TOM AND FRAN DIXON

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Two dear friends are Tom and Fran Dixon.

We first met via this blog several years ago. Then Tom and I happen chanced to meet in Key West. At that time, I became aware that both are frequent visitors to Key West.

Tom and Fran live just outside Buffalo. Tom a retired negotiator.

The thing that really glued us together was that Tom is a die hard Syracuse fan. Our bloods run orange.

Tom has another claim to fame. He owns a piece of the Ocean Key House.

The three of us had dinner together last night. Met first at the Chart Room for drinks. Fran evidencing the beginning of a good tan. She told me the temperature  is down to 60 in Buffalo. Fall has arrived in upstate New York.

We talked about many things. Children, grandchildren, their lack of any grandchild as yet. Syracuse football and Boeheim. The freshman quarterback Eric Dungey.

Dinner at Hot Tin roof. A fun time. Only way to describe it.

We are scheduled to meet again 6 monday night at Tavern ‘n Town. By that time, we will have the result of today’s game between Syracuse and Wake Forest to discuss. Syracuse this morning a 4 1/2 point favorite.

My day yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. I have been doing it three times a week. Time to go to four. I made arrangements to do a 4 day week beginning a week from monday. Hopefully in a few months, I will have it up to five times a week.

Then back to the Santorini volcano.

Anna tells me the refugee problem in Italy is on the rise. The refugees are not coming from Syria or the Middle East. They are from the war torn countries of North Africa.

Taxes continue to rise, especially on real estate in Italy. Businesses continue to close. The unemployment rate keeps going up.

Anna asks how can Italy feed, clothe and house these refugees if Italians are on the brink of not being able to care for themselves.

I was able to watch the last fifteen minutes of Serena Williams’ tennis match in the afternoon. I assumed I would be watching Serena reach another milestone in the tennis world. It was not to be. Serena lost to the Italian Roberta Vinci.

Vinci was a 300-1 underdog. When asked how she felt when she got up in the morning knowing she had to play Serena, she said she was calm. Told herself to go out and play an enjoyable game. She had absolutely no expectation of beating Serena.

That is the way of the sporting world. American Pharoah recently got beat.

I have decided on the subject matter for next week’s KONK Life column. It is one I began researching last saturday when I got hung up on my Tennessee Williams research. I have about two more hours research which I will do today. Then write the column tomorrow.

It is the Gertrude Bell story. Gertrude Bell is known as the female Lawrence of Arabia. Gives you an idea of whar the article will entail.

Enjoy your day!

ANNIE DILLARD

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Literary giants seem to find their way to Key West for some portion of their lives. Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams and John Hersey to name a few. The three have passed on.

There are famous authors having homes in Key West who have not yet gone to that other place. They write and play here.

One is Annie Dillard. In the company of Hemingway, Williams and Hersey. She and her husband spend summers in Cape Cod and winters in Key West. They have had a home in Key West since the late 1990s.

Dillard is considered a major voice in American literature. All her books have continued in print without interruption. Many have been translated into foreign languages. She is a Pulitzer Prize winner.

President Obama will be recognizing the work of certain artists, including writers, this week in Washington. One of those to be honored is Annie Dillard. She will receive the National Humanities Medal.

Congratulations, Annie Dillard! Thank you for being a part of Key West.

My yesterday began once again with the anti-gravity treadmill. I am in the process of scheduling an extra day a week. Going from three to four. I can handle it. Hopefully in a couple of months, I can do five mornings a week.

Roostica for lunch. Limoncello wings. Broiled, not fried. Delicious.

Poker Run begins monday the 14th. The big bikes will begin roaring in. More than 10,000 of them. Womenfest concludes sunday. As the dainties leave, the toughies come in. Not to say that women cannot be tough. Extremely so on occasion.

Key West has a Washington visitor today. Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy.

He will be here to inspect the Boca Chica Naval Air Base and port operations. Unfortunately, he is in and out. He will not be spending any time visiting our island.

Mabus is a person of distinction. His credentials impressive. He is the longest serving Secretary of the Navy since World War II.

