DRINK THE KOOL-AID…..NO, THE COFFEE

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The entrepreneurial spirit is worldwide.

A Texan was visiting in Malaysia. He noticed in one town that there were many coffee sheds. All doing a big business. Customers primarily men.

He was curious why. Turned out some part of the coffee contained a natural ingredient similar to the active ingredient in viagra.

The Texan returned home and opened a one man business. He imported the coffee already bagged from Malaysia. Called the New of Kopi Jantan Tradisional Natural Herbs Coffee.

Brilliant! A money winner! Till the FDA got wind. The FDA asked the Texan to voluntarily recall the coffee. The coffee ingredients needed inspection and approval by the FDA prior to sales being allowed in the U.S.

The Texan did as requested.

Sad.

Imagine the impact of an early morning cup of coffee and an after dinner one in the evening. Smiles for everyone!

Hemingway was born this day in 1899. Oaks Park, Illinois.

Today, Key West is in the midst of its annual celebration of his birth. Hemingway Days!

Many events today. For me, Hemingway’s Birthday Party at Sloppy Joe’s. Cake for all!

The birthday party at 5:30. Followed at 6 by the second preliminary round of the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest.

Too many people in Key West. Too many tourists. Too many inexperienced scooter drivers.

I was driving on Simonton yesterday afternoon. Six scooters in front of me. Appeared to be 3 couples. The scooters a step up from a moped.

They were stretched out. Taking up about 40 feet of the roadway to my front.

All of a sudden, they all started weaving. From one side to the other. Cruising back and forth sideways.

The last in line was a woman. It was obvious she was not able to control her bike. I slowed down. Fortunately. The bike and her went down.

As I was pulling over to help, her friends were all around her. I continued on. I do not know if she was injured.

It happens too often on our congested streets these days.

Tavern ‘n Town for dinner last night. The salmon outstanding!

Read my newspapers. Saw Josefina at the end of the bar. she came over to talk. Josefina is Liz’s friend.

I found out why Liz was in the hospital 5 weeks. Liz is a diabetic and something got screwed up. Wrong food, might have forgotten to take her pills, etc. No one knows.

Liz is home. She called yesterday. Invited me to lunch at her home Sunday. I am looking forward to it. Liz a great cook!

Holly was with Josefina. I did not see her till I was leaving. She told me she went out with the ladies every thursday evening. Husband Peter Diamond performs thursday evenings at Little Palm Island.

Big Latch On returns saturday August 5. At the Echo-Discovery Center. No registration required. Merely show up and participate.

Big Latch On was a huge success in Key West last year. Involves breast feeding. Mothers world wide will be doing it at the same time. A synchronized event.

Big Latch On is part of International  Breastfeeding Week.

No Poker Run this year. No sponsor. Ten thousand cyclists in the past would arrive in Key West for a weekend. This year would have been the 45th annual Poker Run event held in Key West.

The City will provide no special accommodations for any bikers who may show up, except for increased police surveillance.

The underlying reason is motorcycle gangs. Commonly appearing the last few years in other cities at such events as Poker Run. A couple attended last year. There were problems.

The Rotary has sponsored Poker Run for years. They refused to do so this year because of the gang problem. Their members work the event and could be subject to harm. Additionally, liability insurance costs have risen because of the gang situation.

Trump and Congress are to be congratulated on the depth of their interest in the health of the people of the United States. CBO reported that out right repeal of Obamacare would result in an increase in the number of uninsured. Thirty two million.

The collar tightens. Trump is now making inquiry as to whether he can pardon himself, his family, and his staff.

I am a bit late in getting the blog out this morning. Got a call yesterday advising an early morning test had been scheduled for today.

Enjoy your day!

 

FRUSTRATION SELF INDUCED

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I was 95 percent finished with the rough draft of this week’s KONK Life column yesterday afternoon. Mommy, I’m Hungry. About Venezuela’s starving children. All of a sudden, the screen was blank.

I must have hit a wrong key. Went to retrieve the column. Good luck!
Nowhere to be found.

Called Sloan and had her search. No luck.

Frustrated I was. No question.

It took 3 hours to draft the material lost. It would take me another 3 hours to rewrite. Then edit. Another 1.5 hours. I already had 3 hours in. No way. I did not have it in me to do. I was already tired.

So…..There will be no KONK Life column this week. Mommy, I’m Hungry will appear the following week. My apologies.

I watched the Olympics off and on yesterday. Not long. I could not get into it.

Early evening drove to Walgreens. Out of my acid reflux pills. It was 6:10. Pharmacy closed. Now closes at 6 on saturdays and sundays.

