BRING YOUR KAYAK

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I was on my way to the Chart Room last night at 9:30. The intersection of Duval and Greene Streets was flooded.

It is that time.

The reasons for the flooding: Higher than normal tides, steady winds out of the northeast, and sunday’s full moon. The Key West Citizen reports this morning that the flooding could last a week. Which means it will get worse. The tides will remain high. It is expected the tides will reach as much as 3 feet above normal.

Flagler was also flooded in its usual places.

When these floodings occur, it is not uncommon to see people kayaking on Duval at Greene. Occasionally, some swimming.

I spent the day home. Tired. Concerned about my heart. Was at my heart doctor’s office at 6:30. Last patient of the day. I was being filled in.

I did not leave Dr. McIvor till 9:15. Not complaining. I was pleased he saw me. Tests being scheduled to determine why the tiredness and occasional gulping for air.

I was showered, shaved, etc. Instead of going directly home, I opted for the Chart Room. One drink and good conversation my aim.

Not to be. The chart Room was packed with tourists. I knew no one. Did not stay. Drove directly home.

Today, one of Key West’s more memorable occasions. Stone crab season opens. Good eating the next several months.

The drums rolled thursday night. Lynda and Bob Frechette returned. Great people! Can’t wait to see them.

Judy Wood. There is still a sadness within me. A Memorial Service has been scheduled for October 20 at Tavern ‘n Town.

Three Trump observations. Each speaks for itself.

Trump claims the allegations against him of sexual misconduct are the result of an international media conspiracy.

It is reported Trump hotel bookings are down 58 percent this year from 2015’s comparable period.

There is a neo-Nazi organization in the U.S. Not uncommon. Most countries have one today. The group considers itself white supremacist as well as neo-Nazi.

The neo-Nazi’s have a website.The Daily Stormer. The group’s news and commentary website. The group likes Trump. A recent comment stated: “Heil Donald Trump – The Ultimate Savior.”

ZIKA. Onward goes the battle to eradicate the mosquitoes causing the problem. We are still fighting the testing of the genetically modified mosquito here in Key Haven.

The State of Florida has gotten involved in the eradication of ZIKA. Not with genetically modified mosquitoes nor Ozitec, however. Sterile ones. The male mosquitoes will be inoculated and made sterile. Inoculated with the bacterium wolbachia pipientis.

Tests have been ordered. In conjunction and with the approval of local mosquito boards. Monroe County’s Mosquito Control Board has agreed to participate. Tests will be conducted in Key Largo and Stock island beginning March 2017.

The people can’t win.

Syracuse/Virginia Tech at 3:45 this afternoon. Virginia Tech a 17 point favorite. The game can be viewed on ESPNU.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

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!

JUDY WOOD…..HEART ATTACK

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One of Key West’s nicest persons is Judy Wood. Always a smile and a cheery hello. Judy is one of the bartenders at Tavern ‘n Town.

Last week, Judy had a heart attack. In Winn-Dixie. She is presently in intensive care at the Lower Keys Medical Center.

A prayer is in order.

A tough lady, lets hope she makes it.

Last night was Tavern ‘n Town for me. Bobby Nesbitt time.

The three ladies at the corner of the bar closest to Bobby Nesbitt. Lizabeth, Mary and Josefina. They  must show up at 3 in the afternoon to get the seats. A brief hello and peck on Liz’s cheek.

I sat at the other end of the bar.

Liz came over later to chat. A lovely lady. A knock out. In a black dress. Sexy. A compliment to her 82 years.

Lori and her husband arrived for dinner. Lori has been doing my hair at least 15 years. I had a full head when we started. Always sweet. Takes care of Lisa and the grandkids, also.

Met Jamis. She was sitting one seat away at the bar. An empty seat between us. Stayed empty the entire two hours we were together.

Not sure if I liked her.

Her background not a problem. She presently lives in Apollo Beach, near Tampa. A retired high  school teacher. In Key West for a second time. Other in 1993. Considers herself a Key West virgin. Three children. One with the Federal Reserve. Another an Army major. The third in cyber security.

She turned me off early on when she indicated a dislike for Joe Paterno. Thought he deserved what he got. I have always believed he got screwed.

She got into the conversation at some point that she was a Trumpee. She described herself as such. She sees no danger in a Trump victory.

She said she was waiting for her son. He was upstairs. They were staying at the Beachside. She telephoned him several times. No answer. Must be sleeping, she said. Had a menu. Never ordered. She was waiting for her son. I am not sure if she had more than one drink.

