I am 91 years old. I have voted many times. Doubt I ever missed a vote.

Today’s mid-term is the most important election of my life. True, not a Presidential one. However how much longer can the American people survive without standing up to Donald Trump?

Go get him folks! Everyone vote Democratic. One tme will not kill Republicans who do so. The pain Trump has caused has affected members of both political parties.

Simply stated, Trump is a bad man. Nothing further need be said. It is obvious. He has hit us square in our faces.

I was born in Utica, New York. My residence my entire life till I moved to Key West some 30 years ago.

My first home in Utica was on Jay Street. My grandparents owned the building. A six family three story edifice. Located in the Italian section. I lived there the first six years of my life. My parents bought a two family home in another neighborhood in 1941.

There were many similar structured buildings on Jay Street. The Funicello family lived in one across the street. A daughter Annette was born to them in 1941, one year after we moved away. Their daughter became the famous Annette Funicello. She lived there for four years till her family moved to the San Fernando Valley in California. Not to help what became a theatrical life for Annette. It was not even in her parents’ minds. It was so her father could obtain better employment.

I never met Annette nor do I recall her family. I was too young at the time.

Annette’s mother placed her in some type dancing show in California. Turned out Walt Disney was in the audience. Saw Annette, sensed something in her. He was starting the Mickey Mouse Club. There would be 24 performers. Annette was the 24th he selected.

She began singing and dancing for Disney for $50 a week. She turned out to be a major success. In her later years, she was a movie star, acting, singing and dancing. She earned millions.

Will Kellogg was an American food industrialist. He founded the Kellogg Company. He invented Corn Flakes.

Nurse Paige visited yesterday. We are both thrilled. My upper back is 99 percent better in her opinion. I think only 95 percent, but who am I to quibble over a few points.

The recovery took 4 years. A very long time. 

Paige solely responsible. She did it all. The number of years immaterial. The fact it has been accomplished is.

My lower back still a problem. Four years old also. Paige has me doing a set of exercises to resolve the problem. She is confident she will succeed. I am also.

When you get to be my age, infirmities of all sorts befall you. I still am not sleeping well. Three to four hours a night. Not much. I feel the sleep loss terribly as the day goes on. My left eye still screwed up. Yesterday it got totally blood shot again. I see Dr. Oppenheimer Thursday and he’ll continue working on it.

I am not complaining. Merely sharing. 

Today is National Sandwich Day. It honors John Montague who was born November 3, 1718. He became the Earl of Sandwich. He is credited with popularizing the idea of placing meat between two slices of bread.

Rained like hell in Key West yesterday. Rained even harder and longer in other parts of Florida. The Key Tides to the north in Florida bad!!! Videos shown on the internet not just of cars floating down streets. Whole houses also!

Trump gave his last political speech yesterday standing before the Reflecting Pool. I was surprised it did not swallow him.

In the last two days, gasoline prices have dropped 30 to 40 cents a gallon in Key West. Why so much so soon?

I am compelled to be repetitious. A terrible night awaits Trump and the GOP.

New York City reported its first measles associated death yesterday in more than 30 years. Thank you Trump and Kennedy. Continue to knock vaccines. Better to just let people die. Trump and Kennedy forget the old adage to the effect if something works, don’t screw with it.

Pants as we know them were not always worn by men. Even the earliest President did not wear what we call “pants.” George Washington wore “breeches.” A garment cut off at the knee. Such were considered a status symbol.

The first President to wear pants was John Quincy Adams.

Abraham Lincoln: “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

One World Trade Center officially opened this day in 2014.

The Grand first tonight. Then home to watch the election results. I am a political freak!

Enjoy your day!

One day more! And the people will have spoken!

I hope loud and clear. A Democratic sweep of both the House and Senate. The American people are deserving of a clean up beginning and beginning now!

If the vote is not there to begin correcting things, then we deserve the adversities Trump has heaped upon us. Complain then no more about high gas, groceries and the like. Enjoy the abuse Trump will continue heaping upon us.

Absolutely true! A statement by George Bernard Shaw: “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

The day after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. had only 3 carriers. We needed many more. Japanese Naval air power was overwhelming.

The three carriers could not be used for training purposes. They were needed for fighting. What was sorely needed were pilots. The solution how to train them showed ingenuity. 

