The share of men in the workforce has fallen sharply in 2026. Young and old alike. These men are either not working or are looking for a job. The number is at the lowest level since 1948, except for the time of the pandemic.

Golden Tempo will not run in the Preakness. It is in the best interest of the horse.

Gasoline prices ricochet from the Strait of Hormuz to our gas tanks.

Measles continues to roar back. Vaccines for everyone…..where are they?

U.S. schools facing a crisis as the number of children attending declines. Public schools suffering. Schools closing. The trend began in 2014 and continues.

“Fired from retirement” has become a common occurrence. Many retirees are looking to reenter the job market because of “financial need.”

Key West weather continues to be hot. In the mid 80s.

Rome’s Colosseum receives seven million visitors a year. I have visited several times. The place is huge and run down. Empty in modern times. Not put to any use.

The Colosseum seated 50,000 to 80,000 persons in its hey day.

Assisted suicide is sparking a national debate. Will the centuries old religious concept that “human life be saved and created in God’s image” continued to be adhered to? Life is a gift from God, not a consumer choice.

Mother’s Day was a reaction to the Civil War. An extremely bloody war, it was hoped Mother’s Day would make people gather in peace.

This day in 1945 is celebrated by Allied nations worldwide as V-E Day. These nations still rejoice in the defeat of the Nazi war machine on that day.

On this day in 1963, American movie goers got their first view of James Bond in “Dr. No.”

Today is the 75th National Day of Prayer. The Key West staff observed the occasion at 8 a.m. on the steps of City Hall. Traditionally, the President invokes the Day in Washington, D.C. I assume the new significantly religious Trump will do so together with his cohort Hegseth.

I suffered a stroke about four months ago. Recovered. However since then, I have not dreamed. Not even the tiniest bit till three days ago. In the last three nights, I have dreamed of my youth up through my high school years. Big time. I don’t understand. I will ask Dr. Norris  during my next visit.

I was speaking with Fran and Tom in Buffalo yesterday. They were going to see a live show of Hair in the evening. They had seen it years ago on Broadway also.

I told them of my first experiences with Hair. First off Broadway and then a couple of years later on Broadway. The years a long time ago. Nudity not common in Broadway shows. I was totally embarrassed when the last scene of the show played. The entire cast came out bare ass. Total nudity. Front and back. Nothing left to the imagination. Never saw it in a show before. 

Trump time.

Trump sent Rubio to visit with Pope Leo yesterday at the Vatican in Rome. Rubio was traveling Wednesday to Rome for the visit. While Rubio was in transit, Trump lashed out big time against the Pope.

Made no sense, except that it was typical Trump.

Surprisingly, there is little in the news today re the Rubio/Leo meeting of yesterday.

Polls find a broad rejection of religious related messages from Trump and Hegseth.

Trump lies again. He never fails to do so. One of his most recent mistruths involve the damage Iran has done to U.S. military assets. Images clearly show more damage of U.S. assets than reported.

Jimmy Kimmel: “The President should have gone there (Rome) to meet the Pope himself, but they decided it was too dangerous. When he enters a church, all Holy Water starts to boil.”

Some of the nasty things Trump said recently about Pope Leo included “he likes crime” and what reads like a threat to Catholics he is “endangering a lot of Catholics.” He also said Leo wears “dresses.”

Asshole!

Trump needs “gratitude” in D.C. He is not getting it. No problem. He is putting up banners thanking himself.

Trump wants to paint the Eisenhower Building white. Trump says its gray color is “ugly.” Also, that “gray is for funerals.” Cost figures not yet available, nor whether the white paint would damage the building’s exterior.

Enjoy your day!

Pope Leo truly a man of God. He stands in open defiance to Donald Trump. He fears not in speaking out against Trump’s evil ways. Leo said, “I cannot stay quiet anymore.” And with those words lashed out.

Trump fears not and respects not. He went after the Pope in typical Trump fashion. Respect not involved.

Leo is a peacemaker. Trump not. Blessed is the peacemaker. When the Pope speaks, God speaks. He is powered by Jesus.

The Gospel preaches to Leo “to not be afraid, God goes before you.”

Trump insulting Leo is in effect a badge of courage for the Pope.

Understandably Leo refused to sit with Vance. A convert to Catholicism who believed he knew more about Catholicism than the Pope.

