BEAR IN TOWN

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There is a bear in town. By name only.

Donna and Terri’s family now 3. A dog. Named Bear. A golden retriever. Eight weeks old.

A baby!

Met Bear last night. Enjoyed dinner at Donna and Terri’s with Bear.

Bear arrived the night before. Flew in from Detroit. Spent 11 hours in a cage.  A 3 hour stop over involved.

Cried all night. Can’t blame him. Stripped from his mother and 8 brothers and sisters. A new environment.

Talked with Donna this morning. He cried again all night. Terri does the night shift.

The game plan is to have Bear trained as a guide dog. Terri is blind in one eye and the other is going. The eye problem has nothing to do with the cancer. Terri is in remission and beaming.

The new Key West Amphitheater presently featuring a four day musical festival. Appears a success. Many tourists in town for the concert. When not at the Amphitheater, they are filling the downtown bars known for good music.

Apparent reason for the early morning shooting at Banana Bay Resort coming to light. Drugs. Police found 4 adults, 3 children and the drugs in one room. Lots of drugs. Marijuana, crack and powder cocaine, MDMS, and drug paraphernalia. All wrapped for sale. In a car outside, oxycodone pills.

Frequent Key West visitor Don Teich spends most of his year working in Asia. He and Chris Maxam are to be married in several weeks here in Key West at the Hyatt.

I mentioned Hemingway recently. For some reason, Don was in Spain. Pamplona to be exact. Where the bulls run. He sent me a photo of him running on the street where the bulls run. At night. Don running, no bulls behind him.

Courageous!

Pebble Beach Golf Tournament this weekend. Watched a bit.

What a course! I played it and its sister courses several times. Pebble Beach the most difficult course I ever played. The pros have their work cut out for them this weekend.

What does a husband do if his wife cheats? Leave, shoot the wife, shoot the lover, whatever?

Marital infidelity appears to have been dealt with in a different fashion in 1829 in Key West. A Mexican Naval officer named Charles Hawkins fought a duel with William Allison McRes, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Four shots fired. One man shot in the wrist, the other in the thigh.

Satisfaction obtained.

Why the duel? Hawkins saw McRes leaving his wife’s bedroom via the window.

Anna wrote to tell me one of the African negros involved in the voodoo killing was apprehended in the Milan railway station. Brought back memories.

About 10 years ago, Anna and I were in the Milan station. I fell down the stairs. Did a number on my arm. An open cut and bleeding.

Anna panicked and rushed me to a drug store in the plaza. She was going to take care of me. Needed bandages, etc.

The bandages, etc. were behind the counter. Anna is yelling for help. The girl was slow. Anna went behind the counter, grabbed what she needed, and wrapped me up.

As I think back, it may have been the first of my falls.

A new mosquito killer is being tested in Miami. The concern dengue fever and ZIKA. The company MosquitoMate.

Male mosquitoes are sterilized in a lab. They are then incapable of impregnating females. The males do not bite, have healthy sex drives, and will mate with females whose eggs then won’t hatch.

Six thousand were dropped on Brewer Park in South Miami thursday. It is expected that over a six month period, a total of six million will be released.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander. And vice versa.

California Assemblywoman Christina Garcia has been active in the local and national #Me Too Movement.

A male staffer said that in 2014 following an Assembly softball game, Christina approached him, squeezed his buttocks, and tried to touch his crotch. He told two friends immediately afterwards.

Both the Assemblywoman and male staffer agree she was drunk. She has no recollection.

The matter is under investigation.

Ian Welsh is an English blogger I recently began reading. His most recent blog concerned gender pay equality. Women should be paid as much as men for doing the same job.

He reported how the British Broadcasting Company was handling the situation. The BBC is the largest public broadcaster in the world. Twenty thousand nine hundred fifty full-time employees. An additional 35, 402 part-time, flexible and fixed contract staff.

Rather than increase women’s salaries, the salaries of men are being decreased. As much as 30 percent. All in an effort to tackle the gender pay crisis.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

I PAINTED THE FORDHAM RAM GREEN

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So much to discuss today. Material galore. Don’t think I will be able to cover it all.

