POLICE HAVE NO RIGHT TO STRIKE

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It was September 9, 1919. The Boston Police were unhappy. They had been denied the right to unionize. They went on strike. Eighty percent of the force failed to show up for work.

Calvin Coolidge rode the strike into the U.S. Presidency.

Massachusetts Governor at the time. He said, “There is no right to strike against public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime.” He sent in the Massachusetts Militia.

Coolidge enjoyed a politically fortuitous life. He got into the police strike fray as it was dying down. Made a brilliant statement. He was given credit for putting the strike down.

Coolidge was selected to run as Vice-President with Warren Harding as President. Harding died in office. Coolidge became President.

Yesterday afternoon, I was able to watch the first half of the Syracuse/Wagner game. Syracuse looked good. Wagner a small school beginning to grow its football program.

Syracuse has not looked good for many years. They beat Wagner 62-10. Impressive. However, the quality of the opposition has to be taken into account. Next week will tell. Syracuse plays Florida State.

My dear Donna has competition for the title of the Julia Child of Key West. Andrea.

Donna, Terri and I were guests of Andrea and Joe last night for dinner. What a meal! Lasagna! Fantastic! Buttery banana bread for desert.

My diet went out the window!

We all headed over to Blue Macaw after dinner. Terri sat in for a while with Larry Baeder.

It is Terri again this morning. She is singing with Larry at Hard Rock Cafe’s Sunday brunch. Ten to twelve.

Got to admire Terri. She keeps working, putting one foot in front of the other. She has a steady gig at Blue Macaw beginning Wednesday. Her night.

Remember Shrimp Boats Are A Coming. Think Rosemary Clooney sang it. Delete Shrimp boats and replace the term with Florence. Florence is a coming! No question, unless it makes a hard right back into the Atlantic at the last moment.

Florence is headed for the mid Atlantic states. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have already declared a state of emergency. Florence’s path will remain uncertain for 5 days. Then!

The hurricane experts say Florence will begin a rapid intensification beginning today. It will return to hurricane status. Expected to be a major hurricane when it hits.

Some people get away with murder!

The U.S. is facing a major opioid crisis. One hundred plus a day dying. The prescription drug Oxycontin a major contributor. A pain killer. Quick to addict.

Purdue Pharma has been producing the drug for years. The government and the public are aware. The government is doing little. The public trying to do a lot. There are presently lawsuits against Purdue Pharma in over 1,000 jurisdictions.

Purdue Pharma is a family business. The Sackler family. One of the sons is Richard Sackler. At one time, President of Purdue Pharma.

Richard and five others recently obtained a patent for a new drug. To be used where a person has an opioid disorder. To be used for opioid addiction treatment.

I love it! Sackler and family a major contributor to the opioid crisis. Made millions if not billions in the process. Now one of them will add to his wealth for having come up with a cure.

Would you believe!

Only in America!

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

ORIGIN OF UNCLE SAM

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The United States has a nickname. We all know it. Uncle Sam.

Where did it come from? How did it originate? Who is responsible for the nickname?

We have to go back to the War of 1812 for the answer.

Samuel Wilson was a Troy, N.Y. meat packer who supplied beef to the U.S. Army. Beef was transported in barrels.

On this day in 1813, Wilson began stamping the barrels with “U.S.” Purpose to inform everyone who was in contact with the barrels that the contents came from the United States.

Soldiers began referring to the beef they were eating as “Uncle Sam’s.”

A local newspaper picked up on the story. In due course, Uncle Sam gained widespread acceptance as the nick name for the U.S. federal government.

Recognition of Wilson’s contribution took a long time to acknowledge. However in September 1961, the U.S. Congress recognized Wilson as “the progenitor (father of) America’s symbol of Uncle Sam.”

My yesterday began with a haircut. Enjoy the time I spend with Lori. She has now been cutting my hair for 18 years. Looks as young today as she did back then.

Then to Sandy’s Cafe for lunch. I like the place. They know me and I know them. Always a friendly welcome. No need to order. They know I eat the same thing each time. Automatically bring it to me.

A car problem developing. Could be the battery. Not sure. Turns over slowly. Strange, however. If the car has been sitting for a half hour or more, it starts slowly. If sitting 5 minutes or so, starts normally.

Hopefully, I will find out today. Every time I returned to the car yesterday, I was not certain it would start. Not a welcome feeling.

The Chart Room first last night. John bartending. Steve and Cindy at the bar. Enjoyed their company.

Met Colin and Carli from Sarasota. Have been vacationing for a week. Staying at the Pier House. They married on Smathers Beach several years ago. Return to Key West often.