The government took two side wheeled steamships and erected flat tops on each. Then trained the pilots from the top of each. The steamships were off the Chicago coast. The first day 59 pilots qualified after only 9 hours of training. The were immediately shipped to carrier duty.

One of the Naval persons learning to fly on and off carriers this way was a man who subsequently became a President of the U.S. George H.W. Bush.

As I view them, Christian Nationalists are lacking in religion. They are make believe wannabes. Men like Trump and Hegseth.

Although I expect Trump to be crushed tomorrow, he will cause all kinds of problems, difficulties and lawsuits for a long time thereafter. He never learned that when a decent politician loses, he congratulates immediately his winning opponent and moves on.

I am going to repeat myself in another fashion. Trump’s time is up!

Trump had a Halloween Party at Mar-a-Lago. He went as Donald Trump. For real! Merely wore a blue suit, white shirt and red tie.

Dragonfly will in due course fly to Saturn. I and many others will be a part of the flight. The government has provided “boarding passes” and “spots on the Dragonfly passenger list” for those interested to sign up. Their names will make the trip. I signed up. Saturn, here I come!

A San Francisco tech start up company has posted a job listing offering $20 an hour to be earned by people willing to walk its robot dogs 4-6 hours a day in the San Francisco area. Promised they won’t bite and no poop to clean up thereafter. A good way to earn a few extra dollars!

Marie Antoinette had a terrific life as the Queen of France…..till she lost her head!

What Holly Stevens did in Michigan was just plain wrong! Better if she just had kept her mouth shut!

All royal Egyptian mummies received miliary honors at the time of their burial.

Three persons and their boat have been missing in Key West waters since Friday. The Coast Guard is searching following receipt of a distress call from the boat. The boat was 50 miles off shore at the time of the call.

Syracuse basketball coach Gerry McNamara’s Father died Friday from cancer. An unusual man. He had several children when he volunteered for the military in the 1960s-70s. He fought in Vietnam. Gerry asked his Dad why he volunteered when he did not have to. His response: “To protect you.”

The weather the past few days has sucked. Rain and more rain followed by more rain! Not simple rainfalls. Poured heavy each time. All night also. I would not be surprised if my car floated away overnight. I live and park it one block from one of those bad Key Tide intersections.

Enjoy your day!

Oh, to be one of the world’s greatest artistic talents! Michelangelo was one. And a talent such as his could do what he wanted. Even where a Pope was involved.

Michelangelo initially did not consider himself an artist. He believed his primary talent was as a sculpturer. 

It was the early 1500s. Pope Julius II wanted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted. By no less than Michelangelo. Julius was in a hurry to leave Rome and lead a Crusade to liberate the Holy Land. He called Michelangelo to Rome and told him he would like Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Ceiling. Michelangelo initially refused. He argued a painter he was not. A sculpturer, yes. Thinks got hot between them. Michelangelo finally succumbed and agreed.

While the Pope was off fighting the Crusade, Michelangelo got even with him for having forced him to paint something he did not want to. The Ceiling as painted was a huge representation titled The Creation of Adam.

Michelangelo got even with Pope Julius in a most interesting way. There were approximately 400 males in the work. He painted all of them with their male genitals’ exhibited. Bare penis’s one and all!

Such cannot be viewed while looking up at the ceiling while standing on the Sistine Chapel floor. Too tiny from that distance. However numerous books containing pictures of the bare cocks are available to show how Michelangelo got even.

On this day in 1512, the Sistine Chapel and its ceiling were open to the public.

The Pope was initially pissed at Michelangelo. However somehow their differences were resolved. Michelangelo returned several years later to paint the Ceiling further. A new Pope at the time. Pope Paul III. Michelangelo completed the Chapel by painting The Last Judgment.

Diesel fuel will not operate a car created to use gasoline. Absolute disaster awaits anyone who uses diesel where gasoline is required.

I learned the hard way.

I was in Rome many years ago. Driving a rented car. Needed gasoline. Went to a self service station. I could not read the Italian directions. However arranged to pump the gas myself. I filled the tank with diesel instead of gasoline. It took only two blocks for the car to sputter dead.