The empty seat bothered me. They are at a premium. If one asked if the seat was taken, she said her son was coming.

The son never appeared nor could she make contact with him.

I question whether a son was ever to appear. I think she wanted an empty seat next to her so she would not be crowded.

Twice I opted to stop talking with her. I found her aggravating. The first time I turned away and went back to reading the newspapers. The second time occurred when I was taking some info for my blog. I forget what she said. Closed my notebook, turned away and said she would not be in the blog. I was not being humorous. She had struck a sensitive cord for whatever.

Her tuned  changed immediately. She obviously wanted to be in the blog. And so she is. Getting more space than entitled. Yet so deserving as she pissed me off. Not easy to do.

Notre Dame walloped Syracuse 50-33. Notre Dame a top team. I was impressed. Everything about the team great. Syracuse had flashes of brilliance. Not enough yet. Not there yet. This season turning out to be a tune up for next year.

Sloan’s picture was in Facebook. With her twin sister. Did not know she had a twin. I was astounded. Could not tell them apart.

Hurricane Matthew not nice. Reached a category 5 yesterday for a brief time. Now back to a category 4. Still heading for Jamaica. Next Haiti. Then Cuba.

A 4 or 5 will do massive destruction. A 5 a total wipeout. Nothing left standing. Key West included. I hope Matthew turns back to sea before hitting the keys.

Immigrants a problem of sorts even in the 1855 days of William Hackley. A local election. Hackley did not vote. The “foreign element is too strong.” Key West had a population of 2,000. Only 200 hundred white. The rest he described as not native born Americans.

The campaign is turning into a sex-along. What about jobs, the economy, Syria, etc.? Even immigration has been forgotten.

Trump’s fault. He apparently relishes in sexual discourse.

On an early morning TV news show today, a video of Trump was shown. Re something he said yesterday. He spoke of Bill Clinton’s misdeeds. Then suggested Hillary had her problems. Suggesting he might have to get into them.

The man is disgusting.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

My bocce team is doing well without me. Tied for first. 11-1.

This week’s Keynoter has an excellent article on lice. The little bugs that end up in children’s hair. Especially during school times. I remember the problem with my kids. Most recently with Robert and Ally a few years ago. Ally especially. Lisa was patient and spent hours combing and picking the bugs out.

There is now in South Florida a chain for lice treatment and removal. Appears successful.

I was impressed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lice under study all the time. We are now into super lice. The super lice are resistant to usual medical/chemical treatment.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

SLOAN IN DUBLIN

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Sloan arrived in Dublin. Followed by a night’s sleep, she is now enjoying her first day of sightseeing.

Sea gulls. Many sea gulls where she stayed. Noisy. Sea gulls in Key West, also. Sloan commented she never hears them here.

Dinner last night alone at the bar at Hogfish. Continues to be less than full. It’s September.

Finished Orange Is The New Black yesterday. Enjoyed the book. Different from what I had anticipated. Women’s federal jails not replete with lesbian lovemaking and brutal fights. Rather a place of endless time waiting to complete a sentence. Little help or concern by guards or other security officers.

I read the book six years after its publication. It is also a TV series into its third or fourth year. I have not seen any of the TV shows.

The author did wrong and spent 13 months in jail paying what society viewed as her debt. Had to be awful. The one rewarding factor is the success of the book and TV series. The thirteen months brought her a life time of economic security. A fortunate result.

Hurricane Matthew now a 4. Wow! Deadly! Approaching Jamaica.

My day ahead a perfect one! Syracuse/Notre Dame football at noon. Notre Dame a 9.5 point favorite. Tonight, dinner at Tavern ‘n Town and Bobby Nesbitt. Lizabeth, also. She will be with two lady friends. Lizabeth has been a Bobby Nesbitt follower and friend for years.

Poor William Hackley. He is into his third day of hemorrhoids. He refers to them as piles. So bad today that he could not walk.

I appreciate his pain. Mine were horrible some 40 years ago. Finally required surgery. Wish I had had the surgery months earlier.

Yesterday was the first day of the Ryder Cup. I was not aware. Do not know how I missed it. They are playing in Minnesota.

The US up 5-3 as a result of yesterday’s playing. Not so good. They were ahead 4-0 at the end of the morning rounds. Europe came back big time in the afternoon.

I will be watching parts of the Ryder Cup while watching the Syracuse game.

