-16 DEGREES

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Happy New Year!

To most of the country freezing their butts off, Happy New Year! Hang in there. Warm weather will return. It always does.

I received an early morning Happy New Year from a Utica friend. Minus sixteen degrees! I remember those days. Brutal!

Chilly in Key West last night. I am ashamed to say got down to 65 degrees. I turned the heat on. You would too if you lived here all year long. Your blood thins. You are more susceptible to cold.

Key West very cold around the corner. Temperatures in the 50’s. Tomorrow night, low 62. Then a few days with the high in the mid 60’s and night times in the mid 50’s.

Key West style cold!

I remained in last night. The highlight of my evening the Syracuse/Virginia Tech game. Syracuse won 68-56. Syracuse played terrific!

Virginia Tech came into the game with the top field goal percentage in the nation. 54.5 percent. Fourth re 3 shooting percentage. 43.7. Syracuse kept Virginia Tech well below those numbers.

Syracuse’s defense outstanding! Shooting  much better. The team was making shots. Still need improvement in the shooting area, however.

A tough ACC schedule ahead.

Go ‘Cuse!

I wanted to be awake at midnight to watch the ball fall. Missed it. Woke at 12:15. Watched some blabbing from New York. Found New Orleans at 1 my time for their Happy New Year. Provided me with the thrill of it all.

CNN ran Key West 15 minutes after Sushi came down in the shoe. She was walking around by the time they got to her. Never the less, still good. An attractive Sushi in a bright red dress. She makes all her clothes herself. The crowd huge and noisy.

Key West has more than one person descending something or other at midnight. The pirate wench at the Waterfront always a hit. She (a for real one) comes down from the top of a tall ship’s mast. Other descents include a conch shell, Keys lime wedge, unicorn and a tuna.

Something for everyone!

New Year’s Day was not always celebrated January 1. The early calendar was a mess. Unreliable. Followed the lunar cycle. Changed a bit every year. The bits turned into a large number at some point and adjustments had to be made.

Julius Caesar said enough! In 45 B.C., the Julian calendar took effect. Caesar took a little glory from the event. Quintilis was the original name of July. Caesar changed it to July, naming the month after himself.

In the 1570’s, the calendar was still screwed up. By the year 1,000, the calendar had added 7 days. By the mid 1500’s, 10 days.

Pope Gregory III solved the problem by adding 1 day to the calendar every 4 years. Leap year! Still works today.

The new calendar became known as the Gregorian calendar.

Key West’s Dachshund Walk yesterday a success. More than 200 dachshunds participated.

I receive my daily Key West Citizen via the internet. No January 1 edition this morning. Why? I hope it was not because the Citizen gave its workers a day off because of the holiday. A lot of Key Westers worked yesterday. The Citizen should have also, if such was the reason.

Enjoy your day!

TIMES SQUARE BALL 11,875 POUND WATERFORD CRYSTAL

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Tonight at midnight, a new year. 2018. A long time since the birth of Christ.

Times Square this evening will be the center of the universe. Thousands standing in the freezing cold waiting for the ball to drop. The ball, the one we have been watching for years, is rather large. Weighs 11,875 pounds. Twelve feet in diameter.  A Waterford crystal.

Brave people observing the drop tonight in person. The temperature will be freezing. In the teens with a chill factor of -5.

Booze not recommended. It contributes to the dehydration of the body in extreme temperatures.

Key West has sort of dropping balls. Sushi in a shoe at Bourbon Street, a wench coming down the mast at Schooner Wharf, a ball at Sloppy Joe’s. There are more. Each year another establishment is dropping something at midnight.

The bars and streets will be packed. Duval closed off.

I have only done 2 New Year’s eves in Key West. Other times, private parties or at home alone. As I get older, the evening becomes too much work. The crowds rowdy tourists. Parking impossible.

I learned long ago in Utica that New Years eve is amateur night. Since every evening is New Years Eve in Key West, I can afford to miss one a year.

My lesbian wives planned to have me with them tonight. Dinner at Abandonzza, drag show at Aqua, and then Sushi from the street at midnight.

I opted out.

The game plan for me this evening is the Syracuse/Virginia Tech game at 6. Then a TV movie. Followed by an early night to bed.

Aging enters into it.

Syracuse favored by 3.5 points. Both teams part of the ACC. Tonight begins the ACC season. Virginia Tech is the leading 3 point shooting team in the country. Shooting average 45.3 percent.