I had been in Rome for roughly one month with the whole family. Including my parents. The last four days my lease on the rented house ran out and I had to move elsewhere. My parents and son returned to Utica. They had other matters to attend to. My wife and daughters remained.

We rented rooms at a nunnery. The head nun was a Utican I knew. In fact her brother was a doctor and lived across the street from me at the time in Utica.

I called my nun friend. She and her nuns took great care of me and the car. They had a man who worked full time taking care of the nunnery. The nuns also had a car. They gave me the use of their car for the remainder of my trip and had their handyman clean up the mess I had made with the rented one. It was to save me money. My nun fried said the car rental people would have ripped be off big time had I returned the car with the diesel fuel in it.

The stay in the nunnery was exceptional. I had to do something to reciprocate. I took all the nuns out to a fancy dinner. I also gave my nun friend a few hundred dollars for her goodness. I don’t recall how much.

Several years later, I returned to Rome. Visited my nun friends of course. They took me to their Chapel. There was a new statue of the Blessed Mother. Below it, a plaque reading….Through the Goodness of Louis Petrone.

I would be remiss if I did not add the following.  My wife thought I was nuts. I thought it was fantastic that I was able to have sex in the nunnery with her. 

It has been raining big time all night and this morning. The rain had been predicted as well as the increased King tides Key West and other areas of Florida would experience today. Key West not hit as bad as I initially thought. Internet shows other parts of Florida actually buried in certain areas. Miami and Fort Lauderdale two. Whole cars actually floating down streets with only their roofs evident.

 Syracuse won a big football game yesterday. Syracuse beat #19 ranked SMU 30-27 on a touchdown Syracuse made with only 17 seconds left in the game. Syracuse now 4-4 for the season. Syracuse plays Clemson next week.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Pope Leo XIV exercised his right to vote in the mid-terms as a U.S. citizen living outside U.S. borders by voting by mail in ballot. A right he has exercised for years in other elections.

He is the first Pope to vote in a U.S. election. He did so via a mail in ballot to his native Chicago area.

Pope Leo is legally allowed to vote in the U.S. Even though he is the leader of Vatican City and the Vatican is considered a foreign country.

The Pope was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago on September 14, 1955. 

He is an American citizen living abroad. He did not lose his voting rights when he moved to the Vatican. He is registered to vote at his older brother John’s address in suburban New Lenox.

The Uniform and Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 1986 spells out the process for Americans to vote who live outside U.S. borders. The law requires States to allow “oversea voters to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot.”

I bet no one had to remind Pope Leo to vote.

I had the good fortune to visit Rome on two occasions. Once for a whole month. One of my nurses is Debbie. She mentioned during her last visit she was going to Rome and some other Italian cities next year. She had already made her reservation to tour the Vatican.

I suggested some other places she should visit also. One was the home and studio of poet and fiction writer John Keats. Keats was an exceptional writer. Unfortunately he died at a young age. He was a mere 25. He was born on 1795 in London and died in 1821 in Rome.

He studied first to be a doctor. Found he did not enjoy doctoring and began wring. Poetry and then fiction.

He acquired TB. His doctor recommended a warmer climate. He moved to Rome. Purchased a 3 or 4 story building immediately next to the Spanish Steps. I accidently came upon the building on a day I was sitting on the Spanish Steps recovering from too much sight seeing. I noticed a small brass plaque on the front of the building. Something to the effect…..Residence of John Keats.

I entered. Glad I did. 

The top floor consisted of the bedroom where he died and a larger room where he did his writings. Little of his works were formally printed at the time of his death. What the writing room contained were primarily hand written notes and phrases on pieces of paper. All under glass of course.

I had read some Keats in my lifetime. Not much, however. I came across a scrap of paper with words I immediately recalled. And which many of you will also: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” I was moved.

I recommend Keats’ building to everyone I discover will be visiting Rome.

Disgusting. An ICE agent running down and over a fleeing man. The photographs prove the deliberateness of the ICE act. He will be charged criminally.

 Time changes tomorrow. Don’t forget to change your watch and clocks.

Martin Luther pasted his 95 revolutionary theses on a Church door on this day in 1517. Something you and I learned in grammar school.