I was fortunate to see a Ryder Cup 20 plus years ago. In Rochester. All four days. Stayed at a hotel filled with NBC guests. A friend worked for NBC. Used the Oldsmobile tent. A client was an Oldsmobikle dealer.

NBC picked up my hotel tab. I was bundled in with all their guests. NBC also provided bus service to the golf course.

The only way to go! A sponsor hotel and tent.

Disney World opened in 1971. Cost $3.50. Today, one day for 10 year olds and up $105.00.

Today, a big day in baseball history. On this day in 1961, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run. Breaking Babe Ruth’s record which had existed for years.

A required observation. Maris did it, and Ruth before him, without the benefit of steroids or drugs.

Enjoy your day!

 

THE DEBATE

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Key Westers are politically conscious. They have opinions re Trump and Hillary. Key Westers do not just lie on a  beach drinking margaritas and hitting the bars at night. The election is a much discussed event every day in the Chart Room, Don’s Place, La Te Da, and everywhere else.

Last night’s debate will not change many minds. People are fixed rigidly in this election. The two sides are like Congress. Adamant. The election will be decided by the five percent undecided and/or who have decided to vote for Johnson. In the end, a number of Johnson intended votes will go over to Hillary.

Hillary bested Trump last night. I give her a B and Trump a D-. The D- a gift. Except for trade, Trump made no impact. He evidenced no understanding of government or world problems. His incompetence for the position of President was obvious. He was a mega flop.

Hillary was prepared and sounded Presidential.

Yesterday was a run around day. The bank. Then Walgreens. Followed by the Cuban Coffee Queen for lunch.

Then a 100 foot walk to what is to be Cuzza Bubbaz. A Key West flavored sandwich shop. Opening scheduled for October 10. Jay O’Neill owner and chef.

Cuzza Bubbaz is on Southard next to Bank of America. At the entrance to the Key Lime corridor.

Jay has been a bocce friend for years. He was chef at Sq. 1 and Solo American Bistro. A chef who takes pride in his product. His sandwiches will be a step above and better than others.

Met with Guy de Boer last night for a couple of drinks at Tavern ‘n Town. Even on a monday night, the bar is packed. Ran into my neighbors Ed and Nancy Swift. Also, original Square One friends. This goes back 20 plus years. Then owner Michael and his sometimes hostess Jean. Two great people.

Stay with me on this one. America is not named after Amerigo Vespucci. He never even landed in North America. His stops were in Brazil and islands offshore.

Vespucci is claimed to have made four trips. Historians doubt the first ever happened.

America is named after Richard Ameryk. Ameryk was the patron/financier for John Cabot’s trips. Cabot’s chief investor. Cabot reached Labrador in May 1497, two years before Vespucci landed in South America for the first time.

Correct historical fact tells us two things.

First, Vespucci never reached North America, nor any America before Cabot. Second, back in the 1400’s newly discovered countries and continents were named after the financier/patron of the exploration. The last name was used. Never the first. Ergo, most historians believe America was named after Richard Ameryk.

This is the second time in a month I have come across a mistaken historical fact. I was taught America was named after Amerigo Vespucci in grammar school. How do these things happen?

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. If you have never heard the show, join me. A fast moving half hour packed with my opinions re the events discussed. Nine my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics that will be discussed include the debate of course, John Boehner cashing out, why environmental damage caused by war is never discussed, the bumble bee in trouble, and guns sell out after Charlotte shooting.

Also, Pentagon admits black U.S. soldiers were used for scientific/medical test purposes during World War II, the fear self-driving trucks will result in the layoff of many from good paying jobs, FBI Director James Coomey’s percieved involvement with the Clinton Foundation, and more.

Enjoy your day!

 

EDWARD HENRY

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The Key West Citizen daily runs on page 3 its Citizen of the Day. Photo and biographical sketch.

Today’s honoree is Edward Henry.

I do not know him personally, yet feel I do know him personally. Edward works in the pharmacy department at Walgreens on the Boulevard. Always a smile, always helpful. Sometimes difficult I am sure. Prescription purchasers are not always happy campers.

Edward is a big guy. Reminds me of Shaquille O’Neal. Carries himself with the same humility.

Congratulations, Edward! You are much deserving of the recognition.

Spent my day time yesterday writing thus week’s KONK Life column. An American Revolutionary War Hero Who Lost His Head. The Joseph Warren story. Interesting. More revealing, the treatment of the colonists by the British during the war. The column hits the stands wednesday.

Intended to have dinner at Tavern ‘n Town. Thought the bar would be empty on a sunday night. Not so. No room.

