I shopped at the Key West Publix located at Key Plaza 4 times last week. Not to buy a ton of groceries. Spent in the area of $30 each time. Rather to prove to myself the wonderous result of the aortic heart valve replacement surgery I underwent last month. Three years ago, I had to strop shopping on my own. Even using the cane, I could only walk one aisle one way and then rest for at least 10 minutes before I could make the return trip to the front of the store. My body physically could not physically walk one aisle back and forth. Forget doing the whole store!

So for 3 years, I have been ordering my groceries over the internet and delivered to my home.

Now I can walk the whole store, without a cane, and experience no problem in doing so.

Wonder of wonders! 

On my saturday trip, I stopped at the canned fruit section. Two middle aged men were discussing how expensive food had become. We all know! One was extremely upset. Pissed best describes his attitude. He said sternly, “I voted for the good guy the last time. Not this time. I already know who I am going to vote for.”

A Trump vote obviously.

Biden has done an excellent job as President. He has not solved all the problems, however. Two which affect and impact the everyday person: The cost of groceries and gasoline. Groceries are a tough issue. So many things involved. I doubt he can deal with it between now and the election. The cost of gasoline can be handled. The price went down dramatically. Now rising again. About 60 cents a gallon. He should be able to deal with the gasoline issue by election time.

My fellow voters, you can’t have everything. Overall, Biden has done an excellent job. Trump not a valid alternative. If Trump were to be elected, the U.S. would become as Hitler’s Germany was. Grocery costs non-consequential in comparison.

Trump said this past week it would be a “great honor to be jailed for violating a court order.” He dared Judge Merchan to throw him i jail.

Is this the type person we want leading our country? No way!

In the same speech where he dared the Judge to jail him, he compared himself to Nelson Mandela. Recall Mandela was a black political prisoner who became the first President of post-apartheid South Africa.

Mandela spent 28 years in prison, the first 18 primarily in solitary. Thereafter, South Africa elected him President.

Let Trump do 28 years in prison before becoming President. Let him “earn” the position as Mandela did. Then his comparison to Mandela might be valid.

Trump lies again. Big time! At a rally in New Hampshire last week he said, “While Joe Biden is pushing the largest tax hike in American history – you know, he wants to quadruple your taxes.”

The lie: Biden has not proposed quadrupling taxes. In fact, he has vowed not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, is downplaying the January 6 attack. He claims there is “little evidence of a true insurrection” and falsely claimed no weapons were brought by rioters. He later backed off on the no weapons representation. 

We saw the insurrection on TV. What else was it? I pained to see my Capitol/your Capitol defiled and disgraced. Apparently it did not bother nor seem that way to RFK Jr. Shocking a Kennedy could be so blind to the truth of the incident.

Another good month employment wise. A gigantic plus for Biden!

Employers added 303,000 jobs in March. The number soared past expectations.

The unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.8 percent. The 3.8 percent extended the longest stretch of unemployment below 4 percent to 50 years.

The NCAA Ladies Championship Basketball Game played yesterday. South Carolina defeated Iowa 87-75. I thought Iowa would win. South Carolina was unquestionably the better team, however. The victory allowed South Carolina to finish the season undefeated. Their record 34-0.

Tonight the NCAA Men’s Championship Game. Purdue and Connecticut. Two great teams.

The eclipse today. Be careful. Do not foolishly danger your eyes. Not worth it. 

Otherwise, enjoy your day!

I am compelled to admit I knew little about World Central Kitchen (WCK) till last week when Israel attacked three cars in Gaza killing several WCK personnel who were in Gaza helping to feed the starving.

What I have learned since.

WCK is a new model for disaster relief. It is the first to frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crises. When disaster strikes, WCK’s relief team mobilizes to the frontlines with an immediate type urgency and begins cooking to provide meals for people who hunger and are in need of food.

WCK partners with organizations on the ground and activates a network of local restaurants, food trucks, or emergency kitchens. WCK serves comforting meals to survivors of disasters quickly and efficiently. Its belief being that good food provides not only nourishment, but also comfort and hope. Especially in times of crisis.

The organization has provided more than 350 million fresh, nourishing meals for communities around the world.

WCK survives and is able to provide based on donations. Many give to WCK I discovered. Silently and without fanfare. WCK does not sell bibles or sneaks. I also became aware this past week that several persons I know donate to WCK. WCK is worthy of more donations. A true and helpful charity. One providing immediate results when and where needed.

