LEPROSY

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There is good and bad to everything. Many times the bad is hidden/forgotten. Especially in the instance where the something bad has turned with the passage of time into a shining gem.

It is the story of leprosy and Key West. One I only learned this past week.

Diana Millikan is a snowbird. Interested in history. Digs every day into Key West’s background. She brought the leprosy part to my attention. I merely read what she provided.

There was a concern on her part that perhaps nothing should be written re the subject. A negative report. I initially agreed. Then decided that what was was. Let it all out.

The Biblical plague of all time is leprosy. Monroe County, and especially Key West, had a large number of leprosy victims residing here. It was another time, another century.

Once as many as 100. One of the largest numbers in the United States. None of the victims caught the dread disease here. It was brought from the outside into the Keys.

Leprosy is not contagious. One human to another. Don’t laugh. Leprosy is spread by armadillos. I do not recall armadillos inhabiting this area.

Today, leprosy is treatable. Persons affected are no longer isolated. Since 1942, a drug called Putome is available to cure leprosy.

The problem still exists. About ten cases a year in the United States. I do not know when the last case was reported in the Key West area. Note however that two Key West doctors list in their areas of expertise leprosy.

When leprosy was rampant, U.S. residents were shipped off to Carville, Louisiana. That is where they were isolated, lived. Five thousand patients over the years. The leprosy facility was closed by the government in 1999. No new business.

However, ten elderly residents remain. They never left. They have lived there their whole lives. They were born in Carville.

James Carville comes into play. James of Democratic political fame. His great grandfather was Postmaster of the Carville area for years. Carville, Louisiana is named after him.

I received sad information from Lynda Frechette this morning. Judy Wood is dead. The exuberant charming Tavern ‘n Town bartender. I will provide more information as received.

My intent last night was to hear Terri White sing at La Te Da at a Fantasy Fest King Fundraiser for Christopher. Then to The Little Room Jazz Club to attend Larry Smith’s birthday celebration.

Made neither. For some reason, I became extremely exhausted in the afternoon. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent in bed.

Syracuse/Virginia Tech saturday. Virginia Tech a 17 point favorite.

I wish the football season would end!

Have to hustle. A haircut with Lori at noon. Then lunch at Jay’s new Cuzzy Bubbaz. It opened two days ago.

Enjoy your day!

NOSTALGIA

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The last 24 hours brought back some yesterdays. Not personal ones. Interesting nevertheless.

The first was Al Gore. Former Vice-President. A world leader in protecting the environment.

Gore was with Hillary Clinton at Miami Dade College. Talking to college students about the environment. He is a recognized expert in the field. He prepared the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. A global warming warning. For which Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

He is older. We all are.  I have not seen him in 10-15 years. Put on a lot of weight. So have I.

Gore also talked about voting. Every vote counts was his pitch. Who better than he should know! He was defeated for President by George W. Bush. The chad election. Gore lost Florida by 500 plus votes. He won the overall national vote by 500,000 plus votes.

This morning, I read in the Key West Citizen of the coming Key West Film Festival. Scheduled this year for November 16-20.

Burt Reynolds will be in Key West for the Festival.  He is receiving a Career Achievement Award.

Reynolds is now 82. Looks good. One of his big hits was Smokey & the Bandit. A documentary of the behind the scenes goings on will be shown at the Festival.

Reynolds gave me/us pleasure. Each of his roles genuine.

Finally, Nikita Khrushchev. Leader of the Soviet Union. At a time when the Soviet Union was unquestionably the enemy of the United States.

It was the fall of 1960. I was waiting for my bar exam results. Khrushchev was at the United Nations in New York. During someone’s talk, Khrushchev disagreed. He stood up and took off one of his shoes. He pounded the table with his shoe.

Khrushchev was a pig. Looked like and acted like one. A reporter at the time described him as a “hotheaded buffoon.”

Khrushchev and Trump have many similarities.

When you get to my age, you feel you have lived history. Actually, you have lived through historical moments. The memorable ones vivid in your mind.

Spent yesterday prepping for my blog talk radio show last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

Two items I hit on involved the election and opium. Not related.

A book came out monday. A Filthy Risk, etc. The story of Jeffrey Epstein. A portion of the book his relationship with Bill Clinton. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a child for prostitution. He did 13 months.

