SECOND PLACE!!!

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What a night!

It was the last night of the regular bocce season. We thought we would end up third for the season. If we played badly, fourth. If we played well and the number two team screwed up, we had a chance at second place.

We did good. Won all three games. The number two team lost two. All of a sudden, we were in second place!

Exciting!

Never been there before. We have had a couple of fourth and fifth place finishes. This season, the best ever.

The playoffs start tomorrow. Top five teams from all four leagues. Twenty teams competing. Because of our high finish, we draw a bye for the first round.

We play at 3 tomorrow. If we win, we then play at 5. Have to win both matches tomorrow to go on to the sunday games.

We won decisively last night. 16-7, 16-7, and 16-8.

I played terrible. Worse than that. Only one good shot. The last one I threw. Interestingly, it was the one that won the game. My partner Keith carried me the whole way.

New pictures for AlterG yesterday when I went to do the anti-gravity treadmill. Much better. My gut does not show.

5 Guys for lunch. Stayed a couple of hours reading the newspapers.

I will be on the radio today. Interview time 12:15-12-30. I will be answering questions about this week’s KONK Life column Sex Tales of Old. 104.9. I am becoming the Dr. Kinsey of Key West. Not really. My stories are from older times and not of a personal nature.

My Sex Tales of Old column appears in this morning’s KONK News. It also was linked to my Key West Lou website this morning. keywestlou.com.

College Road power poles down all day yesterday. More work today.

There was much discussion at bocce last night about the poles being down. One of the players works for Keys Electic. We all thought the poles were cement. Looked cement in the newspaper yesterday. We were all wrong. They were wood.

WordPress continues to be a problem. I believe you are all receiving this blog. However commenting might not be doable. One of the sections fouled up. Someone please write me a Hello Louis comment so I will know whether the blog is receiving.

Sloan still working on the problem. I suspect it will be late saturday or sunday before it is corrected. Sorry.

Enjoy your day!

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

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Four score and seven years ago…..

Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address on this day in 1863. The speech less that 300 words took less than 4 minutes to give.

We all learned in school that Lincoln wrote the speech on a paper bag with a pencil while riding the train to Gettysburg. Some say the paper bag was really the back of an envelope.

Both incorrect.

Historians are generally agreed that Lincoln started writing his speech two weeks before he gave it. He worked on it daily.

The paper bag tale is similar to Betsy Ross having sewed the firs American flag.

Recollections of Gettysburg at the time Lincoln gave the address generally leave out the condition of the battlefield. Strewn with rotting horse carcasses.

I did my thing on the anti-gravity treadmill yesterday. Love it! Invigorates me. Each time I finish, I feel I have accomplished something.

AlterG wants pics of Jenny and me. Jenny wanted pics of me on the treadmill with her standing next to me. We did two. They went ou without me seeing them. Saw them last night. No way can they be used! I know I am big. However no where as big as the photos make me appear. Jenny does not know it yet, but we are redoing the picture taking this morning.

The pics will be part of AlterG’s national advertising. They will lose business if they print a pic of me with a huge gut!

Walgreens for prescriptions followed by lunch at Harpoon Harry’s. Ham and eggs. Harpoon Harry’s has the best eggs anywhere. Light. No where else have I enjoyed eggs as I do at Harpoon Harry’s.

Don’s Place last night. Chatted with Don, David, Keith , Toni and Larry Smith. Bocci the topic. Nothing else.

Tonight the last league night. We are presently in third place. Can end up in second. Though I doubt it. Could be fourth. No worse.

Whatever, we will be in the playoffs. The playoffs are saturday and sunday. A long weekend of bocce ahead.

Don, Larry and I then headed to La Te Da. We wanted to see the new inside bar. Wow! Beautiful. Different. The bar I knew for 25 years gone. A new and different one in its place. I can handle the change.

We ate at the outside bar. Tonto bartending once again. I have known Tonto for 20 years.

Two telephone polls down on College Road yesterday. Traffic screwed up all day. A truck hooked into the overhead wires and unknowingly continued driving.

One thing I do not understand is why the poles toppled. The one pictured in this morning’s Key West Citizen shows the top third of one poll hanging. The top third. The polls are concrete. Hurricane polls. I am surprised the one in the paper snapped.