I sort of met Ed Sullivan two times. When I was in college in New York City in the mid 1950s, I had a job making deliveries. Many were to the building where Sullivan had his studio and offices. We were on the same elevator those two times. In addition to several other persons. Each time Sullivan was the perfect gentleman and acted as if our host with his kind hellos.

An article on the internet this morning listed the seven most dirty places in a home. Toilets did not make the list.

Halloween expensive and busy. It is estimated the people of the U.S. will spend $13.5 billion this year. Must be the increased cost of candy. Busy a big time concern. I refer specifically to the many kids who will be roaming the streets tonight tricking and treating. Be careful! We have to think for them!

Christmas 2026 on sale already. Publix has red Santa hats for sale. Home Depot and Ross’s a multitude of items.

The Mount Rushmore National Shrine was completed this day in 1941. Trump wants his face thereon. No way, Jose! No way like he will never receive a Nobel Prize for Peace either.

Peanut and jelly is America’s favorite sandwich. For young and old alike. We acquire the taste in our youth and go for it as adults.

I again admonish care tonight while driving because of the multitude of children that will be out and about.

Enjoy your day!

Halloween was born over 2,000 years ago at the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain which was celebrated by the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. The harvest season was involved. Halloween marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the New Year on November 1st.

The Celts believed on the night of October 31, the boundary between the living and the dead blurred, allowing ghosts and spirits to walk the Earth. In order to ward off the spirits, people wore costumes to hide from the wandering spirits.

Then the Catholic Church got involved. Pope Gregory III declared November 1st All Saints Day – aka All Hallows’ Eve. The day before All Saints Day took on the name All Hallows’ Eve which in due course became known as “Halloween.”

Irish and Scottish immigrants to the U.S. brought with them the aforementioned background. Halloween became part of America!

From this developed customs such as costume wearing and  carving jack-o-lanterns.

Jack-o-lanterns were carved from turnips in Europe. In the U.S., turnips faded from use and native American  pumpkins substituted. Going door to door grew out of the European tradition of “souling.”

So was born our Halloween!

My Halloween took years before I was permitted to participate. My Mother was born in the old country. She could only see me getting in trouble if I were permitted out the evening of Halloween. I had to wait till I was a senior in high school before she gave me permission.

She was correct. My friends and I had fun that night spraying lighter fluid across roadways and lighting them as a car approached. Fortunately, no accidents occurred.

My best Halloweens were as a father. I enjoyed taking my children out to trick or treat. I would remain on the sidewalk as they knocked on doors. The most fun was when we got home and spread all the goodies they had received on the family room carpet. We gouged ourselves that night and the next day. Their mother quietly disposed of the remaining candies at the end of the second day.

An internet article this morning suggested the best place to trick or treat was in an apartment building. One where you resided preferably. You started at the top floor and worked your way down.

Four days to the mid-term elections. Vote!

There is a contempt about Trump. Everything!

An internet article spelled out the purported Greatest Books of All Time. Number one  purportedly “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust. I am ashamed to say I never heard of it nor read it. Number 2 was Ulysses, which I read in college and recently saw its movie.

Yesterday an enjoyable haircut with Lori. Se has been responsible for my hair for at least 25 years. One problem today however. There is much less to work with.

Followed the haircut with lunch at Denny’s.

Then some minor shopping. Kept me busy running around from Home Depot to Walgreens to Ross’s.

Muhammad Ali: “It’s the reaffirmation of affirmations that lead to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep connection, things begin to happen.”

Panicsville occurred big time this day in 1938. Orson Wells broadcast “The War of the Worlds.” A radio hoax that caused panic and fear in the U.S.

The three drinks people who aged to 100 consumed on a regular basis were purified water, black coffee, and red wine.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar selected a Ronald Reagan quote as “the best of today: “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

I was not aware. Most zippers have “YKK” typed on them. On the pull part of the zipper. The letters stand for “Yoshidie Kogyo Kabushikikaisda.” It is the name of the huge Japanese manufacturing company that produces roughly half the zippers worn world wide.

I checked the zipper on my one and only belt. Sure enough, there it was! The letters YKK!

The “Best City to Drive In” is Scottsdale, Arizona. The Worst” is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

There is a lake no one has ever seen up front and for real. It is Lake Vostok. The Lake is located under 2 1/2 miles of ice in East Antarctica. 