The book has a first printing of 500,000 copies. Expected to be a big seller. Before this week is out, you should begin hearing its contents. Knowing how Trump plays, the Clinton contents could become a campaign bomb.

Two years ago, I wrote a lengthy KONK Life column on Afghanistan and opium. Opium poppies are used to make heroin.

Afghanistan supplies 90 percent of heroin world wide. The biggest supplier to the streets of America. Heroin presently being the U.S.’s major drug problem.

Opium growing in significant amounts began when the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan in 2001. We are still there in some form. The question I raised in the KONK column and again last night is why none of the opium poppy fields were destroyed during the terrible Afghanistan conflict. Production grew, the war lords owning the fields got richer, and the peasants working the poppy fields neither injured nor killed.

Strange.

I got back into Afghanistan and opium because of a recent study that indicated 30,000 babies in the United States were born last year addicted to some opiate. Generally, heroin or crack.

Because the mom was a junkie, babies are born drug dependent. It takes several days for the babies to complete withdrawal. The babies cry non stop from the pain. Yes, even young ones can hurt.

Which brought me back to Afghanistan. Why have we permitted the opium to grow? The response that we have done everything we can is bullshit.

Something stinks here.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

ONCE AGAIN…..DAVID WOLKOWSKY

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Key West forgets not David Wolkowsky. Without him, the Key West of today would not have been.

David today is 97 years young. He has vim and vinegar. The body may have slowed a bit. The mind, not.

This morning’s Key West Citizen honors him in its Familiar Faces section. Page 1. There sits David holding a painting done by his friend Tennessee Williams.

The Citizen describes David correctly: Mogul, visionary and developer.

We owe you much, David!

My podcast tonight at 9 my time. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me. I guarantee you will enjoy the quick paced half hour.

Topics tonight include Trump’s purported locker room trash talk, what the U.S. may be considering re Syria, how Big Pharma censors the internet, compensatory contraception, Rothschilds throw a $100,000 a plate dinner for Hillary.

Also, the cozy relationship between Epstein and Bill Clinton, babies born with opiate addiction on the increase, NYCPD do not wear body cameras, opium growth in Afghanistan on the rise, robotic bees to be used for pollination purposes, and more.

Dueling Bartenders at Aqua last night. Tom and Rick. Plus, a talented young lady. Heather Mae. Tom introduced me to her when I arrived. What a voice! A visitor, I suspect.

Liz and Mary, also. Good to see the both. Enjoy talking with Liz. A mind. Taught security regulations before becoming a law school Dean.

Then Publix. A nice way to end an evening. I keep running out of food. I should buy more.

I have been my own grocery shopper for 11 years. Groceries have gone up! Decidedly! More than doubled during that time.

Trump’s locker room talk is bullshit. I have been in many locker rooms. Never heard that kind of talk. The man is demented. About himself. Men who talk about their sexual prowess are generally lacking in that regard.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

SARAH IS BACK IN TOWN

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Dinner at Roostica last night. The sunday pasta special. Sat at the bar.

Sarah bartending! Back from Greece!

Excited. The trip flowed from her lips. No question she had a good time.

Three days in Athens. The balance of the trip on the island of Crete.

Sarah is a hiker and runner. I was unaware. Her days in Crete were spent hiking through one mountain pass to another and back. Or, up a rocky hill and down.

I would have died!

She had a wonderful time. I have to dine at Roostica more often to get caught up re the entire trip.

The Debate. I kept waiting for the shoe/bomb to fall. Never did. Donald was generally good. The result of the debate was a tie or I’d give Donald the edge.

I remain anti-Trump. His being a thug and bully evident. The man is not qualified in any respect to be President.

Trump and his team say the tape is of no consequence. Eleven years old. Bill Clinton’s shenanigans are more than 20 years old.

Fantasy Fest around the corner. One of the top events each year is Headdress Ball.

This year Headdress will be held under a gigantic tent at Truman waterfront. Tom Luna the emcee. Christopher Peterson and Terri White making special appearances. And of course the Headdress participants.

This years’ event will be the 34th. A record!

I know Headdress Ball from its Pier House days. On the beach. Thousands of people all over the property. Great show. A fun time!