Colin originally from Northern England. They return there also to visit.

Both are employed by the same company, different departments. Computer soft ware programming.

Drove to Blue Macaw for a bite. Enjoyed ribs and a drink.

Ran into Donna, Terri, Joe and Andrea. Stayed a while. Stopped by Mary and Doug to share a few words.

Close to 10 when I left. Stopped at Publix on the way home. Desperately in need of food. Swiftly up and down the aisles to beat closing time. Good exercise.

Prior to the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, I considered Judge Kavanaugh not to be the best of choices. Too far to the right. Rigid. Not fair.

I listened to him being questioned 2 days ago. I was very impressed. The man has one of the best legal minds I have been exposed to. Brilliant.

Such does not necessarily mean he would make a good Supreme Court Justice. The law is not black and white. It is gray. His legal genius would be able to twist things to his far right way of thinking and bring us back to the middle ages.

Ergo, an excellent legal thinker whose ideas are not in the best interests of most U.S. citizens.

I spelled this position out in my Key West Love Live video on Facebook yesterday.

Then, I watched parts of yesterday’s proceedings. Cause me to suspect the good Judge is a liar. A skillful one. Prone to avoid, I don’t recall, lie.

I now find him to be not only an improper candidate for the Supreme Court bench, but also the Circuit Court he sits on.

The Republicans have been playing games with records. It became obvious yesterday why. Kavanaugh has a track record. What he has written or done in the past does not always coincide with his testimony this week.

Two Democratic Senators need to be applauded. Both fought the Chair. Broke some Senate rules in so doing. The only way to out the truth, however.

New Jersey’s Senator Corey Booker and Hawaii’s Senator Mazie Hirono each being described as Spartacus. They were! At one point, Booker told the Chair if you want to bring me up on charges, go for it! The gauntlet was thrown.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

GORDON A HURRICANE AT LANDFALL

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Gordon grew in intensity over the Gulf. Made landfall west of the Mississippi/Alabama border. Now a category 1 hurricane.

One death. A child in a mobile home. A tree fell on the mobile home.

Keep in mind. All type storms and weather changes have been occurring in recent years. For me, it is global warming. As to hurricanes, the numbers have increased. The hurricane season runs to November 30. I hold my breath.

I wrote last friday that the Key West Citizen had been sold. The formal announcement would be tuesday. It was. Announced yesterday that the Adams Publishing Group had purchased all assets of Cooke Communications LLC. One of Cooke’s assets the Key West Citizen.

Sarabeth is a popular dining place at 530 Simonton Street. The building housing Sarabeth’s not always a commercial facility. The structure was built in 1889 to be a synagogue. The B’nai Zion Synagogue.

Pause the next time you pass by. Look closely and you can identify parts of the building as having been a synagogue.

Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh an extremely conservative judge. His thinking very far to the right. Too far. He is pro-gun, anti-abortion, believes in a powerful President, believes neither impeachment nor indictment till a President is out of office. A President too busy with important matters to deal with such situations.

Kavanaugh must be confirmed by the Senate. The first step a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The first hearing yesterday.

Chaos. Crazy. Fireworks.

Kavanaugh presents the worst nomination to the Supreme Court in modern history. His legal thinking will mandate his striking down hard fought legal victories of the past 70 years. Not because he is a bad guy. It is the way he thinks.

He will be confirmed. He will sit as a Justice of the Supreme Court. The sadness…..For the next 30-40 years.

Love investigative reporters! Two outstanding ones Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The two who discovered Nixon’s wrongdoing resulting in Nixon’s resignation.

Both still active. Report and write books.

Bob Woodward’s most recent FEAR: Trump in the White House. Publication a few days off. The Washington Post got an early copy.

Wow! is the best way to describe the book. I can’t wait to read it.

A few items revealed and made available via the media.

Trump’s first lawyer John Dowd put Trump through some mock interviews preparatory to Mueller doing the same officially. Trump lied, lied, lied. He was incapable of telling the truth.

Dowd told him, “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit.”

Woodward reports contrary to what Trump repeatedly has said, he told Dowd the practice sessions: “I don’t want to testify.”

Dowd resigned the next day.

General Mattis is reported to have said, Trump has the mentality of a “sixth grader.” Chief of Staff John Kelly, Trump is “unhinged,” an “idiot,” “we’re in Crazytown, ” “the worse job I have ever had.”

Author Bob Woodward himself describes the Trump White House as “Crazytown.”

Carl Bernstein commenting on the book said, “The Trump presidency is a national emergency.”

Our President!!!!!

