VALENTINE’S DAY

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Valentine’s Day unquestionably a day of love. Key West restaurants will be overbooked. It is the evening lovers dress and are on the town.

The Day is thought to have been derived from several saints named Valentinus. Many believe only one saint was responsible. St. Valentine of Rome. The Middle Ages locked in the romantic aspect. Courtly love became the vogue.

Certain  countries decry Valentine’s Day. Muslim nations. The Day is considered anti-Islamic. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia. Criminal in certain of these countries. Illegal to sell candy or flowers or anything suggesting the Day. Even items colored red.

There is always a new twist to a special day. The Bronx Zoo came up with one in 2011. Still selling. Thousands have bought the item. Rather than candy and flowers, adopt for your love a cockroach. A Madagascar hissing cockroach.

The cost $10. The roach is not delivered. Rather a colorful certificate acknowledging the adoption.

In addition to loved ones, mothers in law and ex-wives are popular recipients.

I took two Civil War courses in college. Wrote two papers. One about the Presidential election of 1864 involving Lincoln and McClellan. The other, I cannot recall.

The courses turned me on to the Civil War. I have since read many books involving the subject.

Last night, the Key West Art and Historical Society opened a special exhibit involving the Civil War at the Custom House. I attended.

The exhibition was limited. Small. Informative, however. I was made aware of some things I had not seen before and/or did not have knowledge concerning.

My hometown Utica is in the Mohawk Valley. Many major battles of the Revolution were fought there. A U.S. Naval vessel served to blockade Key West waters during the Civil War. The U.S.S. Mohawk. I assume named after my home valley.

Fort Zach Taylor was the Union’s primary fortress in Key West. Equipped with ten inch cannons. I was surprised to learn the cannons had a range of 3 miles.

The front page of the New York Herald dated April 15, 1865 was displayed. The day after Lincoln’s assassination. Yellowed with brown edges. Glass enclosed for preservation purposes.

The newspaper reported that at the same time Lincoln was shot, Secretary of State Seward while in bed at home was stabbed twice in the neck and twice in the chest. Initially, a conspiracy was thought. Apparently there was no connection between the two attacks.

Seward was the leading Republican contender for the Presidential nomination heading into the 1860 convention. However, Lincon defeated him.

Seward grew up in Auburn, N.Y. Near Syracuse. I tried many cases in Auburn. An old city that never got made over. My friend Dan was born in Auburn. He opted not to be a politician. He is a restaurateur. His business sits on Skaneateles Lake.

Shirrel Rhoades is my publisher. He is also President of the Key West Art and Historical Society. I ran into him at the exhibit. We chatted a bit.

Then to the Chart Room. I had a terrific time! Two old friends and one new. Carol from New Hampshire, Ginger from Memphis, and Rosie who is from Memphis also. Carol and Ginger are actually snowbirds. They have been visiting Key West for many years two months at a time. Rosie visiting.

The ladies were good company. I enjoyed being with them. Rosie leaves today. Carol and Ginger are here into March. I hope I run into them again.

Sheila and David stopped in. Sheila is on the staff of the Custom House. She had spent some time there with me earlier in the evening. Rosie will have to wait till next year.

Syracuse/Duke at 6 this evening. Playing at Syracuse. Duke a 7 point favorite. I suspect Syracuse will lose by more. An upset is possible, however.

Weather continues to be Key West cold. The high today 64. This evening in the mid 50s.

Enjoy your day!

 

BOCCE RETURNS

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Tonight is the night! The start of a new bocce season. I am excited!

It will be cold. Last night the temperature fell into the high 50s. While playing tonight, it will be in the mid to high 60s. The bocce courts are across the street from the Atlantic Ocean. A cold biting wind will be coming off the Atlantic. Long pants and sweatshirt time. Some players will even wear gloves.

I was chatting with someone who plays last night. He described bocce night as a cocktail party for 120 people. He is correct.

This week’s KONK Life is on the stands. Pick up a copy. My column this week is titled NFL Tax Exempt. You will find interesting how the NFL received the tax exemption by law back in 1966.

I watched Syracuse beat Boston college last night. 70-56. Watched the game at Don’s Place with Dan. Last night was not a test. Boston College is in last place in the ACC. Saturday’s game will be a test. Duke.

Kankakee, Illinois. Who ever heard of Kankakee? A little town south of Chicago. I heard of it for the first time when I met Cheryl and Roger here in Key West. Their home town is Kankakee.