Sophie Cunningham , the WNBA basketball star, is under threat of death by at least 20 persons. Authorities have her under watch.

Fran Dixon carves huge pumpkins. She has provided me with pics of three to place in the blog. I can’t get them to switch in. Ergo, they will be a day or two late in posting.

Husband Tom is enjoying Buffalo’s good weather. He is out playing golf and leaving Fran to toil away on the pumpkins alone.

A big morning ahead. Nurse Paige will be visiting me at 9:30 this morning. I have not seen her in two weeks. She has been in Ireland. She is the best. She has done wonders for me!

I hope to visit the Chart Room later today.

Enjoy your day!

I decided to vote yesterday. 

I have been voting for 70 years. First in New York and now in Florida. Do not recall ever missing the opportunity to vote. I have always considered voting a way to express my opinion. Important when you consider I. as well as you, are voting for those we wish to govern us. We do not always win/get  our choice. As with the present Trump experience.

Voting was on Stock Island. A small crowd waiting. The people running the voting operation were all genuinely friendly. It made the voting experience even more pleasant.

I followed voting with an enjoyable lunch at Denny’s. Their menu has changed again. They have brought back the $5.99 special. Two eggs, hash browns and two slices of toast. Enjoyable and filling.

What a difference a few days made. Sunday the place was packed with Fantasy Fest diners. Yesterday at the same time there were all of six of us.

Then a quick stop at Publix to pick up a few items.

Today makes one week I have been off the pill which was adversely affecting me big time. My sleeping is better, though not perfect yet. And I feel good! I cannot tell you how good I feel off that pill. It was not good for me.

Today is Lori day. Haircut time. She has been cutting my hair for 25 years. We have become friends. I enjoy my visits with her.

Carrie is helping me with some things. A talented woman. She brought me a 42 page report the other day. I thought it was her original work. No, she used AI. What detail! I am going to ask her to teach me how to get into and use AI.

Trump’s Cabinet appears to be violating the Hatch Act. Hatch prohibits officials from campaigning and also the use of political funds for campaign purposes. It is ok for the President and Vice President to campaign, but again not political officials.

Should the Democrats win the House and Senate, expect these persons who have been violating the Hatch Act to be charged with violations. 

John Glenn returned to space this day in 1998 at the age of 77. A man’s man! It was 40 years following his walk on the moon.

China ended its one child only birth policy this day in 2015. It had been in force and effect for 35 years. China initially instituted the birth control law because it believed its population was expanding too rapidly.

The Milwaukee Brewers won its first World Series in its franchise history yesterday. The Brewers swept 4 of 5 games to defeat Tampa Bay.

Jersey Mike’s has been designated the top fast food chain in the U.S.

Florida is drowning in flood waters. I thought things were bad in Key West. No way when compared to other parts of Florida.

Starbucks is bringing back the “Bearista Cup” for the holidays.  A bear figured cup. Popular!

John Glenn: ” I don’t know what you can say about a day when you see four beautiful sunsets.”

B.C. stands for “Before Christ.” A.D. “In the Year of the Lord.”

Trump is an authoritarian figure. We have had enough of authoritarianism. Vote Democratic this year. To my Republican friends I say, it will not hurt to so vote one time in your life.

Word is Jared Kushner’s diplomacy is inuring to his benefit. Seems to be that is with most, if not all, of the Trump family.

Braille was invented by Louis Braille. He was 15 years old at the time and blind. The system he created consists of 63 characters.

Midland, Michigan, for the second consecutive year has been designated the best place to retire in the U.S.

Gulliver’s Travels” was first published this day in 1726.

People Magazine selected Noah Wyle as the Sexiest Man alive in 2026. The actor is age 55. His wife says he does the dishes.

There are 10 States with certain Counties that ban alcohol consumption today.

Interesting. The meal eaten on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin included bacon. It was their favorite and the favorite of other astronauts till it was phased out in 2002.

That’s it for today.

Vote if you have not yet done so.

Enjoy your day otherwise!

It has been several years since I have been in the Chart Room. Previous thereto for some 25 years I began my evenings around 6 by stopping in. Every night without fail. Knew most. Locals. It was “our spot.” Then a nasty bartender made me cease going to the Chart Room. Most of my friends stopped for the same reason.