Larry Smith was active with Headdress for many years. Some as Director. Always did an excellent job.

Headdress Ball is held on thursday night. There is another prime event that evening. Sloppy Joe’s Toga Party. Which spills out of the bar and covers 2-3 blocks of Duval. The ladies occasionally showing a personal body part in exchange for beads.

Between Headdress Ball and Toga Party, thursday night my favorite Fantasy Fest time.

Now my enjoyment will be limited to Toga Party. The Waterfront site is too far away for me to make both. I am not complaining, however. I am a voyeur at heart. Toga/bead exchanges more than enough to make my evening.

My bocce team continues to do good. Actually, excellent! Won all three games again thursday. Now 11-1. Tied for first with Hell’s Rangers. The best of the best for years. An interesting match when the two teams meet.

Again, I point out the team is doing better without me than it did with me.

Most of the Atlantic beaches devastated by Matthew are gone. Especially dunes. Have to be fixed. I  observed correcting such a beach problem following Wilma. Key West’s Smathers Beach. Smathers had no dunes, however.

The surge blew the sand across the road. Piled it high between curb and the treeline behind. Like 20 plus feet.

The area stunk. Smell horrible. The sand replete with dead fish and I don’t know what else.

The beach correction a simple process. Two fold.

First, the sand piled on the other side of the street was filtered. A huge screen. Lets the sand pass through. The dead fish and everything else held by the screen.

The sand spread over the former beach.

Still not enough sand. Sand had to be brought in. It is purchased from elsewhere and driven in in dump trucks. The sand dumped on the beach and spread.

Voila! Smathers Beach was as before.

I am trying to recall where the sand came from. Something tells me Bermuda. I could be wrong.

The worst Vice President of modern times was Spiro Agnew. He resigned this date 1973 from the position. After pleading guilty to income tax evasion. The tax evasion charge was based on his taking kick backs while Governor of Maryland and continuing to receive them while Vice President.

I never liked Agnew. He was a law school graduate who never really practiced. Became an Allstate claim adjuster. Allstate claim adjusters back then were not nice guys.

During the campaign, Agnew spoke in extremely disparaging terms about those protesting the Vietnam war. Venom fell from his lips.

The man was a bully. I thought a little crazy, also. He got what he deserved.

Oh, he ran as Vice President on Richard Nixon’s ticket. Nixon resigned less than a year later. Birds of a feather.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

TONIGHT, TONIGHT…..

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The Presidential Debate this evening is going to be fantastic! West Side Story’s classic song words have been running through my head all morning: Tonight, tonight won’t be just any night…..

The shame of it all is that the subject matter won’t be what it should be. Sex should not form the basis of one’s vote. We have heard extremely little in this campaign re issues.

A corporate America type activity took place yesterday that could have had disastrous consequences. I refer to the Notre Dame/North Carolina State football game. Played in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the midst of Hurricane Matthew.

The bottom line the motivation for the game to proceed. Money. Not the health and safety of the players.

I watched the game awhile in the afternoon. The field in most places was covered in water. Appeared at least six inches in many places. Heavy rain off and on. Players falling and sliding all over the place. A broken leg or arm possible. Fortunately, one did not occur.

The young men on the field had talent. Some big time talent. Notre Dame’s quarterback DeShone Kizer is expected to be the #1 pick in the draft. A serious injury could have negated his professional career.

Universities are run like corporations. Been this way for at least 40 years. The schools playing yesterday receive hefty pay from TV for performing. Reschedule the game and who knows to when, whether advertising fees will be the same, etc.

So everyone from TV to league officials to university leadership opted to play.

Sports writer Keith Arnold said it best, “An act of God is no place for a football game.”

The final score was North Carolina State 10, Notre Dame 3. The game  not representative of the talents of either team.

Another great dinner with Liz! Hot Tin Roof.

The Hot Tin roof is different without Joseph. Probably just me. I sensed his not being there.

Amazes me. In spite of every negative thing impacting Trump this past week, Liz is still voting for Trump. My sense is not because he is the better of the two. Rather because she is a die hard Republican.

Oh Syracuse, my Syracuse. Another bad football day. Syracuse lost to Wake Forest 28-9. Fortunately, the basketball season is less than two months away.