A possible oil crisis by year’s end. Actually, probable. Cause involves sanctions, tariff wars, increasing demand, and inflation. $4 a gallon predicted by year’s end. As high as $5 a gallon next year.

China needs crude oil. The U.S. needs crude oil. In 2017, China surpassed the U.S. in the importation of crude oil. China imported 8.4 million barrels a day. The U.S., 7.9 million.

Iran comes into the picture. U.S. sanctions preventing crude oil export. Two months from now, Iran will be exporting next to nothing because of new sanctions already on the books.

Inflation comes into play. Only 2.4 percent today. Rising, however still low.

Learned something I did not know. The government plays with the inflation figures. That is, how the rate is determined. If calculated by 1990 standards, today’s 2.4 percent would be 6 percent. If calculated by 1980 standards, 10 percent.

Trump pushes us closer and closer to a recession. Though not immediately apparent, such is inevitable when sanctions, tariff wars and increased oil prices combine.

I have been predicting a recession at year’s end or early into 2019 for some time. The handwriting is on the wall.

I love Russian novels. Something dramatic about them.

On this day in 1958, Boris Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago was published in the U.S. The novel had to be secreted out of Russia a few pages at a time. Russian authorities claimed the novel romanticized the pre-Revolution upper class and degraded the peasants.

Pasternak was awarded to Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 also. Khrushchev would not permit him to accept the prize.

Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace was published in 1869 after previously having been serialized.

Dr. Zhivago and War and Peace two of my favorite Russian novels.

I had some fun last night ranting and raving on my podcast show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. So much to chat about!

Join me for the show next week.

Enjoy your day!

 

HURRICANE TIME

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A storm was heading for the Keys yesterday. Not strong enough to be named. Got strong overnight. Named. Gordon.

Gordon made a lot of noise last night as it passed over Key West. Woke me a couple of times. Thunder and lightning big time. The lightning coming through the blinds and lighting up the bedroom. Heavy rain, of course.

Winds 45 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph.

Gordon hit land in the upper Keys. As a tropical storm. It is now in the Gulf. Heading for Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Anticipated that when it hits one of these areas, Gordon will be a category 1 hurricane.

The impact of last year’s September hurricanes still with us. Cudjoe to Marathon still recovering from Irma. Many remain homeless.  Food a problem. Debris still be removed.

The Boca Chica Naval Station beginning its second phase of repairs. A $22 million restoration. Expected to be complete by February 2020.

Puerto Rico took two hits last September. First, Irma. Then, Maria. Puerto Rico remains desperate. A forgotten island.

I blame Trump for Puerto Rico’s condition. He turned his back on the island. Even though Americans. Last wednesday Trump said, “I think we did a fantastic job in Puerto Rico.”

What is he smoking?

Key West’s Womenfest begins tomorrow. Runs through September 9. A major event. Thousands of women will arrive from all over the world. The lesbian community and their friends take over the town. Fun time!

The ladies play Flag Football. Practice is friday at Bayview Park. Saturday the big game. Claimed to be a “friendship game.” Watch them play!

I periodically write and speak of iguanas and pythons. Both populations out of hand. The State waited too long to deal with their invasions. Now permanent Florida residents. The government can only contain, not eradicate.

Lizards have entered the picture. I wrote about them recently. They are here and becoming a problem. I hope the State will get into eradication now rather than tomorrow. Tomorrow will be too late.

A seven foot 150 pound lizard took up residence in a family’s back yard somewhere in mid Florida last week. Refuses to leave. Thus far has escaped capture.

Officials still trying to capture the lizard. The homeowners were told not to be concerned. The lizard was of a type not dangerous to humans.

Alligators becoming a problem also. Attacks in Florida on the rise. From 1988-1999, one attack every 3 years. From 2000-2019, 6 per year.

Planet of the Apes on the way. The only difference the nature of the beasts. This time, the reptiles.

The Kavanaugh hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on TV at the moment. Has been running since 10. Now 11:30. A war! Democrats screaming for fairness and more time. Republicans know they have voting control sitting back letting the Democrats vent.

Nothing more can be said regarding John McCain. Last week he was praised in every possible fashion. The man a true American, a true American hero. Words will quiet down. His memory not. He will remain with us for generations to come.

Meghan McCain’s words will frequently be recalled and repeated: “The America of John McCain does not need to be make America great again, because America was always great.”

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. recently completed a study re the economy. The results of the study clearly established Trump’s “Greatest Economy Ever” is not. The American dream has vanished.

A great number of the American people are struggling with debt and lack of savings. Eighty percent define “American dream” to be financial security and owning a home. More than half believe it is unattainable. The white picket fence gone. The American dream evaporated.