The Pier House was recently purchased. It appears they want to restore the Chart Room to what it was when my friends and I left. New hours. Noon to midnight. A good idea!

After The Grand last night, I went over to the Chart Room. Excited I was! 

I knew no one. Which I expected. I am old now and most persons I hung out with at the Chart Room have left Key West or are dead.

A new bartender. Nice guy. Nick his name. He has been in Key West since the 1970s. Chatted with a young guy from Indiana. We had similar watches. Then a charming lady came and stood next to me. I was seated in the first seat of the bar by the door. A charming red head. Linda her name. From Breckenridge, Colorado. She and her husband have been coming to Key West for a month each year for 10 years. I enjoyed her company. Suspect I will run into her again.

I had a diet Coke and left. I did desire a drink drink. A Beefeater on the rocks. It was the Chart Room atmosphere. It has been years since I have consumed alcohol. I faltered not, however.

The Chart Room physically was the same. Including free hot dogs and pop corn.

As I mentioned earlier, I was at The Grand for Happy Hour. 

Visited with Cindy and Steve. They just returned from a Caribbean cruise. My dearest friend of friends Jean Thornton came in. With a charming lady I have not seen in years Sheila Cullen. It was great seeing Sheila again. We are physical compatriots. She is using a walker. Hip surgeries. I have been through that phase. The cane will be next for her as she progresses.

That my friends was my evening. A good one with old friends and new friends.

I was to have visited with a couple at The Grand last Tuesday who were in for Fantasy Fest. They bought my salmon dinner last year and intended to do so again this year. Of course, I was not there. Last week was a bad one for me. When I asked Matt for my bill, he said no bill. The coupe had paid for my meal last week when they had been in expecting to see me. I went to tip Matt and could not. Matt said they even left the tip.

I hope I am around to see these people next year.

Six days to the big day. Mid term election day. Vote, my friends! And if you can see your way clear, vote Democratic. Trump and his Republican compatriots have been absolute failures.

I believe Trump and his people are going to take a beating. I don’t care what Trump says. Neither he, the Executive Branch or Republicans can thwart the election. Clause 1 of Article I Section 4 of the Constitution makes it clear States control elections and not a President. Assuming the blue wave I expect will occur, Trump will try legally to overturn many elections. He will fail in each attempt. What is a further concern is what he might do to screw up the mid terms. Another January 6th?

“Coastal flood warning.”  A coastal flood is ocean water coming up through the sewers and flooding the streets. Worse at high tide. Especially bad for auto engines. The salt water can kill them.

I had a bad experience with street flooding yesterday. Not bad for me. Bad for the guy driving a golf cart in the opposite direction. The situation occurred near Harpoon Harry’s. We were driving in opposite directions. There was some flooding. Did not appear that bad. I slowed a bit. I assume the golf cart driver did also.

We both were mid stream as we passed. My car windows were shut. He had nothing to close. He took a bath from me! He was waving his fist at me after I passed.

Abraham Lincoln was a wrestler in his younger days. It is estimated he fought some 300 matches. Only lost one.

Trump appears to have become a male butt expert. If not, at the least a keen observer of the male butt.

Candy pieces have skyrocketed! Expensive! The average cost of a bag of 100 pieces has increased 71 percent over the past 5 years. Some believe the cost of candy this Halloween has become an economic burden as so many other items have.

Enjoy your day!

The mid-term election is a mere 8 days away. People are already early voting. Beware! There is a nut sitting in the White House who will do whatever he wants to adjust the election to his favor. He believes he is omnipotent. A President who is King.

I am not overreacting. Forget not January 6. Did any of us believe what Trump did and what occurred would happen. No way! Here we have every reason to believe anything can happen!!

Some say the Courts will protect us. My faith in the Supreme Court has long waned. Their relief too far off and not dependable.

The Federal District Courts is where protection may lie. Those that are not Trump loyalists have all kinds of power. You have repeatedly read my belief that the lowest sitting federal judges are the most powerful persons in the U.S. legally. They are! However they must move swiftly and punish immediately parties and attorneys who abuse the legal system. Swiftness will be required, not the usual legal delays involved.