Last night the Chart Room. Not that crowded. Shaun bartending.

Chatted with Shaun and a few of the tourists. Then home to an early bed.

A good thing Trump does not live in Egypt.

An Egyptian court yesterday sentenced former President Mohamed Morsi and 19 others to three years in jail. The crime: Insulting the Judiciary.

Greece. Oh, how I love Greece!

A Greek anarchist group Rubicon support Palestinians. They are upset with Trump’s soon to be move of the American embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

This past week they rode motorcycles up to the Israeli Embassy and threw bottles of paint against the Embassy building.

Rubicons are not part of the Golden Dawn Party. The Rubicons came into being because they thought the Golden Dawn Party was failing in its responsibilities.

I have written over the years often of the Golden Dawn Party. I once thought that one day they would take over the government via the ballot box. Now, I am not sure.

The Golden Dawn Party are neo-Nazis. Dress like Hitler’s storm troopers. Presently the third largest party in Parliament. Represent 10 percent of the popular vote.

It is thought Trump’s election has re-energized the Party. Golden Dawn leaders say, “Trump’s policies have given us a new wind of support…..We should follow Trump’s beat.”

Crazy people!

What is happening in Iran? Surprising! The demonstrations. Proof that even the mighty can fall.

Could happen, though I doubt it.

Don’t forget the Annual Dachshund Walk at noon beginning at the court house on Whitehead.

Stay sober and safe tonight. Enjoy the evening otherwise!

Happy New Year!

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT DIE

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The man who would not die. His name, Rasputin.

History tells us he was a con man supreme, a self-proclaimed holy person, one who caused a royal dynasty to fall. Romanov Russia.

Rasputin helped bring revolution to Russia. He made possible the birth of Communist Russia.

Born Grigory Efinovich Rasputin. To a peasant family. At some point, he underwent a religious conversion. Proclaimed himself a healer.

Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra’s son Alexi was a hemophiliac. Rasputin seemed to have the ability to stop Alexi’s bleeding. The year 1908. From that time forward, Rasputin was an accepted friend, confidant, and adviser to Nicholas and Alexandra. Especially, Alexandra. History believes she had an ongoing affair with Rasputin.

He became a dark influence on the royal family.

All of Russia disliked Rasputin. Nobles, church orthodoxy, and peasants alike. He was constantly drunk, a womanizer, an evil in the Romanov homes. He was concerned not with the best interests of Russia. His concern at all times was his image. Some what like Trump today.

A group of Russian nobles were eager to end Rasputin’s influence over the royal family. They murdered him the night and early morning of December 29-30, 1916.

Even at the time of his death, Rasputin exhibited messianic powers. He was a man who would not die.

The nobles laced his food and drink with cyanide. No effect. They then shot him at close range. He revived and tried to escape. The nobles shot him again. He continued to live.

The nobles finally tied Rasputin up and tossed him into a freezing river.

That did it!

The nobles killed Rasputin. Rasputin killed Romanov Russia. The peasants in due course revolted. In 1922, Soviet Russia was born.

Rasputin put into motion a series of events which even to today affect the world. U.S./Russian relations an example.

Last night, a lovely evening. A charming companion. Catherine.

We dined at Berlin’s. Guy de Boer sitting next to me at the bar. Berlin’s the busiest I have ever seen. Makes sense. Christmas week the busiest tourist time of the year for Key West.

I enjoyed a prime rib again. Terrific! Just the meat and au jus sauce. Part of the Atkins diet.

I am into my fifth week of the diet. Only cheated Christmas eve and Christmas day. I should have lost 15-20 pounds by now. I lost 10 pounds the first week. Not an ounce more since.

Discouraging.

I am thinner. Into shirts and shorts one size smaller. I need the pounds off, however. The scale speaks the truth!

Worry not, I will continue with the diet.

Big event tomorrow at noon. The Annual Dachshund Walk. Hundreds will congregate at the Courthouse on Whitehead to watch the parade.

Only in Key West!

Trump upsets me this morning. I saw the news that a small group had protested in Iran. Trump announced to the world how terrible the Iranian government was, good luck to the protesters, etc.

Trump does not know when to keep his mouth shut and when to speak.

The world is dividing into two camps. Just as Germany and the Allies did prior to World War II. Iran and Russia are friends. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia friends on the other side. Trump should not encourage further division. He has yet to learn it is better to make friends than enemies.