And yet Trump frequently tells us the U.S. is experiencing the greatest economy ever. Ninety percent of the people do not believe it. The man lives in a dream world.

Enjoy your day!

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION…..LABOR DAY HURRICANE 1935

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It is that time of the year. The hurricane season. The beginning of September considered the worst time.

At the moment, there is a potential tropical storm developing in the Atlantic. One hundred seventy five miles east of Marathon. Not a big deal. Yet. Winds 30 miles per hour. The lower keys will receive 2-4 inches of rain today through tomorrow morning.

The storm not named yet. Not considered a problem till it hits the Gulf. It is projected it will then develop into a tropical storm or hurricane. Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have been warned they could be in trouble.

Last year, it was Irma. Hit the lower keys September 10. Projected as a category 5. Hit Key West as a 1. However, Cudjoe north to Marathon a 4. Significant damage. One year later, recovery still ongoing. Homes destroyed, debris not removed, people living in tents, people without food, etc.

Labor Day 1935 the worst up to that time. A category 5. One hundred eighty five miles per hour when it hit land near Islamorada. Surge 18-20 feet. Islamorada obliterated. Portions of the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway damaged or destroyed. Four hundred eighty five killed.

Death and destruction. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The most intense hurricane to have struck the United States up to that time.

Six hundred ninety five World War I veterans were working on the Overseas Highway. Several camps in the area. A rescue train left Miami at 4:25 pm. Several delays on the way due to a number of non storm related problems. The rescue train did not arrive till 8:20 pm.

It arrived just as the storm surge hit Islamorada. The train’s 11 cars were swept off the tracks. Only the locomotive and tender remained.

Railroad bridges destroyed. Never to be rebuilt. It was the end of the Railway.

Corpses all over the place. The humidity and heat outrageous. Bodies swelling. Splitting open three days after the storm. Health officials concerned. Bodies buried or cremated. Mostly cremated. Some merely thrown in piles and incinerated. Others placed in wood boxes, piled on one another, and then cremated.

The greater percentage of the dead were veterans working on the Overseas Highway.

Though the railroad bed was of no use, certain portions of the road bed and bridges survived. They became part of the Overseas Highway which was completed in 1938. The Highway connected Key West and Miami.

Ernest Hemingway assisted in rescue efforts. He initially rode out the hurricane at his home in Key West. Then hurried up the keys by boat to help. He was incensed by the devastation and deaths.

Hemingway blamed the U.S. government of negligence in sending the veterans to work in the keys during hurricane season. He wrote a critical article titled Who Killed The Veterans which was published in The New Masses magazine.

Hemingway viewed the veterans as unwitting victims of a system that appeared to lack concern for their welfare.

Hemingway was correct. The federal government had forgotten their obligation to those who fought in World War I. Veterans had earlier protested in Washington. Following which the government settled them in work camps such as those that were situated on the Overseas Highway.

The government had a study made to determine responsibility for the deaths of the veterans. The study determined it was an Act of God. A whitewash.

The government did not care and did not want to bear responsibility. Shades of Trump and Puerto Rico.

The National Commander of the American Legion at the time was Ray Murphy. He blamed the loss of life on “Inefficiency, Indifference, and Ignorance.”

The inefficiency the manner in which the camps were set up. The indifference in that no one was in charge of safety. The ignorance that no one understood the real danger from a tropical storm.

May such a storm never occur again. A hope. It will. Recall Andrew in 1992. Wiped out Homestead and the Air Force Base nearby. Ninety five percent of the structures in Homestead leveled.

I appreciate that today’s blog concerns the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. I would be remiss however if I failed to mention Terri White. A force unto herself.

This past year found Terri falling into total blindness. A gutsy lady. A professional singer. Many Broadway shows to her credit.

She still works.

Saturday night, Terri sang at Blue Macaw. Sunday morning at Hard Rock Cafe. Tonight part of Dueling Bartenders at Aqua.

Go Terri!

Enjoy your day!

HERO HONORED

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John McCain’s church service yesterday emotional and uplifting. Befitting an American hero.

His daughter Meghan’s eulogy heart wrenching. Everyone had to shed a tear. Actually, tears.

Meghan a tough woman. I have watched her on View a few times. She stands her ground. She rebuked Trump as only an angered daughter could: “The America of John McCain does not need to be made great again, because America was always great.”

Julia Child cooked last night! Actually, Donna. The Julia Child of Key West.

I enjoyed dinner at Donna and Terri’s. A small dinner party. Joe and Andrea partaking, also.

Good food, good people, good conversation.

Bear appears mended. He was his usual self.