Lets begin with my yesterday. So much, I may not get beyond Key West exploits.

My car was filthy. I am not a clean car fanatic. When it gets to the point I cannot stand it, the car gets cleaned.

I drive a 2010 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Only 38,000 miles. Last time cleaned about a year ago.

Stopped at the car cleaning place on White Street. Fausto’s a bit down the street on the other side. The car was detailed there a year ago. $50. Told the owner to do it again.

Could I have the car back in 2 hours? No problem.

Walked down the block to Blown Away. Haircut time with Lori. She has been cutting my hair close to 20 years. Takes all of 3 minutes. Includes a rinsing afterwards.

I have next to no hair. She never wants to charge me. I always give her $20.

Close to 2 hours remaining till the car would be ready. Decided to have lunch at the new Sandy’s Cafe a couple of doors down.

Sandy’s Cafe recently opened.  Run by the group that ran Sandy’s for 17 years at the corner of White and Virginia. They had a rental dispute with the building’s owner. Moved to the new place where I had lunch.

A major war has erupted. The landlord at the old place opened a Sandy’s at the old place. Both using the same name. Who has the right? A federal court issue. For real. A lawsuit already pending.

The new Sandy’s had a steady crowd. Very attractive. It is a restaurant. Booths, a bar with stools, etc.

I grabbed a handful of local newspapers. Knew I had to kill almost 2 hours before the car would be ready. Enjoyed a cheese toast with tomato and diet coke. Excellent!

Almost fell asleep in the booth. The waiting seemed like forever.

Went for the car.

Oh, so beautiful! The sun sparkling off it. The owner of the establishment showed it to me with pride. He knew he had done a good job.

To be frank, the car looked new inside and out.

The question is whether I can go another year before getting it cleaned/detailed again.

Late in the afternoon, stopped at Don’s Place. A while since my last visit. I needed to talk with Stan. While there, I also briefly chatted with David, Clara, John, Angus, and Michael.

Ran into Don as I was leaving. Looks good, feels good. Told him not to worry. What will be will be. Enjoy! Don is into heart problems. A stent and pacemaker the past several months.

Bocce opened last night. A new season. Just spoke with David. Don’s Place won all 3 games.

From Don’s Place to the Chart Room.

Two women down the bar from me. We began chatting. Turned out one had gone to Fordham. I went to Manhattan. A huge park separated our two schools.

A fun conversation ensued.

She told me Fordham girls used to come to Manhattan looking for boys. We referred to ourselves back then as boys and girls. The Green Leaf Bar down the hill from Manhattan is where they camped. A good place. Where Manhattan students did their drinking..

I laughed. Manhattan was an all boy’s school. We searched for girls. At the girl’s colleges in Westchester County.

Never the twain did meet! I never met a Fordham girl…..till last night.

A collegiate rivalry existed between the schools.

Fordham’s mascot was a ram. Always a real one. Tradition being what it was, a tall statue of a ram was also on the Fordham campus.

As the annual Manhattan/Fordham basketball game approached, the respective schools did evil things to each other.

Green was Manhattan’s school color. The year 1954. The game a few days away. A group of Manhattan men sneaked onto the Fordham campus and painted the ram statue green.

Ho, ho! A big deal! And we didn’t get caught!

Finished the evening at Tavern ‘n Town. Enjoyed the prime rib medium rare. My diet meal.

Stuck at 18 pounds.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

AN EVENING WITH DONNA AND TERRI

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Last night, a special evening. Dinner with Donna and Terri. At their home.

Donna cooked. The food exceptional. Chicken falling off the bone in a light chicken broth. Mashed tiny red potatoes. Greens with mushrooms.

Terri has a week off from chemo. She was bright and happy as if nothing wrong. She goes to Tampa this week to see if she qualifies for another procedure.

Her stem cells will be used to make bone marrow. The bone marrow will be her bone marrow. The new bone marrow will be placed in her bones. Between the last two sentences are several steps I could not understand.

