KEY WEST LOU / JIMMY BUFFETT CELEBRATED LAST NIGHT BY THOUSANDS ON DUVAL

A parade was scheduled for 5 pm last night on Duval Street for Jimmy Buffett. Described as a “tribute,” not a mourning. Turned out to be a CELEBRATION! Thousands marching, walking, standing, singing!

The parade itself was headed by Howard Livingston and a band. Followed by 2,500 marching along singing Buffett tunes. They began at Front Street, ended the parade at Truman Avenue. The curbsides along the way crowded with even more people. The procession stopped in front of the restaurant and bar of Margaritaville in the 500 block of Duval. Buffett’s first restaurant in Key West, his first anywhere.

I was not present. Never left home. I knew Duval would be crowded. I can’t handle walking more than a block. The mass of people would have crushed me. Knew it would be too much for me. What I am relating is from information Steve Thompson provided in a phone call after everything had concluded.

Steve and Cindy were here in the early 1970’s when Buffett arrived.

Margaritaville is special for Cindy. She worked there for Buffett in the bar’s early days. Thereafter she moved to his offices on the second floor of the Kress Building above Fast Buck Freddie’s for a few decades working as part of Buffett’s office operations as he built his dynasty.

Steve started the evening at the Chart Room at 5 when it opened. He said by 5:10, the place was packed like sardines. People singing and toasting Buffett.

Steve said he knew no one in the Chart Room. No locals. All tourists.

It was the same along Duval to Margaritaville. A few locals at Margaritaville. Very few.

Following Duval, he and Cindy moved onto the outside back bar at Louie’s Backyard. Locals galore! Many familiar faces.

Steve reports the evening was truly celebratory. A special time to honor a man who honored everyone in the way he remembered them in his songs.

If there is another place, I can envision Buffett playing and singing for everyone as soon as he arrived. Thousands upon thousands listening and cheering him. The good Lord looking over at him, smiling, and saying…..That’s my boy!

Social Security’s annual cost of living adjustment should be announced any day. It is expected to be 3 percent.

A Judge struck down Florida’s Congressional Map on saturday. He ruled it violated the Florida Constitution by diminishing the influence of Black voters. In my words, cheated Blacks. He ordered the Florida Legislature “to enact a new map which complies with the Florida Constitution.”

The first test of Section Three of the 14th Amendment questioning whether Trump was barred from running for public office again because of insurrectionist activities failed. Judge Robin Rosenberg ruled that Florida tax attorney Lawrence Caplan had no “standing” to challenge another individual’s qualifications to hold public office. He lacked “standing.”

Interestingly, I raised the “standing” issue last week in a blog. I believe a Section Three challenge requires a public officer to make it. I was correct.

The decision does not mean the 14th Amendment does not apply. It merely advises the wrong person tried to enforce it. There are other lawsuits pending which will test the issue.

Note the speed with which this case was decided. One week! The way all Trump cases should be decided instead of taking forever.

Note further the Judge involved was not a Trump appointee. He was appointed by Obama.

Diana Nyad’s story has been made into a film: Nyad. The story of the 64 year old woman who swam from Havana to Key West. Stars Annette Bening. The movie will hit select theaters October 20.

Nyad has become a Key West icon and friend since her successful crossing. A plaque honors the event on Smathers Beach where she landed.

Today is Labor Day. It has a particular consequence for the Keys: Death and destruction. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.

A Category 5. The biggest to hit the Keys up to that time. Struck between Long Key and lower Matecumbe Key. Today, mile markers 73-90 on U.S. 1. Wind 200 mph. Tide 20 feet above normal. Four hundred eighty five killed. Most workers on the Overland Highway living in tents.

Survivors remain who are now in their 90’s. One described how the winds ripped the skin off peoples’ ears and clothes off their bodies. Survivors were without clothes for days.

Enjoy your day!

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