I had a hair appointment with Lori later this morning. Cancelled it. The nickel sized growth the doctor cut off my head is still healing.

Read yesterday that the average cost of a gallon of gasoline is $2.15. We are at $2.49 in Key West. Just once in my life I would like to buy gasoline somewhere at the average price. It does exist. People who drive to Key West from the north country always talk about it. How cheap gas was during the trip.

An interesting article in the Wall St. Journal yesterday. The Koch brothers have a sort of Pac called Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce. Freedom Partners contributed $129 million last year in order to assure Republican control of the U.S. Senate.

The same group is presently raising $899 million for the run up to the 2016 Presidential and Congressional elections.

Is this the way to influence elections? I think not. Nor is it healthy for the country.

WordPress still screwed up. Sloan working on it. You are having trouble commenting. Please be patient.

Enjoy your day!

CITIZENS’ VOICE

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The Key West Citizen at page 2 prints the Citizens’ Voice each day. A place where readers can complain about anything and everything.

A comment this morning: “On Big Pine, the Key deer are endangered, but in Key West the locals are far more endangered. Enough!”

My good friend Sheila Cullen is responsible for the column. It is her responsibility to sift through the many comments received and select those she deems worthy of publication. She takes her job seriously.

As Sheila constantly tells me, she tries to select both sides of an issue for print. I smile each time. She sounds fair and balanced like FOX. Fair and balanced she is. FOX she is not.

I did some background digging re the place where the Paris shootings took place. Bataclan. General consensus is ISIS attacked because of France’s participation in Syria. The Times of Israel suggests another reason in addition. Israel/Judaism.

Bataclan was owned for 40 years by a Jewish family. In 2011, a high member of ISIS is reported to have said, “We plan an attack against the Bataclan because its owners are Jews.”

The group playing at the time of the attack were the Eagles of Death Metal. The group played in Tel Aviv’s Barby Club in July.

The family sold Bataclan in September. They now live in Israel.

Merely sharing.

Fine tuned my blog talk radio show Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou for broadcast last night. I threw in the Bataclan story just shared. I also shared some portions of this week’s KONK Life column Sex Tales of Old. Post show comments indicate the Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin stories the most popular.

KONK Life hits the news stands today. Read my column Sex Tales of Old. A change of pace article. I had to get away from the heavy stuff.

The Comment section of WordPress was buried yesterday with multiple Chinese I don’t know what. Could not translate, so do not know what was said. Turned out to be spam. Sloan cleaned the section up and hopefully we will not be bothered by the problem again.

My evening was busy. Syracuse/St.Bonaventure basketball 7-9. Tuesday Talk at 9. I caught all but the last minute of the game.

Syracuse won 79-66.

I was not impressed with Syracuse the first three quarters. I had bad vibes. A poor basketball season? Syracuse then turned it around with 15 minutes to go. Went on a 34-14 run.

Recognition must be given St. Bonaventure. An excellent team. Especially good for a small school. I was impressed.

Love that Syracuse is now in the ACC. I no longer have to run around town finding a place with a TV carrying the Syracuse game. Every Syracuse football and basketball game thus far have been televised and were available to me in Key West. I watch the games from home and couch.

The Havana Thunder Challenge is having a hard time getting off this week. Winds too strong and waves too high. Three boats left yesterday and made it to Havana. Three more plan on leaving thursday. Nine have withdrawn from the event.

That I am not a fan of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been obvious. I was unaware till this morning the group was active back in 1966. At that time, the Bishops eliminated the rule against eating meat on friday.

You have no idea the fear imposed on me by the no friday meat rule. I was 7, 8, 9 years old while the rule was in force. Occasionally, I would cheat and have a slice of bologna or something on friday. On saturday, I would stand in line waiting to go to confession scared as hell. In Church! I was afraid of what the priest was going to say to me because of my sin.

My wrongdoing generally ended up in three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Point. The meat thing was a man made rule and could be changed. Much of what the Pope wants to correct/change today involve man made rules. The U.S. Conference of Bishops hold hard in opposition to the Pope’s position.

Wednesday is screw off day for me. My heavy research and writing days are saturday through tuesday. Wednesday, my first day free from responsibility.

