Ida is a nice name.

My boyhood friend in Utica was Basil. His mother’s name was Ida. She was a wonderful person!

Ida is now retired and still alive. She has to be in her nineties. She is is a leading and respected figure in Naples these days.

Basil’s mom comes to mind because a tropical storm/hurricane may be upon us. And its name is Ida!

The hurricane season ends November 30. We almost made it. No hurricanes so far this year. But the news has been telling us of Ida the past few days.

Ida is a strange one. It is coming off the Caribbean. Generally our storms start off the coast of Africa and travel west towards the keys. Ida is coming up from the south towards us. From Nicaragua.

As it turns out, hurricanes from the south are not uncommon this time of year. They generally occur in November, if at all.

Ida has been a 1 the past few days and is now a tropical storm.Aaround 40 miles an hour. But it will pick up speed over the water. And it has a lot of water to travel over as it moves towards the United States.

It is presently projected that Ida will hit some where in the Gulf. From Texas to Florida. Too early yet to say specifically where.

No one in Key West is excited or nervous. The more knowledgable say it will be some rain and wind. But nothing big. I am comfortable with that. So I am not worrying at all.

Hope I am correct! I have seen these storms change and turn into monsters!

The Parrotheads are in town.This is their week.

Parrotheads are Jimmy Buffett fans. And he has many of them! There are a couple of thousand in Key Wst now celebrating.

I assume they are called parrotheads because of the headpieces they wear. Many resemble parrots.

This is a Jimmy Buffett party. Buffett got his start here in Key West. But he does not often return to the parrothead party. He makes an appearance every few years. This year is not one of them.

Yesterday afternoon from 1 to 6 there was a big parrothead party at…..where else…..Margaretaville on Duval Street. The whole block was closed off. Music and people. A fun event.

My friend Howard Livingston and Mile Marker 24 played for a couple of hours around 4 o’clock.

They were dancing in the street!

Lisa’s internet department store Via Key West continues to grow. I am packaging and running to the post office daily. The biggest seller so far are the Key West Lou T-shirts. Lisa’s internet site is www.viakeywest.com.

Tino and Maria are back. They spent the summer in Chicago. Tino was at bocci the other night.

Iguanas are not my favorite peiople…..animal…..whatever. They eat my shrubbery and deficate all over the place. I know few who like them.

However there are some who do. One is Alex Okinczyz. Many of you know Alex. I have mentioned him before. He is retired here in the keys. He sings and blows a horn with Larry Smith. A nice guy besides!

How he could like iguanas I do not know. But he does. And he went so far as to make a video of his iguana pets. He titled it “Dining with the Iguanas in Key West.” It is yours to enjoy or dislike. Actually, it was not too bad. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCBnP_dzDLA.

The swine flu is a scare of major proportion. I recently heard rumors of cases here in Key West. Two bocci players are reported to have come down with it.

Be careful. Get your shots.

Notice the “s” on shot. You need two. The regular flu shot and the special one for the swine problem.

I got my first shot. My swine flu shot was scheduled during the time I was in Miami. When I returned, I telphoned my doctor’s office for a new appointment to get the swine flu shot. No appointmnet. The vaccine was all gone! I am on a list waiting for more to be delivered.

So I am a bit concerned. You should be also no matter where you are. Get your shots!

I am going to go out now and wait for the wind and rain from Ida to begin!

Enjoy your day!

Big day yesterday!

My first radio show and bocci!

The radio show went well. Or so I am told. I received about 15 e mails and a similar number of telephone calls. The e mails were from all over. Some from Key West, most from the States and one from Milan, Italy. The telephone calls were all local.

It looks like Louis Petrone presents the Key West Lou Legal Hour is going to make it.

I found the experience exciting! Never did radio before. My two guests made my job easy. Raieppe Avael and Tala Dutson were from the Southernmost Homeless Assistance League. Very knowledgable. Very helpful. Made my first time easy.

I was disappointed there were no call ins. I would like to mix it up over the telephone. In due course.