We have been hearing in recent weeks the Generals will not permit whatever devious improper actions Trump may attempt. Many express faith that soldiers will not follow bad Presidential or Department of Defense orders. Such relies on a concept not previously experienced in this country. The army stepping in to protect the people.

We are in trouble! We are on the edge of a cliff and could be ready to fall off.

I will not say fear not. I fear. I am concerned. Most of you are also. The past few months have seen an America we are not accustomed to. We have to halt it. A blue wave will help. That assumes Trump would follow election results. I doubt he will follow anything except that which he wishes to do in the next 8 days or thereafter. None of which is good for the American people.

Good luck to us and our Nation. 

May God be with us.

Live and learn. There was a time when historically men wore pink. In the 18th century. In Europe it was the mark of a fashionable man. Men wore all shades of pink on all exterior parts of their bodies. Suits, shirts, socks, etc.

Pink was for men alone. It was viewed as a “unisex” color of elegance. 

Today’s familiar blue for boys and pink for girls developed gradually in the 20th century. As late as 1918 pink was still the color for men. It was the “stronger color” at that time.

Department stores sold blue and pink for both sexes into the late 1920s. Consumers were left confused.

What apparently helped resolve the issue were two paintings in the 1920s. Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy” and Thomas Lawrence’s “Pinkie.”

By the mid 20th century, blue for boys/men and pink for girls/women had been firmly established in the U.S. In 1950, I was 15 years old. Cognizant for at least 10 years earlier as to clothing color. Equally cognizant in the years following 1950. I have no recollection of males wearing pink during those times.

Some political figures are not apparent in the mid term campaign. Marco Rubio comes to mind. Rarely in the news. How is he succeeding in avoiding Trump pressure to participate?

I lunched yesterday at Denny’s. I have never seen the place so packed. People waiting in line for seats and later to pay. It was obviously a Fantasy Fest crowd.

Seventy thousand police officers are on the streets of Paris and the rest of France. Protestors in the hundreds of thousands also.

Trump is going to have difficulty building the 250 foot tall arch he wants to do in Washington, D.C. To be known as the “Independence Arch” or “Triumphal Arch.”

I am surprised Trump has not mentioned naming it the “Trump Arch.”

The arch to be located at Memorial Circle. A poor location. Typical of how Trump does things. The arch would be 2 miles in a direct line with the main runway of the busy Reagan National Airport. A disaster waiting to happen!

Iran believes the U.S. and Israel will jointly attack Iran again and soon. The people of Iran are concerned. They are behaving as if they expect such an attack. Children are being kept home from school. Food storage being exercised. Gas tanks being filled. Called “getting ready.”

The Justice Department is solidly behind Trump. It is preparing big time in the event Republicans lose close elections. I believe the coming wave will be blue and the courts will be buried with litigation. A waste of time from my perspective. The Constitution  clearly states elections are the responsibility of the States. The federal government has no place in them.

Smaller places in Alaska are not open for early voting. Many believe it is part of the Trump plan to discourage voting that he believes will be adverse to his positions.

Trump has called early voting ridiculous.” Nevertheless, he recently cast his mid term ballot.

The Ukraine is experiencing moral whiplash at the hands of Trump. Early on, Trump believed the Ukraine was the front line in the global battle for freedom. Now Trump is sending money to Moscow.

A college football upset. Central Florida beat #2 ranked BYU in double overtime yesterday.

My beloved Syracuse University finally won another football game. It has not been a good season. Syracuse beat North Carolina State 31-30. Even a win by 1 point is a good thing this season!

A man fell out of a Six Flags roller coaster and died. Six Flags is doing a huge safety study to assure it does not happen again.

A study revealed the Best Suburb to Live In in the U.S. is Vienna, Virginia, just a few miles out side Washington, D.C.

John Pemberton invented Coca Cola to cure Civil War injuries and morphine addiction.

Interesting. Pepto Bismol was invented in 1901. It was first called Mixture Cholera Infantum.

The famous Charge of the Light Brigade took place this day in 1854.

I slept 5 hours last night. In 5 separate short sleeps. Progress from my perspective.

My eyes seem to be getting better also.

Key West will begin dying today with the end of Fantasy Fest. By tomorrow afternoon, Key West will basically be empty.

I am going to rise and shine and hopefully get to Mass today.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Ulysses S. Grant was the only President arrested while in office. 