WCK is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 2010. It has provided quickly and generously meals following the Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Harvey in Houston, the 2018 Puna eruption, the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, Ukraine, and the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis.

It has suffered 8 casualties. Deaths. One in the Ukraine and most recently the seven workers during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip.

WCK has also provided food assistance in the United States itself. Strange though it may sound. However there have been occasions when such was needed and WCK stood tall with help. Examples include January 2019 when WCK opened a restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., to feed federal workers furloughed during the government shutdown, in March 2020 when it transformed 8 New York City and Washington, D.C. restaurants into soup kitchens to support persons affected by the COVID-19 crisis, in March 2020 in the San Francisco Bay Area when it collaborated with Frontline Foods to deliver meals from local restaurants to local hospital staff affected by COVID-19, in April 2020 when it partnered with the Washington Nationals to use the team’s stadium in Washington, D.C., as a kitchen and distribution facility for free meals.

WCK lost 7 workers last week in Gaza. WCK claims the Israeli killings were “intentional” and “systematic.” The U.N. and the world is upset. Good people doing good things were eliminated. WCK claims Israel knew WCK persons were in the cars. 

The incident has inflamed nations world wide. Involves Biden also. He has openly taken Netanyahu to task. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the U.S. to support Israel when Netanyahu continues to lead Israel in such an abusive manner. Israel today is not the Israel the U.S. has firmly stood by since its inception in the late 1940’s. Netanyahu is not only defecating on Gaza, but also Biden, the U.S. and the U.N. Netanyahu’s time is measured as a result. He cannot continue his abusive conduct of Gaza and not be taken down.

Enjoy your Sunday!

The earth moved, the ground shook. Yesterday morning. Centered in Lebanon, N.J., 45 miles west of New York City. New York City experienced the magnitude of the quake as did communities many miles away. The quake a 4.8.

My home town Utica, 240 miles north of New York City, felt the tremors. Residents said they lasted about one minute.

A 4.0 aftershock was felt 6 hours later.

No damage has been reported re the quake itself or the aftershock.

The earthquake brings hurricanes to mind. A very busy hurricane season has been predicted for Florida this year. Reason: The warm Atlantic Ocean waters that fuel hurricane storms.

Biden visited Baltimore yesterday and the  Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. He promised federal support “every step of the way.” Earlier he  asked Congress to refund the rebuilding of the 1.6 mile bridge. Costs will run over $1 billion.

Lets see if Congress cooperates.

Biden said, “We’re going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as possible.” And “we will do so with union labor and American steel.”

Trump is “weaponizing religion.” The man uses every means to succeed in whatever he does. This time around, this election, it involves the Almighty. He, Trump, projecting himself God like. His rallies have acquired a 15 minute add on reflecting the religious aspect. The add ons are symbolic of “religious revival meetings.”

God may be in His Heaven. He is not with Donald at the rallies!

Another example of “more God in government.” Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says the New York City earthquake and Monday eclipse are warnings from God.

Trump “swindles” his followers again. How long will people continue to buy into his fraudulent money making schemes?

Trump Media went public last week. Hit a peak of $79.38 a share. One week later, the stock dropped. On April 1 (April Fool’s Day), it was a mere $45.26 a share. A 43 percent loss in only 3 trading days.

An example of Trump playing his supporters for suckers.

The drop came after Trump Media reported that it lost $58.2 million in 2023 on sales of just $4.1 million. Suggests Trump Media is practically worthless.

Where was this information last  week before the stock went public? Was the loss reported in the public papers supporting the stock introduction?

The Ladies Final Four began last night. Iowa squeaked by Connecticut 71-69. South Carolina destroyed North Carolina State 78-59.

The Championship Game will be a wild one!

Did you ever notice that fight attendants sit on their hands during takeoff and landing? It’s all about safety. 

If an emergency were to occur on takeoff or landing, their head, hands and arms are already in a slight brace position. The position an automatic rigid one which prepares them to act efficiently and immediately in case of emergency.

It was Higgs Beach again for a couple of hours yesterday.

People come over and talk to me. Tourists. Some ask if I am Key West Lou. Others just to pass the time of day.

I find it strange. I sit quietly in my chair. A cap covering my eyes. Generally looking down. Mind my own business. All of a sudden, a voice speaks.

Enjoy your day!