Then to Hogfish. Sat at bar. Watched some Olympic basketball. Enjoyed fish and chips. Hogfish fish and chips.

The Hackley saga for today. Mrs. Hews can no longer breast feed the baby. She is drying up. Matilda cannot. The Havana goat was dry. What to do next? Starch. Hackley reported the baby was taking to it.

Starch mixed with water is what mothers are feeding their babies in Venezuela. Makes for a full stomach. Not healthy, however.

Think how lucky we are. How far we have come. If a mother cannot breast feed, there are all kinds of baby formulas on store shelves.

This weekend’s newspapers uniformly mentioned that the FDA had approved testing for Zika in the Florida keys. The whole world may be thrilled. I am not. My message: Stay out of my back yard!

I forgot all about Battle of the Bars.

Somewhere this weekend, I came across mention of John Keats. Poet supreme! He died at the age of 25 in 1821. In Rome.

Thirty five years ago, I accidentally came across his home/the place where he died. I was walking around Rome. In the area as the Spanish Steps. The first building on one side of the Steps had a small dated bronze sign. Home of John Keats. A two or three story building.

I went inside. Walked to the top floor. Saw Keats’ bedroom. The place where he died. The rest of the floor was a museum of sorts.

Among the observable items were a number of original Keats’ works. His poems handwritten on crumbled paper. Under glass, of course.

I found the experience exciting and moving.

Big talk on TV this morning re a third party candidate with Republican dissident backing. Morning Jo said it’s for real. He received two telephone calls. The announcement supposedly will be made at noon.

During these days in 1975, Vice President Spiro Agnew came under attack. It was claimed that he accepted kick backs from contractors while Maryland governor.

He subsequently resigned.

Agnew was a hard ass. I think that is why Nixon selected him to run as Vice President. These were the days of campus unrest. Agnew frequently spoke out against the demonstrations. In tough guy fashion.

I never liked Agnew. For two reasons.

He constantly used big words. His vocabulary excellent. Much better than mine. It was as if he was trying to impress people all the time.

The other reason is that out of law school he became an Allstate Insurance adjuster. Allstate was a rotten company back then. Despicable the manner in which they ran their claims department. No respect for anything or anyone.

To this day, I think of Agnew as an Allstate adjuster rather than Vice President or crook.

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni had an interesting comment re Trump in a recent column. The thrust of the column was that the GOP was indulging Trump.

Bruni stated in his last paragraph that America “…..needs a grown-up who honors our values, not a brat who shreds them.”

Peggy Noonan wrote a column in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal re whether Trump was crazy. Her last paragraph introduced me to the word kakistocracy. Never had heard it before. From the Greek. Noonan said, “It means government by the worst persons, by the least qualified or most unprincipled.” Suggesting we might be on our way there if Trump were to be elected.

Enjoy your day!

ZIKA, OXITEC AND FDA

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The long awaited FDA report concerning Oxitec safety re humans was received yesterday. The FDA said there was no significant impact re Oxitec use as regards an investigative field trial in the Florida Keys.

That means FDA says it is ok to test Oxitec over my little island of Key Haven. Pretty much covered with family homes.

Key Haven residents have opposed the testing. We do not want to be used as guinea pigs for a genetically modified mosquito. The outcry has made the local Mosquito Control Board agree to a vote by Key Haven residents as to whether they want the testing. The vote is in November.

The result is non binding on the Mosquito Control Board. The Board supports the Oxitec testing.

I do not trust the Board.

My sense is that this has become a personal battle for most board members. Their attitude appearing to be they know better than those who elected them.

None of us knows better. However some of us want to be certain we are going to be safe. Remember, DDT was for years considered safe. History repeats itself.

I have a gut feeling that certain Board members will try to engineer a vote by the Board to go ahead and forget the November election.

The Board being bolstered by the recent FDA announcement.

Were you aware? Did you know? Key West was the second largest city in Florida in 1860. Only 44 fewer residents than #1 Pensacola that had 2,876 residents.

I have decided on the subject for this week’s KONK column. Something along the lines…..Mommy, I’m Hungry.  Venezuela’s extreme food shortage.

I have commented briefly on the problem here and on my podcast show. The column will be more detailed. The world should know.

Research today. The column written tomorrow.

Enjoy your day!

THE WORLD CHANGED

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May 9, 1960 was a spectacular day for women. On that day, the FDA approved the first birth control pill. Envoid-10. The pill granted greater reproductive freedom to American women. Sex could be enjoyed without fear of pregnancy.