I watched the Syracuse game when I got home last night. Caught the last quarter.

Key deer continue to be in the news. The screwworm problem. A killer. The disease easily transferable from one animal to another.

Key deer are small deer. Tiny. A subspecies of white tailed deer. Only found in the mid Florida keys. In the area of Big Pine, No Name Key and a few small islands off the keys. No where else in the world.

In the 195o’s, Key deer were close to extinction. Only 25-50 left. The federal government considered them an endangered species. The National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1957. Key deer were protected.

Today, there are more than 1,000 Key deer. A far cry from the 25-50 of the 1950’s.

The screwworm has invaded the Key deer refuge. Already 50 euthanized. Eight since last Sunday.

There is a cure. Sterilized male screwworm flies. Successfully tested and used over the years to rid an area of the problem. Safe for humans, other animals and anything that grows in the earth. Planes will start dropping the flies this week. 2.5 million of them. Then 1,000 more a week for several weeks.

I wrote about the screwworm problem a couple of days ago. Repeat it today.

With an additional observation. The sterilized male screwworm flies are not genetically modified. Merely radiated. Nothing added. The male flies shoot blanks.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

“NOBODY RESPECTS WOMEN MORE”

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“Nobody respects women more.” So says Donald Trump.

From the heart the mouth speaks. Trump’s words opens his heart for viewing. Clear viewing. Gropping/debasing women ok.

“I did try to fuck her.”

“I moved on her like a bitch.”

“”Just start kissing them.”

“Grab them by the pussy.”

The last statement and especially the last word of the sentence reveal most clearly what we knew about the man: He is not Presidential timber.

Trump has already advised that he will attack Hillary tomorrow night re Bill’s misdeeds. Won’t fly. Yesterday’s news. No one is interested.

He will further attack because Hillary spoke poorly re some of the women who claimed sexual affairs with her husband. I thought then and think now that she was a woman defending her husband against attacks that at the time she considered false.

Few marriages are perfect. Hillary opted to make hers work. Apparently it did. Trump is in his third marriage. He bailed out of the first two when his prick led him in different directions.

In the meantime…..Last night after the Trump revelations had become public, Wikipedia came out with some more e-mails. Some of Hillary’s speeches to Wall Street and corporate America.

Hillary obviously has changed her position on things said 3-4 years ago. Hell, Trump changes his position on things he said last week.

A wonderful evening last night. The Chart Room. John back from his Puerto Rico vacation. It was exciting!

Sheila and Cori at the bar. Spent my time with the ladies. Sheila is at the Key West Citizen. Cori is Curator at The Key West Art and Historical Society aka The Custom House.

Good conversation. We got into everything. Interestingly, little Trump. More of what is going on in the world. The Middle East, Euro Union, London, afterlife, etc.

Tonight special. Dinner at the Hot Tin Roof with Lizabeth. Love talking with her. Liz’s former life included the Deanship at two law schools. Stetson and Cleveland State.

The Key West Airport has an unusual problem.

There is an all glass cross walk from the second floor of the garage to the second floor of the main airport building. Birds are flying into it and either being killed or injured. Especially warblers. The County has allocated $25,000 to tint the windows in a horizontal pattern to warn the birds.

Screwworms. The federal government this coming week will drop 2.5 million radiated male flies over Big Pine and No Name Key. A proven tested method used for years to eradicate a screwworm problem. For several weeks following, an additional 1 million per week will be dropped.

Matthew still out there. Now a category 1. Beating the hell out of Georgia and the Carolinas.

Key West has been advised not to be concerned about Matthew looping back. If it does hit, it will be sufficiently dissipated so as to do no damage.

I loved Great Balls of Fire. Jerry Lee Lewis standing up at a piano keyboard bellowing the song out. One of his best sellers.

Raised in the southern Assembly of God Church. At first, Lewis did not want to record the tune. Said it was anti-religious, contrary to his upbringing, etc. Finally gave in.

He was the new Elvis Presley. Not for long, however. His reputation went downhill after he married his 13 year old cousin. Apparently not contrary to his religious upbringing.

This evening at 7, Syracuse/Wake Forest. Dinner with Liz will be more fun than watching the game.

