getting to me. I only ate half the cake!

The first thing I did when I got home was go to the scale. I peeked with one eye, then two. I had not gained a pound!

I suspect the yelling and screaming and jumping around during the game may have helped.

Ally got up. She is sitting next to me at the kitchen table coloring. We are talking. We went through the where is Mommy thing again. She is ok with everything for the moment.

Robert must be up. I hear some one peeing. It can only be him.

It was Robert. Where’s Mommy? No one wants to know where is Daddy. I explained.The truth. Hospital, etc. He accepted it.

So far, I am doing good at baby sitting this night.

Enjoy your day! I hope everything works out well with Lisa and we are only dealing with we don’t know what caused the pain. Otherwise this baby sitting may get extended for quite a while.

What is going on?

An 8.8 earthquake in Chile!

A tsunami heading for Hawaii! 10-15 feet!

Haiti’s earthquake!

Snowstorms up north being described as hurricane snowstorms!

Cold forever here in the Florida keys!

Don’t tell me there is not a global warming problem! Lets stop playing political football with the issue and figure it out! And correct it before we are confronted with an inconceivable disaster!

Everything else seems immaterial at the moment. But life goes on. So bear with me as I share my yesterday with you.

The radio show went well. Very well. Fridays at 10 is my new time. If you missed the show, watch and listen next week on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/.

After the radio show, I drove over to my doctor’s office. Dr. Jackie Lefferts. She is an internest. I am impressed with her. She has been caring for me for 3 years. I find her to be a diagnostician of the highest order.

Dr. Lefferts got me into my present diet. By the way, I finally hit 30 pounds a few days ago. The diet is over! Hooray! I hope I have sufficiently changed my eating habits so that I will be able to maintain my new weight. It is an eternal battle!

Dr. Lefferts is the one who got me on the Medifast diet that resulted in the 30 pound loss. Her husband Michael runs the diet program out of her offices. He is a director/guru of the Medifast program.

The primary reason I decided to do the diet was when I saw what it did to the Doctor and her husband. Both lost 30 plus pounds on it and looked terrific!

I stopped at the Doctor’s office yesterday to talk with Michael about my maintenance program. The receptionist told me to go right into his office. I did. Guess what I saw? There was Michael sitting at his desk eating a piece of pizza! Shocking! Caught him in the act! I have not had pizza in 3 months!

He knew it was an embarassing moment. I thought he was going to choke on the bite he was enjoying.

We both laughed. It never changes. Everything in life is do as I say, not as I do.

The Chart Room was packed with tourists last night. A couple came in and was interested in the holes at the bar containing the ashes of some of the old timers now gone. I ended up explaining who the remains belonged to and that two holes yet remain unfilled since there are still 2 old patrons alive and kicking.

After they left I thought…..Is this what my life has come to? Think about it. I have become a part of the tradition myself. Good and bad, depending how you look at it.

It was La Trattoria for dinner.

Beecha was lovely! Hugged and kissed me on two different occasions. Sometimes I think I go to La Trattoria so much just for her hugs and kisses. Maybe.

Lee Ann was sitting at the bar eating alone. I have not seen her in about 8 months. And at that time it was at the bar at La Trattoria also.

We had dinner together. Her husband was snowed in in New Jersey and could not return home to Key West. His misforune was my good fortune. I had a pleasant evening. Lee Ann is good company.

I mentioned a few days ago that my good friend Terri White had a new gig. She is going into the part of Mama Morton in the Chicago revival. The news was officially released yesterday. Facebook is overwhelmed with congratulations to her.

Tonight Syracuse/Villanova. At 9. I will be at my usual place at the Sports Page Bar watching the game. With a bunch of other Syracuse fans! A good night ahead!

Enjoy your day!

The heat is overwhelming!

What a joke!

I have been in Key West for more than 20 years at this time of the year. I never remember it being so cold so long!

Last night was bocce. 58 degrees! Piercing cold! In the bones!

Our team the Donkeys has good players. We need some time to come together. We are still feeling each other out. Learning to play with each other. And we have not developed the necessary killer instinct as yet.

I played all 3 games. We lost the first. Due to the lack of the killer instinct. We just could not load the points on when the opportunity presented itself. The second game was a breeze! We won big time. My partner Norm and I were responsible for two 4s and a 3 at our end. Big! The last game was a disaster. We got killed.

Such is life! We shall improve as the season wears on.

This morning is radio show time.The Key West Lou Legal Hour is at 10 am. KONK 1500 AM. Better seen and listened to on the internet at http://www.konkam.com/. Give a telephone call to me at 305-294-2769.

I was at Walgreen’s at lunch time to pick up a prescription. Ran into my dear friend Jackie Grimm. Adorned in black tights, sweater and a shawl. With a fluffy black hat covering her flowing white hair. A lovely lady!

A fortuitous meeting. We decided to have lunch together. Which we did at the Yacht Club.

Afterwards it was Borders for me. I am close to finishing Guard Change. I am into the campaign for President.

Palin looks terrible. A whack. More interested in what Alaskans thought of her than the rest of the country. It surprises me she did so well in the debate with Biden.

Biden had his own problems. Made some gaffs. The Obama team ignorred him much of the time as a result thereof.

I was speaking with what can only be described as a Key West old timer yesterday. He has been here since the 1960s. He recalls only one winter as cold as this one. Back in the 1970s. He told me it was followed the next year by a winter unreasonably hot.

I can’t wait!

For my friends up north, remember we do not have the necessary clothes to wear in weather this cold. Many do not even have heat. The stores long ago sold out on floor heaters.

Enjoy your day!