Donald Trump appears to have a limited vocabulary. Everyone is stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Tells me nothing. Criticism is proper. Tell me and everyone else however what it is that makes others stupid.

This week’s KONK Life column hit the stands yesterday afternoon. You may want to read it. The story of Tennessee Williams and one of his loves.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

OREOS

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I write about important things. Today, Oreos. Specifically, the new Oreo Thins.

Oreos. That amazing cookie! Everyone loves Oreos! Delicious chocolate hard cake on the outside. Sweet thick white sugar inside.

Oreos recently came out with Oreo Thins. Saw it advertised on TV. Decided to buy a package. Thought I could get the same pleasure with only half the calories.

I was correct as to the calories. Wrong as to the pleasure. There was no pleasure. It tasted nothing like the Oreos I have known for years. The thin white inside taste was barely discernible. The thin chocolate wafers heavy in taste. It was as if I were eating a chocolate cookie.

Do not even try Oreo Thins. A waste of time and pleasure. It would surprise me if they were still be on the shelves in six months.

My yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. Then a bit of banking. Followed by lunch at the Marriott Beachside Beach Bar. I enjoyed my time there earlier in the week.

I was looking forward to chatting with Simon, the bartender. No Simon. Must have been his day off. No loss, however. I enjoyed the view, a cheeseburger and read the newspapers.

For whatever reason, I was tired. Went home to bed. Slept all afternoon.

Last night began with the Chart Room. I was hoping to run into Bob Dennard. Emily bartending. Her eyes much better.

Chatted with some tourists and snowbirds till Bob showed up.

Spent an interesting hour with Bob. He is much traveled. Writes about places he has visited. Especially, Asia.

Dinner was alone at the Hot Tin Roof bar. Chatted with Joseph. The place was filled by the time I left.

I understand La Te Da is entirely closed down for the month of September. Not uncommon. Many establishments close for September. The hottest month of the year and the fewest visitors.

My head is hung in shame. I knocked Syracuse’s football team yesterday. They played their first game last night against Rhode Island.

I should not have. Syracuse beat Rhode Island 47-0. A score from days of old. Unfortunately, starting quarterback Terrel Hunt hurt his ankle in the first quarter. He may not be able to play the rest of the season. A freshman, whose name escapes me, played the rest of the game. He obviously did well.

My KONK Life column Private Prisons was published this morning on E-Blast. Someone screwed up in printing the title. PRISON became PRISON’S. Nothing I can do at this point. Add it to what some perceive as my grammatically incorrect writings.

I have to write my KONK column for next week. Decided on a certain phase of Tennessee Williams’ life. He called Key West home for well over thirty years. My research not complete. There are certain facts I have to verify. Impossible for me to write the column today.

At this moment on saturday morning, I have no idea what the subject matter will be of the column I am to write this afternoon.

Enjoy your day!

ERIKA…..YES OR NO

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In yesterday’s blog, I advised I was going to start getting ready for Erika. Buy some things needed when shut up in your home. Without electric power,.

I never did it.

Two hours after publishing the blog, TV reported  Erika would probably dissipate after Hispaniola. The mountains of Hispaniola would break up an already weak hurricane.

This morning, the weather channel says such probably is the case. However. the weakened Erika might gain power from warm air in the Caribbean and turn into a powerful hurricane aimed directly at Key West and Florida. Or, Erika might go left into the Gulf and avoid the Keys.

Whatever, I know we are going to get a lot of rain. Which is much needed.

Am I going to get ready? I don’t know, have not made up my mind.

Did the anti-gravity treadmill in the morning. I am steadily increasing the speed. Lots of sweat.

Rain is strange in the Keys. It did not rain all afternoon in Key Haven. When I went out last night, everything bone dry for 1.5 miles. When I reached the golf course on US 1, it was obvious it had rained. Big time! The golf course is again only 1.5 miles away. Rain storms amazing in the Keys!

Lunched at Roostica. I have been going frequently for lunch. Why, easy. Quality food at a cheap price. Plus, the air conditioning. It is too humid to eat outside.