Next week I am doing a show on mortgage foreclosures. Something that affects most families and every area of the country. It should be a great show. Please listen in.

Bocci last night!

We lost 2 out of 3 games. We played a team that was tied with us. Both teams are fighting to get into the playoffs. They destroyed us in the first game. Beat us by 2 points in the second. And we beat them by 2 points in the third.

Every one played decent bocci, except for………………….Donald! Don, you said it was alright for me to say it in the blog!

Don celebrated a bit too much before he arrived for the games. And a bit more during the games. He is generally very good. Last night he had a Louis night as when Louis is off. It was hard for him to locate the polina on the court! But he did keep the ball on the court!

Such is life! We all still love you Don!

We still can make the play offs. There are 6 games left. I am told we have to win 4 of the 6. Sounds easy. Not. We shall see.

There was a strong wind last night. Came off the Atlantic. The bocci courts are on the Atlantic. I could feel the chill. Wished I had brought a sweat shirt. It was touching on cool and yet the temperature was 79 degrees.

This morning the wind is blowing big time. The palm trees are bending. The ocean waves are 2-3 feet. The wind is coming from the north.

I suspect the wind is the result of the bad weather up north.

There is a hurricane which has formed in the Caribbean. It is presently off Honduras. It is not expected to be a big one. It will hit somewhere in the Gulf. Perhaps the keys. We are not feeling the hurricane wind yet.

We have been lucky so far this year. No hurricanes. November is the last month for hurricanes. It would be a pain to have to put up with one at this late date. It is a pain to put up with one at any time. Regardless of its force.

November is not too late for a hurricane to hit Key West. In the last 10 years my recollection is Georges and Wilma hit us, both of which were big ones. I could be wrong on the names. But there were 2 November disasters.

Typical of Key West people, no one is worrying about this possible hurricane which could hit next week.

I am going to shower and then take a walk along the waterfront. Then I will treat myself to breakfast some where. The cupboard is bare again! I need a woman to shop for me!

Enjoy your day!

I spent the early part of yesterday running errands for Lisa. Her Key West internet department store Via Key West is up and running. She is getting orders. Some one has to package and mail out. I am that person.

The Key West Lou T-shirts continue to sell well. I mailed some more out yesterday.

Take a look at her site. www.viakeywest.com.

After doing my thing for Lisa, I went over to Borders for a while. I am reading Newt Gingrich’s new book on Washington crossing the Delaware. Gingrich was a history professor before he was a politicain. He has written historical novels before. This is the first of his I have read.

I am not impressed so far with the book. It moves slow. I am a history freak and have read other Revolutionary War books. By dramatizing the event, he belabors it. I will give it another day or two and see if it captures my attention. If not, there is a new Civil War book I will try.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for today’s radio show. My first radio show!

I am excited!

Louis Petrone presents the Key West Lou Legal Hour!

Nothing runs smooth. Everything screws up.

I had two guests lined up for the show. Both had to back out. So I had to scramble to get two more. Fortunately I was able to. Both also are experts on the homeless situation. It is amazing how many people and organizations are involved with helping the homeless. Should be a good show. I recommend you listen. Actually, I hope you listen!

The show is at 1 pm Eastern Standard Time on Konk 1680 AM radio here in Key West. Outside Key West, it can be heard on the internet at www.konkam.com. Telephone call ins can be made at 305-294-2769.

I stayed in last night. Made myself a light dinner. And watched the Yankees/Phillies World Series baseball game.

I think the Yankees won. I say I think because I fell asleep during the seventh inning when the Yankees were ahead by 3 runs.

Hope I am correct that the Yankees won!

Enjoy your day! And again, if you have the time and/or inclination, listen to my radio show!

An interesting morning.

I was up early, as usual. I stepped outside. The sun was breaking over the water to the east. I could see the orange reflection in the water. I turned around. There was the white moon sitting in the sky to the west sending its white reflection running towards me on top of the water.