Went to La Trattoria Oceanside. No room at the bar. However, I was able to get a well located table with a magnificent view of the water. Enjoyed spaghetti and oil. A dish I have not had in ages.

My waiter was CJ. I did not recall him. He did me. He worked years ago at La Trattoria on Duval when I was a regular customer. He recalled me by name.

His step mother is Erin. She was bartender at La Trattoria on Duval for years. Now bartends at Smokin’ Tuna.

CJ is getting married in November. He is all excited! Good luck to him and his bride.

I mentioned Berlin’s yesterday. I had been there friday evening. New singer, I thought. Was not sure of her name. An excellent entertainer.

A comment to the column corrected me. Devin. I thank him. Brie her name. Brie not new to Key West or singing. She has been here 10 years.

I have  mentioned a couple of times this past week that Helen Mirren was in Key West making a movie. Together with co-star Donald Sunderland. Shooting was taking place at Higgs Beach and the Hemingway House.

The movie is titled The Leisure Seeker. It is the story of an elderly couple. The wife a cancer patient. Her husband entering into Alzheimer’s. They decide to take a road trip to Key West in a Winnebago.

The weekend bombings. What can I say? What can we say? Eventually, the problem will be resolved. Could take a number of years. In the meantime, vigilance the key.

The problem will not be resolved here. It will be in the Middle East by the total destruction of ISIS.

President James Garfield died this date in 1881. An assassin’s bullet on July 2 started the sequence of events leading to Garfield’s death.

I wrote a lengthy KONK Life column on the subject five years ago.

Garfield was shot at the Washington Railroad Station. One bullet in his arm. The other on the right side of his back behind the pancreas.

Garfield laying on the filthy railroad station floor. Robert Todd Lincoln was with him. Lincoln called a Dr. D. Willard Bliss to care for the President. Bliss turned out to be an arrogant individual impressed with his own perceived self-importance. He cared for Garfield till his death some two and a half months later.

During that time, roughly 80 physicians also were called in. Bliss always in charge, however.

The problem was no one could find the bullet in the President’s back. Fingers and instruments prodded the hole searching for it. Dirty fingers and instruments. This was before the medical profession realized there were germs. Bacteria.

Infection set in. The President’s body became accessed big time internally.

The bullet had to be found and extracted. Bliss called in Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Bell had invented a metal detector that was supposed to locate bullets in the body. It had been successfully tested on Civil War veterans.

The detector did not work on the President. A scratchy buzzing sound was constantly heard. Something was wrong.

Garfield lay on a mattress which lay on a metal coil bed spring. The metal bed spring had recently been invented. A patent pending. Not yet on the market for sale. One had been given Garfield for publicity purposes.

The metal bed spring mattress screwed up the metal detector. No one realized it at the time.

An autopsy showed that the prodding by fingers and instruments had moved the bullet from the President’s right side to his left. The bullet could not be located because it was not where it was supposed to be.

Charles Guiteau went on trial for the murder of the President. His defense was that medical malpractice had killed Garfield, not his shooting. The jury did not agree. He was found guilty and hung.

Guiteau made his own closing argument to the jury. “Yes, I shot him, but his doctors killed him.”

Enjoy your day!

 

 

FLAG FLOWN UPSIDE DOWN FREE SPEECH

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It bothers me when I see someone in our country or in a foreign one desecrating the American flag. Like burning and stomping. Gets to me.

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that such conduct is not criminal. It is the expression of free speech. Constitutionally protected.

Homer Martz is an Iowa farmer. Conservative, God fearing, patriotic. A Chinese pipeline was laid next to his well. No one told Martz it was coming close or that close to his well.

Martz opted to protest. No one would hear him. He hung the American flag upside down. Not to show disrespect. To be heard. Note that the flag pole had been there. He daily flew the American flag.

He felt he had been denied due process because of the failure to advise, give him an opportunity to complain, etc.

Martz was arrested. Iowa law makes it a misdemeanor to misuse in any fashion the American flag. The word misuse is mine. The statute actually has a number of instances where the conduct is considered illegal.

Sticking specifically to the law,  the arrest is a bum one. Again, the Supreme Court in two instances said American flag desecration is constitutionally protected free speech.

I address Martz’s problem for a reason. State and local governments should have known Martz’s conduct was proper. Failing in that regard to do so now subjects Martz to the expense of an attorney, his personal loss of time from his farm work, the taxpaying public  forced to pick up a prosecutor’s bill, a Judge’s expense, and salaries for a full court staff.