Donna looked well, also. Terri’s cancer has been a strain on her. She is an exceptional spouse. Taking excellent care of Terri.

We laughed. All night. Sat at the dinner table after dinner and chuckled away.

I was talking with some one at the Chart Room the other evening. The individual a blog reader. He thought I was actually married to Donna and Terri since I refer to them as my lesbian wives.

Manicure in the afternoon. Love Tammy!

She will be 33 sunday. Looks 17. An Asian beauty!

She has been in the U.S. 13 years. Now a citizen. A proud one.

I asked if her nail ability was learned in Vietnam. No, she said. When she arrived in the U.S., she had to work. Went to cosmetology school. Learned all she knows there.

The same for most Vietnamese who arrive in the U.S. They did not do nails in Vietnam. When they arrive, they see many of their countrymen doing nails. So they go to cosmetology school.

Pebble Beach courses the venue of this week’s pro golf tournament. I watch with interest. I know every hole.

I played Pebble Beach and its sister courses 15 years ago. All the courses extremely difficult. In addition to Pebble Beach, played Spanish Bay and Spyglass.

Pebble Beach expensive back then. Something like $175-200 a round. Today, $495. Wow! Plus caddy, golf cart, etc. The total bill today for a round has to be around $650. Fee for caddy included. Not tip. The round ends up costing $700 plus.

Syracuse/Pitt at one today. I hope I can find it on TV. Syracuse a 1 1/2 point favorite. Syracuse beat Pitt earlier in the year by 10-12 points.

The worst enemy of the people are banks. All for themselves. Screw the public. They gave us 2008 with over 9 million homes in foreclosure and 2.5 million out of work.

I characterize banks as pigs and whores.

I similarly label pharmaceutical houses. The cost of prescription drugs is off the wall.

An example. The disease is called Dushenne muscular dystrophy. Prior to this week, the drug could only be purchased in Europe. $418 for a year’s supply. The FDA approved a company to sell the drug in the U.S. $89,000!

Says it all!

The past few days, someone is getting into my comment column. Selling things. Some in a foreign language. Sloan tried to get rid of the problem yesterday. Apparently did not work. Three new ones this morning. She will be back at it today.

In the meantime, let me know if any of you know how to get rid of the intruders.

Enjoy your day!

 

GAS MONKEY A WINNER

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Gas Monkey a winner!

The place is a year old. My first time last night. In 200 block of Duval. Jam packed. Tourists. Saw only three locals.

Sandwiches, fries, etc. I enjoyed an absolutely delicious grilled cheese with fries.

A group playing half way back off the street. Outstanding. Everyone watching and moving to the beat of the band.

Service excellent.

On top of which I got a 25 percent discount because I was local. In effect, I ate for nothing.

I shall return!

My evening began with a visit to heart Doctor Mc Ivor. The best! A routine visit. Nothing new to report. Thank God!

Then to the Chart Room. David and John. Good conversation. Always so.

I had my fill of Trump yesterday. He monopolizes the news. I decided to do my Go Live bits on Facebook free of Trump. I spoke about IUDs and Pebble Beach. Two interesting topics.

Trump was tiring me out. Today, I will return to him for one or two items.

Weather a bit windy today. Winds about 20 mph. Bending the palm trees. White caps. A small craft advisory has been issued. Temp will be in high 70s.

A pleasant day ahead. A manicure with Tammy at 1. Dinner tonight with Donna and Terri. Donna cooking. One of the best!

You can depend on Key West to come up with odd ball events.

First, a mass kissing event Valentine Day. Everyone at the same time. 5:30. In front of the Custom House. Beside the 25 foot sculpture titled Embracing Peace. A sailor and nurse kissing. Signifying the end of World War II.

The other event is a Domino Tournament. Valentine Day again. At the Southernmost House.

I didn’t think anyone played dominoes any more.

Pythons, iguanas…..What next? Tegu Lizards. We get them all!

Tegu lizards come from South America. They have been moving north. Some have reached areas of Florida. Others  as pets abandoned in Florida.

Presently in the southern part of Miami-Dade County and along the southern margin of the Everglades.

