BARTENDER JOHN…..CITIZEN OF THE DAY

Posted on by

I mention John Holster often. The Chart Room bartender. Top notch bartender. Knows how to handle and entertain customers.

My friend.

John has been honored! By the Key West Citizen. He is Citizen of the Day. His picture and a few lines below appear at the bottom of today’s edition at page 3.

Congratulations, John!

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. It was for me yesterday. Laziness permeated my being till I left the house at 6.

Drove to Hot Dog Church. Not for services. Much too late. To meet Donna and Terri. They were the only patrons left at the Back Door. Laurie bartending and chatting with them.

I like Laurie. A straight forward no bullshit person.

I was about 2 hours late. My laziness the blame.

We had a couple of drinks and Donna, Terri and I headed out to dinner. Hogfish.

Sometimes I enjoy hogfish, sometimes not. Yesterday was a day I did. The hogfish outstanding! My guess is the quality of a hogfish meal depends on who is cooking.

Here it was the middle of the summer and Hogfish was packed. Occasionally, some had a brief wait for a table.

Hemingway Days begin this week. A big time!

Hemingway Days is a clean healthy event. Partying up and down Duval. The crowd a different breed.

I look forward to some of the activities. Especially the Run of the Bulls and the Hemingway Look Alike Contest.

Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952. Inspiration for parts and characters primarily from Cuba, Key West and San Francisco.

The fisherman Santiago  had many thoughts and some conversation with Manolin re his hero Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio suffered trials and tribulations as Santiago had. In the end, he accomplished great things.

For Santiago who had not caught a fish in more than 80 days, it was to catch the big one.

DiMaggio was Santiago’s inspiration.

Some believe that Hemingway drew on DiMaggio’s father for the character Santiago. Very few. If true, it would be because DiMaggio’s father was a Sicilian fisherman before immigrating to the United States and continued for a period of time to be a fisherman in the San Francisco Bay area.

Another writing giant who lived in Key West was Tennessee Williams. On this day in 1975, Anthony Quinn met with Williams in Key West. Quinn a fine actor. His greatness still a few years away.

Williams had written the play The Red Devil Battery Sign. Quinn starred in it. The play did not go over well. Closed on Broadway after one week.

Quinn was visiting Williams to see if the play could be revived. The play subsequently was in Vancouver and London. Though not with Quinn in the starring role and only a bit more success than had been achieved in New York.

Interestingly, Pierce Brosnan, then a young actor, starred in the leading role in the London revival.

Poor Venezuela!

I have been following Venezuela and its President Nicholas Maduro for four years. Ever since Maduro took office and Venezuela ran out of toilet paper within one year. Four years later and Venezuela still does not have an adequate supply of toilet paper. High infation, no jobs and no food, also.

I consistently ask why the Venezuelan people do not revolt. Yesterday, an informal referendum was held. Note the word informal. The vote had no binding effect.

Maduro wanted a new constitution. One which would guarantee his remaining in office. More than 7 million voted against Maduro’s plan. An overwhelming vote.

Will anything come of the result? Time will tell. However, I doubt it. For some reason, the people are reluctant/afraid to put guns, sticks and stones in their hands and attack the palace.

Enjoy your day!

KEY WEST TREE COMMISSION

Posted on by

Key West has a Tree Commission. Not strange. Key West has a commission for everything. Talk about mini managing!

The Tree Commission came into being in 1971. It’s sole purpose at the time was to stop the paving of green areas. Since that time, the Commission’s power has grown. Today the Commission regulates all kinds of trees on public and private property. Things like branch removal, crown cleaning/thinning, and crown reduction.

Is the Commission a good thing? I do not know. What I do know is that every time a friend has received a letter from the Tree Commission, he/she was upset. Very upset!

I went to Don’s Place at noon to watch the Syracuse/Pitt game. I knew I could not get it on my home TV. Don’s Place could not either. Toni helped looking for channel numbers. The bartender was helpful. However no Syracuse/Pitt game.

I returned home immediately. I do not enjoy day time drinking.

My recollection told me the game might be available on the internet. It was. I sat at my desk and was able to enjoy 3/4s of the game.

I was impressed with watching the game on the internet. For real. You can get the picture to cover the whole screen. It seemed I was closer to the action than on TV. By at least 50 percent, crazy as it sounds.

Syracuse lost 65-61. Defense fair. Offense terrible. A continuing problem. Syracuse has difficulty getting the ball in the basket. Cooney scored zero points. His back was out . You could see it. He took very few shots. Normally he plays the entire game. Not last night. Probably less than half.

I am anxious for the season to be over.

Long Time TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford was in the keys yesterday. Tavernier. Kathie is also a wine producer. She was at the Winn-Dixie signing bottles of her Scheid Family Wines. More than 1,000 in attendance.

I misspoke when I said she was in the keys yesterday. She actually spends much time in the keys. She and husband Frank have a home in the Key Largo area which they have enjoyed for years.

I finished reading Maria Laurino’s The Italian Americans.

The first half was fascinating and informative. The second half not so much as I was somewhat familiar with the events covered.

Two new things I learned from the book. Both deplorable.

In the late 1800s, mob lynchings of Italians was common in New Orleans, Tampa and the south generally.

I knew that during World War II, those of Japanese descent were interned in camps for the duration. I did not know that Italians and Germans were also. They were interned and/or restricted.

Those who were interned were Italians who had lived in the U.S. for many years but had not been naturalized. Others were merely restricted. Which meant they could not go into certain areas and down certain streets. They were subjected to a curfew and were required to carry papers identifying themselves.

Joe DiMaggio’s parents were restricted for the entire war. Even though Joe and his three brothers all fought for the U.S. in the war.

Larry Smith is a dynamo. Loved by everyone, though frequently criticized. A musical entertainer of much talent.

Tomorrow night Larry is the featured speaker at the Friends of the Key West Library. The event is at St. Paul’s Church at 6. Larry is going to talk about the kinds of music that have influenced his career as a pianist and composer.

Go! Larry is always enjoyable. I plan on being there.

The sun is out and shinning. Key West is in for a second consecutive day of warm weather. Somewhere in the mid 70s.

Enjoy your Sunday!