EDITH AMSTERDAM KEY WEST’S GRANDE DAME

Some lead exceptionally noteworthy lives. One is Edith Amsterdam. Referred to as the Grande Dame of Key West.

Edith died yesterday at 91. May she rest in peace.

The Lady spent more than 50 years in Key West. Doing for everyone and everything. Known and loved by all. She and her husband restored Curry Mansion. Today, one of Key West’s premier guest houses.

We live and learn. Edith is originally from Syracuse. She also maintains a summer home at Alexandria Bay.

Edith was a contemporary of David Wolkowsky. David still up and at ’em at 96. David is the subject of next week’s KONK Life column.

My yesterday started with a manicure at Lee Nails. Tammy takes care of me. She and her husband the owners.

Tammy is lovely. Typical Vietnamese. Short, thin, long black hair. A beauty inside and out.

Tammy is 32. She came to the U.S. at age 16. Made the trip alone. Initially lived with relatives in New York. Then spent a year in Atlantic City. Not working at the casinos. Going to school to learn how to do nails.

Last night began with Don’s Place. Chatted with David and Keith. I frequently mention both. I do not recall ever telling you they are father and son.

Then to the Chart Room. A long night. The place was jam packed with tourists. That time of year.

I knew no one, except Emily and David. David and I sat at the round table. David always good company.

The table was empty when first we confiscated it. During the evening, three women joined us. Probably tired of standing.

The women made my night. Especially two of them. We talked forever about everything. Charming and intelligent. I had to finally break away. Too long and too many drinks. Sometimes, I have to remind myself I am not on vacation.

My note taking system failed me. It was noisy and the drinks were flowing. So ladies, forgive me if I have some of the facts mixed up.

All three were from Ohio. Each with successful husbands. Kristen’s was Geragd. French.

One of them, and I suspect it was Kristen, lived with her husband in Thailand for 13 years. He ran some company. She taught at the International School in Bangkok. World travelers.

They have a son Alex, 23.

Kay a teacher, also. Her husband an insurance agent. They have a son 30 years old. An attorney.

The third woman’s name escapes me.

Two of the ladies and I sat for a long time chatting. The attorney’s mother had concerns about her son’s career. Both ladies were anti-Trump. The politics discussed interesting. Neither liked any of the candidates of either party.

The ladies are here a few more days. Hopefully, I will run into them again.

My corrected KONK Life column appears today in KONK’s E-News Blast. The article is titled Goodbye Handwriting.

I write of many things. Comments galore follow. However, the Handwriting column brought the most. I am surprised such a topic would garner such interest.

One women’s comment was long. Long long. Longer even than the column. She criticized everything from my writing structure to historical correctness. Authoritized most of what she wrote.

One item in the article was that Thomas Jefferson had poor penmanship. That a master penman had to be hired to rewrite the Declaration of Independence. His name Tim or Tom Matlick.

She challenged my representation re Jefferson’s handwriting. Yet noted that I had incorrectly set forth the wrong first name from Matlick. She was aware because she had seen Matlick’s bill which is preserved for the rewriting.

An inconsistency there.

Anyhow, I am glad to have heard from her. I learned much from her writing. It was a fine term paper. Worthy of an A plus. Said with all sincerity.

I wrote of Comet earlier in the week. Comet returns to his home in the sea at noon today. Cured of all maladies by the Marathon Turtle Hospital. Noon at Higgs Beach. Two hundred plus will be in attendance.

Comet is a big boy. A one hundred pound loggerhead sea turtle.

My last cell phone was six years old. It was not working properly. I lost many calls. Did not really bother me. People got to me in due course.

Bought a new cell phone two days ago. A Samsung Galaxy. It does not stop ringing. I didn’t realize how many calls I was missing.

Two political notes.

Vice-President Joe Biden was with Mexican representatives yesterday. He apologized for Trump’s remarks re Mexico claiming that most of the people in the U.S. were not of his thinking.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson titled a recent column….. Trump, The Product of a Failed System. His description of Trump a “wrecking ball.”

Enjoy your day!

 

YESTERDAY MICHAEL SHIELDS, TODAY JOE BIDEN

A parent should never bury a child. An all time truth.

Yesterday, I mentioned  that Michael Shields’ son Jason had died. Today, Joe Biden’s son Beau.

Such sorrow for both men.

Permit me to dwell on Biden for a moment.

Back in the 1980s, I was Chairman of the Board of Visitors at the Syracuse University College of Law. Joe Biden was a Syracuse Law graduate. A United States Senator, he was a frequent visitor to the law school. If there was a football or basketball game when he was in town, he watched the game from my private box at the Carrier Dome.

I got to know him a bit. A good man then I thought. A good man today.

Biden’s first wife and daughter were killed in an automobile crash just after he was elected to his first term in the Senate. A heavy in and of itself. Now comes the death of his son Beau from brain cancer. Another heavy. How much can one man take?

Michael and Joe, may God give you the strength to get through these days.

I went out last night! For me, a big deal!

I decided on dinner at Roostica. The place was jam packed. There was not a seat anywhere. Left and went to Hogfish. Packed also, but a small table was available for me and the newspapers.

I ate. My first for real meal in two weeks. I had been building up to it. Lobster roll and one gin. The lobster roll did not particularly turn me on. It was me, not the food. Interestingly, the french fries did. I am not particularly crazy about french fries. Last night, they were gourmet food.

The one gin was tasteless. Had no effect whatsoever.

I spent yesterday afternoon writing this week’s KONK Life column. Corruption of Politics and Banks. My solution in a nutshell…..Public financing of Presidential elections and break the banks up. An interesting piece. A lot of history involved.

Remember Tiny? The 300 pound 50 year old turtle I wrote about last week. He was front page news in this morning’s Key West Citizen. He was returned to the ocean at Higgs Beach. A large crowd cheering him off.

Peggy Noonan in a column last week in the Wall Street Journal asked this question regarding Hillary Clinton…..Is her victory inevitable or impossible? Food for thought.

Years ago, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window came out. Starred Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart.

Kelly took a silk negligee out of a briefcase. Or what I thought at the time was a brief case. I still do.

The brief case has been reproduced and is on sale. Referred to as an “overnight case.” Cost, $3,995. Someone has to be crazy out there!

Congress and the Patriot Act. What will be, will be. Personally, I think certain provisions should not be renewed. Senator Rand Paul has it correct. During debate, he said…..This is a debate over your right to be left alone.

Back to the treadmill at 11 this morning. The anti-gravity treadmill. I plan on going slow.

Today is Ally’s birthday. I think 10. Happy birthday Ally! Tonight, dinner and cake with the family.

Enjoy your day!