SOME KEY WEST HISTORY

Big trees from little acorns grow…..

The Pier House Motel opened this date in 1968. Fifty units. From that modest beginning, the Pier House of today grew. Key West’s premier hotel.

My friend from physiotherapy David Wolkowsky responsible. The 50 unit motel was his brain child. The hotel’s growth guided by his hand.

David is 96. God bless him!

David has been responsible for more than merely the growth of the Pier House. Key West is his baby! He made it what it is today.

Mom’s Tea Room was once a popular place. Always busy. A man’s place. A whore house, house of ill repute, bordello. It is no more.

On this date in 1941, Mom’s Tea Room was raided. Three prostitutes arrested.

Not Mom’s first raid/arrest. The U.S. Navy a thorn in her side. Weighed on local government to close down the place. The Navy believed the place was not healthy for its men.

This is not the first time this blog has reported on Mom’s Tea Room. Twice before. April 9, 2015 and February 8, 2016. More detail in each writing. The blogs are archived on www.keywestlou.com. Right hand side of page, scroll down. Find month and year. Click on. Find date.

The owner of Mom’s Tea Room was Rose Rabin. She ran three places over the years. One off and on Stock Island through 1953. Another on Truman Avenue before World war II. The third a post World War II place known as the Imperial Club. The Navy was on her ass re all her clubs.

Whore houses are a thing of the past. Today are primarily escort services and gentlemen’s clubs (strip clubs). Services the same. Merely obtained via a different method.

Walked Home Depot yesterday. Only 15 minutes and at a slow pace. Exhausted afterwards. Concerns me.

While walking, I heard from Dee. She was calling from somewhere in Michigan.

Dee worked 30 years for AIDS-Help here in Key West. Her boss during those years died this week. She was in Michigan to attend his services. She is scheduled as one of the speakers.

Dee was a wreck. Crying. Understandable.

Stopped at Walgreens. To pick up Nexium generic for my acid reflux.

I am pissed at pharmaceutical houses and insurance companies. I have a drug policy through AARP. Does not pay everything. Always a co-pay. Then there is the donut.

I have been taking two Nexiums a day for years. My co-pay $40 a month. A couple of months ago, the price out of pocket for me became $174. No way! I switched to the generic. The generic costs me $41.50 a month. Slightly more than the for real pill.

Generics are supposed to be cheap.

I talked to Walgreens, the insurance company and the pharmaceutical house at the time. The insurance and pharmacy houses not nice at all. Actually impolite. Basically, the prices can be raised at any time. The judgment that of the pharmaceutical house. Take it or leave it!

F–k ’em!

Excuse my exasperation.

Back Door last night with Mark Watson. David there. Met Tim and Todd. John, who I had met before.

Tim and I talked quite a while. He manages Joe’s Chicken Shack on Duval. Another place for me to try.

Then to Outback’s for dinner. Ran into Doc. I only know him as Doc. Never have known his real name. We played golf weekly 20 years ago. I rarely see him now.

I was thrilled when he told me how much he loved my KONK Life column, reads it every week, etc. Thought I spent all week researching.

Doc made my night. It thrills me whenever someone compliments the column. I take pride in it.

The local hospital problem a real one. Will be ongoing quite a while. There will be some resolution. How much, difficult to determine.

This morning’s Key West Citizen reported the City Commission was having a meeting tonight re the issue. The Citizens’ Committee, hospital representatives and public invited.

Key West’s City Commission is inept. Typical politicians. Want the public to know they are doing something. Generally not the right thing.

Certain Commission members are prepared to sue the company that owns the hospital. I believe it not the time, if ever. A lawsuit is only going to screw things up, delay resolution, etc.

Whatever, the Commission blowhards seem committed to a lawsuit. Then the problem is off their shoulders. Let the City Attorney worry about it. Blame delays and lack of resolution on the lawsuit.

In the mean time, what about patients? Any lawsuit will delay resolution of patient problems for years.

Enjoy your day!