The Iowa law should have been removed from the books years ago.

I consider today a significant one in American history. President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act this day in 1935.

I am confident I will receive a number of negative comments re my position concerning Social Security.

Sixty years from now someone will be writing as I have here regarding the Affordable Care Act.

Has to be difficult be a President’s child! There is a video floating around the internet claiming to show Malia smoking a joint. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Melia was in a group of peers at some event where everyone was jumping and yelling. Kid stuff. Something persons her age do.

As to the toke, I question whether true. The video has only a quick shot of Malia. It is her. Took all of a second and gone. The toke part not clear. At all. Very interpretive she was smoking pot.

If true, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when Michelle addressed the issue with Malia.

Worked with Sloan yesterday afternoon. Learning the new cell phone, utilizing it together with the computer, etc. A pain in the ass for me. I call it mechanical retardation. Generational.

Some of my readers commented the phrase was incorrect. Technologically retarded appropriate.

Whatever, it is still hard for me. And I am sure others of my generation.

It was Tavern ‘n Town last night. I decided to skip Lobsterfest. Let me share two reasons why.

Summer festival time with stands and shoulder to shoulder crowds, etc. on Duval is a steam bath. Twenty degrees warmer. Body heat. Pictures in this morning’s Key West Citizen show the crowd.

The other reason is that I am not a fan of Florida lobster. I prefer Maine lobster. Not being a snob. Florida lobster is tougher and has a different taste.

I read somewhere this week that the Maine lobster which is available for purchase at Publix is cheaper per pound than the Florida lobster.

What that means besides cheaper, I don’t know. Just sharing.

Ran into an old Syracuse University friend at Tavern ‘n Town. Steve. We had dinner together. Several years back when Steve was not so busy, he used to join me for Syracuse basketball games.

Met Katie Sottak. Steve introduced me. She is a hostess at Tavern ‘n Town. A lovely personable young lady. Twenty seven. Originally from New Hampshire. Has lived in Key West three years.

Her real love is art. Her works are presently being shown at Island Wynds Gallery on Simonton. The gallery next door to Books & Books.

The Hackley baby continues to concern me. I wish Hackley would write the baby’s name in his diary once so we would know.

Today’s problem as described by Hackley was wind and pain. He gave the baby some gin.

The gin thing does not shock me. All families have home remedies that have come down over the years. I recall when my sister Joan was teething. My mother would pour a little Canadian Club over her finger and then rub the finger over Joan’s gums.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

 

TAVERN ‘n TOWN…..FRIENDS NIGHT

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I spent yesterday afternoon researching this week’s KONK Life column that will publish wednesday. Mommy, I’m Hungry…..

Bad stuff! Starvation in Venezuela. Food supplies down 80-90 percent.

I have mentioned the problem in this blog and on my podcast show several times in recent years. The column is a more in depth study of the problem.

Last night was Tavern ‘n Town. Ran into a ton of people.

Before the friends, there was a disappointment. No Bobby Nesbitt. He is in Rochester with his elderly mother for two weeks.

First came my internest/primary care doctor Jackie Lefferts.
With her charming husband, Michael. Jackie looked terrific. Sexy. Told her so as she hugged and kissed me. We have become friends over the years.

Then a lovely young lady. At first, I did not recognize her. Sarah from Duffy’s. Sometimes a bartender. She was with lady friends. A girl’s night out.

Sarah said it was her first time at Tavern ‘n Town. She said she was there because I mention it so much in this blog.

Then a heart breaker. Dan Reynen stopped by to say hello. Owner/trainer at WeBeFit. I worked out with his staff a couple of years ago. Stopped when I popped two ribs.

He said…..You’ve gained some weight. I have. About 30 pounds since I last saw him. I like to think it doesn’t show. He reminded me it does. He left me feeling guilty.

Finally, Dan Talpasz. Had not seen him in two years.

Dan is a Key Marriott employee. At the top. He was Marriott’s 2014 Restaurateur of the Americas.

At the time, he was general manager of Tavern ‘n Town. A big job in itself.

The Spottswood family own Tavern ‘n Town and several other hotels and restaurants. Dan was promoted to Food and Beverage Director of the Spottswood Companies.

He was in Key West for the day. He has been spending a lot of time in Marathon. The Spottswoods have opened a Marriott there. He is working on the restaurant.

Dan is talented. He will someday be CEO of a major hotel chain.

Zika in a small trendy Miami neighborhood. An area one square mile. Sixteen cases so far. Panic setting in.