Love wednesdays!

Enjoy your day!

 

SYRACUSE BASKETBALL RETURNS

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Syracuse basketball is back! Love it!

Already won one game. Play St. Bonaventure tonight. These early games mean little. The big guys play the little guys in warm up games.

Soon Syracuse will be off to a tournament in the Bahamas. There they play against other competent teams. The tournament provides an early look at the quality of the team.

The Boeheim penalty phase begins with the ACC games. Boeheim is prohibited from coaching the first nine games. He has an appeal pending that may minimize the penalty.

It was back to the treadmill yesterday. The Anti-Gravity Treadmill. I was away a week. It felt good to be on the machine again. There were no problems. My shoulder/ribs held up.

Won something to do with the treadmill. The AlterG “PT of the Month” award.

Jenny is my physiotherapist. She mentioned that AlterG, the manufacturer of the anti-gravity treadmill, had a contest. Needed a letter from the patient as to why using the machine, what was expected to be accomplished, etc.

The competition a national one.

Jenny asked me to participate with her. I agreed. Told her to worry not. We would win.

I wrote about my inability to climb to the top of the Santorini volcano. Actually, a funny story.

The story did it. We won. Won what? A couple of tee shirts and something else. Plus, AlterG will be carrying my submission in its next blog. Together with pics of Jenny and me.

After the treadmill, I was off to Publix. In desperate need of groceries. Surprisingly, Publix was packed. Unusual for a monday.

Yesterday afternoon was spent preparing for tonight’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics touched upon will include Hillary’s Wall St. comments, the Paris/Bataclan attack, federal government’s fining several major pharmaceuticals for wrongdoing, Germany’s immigration problems causing a member of Parliament to call for compulsory labor, some parts of this week’s KONK Life column including sexual pursuits of Caesar, Columbus, and Ben Franklin. Betsy Ross too, if I have time. Hers one of the most surprising.

Dinner last night at Goldman’s Deli. Desired a pastrami on rye sandwich.

I made a mistake yesterday. I stated voting age was 21. It is not. It is 18 and has been so for many years thanks to the 26th Amendment. What can I say? Sorry. Sometimes I get things wrong. I spend 30-35 hours a week researching and writing. I try to be accurate. Mistakes occur, however.

I thank the reader who brought the error to my attention.

Certain things are not within my job description. Running the country one. I must comment. I am extremely unhappy with Obama’s attitude and decision re taking on ISIS further. Brings to mind the late 1930s when many closed their eyes to German aggression hoping it would go away.

ISIS is not going away. They have to be destroyed. I am with those who think we will be fighting them on U.S. soil if we do not do more. Significantly more.

One of Key West’s loveliest ladies is Holly. Peter Diamond’s Holly. At the Gardens sunday night, she took me aside. She had an article she wanted me to read. Thought it was worthy of comment. Had to do with an unusual amount of seagrass running up onto Atlantic beaches the length of the U.S. She said she would get the article to me.

Her comments made me recall a recent news story that the upper end of Smathers Beach had seagrass out a distance into the ocean.

Researched the situation. The seagrass is called Sargassum. Also known as beach wrack. It is decaying seaweed. Smells like rotten eggs.

Interestingly, seabirds, crabs and certain type insects feed off the seaweed.

Its origination unknown. Some suspect the 2010 Horizon oil spill. The chemicals put into the water at the time.

The creatures that suffer the most are baby turtles. The hatchlings. They cannot reach the water. Confusion big time! Most die.

I am repetitive in the following regard: Key West loves Harry Truman and Harry Truman loved Key West. On this day in 1946, Truman arrived in Key West for his first vacation here. Glad he enjoyed Key West. He returned ten times more. His total time in Key West 175 days

Enjoy your day!

LA TE DA HAS NEW BAR

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Key West is blessed with several excellent publications. One is Conch Color.

I was browsing Conch Color when I came across a La Te Da advertisement. A picture of La Te Da’s new inside bar. Beautiful!

I have not done a late night at La Te Da in months. Some night this week, I will. I am anxious to see what Christopher has accomplished.

My visit may be sad. I enjoyed the old bar for many years. Many memories.

Spent a long time yesterday writing this week’s KONK Life column. Thought it was time for a change of pace. My writings have been on the serious side in recent weeks.

