A DOUBLE PISS DAY

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A strange title. Apropos, however.

Yesterday was heart catherization day. My fourth. I am accustomed to the procedure.

Brought a book with me to pass the time away waiting. Crazy Shit Presidents Said. An interesting comment by President Johnson……Making a speech on economics is like pissing down your leg. It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else.

Fits President Trump and Speaker Ryan perfectly.

My second encounter with urination involved me personally. Two arm incisions made to perform the procedure. The one in the wrist was for artery entry.

The arteries pump blood rapidly. Much faster than the veins. The artery incision was made in my right wrist. A lot of pressure following the procedure to close the incision. A big bandage. Part of the bandage was a sort of cellophane surrounding the gauze. Cellophane 2 inches wide.

They had been pumping fluids into me for two hours before the procedure and then an hour after. To rid my kidneys of whatever else was pumped into me. Came a time I had to piss.

I was wearing the usual hospital gown. Open in back.

A nurse escorted me to the bathroom. Admonished me not to bend my wrist.

Good luck! I lifted the front of the gown with my left hand. Took hold of my penis with my right. Had to bend the wrist to get at it.

It happened! Opened the incision. Blood spurting. Over me and the gown.

Panicsville by the nurse. Told her I did nothing but go for my penis. Whatever, she laughed. Told the other nurses. They laughed. Even I laughed. I was not concerned.

The wrist was rewrapped. This time a 10 inch splint was placed on my wrist guaranteeing I would not bend it.

The procedure was done at the Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Very impressive. A campus of buildings. I was in the Outpatient one. Several stories high. Each floor thousands of feet.

Everyone appeared to enjoy being employed there. I never have seen such a happy group of workers anywhere.

I was instructed to arrive at the hospital at 7:30. Stayed overnight at a hotel. Received a call the afternoon before. Time moved up. Be here at 6:30. Ok. Received another call later. New time, 5:30. I was afraid the front desk would not wake me at 4. I woke at 1 and remained awake till 4.

On the way to Hollywood, stopped at Costco in Homestead. My first Costco visit. I was impressed! Food prices so cheap. Bought a lot. Also saw a computer monitor for sale. Tim Reynolds suggested I get one. I need larger print. No matter how good the glasses, eyes do not function well in old age.

Found one on sale. $50 off. Cost now $150. Bought it. I have not set it up yet. Going to be wild. It is like a huge TV screen.

Still the night before. Did not want to lay around in my room. Went to Billy’s Stone Crab Restaurant. Great stone crabs! Like Joe’s. With a side of hash browns, three gins and a piece of key lime pie.

Another first. Took Uber from the hotel and back. Fantastic! Cheap!

Today a sad day in history. John Kennedy was assassinated this date in 1963. The end of Camelot.

A Key West friend has died. Joan Povel Cornell.

Joan lived through the London blitz. While in Paris following the war, she met her love of 63 years, Woody. An obviously loving couple. Woody especially attentive to Joan.

We saw much of each other 15-20 years ago. Then for whatever reason, rarely. I would run into Joan and Woody in Publix every two years. Always agreed to call each other for dinner. Sadly, never happened.

I knew Joan had been sick the past several years. She and Woody’s name came up at my eye Doctor visit last week. Dr. Douville reminded me that he and I had first met at a sunday brunch at the Cornell’s 18 years earlier.

A good woman gone! A new bright star in the sky! Poor Woody, alone.

Local Alabama Evangelistic ministers supporting Roy Moore. To an extreme. His personal minister said yesterday…..More women are sexual predators than men.

Trump indicated support of Moore yesterday. Proves politics is more important than the election of a pedophile and woman abuser.

Staying with Trump a moment, he is lacking in sympathy. He has no heart.

Haiti suffered a powerful  earthquake in 2010. Haiti before and since, the poorest nation in the Americas. Obama took in 60,000 refugees on temporary residency permits. The 60,000 have become acclimated to the U.S. Hard workers. Some became college educated. Many had children. The children automatically U.S. citizens.

The parents will be deported back to Haiti. What of the children?  The word is most will remain to be raised in American homes.

No reason to return anyone to Haiti after almost 8 years. Typical Trump cruelty.

Irma and me. Heard from the publisher. Irma and Me is available at more that Amazon. It is also available from Barnes and Noble and KoboBooks. Also at the Absolutely Amazing eBooks website.

Consider Irma and Me as a Xmas gift or stocking stuffer.

Driving back from Hollywood yesterday, the trip took me through Marathon south to Cudjoe. Irma still evident. In certain parts, like a war zone.

Enjoy your day!

