MY CUP RUNNETH OVER

Posted on by

My notes are piling up. Things I want to discuss. The reason for the over abundance is that too much is going on. Too much news.

I am going to briefly run through my notes today. Less they become stale. Most not even a week old.

Before so doing, permit me to share some Key West and personal items.

Never left the house yesterday. It was tuesday. My podcast at 9 in the evening. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. I spend the day preparing and fine tuning the show.

Today, busy. A manicure at noon with Tammy. A visit with Dr. Norris at 2. Sons and Daughters of Italy dinner meeting this evening. Hopefully, a visit to Blue Macaw afterwards.

Recall I lunched with Robert and Ally monday. Robert a freshman in high school, Ally in the 8th grade. I was curious as to what they were reading. I assumed they were reading the same books in school that I read when their age. No way!

I asked them what they thought of Ivanhoe, House of Seven Gables, and Moby Dick. They did not know what I was talking about. Never heard of the books. They told me the titles of books they were required to read. I never heard of any of them.

Called as the world turns.

Guy de Boer the past year has a monthly party at his home. Tuesday nights. I can never attend because I have my podcast show to do. Guy labeled the event Boys Night Out.

The name a copy of an event Mary Lou Hoover started 10 or more years ago. First in Key West. Now, State wide. Girls Night Out.

I must make one of Guy’s parties. He invites ladies also. Mary Lou does not invite men.

Tom Luna is one the most loved persons in Key West. A bear of a man. Always ready to throw his arms around you with a big hug.

Tom has been performing Dueling Bartenders at Aqua monday nights for many years. I understand he is taking 6 months off. Why, I do not know. The past year, he has had some illnesses. Nothing of consequence. Hope all is well with him.

The notes.

Melania not just a pretty face. She appears to be exerting more influence in the White House and over her husband than previously thought.

We are told she does not like John Kelly. Has been pushing her husband to get rid of him. She may finally have succeeded.

More importantly, Melania is not  enamoured with the Deputy  National Security Adviser, Mira Ricardel. Mira a friend of John Bolton. Melania wants Mira fired. Claims she “no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”

Someone close to Melania said “she can be a knife fighter.”

Mira claims she has never met Melania.

The Daily Beast recently ran 2 interesting articles. One had to do with the immigration problem. The article reported “Trump’s own team knows his caravan claims are bullshit.”

The other article had to do with people of color seeking permission to enter the U.S. The article suggests the blue wave be forgotten. There is a brown wave. Trump says the brown people are coming!

The article claims Trump has been riling up his base by stoking fear of a brown wave descending on Brownsville, Texas. At the same time accusing the Democrats and George Soros of making it all happen.

The election results and Mueller investigation appear to be taking their toll on Trump. He is losing it. Spending more time in his White House apartment, avoiding Presidential duties, etc. An example one of his tweets recently re French President Macron.

Criticized Macron for the Paris Armistice commemoration event. Criticized Macron for suggesting Europe had to set up its own joint military force to protect itself. Macron suggesting Europe could no longer depend on the U.S. He asked in effect how France could walk hand in hand with Germany. Germany caused World Wars I and II.

The Communist scare in the 1950’s and 1960’s was far worse than any war scares we are presently experiencing with nations such as Iran, China, North Korea and Russia. The Red Scare was everywhere. War was imminent.

A Mrs. White was a member of the Indiana Textbook Committee. She insisted that all references to Robin Hood be removed from school books. She was concerned because Robin Hood believed in stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. The Communist line at the time was the same. Take from the rich and give to the poor.

Still have 5 topics remaining. Enough for today, however. Will get to them tomorrow.

I close with a George Sands quote: “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.”

Enjoy your day!

GORDON A HURRICANE AT LANDFALL

Posted on by

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!

 

PROFESSIONALISM AT ITS BEST

Posted on by

Pain an interesting thing. Activity limiting. Kept me home and down again yesterday.

I am still suffering. Getting better, however. I can now sit. Bed the problem. Can only lay in one position painless. Not my normal position. A small turn in bed and the shot of pain wakes me.

I watched the New England Patriots game yesterday. Tom Brady phenomenal. Professionalism at its best.

Tom Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft. Not in the first round as one would expect. Rather the sixth round. A cheap dollar pickup for the Patriots. He was the 199th person drafted that year.

Today, the hottest commodity in professional football. At age 40, he is still playing as if in his 20’s. His throws perfection.

When the day comes that he is no longer a player, Brady would like to be a U.S. Senator. A welcome addition to the present inepts in Washington.

Trust. A virtue not to be found in Washington.

A vote at noon today to lift the shut down. The vote based on an alleged deal made between McConnell and the Democrats: Support a continuing resolution till February 8. Keep the government going. I/we promise that come 2/8 if the issues of concern to the Democrats have not been resolved, we promise to work on them further and bring each to a vote.

I would not buy it. Hope the Democrats do not buy it. Each side dishonorable. The Democrats should not blink. Keep the government shut down till the problems of concern are successfully worked out.

Reagan said with regard to nuclear deals with the Russians…..Trust, but verify. No way to verify other than pushing for all concerned to work extra long hours and get the job done. Then vote.

The country can stay closed 3-4 weeks. The last time a similar situation occurred, it was closed 16 days. I would also insist on a proviso that Congress not be paid till the task gets done.

The noon vote, if it occurs, will be interesting.

Trust has become a U.S. problem internationally under Trump. His word cannot be relied upon.

Russia and China are taking full advantage. Russia is extending its power/influence over Ukraine and Syria unabated.