E-Blast has an interesting article this morning mentioning Kankakee. There is a song about the New Orleans train which started its trip south from Kankakee. The song was made famous by Arlo Guthrie.

Mick Kilgos is an off and on Key Wester and famous musician in his own right. He is familiar with the song, Guthrie and Key West musical lore. He is in Key West at the present time.

Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the Tyson/Douglas heavyweight championship fight in Tokyo. Tyson was undefeated. Douglas a nothing. The odds were 42-1. Douglas knocked Tyson out to become the heavyweight champion. The first time Tyson was defeated, the first time he was knocked out.

Douglas was Rocky. Except that he lost the title in his very next fight.

Haircut this morning. Have to hustle. It is amazing. My hair cuts seem to have become more frequent as my hair becomes less and less.

Enjoy your day!

 

FRUSTRATION

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My blog talk radio show, Tuesday Talk With Key West Lou, is one half hour. It takes me 10-12 hours of preparation for the 1/2 hour weekly show. Occasionally due to some technical glitch, the show does not broadcast. The glitch is always at the radio station’s end.

Last night was one of those nights. Try as I could for 20 minutes, I could not connect up with the station. Ergo, no show.

The frustration is two fold.

First, I am disappointed. I am ready to go and cannot go.

The other is that I generally cannot use the material that took me 10-12 hours to research and prepare the following week. It is stale one week later.

Those of you who tried to join me probably heard the show was waiting for the host to join in. I am the host. It was not me. It was them.

So much for frustration.

I was in Publix yesterday. Had time to kill. Walked around the store three times pushing a cart. Up and down each aisle. My exercise for the day.

I have been dieting since early November. During that time, I have cheated only three times. Last night was one of them.

The past couple of days, I have had this abnormal desire for a bologna sandwich. Bread, bologna, tomato slices, salt and mayonnaise. I gave into the desire. Bought a quarter pound of bologna. Had to buy a small jar off mayonnaise, also. When I started the diet, I stripped the refrigerator of all bad foods, temptations, etc.

Let me tell you, the sandwich was oh so good! Like sex after not having had it for a long time. Like a man finding water in the desert.

I do not feel guilty!

Syracuse basketball tonight. At 7. Syracuse plays Boston College. Syracuse a one point favorite. I plan on watching the game at Don’s Place. Dan, join me if you can.

The Brian Williams saga continues. Suspended without pay for six months. Morning Jo pointed out several times that Twitter was bad. Many people wrote disparaging things about Williams. They appeared happy that he got his.

The Morning Joe crowd thought this was terrible in view of the fact that Williams is apparently a good guy. Who concededly screwed up.

I attribute the negative comments to the state of our society. Many in the U.S. are hurting economically. Have been for quite a while. It becomes a haves v. have nots situation. Williams is paid $10 million a year. In a sense, he represents the 1 percent. Most of those speaking poorly of him the 99 percent.

The desire exists under the circumstances to see anyone on top fall. A 2014 rendition of A Tale Of Two Cities.

I am on my soap box. One more issue bothering me.

It was announced yesterday by Putin that Russia and Egypt have made a deal. An agreement has been signed. Russia is going to construct a whole new nuclear industry for Egypt.  Russia doing most of the work. Paid for by Egypt.

You have to give Putin credit. Russia’s economy is teetering. Yet Putin is out there continuing to make friends and deals.

Where is the U.S. while all this is going on?

I continue to point out that Egypt was our friend for 30 years. Egypt was friends with Israel. Hosni Mubarak marched in step with the U.S. I am critical of Hillary and the President for siding with “democracy” against Mubarak when he was having problems. I have been so critical since day one. We turned our back on a friend.

Putin would not have the opportunity to do business with Egypt today were Mubarak still in power.

Enjoy your day!

 

KEY WEST OVER PEOPLED

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This morning’s Citizens’ Voice printed an interesting comment re the number of people presently in Key West. The thrust being too many. Basically, the writer commented….. how many people can fit in Key West?…..the island is too crowded…..traffic a mess.

Quite frankly, I have had the same thoughts several times since the first of the year. Long traffic lines at lights, cars moving at a snail’s pace, tourists walking every which way when crossing a street, bicyclists driving every which way. Where are we going to put all these people if the upward trend continues?

The thought occurred that maybe no cars in Key West might help. Have parking lots on US 1. Figure out how to get everyone into Key West. Also, close down Duval and make it a walking thoroughfare with outside tables, etc.

