A DOUBLE LOSS IN ONE DAY

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Sometimes you just can’t win for losing!

Yesterday, one of those days.

Kavanaugh got the vote and was sworn in. Syracuse lost to Pitt.

The Kavanaugh fight is over. Time will tell who was correct.

Syracuse’s loss depressing. Syracuse started the season 4-0. Then lost to #4 Clemson last week by 3 points. This week Pitt. Should have been an easy win. Was not. Pitt won in overtime 44-37. Syracuse played poorly.

With Syracuse also, time will tell. Six games remaining.

An observation. Roe v. Wade will not survive Kavanaugh. It will be overturned.

Last night spent at Blue Macaw. A clubby atmosphere. Friendly. Love Montana the bartender. Chatted with Joe, Doug, Donna and Terri.

Doug is of Italian extraction, also. His Dad a chef of sorts. Doug learned early on how to cook. We spent much time discussing Christmas Eve’s seven fishes, their preparation, etc.

There is more news than Kavanaugh and Trump. However, their news will continue to be overwhelming. To the result that what is happening otherwise does not come to our attention.

For example, the U.S. Marines coming to the rescue last week in Washington, D.C.

A senior citizen facility was on fire. More than a hundred residents. Two hundred yards away was a small Marine outpost. The Marines saw smoke and rushed over.

Someone yelled there are people inside. The Marines acted as you would expect Marines to act. They rushed in and saved lives.

Newsworthy? You bet. Front page any other time. Not this past week. Sad.

Some things just plain un-American. Trump leading the pact in taking such actions. He forgets we are a republic and not a dictatorship. Authoritarianism has no place in our society.

Trump is down on Facebook. For some time. He is unhappy that Facebook carries comments adverse to Trump. Too bad. That’s the way it is in a republic. People have the right to express themselves about their government.

What have been described as “anti-activists” are a thorn in Trump’s side. Makes him unhappy. Trump had demanded information as to who they were with all pertinent details. Facebook refused. It is now claimed the Trump administration has secured search warrants to enable them to be discovered.

Involved are some 6,000 individuals who “liked” an anti-activist Trump Facebook page.

Wrong! Chilling! The U.S. is not Russia, China, or North Korea.

ACLU attorney Scott Michelman said, “What is particularly chilling about these warrants is that anti-administration political activists are going to have their political associations scrutinized by the very administration they are protesting.”

Welcome to the United States of 2018!

I am 83 years old. Retired from the practice of law 12 years ago. It was time. Should have done it years earlier.

Politicians seem to overstay their time in office. Two examples are Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch. Grassley 85, has been in the Senate 38 years. Hatch 84, has been in the Senate 41 years.

Both too old. Should have packed up and left town years ago. Both not today in thinking. Their minds back to a time where women were looked down upon. They do not understand today’s world in many respects.

Grassley is Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He was asked this past week why there were not more women on the Committee. He suggested too much work. They might not be able to handle it. An example of the keep ’em pregnant and in the kitchen mentality.

Hatch back in another time when he opens his mouth.

Time for new faces in Washington.

Terri sings 10-12 this morning at Hard Rock Cafe. I am going to enjoy brunch and Terri at the same time.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

CATHERINE…..WHERE ARE YOU?

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Catherine…..Where are you? An interesting introduction.

I met Catherine last night at the Sons and Daughters of Italy Christmas party. We were seated next to each other for dinner. Enjoyed our time together.

At the end, she entered www.keywestlou.com on her phone. I asked for her e-mail. She put it on my phone. Easier she thought. I wanted to send her a piece to read.

This morning, I tried to send. From memory. Did not work. When Catherine returned my cell phone to me, I forgot to hit SAVE.

Ergo, Catherine…..Where are you? Please e-mail me at louispetrone@gmail.com. I will then have your e-mail and will be able to send you the material I thought you might be interested in.

The party was wonderful. What else could be expected from a group of partying Italians.

Our table interesting.

Besides Catherine, met Elizabeth. An engineer. She warmed my heart when she told me she reads the blog.

Martin and Donatella. Martin a former President of the organization. An entrepreneur. His company operates out of several cities. Donatella Italian born. She recalled my KONK Life articles.

I left early. As the dancing started. Catherine was unable to dance. She had a hip replacement six weeks ago.

Cold last night. Cold during the evening. Cold this morning. I have to find my leather jacket.

The sky was perfect last night as I left the Doubletree. Not a cloud. Stars everywhere.

My first stop this morning is the opticians. Have to get the eye glass problem resolved. Anxious to see well again.

This morning ends the first two weeks of the diet. Atkins. The diet claims a 10 pound loss at the end of the first two weeks. Then 2 pounds a week. Only lost 8. I am disappointed. Every pound  a hard loss. Committed however to staying on the diet.

Tonight will be special. Atkins permits drinking after two weeks. Gin or scotch. No carbs. Gin my drink of choice for 40 years. Look forward to Beefeater on the rocks tonight. I am a man in the desert searching for water.

Moore/Jones Alabama election tomorrow.

On TV this morning, a video was of a group of Alabama seniors. One hundred percent behind Moore. Thought the 16 ladies reporting him all lied. One made mention that 30-40 years ago, Alabama permitted 13 year olds to marry. Another said any parent back then would have been happy if an Assistant District Attorney was meeting their 14 year old daughter at a mall.

Sick, thwarted thinking!

What a difference eighty years make!