China grows stronger in the South China Seas and economically. Economically as regards the Chines yuan. The yuan is replacing the American dollar as currency in certain oil trades.

Trump precipitated the dollar/yuan problem by threatening to invade Venezuela and cutting off Pakistan from financial aid. The leaders of each country said up yours to Trump and announced they were moving over to the yuan.

To lighter matters.

Key West has free ranging chickens living on its streets. Tourists think they are cute. Most locals consider them foul.

In 2004 and after much discussion, the City Commissioners decided to rid Key West of the chickens. A chicken catcher was hired on January 22. Armando Parra, Sr. A barber and self proclaimed self taught bird catcher.

He quit on August 4.

His contract was to run to September 1.

He was to be paid $20 per chicken caught, with a 900 chicken limit. He caught 542 before quitting. The number considered one quarter of the chicken population.

Parra claimed he quit because the City Commission was mini-managing him. What streets to work, where to leave the chickens alone, etc. His general impression was the City was not committed to eliminating the chickens.

No one has dealt with the problem since. The chicken population grows. Chickens are prolific. Their gestation period 29 days.

Five years ago, I wrote a lengthy article for KONK Life regarding cursive writing. A dying art. Taught in very few schools. The computer key board was considered more important to students than the ability to hand write.

I thought the move stupid. A generation has now grown that cannot hand write their names.

Change is in the air. Fourteen States and New York City’s elementary schools now mandate that cursive writing be taught. More are expected to join.

One reason put forth to teaching cursive writing again is the belief it helps the student to learn if he/she must hand write it.

Of course, computer keyboards will remain. Combined, double edged teaching tools.

Enjoy your day!

 

STONE CRABS

Posted on by

Last night, the meal of meals. Stone crabs!

The season opened sunday. It was my first stone crab meal of the season.

Enjoyed with another stone crab enthusiast, Jean Thornton. My great host from Birmingham who sheltered me and several others during Irma.

Jean crazy for stone crabs, also.

We dined at the Conch Republic. My idea. Stone crabs were great there last season.

The stone crabs tasty. Large.

Two complaints. The shells not broken enough and the mustard sauce a blob. We could not eat it. Stuck with melted butter.

Did not spoil the joy of the meal, however.

Priced $44 a pound. Cheap! I expected $60, perhaps even $70. Irma destroyed better than half the traps. I suspect the low price is because there still are not enough customers. Conch Republic half filled last night.

During dinner, Jean tells me she heard stone crabs were $26 a pound at the Pier House’s Pier One. No way! Never that cheap anywhere over the years!

I stopped at Pier One on my way to the Chart Room after dinner. A cute young Philippine hostess told me yes, $26 a pound. Six. Medium.

In the next couple of nights, I will be at Pier One enjoying.

The Chart Room was packed. Tourists galore. A good sign. I am concerned how successful Fantasy Fest will be. My thought is the powers to be should have adjourned it several weeks.

John bartending. Smiling big time. He was going to have a big night tip wise. It has been a long time.

David there. We chatted a while.

Jean, Molly, Ollie and I sat at the round table.

Molly is Kevin’s wife. Kevin on business in Boston till wednesday.

Ollie entertained us with his testicle burial story. A true one. The ladies thought it interesting. The first time they had heard it.

I told the group about Jenny who had a mastectomy and no nipple on the replacement. She intends to have the sunset of Key West tattooed where the nipple would have been.

No one believed me. I felt like an ass.

It was haircut time earlier in the day with Lori. Told her about the nipple/tattoo story. She was very familiar with it. Said many women have it done that way these days.

In a year if I run into Jenny again, I may have to ask her to show the unbelievers her Key West sunset.

After my haircut earlier in the day, shot over to Lee Nails. A manicure with Tammy. Told Tammy about Irma and Me. She was all excited.

We got into reading. Tammy is a successful business woman at 34. She and husband Rick have a booming nail business.

Tammy cannot read.

I was surprised. She was schooled in Vietnam. Not in English, however. Her 11 year old son reads to her if there is something at home she must read.

Terri’s first major milestone reached! God bless!

They have been shooting her big time every day with something to increase her stem cell supply. In order for the bone marrow transplant to begin, she had to have 4 million new stem cells. Tested yesterday. 4.5 million!

Tuesday, the transplant procedure begins. Monday going to be difficult. She will be given a massive dose of chemo. The most ever at one time. Terri has already been warned she will be sick sick! Vomiting, diarrhea, the works, big time.

She’s ready. Ready for everything.

A post Irma update.

The canals are filled with debris. Not just trees. Demolished houses and trailers. Broken boats.

The County passed the necessary legislation yesterday permitting FEMA and other agencies to begin a clean up of the canals.

William Hackley 1856 finds him up earlier every morning recently. Around 4. Out hunting. Appears that was how meat and fowl for the dinner table were obtained back then.

Syracuse enjoyed a major win last week. Beat #2 Clemson. Tomorrow, Syracuse plays Miami. Ranked #8 nationally. Can it happen again? I doubt it. But hope so!

Miami a 16 point favorite.

John Kelly’s press conference yesterday disappointed me. The man a distinguished former Marine general. Well respected. Now Trump’s Chief of Staff. His words re the telephone call and the behavior of the Florida Congresswoman did not ring true with me. Trump has a way of taking good people and somehow making them do what he wants. The good people eventually tarnished by Trump.

I think Kelly was used yesterday.

Let’s see what happens down the road.

Fantasy Fest begins today. Goombay!

Doing it with Joni who I met last week at Antonia’s.

I am beginning to feel like an overdue pregnant woman. Waiting for Irma and Me to be published. Any day now.

Enjoy your day!