I wonder how Trump would have felt if after Charlottesville, Iranian and Russian leaders spoke out telling the world the U.S. was bad, good luck to the protesters, etc. Trump would have shouted back that each country should mind its own business.

Trump continues to be a growing menace to the health and security of the U.S.

The weather started turning last night. Today’s high projected at 73. The low tonight 64. Cold for us. Warm to my friends up north suffering in low teen freezing cold and tons of snow.

It will continue cold for a few days. Long pants, sweat shirts, sweaters, etc. for us. For me, the heat on tonight.

Enjoy your day!

 

GO ‘CUSE!

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Syracuse University continues to be a part of my life. As the saying goes, I bleed orange!

I remained in to watch Syracuse play East Michigan last night. Syracuse has been playing poorly so far this season. In spite of its 10-2 record going into last night’s game.

I did not expect much from my beloved team. Was I surprised!

The first half sucked. The score 24-24 at halftime.

The second half was another story. Syracuse dominated big time. Won 62-47.

The difference…..Syracuse scored in the second half. Put the ball in the basket.

The team is excellent defensively. Their problem has been scoring. Long or short, the team keeps missing. All season. Till the second half last night.

Syracuse’s scoring ability continue must continue. Last night cannot be a flash in the pan. It is the only way Syracuse will survive the ACC season.

Yesterday began with an early morning visit with the optician. More tests. Think we finally have a prescription that will work. My third! Two with an eye doctor and yesterday’s with an optician.

My day today begins with a haircut. Lori and me. It takes Lori less than two minutes to cut my hair. She puts the electric razor on 1 and goes for it! Always embarrassed to charge me. I leave her a $20 bill.

Thursday is Farmers Market day. At Bayview Park. Many tents. Tons of goodies. I will go following my haircut and walk around.

I will buy nothing. Everything I like loaded with carbs. A no no on my diet. Russian bread, honey, vegetables, etc. Yet I will enjoy the walk through experience. And to be frank, the saliva experience.

Tonight, I am out on the town. Probably only the Chart Room. But, out! Other than Roostica for a quick dinner tuesday night, I have not been out evenings in several days.

The weather continues to be perfect. Eighty by day, 70 by night. No humidity. The weather report says cooler weather for the weekend. As low as 65.

Laugh my northern friends! I know you are suffering in cold weather. The announcer during the Syracuse game last night said it was 9 degrees outside the Carrier Dome.

The rich get richer. The poor, poorer.

A recent study revealed the richest persons on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017. The gain four times more than in 2016. The primary reason being the stock market at an all time high.

Wait till Trump’s new tax law becomes effective. The rich will become significantly richer!

For years, I have been critical of the pharmaceutical houses. The cost of drugs being unreasonably high! To no avail. No administration seems to care. Democrat or Republican.

A new example of the thievery permitted.

Bristol-Myers Squib produced Lomustine for years. A vital cancer drug. Sold the drug for about $50 a capsule.

In 2013, Bristol-Myers sold the drug rights to a Miami start up company NextSource. NextSource has increased the price 9 times since the purchase. Renamed Gleostine by NextSource, the drug now sells for about $768 a pill.

Which leads me to conclude there is no question…..Your life is worth every penny you have!

Easier for college kids to get a higher education today. They can borrow the money via financial aid. Such did not exist when I was going through college in the 1950’s. Needed money, your parents could not afford, you worked and went to school at the same time.

Most recent studies indicate that colleges have raised tuitions over the past 30 plus years because of the availability of students to borrow. Colleges placed themselves in a position to make more money.

I bring this scenario to your attention to make you aware colleges operate like a business. There is a need to gross more dollars. New buildings, higher faculty salaries, etc.

In the end, the students suffer. Burdened for years with debts difficult to pay. Forced to put off major life events such as marriage, home ownership, and children.

Lori awaits.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

THE WEATHER…..KEY WEST AND ERIE, PA.

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The weather outside is frightful…..

For Key West, no. Erie, Pa., yes.

A magnificent Christmas week weather wise. Eighty by day, 70 by night. No humidity. No air conditioning required at night. Open the bedroom window and let the cool ocean breeze flow in.

Erie, Pa. another story! Four feet of snow over a 48 hour period 12/25-12/26.

Erie no stranger to heavy snow falls. However, the four feet was the most ever.