Enjoy your day!

MATTHEW FICKLE…..SO FAR

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Matthew is number one attention wise. Yesterday and will continue through today. Those who live in Key West have experienced weaker hurricanes. Never a 4 or 5 in recent years. The worst of the worst! Fear accompanies those numbers.

It was a typical Key West day yesterday. Sun shining. Unusually hot. The heat index had to be 110.

I visited with Tammy for a manicure. Then lunch at Harpoon Harry’s. People quiet. All thinking…..We lucked out!

It is now predicted Matthew may loop back. Can happen. Earlier this year, a hurricane passed south of the Keys into the gulf of Mexico. Was going to hit Louisiana. Halfway there, it turned around and hit north Florida instead.

You do not know. Not even the professionals. In the final analysis, hurricanes are fickle. They go where they want when they want.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach lucked out. Rain and wind. The wind not of hurricane velocity. Matthew may still bring devastation with it as it travels up the Atlantic coast.

I must be honest. Matthew concerned me. A 4 or 5 is bad without question. My best experience so far is a 2. However, I drove through Homestead after Andrew hit. Andrew was a 5.  I was there three weeks after Andrew.

My eyes had never seen such devastation. Not one building left standing. A nuclear bomb could not have done worse property damage wise.

The picture has never left my mind. I definitely would leave if told a 4 or 5 was going to hit us. Better safe than sorry.

Charity is on the minds of those fortunate not to have been hit. Communities in the Keys have already joined together to send aid to the Bahamas. Nine vessels of the Bahamian Defense Force sheltered in Key West harbors the past few days. Bottled water and diapers have been collected from Keys’ citizens. It will be delivered to the Bahamas with the Defense Force. A beginning.

It has been suggested that Key West may experience some flooding. Street flooding. Nothing significant.

Apparently, Matthew’s wind is pushing water southward. As Matthew travels northward. Interesting.

Such will cause street flooding at high tide.

Enjoy your day! Stay safe! Especially those still in Matthew’s path.

ARROGANT PARKING RATE PLAN

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Key West is a small island. One and one half by four miles. It has been buried with too much construction, too many hotels, restaurants, bars, vehicular traffic, and tourists. I am surprised the island has not yet sunk. Key west is a new Atlantis in the making.

The Key West City commission is money crazy. Always the need for more money. Only to be not spent or spent to do totally illogical things. Last night, the Commission voted to increase parking rates by $1. Parking is already too expensive. Street parking $2 per hour, Mallory Square $4 per hour, the Bight $2.50 per hour.

The Commission says don’t worry, tourists will be paying it. They forget there are people like me. I do not live in Key West proper. I am 2.5 miles outside Key West in Key Haven. However, I drive into town twice a day. Costs me $8-10 a day to park. Now to go up by a dollar an hour.

In addition to which I spend a ton of money in Key West.

Key West workers have been told not to worry. They can park at one of the two municipal garages and be bused wherever.

The Commission is also going to require the Parking Department to chalk mark ties to better control time/overtime. Brilliant! Most if not all cities were doing it 60 years ago. None today. They depend on more sophisticated means to ascertain time violators.

The Commission does not realize this is the 21st century.  Get with it, guys!

Hurricane Matthew. Wow! By the grace of God, Key West will miss it. However, the mainland is in for a beating. This is one of the worst hurricanes ever. A high 4 with the probability of becoming a 5. Destruction galore!

Tomorrow morning at this time, Matthew will be over Palm Beach.

Good sized water vessels have already come into Key West for shelter from the storm. More expected. They are primarily dropping anchor in the Outer Mole and the Coast Guard sector.

Don’s Place first last night. Good conversation with Don, Stan and Clare. Clare promoted! She is now the Manager of Dion’s at White and Truman. A big place, a big job.

Then to Back Door and Mark Watson.

David stopped by. He educated me. The sky had a golden hue. He said it was called the Golden Light and appeared when a hurricane was on the way.

Met Jan and Kim.

Jan is a snowbird. RV lover. A retired Marine master sergeant. Drove to Key West from northern Georgia. I enjoyed her company. A knowledgeable person re world events. Especially Russia and the Middle East.

