JEAN ESTHER CRABTREE…..GOTCHA

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She was raised in the Madison/Hanover area of Indiana. Popular. Went on to become a school teacher. Found emeralds and gold with Mel Fisher. Became known as the Key West Golden Girl. Married Joe. Became a mother. Then a grandmother. Loved by everyone.

First known as Jean Esther Crabtree. Then and now Jean Thornton.

I first visited the Chart Room last night. Met Paula and David. Presently reside in Louisville, Kentucky. Paula raised in the Madison/Hanover area. Paula knew Jean. In a subordinate way. Actually, Paula’s sister Sheila was one of Jean’s best friends. Jean and Sheila went to grade school together. Paula is six years younger than Jean.

Paula has not seen Jean in 46 years. Last in 1969. They are Facebook friends, however.

Paula shared all the secret poop about Jean. Ho ho!

Jean, glad you married Joe. Thornton a more attractive last name than Crabtree. Funny, you are the farthest thing from a crab. A shining Key West star, you bring a bit of joy to everyone you touch.

Your long ago “friend” Paula a lovely lady. She now works for Duke Energy. Her job sounded important. Paula’s husband David is a retired accountant. He did not know the Jean we were talking about.

At the other end of the bar sat two lovely ladies. Nina and Mary. Both retired. Both had visited Key West previously. Having a wonderful time!

My day yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. Had to wear my yellow slicker to get there. Raining big time!

For whatever reason, I was tired. Spent the afternoon lying around. Sleeping a bit, watching Pope Francis a bit.

After the Chart Room, finished the evening with a leisurely dinner at the Hot Tin Roof.

Key West is extremely quiet at the moment. Very few tourists. The weekend was boisterous with the bikers. Activity will pick up this weekend.

In between the treadmill and collapsing on the couch, I got to chat with Susan Wadia-Ells. A charming interesting lady. A full time Key West resident since 2012.

Susan is into the prevention of breast cancer. She has been working at it for eight years. She has researched breast cancer ad infinitum and traveled far speaking with experts.

Susan has come up with what she describes as a metabolic theory re cancer. Not a treatment. Treatment comes after a woman develops breast cancer. Her theory is to prevent breast cancer from even occurring. Stop the cancer before it starts!

Her program involves three basic steps. Diet, sufficient in take of vitamin D3, and no progestogen based drugs.

She has written a book spelling out her thoughts. Soon to be published. Busting Breast Cancer A Revolution. She also will be scheduling Busting Breast Cancer Workshops.

Pope Francis’ visit continues to be an emotional experience for me. As far as the Pope is concerned, respect has gone out the window. Many conservative and far right Republicans are knocking the hell out of him. One referred to the Pope as “…..just a guy with a funny hat.”

The Pope speaks at 10 this morning before a Joint Session of Congress. I hope all listen to his words and pay him the respect his due.

I spoke on my blog talk radio show tuesday night about Martin Shkreli. He had purchased a generic drug company and increased the cost of a highly used drug 5,000 percent overnight. He was porky about having done it when being interviewed on TV.

Twenty four hours later, the bad publicity must have been too much for him. He announced he would reduce the cost of the generic. He did know yet by how much. Claimed he had to study the numbers.

Shkreli is only 32 years old. He has had an interesting business career in the short time he has been working. He is a former hedge fund manager. At some point in his career, he took a stock company public. The company was insolvent. Shkreli has been sued for $65 billion dollars.

Bocce tonight.

This week’s KONK Life column U.S. War Ready? linked this morning to my Key West Lou website. If you are unable to read the column in the paper, you can find it there.

I view China as a problem in the column.

China’s President Xi Jinping is in the U.S. this week seeking business for China and to meet with President Obama.

While this kumbaya visit and meeting with Obama is to take place, China announced it will shortly launch a new vessel carrying new intercontinental ballistic missiles, each capable of carrying two nuclear warheads.

The new missiles are capable of targeting any area of the U.S.

I wrote about the new vessel(s) and missiles in my column re whether we are war ready. I also pointed out that the U.S. did not have the present capacity to ward off the missiles.

Enjoy your day!

REPUBLICAN DEBATE

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Last night’s Republican debate better than the first. Much better. Issues were discussed. Could have been discussed more. However, Trump kept getting in the way.