I remember 4 feet snowfalls in Utica. Got one every 10 years or so. Pretty. Disruptive, however. The City closed down. No driving, no work. Could be 2 days before you got out of your house.

I loved the major snow storms. Family time. Parents and children confined at home together. A time to rebond.

My day yesterday began at the opticians. Still having vision problems with the new glasses. Second prescription. Worse than the first.

I return this morning for additional tests.

Worked  at organizing last night’s podcast in the afternoon. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

An early dinner at Roostica.

No question it is Christmas time. The busiest time of the year in Key West. Roostica packed to the walls inside and out.

Tried to do a different show last night. One where Donald Trump is never mentioned. I did well. Slipped into a brief Trump comment only 3 times.

The introductory story was one I reported first on this blog last week. The story of the prematurely born female twins.

One not making it. Death inevitable. Placed in incubator next to her sister who was doing well. The healthy twin threw an arm over her sick sister. The sick sister’s recovery began immediately.

The twins 22 years old today. Lovely young ladies leading full lives.

The help of a sister and the grace of God responsible.

A poor stone crab season.  A very poor one.

Law of economics at work. Few stone crabs available, high prices.

The fishermen cannot find enough stone crabs. It is believed Irma disrupted the ocean floor and who knows where they ended up. Another reason suggested is that there has not been a cold front yet. A cold front is required to move stone crabs closer to shore.

Small stone crabs going for $8 a piece. Jumbo’s, $28 a piece.

Too expensive.

Syracuse/E. Michigan tonight. I will watch from the comfort of my bed. Syracuse a 12 point underdog.

I doubt many would disagree with me if I referred to Trump as an egomaniac. He may get his rocks off again. In Jerusalem.

Israel owes Trump. He is moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. The action to the Israelis indicates Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

They refer to Trump’s decision re the Embassy as a “brave decision.”

Jerusalem’s Western Wall is the holiest of Jewish places. A high speed railway is soon to be constructed which will run to the Western Wall. Construction to take 4 years. Cost, $700 million.

Strong support exists to name the train station at the Wall after Trump.

He is better deserving in my opinion for a subway train station in the middle of the Bronx to be renamed after him. One in a black/latino neighborhood.

Enjoy your day!

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!

KEY WEST WEATHER FRIGHTFUL

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The weather is frightful. Key West experiencing its first cold spell of the season. Sixty degrees last night. Sixty one degrees at the moment. Today projected a high of 65 and low of 59.

I feel sad for the tourists who are here this week. The cold spell will run through thursday. They ae making the best of it. Buying Key West sweat shirts and hanging out at the bars day and night. Still fun!

When I went out last night, my mind was buzzing with Frank Sinatra’s rendition of Let It Snow. The specific line…..The weather outside is frightful.

We who live here have thin blood. The heat does it. Anything under 74 cold! I appreciate it sounds strange. That is the way it is, however.

I turned on the heat 2:30 this morning. First time in the new house.

The fire alarm went off. For 15 minutes. I did not smell smoke so was not concerned. Small particles of soot came flying out the vents.

Turned heat off. Grabbed an extra blanket. Never got back to sleep. Not caused by the noise, cold, etc. Merely woke and could not get back to sleep.

Terrific!

Made me wish I had a body to sleep next to. Body heat  works.

Someone due here in an hour to check the system out.

My only stop last night the Chart Room. Packed. The weather forcing everyone inside. Everyone having a good time. Noise level roaring.

Shaun bartending. Just Returned from a visit home in Minnesota. Minus 10 degrees. Real cold!!!

On the way out, met Jenn and Holly. Jenn stopped me to say she reads the blog. Makes my heart feel good every time I hear it. I believe Jenn lives in Key West and her friend Holly visiting.

Big party tonight! The Sons and Daughters of Italy Christmas party. At the Doubletree. Last year was my first Christmas party with them. One terrific time!

A few Trump observations.

Yesterday, Obama compared Trump’s actions to those of Hitler. Some commenting today on TV were offended. Open your eyes! The man is! He is authoritarian and totalitarian. Democracy rapidly declining. Troubled waters ahead.

Pakistan supposedly our ally. Friend. Till Trump. Keep in mind, Pakistan is a nuclear nation.