Neither of my solutions bears merit nor would either fly. Never the less, something has to be done. Otherwise, we will not have to wait for higher water levels to bury Key West. The sheer weight of people on the Island will do it!

One solution that would help is to build more parking garages in convenient places, The City Commission thinks and builds everything. Rarely taking parking into consideration. Parking has become a horrendous problem, especially since the new parking regulation which only permits permitted Key West residents to park on the streets.

Stopped by Pier 1 yesterday to pick up the two lamps I bought the other day. They had to be ordered. I found the staff at Pier 1 very congenial and helpful.

Spent a good amount of time at the Chart Room last night.

Met Mary Jo and Greg. They are from someplace in Indiana. Snowbirds. Though Mary Jo considers herself half a Conch. They bought a home on Eagle Street four years ago and spend six months a year here.

Mary Jo was a cardiac operating nurse in her other life. Now retired. Her job was to travel where ever to pick up hearts and lungs for transplants. Then rush back to the operating room. A heavy responsibility.

Greg still works. A police officer, he is Chief of Detectives. He and I talked long about police issues facing us today. It was interesting to hear from the other side. There is a reason for everything.

David joined us. Then lovely Charlotte. Charlotte from North Carolina. She visits Key West about six times a year. She works for United Health Care. I am always on her re the screwed up drug program they provide.  To no avail, of course. Charlotte is also a marathon runner. All over the country.

David, Charlotte and I went to dinner together afterwards at Hot Tin Roof. A good time!

My weight is stalemated again. At 31-32 pounds. Spoke to a doctor friend about it. I was told my body is in starvation mode. It stores everything I eat. Admittedly, I eat little. To get the metabolism working properly again, I have to increase my physical activity. Should be easy. Means starting at zero. I have gotten lazy in my old age. Also, I should increase my caloric intake a bit.

We shall see.

Syracuse/Pitt at 4. Pitt a 3 point favorite. I will probably watch the game from home. I have Sloan in earlier and Keith and Jennifer at some point.

Enjoy your day!

WOE IS SYRACUSE

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Syracuse basketball has been under investigation by the NCAA for a couple of years. No findings reported yet. Yesterday, it was announced by Syracuse that it was self imposing a ban on playing in any post season tournaments this year. The NCAA, the NIT, and the ACC.

The investigation goes back as far as 12 years ago and as recent as 3 years ago. Word is that it primarily involves academics. Drug use by players in the earlier years may also be involved.

The NCAA’s report will be revealed soon.

As a most interested basketball fan, if Syracuse has to be punished this is the best year. The team’s record is bad. I doubt we would have been invited to the NCAA.

Syracuse will stand tall, take the hit and move on.

Visited Lisa yesterday. Jake, too. Jake is amazing! He now respects me as one of the family. We get along well. Which was not always the case.

I stopped at Walgreens to pick up a prescription. As most seniors, I take a lot of pills. I have a complaint. Co-pays are dramatically higher this new year.

The drug companies have had a free ride too long. It is time they were reined in.

I dined at Ibis last night for the first time. It has been open about three years. Stone crabs item #1 on Ibis’ menu.

I did not enjoy stone crabs. After the lobster roll the other night, it would have been too much in one week. Someone in my party did, however. Five large stone crabs. Looked smaller than large actually. $50. If my recollection is correct, the catch has not been good again for the third straight year. Restaurants are paying a high price for the delicacy. It has to be passed on to customers.

Sharon was waitressing. She bartended at Don’s Place for years before moving onto Ibis. It was hug and kiss time.

The weather yesterday was a warm 77 degrees. Rain is predicted off and on today. It is raining at the moment. I am sitting at the kitchen counter. The glass sliding doors are open. I can smell, taste and hear the rain.

The circus has come to Key West! Every year at this time. It starts today and ends sunday. I hope to get to watch it again with Robert and Ally.

My KONK Life column was published in the paper yesterday. I posted it on my Facebook site this morning. The topic interesting and timely. Greece In The Driver’s Seat.

In line with the substance of the column, it was reported in the international news this morning that the European Central Bank is taking a tough stance regarding Greece. The Bank is refusing to loan money to Greece’s commercial banks. The economic war has begun. The gauntlet thrown.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

FOOTWEAR

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I have a few comments re footwear. The comments are limited to footwear appropriate for Key West wear.

I have been wearing crocs since they first came out. Several years ago. A long several years. I have found them the most comfortable “shoe” I have ever worn. Easy to get in and out of. Slide them on, slide them off.