The world changed. Women could now have sex with whomever whenever. Wowie from the feminine perspective! Many took advantage.

Some began having sex with the same frequency  as they envisioned men had over the years. They became predators.

Nothing wrong with women pursuing sex for pleasure.

Permit some literary freedom. I am changing the male and female genders in a famous saying so it fits what is being discussed. What is good for the GANDER is good for the GOOSE.

Virginia Slim’s labeled it correctly…..You’ve come a long way baby! The ladies had.

I had a lousy weekend. Under the weather. Suspect I got food poisoning friday evening. During the night saturday, I had chest pains. Would not go away. Sprayed the nitroglycerin under my tongue. Still did not go away. Did it two more times. Each time spraying more than I should. Overdosed.

The result, a first class headache till 5 sunday afternoon. I thought my head was going to explode.

I am fine this morning. Glad to be back among the living.

Turtles back in the news. The Associated Press reported that 4,100 sea turtles have been sucked into the St. Lucie County Nuclear Power Plant in the past 10 years.

The problem was noted 10 years ago. Help was requested. It took 10 years to gain governmental approval for a grate to keep the turtles out. Not ready yet. It will now take 2 years to test and install.

An example of how slowly government moves. The bureaucracy involves too many steps and layers of approval. As with everything.

The greatest love story of all time in my opinion is Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Wild! The mutual love of a high society English woman and a gypsy.

The movie is in the process of being remade. In England, with English actors. Outdoor shooting required. The moors. A problem. Not enough money. Producers are looking for more bucks to finish the picture.

Guy deBoer is the publisher of KONK Life. He departs tomorrow for Cuba. Returns saturday. He is one of a group of sail boaters making the trip.

I envy him.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

NEW BOCCE SEASON

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A new bocce season is underway. Not actually new. It is already mid-season.

Though I no longer play, I stop by to watch. Technically, Don and David continue to carry me on the roster as a team member. They also make sure a bottle of Beefeaters is available for whenever I show up.

The team is doing well. Last night, they won 2 out of 3 games. They have had many wins similar in number this season. I mentioned it was hard to be fighting for first place if a game a week is being lost. In spite of two victories each time.

I asked what place the team was in. Sixth. Proved my point I told them. No, it did not. In sixth place, two games out of first. Appears everyone is having the same problem this season.

The team looked good. Very good. Amazing the improvement that has occurred over the years.

It was late when bocce finished. I was hungry. No dinner. I stopped at Outback for a small steak.

Spent yesterday afternoon doing nothing. Sat out on the deck by the water reading and snoozing.

April is National Poetry Month. The Florida Keys Community College is sponsoring a poetry recital next thursday April 14 at 2 in  the afternoon. In the College library. Speakers will recite classic, contemporary, and self-crafted poetry. Sounds like an interesting and exciting afternoon.

Some, not all, are turned on by poetry. I am. If you are, join me at the College. The sponsors promise a fun event.

It appears the brakes have been put on the GM mosquito issue. For a time only. The FDA has extended the public comment period because of the furor over the issue.

One thing continues to aggravate me. Those that write re the issue fail to correctly report/explain an important detail. They report the FDA determined there was no significant impact. Sounds like FDA approval for use of the GM mosquitos from a human impact perspective.

Not correct!!!

The FDA study/research re no significant impact had nothing to do with being safe for humans. The chemicals used were safe to be used on male mosquitos. Such was the finding. Nothing more.

No independent/outside source has yet to report re safety to human beings.

Another Hemingway tidbit. On this day in 1928, Hemingway arrived in Key West for the first time on a steam ship from Havana.

The Flint lead problem has goosed federal agencies to be more careful. A good result from a bad situation.

The FDA issued a warning re infant rice cereal. An increase in arsenic levels has been found.

Parents have been warned to avoid infant rice cereals that fail to meet a certain level. The level is 100 parts per billion (ppb). Most cereals are at that level or a bit over. Around 110. I don’t know if the extra 10 points make a difference. Whatever, parents be aware.

June, where are you?

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

10,000 AT KEY WEST CEMETERY

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It’s nice to be up and running!

Many of the sailors who died on the Battleship Maine are buried in the Key West Cemetery. On this day in 1900, a monument was dedicated in their honor at the Cemetery.

Ten thousand attended. An amazing number. Many had to be visitors from outside the Keys. Ten thousand a big number for Key West at that time.

I make mention of the 10,000 number to reflect the impact the sinking of the Maine had on the Nation.

Lunched at Mangrove Mama’s yesterday with June. Love the place! Enjoyed a lobster reuben sandwich again.