Pakistan announced yesterday that its Air Force had been ordered to shoot down U.S. drones. Pakistan claims the drones are violating Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Yes. The real reason however is that Afghanistan sits next door to Pakistan. U.S. air power flies over Pakistan to get to Afghanistan. When the bombs fall, some fall on the Pakistan side of the border. Killing Pakistanis.

In August, Trump publically spoke harshly of Pakistan.

Pakistan has reached a point many other nations have. The United States cannot be relied on.

UN Under-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman returned recently from North Korea. He opined re North Korea: The “world’s most dangerous security issue, and must be resolved fast and diplomatically to avoid war.”

Trump spoke yesterday in Mississippi. The bastion of black love. Trump paid tribute to the “brave men and women of the civil rights movement.”

What a whore!

Demonstrators nearby carrying signs. One read: “No Trump, no hate, no KKK in the USA.”

Keep up the good work, Mr. President!

Modern day pedophilia did not end with the Catholic Church. It keeps rearing its ugly head.

Recently, Alabama’s Moore.

More recently, the Director of Music Publishing for Walt Disney. John Heely. Sixty eight. He has been with Walt Disney since 1981.

Three minors. One for four years.

A religious man. His Twitter bio reads: “Disney concerts and living to glorify God in all things.”

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

I DINED WELL

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Good company, good food, good drink. More a person could not ask for.

Last night was one of those times. I dined well. At Donna and Terri’s. Donna cooked, Terri sang and I enjoyed. Donna is a superior cook. Terri bursting into song cannot be excelled. I was the perfect sponge. Absorbed everything.

It amazes me how well Terri looked. She had a chemo day thursday. Last night, you would never know she had the chemo nor cancer.

The weather continued to be bad yesterday. Poured off and on. Big time. Last night, especially. Supposed to rain into next week. Unusual. Summer is upon us. Rains every day. Like 5-10 minutes. Not pour. This is crazy!

Pride Week. Big goings on. Today, a street festival. 700-900 blocks of Duval blocked off. Through midnight. Tomorrow, Pride Parade. Five pm. The length of Duval.

Key West is a writer’s paradise. Not only novels and short stories, poetry also. Poetry writing significant.

The Key West Poet Laureate for 2017 has been announced. Flower Conroy.

In addition to national recognition, her work has been locally acknowledged. She won the Tennessee Williams Poetry Contest, the Richard Heyman Award, and is the recipient of a 2017 grant from the Anne McKee Artist Fund to produce an anthology of poetry for the five day workshop Conroy recently lead at the Key West Library.

Bobby Nesbitt and Skipper Kripitz. Two outstanding Key West entertainers. Two nice guys. This wednesday evening, they will appear for the last time at The Room. A recognition “the season” has ended. They will return in the Fall.

The Key West City Commission declared a new activity. Several months late in beginning. Third delay of its start announced.

I am referring to the Duval Loop Bus. Part of a plan to reduce traffic and congestion on Duval.

A 16 stop free bus service. I have to smile. Needed parking spaces will be eliminated to accommodate most of the bus stops. The bus itself when stopped will delay traffic in many instances.

The bus was supposed to be ready for operation in December. Unable to. Not enough drivers. Second time, bus wraps (whatever they are) and promotional materials had not arrived.

Bus drivers have been hired. Still cannot use them on the Loop service. The third delay has been announced. Something about a 3 inch wide pole not yet finished. The poles are required at the stops. Hurricane problems require a bigger pole. Not normal. Special manufacture apparently.

In the meantime, bus drivers must be paid or the City will lose them. They are filling in on City buses.

Sounds like money wasted to me.

Not strange. Not unusual. Everything the City does is late and one way or another costs more money.

Did you notice? Trump never mentions Russia and its intrusion into our election system. Why not? It is the key reason for the investigation.

I continue the Trump emboldening Saudi Arabia kick.

After Trump’s visit, no question Trump and Saudi Arabia asshole buddies. A logical conclusion if Trump is close to Saudi Arabia, then the U.S. must be also.

Saudi Arabi is on Qatar’s back for spreading terrorism. Makes me laugh! The Middle East’s biggest supporter of terrorism has been Saudi Arabia.

Trump yesterday announced the U.S. would no longer provide “high level” support to Qatar. He forgets we have a major military base in Qatar with 10,000 military personnel stationed there.

One hour after Trump’s statement, Tillerson announced Saudi Arabia should lift its blockade and talk things out with Qatar. His opinion being that the Saudi/Qatar conflict was affecting the war on ISIS.