California contains one of the most beautiful ocean fronts in the world. A portion of Highway 1. Known world wide as Big Sur.

Magnificent is the only way to describe Big Sur. I was so taken by it the first time I drove over it years ago. I was alone. Unfortunate to drive Big Sur alone, I thought. The drive should be made with someone you love. Such was the atmosphere and flavor of the drive.

The highway hugs the side of cliffs running along the Pacific Ocean.

This past week a portion of Highway 1, near Big Sur, fell into the ocean. People living in the area have been warned to evacuate. Portions of the highway have already been shut down.

A horror in the making. Comparable to the destruction wrought in the Florida Keys when a Category 3-5 hurricane strikes.

No Labels, no Presidential candidate.

No Labels is an American political organization. Founded in 2010, its purpose to support criticism and bipartisanship through what it calls the “common sense majority.”

This year, No Labels has been anti-Biden and anti-Trump.

No Labels announced it will not put forth a Third Party Presidential Ticket. Reason: They could not find a candidate to place on a unity ticket for the 2024 Presidential election.

I have respected Frank Bruni’s writings for years. Rarely disagreeing with his positions.

His article yesterday re Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was right on. Correct in every respect. Its title: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Inflated Sense of His Own Fitness To Lead Isn’t Just Delusional. It’s Dangerous.”

Bruni claims Kennedy’s primary fault is he believes he knows everything. Omnipotent when it comes to smartness. Another “strength” Kennedy asserts is he has been around government and studying government his whole life. Never involved in government itself, however. His statement in this regard alone is non-qualifying. His experience level is zip when it comes to government involvement.

The man is a non-entity. Even certain of his siblings and other close relatives say he is not qualified to be President.

Trump was a non-qualified disaster. Let’s not have another one.

Trump has added a new game in his pursuit of the White House. His God-like image. Christ reincarnated.

His rallies are now ending in a churchlike fashion. A 15 minute scenario where Trump casts his prosecutions as persecutions. His rally closings are being described as “evangelical altar calls.” Many in his audiences are raising their palms to the air and murmur as if in prayer.

God he is not, nor ever will be. The attempt sick!

The joining of two nations occurred in 1614 via a marriage. The nations an Indian tribe in Virginia and England.

Pocahontas, daughter of the Virginia colony’s Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, married England’s John Rolfe. He brought her to England where she turned out to be a major success with the English gentry.

Today’s Key West weather a dramatic change from yesterday’s. Today, and through the weekend, will be sunny and pleasant. High 70’s.

Want an elephant? Botswana has 130,000. Too many says Botswana’s President Masisi. He has suggested sending 20,000 to Germany.

Enjoy your day!

Biden’s age continues to be an issue. Can’t understand it. Trump is only 3 years younger.. Both are “too old” if age is a significant criteria.

Frank Bruni hit the issue correctly. The Presidency is not a one person job. It is a general manager/ captain/ coach position. The President assembles a team and comes up with a plan.

That is how the Presidency works.

Biden put together a great cabinet and others quickly 3 years ago. Seven and one half years ago, Trump put together a band of conniving performers.

Says it all!

The Palestinian, Gaza, Hamas problem must be resolved. It is harming even the good. Biden is taking a beating. Americans have stood with Israel since its birth. Biden’s loyalty must have an ending point.

Netanyahu is carrying  “retribution” too far. I believe for personal selfish reasons. He probably will lose office when the war ends. He will also face criminal charges and tried for matters not related to the Hamas induced problem.

The war against Hamas cannot be won by the mass killing of innocents nor starvation. Netanyahu has added starvation to his bombing onslaught. Humanity will not tolerate a massacre by starvation. There is an increasing concern by world citizens. The concern will in due course take its toll on Netanyahu’s extreme method.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporters are divided between Biden and Trump. How can voters like Kennedy? He is a first class nut. His positions worse even than those of Trump.

People who like Kennedy are mostly being attracted by his name and his father. Junior is neither a Kennedy at heart nor his father in any fashion. 

Yesterday was a beautiful one weather wise. So much so that I spent a couple of hours at Higgs Beach. Mid-80’s, sun beating down. There was a wind. A strong one. Caused waves and blowing sun umbrellas. The wind was sufficiently strong that the umbrellas eventually could not be used.

Today is different. The temperature is in the low 70’s. It feels cool. The wind stronger than yesterday. Sky totally covered with gray clouds. What a difference a day makes!