In 1872 he was stopped for speeding while driving a horse driven carriage in Washington, D.C. The police officer admonished him and let him go. The very next day, Grant was speeding again and stopped by the same police officer. The officer this time arrested Grant and brought him to the police station. He was booked for speeding. Put up $20 bail. He never appeared in court for trial the next day. He forfeited bail instead.

Grant never learned. He must have thought that as President he could do what he wanted. Sound familiar? 

Grant was actually arrested three times for speeding while President.

Trump was never arrested while sitting as President.. He was arrested and booked several times after his first term in office had concluded. The arrests were based on criminal indictments. His arrests were for falsifying business records, federal charges involving classified documents, and state election interference charges.

The U.S. Senate race in Alaska has two Dan Sullivans running against each other. Trump’s Department of Justice has already filed suit challenging the election result if the GOP Dan Sullivan loses in a close race.

Alaska is normally a conservative state. They are not happy campers this year, however.  A family making $155,000 is struggling to meet traditional expenses. In one of the furthest north communities, gasoline for example is $9 a gallon. 

Kaylub Giamanco is the father who ran into a school in Bend, Oregon, and killed the shooter. He is bothered by the fact that he did not save more children.

Some doctors are screwing around with billing. They are charging patients ten times more by claiming to be hospitals. The fees are called “facility fees,” thereby making the patient care eligible to be billed at the higher rate. So they say.

Elon Musk is ready to fight Republican mid-term losses. Doesn’t the richest man in the world have anything better to do? People dislike him and the part Trump permits him to play in government.

Latin America’s MAGA wave is within Trump’s political and military reach.

The Washington Post has a column listing the five things that are scary concerning money at the moment. From my perspective, there is only one. The lack of it!

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s funding is spiking after the federal raid on her home. Shows the negative affect Trump and his henchmen are having on the mid-terms.

A good looking male ass is not going to get Trump’s people any additional votes.

Rising health costs are pushing people to forego medicine and doctor visits.

This is Fantasy Fest time in Key West. Big time, fun time!

Thousands showed up to participate in the Annual  Zombie Bike Ride. Tonight the biggie. The Parade. Fantastic! Out of sight! Exhausting also.

I participated in several. The last cured me from ever being on a float again. We were throwing beads to the shouting throngs of people along the route. Everyone wanted beads. They were ravenous for them. My float threw 23,000 strands of beds. Tiring!!! Instead of remaining after the Parade to play, I went home. I was shot and swore never to do it again.

The first barrel ride down Niagara Falls took place this day in 1901. It has been done several times since. A dangerous crazy thing to do! The first to do it and successfully so was a 63 year old female school teacher. She survived!

The George Washington Bridge was dedicated this day in 1931. Many times I have driven over it.

The United Nations was born this day in 1945.

Publix is considered Florida’s best supermarket.

A strange announcement. It was announced yesterday that Melania Trump had brokered a localized cease fire in the Ukrainian War. Why Melania? She and Trump are purportedly not living together and have not been for a considerable time. Recently she is popping up everywhere. An internet news show yesterday suggested she gets paid for her appearances. Russia has made no comment re the alleged cease fire. Only the U.S. Is it for real?

Trump has cancelled some of the toughest tariffs levied on Canada less than 2 weeks before the mid-terms. I suspect to gain votes in the States doing business with Canada. Two little too late, Donald! You should not have imposed the tariffs to begin with.

Why do people click glasses after a toast and before drinking? Two reasons suggested. There is a spillage between the glasses when the two meet. Each glass gets some of the liquid from the other. Prevents poisoning. The other much simpler. To frighten away evil spirits.

Early amusement parks were built near graveyards. Graveyards were located at the edge of communities and there was ample space next to them for amusement parks.

Dr. Oppenheimer took me off the sleep pill Thursday. It was not helping me to sleep and may have contributed to my eye problems. Immediate success sleeping. I got 6 hours sleep that night. I was thrilled!

The thrill lasted but one night. Last night I only slept 2 hours.

My eyes are not tiring as easily. Easier to the blog now. Still a ways to go however.

Try to see the Parade tonight. An experience. I cannot. Can’t park nearby nor walk with a cane in the massive crowd that will be there.

Enjoy your day!