I was caught in between.

What a sight! God is good!

I spent the day yesterday working on my first radio show which is scheduled to open tomorrow-Thursday-on KONK 1680 AM radio. Homeless and the law is the topic of the day. Listen in! You will find it interesting and sometimes shocking!

Ally played soccer last night. I went over to watch. Four years old. She is good! And that is not just a grandfatherly recognition. She is focused. Runs fast. I could see her kick into high gear with her running when it was required. And she can kick the ball!

She even scored a goal!

Then to the Chart Room. Quiet after Fantasy Fest. Sheila and Dan there. We chatted about the parade. Sheila drove the pace car. Dan was driving a float. Good spots to do the parade from!

After Sheila left, Dan and I chatted about the homeless, banks and foreclosures. Dan is a banker. He will be a guest on the radio show when the topic is foreclosures.

I went to La Trattoria for dinner. Duval was crowded. Unusual at this time. Key West generally dies after Fantasy Fest till Christmas week. Except for this coming weekend when the Parrotheads arrive. Another story.

Anyhow, people were moving along the street in a joyous mood. And La Trattoria was full. People had a short wait for tables. The bar was packed. I was lucky to get an immediate seat.

Erin the bartender found the crowd unusual also.

Beecha was not there. Must have been her night off. I missed my hug and kiss.

I was home early. 9:30ish. Watched some election returns and fell asleep.

Tomorrow is the big day! My first radio show. Hope you will listen. 1 pm Eastern Standard Time. 1680 AM on Key West radio. Outside Key West and anywhere in the world, http://www.konkam.com/ on the internet. Telephone questions/comments during the show can be made to 305-294-2769.

Enjoy your day!

My radio show starts Thursday. At 1 pm. Konk 1680 AM here in Key West.

I am excited. I have never done a radio show before. So it is all a learning experience also.

I spent 3 hours at the radio station yesterday learning the nuts and bolts of what I am to do. It is not just speaking into a microphone.

I sit on a stool in a little room with all kinds of equipment. A big mike is in front of me. My guests sit across. They are partially blocked from my view by their mikes.

I have a panel in front of me. To control the volume for each speaker, including me. To my left is like a large clock. But in letters and words. Like a computer screen. I have to keep my eye on the time on that screen as I talk into the mike and chat with my guests.

Sounds confusing. I will problably screw up a few times. But I should have in down pat by the end of the first show.

The show is entitled the Key West Lou Legal Hour. Got to keep Key West Lou going!

My vision is for a 3 way format. I will talk. Express opinions. There will be a guest or guests. And telephone calls can be received. So remember to call in if you have a point to make or a question to ask. I don’t want to be left alone for an hour trying to come up with something to say!

Konk 1680 is an AM station. So it can only be heard in Key West proper. Once you are on U.S. 1, reception is lost.

Not a problem however. As long as you are not in your car. For everyone outside Key West, the show can be heard on the internet. All over the world. Amazing!

Go to www.konkam.com. Then to the upper left hand corner to a large read circle that says LISTEN. Put the arrow on LISTEN and press. I will be there!

So my dear friends all over the world, tune in via internet. It would do my heart good to know you are listening to me from England, Italy, Greece, Indonesia and where ever else. As well as the U.S.

Time is a problem. I am on at 1 pm Eastern Standard Time. You have to figure out what time that may be for you if you are not in my time zone.

Let me go over it again. It is the lawyer in me summing up.

In Key West, radio is KONK 1680 AM.

Outside Key West, it is the internet. www.konkam.com.

Telephone is 305-294-2769 (305-294-CROW).

Don’t ask me where crow came from. I do not know.

The first show is going to be on the homeless. Sounds dull. Is not. The homeless is a big issue from a legal perspective. You will be amazed how it impacts on not only Key West, but every community. It includes your pocket book as well as your conscience.