Enjoy your day!

Words of wisdom sometimes come from the strangest source. Occasionally, touched with humor.

One of the best were statements uttered by Yogi Berra. For example: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Or: “You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”

The best of the best: “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”

Another DeSantis act of stupidity: Removal of books from classrooms and school libraries. Anathema. Especially where the removal is via the complaint of one parent and generally immediate.

Arizona nuttiness continues. Arizona Republicans voted YES for a bill that would make it legal to kill migrants suspected of trespassing. Great article by Bess Levin in the 4/1 edition of Vanity Fair. If such becomes law, it will give a “green light to more extrajudicial killings” in Arizona.

Step on my front lawn and you’re dead! Sick!!!

Today’s podcast some six years old. Based on a Biblical term: “I was hungry and you fed me.” Reflective of Key West’s big heart.

Trump found a California billionaire to finance his $175 million bond. Don Hanley who made his fortune offering high interest auto loans to persons with poor credit.

Trump lies again. At a campaign rally tuesday in Michigan, he denounced “Biden’s border bloodbath.” He zeroed in on the case of a young woman killed by a person or persons who entered the U.S. illegally. The victim was 25 year old Ruby Garcia.

Trump said, “I spoke to some of her family.

Garcia’s sister, acting as a family spokeswoman, said it never happened. Trump never talked to any family member. She rebuked Trump’s effort to lie and make the case a political one.

Religion and politics do not mix. Like oil and water. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is considering approving the nation’s first religious charter school. Direct funding by the State of religious education.

Religion in the U.S. and world wide historically has been a disastrous move. It has no place in government.

Will we ever learn?

The Columbine High School shooting occurred in 1999. Since then, more than 360,000 students have experienced school gun violence. The figure represents the number of students who were exposed in 394 separate shootings.

It goes on. There appears to be no cessation.  It is time for government to be more effective than it has been since 1999. The NRA is at its weakest at the moment. The government should jump on the issue and not let up till success has been achieved.

Enjoy your day!

Tourism fluctuates in Key West. The population moves up and down depending on the time of the year. 

The “season” ends Easter Sunday. When I first began visiting Key West in the early 1990’s, half the visitors left Easter Sunday. The other half one week later. Within one week of Easter Sunday, Key West was “dead” again. Remained so till Fantasy Fest at the end of October. The purpose of Fantasy Fest was to attract tourists again to Key West.

There was a saying back in those days that soon after Easter Sunday, you could throw a bowling ball down Duval Street and hit not one person. The street was deserted. Not so any longer. The “season” is now 12 months. However, the number of visitors fluctuates. We have a summer crowd for example. The town is not dead after Easter, though less in number.

I have been out yesterday and today. Two days post Easter. My estimate depending on the place, at least a 50 percent reduction in visitors. For some businesses, a dramatic down turn.

I have been visiting Higgs Beach this past week. Packed last week. Yesterday, the number of people cut in half. I visit Date and Thyme 6 days a week for my Monkey Smoothie. Cannot do it for seven. The place is closed sundays.

Last week, it was next to impossible to get a seat. Yesterday and today, no sweat. A dramatic drop in business. Considerably more than 50 percent.

My friend and landlord Steve Thompson left Key West last week. He is in Orlando. Did testing at the Veterans Hospital there. At 6 am tomorrow, he undergoes a hernia operation. I wish him well. He is still a youngster at 77.

Actually, I worry about him. I am 88 and went through five weeks of hell at Miami Mount Sinai recently re my heart. Three heart surgeries. Fortunately, worked out well. Though I did not think it was while I was undergoing the procedures.  Knowing Steve well, his mind is running in similar channels. Fear not my friend. God is with you. Cindy, too. And your army of friends.

Spoke with Steve this morning. The surgery will be performed robotically. Amazing! Just like my new aortic heart valve. A pig’s ass. Modern medicine!

The Florida spiny lobster season ended yesterday. Mediocre at best. Described as “less than stellar” and merely “average.” Only 4.8 million recovered and sold.

Fishermen suffered a poor season economically. The average selling price was only $5 to $6 a pound. On occasion, hit $10.

Costs to catch increased also. One example, the wood traps. Five years ago, $40 each. This year, close to $80.

China is Florida’s major customer. This season, China purchased less. Two reasons. Increased tariffs by the U.S. government and China’s shaky economy.