One of the joys of old age for some is the extra foot bone that appears. It is on the inside of each foot. In the middle. Pushes out. It has happened to me.

Which means that I can only wear shoes, etc. that have low or no sides and do not cover the bone. Otherwise, it hurts like hell!

For whatever reason, I recently decided it was time to get away from crocs. Perhaps a boat shoe.

Key West is limited in its offerings. I went to Sears. Anything that turned me on also covered the bone. No success.

Then to the Croc store on Duval. Not to buy the usual croc. I recalled they had some soft material shoes.

I came across a croc that is all material above the sole and heel. A soft material. It covered the protruding bones, but did not hurt. I bought them.

New foot wear I have, though still in the croc family.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon preparing for tonight’s blog talk radio show. Nine my time. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Eye opening topics. Like a Sharia court operating in Texas, Venezuela’s Maduro accusing Biden of trying to instigate a bloody coup, what happens if Greece walks out on the euro, St. Louis PBA threatening to not police effectively if City establishes a Civilian Oversight Board, Spain getting ready to follow Greece re the euro, the NFL being a not for profit/pays no taxes, who paid for Super Bowl security, and more.

Dinner at Hogfish last night. Enjoyed a lobster roll. My diet is terrific! I have not weighed myself in a few days. Perhaps today.

Syracuse plays Virginia Tech this evening. At 9. The same time my blog talk radio show begins. I will miss most of the first half of the game. That which I am able to watch will be from home. I do my blog radio show from home, also.

Syracuse beat Virginia Tech early in January by 2 points. Syracuse a 12.5 point favorite tonight. We play with the team we have. We will win some and lose some. I have arrived at that point in my thought process. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

I was shocked to learn that there are an average of 22 military suicides a day. A black mark on our country. There is a bill pending before Congress that will be voted upon soon that hopefully will assist these troubled souls. I believe we owe them help.

When I was young (grammar school age) and it snowed, a friend and I would toss the shovels over our shoulders and go door to door offering to shovel walks and driveways. There was always a lot of snow in Utica. Most people my age did the same thing.

A flat fee was charged. No negotiation. Whatever the property owner offered. Generally $1 for a sidewalk, $2 if the driveway had to be done. The driveways were a bad deal. They were long and took a while to do.

Looking back, we were enterprising young men.

In New Jersey recently, two high schoolers wanted to perform as we did. Except that they printed flyers and dropped them off door to door.

The police stopped them. The police said what they were doing involved solicitation and it was barred by law. Made the young men sound like street walkers.

We have too many laws. Not properly applied in many instances. Generally because local legislatures passing the laws do  not give enough thought to their impact.

Enjoy your day!

STORMS ARE FICKLE

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Major storms may be predictable, but are not precise as to location. Storms are fickle. The big northeaster hit 50 miles east of where it was predicted. New York City escaped the major impact.

The snow storm not hitting where predicted is like a hurricane due to hit Key West and does not. After a while, the natives do not take serious hurricane warnings and remain. All exclaim they have heard it before and nothing happened.

The problem is that some day it will happen. Whether another Key West hurricane or major New york City snow storm. And some will not react to warnings because they have been there before and nothing happened.

The Florida keys have a GMO problem. Concerning mosquitoes. Something is done in a lab to the males. The female offspring die as a result. The Florida Keys Mosquito District is suggesting the program will help prevent dengue and is considerably cheaper than present methods used to keep the mosquito population down.

The plan has yet to receive the approval of the FDA. There will be no GM mosquitoes till so approved. Never the less, Oxitec, the British company wanting to do the modifying, has already constructed a breeding laboratory for the male mosquitoes in Marathon.

I hope the lab never becomes operable. The people of the keys are being used as guinea pigs. I am not alone in my thinking. Already 130,00 have signed a petition protesting the situation.

Tuesday comes fast every week. My blog talk radio show tonight at 9. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou. Join me. A fun half hour.

Topics include the Greek election, Koch brothers should be concerned re Greece’s election results, young people in Japan lacking in libido, the cost of fighting ISIS and the land retaken as a result, an example of Citicorp’s Washington influence, Georgia driver given a ticket for eating a cheeseburger while driving, the snow storm and global warming, and more.

Syracuse is killing me! Syracuse lost last night to North Carolina 93-83. Syracuse played well for 35 minutes. The game was lost in the last 5 minutes.

My time yesterday was spent getting ready for tonight’s blog talk radio show and watching the basketball game.