Decided on a sex topic. Wrote Sex Tales of Old. Stories involving Julius Caesar, Christopher Columbus, the early New England settlers, Ben Franklin, Pope Alexander VI, and Betsy Ross.

The column publishes wednesday.

Last night it was Kate Miano’s Gardens.

Kate present. She has not been recently. She was in France. Returned a few days ago. Still fighting jet lag.

Ran into Pati on the way in. We sat together and enjoyed Peter Diamond’s singing.

It was after six when I arrived. Dark. I could not see anyone. If I want to know who is there, I must arrive before the sun sets.

Stopped at Roostica on the way home. Sunday night dinner. Spaghetti with meatballs, sausage and pieces of pork. Covered in a thick red sauce.

Bobby calls it gravy. Some italians do. My people did not. In fact, I never heard sauce described as gravy till Bobby opened his Italian restaurant. I understand New Jersey Italians refer to sauce as gravy.

Bobby just returned from ten days in Rome.

Kate in France, Bobby in Rome. Key Westers know how to live!

Larry Smith entertains tonight at The Little Room Jazz Club. Larry Kripitz on the drums.

Read El Nino is going to cause south Florida aggravation this winter. The experts warn be ready for a wet and wild season. Happening because Pacific Ocean waters will be warmer than normal around the equator.

College student activity at Missouri U. and Kansas U. has resulted in much discussion. Concern, also.

Many have described the protestors as Fascists. For the manner in which they relate to those they oppose/do not agree with.

There was an interesting column in the Wall St. Journal this weekend. The writer discussed raising the voting age to 25. It is presently 21. His opinion was that students were not responsible to vote.

I disagree. I have disagreed also with the 21 voting age. My reason simple. If the under twenty ones can fight for their country such is sufficient reason to give 18 year olds the vote.

Kansas students have initiated a different approach. Instead of asking the school’s president to resign, they demanded that the top three officers in the Student Council resign. By friday. Their own people. Fellow students. If they fail to resign, they have been threatened with impeachment.

The crazies are getting younger and younger. I wonder how their grades are doing. The primary purpose of a university is education. Not displays of public wrath. Especially over bullshit issues.

This morning, I return to the anti-gravity treadmill. I missed all but one day last week. The machine was aggravating my ribs and left side. I still hurt. However, much less. I hope I experience no problems today. The treadmill has become a part of my every day life.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

IMPREGNATION COSTLY

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This morning’s Key West Citizen’s History section made brief mention of a 1993 court case where one dog owner sued another dog owner because his dog got pregnant. Cost the impregnating dog owner $2,567.50.

The bite sounded interesting. I researched it. Following is what I came up with.

Rocky is the male. A seven pound Chihuahua. Canella is the female. An eighty pound Rottweiler. Rocky a lover. Canella receptive to playing.

Rocky did it to Canella.

The dogs were neighbors. Rocky was fenced in. Canella leashed on her owner’s deck. Canella in heat.

Rocky was not to be denied. Somehow he got out of the fence and made it to Canella. The two then proceeded to have intercourse. Canella not objecting.

Picture little Rocky pumping away at Canella.

Canella’s owner saw what was happening. He rushed out and tried to pull them away. To no avail. Even hosed them.

An animal officer happened to be driving by. He saw it all. Photographed the scene because it was so funny. Little Rocky getting his.

Canella got pregnant.

Canella was pedigreed. Her owner wanted her to be impregnated by another pedigreed Rottweiler. Canella ended up carrying ten puppies by Rocky.

Rather than have her deliver, Canella was subjected to a hysterectomy. No viable puppies obviously. The hysterectomy left Canella sterile.

Canella’s owner sued. The judge awarded him $2,567.50. I am not sure for what specifically. Most likely, the cost of the hysterectomy. Perhaps that the owner would not have pedigreed Rottweilers to sell in the future.

I spent all of yesterday at home. Intentionally. A perfect day for it.

I researched this week’s KONK Life column. A change of pace article. The unknown sexually related exploits of historical figures. People like Julius Caesar, Christopher Columbus, and Betsy Ross.

I will write the column later today.