The new season opens August 6.

The cost of property insurance in Florida continues to rise dramatically. An economic calamity that could be even worse if a major hurricane hits.

Today’s yesteryear podcast some 7 years old. Concerns Trump’s Presidency and test kits when coronavirus hit the U.S. Recall Donald thought the virus was no big deal initially. He and Pence failed the American people at every step of the virus.

Israel has to stop its attacks on Gaza. Enough is enough. Netanyahu is literally killing the Palestinians. Israel’s retribution far exceeds the ferocity of the attack upon Israel.

Wisconsin has a significant sized Latino population. Constitutes 7.6 percent of the Wisconsin population. I was watching CBS news this morning and the head of the Wisconsin Latino group was interviewed. Her group is anti-Biden. Her reasons were two fold. One the suffering of Palestinians. I cannot recall the second. It was a “foreign” issue also.

My concern is the woman should be speaking out re ill treatment, if any, of Wisconsin Latinos. Not foreign issues. The Wisconsin Latinos game plan is to cost Biden 20,000 votes in his election against Trump. Such could deliver Wisconsin to Trump.

Makes me think the Latino organization, which was formed last year, is a Republican conceived and created group. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said over the weekend that Biden was a bigger threat to democracy than Trump. Kennedy is and has been anti-vaccine. He has repeatedly knocked Biden over the coronavirus vaccine and others. He believes the Biden position is far worse than the games Trump has been playing with the Presidential election itself.

RJK Jr. is not his father. I have said and written this repeatedly. Even some of Jr.’s sisters and brothers have spoken out against him.

Now he has found a female billionaire to be his running mate. He claims she will bring business experience to government. Bullshit! She will bring money to his campaign!

We have had enough of a business person being a major government figure. Especially President and in line for the job. Trump’s “experience” screwed up our government in many instances and continues to do so.

Black South Carolina students are coming out anti-Biden. Students and young people nationally likewise. Blind they must be! The Democratic Party before Biden and with Biden have done more to help students and the young than Republicans.

I cannot understand.

Enjoy your day!

Easter Sunday is a major Christian holiday. Christ rose from the dead! Besides being celebrated religiously, the day also turned into a popular lay event. The Easter bunny, coloring eggs, egg hunts, etc.

I have written many Easter Sunday blogs over the years. Each special in its own way. I am repeating today last year’s Easter Sunday blog which was published April 9, 2023. Titled He Is Risen, He’s Not Here. I added a few extras to it that escaped me last year. 

Enjoy.

It began with some recollections of my Italian Easter.

As a boy, I recall everyone dressing and going to Church on Easter Sunday. I always had a suit which I had to wear that day. The whole family dressed. This was not an Italian thing alone. My recollection is everyone, regardless of ethnic background, dressed.

It was like Easter Sunday on Fifth Avenue. People nodding Happy Easters as they passed on the way to and from Church.

Dinners were festive family events.

As a boy, we ate at my grandparents’. My father’s parents. Aunts, uncles and cousins. Card tables added to the already large kitchen table to accommodate everyone.

We were poor. The holiday meal was grandiose nevertheless. Pasta, of course. Sauce meats such as meatballs, pork and beef. No roasts. They came many years later when some family members became financially sufficient. Chickens instead. Male chickens which had been neutered. Referred to as capons. Cheap in comparison to meats. Denutting the roosters made them grow larger and their meat more tender.

There was Easter bread. Bland large pieces of bread home made with 2-3 hard boiled eggs (still in their shells) cooked into the bread. Not one of my favorites. No taste.

Easter eggs were colored by boiling onion skins and dipping the eggs in the brown residue. It was years before I knew people actually colored eggs by buying paints.

Soap was used to write names on the eggs before dunking them in the onion liquid.

As time progressed, two items began appearing that were not there in earlier years. I cannot recall exactly when. Both items became my favorites. Cassata and sausage pie.

Cassata absolutely the best!

Its basis was ricotta. Added was lemon, chocolate chips, candied fruit including red and green cherries, and a bit of liquor.

The result was a pie. Cassata pie.

Baked in a 3 inch deep dish. The dish wide/large. A thick hard crust surrounding the entire dish. Top, sides and bottom.

Cooled in the refrigerator. Generally enough to pick on for at least a week. The taste divine.