Tomorrow the turkey!

ISABELLA

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Met Isabella last night. A lovely lady.

Isabella is a 2 year old Old English Sheep Dog. Her master/owner/caretaker Tim Reynolds.

Tim is an old friend from more than 20 years back. Tim for 13 years was the Chef at Square One. A top chef at a top restaurant. He and owner Michael Stewart a team.

Tim now lives in the St. Petersburg area. In Key West for a few days.

We had dinner together last night at Salute’s. Tim, Barbara and me.

Tim greeted me outside Salute’s with Isabella. I was overwhelmed at first. Isabella full grown. Awesome.

Tim takes excellent care of Isabella. She was decked out in pink bows. Her coat shining. She behaved like a lady during dinner. Laid by the table and rarely moved.

Golf is not a cheap sport to play. Green fees expensive. The Key West Golf Course consistent with the national trend in that regard.

Fifty years ago, Key West golfers complained. The price of a round of golf on the weekend was raised to $3.50.

Al Roker was in Key West last week. For the Today show. Highlighting hurricane relief efforts in the Keys. Fifty one first responders were honored. The event took place at the Margaritaville Resort.

Sexual harassment in the news big time. Will continue to be.

You would assume female sexual harassment unchallenged is centuries old. Not so. I was surprised to learn that in ancient Rome female sexual harassment was not tolerated. Terms used in those days were accosting, stalking and abducting. Female sexual assault was considered contrary to good morals.

Recall last year’s Keystone pipeline furor. In North Dakota. The Sioux Indians involved.

Keystone people stated the pipeline was safe. Leakage would not be a problem.

Obama had rejected the pipeline on environmental grounds. Trump made Keystone a key plank in his energy policy. A federal permit to proceed with the pipeline’s construction was issued by the Trump administration in March.

The pipeline runs through several States. Last week, an underground leak occurred in South Dakota. Keystone claims the leak only 5,000 barrels and contained. Hopefully so.

In any event, this is only the beginning. All pipelines leak. This one is merely the first of many to come.

Yesterday was the 154th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln’s brief but famous words. He spoke of “…..government of the people, by the people, for the people” not perishing from the earth.

Take heed of Lincoln’s words. We are losing the government he described.

Forget not Irma and Me. The book is available on amazon.com.

Charles Manson died yesterday at the age of 83. Hard to describe the man. He was evil personified. Despicable.

A cult leader, he was responsible for the deaths of seven people over a period of two nights in August 1969 in the Los Angeles area.

His group’s first victim was actress Sharon Tate. Eight months pregnant, she was stabbed 16 times.

Manson received life in prison. Never paroled.

Tomorrow I am undergoing a heart catheterization at a Hollywood hospital. Which sadly means no blog tomorrow and perhaps also wednesday. In addition, my tuesday podcast Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou will not air.

Worry not. I will be back. This is my fourth heart catheterization. Not a big deal unless the doctor screws up.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

keystone people said the l

LOUIS ALIVE AND WELL

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I am alive and well. Cathereization results show no change in heart past three years.

A good sign. So why the chest pains relieved by nitroglycerin? I am not going to worry about it. Blame it on stress. Except I am not supposed to have stress living the good life in Key West.

They have handicapped me. No driving or drinking for three days. I can do without drink. No car? Bad! I live three islands up from Key West. Need wheels.

I will hibernate the next few days. Read. Writing a no no. Do not want me to use mt left hand. I am punching the keys  with one finger of my right hand as I write.

Thank you for all the e-mails wishing me well. From all over. Thailand and South Africa included. My Thailand follower had Buddha working for me.

Your messages lifted my spirits.

The Key West hospital is named the Lower Keys Medical Center. They did a good job. Everyone pleasant and concerned.

Ambulatory care had three nice ladies prepping me. Nancy, Lenora and Monica.

Cath lab where the deed was performed had amongst others Catherine and Omar. Top shelf.

Recovery Alicia and Sean. Alicia in charge of me for three hours. A boss! Repetitive! Made sure re the do’s and do nots when I left. Kept me in a good mood for three hours.

The doctor who did the cath was Dr. Vandormal. Attentive during the procedure. I was awake and aware of everything going on. The process interesting. And painless.

There were others. I cannot recall their names.

The hospital clean and equipped with relatively new equipment. When I was in for major surgery 14 years ago, everything and everyone sucked. From staff to the care of the building itself.

I did not do my podcast last night. I asked Sloan to go on at the beginning and read a short two line statement that there would be no show. We have done this before. Sloan got home late from work. The message never got out.

I will apologize next week.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’M OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD…..

