ISABELLA

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

PHYSIOTHERAPY ENDS

Let the drums roar! I am done with physiotherapy!

I went because I was falling. My doctor said I needed balance sessions. I disagreed, but went. The doctor was correct.

I only attended 3-4 weeks. Twice a week. Grueling! Hard! Knocked me on my ass! I was exhausted when I was done each day.

Hopefully, it worked. I was told yesterday that I now have an 8 percent chance of falling. As opposed to 20 percent when I started.

The physio worked on my core. That is the lower part of one’s stomach. Had to strengthen my core. The physio included a how to climb stairs program also. I thought it a joke when I started. No joke! It has made me very conscious that I am climbing stairs when I do so. I now concentrate on each step. Sounds foolish, I know. But we forget as we age.

Now, we shall see. Hopefully no more falls.

I did the physiotherapy at Body Owners on Stock Island. I was pleased. The group is very professional, attentive and knowledgeable.

Part of my session included 20 minutes on a treadmill. Not the usual type. It is called an AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill. Cool! Lowers your body weight as you walk on the treadmill. In my case, made me feel 50 pounds lighter. Ergo, I did not tire easily.

To describe the machine is difficult. You wear some kind of big shorts. The shorts and a large box you are in are blown up with air. The air lifts your body a bit. The reason why you feel lighter as you walk.

I am taken by the machine. Today, I start a three day a week program just using the treadmill. Thirty minutes each time. This is not part of the physiotherapy program I just concluded. I hope it will make me stronger and get my body in better shape.

Spent a couple of hours yesterday fine tuning last night’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. My police/black discussion garnered the most interest. I said today police/black, tomorrow black/white. The  black economy a motivating factor. The scenario could be upon us as soon as this summer. Hope I am wrong.

This week’s KONK Life column hits the stands today. 99 44/100 % Pure. The story of Ivory soap. Very interesting. Even has sex thrown in. A change of pace article for me. Thought it was time for something light.

I read somewhere this morning that the poppy fields in Afghanistan  experienced the highest production level in 2014. Afghanistan is the world’s largest supplier of opium and heroin.

I make mention because of something that came to my attention about three months ago. I discussed it briefly on my blog talk radio show at the time.

We all now the devastation the war has wrought on Afghanistan. Destruction everywhere. But one place. The poppy fields. Not one poppy field has been damaged in the fighting.

A message here?

Let me close with Hemingway and Truman.

I watched A Farewell to Arms on television last night. The second time in two weeks. Much of the story takes place in northern Italy near the Swiss border. One of the locations is Lake Maggiore. Scenes of Lake Maggiore frequently appear in the movie.

I have been to Maggiore several times. A beautiful place. The lake has several islands. One I visited for dinner in a quaint small Italian bistro. I thought at the time and do now how lucky I have been to enjoy Lake Maggiore. It is a God is in His Heaven, all is right with the world place.

Came across an interesting statement by Truman. I share it with you.

“My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference. I, for one, believe the piano player job to be much more honorable than current politicians.”

Enjoy your day!

RACIAL BIAS IN PARADISE

Racial bias/selective police enforcement in Key West was a primary topic at the ACLU town hall meeting last night.

I had intended to attend the town hall meeting. Unfortunately, I could not. This morning’s Key West Citizen ran an informative article re the event.

I have spent a quarter of a century in Key West. Having had previous experience with police (I represented 55,000 full time civil service police officers at one time in my legal career), I probably have paid closer attention to police than most. This includes the Sheriff’s Department.

I have never seen the racial bias/selective enforcement complained of. That does not mean it does not exist. I do find fault with Key West police re the Charles Eimers case. Regardless of the official outcome, it leaves me concerned and worried.

Sheriff Department personnel are more congenial. They talk in a respectful manner. Key West officers come across tough, their tone intimidating on occasion.

Perhaps Key West has more difficult problems than Monroe County. Ergo, a different attitude is required. I do not know

Such are my impression of things.

I spent a good part of yesterday working on tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Great topics! One involves the major thieves of all time. Banks.

Water is predicted to be the oil of the 21st century. The mega banks are buying water sources world wide. It is possible at some point that water will be as costly as gasoline and as profitable for the banks as derivative trading, exorbitant interest rates, etc.

Join me. Nine my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

I finished Elizabeth Warren’s book A Fighting Chance. Read it. Worth while.

The narrative portion of the book is outstanding. Warren writes in a talking fashion. Her story easy to follow.

The only negative I thought was what followed at the end of the book. Pages of excerpts from records of her daily professional activities. Boring. I could not complete that portion. The only thing I can think of is that the excerpts were added to give additional volume to the book. Bulk/number of pages enters into the cost of a book.

Pru Somers has done it again. The woman can write. I recommend her article in this morning’s KONK Life E-Blast. The topic involves affordable housing. She points out there is a lot of room for construction. However, the City cries it has no money to build.

Key West does not spend its funds in a thoughtful process. It overpays for public buildings, replaces public multimillion dollar structures after 20-30 years, talks of building more parking garages, spends money on studies never used, on and on. In the meantime, the working people of Key West do not have affordable housing.

I have to hustle. Physiotherapy this morning. I hope the program cures my falling incidents.

Enjoy your day!