Key West Lou / DAYS OF MY YOUTH…..CONEY ISLAND’S CYCLONE ROLLER COASTER

Coney Island’s Cyclone Roller Coaster has been shut down since Thursday for repairs.

The Cyclone is 97 years old. Opened in 1927.

In my “youth,” even before school age, I was taken on it many times. Probably from 4 years of age till 12, we would visit my Uncle Gus in New York City. There were several Sundays during those years when he took us to Coney island. I probably rode the Cyclone with my Uncle Gus a dozen times over the years.

I was scared out of my mind each time. Uncle Gus thought the ride was terrific!

Life expectancy in the U.S. is measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Today the average life expectancy for women is 81 years 2 months. For men, 76 years 5 months.

An article in the internet this morning suggested that if you want a rough estimate of how many years you have left, subtract your current age from those numbers.

I am 89 years old. I should have died 13 years ago. Appears I am living on borrowed time. May I continue to do so for many years.

A message for today’s Republicans: Please stop calling yourself Republicans, please stop calling yourself Christians. The appellations no longer fit.

Two Abraham Lincoln observation’s that are not well known.

Lincoln was a bartender at one point in his life. A for real one. Licensed. He owned a general store and drinking establishment called Berry and Lincoln in Near Salem, Illinois. The license was required in order to sell liquor.

Another rarely known Lincoln trait. He was a cat lover. Often seen playing with his cats Taby and Dixie in the White House.

His love of animals was well known. He permitted his sons to keep as many pets as they wished. Such resulted in a menagerie living in the White House with the Lincoln family. The group included in addition to the two cats, rabbits, turkeys, horses and two beloved goats called Nanny and Nanko.

Would you believe? With all this heat, California experienced an August snowfall in the Sierra Mountains. A dusting. At the mid to top of Mammoth Mountain, 11,503 feet high.

Buffett began slacking off a bit in 1999.

In 1999, Buffett decided to cut back on his work load a bit. He decided on a more relaxed concert schedule of around 20-30 performance dates per year. He began performing only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Typical of Buffett, most things he did he was able to turn into albums. His cut back in work resulted in his album Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In 2003, he partnered in a duet with Alan Jackson for the song “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere.” The song spent a record eight weeks  on top of the Hot Country Song Charts and received the 2003 Country Music Association Award for Vocal Event of the Year. It was Buffett’s first award in his 30 year recording career.

His album License to Chill released in July 2004 sold 238,500 copies in its first week of release. Resulted in Buffett topping U.S. Popularity Albums List for the first time in his career.

May 2005 saw Buffett signing an agreement with Sirius Satellite Radio to broadcast Radio Margaritaville. Previously, it had only been broadcast online.

Buffett kept growing and succeeding. In 2010 he was named the tenth biggest recording artist of the decade, with 4.5 million ticket sales over the previous ten years.

He singled “Knee Deep” with the Zac Brown Band. The song was released on Brown’s 2010 album You Get What You Give. The single was certified platinum in September 2017.

Tomorrow, Jimmy Buffett voicing Huckleberry Finn.

I lost my upper plate and smashed my implants January 31 when I experienced my heart attack. Passed out face first on the concrete street.

I still do not have teeth. Been a long time. Affected my ability to eat. Very few things a toothless person can consume. A number of reasons involved. None money.

Today, the upper plate may be finished. A 2 o’clock appointment this afternoon. Took forever. Had to be complete before new bottom implants could be provided.

If I get the plate today, the implants will only take 3 weeks. So I have been told. I had the basic and initial implant work done back in 2008, so the procedure is considerably lees. The dentist told me 3 weeks. I hope so.

I have lost 59 pounds. The weight has stabilized. Some days runs up to 62 pounds, but then goes back down. I cannot ever recall being this thin. I am all bones. The first thing people say to me who I have not seen in months…..You’ve lost weight! I have. Would like to keep most of it off. Want to go back to eating meat again, however and everything else I have not been able to consume.

Enjoy your day!

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