Friends in Greece and Italy have been e-mailing re the Greek election. The next three months in Europe will be interesting. A global recession could be in the making. Europe in economic turmoil definitely.

Enjoy your day!

BANKS DANGEROUS TO LIBERTY

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A lot of truth in the title. I cannot take credit for having said it. The man, Thomas Jefferson. The full quote: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”

Jefferson died broke. He was financially in trouble most of his life.

This morning’s Key West Citizen World Almanac mentions that after the British burned down what is now known as the Congressional Library, Congress voted to buy Jefferson’s personal 6,487 volume library to replenish the books lost in the fire.

The reason Congress bought Jefferson’s library was to give him financial assistance. They knew he was in dire economic straits. The banks were killing him.

The library sale was in 1815. Jefferson died in 1826. Debt ridden. His last years were spent worrying about his indebtedness and how pay it off. His estate was so bad off financially, that his family had to sell Jefferson’s beloved Monticello.

There cannot be any wonder why Jefferson disliked banks so much.

An unusual sunset last night. I watched it from my deck. There was a bank of white and grey clouds. Rippled. The setting sun came through in a pinkish-orange glow.

Keith and Jennifer were with me part of the afternoon doing some chores. Both hard workers.

Richard Crooks was a respected, liked and talented musician. Drums were his specialty. He recently died.

A Key West celebration was held yesterday. Crooks’ friends marched down Duval New Orleans style. About 200. His musician friends playing. The parade started at Hogs Breath. Literally went through Sloppy Joe’s. Ended at the Green Parrot where a jam session was held in his memory.

This morning’s KONK Life E-Blast had a comment by Donna Windle. Donna is anti GMOs. I recommend her comment. It is too lengthy to reprint here.

I ran into Helen Basinger saturday night at Tavern ‘n Town. She is relatively new to Key West. She wrote a book on how to stop smoking. Quit Smoking Now & Forever. I like Helen. A perky personality and intelligent mind.

Syracuse, my Syracuse! Not a good basketball season. I love the school regardless of the poor playing this season. I have given the issue much thought. The reason I and many others are disappointed, sad, etc. is because we have been spoiled. All these years a fantastic basketball team! It had to happen. Even the mighty fall!

Syracuse lost to Miami saturday night 66-62. The defeat perhaps enough to put a nail in the NCAA tournament. NIT here we come!

Syracuse plays North Carolina tonight at 7. Syracuse is an 11 1/2 point underdog.

We fans are all bleeding orange this season.

The Greek election was held yesterday. As I thought, the radical far left Syriza Party won. A blow out. They took 149 of 300 seats in their Parliament. Already the small Independent Greek Party has joined them to ensure an immediate coalition government.

I mention the victory because the media is basically not. It makes me wonder. I watched the first 1 1/2 hours of Morning Joe this morning. Not one word. Google News was very brief.

Today’s world is fighting battles economically. Greece is going to counter the Eurounion hard. There is talk the new government will agree to pay ony half of what is owed. And that half will be paid with better stretched out terms.

Germany of course is going crazy. A lot of German money was loaned to Greece. Without repayment, Germany could go into recession. Other countries are watching. If Greece can screw the Eurounion, so too can Italy and Spain.

What will be happening will affect banking, money, and relationships world wide.

All very interesting. Why not more in the media?

To my friends up north, stay warm. Besides a ton of snow, chill factors at minus or hovering around one degree. Cold!

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

STONE CRABS & HOWARD LIVINGSTON

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We are into the stone crab season. One of man’s finest foods. I have many times said that if I were to be executed, my last meal would be stone crabs.

I met Howard Livingston about 15 years ago. A different man at the time. Though possessed of the same basic charm as today. Howard was a Chicago executive. Wore three piece suits. Short cropped hair.

Howard had built a new home on the water on Summerland Key. We used to go out together frequently, visit each other’s homes. Howard gave a call one morning and said to come up. We were going out on his boat.

We enjoyed a delightful day on the water. If my memory proves correct, we went out to Marvin Key. We returned late afternoon. While the ladies were preparing dinner, Howard told me to join him.

We went out in a small flat boat. At a particular point, Howard stopped and threw the anchor in. Then he directed me to the front of the boat where he was standing. Howard had some stone crab traps sitting down under the water. Each had an attached buoy floating on top.

We were going to collect some stone crabs! A first time for me. Lest anyone think we were poaching, these were Howard’s traps.

