TED WILLIAMS HAD IT RIGHT

Ted Williams…..An All-American great!

Famous baseball player, Hall of Fame, World War II fighter pilot, and fisherman. It is the fisherman portion I am concerned with.

Williams loved fishing in the Keys. Especially for tarpon. He bought a home in Islamorada in 1943. Became a Florida resident. Stayed 45 years. Left in 1988.

The reason…..He said it was time to leave when he could no longer make a left turn on US 1 because of the traffic.

He will not be the last to leave for that reason.

I open with two great men today. The other is David Wolkowsky. Besides being my new found friend at physiotherapy, David is a Key West icon. Loves Key West. David is responsible for Key West’s development as a fun funky off beat place.

David is the reason for the Pier House. It was 1967. Where the Pier House sits today was nothing more than a ruddy dirty part of the waterfront. David was a visionary. On this day in 1967, construction began on the Pier House Motel. Fifty units.

Truman Capote was a guest at the Motel. Took over David’s trailer on the site. Capote referred to the Pier House Motel as “elegant inefficiency.”

The Pier House Motel was completed one year later in 1968.

Big trees from little acorns grow. Today’s Pier House.

My yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. Love it! One problem, however. I have a lot of get up and go when on the treadmill. Once I am off, I am dead tired.

I began researching for a subject to write about for this week’s KONK Life column. Came up with nothing. I will come up with a topic. Generally, a gem. But it is always last minute that it hits me.

Last night was Schooners and the Waterfront. Schooners packed, as was the Waterfront. Waterfront food great again. Fried calamari, wings, and fish and chips.

There was a traffic jam of traffic jams yesterday. Construction on US 1 in the Cow Key Bridge area. One lane traffic for about 300 feet in the north bound lane. Traffic held up on Northern and Southern Boulevards, as well as Flagler, as far as the eye could see and beyond. Down to Sears Shopping Center on Northern Boulevard, around the curve on Southern, Flagler to Habana Shopping Center.

A one to two hour delay at noon time.

Police directing traffic would have helped. The delay would have been less. Only one officer directing traffic. At US 1 and College Road. The one place an officer was not needed. The construction and one lane traffic ended at the College Road intersection.

Don called me. The team won 2 out 3 at bocce thursday night. Though not playing, I plan on following the team.

Syracuse/Pitt this afternoon. Syracuse a 3 1/2 point favorite. I think Syracuse will lose. Definitely if the team plays as it did against Louisville.

Syracuse needed Louisville and Pitt wins to guarantee a bid to the big post season tournament. If Syracuse beats Pitt today, Syracuse will be on the bubble.

The game is at 2. Dan Reardon, I will be watching the game at Don’s Place.

Enjoy your day!

HAVE YOU NO DECENCY?

My thoughts re the Trump/Pope Francis fiasco.

The media complains no one really takes Trump on. The Pope did it in a few words. Following which few, if any, media persons and primary candidates said good for the Pope.

Does everyone fear Trump?

Trump had balls taking on the Pope. The Pope is obviously a good man. Trump may not rise to the same level. Trump’s conduct/statements to date suggest it.

The scenario reminds me of Joseph Welch and the Mc Carthy hearings. Senator Mc Carthy was labeling everyone a communist. No one had the courage to stand up to Mc Carthy.

Welch was a Boston lawyer representing someone before the Committee.

Welch got fed up with Mc Carthy’s statements made about someone close to Welch.

Welch was a little man. He looked Mc Carthy in the eye before all America (the proceedings were televised) and in a quiet voice said, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”

It was the beginning of the end for Mc Carthy. His power and fear inducing ability went straight down. The mighty fell. David victorious over Goliath.

No one stood with the Pope yesterday. No other Davids. Amazing.

My yesterday was busy once again. Fortunately, the weather turned warm. It was a nice day to run around.

I started the morning with the anti-gravity treadmill. Then visited Lori for a haircut. Great news while with Lori. She got married!

A doctor visit later in the afternoon. Then to Martin’s. Did happy hour with appetizers. Then to the full priced menu for stone crabs. Terrific stone crabs! Medium sized. A bit smaller than those served at Ibis. Better, however. Give yourself a treat. Go to Martin’s for stone crabs.