Watched Syracuse/Clemson in the late afternoon. A good game. Syracuse was always in the game till the final minutes. There was a chance. Hope was kept alive.

Syracuse lost 37-27.

The team played well again, in spite of losing. They played without #1 quarterback Eric Dungey who was out with a head injury from last week. Mahoney, #4 quarterback, lead the team and did a good job.

The game got screwed up early in the 4th quarter. Syracuse was penalized 45 yards in less than two minutes. This was after recovering the ball around mid field.

The third 15 yard penalty was because of the coach’s conduct. He went crazy regarding the second 15 yard penalty call. Gave Syracuse its third 15 yard loss.

Had none of this occurred, Syracuse might have won the game. There was the chance. The team still hung in. If my recollection is correct, Clemson was able to score as a result of the penalties.

Next year!

The game was followed by the Democratic Debate last night. I am a political junkie. Last night’s performance was unimpressive. I am getting bored with an appearing wild Sanders waving his arms and saying the same things. Hillary is no better. Her boiler plated responses have become boring. She is beginning to sound hollow. The third candidate reminds me of a cheerleader. One with a great smile.

Power boat races end today. Every thing is on the line.

The water is rough in front of my home. It will be rougher out where they will be racing.

An organization called SMART Kids rode their bicycles into Key West yesterday. Adults. Four hundred strong. A two day trip beginning in Miami. The purpose to raise money for AIDS.

I hope to get out later in the day. I am going to try Kate Miano’s Gardens again.

Bocce rankings in the paper. We still are in third place. Next week the last. We probably will end up third. Could be fourth. An outside chance it will be second place. Depends on who wins and loses their last three games Thursday.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

ANUSH

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Anush. Lovely. Charming. An interesting dinner companion.

We dined at Latitudes last night. A long leisurely meal. Great conversation.

Anush is 38. Born and raised in Armenia, she now resides in London. She has lived in Moscow. Well traveled. Vacations often. Typical of Europeans.

Taught for 12 years at Westminster College. Now a cyber security consultant.

She is on holiday. Miami, Key West and Atlanta. Has previously visited Washington. Several trips to the Bahamas. A trip to Buenos Aries.

Other places world wide. Cosmopolitan.

She is making good use of her time in Key West. Arrived wednesday night. Staying at the Marriott. A bite to eat at the bar that night where we met. Then to an early bed. Jet lag still affecting her.

Since thursday morning, she has visited the Little White House, attended the boat races, flew in a two seat open cockpit bi-plane for a half hour, and consumed oysters for the first time at Island Dogs. Last night (friday), dinner with Louis. Today to be spent scuba diving. All day.

She was excited by her time in Key West. Loved the laid back feeling.

Anush leaves Key West tomorrow to spend a couple of days in Atlanta. Then back to London.

I have discovered European women in my old age. Anna being an example. I like them. They are different. Different because from different cultures. The situation probably works in reverse, also. European men who visit the U.S. probably find american women different from those back home.

Whatever, a very pleasant evening.

My weekly interview to discuss this week’s KONK Life column yesterday. Dracula in the Operating Room. On 104.9. Don Riggs interviewed me from Phoenix.

Spent the afternoon researching what I thought would be this week’s KONK Life column. Women Priests. I could not put it together. I was not comfortable with what I came up with. Ergo, no Women Priests this week.

What, I am not sure. It is saturday morning and I have no idea what I am going to write. The article must be to the publisher by 5 tomorrow afternoon.

Divine inspiration will befall me. It always does.

Donald Trump. Will the American people ever tire of him?

He did not do himself much good thursday evening.  Asked, “How stupid are the people of Iowa?” He compared Carson’s childhood temper to that of a pedophile (without using the word). Told us how he would handle ISIS. Bomb the “shit” out of their oilfields.

There is a saying. Vine veritas. In wine, truth. Alcohol loosens the tongue. Being extremely tired does also. It was obvious Trump was dead tired. No excuse. The man’s inner self was exposed.

A Presidential election is like a marathon. Participants must pace themselves.

Poor Syracuse! Today, Syracuse plays Clemson. Number 1 in the nation. Undefeated. Syracuse somewhere around #68 with a 3-5 or 3-6 record. Syracuse a 29 point underdog.

Orange blood will flow today.