Yesterday, it was fried eggplant with tomato, prosciutto and mozzarella. Covered in a red sauce. Outstanding! The eggplant similar to how my grandmother prepared it. Salad, besides. $9.95.

The Chart Room first last night. Wanted to check on Emily. She had been out of work two weeks with an eye problem. She is on the mend.

Then to Hot Tin Roof. Jenna to meet me.

We enjoyed a great meal and equally great conversation. Love the girl! Wish I was 50 years younger!

Trump. I am getting sick of Trump. Are you? He is blocking out the other candidates and issue discussion. The man is a mental case. A successful economic one.

What bothers me is the people who support him. Most everyone! Even those whose intelligence I respect. He has captured the minds of many Americans.

Thomas Friedman in a recent column described Trump as a Pied Piper. I agree. Most following him. To an inevitable destruction if the march continues.

Friedman says Trump leads by dividing and frightening. He has a point.

What really hits home is Friedman’s observation that Trump spews up a Joe McCarthy. Correct, again. I recall McCarthy and the eventual harm he caused till stopped.

There is a little town on the Italian Riviera between Camogli and Portofino called St. Margarita. Anna just telephoned me from the beach there. She said the Camogli beaches are crowded so she went to St. Margarita’s tiny and less congested cove to swim and sun bathe. A two euro train ride.

Enjoy your day!

DO BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN?

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Maureen Dowd’s column appeared on the editorial page of the Key West Citizen this morning. Concerned Donald Trump. The opening sentence…..Some blondes have all the fun.

Erika may be a for real hurricane. Not there yet. Some 1,500 miles from Key West. A tropical storm. Forty five miles per hour. Expected to reach hurricane force soon.

Key West is in the come of error. It is anticipated Erika will arrive over the Keys monday morning. Hurricane intensity.

On the other hand, it may not hit Key West. If it does not hit, it will mean heavy rains for a day.

We have been through this before. Many hurricane warnings. At the last moment, the hurricane moves in another direction. Time will tell.

I must be honest. For the first time this morning, I am getting a bit uncomfortable.

A preview of Erika this morning. Dark and very windy. A flash of lightning came through the window. I walked over and looked outside. Saw another flash. Long and jagged. Shot straight down. Moments later, pouring rain. Palm trees bending. White caps.

The thunder unusual. Ongoing. Intense. For over an hour.

In about two hours, the sun will be shining brightly. Typical Key West weather this time of the year.

After the anti-gravity treadmill yesterday, I stopped at Roostica for lunch. A gnocci special was featured. I ordered it.

Gnocci is macaroni made from potatoes.

What a meal! As good as Grandma made!

The gnoccis were tender. Soft. The sauce red with a body to it. A sausage sauce. Small pieces mixed in.

Bobby Mongelli knows his food. Roostica’s is genuine Italian.

The afternoon was laid back. I settled in a comfortable chair and read. I am into a book about today’s Washington and how we got to where we are. The book discusses the politics of extremism in Washington and its sources.

The tile It’s Even Worse Than It Looks. The authors Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein.

The perfect political junkie’s read. I am enjoying it.

Cocktail time was at Aqua. At the back bar. I was looking for Mark Watson. One of Key west’s most loved guys.

Mark is running for Fantasy Fest King. I stopped by to make my contribution to his race.

It was only Mark and me for a while. A camera man showed up. He was taking pictures for the Florida Keys channel 5 show. I am in the some of the shots.

Christine showed up. Never met her before. Mark introduced us. The three of us had an enjoyable conversation. The drinks were going down too easy. I went straight home afterwards.

This week’s KONK Life hit the stands yesterday. My column is titled the Legalization of Prostitution. At some point today, it will be linked to my Key West Lou website. I believe you will enjoy the article. Some interesting revelations.

Bocce tonight. If there is no further rain today and the sun comes out as I anticipate, the courts may be dry enough to play.

A big match this evening. My team Don’s Place is playing Not Don’s Place. A Larry Smith joke when he named his team a couple of years ago.

A money game.

Enjoy your day!