The CDC says Miami’s small case cluster is not considered a widespread transmission.

Genetically modified mosquitoes are a problem for me and my neighbors on the tiny island Key Haven we live on. Our local mosquito control board wants to test GM mosquitoes to kill off the mosquito causing Zika.

The GM mosquito is being touted as the end all cure all.

There was another once. DDT. An insecticidal discovered in 1939. By Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Muller. Muller received the Nobel prize for the discovery in 1948.

The United States banned DDT in 1972, except for some extremely limited uses.

Beware. All that glitters is not gold!

On this day in 1942, the United States invaded Guadalcanal. The Japanese were building an airfield. Eleven thousand Marines were landed the first day.

Guadalcanal was a long and bloody battle. The Japanese refused to surrender. Many lives lost on both sides.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

JIMMY HOFFA AND BUM FARTO…..WHERE ARE YOU?

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On this day in 1975, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. Five weeks later on September 9, 1975, Key West’s Bum Farto disappeared. No relationship between the two.

Hoffa had been a prominent union leader. It is thought organized crime had a hand in his disappearance.

Farto was Key West’s Fire Chief. He had been arrested for selling cocaine from fire stations under his jurisdiction.

Both have not been heard from since their disappearances. Safe to say, they probably never will be heard from. Some day if we are lucky, we may hear the how and why of their disappearances.

Yesterday afternoon was spent researching this week’s KONK Life column. I have not decided on the title yet. The subject matter is the treatment of homosexuals in Germany. For a period of 84 years. Beginning in 1871 and ending in 1985.

Special emphasis given to Hitler’s treatment of gays. Jews were gassed. Though in significantly lesser numbers, homosexuals maltreated also. Castrated.

I will write the column this afternoon.

Last night was dinner at the bar at Tavern ‘n Town. Bobby Nesbitt time, of course. Bobby waved me over. He laughingly told me how much he enjoyed the Bagel column.

I was looking for a change of pace article last week. Can’t write about heavy stuff all the time. Bagels were it. As opposed to this week’s column which will involve the horrendous treatment of homosexuals in Germany. Especially, Hitler’s Germany.

Terri still good. Actually as if nothing happened to her this past week. A heart attack last Tuesday. God love her!

Enjoy your Sunday!

A BAGEL RESEARCH AFTERNOON

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One week prostitution. The next bagels. Love it!

Bagels is the title of this week’s KONK Life column which publishes Wednesday. From whence they came, those responsible for their discovery/invention, leading types, dollar sales, etc.

Boring, not. Interesting, yes.

I spent yesterday afternoon researching. Took longer than anticipated. Sufficiently long that I missed the Running of the Bulls at 1 and Hemingway Look A-Likes at 5:30.

The game plan was to start researching earlier than normal. Which I did. then sneak downtown for the running of the bulls. Return home and work the rest of the afternoon on bagels. Assumed I would finish in time to get back into town for the Look A-Like contest. I attended neither event.

Watched Hillary introduce VP candidate Tim Kaine. A great choice! Straight forward, honest, caring, Spanish speaking, humorous, etc. Going to make a hell of a candidate!

Last night was Tavern ‘n Town. Looked forward to listening to Bobby Nesbitt sing.

I parked in the hotel garage. Nearby, the Marriott has four electric cables hooked up to charge electric vehicles. Seldom are any parked there.

Last night, four. Brand new. Shiny. No license plates.

I could not figure out the make. The emblems meant nothing to me.

Bob Frechette having dinner with friends. Exchanged hellos and a brief conversation. He and Lynda are in Cleveland for the summer. He is back for a few days to take care of some business matters. We agreed to get together for dinner this week.

Two political observations.

Again, Tim Kaine impressed me. He will be a great asset to the campaign. His values and Spence’s are diametrically opposed. Will make for an interesting campaign.

The Wikileak of 20,000 DNC e-mails evidenced shocking information. The DNC was working in Hillary’s best interests and not Sanders. Disgusting!

I listened to Sanders this morning re the revelation. He basically says I told you so several months ago. He went on to add he supports Clinton and will be working to defeat Trump.

Sanders could cause all kinds of trouble for Hillary at the moment. He has opted not to be a Ted Cruz.  He is a class act.

Experts are saying Russia is behind the hacking. Putin in the past has said kind words about Trump. Perhaps Putin is working behind the scenes to help Trump win. Probably because he believes he can handle Trump easily.

Enjoy your Sunday!