EVENING NOT AS PLANNED

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The best laid plans of mice and men…..

My evening was planned. Syracuse basketball. I rarely miss a game. Everything else is pushed to the side.

There were two other things that could have been on my plate last night.

The annual Pier House Christmas Show. Starring dear friends Larry Smith, Kathleen Peace, Skipper Kripitz and Christine Cordone. Syracuse basketball superseded them.

The other was dinner with Cheryl and Roger. Now living in Cape Coral, they are visiting Key West for two weeks. Cocktails instead. Syracuse basketball taking priority.

I had lunch yesterday at the Pier House Beach Bar. Lovely Jaynine bartending. I could hear singing coming from the outer deck by the old Wine Galley. Knew the voice. Kathleen Peace!

I walked back to say hello. Larry and Skipper rehearsing with Kathleen. Hugs, kisses and a few moments of chatting. Told Larry I would not be there in the evening. Syracuse basketball. He could not understand why I would pick basketball over the show.

Different strokes for different folks.

An observation. Larry, Kathleen, Skipper and Christine are Key West. I repeat, they are Key West. None more representative.

I met Cheryl and Roger at the Sq. 1  bar at 5. They knew I would be leaving at 6:30 to watch the Syracuse game. It was good to see them. It had been several months. A couple of drinks and appetizers. At exactly 6:30, I left for home.

I settled in my recliner and turned on the TV. The game had already started. The score 10-10. The next thing I knew it was the start of overtime. I had fallen asleep and missed the whole game!

Some days I can’t win for losing.

Syracuse lost to Wisconsin in overtime 66-58. The sports news this morning indicates Syracuse played poorly. One problem was the boards. Syracuse was out rebounded 51-25.

On to the next game.

My yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. I am into something new. Working on my heart rate. I go fast for 30 seconds and then to a slow walk for 2 minutes. Not jogging. Walking very fast. Reached the highest speeds yet that way. As long as it does not kill me, it is good for me.

Keys History this morning reported that on this day in 1900 a ship left Key West for New York. The ship carried 1,846,000 cigars which had been made in Key West. A lot of cigars! What an industry! Gone now from Key West.

My friend Anna lives in Navara, Italy. We have not communicated in months. Received an e-mail from her yesterday. It was in Italian. Strange. She always writes in English. There was a warning across the e-mail. Do not open. People will steal your money, etc.

I did not open. Forwarded it to Anna, however.

An hour later, I received a telephone call from Anna. She was sitting in the Novara police station. Someone got into her e-mail. One of her bank accounts was already 5,700 euros light. About $8,000 American money. She warned me not to open the e-mail sent me which I already knew.

She telephoned again later when she returned home. She was obviously upset. Anna is affluent. However, also conservative. Watches every penny.

She was in Chamonix last weekend. A small ski town over the Italian border in France. About an hour’s drive from her home. For the first time, she had to show ID before she was permitted to enter France.

It was reported this morning that Saudi Arabia has scheduled a mass execution of 50 persons. All political activists, except for a Palestinian poet. All to be beheaded at one time.

I wonder how it is going to be done. I reported a year ago that Saudi Arabia was publicly advertising for beheaders. More were needed. Understandable. Saudi Arabia big at beheading.

Is each person to be executed to have his/her own beheader? Or, will one do all 50? I am not trying to be funny. Based on the want ad last year, that many executions at one time could be a problem for Saudi Arabia.

I love Saudi Arabia! They gave us $4 a gallon gasoline, 17 of the 21 9/11 terrorists were Saudi Arabian citizens. The same Saudi Arabia that is supposedly our friend. Saudi Arabia also has refused to take any of the Syrian refugees in. Their own people. Muslims.

Enjoy your day!

 

MIDSUMMER’S EVE CELEBRATION

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Dancing and frivolity of old will exist once again tomorrow evening in Key West. At East Martello. Midsummer’s Night Dream & Spectacle. In its ninth year.

The show, though proper in every respect, is a throwback to pagan days when the beginning of summer was celebrated with  big time partying. Way before Shakespeare’s time.

The show is Michael Shield’s baby. The originator nine years ago, he has continued to produce the event every year. Co-producer is the Key West Art & Historical Society.

My dear friend Jenna Stauffer is the emcee. I can visualize her in days of old. Prancing around in her fairy wings, tip toeing through the tulips. Orchestration by Skipper Kripitz. Perhaps the most honorable man in Key West. Singers include Larry Smith and Kathleen Peace. I love Kathleen! I love her singing! The walls of the East Martello Fort will shake during her performance.

My day yesterday began with a noon walk along the Atlantic Ocean. In the heat of the day. Not the best time. However, I did it. Then to the Cuban Coffee Queen for Cuban cheese toast and Cuban coffee.

Steve Braddock is a care giving Key Wester. He is a Catholic priest. He is active in assisting the homeless. A Saint Francis.

He is pissed off. The Lower Keys Medical Center claims he owes a balance for a hospital stay. $1,975. The hospital has sued in Small Claims Court. Before suit and since, Braddock has asked for an itemized bill. No itemized bill has been forthcoming.

The good priest is aware from prior assistance to the homeless that hospitals have a tendency to overcharge. Dramatically. He is defending himself in court. I would not want to have him as an opponent under the circumstances.

We have genocide in the United States. I refer to it as American genocide. The killing of blacks by whites. It has been going on since the earliest days of our country. It has to stop. Will it ever? I do not know.

The last 48 hours have brought the story of nine blacks in a church bible class shot by a white 21 year old. The place, Charleston, South Carolina. The 21 year old, Dylan Storm Roof. The killings in cold blood.

During the shootings, he said…..I have to do it…..you rape our women and you’ve taken over our country, and you have to go.

Roof has a history evidencing a drug problem. His father gave him a gun for his 21st birthday.

Roof was obviously misinformed as to the black conduct he described during the shootings. Probably heard it at the dinner table from his father.

These shootings are what they are. Racial hatred expressed with a gun. It must end! Otherwise as I have been saying on my blog talk radio show, the battle will not be between police and blacks. It will be blacks against whites. A people will take abuse only so long. There is a new generation of blacks and they will not be as patient and forbearing as their forefathers.

Anna is in Camogli. She has a beach front apartment. Camogli is part of the Italian Riviera. Next door is Portofino. Home of the renown Silvio Berlusconi. His close friend Putin has built a home nearby.

Tomorrow night’s emcee Jenna Stauffer is my date tonight. We are going to dinner. Love Jenna!

Enjoy your day!