I consider Trump a buffoon. The man is not qualified to be President. It would scare me if he was. His lack of knowledge re issues was obvious. His high fi hand slapping childish.

Rubio impressed me with his foreign affairs knowledge. He was able to articulately convey it, also. Fiorina impressive. The woman is sharp. Bush was better. What we all expected from him in the first instance. Graham belongs with the big boys. First time he ever impressed me. Foreign affairs his issue. He knew his business.

The evening was too long. As much of a political junkie that I am, I got tired after a while. One problem was CNN’s work up to the first debate. I was on TV at 5 expecting the debate to begin. It did not till after 6. The debates are not a Super Bowl.

My screw off day yesterday was simple. The anti-gravity treadmill. The afternoon spent reading and napping. I read an excellent in depth article on Robert Redford. The name of the magazine escapes me. I also read for a while It’s Even Worse Than It Looks.

This morning’s Key West Citizen has a detailed article about the new Waterfront Brewery which is scheduled to open soon. A major undertaking. The rent the Brewery has to pay shocked me. Key West owns the property or controls its rent. The rent is roughly $614,000 a year. Fifty thousand a month! Got to sell a lot of beer!

Bocce tonight. We are scheduled to play Larry’s team. A money game.

Don’t know whether we will play. Rained all night. Very overcast at the moment. Weather report says scattered showers and thunderstorms all day.

I have an early haircut appointment this morning.

Enjoy your day!

 

SHERIFF’S ANIMAL FARM

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One of the lesser known Key West attractions is the Sheriff’s Animal Farm. A shame. The Farm should be a must on everyone’s agenda. Young and mature alike.

The animals are varied. Some I have not even heard of. Not the typical zoo nor zoo type operation. The Farm is run by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. A deputy Sheriff in charge. Help provided by inmates.

The Farm is open only two Sundays per month. Today is one of those Sundays. From 1-3. The Farm is located on Stock Island. College Road just off U.S. 1.

There is no charge for admission. Donations appreciated.

There are so many dangers confronting society and government. Some must be dealt with. I am specifically referring this morning to Oath Keepers. A group 30,000 strong. Most former military people.

They were at Ferguson. Carrying guns. Doing whatever they wanted. Police avoided dealing with them.

They are the same group that defended the farmer in the 2014 Nevada stand off involving the Bureau of Land Management.

Oath Keepers announced in the past few days that they would protect Kim Davis from the Judge and U.S. Marshals. They planned on  having “boots on the ground” to prevent Davis from being arrested by U.S. Marshals. The group announced that Davis was under their protection stating the “Judge needs to be put on notice that his behavior is not going to be accepted and we’ll be there to stop it…..”

Not the way things should be done.

As a point of information, one of the most powerful persons in the United States is a federal district court judge. You don’t screw with them.

Fortunately, Davis’ attorney declined Oath Keeper’s offer of assistance.

Finished research re Gertrude Bell yesterday. Bell  known during her time as Queen of the Desert. She is frequently referred to today as the female Lawrence of Arabia.

I will be writing the column for KONK Life this afternoon.

Sloan here for a while in the afternoon. I have a new computer. She was helping me get everything on it.

I caught the last minute of the first half and the last three minutes of the second half of the Syracuse/Wake Forest game on TV. I was surprised it was being shown. It was on CBS.

Syracuse won 30-17. Can it be?

Living on a small island has a few negatives. One is rats. They used to be all over the place. The reason there were so many cats on the island. Almost every home had a cat.

There are few cats today. I read somewhere that iguanas have killed the cats. Apparently, rats do not scare iguanas.

One showed up dead in my home a few days ago. The smell was there. I could not find where it was coming from. The smell of a dead animal. Nor could Keith. Anna finally found the body. In a small closet under the stairs, the door off the kitchen. The rat apparently had come up from the crawl space under the house.

I am a coward at heart when it come to certain things. A rat, dead or alive, is one. It was Keith’s headache.

Keith removed the body yesterday. Washed the area down with Clorox.

The smell last night was Clorox. This morning, dead rat. The odor remains. There is a special odor item which will remove the rat smell completely. Keith’s headache. He will be at Home Depot today buying it.