The issue of Hillary’s speaking transcripts came up again last night. She was asked when she was going to release them. A few weeks ago, she said she would. Last night her response was to the effect that when everyone else turns over theirs, she will hers. A you show me yours and I will show you mine response.

There is no relation between Hilary’s transcripts and those of others. Because of the monies paid to Bill and Hillary.

CNN came out with a report two weeks ago. Since 2001 through last May, Bill and Hillary received$153 million in speaking fees. $7.7 million alone from big banks. Hillary was paid $1.8 million of the $7.7 million.

The report also pointed out that a super PAC supporting Hillary took in $15 million in the last quarter.

Last year when the issue was first raised, Bill and/or Hillary said the money was turned over to their Foundation for charitable use. You don’t hear that anymore. The suspicion is it went into Clinton pockets.

I for one would like to know what Hillary’s transcripts reveal. What promises/representations were made to the big banks and corporations.

This week’s KONK Life column was linked this morning to my Key West Lou website. It also appeared in KONK E-News Blast this morning.

The E-Blast article contains 14 uncapitalized words. Generally at the beginning of a sentence. Six misspellings. In addition, the last two paragraphs are a jumbled mess.

Not my fault. I have asked Guy deBoer to run the column in corrected fashion tomorrow.

How the world has changed.

There was a time when a school teacher could not be married. This morning’s Keys History section in the Citizen told of an incident which occurred in Key West in 1902. Sarah Ann Roberts had married. She was a teacher. The Board of Education asked for her resignation. And got it! It was that or be fired.

On this date in 1942, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an Executive Order for the removal of resident enemy aliens from parts of the West. A disgrace since acknowledged.

Japanese primarily affected. Italians, also.

Joe DiMaggio’s parents lived in the San Francisco area. Joe had joined the U.S.Army.

His father was prohibited from traveling more than five miles from his home. Which meant he could not fish. The fish he caught were sold at his restaurant. He also could not operate his restaurant. It was more than five miles away.

Enzio Pinza was taken into custody. He was held three months and then released.

I find all this interesting. I am of Italian extraction. My mother was born in Italy. She came to the United States at the age of two months. Many many years before Mussolini ever came to power.

My mother applied for a job in a war plant during World War II. A munitions plant. It took her forever to get approved. She was investigated as perhaps being an Italian spy or what have you. She finally received approval. She examined finished rifles to make sure there were no defects.

Enjoy your day!

 

MINUS 28 DEGREES

I have suffered pangs of guilt the past 24 hours.

I complain when Key West temperatures fall into the 60s and sometimes 50s. Long pants,  a sweater, etc. The heat turned on.

Yesterday, it was minus 28 degrees in my home town, Utica. Really cold!

Complain less, Louis.

I recall Utica winters. Horrendous. I miss them not at all.

There seemed to be a common occurrence during a minus day/night. The boiler or oil burner would break down. Seemed like everyone’s did at the same time. Meant a waiting period before heat was restored.

Good luck, Utica! Thaw out soon!

I wrote this week’s KONK Life column yesterday. It publishes wednesday. The title: Mightiest Pirate In the World…..A Woman. The Chinese lady Cheng I Sao.

I had researched the column saturday. Took me less than three hours. An unusually short time. The actual writing yesterday took me six hours.  An unusually long time.

I thought I was going to knock the column out in no time since the research had been less than normal. Obviously was not so. I suspect the reason was the more than normal detail and the many Chinese names. Whatever, it took forever.

You will enjoy the final product.

Valentine dinner last night at Hot Tin Roof. Fortunately, I made a reservation. My usual table was waiting for me in the bar area. A mob waiting for tables. Never saw so many people in the bar area.

Manager Joseph congenial through out it all. Accommodated every one with a smile.

Syracuse basketball yesterday afternoon. Syracuse beat Boston College 75-61. The victory expected. Never know, however.

The game was not televised in the Keys. A disappointment. Fortunate, also. It gave me two extra hours to work on the KONK column. Two hours I did not know I would need.

Today a significant one in U.S. and Key West history. The Battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor. Precipitated the Spanish-American War. Many of the Maine sailors killed rest in the Key West Cemetery.

Enjoy your day!