Actually eighty one years ago when on this date in 1936 Edward VIII abdicated to marry twice divorced Wallis Simpson. He could not live without the woman he loved.

Parliament would not accept a divorcee as spouse to the King of England.

A different world today. Prince Charles divorced and remarried. Prince Harry soon to marry a divorced lady.

Putin has a reputation of being a ladies’ man. Rarely mentioned. He is numero uno in a totalitarian state.

Oh! Calcutta! opened in New York in 1969. Nudity a significant part of the show. I saw it. Must be frank. Made me a bit uncomfortable at the time. And a prude I am not!

Soon after its opening, Sergi Mikhail, Secretary of Moscow’s Writers Union, described Oh! Calcutta’s nudity as a sign of western decadence. His concern was that Oh! Calcutta’s “bourgeois” thinking was affecting Russian youth.

Sixty two year old Xiong Gaowa is a Chinese barber. No barber shop. He works on the street. A chair on an open thoroughfare. In Chengdu, Sichuan.

He has a specialty. Called blade wash eyes. Runs a straight razor along the inside of a customer’s eyelids. Leaves the customer feeling refreshed and comfortable afterwards.

The process cleans the sebaceous glands running along the inside of the eyelid.

The Chinese medical profession finds nothing wrong with the blade eye wash. As long as the instrument used is sterilized to prevent infection.

I came across an article a few days ago reporting that the Department of Defense (DOD) was going to perform an audit. The first ever. Not a dollar one which is desperately needed. Billions unaccounted for each year.

Rather an audit of material, supplies. Things like ammunition, tanks, planes, etc. An inventory. A big job. Two thousand four hundred auditors to be involved.

I read another article this morning that makes me understand why the audit. Humans must be involved also. The Pentagon has lost 44,000 soldiers. Cannot track them. Have no idea where they are.

The Pentagon lists military under Country Location. The 44,000 are marked Unknown.

The soldiers involved were lost in deployment.

Would you believe?

Enjoy your day!

SANTAS GALORE

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The not to be equaled Key West Christmas Parade last night. Always the best. Young and old alike watching. Babies in arms. The Key West community enjoying a happy occasion.

Santa Claus. There had to be at least 15 on the floats. I recall one Christmas Robert and Ally asking Lisa…..Which one is the real Santa Claus? Lisa thought for a moment. Then…..All of them! There are parades everywhere in the world at the same time. Santa can’t be at all of them. These are Santa’s assistants.

A brilliant response. They bought it.

Robert and Ally knew there had to be only one Santa Claus. The one that showed up at their home at dinner time every Christmas Eve. Poppa’s friend.

As with my children and other grandchildren, there was always a Santa Claus to personally visit them Christmas Eve. The real one! The kids all had the opportunity to sit on Sant’s lap either at my home in Utica or in Lisa’s in Key West.

I loved arranging it! A thrill for me as well as them.

I watched the parade from Don’s Place. As it started, I walked down to the County Office Building on Truman to watch with Robert and Ally. The same spot every year. This year I could not find them. Too crowded. Walked back to Don’s Place.

An enjoyable time at Don’s Place. He had about 30 chairs outside. A pop corn machine. Free pop corn. Very good by the way. David working the pop corn machine.

Herschel and Erica in town for a one week visit. Returned to Indiana three years ago. Part of our bocce team. Erica and I were partners on occasion.

We are having dinner together Monday night.

Bartender John from the Chart Room showed up. We chatted through two drinks each.

I was home before 9. As I hit the pillow, I recalled I failed to pay my bill at Don’s. Called and told him. He said forget about it.

Another major Christmas event next Saturday. The Lighted Boat Parade off Schooner Wharf. An event! Hitch a ride on one of the boats and try it.

Yesterday a two hour session with Sloan. Even called in Tim Reynolds up in St. Petersburg. We were having trouble with the volume for my soon to be new show Louis Petrone Says. It took a while, but Sloan and Tim got it ironed out.

Sometime next week, I will be starting a streaming show on You Tube. Several times a day. You will be able to see me. Live!

The show will be in segments. Several a day. No certain number. Each show roughly 30-60 seconds. As something tickles my fancy, I will sit down at my desk, turn on the computer and say…..It’s me again!

I also will still be doing this blog and my Tuesday podcast show.

David and Goliath. The Old Testament returns this week in Standing Rock, North Dakota. Confrontation time. Two thousand protesters and an additional 2,000 veterans. Standing against the might of federal, state and local governments. As well as an outside mercenary group Tag Swan. Thought to have been brought in by the corporation interested in building the pipe line.

Why David and Goliath?

The “bad guys” have top military equipment. Like rubber bullets, concussion grenades, stinger grenades, water hoses, tear gas and huge armored vehicles. The bad guys claim they need this type equipment to protect themselves from the Native Americans who are using sling shots against them! In addition to rocks and bottles.

The Native Americans also ride on horses to do whatever they do. Against the mechanized force of governments improperly being used. The horse soldiers remind me of the Polish Army attacking Hitler’s blitzkrieg of tanks, troops, and planes at the start of World War II.

An interesting article in  this morning’s KONK Life E-Blast. About seniors and falling. The article stated 1/3 of all persons over 65 fall. Do I know it! Terrible!

I fell 5 times last year. Each fall a bad one. I fell three weeks ago. One of the worse. Still hurt. Luckily, no broken bones so far.

Syracuse beat North Florida yesterday 77-71. Not an impressive victory.

Enjoy your Sunday!