In subsequent weeks, I will be touching on criminal sentencing. Shades of the Acevedo cases. Also, the death penalty, gay adoption, gay marriage, Truman Annex, the waterfront Navy property, mediation, domestic issues, foreclosures, the court house, personal injury, the Mel Fisher story, code enforcement and what have you. Also based on a story in yesterday’s Key West Citizen, a show dealing with grouper fishing.

So hang in there! Stay with me! And listen to the Key West Legal Hour on Thursday at 1 pm!

Yesterday included more than the radio station. But not much. I was tired from not having slept well the evening before.

Lisa telephoned last night. The grandkids had just returned home from tricking and treating. Because of the Fantasy Fest parade Saturday night, families were asked to move Halloween to last night.

Robert and Ally apparently had a good time! Ally was on the phone shouting to me how much fun she had and how much candy she received. She said she was saving some for me! Good girl!

Other than that, I watched the Yankees get beat last night. I thought they had it made after scoring a run the first time up. But Philadelphia immediately came back to score 3 runs. I knew in my gut at that point the Yankees would lose.

The rest of the week will tell. The Yankees are up 3 games to 2. Philadelphia is good. I am nervous.

As Porky Pig of old was wont to say……That’s all folks!

Talk with you tomorrow!

Yesterday was a normal Sunday. Quiet and unassuming. Relaxing. The way it should be after several days of Fantasy Fest.

I stayed in bed in the morning. Watched Meet the Press. Then a couple of reruns of the Sopranos. My ethnic heritage causes the Sopranos to be compelling.

Then to Don’s Place! What is Sunday without Don’s place for pro football watching!

Most looked hung over. They were hung over! From the parade and partying the night before.

Ergo, it was quieter than normal at Don’s Place.

I never seem to buy enough groceries. The cubboard was bare again. So after Don’s I was off to Publix. And then home to put my goodies away.

This hour change thing had me screwed up. I was hungry and tired. But it was not time for dinner yet. So I took a nap. Solved one of my problems, at least.

Later I was off to Lisa’s for Sunday dinner. Robert and Ally were in costumes again. This time different ones. They had been to the children’s Fantasy Fest party at Bayview Park. Robert was some sort of spaceman. A cool costume. He had an air inflated chest. Ally was a 1950s girl with appropriate attire and black rim glasses.

The grandkids were very tired. The heat of the afternoon at the park and the extra hour had taken their toll. It was a quick bath after dinner and to bed for them.

TV was terrific last night. The World Series and Mad Men!

Glad the Yankees won. A good game. The Yanks came through in the last inning. They deserved to win last night.

It was 10 pm. I was trying to watch both the baseball game and Mad Men. I was switching back and forth between the channels.

I enjoy Mad Men. It is as it was in the 1960s. The show has some terrific writers. I do not know how they come up with the many sub plots. What imaginations!

The blond wife is getting ready to leave her husband. She was throwing him out last night. She thinks he deceived her (which he did) and that she is in love with another. She and the other have been together a total of 3 times and have exchanged 2 kisses. He tells her he wants to marry her. She believes him.

Only 2 shows left for the season. A rude awakening ahead for her!

After the game and Mad Men, it was around midnight. I should have been exhausted. I was. But I could not sleep.

I came up with an old movie on TV. 42nd Street. It came out 76 years ago in 1933.

42nd Street is one of those cute musicals of the 1930s. Most intertesting were the actors.

Warner Baxter starred. Who remembers him? I did. He was a dramatic actor type back then. Disappeared by the 1940s.

More interesting were the stars yet to be. The actors in the film who had smaller or very small parts and later became big time Hollywood stars.

Dick Powell was one. He had a second banana type singing role. By the 1940s he had given up singing and was a respected dramatic actor.

Ginger Rogers! Fred Astaire’s dancing partner in several movies. And a big time star in her own right in many films through the 1950s. She had a nothing part in 42nd Street. She was just part of the chorus.

And Ray Bolger. Ray was the straw man in Wizard of Oz. A dancer. He later starred in many films, Broadway shows and on TV. He, too, was merely part of the chorus in the film.