I recall my mother and wife making it. Lisa does a stripped down version. A small pie vanilla flavored. She does not add the chocolate, candied fruits, etc.

Needless to say, a heavy dish. Once consumed, it stayed with you for a while.

The other I could die for Easter dish was sausage pie. Sausage and mozzarella baked in a typical pie fashion dish. As with the cassata, totally enclosed in crust. 

Sausage pie was really heavy. More so than the cassata. Large amounts could not be consumed at one time. Its great taste kept one coming back however for days consuming small slices.

My wife was Sicilian. She brought the Sicilian touch to our Easter dinner table. Lamb. As the family grew, so did the meat variations. A prime rib and stuffed meat roll of some sort were added.

Egg hunts are a popular event today and have been seemingly for many years. Mary Lourdes and I got into them with our children.

We lived in upstate New York in Utica. April cold. Many times still snow covered. Outdoor egg hunts rarely possible. So they were done in the house.

We would hide the eggs all over the first floor and the kids went crazy searching for them. It was an extremely competitive event. The egg hunt got even better when we moved into our next home. A very large one. Huge rooms. All kinds of places to hide the eggs.

The hunts were exciting. My parents were always with us watching.

Then there came a time when our four children were young adults and bored with doing the search. None married yet and providing no new young kids to the search. We conferred. It was decided the older family members would do the searching. My parents. They had to be in their 70s at the time.

They reluctantly agreed. It was as much fun with them competing against each other as it was when their grandchildren did the search. 

After a couple of years, my parents said no more. It became time for Mary Lourdes and I to search. The event continued to be as rowdy and as much fun as in previous years.

Finally some of our children married and propagated. We now had new little ones to do the search. 

I want to write about an item not Italian nor something I experienced. Rather it involves a story few are aware of. So for the first time, I share a brief history of Easter eggs. Not the brown onion skin colored ones my grandmother made. This story goes back hundreds of years and involves Christ himself.

At a time following Christ having risen from the dead, Easter eggs became popular. Born of Christ’s crucifixion and His having risen from the dead.

The hard boiled egg came to symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus. Cracking the egg represented Christ leaving the tomb. The eggs at the time were stained a bright red. So colored in memory of the blood Christ shed at the time of His crucifixion.

Happy Easter my friends! Glad I am here to enjoy the holiday with you! A few weeks ago, it was questionable.

I’m a new man! No question about it. The heart surgeries have reenergized me. Especially the aortic valve replacement.

My cane is no more. For 3 years I totally depended on it. Do no need it any longer.

I had to stop grocery shopping. Even with the cane, I could only walk one way down one aisle at Publix. My groceries have been delivered for 3 years. Went to Publix to shop sunday. Did the whole store. Every aisle. No cane. No pain. No tiredness.

I am walking a bit outside. Slowly. No big deal. About 6 short blocks a day. Also doing some in house exercises.

My major remaining problem at the moment are teeth. Lost my uppers in the ambulance as you recall. My dentist on vacation the whole month of March. Will begin work on me next week. I am not going out socially as yet. Embarrassed to be without teeth. Look a bit screwy and speak a bit funny.

I have been slow in getting back to doing the blog on a daily basis. Research and writing takes between 5-6 hours every morning. Not up to it yet. Ergo, today’s blog will be short. May not do another for a few days. Miss doing it on a daily basis. However I am taking everything a step at a time.

The Baltimore bridge that went down during the night a tragedy. The Francis Scott Key Bridge is 1.5 miles long. A Shanghai boat hit one of the abutments and brought the whole bridge down. 

I was involved in a bridge collapse many years ago on the New York State Thruway. Nowhere as large as the Baltimore one. Everyone died. The cars went down into the water and were rapidly washed downstream.

Obviously there has to have been a maintenance problem with the bridge. Whoever owned it and whoever was responsible for maintenance will be part of the lawsuit for a new bridge and to pay damages for those killed or injured in the bridge’s collapse.

The court system has been unfair to the American people when it comes to its treatment of Donald Trump. Trump gets all kinds of benefits and accommodations by the courts. Ordinary citizens would not and do not. A perfect example is Trump getting off the hook re having to post the $500 plus million dollar bond or its equivalent. A court let him off for $175 million. Not fair. Not representative of equal justice for all. The individual who might have a mere $20,000 judgment could not get such consideration. Consideration being a reduction of the statutory bond amount or whatever. Twenty thousand dollars to Joe Citizen is as onerous and difficult to come up with as what Trump was required initially to post.