Kim arrived in Key West a few hours before appearing at Back Door. From Los Angeles and Portland. Came a long way to spend some time in Key West. She is here for several months, perhaps forever. A biologist by education and a journeyman electrician by experience. She appeared to enjoy the electrical work better.

October is the tenth anniversary of Girls’ Night Out. From 16 the first night to 2,000 ten years later. Good job, Mary Lou Hoover!

Greater love hath no man…..A tale of morbid obsession. The story of Carl Tanzer aka Count von Cosel. Tanzer is the whacky hospital employee whose love died. He dug her body up two years after burial. Took her to his home. Kept her in his bed seven years before being discovered.

Tanzer was arrested on this day in 1940.

Syracuse/Wake Forest saturday. Wake Forest a 2.5 point favorite. I suspect Wake Forest will beat Syracuse by a much higher number. This not the year for our football team! We continue to wait. Patiently.

One of the giants of the 20th century was Anwar Sadat. Egyptian President, Nobel Peace Prize winner, peacemaker with Israel.

Sadat was assassinated this date in 1981. He was in a stand reviewing troops. Islamic extremists did not like him. Two reasons. First, his peace efforts with Israel. Second, that he permitted the deposed Shah of Iran to remain in Egypt to await death from cancer. He refused to return him to Iran to be tried for war crimes.

A vehicle with armed troops drove up in front of the stand Sadat was standing on. Their guns blazed, grenades exploded. Sadat took four bullets and died.

The event was filmed/recorded. I can still see Sadat standing tall and glaring into their eyes. He never budged, never attempted to duck nor avoid the assassins.

Enjoy your day!

 

BECAUSE I AM A MAN

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Dueling Bartenders was its usual terrific show last night. Always good.

Tom Luna bartending. He never dresses. Lovely Goddess Galore. A sometimes dresser. Dressed last night. And, Beatrix Dixie. Always dressed.

Beatrix is perfection in every way.From a padded ass to padded boobs. Look real!

I noticed Beatrix’s fingernails were not done. Surprising since everything else was perfect. Her nails looked like a ditch digger’s. I said nothing to her.

However her nails reminded me of a another drag queen working at La Te Da several years ago. Her/his name escapes me. Dressed to perfection. Lousy nails. Just like Beatrix’s. I asked why his nails were not done in view of everything else being perfect. He said: “Because I am a man.”

To some a lifestyle. To others, a job.

Spent a good part of the afternoon prepping for tonight’s blog talk radio show. A good one!

Topics include the Presidential campaign, hurricane Matthew, a Chamberlain/Trump comparison, South Carolina-ZIKA and bees, local governments paying bills with police fines, veterans’ corpses rotting in Chicago VA hospital, Assange ready to letting go with another 10,000 e-mails (perhaps today), Greek police and pensioners collide, how elite Europeans set Greece up for a fascist takeover, a secret US government airline that flies out of commercial airports.

Plus, New York Times not having paid any taxes in 2014, a Bush daughter attended a Paris Clinton fundraiser, a German mayor beaten unconscious after he revealed a plan to accept more refugees, why governments and banks want to eliminate your cash, the rich burying gold bars in Swiss banks as an alternative to bank deposits, and more.

Join me at 9 my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. A fast moving half hour. Revealing information.

A heart doctor visit late yesterday afternoon. I had been exhausted tired. Ass dragging. Thought it might be my beta blocker. Dr. McIvor cut my daily dosage in half two weeks ago. His concern was my blood pressure might go out of whack.

I returned yesterday to have my blood pressure tested. The same. Good. No longer tired, also.

Stopped at Don’s Place before Aqua. Chatted with Jimmy and Toni. Missy bartending.

After Aqua stopped at the Chinese restaurant for dinner. I had a yearning for Chinese. Rare. A cup of egg drop soup and two egg rolls. Plus, a diet Coke. Cost, $6.50. Amazing!

Until recently when she retired, Dr. Jackie Lefferts was my primary physician for ten years. Her nurse Patti Cabrera weighed me, checked my blood pressure, etc. She also gave me shots over the years. some in the butt.

Patti, a lovely person. I especially love her because she read my KONK Life column.

Dr. Lefferts recently retired. Patti did also after 50 years of nursing.