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For some reason, the tune has been running through my head since I woke this morning.

This is the day. Heart catheterization.

The blog will be limited because I have to be off to the hospital soon. There will be no blog talk radio show tonight.

Yesterday morning was terrific. Elizabeth Warren! Trump is no competition for her. She cut his testicles off. I would enjoy watching the two debate face to face. Unfortunately, it will not be.

Decided to get out a bit.

Enjoyed a pedicure with Tammy. Ran into Kate Miano. She was getting a manicure, also. She will soon leave for France for a month. Kate is renovating an apartment in France she recently purchased.

Then home to rest for a couple of hours. manicure was tough!

I was at Aqua around six for Dueling Bartenders. Rick Dery and Tom Luna are terrific!

The flavor/atmosphere is comparable to Bobby Nesbitt. He used to do a sing in on wednesday nights at cocktail time. It was the best event in town.

That’s it folks.

Enjoy your day!

BRITISH VOTE

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The news of the day! The result of the British Euro Union vote. Interesting.

Whether the proper outcome, I don’t know. Beyond my understanding of everything involved.

The result did hit me between the eyes with one factor. Loud and clear. The unhappiness, populist movement, immigration problems, concern and anger of the American people is the same as those of the British. Our problems are common. and seem to be similar to the problems of many other countries.

Which makes a Donald Trump possible.

Even a Bernie Sanders.

I watched Sanders on Morning Joe earlier. He needs as vacation. The man is tired. Aggressive in his responses. He has reached the point where he is taking himself too seriously. He is heart attack material.

Saw Trump land at Turnberry. His new golf course. His only one in Scotland. I was not sure if it was one or two when I wrote yesterday.

Trump is not loved in Turnberry. He had a multitude of fights with local officials during the course’s construction.

My yesterday was a haircut with Lori and a visit to my heart doctor, Dr. Mc Ivor.

No problem with the haircut. May be a problem with the heart. I have been scheduled for a heart catheterization tuesday. All recent test results good. however, I am getting frequent chest pains. Nitroglycerin relieves the pain almost immediately.

Could be stress. Too much sun and good times.

We who live in the lower Keys and read the Key West Citizen every day have acquired a new friend. William Hackley. The Citizen obtained a copy of Hackley’s diary. 1855. He lived in Key West. Rose around 4 each morning, took a walk and then a bath. Gives us the temperature. Then tells us of his daily exploits. He was a prominent citizen, lawyer and public attorney.

Hackley also owned land. Farm land. Grew hemp. He worked the fields some days together with his field hands.

Hemp had value back then. Maybe even now. I came across an article written by Ellen Brown titled: The War on Weed Is Winding Down – But Will Monsanto Be the Winner. Published June 23, 2016.

Lengthy and informative.

An interesting portion…..”In early America, it was considered a farmer’s patriotic duty to grow hemp. Cannabis was legal tender from 1631 until early 1800s. Americans could even pay taxes with it. Benjamin Franklin’s paper mill used cannabis…..Hemp was also an essential resource for any country with a shipping industry, since it was the material from which sails and rope were made.”

I do not sense Hackley was in the cannabis business. 1855 appears to late for the hemp to be used as money. Hackley however did reside in Key West which was a shipping port. A significant shipping industry existed at the time. I suspect Hackley sold his hemp crop to those who manufactured sails and rope.

His diary so far is silent as to what he did with the hemp.

A lot of talk re the black topping of the White Street Pier. Some say it looks lousy. I agree. Supposed to gray with time, however. Some say too hot to walk on. I agree.

End of story. Job complete. It will be many years before it is covered again.

Ninety nine year old Key West icon Edward B. Knight still alive. Active. The White Street Pier is being renamed in his honor. July 2nd at 10 in the morning. A large crowd expected.

Turtle time again. This morning’s KONK E-Blast ask boaters to beware of turtles. They need to come up for air. Boat blades are prone to cut them up.

We are turtle crazy in the Keys!

Two Syracuse players were drafted by NBA teams last night. Freshman Malachi Richardson went 22nd. Senior Michael Gbinije 49th.

I question whether Richardson will make it. He has a temperament problem. Does not listen. Boeheim had to bench him a couple of times causing Malachi to miss whole games.

Gbinije a winner! Talented, level headed and can play different positions. I look for him to bloom.

My KONK Life column this week is Napoleon 2 Xs. Story involves mosquitoes, yellow fever, and hemorrhoids. As Napoleon was impacted by them.

The article hit the stands yesterday. It is featured in this morning’s E-Blast and was also linked to my Key West Lou website this morning.

Enjoy your day!