Hides and meat supposedly excellent. Grow to four feet. The economy of some parts of Argentina depend on the Tegu Lizard for economic survival. A big seller for their hides and meat.

Another turtle rescued! Jolly. A 330 pound green seas turtle. Sixteen miles offshore. Several participated in the rescue. Jolly caught up in three trap lines. One of his rear flippers injured.

Latest report has Jolly resting at the Marathon Turtle Hospital preparatory to surgery to repair the flipper.

Trump lost in the appellate court. He wants to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. His case is a loser. Not because of the issue. Because of poor lawyering/preparation in drawing up the executive order.

The appellate decision spells out many of the order’s errors, mistakes. A smart lawyer concerned with efficiency and getting the job done would recommend to Trump that he rescind the order. Replace it with a new executive order drawn by legal professionals complying with the contents of the appellate decision.

No one wins when the discourse between parties to a lawsuit is as follows.

Trump: “See you in court…..The security of our Nation is at stake.”

Washington State Gov. Inslee: “Mr. President, we just saw you in court, and we beat you.”

Enjoy your day!

ANOTHER MUNICH?

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A Ukraine cease fire was announced yesterday at the conclusion of the Minsk conference. I fear Minsk may be another Munich. Putin is not to be trusted. Merkle and her European friends fear war. If war occurs, the European economy will go down the tubes. It was anything to avoid war.

It is interesting. The thief steals and gets away with it. Right succumbs to might.

Another bocce season opened last night! We won all 3 games decidedly.

My evening was especially exciting. I made a shot difficult to achieve. One that I can never duplicate. It was the high point of my 15 years of playing bocce.

The polina was about an inch from the rear backboard. The length of the court. Blocked in front by other balls. Three things had to be taken into account. Distance, speed, and hitting the side board at the right spot.

I was standing ball in  hand thinking…..What to do? Don ran over to the side of the court at the far end. He pointed to the spot where I had to hit the side board. Mighty Casey did not strike out! Everything perfect. My ball ended up in front of and barely touching the polina. Wow!

Weather up north cold. I was speaking to a friend in upstate New York yesterday. The chill factor was minus 40.

The bocce courts were cold last night. Mid to high 60s. Everyone dressed for the cold weather. A cold cutting wind coming in off the Atlantic. I froze all evening even though appropriately dressed, including socks.

Key West weather today will be in the mid 60s. This evening in the mid 50s. If you are a Key Wester, not for the weak at heart.

Today is friday the 13th. If you are superstitious, stay home. In  Western civilization, the day is considered unlucky. Some countries refer to it as Black Friday.

Now for a big word. If you have a fear of friday the 13th, it is called paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Diana Nyad and Key West have bonded. Diana was the first woman to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. Actually, from Havana to Key West. It happened in 2013.

She came ashore on Smathers Beach. Key West has placed a plaque where she landed commemorating the event.

Diana has returned to Key West several times since. She is here once again this week. She has become more and more involved in the Key West community.

A love affair.

The Florida Keys have all sort of strange animals, reptiles, birds, etc. Pythons come to mind immediately. There is a new one. The black bear is back big time in southern Florida. The species is protected. In 1994, there were only 400 black bears. The rest had been killed off. Now, it is estimated there are over 3,000.

The bears are visiting residential areas. Four maulings have been reported thus far. There is a move underway to remove the protected species designation. Bears will then be fair game once again.

The proposed regulation also will permit persons to use sling shots and paint ball guns to keep the bears away from homes. I would suggest everyone be prepared to run like hell after hitting a bear.

It appears government has twinked the permissibles too closely/minutely once again.

Big time professional golf this weekend! Pebble Beach!

I was probably the worst golfer in the world. I stopped playing five years ago for medical reasons. Even though not talented, I traveled around the country playing big time golf courses. One was California’s Pebble Beach and its two neighbors Spyglass and Monterey Peninsula. An experience! Loved it!

I watch Pebble Beach on TV every year. I can recall every hole distinctly. It adds to the excitement.

Enjoy your day!