Trump and Tillerson messages not in sync. Typical however of what we have come to expect from the Trump administration. The left hand many times does not know what the right is doing. Described another way, the President went off on his own without consultation with his Secretary of State.

The Belmont today. Some of the excitement lost. Neither the Kentucky Derby winner nor the Preakness winner are entered.

Enjoy your day!

DISGUSTING PERFORMANCE

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Yesterday’s Senate Committee Hearing was a perfect example of how inept our government has become. Four witnesses. All major figures. All bad. All unresponsive. Two terribly so.

An example of how our country is falling apart at the seams. Responsibility forgotten. A nation cannot survive unless everyone pulls together when it comes to basics.

Answer questions asked, unless there is a legal reason not to do so. There was none yesterday.

Today, Comey. He will be more responsive. Many say this is Comey’s day. I disagree. It is America’s day.

Rained like hell yesterday! Flooding all over!

This morning’s Key West Citizen has excellent photos of the flooding at Front and Duval Streets and Simonton and United.

Supposed to be rainy through the weekend. This afternoon and tonight heavy again. Then moderating off.

Wind warnings for this afternoon. Forty mile per hour winds. Not the time for boating.

Key West Pride week begins today. Runs through sunday.

Several days of festivities. The parade sunday afternoon. Always spectacular! Runs from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic.

Key West is one happy family. Gays and straights intermingle. No one concerned. No one even thinks about a different sex preference.

Key West has had a gay mayor. Even a gay elected leader of the Chamber of Commerce. He was known as the Gay Master. Made BD/SM gear.

A gay master bd/sm manufacturer as head of the Chamber of Commerce would never have flown in Utica. People too uptight.

I mentioned Qatar and Iran yesterday. How Saudi Arabia and several other Arab states are on their backs. I attributed the move to Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia two weeks ago. From my perspective, emboldened the Saudis.

Trump lacking in background knowledge and basic common sense the cause. He did the embolding.

No mention in yesterday and today’s papers re the ISIS attack in Iran and Saudi Arabia’s blockading and threatening little Qatar with invasion.

Was my Trump observation wrong? Or, have the Senate hearings re Russia, etc. blocked out all other significant news?

I read somewhere that people don’t change, they reveal who they really are. We are seeing it with Trump. Many of us knew he was unstable. It is more evident now that he has taken office.

A great religious figure died this date in 632 AD. Muhammad. One of the most influential figures in history. Today Islam is the world’s second largest religion.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

PIED PIPER OF DAYTONA

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The Pied Piper of Daytona has owned property in Key West for 10 years. NASCAR racing star and champion team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Referred to as the Pied Piper of Daytona because of his successes at the Daytona International Speedway.

I do not know the man. Have never met him. Would like to. Did not know he had been in Key West off and on for 10 years. He must walk quietly when not racing.

I became aware of his Key West presence in an article in this morning’s Key West Citizen. Earnhardt is remodeling a home at 704 Eaton St. He required HARC approval. Appeared and presented his application personally. The board unanimously approved the application.

Spent yesterday afternoon fine tuning last night’s podcast.

I dislike commenting about Trump so much. However, he is the news! My show was devoted to Trump, except for the opening topic.

I talked about today’s milk cows. Referred to as Dairy Queens by milk farmers. I mentioned the subject a couple of days ago in this blog.

I opened with cows because I realized the balance of the show would be devoted to Trump.

Mondays and tuesdays are devoted to preparing for tuesday night’s podcast. Today is wednesday. I always feel free when I wake wednesdays. I am free. Two days of work behind me. Nothing heavy on the agenda through sunday.

Three US Navy vessels have been named in honor of Key West. The third and last a submarine. The vessel was christened in 1985.

The Key West has visited its name sake on three occasions. 1987, 1992 and 1994. One week each time. A celebration each time.

The Key West was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1996. Since that time, there have been no further visits. Distance the problem. The vessel’s home port is presently Guam.

The submarine bears an emblem. A conch shell. What else!

The wind in Key West normally comes from the north and northwest. Several times a year from the south. A wind from the south indicates a coming thunderstorm. Guaranteed one will occur.

The wind is from the south this morning. The palm trees bending northward. Sunny outside, however. Nary a cloud in the sky. Checked the weather report. Thunderstorms later in the day.

Never fails!

Enjoy your day!