 

YANKEE JACK ALIVE AND KICKING

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Last week someone asked what ever happened to Yankee  Jack? We were at Don’s Place. No one had seen Yankee in 1-2 years.

I saw Yankee yesterday.

I came around a corner in Publix. Coming down the aisle was Yankee Jack. Thinner. Looked healthy. Riding a motorized vehicle.

We were thrilled to see each other. Yankee was jovial! I told him we thought he had died. Yankee laughed.

This summer he was driving north to do his annual Saranac Lake gig and a few others along the way. Got sick. His kidneys failed. He got sick in a good place. Boston. Ended up for a month at Mass General. He was on dialysis the whole time. Saved him.

Since returning home, he has been composing new songs. He expects to return to the Bull soon.

He misses everyone at the golf course. Hopes to play again.

Went to do the anti-gravity treadmill yesterday. Had to wait. Power off. Probably a bird flew into something in Miami. Only down 15 minutes. Power failure a typical occurrence in the Keys.

Lunched at Harpoon Harry’s. Had a desire for ham and eggs. Harpoon Harry’s has the best eggs. I have said it for years. Sounds strange. Their eggs taste fresh!

Enjoyed a Hogfish sandwich for dinner at the bar at Hogfish last night. My motivation was the recent news that certain Hogfish fishing is to be limited for the balance of the year. Chatted with shrimp boat fishermen at the bar. Relics of another era.

My blog talk radio show tonight. At 9, my time. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Interesting topics. Like the Louisiana police shooting, newly reported police screw ups, whole babies being sold by Planned Parenthood, French train shooting, cost of Afghan war, and more.

Danny has a girl friend. Erika. She is chasing him. Erika will never catch Danny. As a hurricane, he is dissipating. Erika growing. Too soon to know if she will be a problem

No question, the hurricane season has arrived.

Glad I have no money in the stock market. Dow was down 1,000 points yesterday morning. Think it ended the day 500 plus down.

China’s screwing around with money, mortgages, over construction, etc. has caught up with them. China has lived on the bubble for several years. Cannot be done. Eventually, everything catches up. Implodes at one time. In China’s case, affects world economy.

It has been reported that ISIS is destroying ancient Syrian temples. Reducing them to rubble. Has ISIS respect for anything? The destruction makes sense, however. If ISIS can behead people, why it can destroy temples.

I have seen, touched and walked amongst Grecian temples.  Greece’s structures of old are the heart and soul of the nation. I cannot conceive Greece without the Parthenon and Acropolis, as well as buildings of old everywhere.

Hadrian’s Library sits in the center of Athens. Thousands of years old. Turns me on. I can visualize white robed people sitting and reading.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

KEY WEST A RICH SMALL TOWN

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I did my good deed for the year during the night. Maybe for the next ten years.

I received a telephone call at 4 this morning. A friend was in trouble, needed help.  It was out of bed, into clothes, and into town.

As a result, I am dead tired. Probably will be all day.

Duval at 4 in  the morning is strange. Almost no one on the street. It was like everyone had disappeared. Only the buildings remained. Eerie.

Bloomberg Business did a survey to determine the 20 richest small towns in America. Key West one of them. Came in 13th.

I question the survey result. The survey was based on real estate values and median salaries. Real estate values have  been out of whack in Key West for years. Whether buying or renting.  The mean salary based on the survey was in the low $50,000 area. Not many making that much. There must be an unusual number of millionaires residing in Key West to raise the average to that level.

So much for the study.

Yesterday was the anti-gravity treadmill in the morning, lunch at Roostica and the Galleon’s Sunset Tiki Bar at cocktail time.

I thought I would run into Jean, Sheila and David at the bar. Generally their friday haunt. Found out Jean left town two days ago, and Sheila and David were no where to be found.

Someone put their arms around me from the back. It was Pati. We spent a couple of pleasant hours together.

JJ bartending. He previously worked the Chart Room. A great personality. He was thin. Obviously lost weight. Told me 20 pounds. How, I asked. He is building something outside. He is at it from 7 in the morning. The humidity a killer. A lot of sweating. The pounds just fell off.

I asked him for a job.