There has not been a hurricane in the Keys for 10 years. Yet the biggest writer of insurance in the Keys, Citizens Property Insurance Co., wants to raise rates for wind damage. In 2013, the rates were raised 10.5 percent. In 2014, 8.1 percent.

Give us a break!

Bocce stats listed in the Sunday paper. We are alone in 2nd place with a 10-2 record. A good start! Actually, fantastic! May we continue to play well.

Enjoy your Sunday!

CENSORSHIP

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I have been complaining the past few years that the media has become selective as to what we see, read and hear. When I speak of the media, I reference its owners also. Corporate America. They decide what we see, read and hear.

Freedom of the Press no longer applies solely to the right of the press to observe and say whatever they want. Assuming its is correct. Freedom of the press today refers to censorship, the right of the media to pick and chose what we shall see, read and hear. Not as the Founding Fathers intended.

A perfect example is what occurred a few days ago on Morning Joe. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius was a guest.

Joe has consistently in recent weeks referenced the Hillary e-mail problem as a bad one. Ignatius wrote a Washington Post op-ed 8/28 wherein he argued that “this scandal is overstated.”

Joe and Ignatius on opposite ends of the spectrum re the issue.

Morning Joe’s 6 am hour is rerun at 8 am.

In the 6 am broadcast, Ignatius said…..As I talked to a half dozen lawyers who do nothing but this kind of work, they said they couldn’t remember a case like this, WHERE PEOPLE INFORMALLY AND INADVERTENTLY DRAW CLASSIFIED INFORMATION INTO THEIR PHONE CONVERSATIONS OR UNCLASSIFIED SERVER CONVERSATIONS, WHERE THERE HAD BEEN A PROSECUTION. (emphasis added)

In the 8 am rerun of the 6 am hour, the emphasized portion was edited out. Note that the Ignatius paragraph above was part of an ongoing dialogue between Joe and Ignatius. More followed.

Selective reporting? Yes. The better description is censorship. The new media freedom of the press.

Everyone should be pissed off at this type thing happening!

David from Kentucky is a loyal blog follower. Also, a frequent visitor to Key West. He lives in Kentucky. He e-mailed me regarding Kim Davis, the clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. Kim Davis’ clerk office is located in Medford, Kentucky.

With David’s permission, I quote…..Morehead Kentucky has had more press in the last few weeks than they will have in the next one hundred years, whether they want it or not. I’ll go with the words of President Johnson after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and following trial, execution and imprisonment of the conspirators. “We wish to hear their names no more.” I wish to hear “Kim Davis no more.”

Today the anniversary of 9/11. May we never forget. Continued vigilance required.

Won all three bocce games last night! Keith was exceptional. He played all three games. The best bocce I have ever seen anyone play.

Excellent football. I enjoyed watching the second half of the New England/Pittsburgh game which New England won 28-21.

My KONK Life column this week is published in E-Blast this morning. About Tennessee Williams and one of his loves. Read it and enjoy.

Enjoy also your day!

 

WE WON!

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I called it wrong. I was sure we were going to lose last night. We did not. God was good! We won 2 out of 3 games. Against the #1 team for most of the past 10 years.

I am glad I was wrong. Me of little faith!

We lost the first game. We were down 11-3. Came back. Lost by one point 16-15. The next two we won. By two or 3 points each game.

It took forever to play. We were the last to finish. Everyone was done and had gone home. It was a point at a time. Both sides grinding it out.

My day began with a haircut yesterday. Lori has been cutting my hair for 15 years. We have become friends.

Then it was Cuban Coffee Queen for lunch. I had 1 1/2 hours to kill before a manicure appointment. The time was some of the best I have spent recently.

Bob Dennard came up to me and said…..You’re Key West Lou! After acknowledging my existence, Bob said he was in Key West for a few days and had been looking for me. The Chart Room evenings and the Cuban Coffee Queen at lunch time.

We finally met! Bob, one great  guy!

We could have talked all afternoon, but I had to get to Tammy’s for my manicure.

Bob presently from Fort Walton Beach. Started off in California. A career service man now retired. Widowed. Sixty four.

He has written five books. I was impressed! Two historical in hard back covers. The other three involving cruising. One of the cruise books centers in southeast Asia where Bob was stationed.

He writes a blog. kokoman.com. Not every day. Once a week, once a month. Whenever the mood strikes.