We developed a system. I would lift the trap out of the water. The traps were wood strips attached in box form. Spaces in between the strips. Howard would take the stone crabs out. One at a time. Size was important. If too small, the stone crab was returned to the water.

I learned a lot that day. Only one claw can be removed. Then the crab is thrown back in the water. The claw regenerates. Amazing!

Howard did the claw removal. Ever so carefully. He held the stone crab in one hand and carefully snipped away where the claw attached to the body. He admonished me to be careful if I ever graduated to removing the claw. The claw where attached is close to the crab’s lungs. A miss cut and the crab would die.

The crab was returned to the ocean. The trap followed. However, Howard first put something in the trap. A large frozen pig’s foot. Apparently pigs feet are gourmet dining to stone crabs. The pig’s feet would attract the stone crabs and induce them to enter the trap from which there was no escape.

The day was not yet finished. We returned and had a healthy dinner. Stone crabs not included. They had to be boiled and then cooled. To be eaten another time.

It was midnight and I was still there. For what turned out to be the best part of the evening. Howard and I were seated out on the dock. My feet in the water. Howard sitting with his back to a post. Howard was playing his guitar and singing. Jimmy Buffett songs and songs he himself had written.

We were both smoking cigars. Howard had brought a bottle of Gran Marnier out on the dock. We each dipped our cigar in the Gran Marnier before smoking. We followed it with each of us periodically taking a swig out of the bottle.

A day in Key West time as Howard would later set to music.

Enjoy your Sunday!

FRIDAY NIGHT WITH JENNA

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A very pleasant evening with Jenna last night. Dinner and the movies.

Dinner at Outback. It was a stretch to stay on my diet. However, I made it.

The movie was American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper. Excellent! Received six Academy Award nominations. I can understand why.

The movie was first shown for a full weekend last week. Grossed over $100 million. This being the second week, I assumed the theater would not be crowded. I was wrong. Not a seat left in the house. Jenna and I had to sit in the fourth row. The spread of the screen was wider than my eyes could encompass.

Jenna has a new Audi. Big and sleek. Black. With Jenna behind the wheel, it looks like the car was made for her.

The history portion of the Key West Citizen mentions Sally Rand. A fan dancer in days of old. Made 26 movies from 1925-1938. Danced at the World’s Fair in 1933. Danced for the astronauts and their wives at a Right Stuff party in the late 1960s.

More importantly, she was a part time resident of Key West.

I met Sally Rand. Enjoyed 10 private minutes with her. It was 1964. I was at a Police Conference PBA convention at Grossinger’s in the Catskills. I was counsel to the organization at the time. Rand did her famous fan dance for the conventioneers.

Afterwards, there was a private cocktail party. I was there. She was there. I got roughly 10 minutes alone with her. Which meant we were so engrossed in whatever we were talking about that no one interrupted.

She was on in her years. Still the perfect body. The face showing a bit of aging. The aging was not apparent while she was performing. Whether the distance of the stage or make up, I do not know.

I was 29 years old at the time. I found her exciting. I wish I could remember what we talked about.

The Key West Craft Show this weekend. On Whitehead in the area of Caroline. One of Key West’s top events. About 150 white tents with various hand made items for sale. I bought my first Jack Baron years ago at the Show. A black Madonna and Child.

Syracuse/Miami at 4. Syracuse a 3 1/2 point favorite. I don’t know. I have no opinion. I will be watching the game. I am not sure from where.

About six weeks ago, I wrote a column for KONK Life concerning Theodore Roosevelt. Somehow, I lost it in the computer’s never never land. Somehow, it reappeared this week. The article is Theodore Roosevelt the Phrase Maker. It publishes next Wednesday in KONK Life. It has already been posted on Facebook.

I have concluded that the battle against GMOs has been lost. The only fight left is labeling. While the world slept, the international food corporations snuck genetically modified seed grown foods into our diets.

Seventy countries presently grow, import and/or use genetically modified foods. All of north and central America. Only two countries in south America forbid it. France, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Greece and Poland oppose. The tide is obvious however.

Certain central American and south American countries have fought and continue to fight the use of GMOs legislatively and in the courtrooms. With a degree of success. However, giants such as Monsanto fight back in appellate courts. In the meantime, GMOs move ahead in those countries.

We were not vigilant. Some may have been. Others did not pay attention.

My concern and opposition was based on the fact that no one knows the long term consequences of eating such foods. In the next 10-20 years, we will find out.

Enjoy your Sunday!