Never say never, however. It was September 29, 1984. A day never to be forgotten by Syracuse fans. Syracuse was playing Nebraska. Nebraska #1 in the nation. Syracuse a 25 point underdog. Syracuse beat Nebraska 17-9.

It happens.

The game is at 3:30. On ABC. Only because Clemson is playing. I plan to watch the game from the comfort of my home.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

BOCCE…..ONE WIN

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Great bocce last night!

We won 1 out of 3 games. I mentioned yesterday morning we would be happy with one victory. So no complaints this morning.

The interesting thing is all the games were relatively close. We held our own against the best.

No question, this has been the best season ever for us. Not a fluke. We have gotten consistently better over the years. Our game has moved to another level.

The loss will probably not affect our 3rd place standing.

Next week is the last night of this season.

Had a follow up visit with Dr. Jackie Lefferts yesterday afternoon re my fall. I still have occasional pain when I move certain ways. A muscle/ bruised rib injury. I am mending. Pain 75 percent better.

An interesting development. More and more locals who attended Fantasy Fest this year are complaining about the nudity and sex. The people I am speaking with are not goody two shoes. They are fun people, out on the town most evenings. They found the conduct bothersome. Thought the problem generated from the swinger involvement.

I will be interviewed between 12:20 and 12:40 this afternoon on KONK News. 104.9. The discussion concerns this week’s KONK Life column Dracula in the Operating Room. Love the title!

Trump continues to make questionable statements. Whether they will affect his standing remains to be seen.

Trump is big on immigration. He said he is going to use a deportation force to remove the 11 million illegals from the United States. Sounds to me like the Gestapo rounding up Jews in Nazi Germany.

Trump relies as authority for what he wants to do with what Eisenhower did with 1.1 million illegal immigrants in 1954. Eisenhower used a deportation force. I like Ike. He screened up in this instance, however.

Ships were used in some instances to move the illegals. A Congressional investigation following the deportations described one ship as an “18th century slave ship” and “penal hell ship.”

What has begun at the University of Missouri and spread to Yale and Ithaca College bothers me. Protests, demonstrations and revolutions have in recent years been led by the young. Many, if not most, college students.

The demonstrations against the police re black killings and now these college demonstrations involve young demonstrators. I worry that at some point one might get out of hand and ignite a national conflagration. Don’t say no. Things are not as they should be in every area today. Nothing is impossible.

Enjoy your day!

VIETNAM LIVING MEMORIAL

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There are certain times in our lives that are heart warming and uplifting. Rare. Yesterday was one.

The Vietnam Living Memorial was dedicated. I missed the dedication in the morning. However made the party from 4-7 in the afternoon.

An experience.

There had to be a 1,000 people. Most seniors. Sixties and seventies. White haired, bald, bearded, paunchy. Smiling , laughing and high fiving each other.

The Vietnam War ripped our country apart. Most were opposed to it. President Johnson wanted it. I have always believed he wanted to be a great war time President as Roosevelt had been.

When the Vietnam veterans returned home, there were no welcoming parades, slaps on the back. No thank yous. They never received credit for having put their lives on the line for their country.

Today, the U.S. as a people have come around to recognizing the wrong done. The veterans are from the 1960 thru early 1970 era.

Key West said thank you, we love you, to the Vietnam veterans yesterday with the dedication and then party at Bayview Park.

Six black granite stones with the names of the 362  who served stand proudly. As proud as the veterans celebrating the event yesterday.

After the Vietnam party, I headed to the outside back bar at Aqua. Knew Mark Watson would be bartending. Mark was recently crowned Fantasy Fest King. Enjoyed chatting with him a while.

Then to Tavern ‘n Town for dinner.

The bar quiet. A lovely lady appeared and sat several seats away. We started chatting. When I had finished dinner, I asked if I could move over.

An interesting person. Her name, Anush. Sparkling eyes. Originally from Armenia, she now lives in London. Vacationing in Key West. She is a cyber security consultant.

We talked quite a while of many things. Agreed to meet for dinner friday evening.

It was back to book writing yesterday afternoon. Knocked out another Growing Up Italian chapter. Revised and edited it several times before I was satisfied.