In addition to searching me out, Bob is researching to write a book about the Chart Room. I shared with him whatever I knew.

No question, we are going to meet again. Hopefully over the weekend.

Got to Tammy’s just in time. I keep repeating. She and husband Ricky personify the American dream. Tammy was born in Vietnam. Ricky in the U.S. Both work 6-7 days a week, 8 in the morning till 8-9 in the evening. No complaints. Expect nothing from anyone. Do for themselves.

Overseas Market is being remodeled. Cosmetically. New trees, new signs, things of that nature.

I remember when the site of Overseas Market was nothing but  a large empty field. The shopping center was built in 1992. I started coming to Key West in 1989. Those early years, there was no Overseas Market.

I recall an update some years later. The whole shopping center was repainted. My recollection is the original color was some shade of pink. The new color yellow.

Time moves on.

This week’s KONK Life column Private Prisons was linked this morning to my Key West Lou website. keywestlou.com.

I have been critical of the judicial system in recent years. I feel a special entitlement as I spent my life as a lawyer. My faith in the system has been restored a bit by two very recent decisions. The Tom Brady one and the Kentucky clerk Kim Davis who refused to marry same sex couples. Both decisions correct based on the issues involved. Right on. Additionally, both courts went no further than required.

I am sick of hearing Trump and further sick of hearing about Hillary’s e-mails. Neither speak to the issues. We are not being told where each stands. I blame the media. We are not being educated as to their respective positions.

College football! Syracuse plays Rhode Island tonight.

How the mighty fall! Syracuse has not fielded a good football team in way too many years. We would never have scheduled a Rhode Island in days of old.

Further discouraging is that in the friday spreads in the newspaper, the Syracuse/Rhode Island game is not even mentioned.

Whatever, go Orange! Loyalty never diminishes.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

CLAYTON AND VALERIE

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Two outstanding Key West personalities are Clayton and Valerie. Husband and wife. Liked by all.

Hard workers. Visionaries. Not afraid to dream. Never fearful of trying.

Five years ago yesterday, Clayton and Valerie opened Vinos on Duval. Mid Duval. 810 Duval to be specific. After much aggravation with the City over building permits. A story unto itself.

They have worked hard. Vinos on Duval is a success. Unquestionably.

Success is a motivation in and of itself. Clayton and Valerie have opened two additional Vinos. In major venues. One in coconut Grove and the other on Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale.

My congratulations to them.

I rarely stop into Vinos. Sadly so. I do not drink wine. I am strictly a gin drinker. I do not enjoy sipping a Diet Pepsi while everyone else is getting on a buzz.

I enjoyed a couple of drinks at the outside bar at Aqua’s last night with Mark Watson. Met Carl and Stacey. Nice people. Key Westers through and through. Enjoyed my conversation with Carl.

I have become a recent fan of Latitudes on Sunset Key. A five minute boat ride from Key West to Sunset Key where Latitudes is located. The island additionally has a resort called Sunset Key Cottages. Part of the Westin operation.

Diane Schmidt is General Manager of the entire Westin operation which includes Sunset Key Cottages. A professional in every respect.

Sunset Key Cottages is also a Luxury Collection Resort.

Sunset Key Cottages was recently named the #1 resort in the continental United States and #8 worldwide by Travel and Leisure magazine. Quite a distinction. Congrats to Diane and her highly qualified staff.

Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. A big one! A category 5! Terrible! Winds 200 miles per hour, tides 18-20 feet, just under 400 people killed.

You never know.

Supermarket carts seem to find their way all over the island. The supermarkets losing money. They have come up with a solution.

Some kind of modern day item has been implanted in carts being constructed today. The carts immediately and abruptly become inoperable when pushed past the perimeter of the parking lot. Locally, Publix at Sears has them.

The supermarket cry…..Leave my carts alone!

Bocce tonight. A tough match. We play Hell’s Rangers. They are hell!

Hell’s Rangers generally ends the season #1. They lose anywhere from 0-2 games. Impressive!

They are tied for #1 this season. Their record 6-0. We are tied for second. Our record 5-1. Records at this time mean nothing. Too early in  the season. All I know is that tonight we will have our hands full! One win would be a victory. Two, off the wall.