I finally fell asleep around 2 in the morning. And it is not even 6 am and I am up writing this blog.

Me thinks I am going to be tired this day!

Enjoy!

Yesterday was Halloween. It was for all practical purposes the end of Fantasy Fest.

Lisa and Corey brought the grandkids over to visit me in the afternoon. Robert and Ally had been to a costume party at the Botanical Gardens.

They were both dressed as pirates. Cute!

And they had a huge bag of candy goodies. They brought the bag in to share with me. I had my choice. I took a couple of crunch bars and a bag of M & Ms.

I was not in the mood to watch the parade last night. I have probably seen 15 Fantasy Fest parades over the years. Even rode on a float once.

I wanted just a touch of the parade.

I had made plans to meet Marty at Cafe Marquesa at 8 for dinner. Marquesa is just a block of Duval where the parade would be going by.

Parking is a big time problem. 80,000 people in town for the parade. Most with cars.

Corey was helpful. A good son in law. He suggested I drive to his home, leave my car there and he would drive me where ever I wanted to go. And then he would pick me up.This guy is a gem!

He dropped me off a half hour early for my meeting with Marty. So I opted to walk the block to Duval. The Duval corner is where the La Concha Hotel is located. The parade had not reached there yet.

Remember Fantasy Fest is an adult party. Even though I was not in the mood to stand around for 2 hours watching the parade, I did want to get my fill of almost totally naked women. A man I am!

As I walked toward Duval, I passed a massage parlor. Two lovelies with next to nothing on walked out and proceeded toward Duval ahead of me. Wow! What a start to a voyeur experience!

I only stayed at Duval a couple of minutes. Too many people. A zoo. With many topless women milling around!

I headed back to Cafe Marquesa. Marty was at the bar. His wife Donna was in for the weekend.
It was good to see her again.

Maggie was bartending. A lovely young lady. She has worked at Marquesa for several years.

I noticed as I sat down at the bar a table of 3 couples by the window. They appeared to be wearing little by way of clothes. The women had short sarongs covering their bottoms and spray paint covering everything else. The men wore next to nothing also.

These people were my age. One of the men was very distinguished appearing. He had on a white loin clothe with a slim thong string running up his derriere. And a black bow tie. Nothing else.

The law permits bare female breasts in the area of Fantasy Fest. However they must be spray painted or covered with pasties. Men and women must have their genitals/bottoms covered however.

Maggie told us the table of six were from a Carnival ship which had docked friday evening and was to leave at midnight last night. My recollection is it was the Carnival Miracle.

The Carnival ship was a nudist venture. I was told 3,600 nudists were on the vessel for Fantasy Fest as part of its voyage. Another wow!

The table of six enjoyed themselves. Clothing apparently has nothing to do with an enjoyable eating and drinking experience.

Costumed people came in and out of Marquesa all night. It was an exciting evening!

I had not dined at Cafe Marquesa in quite a while. I am glad I did last night. My meal was absolutely delicious! I had a strip steak. Normally I would eat only half. But the taste was so spectacular, I finished the whole thing!

When dinner was concluded, I telephoned my son in law Corey. Our game plan was that he would pick me up when ever I was ready. Ten minutes later Corey arrived.

I was home in bed before 10. And I had a wonderful evening.

Today is sunday. Technically the last day of Fantasy Fest. Some small parties yet to wind the event down.

My sunday will be a normal one, however. Meet the Press, the sunday newspapers, Don’s Place for pro football and then dinner with Lisa and the family.

I hope your day will be as good as mine!

I awoke at precisely the right moment this morning. A bright orange sun breaking over the water!

Yesterday was relatively quiet. I cannot do two big days in a row.

Halloween is upon us. I had to get something for the grandkids. I ended up buying each one a Halloween card. And for the both of them, a chocolate house they had to construct. Like the Christmas cookie ones.

The cards were musical. Well, sort of. Each made scary sounds.