Afterwards, we went across the street to Macaws. Terri was entertaining with Larry Baeder. Her singing magnificent. Blindness has not impaired her voice or delivery.

Terri sings this morning again. At Hard Rock Cafe’s brunch from 10-12.

Three significant historical events occurred this day, though in different years.

The one closest to Key West if Diana Nyad’s dangerous swim from Havana to Key West in 2013. In jellyfish and shark infested waters. Without a shark cage. Diane 64 years old at the time.

She landed on Smathers Beach. The trip took 53 hours. Record time.

On this day in 1969, the first ATM was made available in Rockville Center, New York. We have become accustomed to ATM machines. Quick cash.

The experience will end in the next few years. We are moving toward a cashless society. Everyone will have a card. Something like a credit card. The card will tie directly into a person’s bank account. All transactions will be per the card.

Of special historical significance is this day in 1945. Japan formally surrendered ending World War II. The surrender ceremony took place on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

This week is the heart of hurricane season. So far, so good. The weather is changing a bit. The temperature has dropped from 95 degrees to the high 80’s. Humidity less.

Not sure it will remain so. September is generally considered the hottest and most humid month.

I am disappointed. I receive my Key West Citizen via the internet. No Key West Citizen this morning. Wonder if it has anything to do with the reported sale of the Citizen to the Adams Publishing Group. The sale has not been formally reported yet.

Whatever, enjoy your Sunday!

 

LISTEN MY CHILDREN AND YOU SHALL HEAR OF THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE…..

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Research and writing all day yesterday for me. I was in the mood.

Wednesday night while at Macaws I spoke with Doug. Doug is a tour guide at Hemingway House. A history buff.  Somehow Sudbury, Massachusetts became part of the conversation.

Doug spouted out a ton of historical facts. I could not keep up. Yesterday, part of my research involved Sudbury.

The British were surprised by the colonial opposition at Lexington and Concord. They literally ran back to Boston and safety. On the way, Sudbury residents put upon them. They shot from the woods and otherwise sniped at the Redcoats.

Sudbury’s other Revolutionary War exploits too many to list. However, recognized. Sudbury’s ZIP Code is 01776. Some say because of its assistance in the Revolutionary War. Others, disagree.

The Wayside Inn stands in Sudbury. Purportedly, the oldest operating inn in the Unite States. Built and run by the Howe family for many years.

Henry Ford lived off and on in the 1930’s and 1940’s in Sudbury. In 1923, he purchased and restored the Wayside Inn. Then donated the Inn to a charitable foundation that operates it to this day.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a book of poems titled Tales of Wayside Inn. Published in 1863.  A poem within was titled Tales Of A Wayside Inn. An immortal phrase part of the poem: “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.”

Henry Ford a continuing benefactor to Sudbury. He moved the Redstone Schoolhouse from Sterling to Sudbury. The Redstone Schoolhouse is reputed to be the school in the nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb.

Sudbury definitely an historical site. I thank Doug for bring it to my attention.

It will be one year September 10 that Irma hit the Florida Keys. A category 4 in certain parts. Almost a year later, Irma’s destructive violence still with us.

People remain without furniture and appliances. The non-profit Farm Share and Monroe County’s Long Term Recovery Group will be providing in Marathon on Irma’s September 10 anniversary date free furniture and appliances for those in need. Individuals and families in disaster case management programs.

The Key West Bight jetty has been an eye sore since September 10. Broken boats and debris were thrown upon the jetty. Cleanup began this eek. It is anticipated it will take til the end of September to complete the cleanup.

Nostalgia time. Days of old return. Sonic Drive-In expects to open this week. Like drive-ins following World War II. The drive-in procedure involving a girl coming out to the car to take your order, return with it, place it on a tray hung on an open windowed door, and you enjoyed.

Sonic marks a return of the yesteryear drive-in. A new one constructed on North Roosevelt Boulevard. Sixteen parking slots. Carhops taking your order. Eat in the car or at outdoor tables.

When MacDonald’s opened in the 1950’s, there were no indoor tables. You ordered at an outside window and ate in the car. Back in those days there was a Kewpee chain. One in Utica. Terrific cheeseburgers and thick shakes. Ate in the car. Carhops taking the order and returning with it.

Many times, we would take the burgers and shakes and drive to another spot to eat them. A parking location. Generally, the Eagle in Utica. Called the Eagle because there was a statue of one on a park top hill. We would dine and then neck. Nothing more. Kissing was as far as it went in those days.

Labor Day Weekend is upon us. Key West will be full. Glad the tourists will be returning in large numbers. The town has been quiet the past few weeks.