This morning’s Key West Citizen recognized Patti in its Familiar Faces section. A well deserved tribute.

Suicides seem to be with us more in recent years. Military and veterans committing suicide at the rate of 20 a day. A primary reason, the 3-4 tours of duty we have imposed on our military the past 15 years. Blood, gore and death have a way of catching up.

General Eisenhower in 1943 warned of the risk of shell shock. He defined shell shock as prolonged exposure to combat. Men break down, he said. Some commit suicide.

The problem with us again. The solution a larger military. The only way to get it is a draft. No one wants to recommend it.

The Vice-Presidential debate this evening. Starts at 9. Because of my podcast, I will miss the first half hour.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS

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Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Egg is the modern rendition of To Kill the Goose That Laid Golden Eggs. An Aesop fable. Interpreted to mean unprofitable action motivated by greed.

Applicable to the Key West City Commission. They’re doing it again!

Residents, snowbirds and tourists can be defecated upon only so much. Then the bird dies. In this instance by fewer making Key West their home or place to visit.

This morning’s Key West Citizen reports the City Commission is proposing a parking rate hike. An additional $1 per hour. I can’t tell you with certainty what the rate is now. Only because it is different depending where you park. I suspect the Bight’s large lot is the most expensive.

The extra dollar will be distributed 40 percent to affordable housing, 37 percent to the gas tax fund to study implementation of alternative transportation methods, and 33 percent to the City’s general fund.

As to affordable housing, much has already been spent with little result. Studies and limited construction.

Alternative transportation methods? Key West hired several months ago a director of such. He has already garnered a grant to help with his work. I cannot believe big dollars are required to solve the traffic problem. Sit a bunch of residents down and they will immediately tell you what has to be done without pissing a ton of money away.

The 27 percent to the City’s general fund is a gimmick to receive more dollars that can be easily spent at the discretion of the Commission. Tax dollars do not seem to be enough.

To the Commission I say:  Keep it up fellows. You are going to keep people away. Destroy the economy of Key West. Perhaps, not a bad idea. Lets go back to the 1970’s when things were slower, quieter, cheaper, and there was no traffic problem.

Hotels, restaurants and bars are equally guilty. How much can they charge? Apparently the sky is the limit.

Great Ryder Cup finish yesterday. Watched it from home.

Dinner last night at Roostica. The Sunday special. Spaghetti in a pork meat sauce with meatballs and sausage. Just like my grandmother made! Love it!

My grandmother did her cooking on a large kerosene stove. The way it was done back then. I can still see her standing and cooking at the kerosene stove. The late 1930s through the 1940s. I was a young kid back then.

Diana Millikan wrote she had lunch at Roostica yesterday. Her first time there.

Diana is a snowbird. Recently returned. She is all over the island. Into everything. She went to the Casa Marina for the sole purpose of viewing the lobby’s wood beamed ceiling. She is at the library constantly digging up further William Hackley information. She is the one who came up with the Hackley maid being a rented slave.

Hurricane Matthew to be watched. Still a #4. Eventually will reach Cuba. Then supposed to turn north avoiding the keys and most of Florida. After that, who knows?

I worry. Cannot help it. I repeat, hurricanes are fickle. They change course without warning. Note also that Matthew went from a #1 to a #5 in one day.

Hackley complaning today his piles will not stay up and are very sore. I sympathize with him.

Big baseball anniversary today. On this date in 1951, Bobby Thomson hit the “shot heard ’round the world.” Last game of National League Playoff. Bottom of the 9th. Brooklyn Dodgers winning 4-2 when Thomson came to bat. Two on. Thomson hit a 3 run home run, giving the New York Giants the win 5-4.

I was in high school at the time. Working part time in a super market. Stocking canned goods on a shelf. The radio playing throughout the store. Everyone went crazy when Thomson hit the home run.

How far we have come. The game was the first major sporting event televised coast to coast.

To Victor at the Chart Room: I am supposed to meet someone at the Chart Room tonight at 6. Never met him before. He is a blog reader. I cannot find his e-mail to tell him I can’t make it. My heart doctor has rescheduled me to 5 this afternoon. Please tell him the new time is 6 thursday. Ask him to send me an e-mail confirming.

Thank you.

Enjoy your day!