In the store, the noise was at an accaptable level. The store was large and the sound disipated. Home in their kitchen, the noise was blasting! Ghosts and goblins screaming!

Robert and Ally kept opening and playing their musical cards constantly. Lisa and Corey were looking at me strangely. I realized the cards were a mistake. The noise was horrendous! But the grandkids loved them!

I could not handle Fantasy Fest last night. Too much two nights in a row. So I went to Hogfish to have dinner. I suspected the place would be empty. Every one would be in downtown Key West partying rather than in downtown Stock Island dining.

I was correct. Very few people at Hogfish. I had a quiet dinner and read the newspapers.

And then home to an early bed.

Tonight may be different for me, however. We shall see.

Back to Terri White.

By now most of you are aware that Finian’s Rainbow which opened Thursday night on Broadway is a success. Rave reviews! From the New York Times, Bloomberg News, New York Daily News, New York Post, USA Today, Associated Press and on and on.

And Terri received special laudatory comment in several of the reviews.

Tuesday’s New York Times story of Terri’s homelessness a year ago to Broadway stardom this week found its way to television news. Last evening Terri appeared on CBS. On Katie Couric’s show. I cried as I watched Terri’s story being told.

You broke a leg, Terri! In life and on Broadway! God love you! He does!

Enjoy your day!

I have returned!

Yesterday afternoon. Just in time for Pretenders and Toga Party last night.

It’s all in the scheduling!

Key West’s Fantasy Fest this year appears to be one of the best ever. Thursday night is the big night from my perspective. Even better than the Saturday night float parade.

The two main events on Thursday are Pretenders in Paradise at the Pier House Resort and Sloppy Joe’s Toga Party.

I hit Pretenders first last night. It is a gala affair! The grounds are crowded. Costumes galore. Beads on everyone.

A stage was set on the beach just off the ocean.

The music last night was arranged and directed by Larry Smith. The Pier House is his domain.

Featured was the music of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Band members included the fabulous voice of Kathleen Peace. Love her singing! And Christine Cardone. Love her singinging also! Kim Wroble and Chris Burchard in support. And the premier drummer and good heart, Skipper Kripitz.

The show itself was absolutely spectacular. Costumes extraordinaire. Very extravagant. The headpieces defy description. Ten to fifteen feet tall.

After enjoying Pretenders, it was time to walk the two blocks to Sloppy Joe’s. I am a voyeur at heart and look forward to the Toga Party every year.

It was impossible to get into Sloppy Joe’s. They were falling out of the windows and doorways. But the street in front was crowded as usual. Crowded does not aptly describe the scene. Jam packed is better.

And in that bevy of humanity were small pockets of people surrounding some lovely female wearing nothing but her white toga. The game is for the toga clad lady to expose her privates. But not for nothing. Beads are the coin of the evening. The more intimate the body part shown, the more beads required.

A fun time! An adult time!

You have to see it to believe it!

Only in Key West!

Some things are a big deal! Some people are!

Terri White is!

Terri opens tonight in a starring role in a new Broadway musical. A revival of the 1947 success Finian’s Rainbow.

Tuesday a major article appeared on page 1 of the N.Y. Region section of the New York Times. It was about our Terri White!

The article is written by Susan Dominus. Interestingly, I knew her mother.

The story basically traces Terri’s early Broadway successes, then her fall into poverty, her becoming a homeless person and sleeping in Washington Square Park. Then Terri’s trip to Key West last year and a job singing at the Keys Piano Bar.

While singing in Key West, she met my dear friend Donna Barnett. They fell in love. They are being united in a partnership marriage Sunday on the stage of the Broadway theater where Terri is appearing.

Love them both!

But this is more Terri’s story. Success, a fall and then a climb back to the heights.

Of Terri’s singing in Finian’s Rainbow, Susan Dominus describes it as “…one of the crucial moments in musical theater.”

Good luck tonight, Terri! Break a leg!

And good luck to both Terri and Donna Sunday when they marry! And for the rest of their lives!