Yesterday’s blog affected many. The comments were overwhelming. The two issues that did it were Planned Parenthood and cannolis. One stormy, the other pleasant.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

DIDI

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Didi is a turtle. She was found early in July floating. Incapable of diving.

Didi was taken to the Turtle Hospital in Marathon. Impacted internally.

The very competent staff at the Turtle Hospital fixed her up. Didi is recovered. Saturday (tomorrow) she will be released back into the ocean. Sombrero Beach at 10 in the morning.

If you have never attended such an event, go! There will be a couple of hundred people. Everyone cheering as Didi makes her way into the water. A good feeling event.

Erika. The odd feeling in the pit of my stomach getting larger. Erika still a tropical storm. Doing some damage and deaths in the Caribbean. It is expected to hit Key West monday morning. Erika expected to be a hurricane at that time.

The projections are always 99.9 percent wrong. It is that 1/10th of a point that is the problem. You never know.

Today, I begin getting ready. Buy peanut butter and crackers, bottled water, new flashlights, some candles, etc. Some today, some tomorrow.

No one is talking about the hurricane yet. No one is taking it seriously. Properly so. They rarely hit.

Yesterday another inactive day. Spent most of the day writing the “love story” that I continue to believe will never publish. Love writing a first time event for me. Not easy to do.

Bocce last night canceled. The courts still wet. Some with two inches of water.

Bocce is not a sport alone. It is a social event. I shower, shave and wear a clean pressed tee shirt for the event. I did it all in preparation last night and was on my way to the bocce courts. It was then that I got a text from David. Bocce cancelled.

Dressed and no where to go!

Stopped by Don’s Place assuming some team mates would be there. Enjoyed a drink with David, Stan and Clare.

Decided to stop at Tavern ‘n Town for dinner. Forgot that thursday night is 2 for 1 and half price on appetizers at cocktail time. The bar a zoo. Not for me. I left.

It was a sandwich and early to bed for me.

This week’s KONK Life column Legalization of Prostitution run on E-Blast this morning. Also linked to my website Key West Lou.

Part of the column is a rerun of a 2013 article I did titled Germany…..Biggest Whore House in Europe. Germany’s experience with legalization a disaster for the ladies.

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!

 

GREEK BREAD

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Stopped at Farmers Market yesterday morning. Had one intent. To buy Greek bread.

I purchased a loaf a few weeks ago. To try out. Excellent! Crispy crust, soft inside, loaded with cut up black olives. To die for!

I bought four loaves and a dozen rolls. Froze most of it. Picked on the rest most of the day. Toasted and buttered. Wild!

Before Farmers Market, I stopped at Blown Away for a haircut. Wrong day. Actually, correct day under normal circumstances. I forgot Lori is vacationing in Maine and will not return till next week. My appointment was actually scheduled for next week.

A new bocce season began last night! Great fun! Like opening day at any major sporting event. Handshakes, hugs, glad to see you, etc.

We won 2 out of 3 games. Lost the first 16-3. The only game I played. Not the way to begin a new season. The team came back, however. We won the second, 16-1 and the third 16-11.

Don back. Surprised to see him. He was not due till next week.

Food Network’s Curtis Stone and Beach Eats USA ran a Key West Beach eatery edition thursday evening. Hot Tin Roof was one of the eaterys featured. Sorry I missed it. The actual filming was done six weeks earlier.

Today’s KONK E-Blast carries my KONK Life column for the week. Hemingway’s First Love. Enjoyable and revealing.

A study came out concerning the Wal-Mart to be built on US 1. Claims Wal-Mart will not adversely affect traffic.

I hope so. I am all for the Wal-Mart. However the parking lot accompanying it is being constructed to hold 1,258 cars. Suggests a lot of traffic to me.

Studies have a way of screwing things up where traffic is concerned. The Boulevard a perfect example. I hope this job gets done properly.

Sal Salinero died yesterday at 73. A fourth generation Conch, Key West icon, and world famous artist. He will be missed.

Heard on TV this morning that Al Gore is or may have thrown his hat in the race for the Democratic nomination for President. Good! He got screwed the last time around. He won the popular vote by 500,000 votes, yet lost. Florida and its absurd type ballots screwed him. Actually, not correct. The Florida judicial system screwed him.

Had Gore become President, I doubt Iraq would have occurred. I further doubt the Middle East would be the cauldron it is today.

