A NUMBER OF ITEMS…..

Busy morning ahead. Doctor visit, hair cut appointment, etc. Ergo, I am briefly hitting on some items I think  or would like to think need mentioning. No special order involved.

Fifteen thousand U.S. Army personnel now on the way to the southwest border. The number ha gone from 800 to 15,000 in a week. Fifteen thousand as many troops as we have in Afghanistan.

Watched Beto O’Rourke being interviewed for an hour monday night. Reminded me of Robert Kennedy.

Economy doing good? General Electric has a crack in its wall. Under financial stress. Dividend 119 years old. This year reduced to a penny a share.

Staying with the economy, General Motors experiencing tariff and market pressures. Eighteen thousand jobs to be eliminated. Salaried employees going via buyouts.

Harry Dent an economist. Called the financial bust of 2008. Says the DOW will experience a catastrophic plunge. As low as 6,500. Hard to believe that low. Claims it could happen as soon as the next few months. An economist I am not. However, I have been predicting a recession since last year. Thought it would occur late this year or early next year.

China’s President Xi has ordered his military to “prepare for war.” Diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing have hit rock bottom.

Chart Room first last night. Tammy bartending. Parrotheads in town. Took over the Chart Room. I only stayed for one drink. All seniors, they were not talking to each other or to me. Merely staring ahead.

Drove over to Blue Macaw. Better. People communicating. Terri singing. Chatted with Lynda and Bob Frechette, John and Fiona, and Mary.

Syracuse football doing well this year. So far, 6-2. Saturday, Wake Forest at noon. Hopefully Syracuse will continue its winning ways.

Syracuse basketball has arrived. Thrilled I am! Played Le Moyne in a practice game last night. Syracuse won by 37 points. Don’t laugh that it was Le Moyne. Le Moyne made it to the Elite Eight last year. Season officially opens tuesday when Syracuse plays East Washington.

Beware! Big Brother increasingly looking over our shoulders. His presence has greatly increased since Trump became President. The U.S. is accelerating efforts to monitor social media to preempt major anti-government protests. Social media posts of American citizens who don’t like Trump are the force promoting latest U.S. military funded research.

Think of all that is happening involving the U.S. Question: Is the U.S. on the verge of a nervous breakdown?

On this day in 1512, the Sistine Chapel was exhibited to the public for the first time. One of Michelangelo’s greatest works. Thirty five years ago, I was in Rome and had the good fortune to see it. Magnificent!

Fantasy Fest over. I am waiting for the Citizen to print its analysis of the event. Business volume and number of participants. Up or down? I have been asking around what locals think. Generally, more risqué and fewer people.

This has been fun!

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

WHAT A MORNING…..

What a morning! When things go wrong, they screw up all the way!

It is now 12 noon. I am just starting the blog. Normally, I begin at 6 in the morning.

I had an 8 am doctor visit. Fasting blood work. Left the house at 7:45. Heavy going to work traffic. I was late. Got to doctor’s office 8:10.

Receptionist wanted to know why I was there. Blood work, I said. She said tomorrow.

She took pity on me and said sit down, I’ll work you in. Five minutes later, my blood was being drawn.

The doctor’s office is all of a 100 feet from the Cuban Coffee Queen. I stopped in for breakfast. Cuban cheese toast and coffee. Instead, I was served a regular huge portion of bread embodying 2 eggs and cheese. More food than I would eat in a day.

They said enjoy. I said what the hell and did!

Could not finish the sandwich. Too much.

Went to my car to go home to do this blog. Battery dead. I was beginning to suspect this was not my day.

Called AAA. Excellent repair man. Told me something was corroded and that was why the battery was not functioning. He did his thing and then charged the battery.

Everything in good order! One problem. My trip home delayed. The repair man told me I had to drive the car 45 minutes to charge the battery. More delay. I spent the 45 minutes driving up US 1 and back.

My podcast Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou tonight. Normally I prepare the show tuesday afternoon. I would have had to move my ass to get it done and done correctly if such was the case today.

For whatever reason, I prepared tonight’s show yesterday afternoon. Why, I do not know. First time. In any event, I will not be rushed when I finish this blog. God must have known the problems I was going to experience this morning so moved me to do today’s work yesterday.

Aqua’s Dueling Bartenders last night. Tom Luna and Rick Dery their usual great entertainers. Terri White guest performer. Now blind, you would never know it. Her performance outstanding!

Wife Donna with her, of course. Donna dressed in black. Looked fantastic. The black contrasted well with her white hair.

Sheila and her California designer friend Carol at the bar. Jean Thornton with them. Liz on the other side. Greeted Liz with a kiss. Enjoyed a couple of drinks with Jean.

Jean left and Mary showed up. I was a lucky man. All these lovely ladies to chat with.

In between, Catt Zinger and her sister Stephanie sat next to me. Tom Luna introduced me to Catt. What a history!

Catt and her husband now live in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Catt visiting Key West for 3 weeks. Lived here for several years. While in Key West, she bartended at Garden of Eden for 5 years. Also did some bartending time at Aqua where she got to know Tom Luna.

When Catt married 5 years ago, the service took place at the Garden of Eden. Eighty guests. A bus or train used to transport guests around as the couple did a pre-planned Duval crawl.

One stop was Aqua. Tom Luna bartending. A good friend. Catt said Tom went out of his way to make the stop a memorable one. The group spent 2 hours at Aqua. She is forever felt grateful to Tom for the fun time he provided.

Almost forgot sister Stephanie. Lovely, also. Not from Hawaii. Lives somewhere in Florida.

On the way home, I stopped at Dion’s on US 1 for Dion’s chicken. I have been in Key West for 30 years. Would you believe…..Never tried Dion’s chicken before. A popular item in Key West.

Took the chicken home and devoured. So good! Even better. Hard to describe how good. I will be enjoying it with some degree of regularity from now on.

Clayton and Valerie two of the most respected persons in Key West. Clayton left Australia many years ago and after time in a country or two ended up in Key West. I first met Clayton when he was bartending at Antonia’s. Valerie when she was bartending at Hot Tin Roof.

The couple has operated Vino’s on Duval for 8 years. Hard workers. They have 2 other Vino’s elsewhere in Florida.

The Fantasy Fest Parade resulted in a problem. With all the “perversity” going on, it is fodder for preachers who decry such “wrongdoing.”

A preacher ended up in front of Vino’s. Remained. Had a microphone electrically operated. Stood in front of Vino’s and would not leave. Told everyone in effect how bad they were.

The preacher was affecting Clayton’s business. People were not going into Vino’s. Those on the porch who had paid for a seat were being disturbed.

Clayton twice asked the preacher to please stop and move on. He refused to hear Clayton. Words were exchanged. Clayton was pushed by the preacher.

Retaliation is wonderful. Clayton cut the wire to the microphone.

The police arrived. The preacher was not arrested for battery. Clayton was arrested. For cutting the wire. The charge misdemeanor mischief.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum will be in Key West thursday morning. At 8:30. An early bird. On Higgs Beach, behind Salute’s.

Come hear Florida’s next Governor.

A local blog this morning. Join me tonight for my podcast show Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou at 9. Material all non-local. I have much to say. Hear my pointed ranting and raving. Guaranteed you will enjoy. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!