I mentioned a few days ago that lizards had now joined iguanas in the Florida Keys. Not knowing much about lizards, I assumed they were similar to iguanas in appearance and size. I was wrong.

A lizard established itself in the back yard of a family home in Davie this week. Seven feet long, estimated 150 pounds. Does not want to leave. Avoids capture.

A Monitor lizard. The family has been advised not to be concerned. Monitor lizards are not known to  attack people.

Needless to say, the family are not happy campers.

Venezuela not the only South American country having financial problems. Argentina’s economy ready to topple. Inflation 25.4 percent, interest rates 60 percent. Banks low on reserve money.

Something I never knew. Sandy Koufax a great baseball pitcher. A Hall of Famer.

He began in 1955. From 1955 through 1961, his record was 36 wins, 51 losses. Not Hall of Fame numbers.

Then he got hot. He only played another 5 years because of an elbow injury. In those 5 years, he made his mark as one of baseball’s great pitchers. He walked only 2.1 per game. Threw 3 no hitters. Won 4 World Series games. Cy Young pitcher 3 years. In 1965, struck out 382.

A late bloomer!

Enjoy your day!

 

LOBSTER SEASON…..GOOD OR BAD

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The lobster season is upon us. Last year, a disaster thanks to Irma. Traps blown all over.

This year another disaster. The tariff war with China. The Keys sell millions of dollars a year of spiny lobsters to China. The Chinese love spiny lobsters! So much so that on occasion they are willing to pay anything to get them.

The Key West Weekly 8/9/18 had an excellent article on the subject. The thrust how the China/U.S. trade war will affect the Keys lobster season. Titled: Too Soon To Tell.

The facts.

Irma literally blew the season away last year. However, all was not lost. Many of the traps which were strewn all over the ocean bottom were able to be relocated. The relocated lobsters have had an extra year to grow and hopefully will be sold this season..

Ergo, an abundance of lobsters available for sale.

The problem is cost per pound. The average the past 2 years between $9.50 and $10.50 per pound. A wholesaler must sell for at least $6 to $7 a pound to break even. China is the Keys biggest customer. Tariffs imposed by both the U.S. and China the problem.

The U.S. tariff is 25 percent. China imposed a retaliatory tariff of 17 percent. The combined tariffs add 42 percent onto the normal cost of the lobsters.

A lot of money.

The Asian holidays are approaching. If China is consistent and does not care of the cost, the season will be banner one. There is something about spiny lobsters that suggests such will be the case. The Chinese love them and generally are willing to pay!

The highest per pound cost China has ever paid was $20.50.

Local wholesalers do not appear concerned. Noting however that China is the key.

Time will tell.

Chart Room first last night. I almost left when I first arrived.

A number of 40 year olds were celebrating some sort of reunion. Loud. Boisterous. Cigar smoking.

Big time noise and cigar smoke thick enough to cut with a knife a couple of steps too far. I sat it out for a while at the bar with David, Cindy and Steve.

My thought…..Deliver me!

After a while, they up and left. A new world! The quiet overwhelming. The cigar smoke soon dissipated. Everything kumbaya.

Stomach grumbling. Time to eat. Headed over to Blue Macaw. No room at the bar. Left.

Headed over to Sandy’s Cafe. Finished the evening off with a Cuban cheese toast with tomato and a large Cuban coffee.

Then to home and bed. An early evening.

Florida has early voting. Began this year August 13. Ends August 25. I will probably vote next week.

My voting place is the County Office Building on Whitehead. I vote where Key West residents vote. I am a Key West resident.

Strange.

I live at the golf course. Many many homes. Most on Stock Island. A handful totaling 40 built on Key West land. I live in one of those homes. Ergo, vote in Key West and for Key West candidates.

The weatherman’s humor showing again. Afternoon thunderstorms predicted. His add on tidbit: Afternoon wake up – loud!

Means big time thunder. Thunder by the ocean loud booming. Scares dogs and humans alike.

BOB has not written in over a week. Only one chapter left. Concerns politics and politicians. BOB’s viewpoint as one would expect. Tomorrow or the next day, BOB will finish up.

Two deaths the past few days. One after another. Yesterday, Arthea Franklin, the Queen of Soul. Fondly remembered by most. Certain anti-blacks probably did not care.

The day before, Trump took away John Brennan’s security clearance. A petty move by a small man. Brennan a former head of the CIA. A man who performed exceptionally under 6 consecutive Presidents.

A piece of America, a piece of democracy, died by Trump’s action.

Wake up America! Day by day, Trump does one or more things adversely affecting our freedoms.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

USE IT OR LOSE IT

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Use it or lose it applies in various circumstances. The one referenced today involves saying what you want and having it read by thousands of persons.