I was on my way home when I decided I was hungry. Stopped at Outback. Glad I did. Enjoyed great conversation with two guys sitting next to me at the bar.

Both in their thirties. One a government worker, the other out of work. Both extremely knowledgeable. We talked of our country, politicians, Trump, and life in general. The life we credit/blame on our political leaders.

Both would like to leave the U.S. and move to another country. One has property in Mexico on the Pacific coast.

We agreed as we left, it had been a good evening.

My KONK Life column Black Lives Matter / Play Tough is being correctly run in this morning’s E-Blast. You may want to read it.

Danny is fickle. First a nothing storm. Then a category 2 yesterday which turned out to be a category 3. We are told Danny will die after Puerto Rico. We shall see.

Market down 530 points friday. Monday will tell if the market was adjusting or we are at the start of another recession. China the culprit. All has to do with oil.

Trump announced 36 thousand for last night’s rally. He had to get a stadium to hold all the people. Turns out the stadium was only half full. Twenty thousand. Still a good number. In fact, an excellent one.

Will the Trump mania run its course and burn out?

Watched Jimmy Carter on TV yesterday announcing his medical problem. The man is a class act.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

DANNY

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It’s time again! Talk on the street last night….. Is a hurricane coming?

Danny is its name. It is presently nothing way out in the Atlantic. We will not know till next week if it will be a Florida keys problem. Probably not. But you never know! Wind is fickle.

Some thing screwy yesterday morning. My phone. I was on it from 7-11. Business. Made me late for my 11 o’clock appointment at Body Owners where the anti-gravity treadmill awaited.

Took my sweaty body over to Roostica for lunch afterwards. Bobby Mongelli moving around. An outstanding business person!

Another business person of note arrived for lunch. Joe Liszka. Joe and his partner Frank Romano started Key West Aloe around 1970. Became a gold mine. They sold about 15 years ago.

Frank is now gone.

I met Joe when I was going to WeBeFit. Joe is older than me. I admired what he was able to physically do. Better than me. While there, Joe invited me to a party at his home. An excellent host. He lives in Key Haven also.

Stopped at Don’s Place at 5. Stayed a couple of hours. Visited with Don, David, Nate, and Toni. Actually spent quite a while chatting with Toni. A charming lady. Good company.

I had a choice at that point. Go out to eat or go home and watch Donald Trump. I am ashamed to say I went home. I am a political junkie.

I am not a Trump supporter. His business success is admirable. Such in and of itself does not make a President.

Our country continues to be in difficulty. The 1/99 percent thing does not go away. Listening to Trump, I suspect his actions would be those favoring the 1 percent. This morning he said on Morning Joe that he was against raising the minimum wage. He believes it would make us less competitive against foreign manufacturers.

Strange. The guys at the top of the American companies continue to make millions of dollars annually for themselves. They have their 3-4 homes world wide and private jets. The wealth is not shared. Notice Trump has his jet and homes. Even a helicopter. Trump would have the 99 percent continue to suffer to keep the rich in their exorbitant toys.

This thing about no longer considering a child born in the U.S. of parents illegitimately here not citizens not right. Trump is crazy! It has always been and will ever continue to be that a person born in th U.S. is an American citizen.

Trump says the scholars tell him the law/Constitution in this regard can be changed. What scholars? If he wishes to pursue the issue legally, he will find lawyers to support him. If a fee is available, there is unquestionably a cause to be pursued.

Those Spanish galleons carrying all sorts of wealth that sunk off the Florida coast some 400 years ago present the opportunity for some today to strike gold. Literally!

It recently was disclosed that 4 crew men from the A/V Capitana discovered gold to the tune of $4.5 million three weeks ago somewhere off Florida’s east coast.

My column in this week’s KONK Life is Black Lives Matter / Play Tough. The article was linked this morning to my Key West Lou website. keywestlou.com.

Bocce tonight! The best!

Enjoy your day!

 

PUBLIX NEW TANKS

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This is what you do when retired in Key West. Go to Publix, talk about Publix. Maybe because I never grocery shopped back home. What can I say, I enjoy Publix.