Spent the afternoon researching topics for tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. One of the topics involves Trump. I hate bringing him up. My comments will be short and to the point. The man is dangerous!

Other topics include what the Presidential candidates are not talking about, ISIS and birth control, a California effort to help the drought problem, Count Victor Lustig selling the Eiffel Tower twice, Perry Como and the first gold record ever, and more.

The show is at 9 my time. A half hour of interesting and revealing facts. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Last night Tavern ‘n Town. Finally got a seat at the bar.

I enjoyed myself. An exceptional evening. Terrific people to chat with.

My evening began with Ed Toppino. A local. His grandfather built US 1.

Ed left and Jimmy took his place. First time meeting Jimmy. He owns and operates Jimmy’s Ocean Blue. A tiki hut behind the Hyatt timeshare near the end of US 1 on the backside of Tavern ‘n Town. Look for the beach house and there will be Jimmy’s. I intend to stop by soon for lunch.

Jimmy left to be replaced by three ladies. Interesting women. One vacationing for a month. The other two for shorter periods.

My evening was full. I was at the bar longer than normal.

I lost my eye glasses. Somewhere. Tavern ‘n Town to my home. Not in my house. Have searched home and car thoroughly. Called Marriott. They do not have them. My only hope is the bartender is holding them for me.

Fortunately, I have another pair so I can see.

If I fail to find the glasses, it will be a major calamity. I have had the frames for 30 years. Round horn rims. Merely replaced the lenses each time there was a new prescription.

GMO mosquitoes a problem for the Keys again. Especially my island, Key Haven.

The FDA approved their use. The FDA confirmed: “…..no significant threat to environment.” Confirmed and significant key words. I do not know what either means. Significant does not preclude something bad happening.

My other concern is that the GMO mosquitoes are relatively untested. Thus far, in a few places. One is a northern portion of Brazil. Since last October, 4,000 babies have been born with small heads and brains. For real. Tests being conducted to see if the GMO mosquitoes being tested responsible. The head/brain problem is mosquito caused.

A British company Oxitec manufactures and sells the GMO mosquitoes.

Our local Mosquito Board is hot to test Oxtec GMOs here. I think they are nuts. Jumping to soon for a new product. Forcing Key West citizens to be guinea pigs.

The purpose of the GMO mosquitoes is to help prevent Zika. A mosquito caused illness which could result in mental retardation and/or death.

There have been no reported cases of Zika in Key West, Key Haven, and the lower Florida Keys.

I screwed up yesterday re Syracuse and the NCAA tournament. I reported Syracuse failed to make the big tournament and was relegated to the NIT.

Syracuse did make the big show. It is a #10 seed and will play E#7 Dayton friday.

How did this happen?

I was dozing as the standings were announced. Half awake, my recollection is I did not hear Syracuse being selected. Slipped into sleep again. When I woke, four teams were on the screen. One, Syracuse. The announcer was talking about the teams on the bubble that did not make it. I erroneously assumed Syracuse was one of the teams he was talking about. I went back to sleep.

Sorry for the bad info.

Today is the Ides of March. The day of Caesar’s assassination. His closest friend Brutus was one of those participating. He stuck his knife into Caesar with others. “…..et te, Brute.”

An interesting lesson to be learned. Those closest to you can hurt you.

Primary Day in Florida. Vote!

I believe Trump has a lock on Florida. Bad. My other concern involves a local issue. The City of Key West wants to buy Peary Court for $55 million. Those who own it purchased the property last year for $35 million. A $20 million profit in one year. Not bad!

It is up to the people. It is on the ballot. Interestingly, there are a number who support the purchase. I find it hard to understand.

Enjoy your day!

 

FEMALE VIAGRA

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Late yesterday, the FDA announced its approval of female Viagra. About time. Men have had their sexual enhancer for years. Equal rights demanded the same for women. Women enjoy sex as much as men. Sometimes I think even more. I am glad the moment has arrived.

The advent of the birth control pill was a major event for women. Changed their attitude toward sex. Female Viagra will do the same.

Female Viagra does not increase blood flow to the genital area. It targets chemicals in the brain. Whatever, ladies use and enjoy!

I had a debit card problem. Someone got into my card and was using it. Yesterday morning talked with Visa fraud and getting a temporary card at the bank.

Visa caught the problem. Two small charges. Roughly $50 and $20. Not my type of charge. That is what made Visa aware.

Bank told me the problem is a common one in Key West.

Stopped at Cuban Coffee Queen for lunch. Nothing fancy. Cuban coffee and toast. So good!

I spent some time in the afternoon fine tuning my blog talk radio show for last night.