I refer specifically to the Citizens’ Voice portion of the Key West Citizen. Page 2, left hand column. There every day. I would assume one of the most popular sections of the paper.

The Citizens’ Voice allows persons to express themselves/vent freely on any issue.

The newspaper prints comments received. Even in those instances where the paper’s policy might disagree.

There was no Citizens’ Voice in this morning’s edition. Instead the Key West Citizen advised there were not enough comments to run in today’s newspaper. Further advising that “hopefully” the section could resume being printed in the Weekend Edition.

I know very few Key West residents who do not have an opinion on something. Complaining commonplace in the Keys. Get back on your soap boxes and let the world know what you think!

Participate in the Citizens’ Voice.

Use it or lose it.

The turtles are hatching. Babies waddling to the ocean. An exciting yearly event.

Not without danger, however.

Take Smathers Beach for example. Many turtle nests. The babies hatch generally at night. Their immediate goal the ocean. They are attracted to the ocean by the light of the moon. They travel towards the moonlight eventually finding their way to water.

A problem arose several years ago at Smathers Beach. On the other side of the road from the beach are condominiums and hotels. The turtles were being confused by the lights of the buildings. They were more confused by the street lights. Assumed it was moonlight. Headed towards the lights. Many were being run over by cars as they crossed the highway.

Key West did the right thing. It always does for its friends from the sea. They ordered the street lights on South Roosevelt Boulevard to be turned off at night during the hatching season. That alone significantly helped the situation. Baby turtle deaths reduced to almost nothing.

There is a Key West Sea Turtle Club. I believe recently formed. They have been out this hatching season marking nests and otherwise being concerned for the safety of the baby turtles.

Big party tonight! Celebration of what would have been Captain Tony’s 102nd birthday. Captain Tony’s at 8 o’clock. Going to be a blast!

It is almost a year since Irma hit. The havoc wrought still being experienced. This morning’s Key West Citizen in a major front page article re the need for affordable housing mentioned that 4,000 homes in the Keys were destroyed by Irma.

Many still without proper accommodations. The housing need existed before Irma. However with Irma, it has become significantly more pronounced.

The Keys need affordable housing!

One admonition. Make sure it is “affordable.”

My yesterday began with an 11:30 haircut appointment with Lori. Seventeen years she has been cutting my hair.

I had a difficult time getting to her place of business on the corner of White and Virginia. There had been an accident 15 minutes before. One of the vehicles plowed into the building where Lori’s salon is.

Lori said the building shook.

Then to Sandy’s Cafe a few doors down for lunch. The Sandy’s Federal court dispute has been resolved. The details of the resolution not public. Why, I do not know.

The Chart Room last night. A locals’ evening. Steve and Cindy, Sheila, David, Jean Thornton,  and Cori Convertino. A good time was had by all.

I was hungry. Decided on Blue Macaw. Love the place! Food and drinks cheap. Atmosphere terrific. People friendly. And they have parking!

Did wings. Could only enjoy 6 of the 9 presented. I was easily full. My long term diet responsible. I eat significantly less now.

I was up to 257 pounds. My doctors got on my ass. Lose weight! I did and I didn’t. Cut back on eating and drinking for a few months. Dropped to 245. Then my fourth heart catheterization. The Miami doctor looked at me sternly and said lose 40-50 pounds more.

I did not like his attitude. But, I listened.

I began serious dieting November 27th last year. Today, I am 202 pounds. Still going! Intend to break 200.

Amazing!

Blue Macaw’s Happy Hour menu has helped in recent weeks. I order wings or ribs. That’s dinner!

Met Tim at the Blue Macaw bar. Tim is the plumber at Ocean Key House. Nice guy. We talked of many things.

The lights went out while at the bar. Everything black. Someone yelled out the power was down from Marathon to Key West.

A power failure has its disadvantages. The bartenders cannot run credit cards. Pay by cash or wait til the power comes back on. Fortunately, I had cash. A rarity for me these days. I have gotten to using my credit card for everything. Even small purchases.

Hypocrisy an eye opener. Gives us the opportunity to recognize people who fudge or speak out of both sides of their mouth.

Trump a major hypocrite.

His in-laws the most recent example. Melania’s parents.

They became U.S. citizens yesterday. Good for them! Congratulations! Happy they could join us.

The problem is how they became citizens. Trump has severely criticized persons who become citizens because they are sponsored by a family member. He refers to it as “chain migration.”

Trump wants the law repealed. Claims it is harmful to the U.S. Permits “everyone” to come in.