Trump is sending Rubio to speak with the Pope in Vance’s place. Rubio sold his soul to Trump months ago. His willingness to speak for Trump to Leo is a reflection of such. Rubio wants the Republican nomination for President and Trump’s support in getting it. Vance wants the nomination also, but showed himself to be merely ignorant in the fashion he went after the Pope.

Leo fears not. He speaks truth. He speaks with the voice and strength of God. Trump and his minions cannot win against him.

Leo speaks for the people. All peoples. Trump speaks for Trump.

Trump wickedness reflected when he speaks. He speaks with both a lying and insulting tongue. A perfect example is Trump referring to the Obamas a few days ago as “Apes.” Bad, bad man! He deleted the terminology 12 hours later.

Enough for today!

I failed to write a blog for several days. I was not sick. It was the computer. An illness I had never seen before. Nor did my computer guru my son in law Corey Malcom.

Some wrote asking/thinking I had died. Not yet, folks!

To make it even worse, Corey was in Tallahassee for Robert’s graduation. Sloan Kelley who set up my blog system some 20 years ago was in Atlanta with her sister who may be dying. I was useless. I can write, but am not mechanically inclined. No way could I fix the computer.

Corey got back to Key West last night. Immediately came over. Normally, it takes Corey 2-3 minutes to adjust my machinery. This time it took 15 minutes. It was that bad!

However I am up and running again and pleased to be able to do the blog this morning. Thank you Corey and thank you Sloan who he was texting with in the recovery process.

Lets begin with the mundane. Trump can come later.

The Empire State Building was dedicated on May 1, 1931.

Henry Ford took care of his employees. Ford factory workers got a 40 hour work week in 1926.

Rudy Giuliani is in critical condition with pneumonia.

Oh, how many men participated in the Epstein sex shenanigans? It has been revealed that Bard College’s President Leon Botstein is about to retire over his Jeffrey Epstein comments. He ran Bard for 50 years. Turns out Botstein exchanged messages and visits with Epstein for years.

The Statue of Liberty is 305 feet high. I visited twice. My Father took me when I was young. Later, I took my four children. A must see by everyone, adults and children alike.

The Library of Congress receives 370,000 visitors a year. It is staffed by 3,172 employees.

Theodore Roosevelt was 42 years old when he became President. At that time, the youngest President ever.

Hard to believe: Archeologists have found 3,000 year old packs of honey that are still edible. Some scientists have scraped up portions of honey going as far back as 7000 BCE.

Ancient Egyptians used honey as a health remedy.

Obviously bees were involved. More than one species of bee exists. Actually 200 species.

Medicine eventually cures most diseases. Countries where polio was endemic in 1928 were 125. In 2023, the number had dropped to 2.

Snickers is a popular candy bar. Consumed big time. Fifteen million bars are manufactured every day to meet the demand.

Kool Aid was invented in 1927 in Hastings, Nebraska.

Interesting. Fred Astaire began dancing at the age of 4.

Re the moon: Six American flags are planted on the moon, twelve humans have actually walked on the moon, and eleven Apollo missions have actually landed on the moon.

I have demoted Vance to the mundane.

Vance is not bright. In recent years, he converted to Catholicism. Now constantly fights with Pope Leo. Vance recently asked the question: “Is the Pope Catholic?”

Is Vance nuts?

Leo now refuses to see him. Yet he will receive Rubio in a few days.

Vance is dead as Presidential timber!

Trump’s turn.

Trump’s popularity runs high! So he may think. If so, I do not know how.

The Doral Cadillac Championship Golf Tournament was played this week. Doral is owned by Trump. He arrived on the first day expecting huge crowds that would be supporting him. Did he get a surprise! As close to zip, nothing is what met him. Ho, ho, ho. An embarrassment he well deserved.

Doral has 3 or more courses. I recall playing them some 30 years ago. About 5 times. Stayed at the resort itself. Played the horribly difficult blue course twice. A humbling experience! The Doral Resort accommodations were the best. Spectacular! The very best accommodations I found in any course I played. And I played some of the major resort/courses.

Trump got what he deserved being ignored. He has to drive a car to a gas station and fill it up to understand. He and Melania have to go grocery shopping to understand why Donald is becoming increasingly disliked.

He couldn’t win for dog catcher were he to run again!

Eisenhower’s approval rating in December 1959 was 77 percent. Trump’s today is 34 percent. Another way of describing Trump’s rating is to indicate his disapproval is 64 percent.

The ongoing attacks in the Strait of Hormuz threatens to reignite the U.S./Iran conflict.