The media went crazy yesterday announcing that Warren Harding, 29th President of the United States, had fathered an illegitimate child while in the White House. The reports were not generally presented in a correct fashion. The actual story was that recent DNA testing established and verified the impregnation.

Not new news. I reported on Harding’s sexual exploits 6-7 years ago. The location motivated my comments. A West Wing closet. Would you believe! As good or bad as Clinton in the Oval Office.

The lady’s name was Nan Britton.

Harding enjoyed his escapades. He also carried on a lengthy meretricious relationship with Carrie Fulton Phillips. Harding claimed her to be his only true love.

Enjoy your day!

 

STRANGE RAIN

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I have seen this before in Key West. Never mentioned it, however. Rain, no rain, and then rain again!

It poured big time around 6 last night for an hour. Heavy stuff. I was driving up Flagler. All of a sudden, no rain. The roadway was bone dry for about a half mile. Then, the storm again.

Not uncommon. I have seen it rain on one block and not on the other. Even across the street once. Lisa will occasionally call and say watch out, it’s raining. What rain? No rain in Key Haven.

My day yesterday started with the anti-gravity treadmill. Love it! I am still taking steroids. Today, the last day. I hope the problem is resolved. I am concerned the pain may return.

Then to the Conch Coffee Queen for Cuban cheese toast and cold Cuban caramel coffee. Read the newspapers. An ad for a painting grabbed my eye. I was shocked.

It was a 4 inch x 4 inch ad on the bottom right hand corner of the first page of the Life Section of USA today. For an oil by Jean-Paul Cassigneul, a French painter. No price listed.

Cassigneul is a contemporary  by reason of age. We were both born in 1935.

I bought a Cassigneul around 1970. Cheap. My recollection $200. Liked the work. He painted women. All beautiful, tall and slender. All from another era.

I never bought anymore because he was basically an unknown. Not any longer apparently!

My problem is I have to go back and find the painting. I did nor bring it to Key West. It is stored somewhere in Utica. I have no idea as to its value.

These happenings are unusual. They do happen, however. Many years ago, I purchased a small watercolor in a tiny shop on Route 20 in upstate New York. For $40. I never liked it. Always wondered why I bought it.

Two years after purchasing the painting (I cannot recall the artist’s name), I gave it to a doctor friend as a birthday gift. Several years later, he sold it for $14,000. The painter had become somewhat popular.

Oh, the pain!

Don’s Place first last night. I wanted to see David. David is captain of our bocce team. Bocce begins a week from thursday. The team will be shorthanded the first evening. Don is on vacation somewhere up north at his lakeside home, Stan and Claire are going to be in Michigan City.  There will only be 5 of us.

I was curious as to David’s plan re allocating team members. I should not have been concerned. He had it all worked out.

Had a drink with Grant before leaving.

Decided to try Sq. 1 again. The paper noted Sq. 1 was providing a 25 percent discount to locals. A light dinner at the bar. The meal inexpensive. I like the setting. I am not sure yet the food moves me. The issue is selection, not preparation.

There is no honor among thieves. Or is it, there is honor among thieves? I do not know. Not important. I merely want to note that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been arrested for securities fraud. So many State politicians arrested in recent years. Most convicted.

Then there are those Congresspersons who obviously dance to the tune of the rich. Not proper.

My KONK Life column which hits the stands tomorrow analyzes the issue. I call it The Stealing of America.

My blog talk radio show tonight at 9 my time. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. Topics include the Federal judge in the NFL/Brady matter big time out of line, see Planned Parenthood videos before commenting, Lois Lener and immunity, Big Latch On month, the rich taking over America, and more.

I am not a religious man. I believe, but do not actively practice my faith. I am a fallen away Catholic. I preface what is to come because I do not wish to give the impression I am a church going Christian. Especially, a Bible totting one.

I would further preface my comments with the fact I have many friends of different faiths or no faith. Non-Catholic Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and atheists.

Somewhere in my readings yesterday, I came across the statement…..Lord, I am tired. I was at the moment. I googled the phrase to see what would come up. Jesus was tired and Jesus wanted to help people rest.

John 4:6 makes reference to Jesus being tired…..”Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.”

Matthew 11:28…..”Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I especially like the Matthew quote.

Enjoy your day!