Melania is a naturalized citizen. She sponsored her parents.

No comment by Trump.

I would not be here today if immigration laws were not loose and chain migration in some form had not existed back when.

My grandfather came over around the turn of the century (1900). I do not know how. He was 12 and never knew his parents. He was a bastard.

My grandmother came over a couple of years later. I do not know under what authority. My grandparents did not meet nor know of each other till they were in the U.S.

My mother came over via a chain migration situation. She was born in Italy. Her father came a few years earlier. She, her mother and brothers, followed as his dependents.

Immigration obviously simpler back then.

I often think of my ancestry and smile. Running through my  mind each time is the thought that had my people not immigrated, I would probably ended up a sheep herder in a field outside Naples.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

MARRIAGE OF CHURCH AND STATE

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Never made it to Dueling Bartenders last night. Felt a bit under the weather. Disappointed because I was anxious to hear Laura Richardson sing again.

Oil and water do not mix. Nor do Church and State. Never the less, the Trump administration keeps pushing government support for religion. The primary reason to suck up to its strong Evangelical base.

Attorney General Sessions made what can only be described as a scary announcement yesterday. He announced the establishment of a Religious Liberty Task Force. A separate distinct unit within the Department of Justice.

Its purpose to help fully implement the religious liberty “guidance” issued last year under Trump’s direction.

Sessions claims the freedom to practice religion is “under attack.” He added “a dangerous movement…..real…..now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.”

Examples offered included nuns being forced to purchase contraceptives (that’s how he put it), U.S. Senators asking judicial and executive branch nominees about dogma, and the Colorado baker who refused to make a special wedding cake for a same sex couple.

Sessions said the Trump administration in “seeking actually to accommodate people of faith.” Which faith? Whose faith?

Political pundits view the move twofold. First, to protect religious zealots who attack LGBT rights. Second, to push the marriage of Church and State on the altar of Christianity.

The new unit a victory for Trump. A victory for Evangelicals. A defeat for freedom and right to choose.

The U.S. is step by  step becoming a nation where government enforcers have been put in place to enforce unAmerican actions. ICE and this new religious unit examples.

Insufficient justice re the stolen Mel Fisher gold bar. The two men who stole the gold bar valued almost at $500,000 have been brought to justice after many years. The two were sentenced yesterday in federal court. One received 63 months in jail, the other 4o.

I suggest justice insufficient in this instance because the bar no longer exists. The thieves hacked it into small pieces to sell for pennies on the dollar. Only small fragments were recovered.

Another reason is Mel Fisher’s insurance recovery. Around $100,000. The insurance company only paid melt value as opposed to market value.

It has been raining! Big time! Major showers! Every day!

Going to rain again today and this evening. Re the daily shower, the weatherman says, “Get used to it.” As to this evening’s shower, there is “always tomorrow.”

Suicides have always been a problem in Monroe County. The Keys a part thereof.

Suicides in the Keys have averaged 21 per year the past 5 years. By July of this year, 20. Indicating suicides in the Keys are on track to double this year.

The reason is attributed to Irma and the pains and problems she left behind. Sad. We have not yet as a society learned how to adequately prepare for natural disasters. Not meant as a blame. Merely a statement of fact.

Where is Bum Farto? Where is Jimmy Hoffa? Birds of a feather in that they disappeared and have not been seen since. Their disappearances in the same year, 1975. Only 5 weeks apart. Hoffa on July 31, Farto on September 9.

Have they both been sitting on an idyllic Mediterranean beach since 1975, or are both part of foundations for major highways?

I was skipping around the internet yesterday looking for some interesting bit of information to share with you. Came up with Queer Politics being taught at the University of Massachusetts. An actual course. Taught one semester a year.

Described as Queer Political Theory. The course description includes “…..denaturalize (hetero)sexuality and (hetero)gender categories, identities and expression.” Asks “what is queer politics and how, in what way, or to what degree is sexuality political.”

The course fulfills a mandatory diversity requirement.

My curiosity was piqued. Were similar courses taught at other colleges/universities? Was I surprised!

Not only taught, but offered as a major or minor. Described generally as LGBT studies.

I came across a listing of 20 such colleges and universities. The first 5 in order of listing: Cornell University, University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University, Brown University, and Towson University.

I graduated from college 61 years ago. No such courses taught. Homosexuality here and there in a psychology course. Buried in the closet for all intents and purposes. Transgenderism unheard of. The major was titled “Psychology.” The generality. Nothing more.

Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou this evening. A podcast. Nine my time. Join me. Guaranteed interesting. A quick half hour of provocative meanderings. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!