It is about medical attention in the late 1930s. Home bred. Who went to a doctor? Who could afford a doctor? Someone in the family always knew what to do.

I was 4. We lived third floor front. Something like Clorox was bought by families to clean clothes and whatever else. It was called bouledine. An Italian word. I am not sure I am spelling the word correctly. I googled and could not find what I was looking for. If any of you know, please e-mail me.

In any event, the bouledine came in gallon jugs. My mother gave me an empty jug and told me to place it in the hall with the other empty ones.

The hall was long. I was running. I fell. The empty bouledine bottle cutting the palm of my right hand below the thumb. A large piece of glass sticking out of the wound.

My mother screamed. My Uncle Frank came running up from the second floor. Uncle Frank was carpenter. He took care of the problem

He took a large bread knife and worked the glass out. Cutting me a bit in the process. Then took a needle and thread and sewed the wound.  One inch long. Took four stitches. A scar remains today. The four stitches obvious.

Covered the area with mercure com. Everything was covered with mercure com in those days. I do not think it is sold anymore.  He wrapped my hand in a clean white cloth. I was the hero on the block the rest of the day.

Dracula in the Operating Room was linked to my Key West Lou website this morning. keywestlou.com.

I have an afternoon visit with the doctor. A follow up visit to my fall last week.

Bocce tonight. Big game! We are in 3rd place. We play the #1 ranked team. They are exceptionally good. Superior. Are first every year. If we win one of the three games, we will consider it a victory.

Enjoy your day!

 

VETERAN’S DAY

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A major holiday today. Veteran’s Day. To honor all military personnel who fought for their/our country.

November 11 is the official date for the holiday. The reason why November 11 is interesting. World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. How about that!

The most important event today in Key West is the dedication of the new Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial at Bayview Park. Long in coming. Well deserved. Our Vietnam vets have long been forgotten. They never received their just due acclimation wise when they returned home.

The dedication is at 11. I was there for the groundbreaking. I hope to be there this morning for the dedication.

Cannot have a holiday without a parade. The parade on Duval and Truman is at 4 this afternoon.

My blog talk radio show interfered with my watching all of the Republican debate last night. Missed a half hour.

Love political debates! Trump still has me in a I don’t know place. He’s a bully. Question is whether he has the demeanor and intelligence to be President. My mind remains open.

H. L. Mencken was a famous American writer during the first half of the 20th century. He wrote something worthy of repetition on July 26, 1920 in the Baltimore Evening Sun.

“As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.

On some great and glorious day, the folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron.”

Fits Trump. Trump is a fool and narcissistic. I disagree that he is a moron. Whether properly intelligent a question. Is he Presidential timber?

An article in today’s Key West Citizen indicates the hotels were not full for Fantasy Fest. Somewhere around 81 percent. However, the hotels did not get hurt. Room rates were higher this year.

Last year, the average cost of a room during Fantasy Fest was $238 a night. This year, $413.

Quite a hike!

I fear the hotels will kill the chicken that lays the golden egg. Restaurants and bars, also.

My ribs still bothering me. I cancelled the anti-gravity treadmill monday. The condition was aggravated by the treadmill friday. Still hurting. Cancelling the rest of the week on the treadmill. Wish the pain would go away.

This week’s KONK Life hits the stands at 5 this afternoon. My column this week is Dracula in the Operating Room. Love the title! The column is about the U.S. government and the student college loan program. The government Dracula and the loan program the operating room.

Why all the seaweed at Smathers Beach? Unusual.

Belly dancing. I remember a birthday party for a judge friend of mine back in Utica many years ago. At a point in the party, his wife came in dressed in belly dancing attire. She sat her husband in the middle of the couch. Then proceeded to dance for him. He alone. She had learned specially for him. Her birthday gift.

There is a belly dancing event soon in Key West. On November 16 at 5:45. 1511 Truman.

Womankind is involved. Event titled: Belly Enhancing with Belly Dancing. Should be fun. Go. I would, except my belly is too large for correction.

Almost forgot. I have had for several years two ugly growths on the top of my head. The dermatologist never wanted to cut them out. Yesterday the big one was oozing. I went to his office. He cut them both out. I am walking around with three bandaids on the top of that portion of my head that is bald.

Enjoy your day!