A half hour before the show, I was searching the internet for any last minute news. Came up with two new police problems/incidents. Both in California yesterday.

One in San Francisco. A black 40ish man with a prosthetic leg and crutches. Someone called the police to say there was a person waving sticks. Fourteen cops showed up. Their conduct disgraceful. They knelt on his prosthetic. Apparently painful since the man had a sores problem. He was crying out re the pain. They had him face down on the sidewalk. Pulled his pants down to his knees. His ass bare for the world to see. His penis crushed beneath him. He wet. Anther officer kneeling on him and twisting his arm back. Obviously painful.

The entire episode was videoed by a standby. It is all over the internet. View it.

The other involved Stockton police. Three men robbed a bank. Took three female employees as hostages. Left in a SUV. Police gave chase. Many police cars. For 63 miles. At speeds up to 120 miles per hour.

SUV finally made to stop. Cops jumped out of their cars. Thirty two of them. Immediately shot the SUV full of bullets. Estimated at 600. With the three hostages inside. One was killed.

What is happening in this country? The police have gone crazy!

I mentioned the two police incidents at the beginning of the show.

Three interesting items shared last night.

The first had to do with the Black Lives Matter group. The thrust was the source of the money that supports their efforts.

Another was the Clintons and the house they have rented for the last two weeks of August in the Hamptons. $100,000 rent. Hillary is doing fund raisers while in the Hamptons. Bet her campaign monies pay the $100,000 and she and Bill write the rental off as a business expense.

Not a wise move from my perspective. The rental itself. Plus, I am sick of hearing how poor they were when they left the White House. Poor is relative.

Another issue was transgenders. The Defense Department said as of the first of the year transgenders will be openly accepted in the military. There are presently 12,800 in the service on a don’t ask, don’t tell basis.

One problem is medical. A study indicated some will need hormonal therapy. Some even sex change operations. Such will be done at government expense. Taxpayer dollars.

Merri is my Chart Room bartender friend. I have a problem spelling her first name correctly. First, it was Mary. Then, Meri. Actually, Merri. I was wrong the first two times.

Merri’s picture appears in this morning’s Key West Citizen. She is Citizen of the Day. Congratulations. Mary! Oops, Merri!

This week’s KONK Life hits the stands today. My column is Black Lives Matter / Play Tough. An eye opener!

Enjoy your day!

 

CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT

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I am not making this up.

There is a Cornhole Tournament starting this evening in Key West. It also is referred to as the South Florida Cornhole Tournament and National Championship of Bags Tournament.

I did not and still do not know what it is about. I searched the internet. Found notices for the event. However, none described the activities to take place.

It appears to be a couples event. If you do not have a partner, sign up and one will be assigned.

The event this evening is at Hurricane Hole. Tomorrow at Turtle Kraals. Somewhere else sunday. Next weekend, even another place.

The event sounds like a preliminary round to determine who will represent Florida in the nationals.

If anyone attends or knows what this is about, let me know.

Bocce party a hit last night! Always a fun time. About 75 of us partied at Don’s Place.

Viagra for women. Around the corner. An advisory committee recommended its use to the FDA. FDA approval is expected soon.

I am all for it. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.

The pill will not act as it does with men. Its purpose is to enhance mood. Long overdue. Many women lose desire with menopause, post menopause, lack of hormones, what ever, in their mid life years. Sad for them. Sad for their husbands/partners. Both sides lose. The woman goes without and does not seem bothered. The man is unintentionally cut off. He gets nothing.

All women will now have the capacity to enjoy sex in the second half of their lives.

I wonder what, if anything, will result. I recall the sex explosion in the 1960s when the birth control  pill hit the market. Will Viagra result in a similar scenario?

Computer hacking a  huge problem!

Last year, it was Bank of America and SONY. It was determined that these two companies were hacked because they failed to keep security systems updated.

Last week, it was 100,000 IRS accounts. Again, failure to update security.

Yesterday, another IRS problem was announced. This time re 4 million present and former employees’ personal data. The reason suggested immediately. Failure again to update security systems.

All about money. Bank of America and SONY because they did not want to take from bottom line profitability. With the IRS, the failure of Congress to allocate sufficient monies to do the job.

It is the age of cyber space and cyber wars. We better start doing the job correctly. Otherwise, other nations will use use the information to get a heads up on us.

My KONK Life column this week has been posted this morning to my Facebook websites Key West Lou and Louis Petrone. The title Corruption of Politics and Banks. I recommend its reading to you. Included are my suggestions as to how to correct the problems identified.

Enjoy your day!