Publix has two stores in Key West. Must be money makers. I shop at the new Publix. Opened 2-3 years ago. Remodeled at the time. Being remodeled again.

Amazing. The renovations appear significant. Things being moved around. Confusion awaits.

What really impressed me yesterday were the new carts. Yes, new carts. Not metal and chrome. Black ones. Appear to be made from heavy duty plastic. Thick wheels. The carts larger than the old ones.

Easy to drive. Weighty. I can envision a major accident as two come around a corner and crash into each other.

How is that for a sense of humor this morning!

Publix remodeling proves one point. The supermarket chains are gouging us. The price of food creeps up a bit at a time. You don’t feel it till you realize your bill is now $10-20 a week more.

My day yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. It helps.

Followed by a stop at the bank.

Time for new tee shirts. Holes appearing. Went to Sears. Grabbed a few on sale at $9 and $14. Two lines at the check out counter. Both checking someone out. No one in line behind one. Two behind the other.

I stood in the no people waiting line. The man closing out had bought a pair of sneaks. Ten minutes later he was still checking out. Sears has too many special deals going and their check out staff too many things they are trained to say.

The sneak guy was finally checked out. The clerk says to me…..She’ll take care of you. And walks away. The other clerk was still working on the same check out she was when I got there. The line behind had grown to four persons. I have to stand in that line? No way! I placed the tee shirts on the counter and walked out.

It was lunch time. I wanted something bad. Turned out to be a Cheeseburger and fries at 5 Guys. I always feel too full when done and ask myself why I did it.

Spent most of the afternoon preparing for tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou. Nine o’clock my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Interesting topics. Black Lives Matter, George Soros, Oath Keepers, police shooting numbers, cost of military transgenders, Margaret Sanger’s anti-black position and her participation in Klu Klux Klan events, Clintons renting a home in the Hamptons for two weeks at a reported cost of $100,000, and more.

The Chart Room first last night. Opened the door and closed it without entering. Two inebriated guys at the bar.

Walked over to Hot Tin Roof for a drink. Entrance chained barring entry. Did not make sense to me. Stepped over the chain. The door was open. Went it. It was 5:50. Learned they do not open till 6. I was an early customer.

One drink later, I was on my way home. Only got to the bottom of the steps to Hot Tin Roof. Decided to sit at the round Sunset bar for a drink. Tourists coming in like crazy. For the sunset.

A good place to sit. Much to see. Tourists and whatever else was going on. The atmosphere pleasant. The roof blocking the sun.

Big day today! On this date in 1920, women got the right to vote. The 19th amendment was ratified. Ladies, you have come a long way since then!

Enjoy your day!

ROB O’NEAL’S EMBASSY STORY

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This morning’s Key West Citizen front page lead article had to do with the raising of the American flag yesterday over the U.S. Embassy in Havana. The article was written by Rob O’Neal. Writer and Photographer. Cuban expert.

Outstanding!

I was especially taken by the paragraph which told the story of the three Marines who under very adverse circumstances took the flag down 54 years ago. They were front row at the flag raising ceremony.

Only out of the house once yesterday. Not planned. Just the way it went.

Started my day at Body Owners with the anti-gravity treadmill. Then home. Never left.

I got involved in researching next week’s KONK Life column. I became so engrossed that I worked into the early evening. The column concerns the Black Lives Matter group, Oath Keepers, and George Soros. Revealing.

There is more research to do today. I will write the column tomorrow.

I thank Cara for opening my eyes to the subject.

Today is August 15. August 15, 1969 was a big day in American history. Opening day of Woodstock. Estimated 400,000 attendees. Wild! Revealed a new America.

Larry and Christine Smith were at Woodstock. Larry and Christine seem to have been everywhere. They just returned from a six week holiday. Most of the time spent in Italy and England.

I came across the following a few days ago on Facebook. Worth sharing.

WHY DO WE HAVE WARS? Because we are ruled by an elite group of psychopaths who own the banks that control the governments and media. They fund both sides of war for profit and they manufacture the consent of the public through the propaganda of the media.

Enjoy your day!