I have also spent a few days sitting at Higgs Beach. The sun is comfortable. The view outstanding. The sand, trees, water, and bikini clad ladies. I am glad I still enjoy looking even though 88 years of age.

Enjoy your day!

President Biden’s great great grandfather was named Moses J. Robinette. During the Civil War, he was loyal to the Union. Though not in the Army per se, he worked on military grounds as a veterinarian. Informally referred to as a vet or animal doctor. Not a formal position as it is today. Sort of run of the mill in the U.S. at the time. Although the profession was recognized as such in Europe, it received no such dignity in the U.S.

On March 21, 1864, a scuffle broke out in a Union Army men’s tent near Ford, Virginia. Two men were involved. Robinette and a John J. Alexander. Alexander walked away with knife wounds. Robinette was charged with attempted murder.

During words between the two men, Robinette pulled a pocket knife and cut Alexander. He was charged with getting drunk, inciting a fight, drawing a weapon, and attempting to kill Alexander.

Robinette claimed self defense.

A military court found him guilty of everything but attempted murder. Robinette was sentenced to two years at hard labor. He was sent to Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortuga to serve his sentence. Dry Tortuga is a hop, skip and jump from Key West.

Three Union officers who knew Robinette petitioned Abraham Lincoln to overturn the conviction. They claimed it was unduly harsh for “defending himself and cutting with a pencil knife. Alexander was much Robinette’s superior in strength and size, all under the impulse of the excitement of the moment.” They added Robinette was an ardent Unionist supporter.

Robinette served only one month on the sweltering Dry Tortuga. Following which he was pardoned by Lincoln. Lincoln pardoned the “unexecuted portion of his punishment.” Robinette returned to his family in Maryland and took up farming again. He died in 1903. His obituary referred to him as a “man of orderly and gentlemanly attainments.” Sounds like his great great grandson.

President Biden’s full name is Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

Lincoln’s pardon of Robinette only came to light recently. It lay buried for 164 years in government records.

Churches in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s began to fail. Became evil in effect.

Similar to what is occurring with some in the U.S. today. The evangelical movement is madness. An evil foreign in the U.S.

The solution lies within the churches themself. They must stand up and claim/fight to renew their former Godly interests.

General Mark Milley. former Joint Chief of Staff. He is cashing in on his retirement. The classroom, boardroom and speaker’s dais has turned him into a multimillionaire. 

Note, he only returned to civilian life last year.

Not the only general or admiral so doing. Military retirement has its financial benefits.

Today’s podcast several years old. Has to do with “double dipping,” financially via pensions and otherwise. The “otherwise most alarming. Concerns itself with opioid addictive oxycodone.

Cause of Key West swordfish and other abnormal fish behavior is still undetermined.

The British are washing less and differently. Living pressures/costs the reasons therefore.

Nearly half of the British population have reduced the number of baths they take. Twelve percent have gone from hot to cold baths. Forty two percent have cut down on the amount of water they fill the tub with. Showers have been cut 44 percent. Twenty one percent  shower at the gym or workplace to save home costs.

I am writing little about Key West itself. The reason simple. I only returned sunday night from close to 5 weeks in Mount Sinai. Still not getting out. Cannot write about that I am not yet experiencing. Bear with me.

I am writing less also. Lack the everyday energy required to pound away at the keys daily. Need a bit more time.

Ergo, I mention St. Patrick’s day 2 days early. Don’t know when I will be writing my next blog.

St. Patrick is the fifth century patron saint of Ireland. However, he was never canonized a saint. The reason is that in the fifth century the Catholic Church had not yet established sainthood. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church recognizes Patrick as a Saint.

His holiday is celebrated on March 17, the day he died.

Mississippi has the nation’s worst rates of infant mortality. Is it any wonder!

Syracuse lost again two nights ago. To North Carolina State 83-65.

 A typical end to a lackluster season.

One of the greatest names in Key West history is that of the Spottswood family. From father John to today’s family. Top of the line. Class in every regard.

The Spottswood family is moving on with the Marriott Beachside. It will no longer be referred to as such. The Spottswoods have dropped their relationship with Marriott and will operate the Beachside under its own and new name: Brightworld. A new and exciting word, it will add to the facility’s attraction. Another Spottswood family winner!

Enjoy your day!