Trump continues downplaying the economic effects of the Iran War. He was bullshitting small business owners yesterday in Washington. He claimed an “extraordinary revival of Main Street under his America First agenda.” Claimed he was building up the economy. Also said the economy was “roaring.”

I am not sure he knows what country he lives in.

The New York times won 3 Pulitzer Prizes. One was awarded for the Times investigation into how Trump is profiting from his dealmaking. 

Enough for today.

Enjoy your day!

January 1 was just yesterday. Today, May 1. How swiftly the year is moving.

One thing I have noticed is that time moves faster as one gets older. Not a nice situation. Nothing can be done about it, however. Enjoy each day as it may be your last.

Trump lies consistently. Lying appears to be an intrinsic part of his nature.

His Wharton class standing has finally been revealed. Trump constantly reminds us how he graduated first in his class. A lie. His class graduated 363. Trump ranked 147. Nothing to be ashamed of in itself. The middle of the class at a school like Wharton commendable.

Another Trump lie. He proudly has advised many times his father was born in Germany. Now revealed he was born in the Bronx. Why is Germany more favorable to Trump? I find it difficult to understand.

Gasoline is most expensive in Wyoming. Where cheapest? You will be surprised. New York State! Florida runs in the middle.

Sears Bankruptcy confuses me. My research keeps coming up with a Chapter 11 filing in 2018. Five stores still operating. Two in Florida, 2 in California, 1 in Texas and 1 in Massachusetts. All on borrowed time.

The 2018 bankruptcy date I find difficult to comprehend. When I was practicing law, I did much of Sears legal work in upstate New York. My recollection suggests what I am about to share occurred in the late 1900s. I was defending a major lawsuit against Sears arising out of a shopping mall situation. Big bucks involved. 

It was one of those cases that takes forever to resolve. All kinds of big time legal issues. A lawyer’s dream.

We were into litigation about two years when I received notice of the Sears bankruptcy and request to surrender my file to the Bankruptcy trustee. Which I did forthwith. It would henceforth be the trustee’s responsibility to resolve.

Three moths later I received a telephone call from the trustee. Would I be willing to accept a return of the case and continue my defense of it? Of course! Nothing changed, except instead of reporting to Sears, I reported to the trustee. Again, big time complicated legal work. I spent 3 additional years diligently working the file till it was settled.

My point is there was a prior bankruptcy to the 2018 one. I might add it would have been impossible for me to have defended a Sears case in 2018 as I retired from the practice of law in 2006.

Elon Musk: “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

Trump can only be described as too much. Revengeful. How he can play at getting even with a war going on is difficult for me to understand. He is now after Kimmel and ABC. He wasted no time. Announced his intent and immediately had the FCC go to work on ABC that afternoon.

A waste of time. Trump will merely be causing Kimmel and ABC aggravation. Trump’s claim appears to be without a valid legal basis.

My grandson Robert graduates Sunday from Florida State University. His last examination was yesterday. We spoke in the evening. He was tired from finals and excited about graduation. He still does not have a job. Things are much different than when I graduated from college in 1957.

I enjoyed King Charles Address to congress. An intelligent articulate man. His speech well developed. He subtly knocked Trump three times. I doubt Trump even understood. The two continued to be friends after the speech and continued to be the remainder of the King’s visit.

Did you notice how the King began wearing his jacket differently during the visit. The suit jacket called for two buttons to be buttoned. Suddenly, the King was only buttoning one. Turns out the King was wearing a bullet proof vest. Two buttons would have revealed such. One, not.

I was watching a very old rerun of the Johnny Carson Show. One of his guests was Rodney Dangerfield. On two separate trips to La Costa, I met Dangerfield. Once when I was hanging with William Holden. The other time alone.

My major recollection of Dangerfield. What you got of him in movies and on TV is what I saw at La Costa. That’s him! The same goofy guy. When dressed, he attired himself as you saw him in movies and on TV. Sloppy, even to his shirt collar.

A nice guy. Warm. We enjoyed Perrier evenings. Booze a no no since we all were at La Costa to lose weight.

Ever wonder where the Fourth of July came from? From the Founding Fathers when they met on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia.

Would you believe? California is importing a considerable amount of gasoline from Russian oil. Not one State cut back on gasoline consumption. We all continue driving and paying the bigger bucks at gas stations. If my recollection is correct, California has the most automobiles on the road of any State.

So much for today.

Enjoy your day!