All quiet on the western front. Super Bowl tonight in Los Angeles. The threat of the truck convoy has not materialized. Unless they come storming in later in the day.

The thought occurs they may steal in while the game is played. Think how horrible it would be when the fans watching the game began to try leaving in their cars. Pure chaos!

Canadian police, per the authority of a court order, began clearing the truckers and their supporters last night at the Ambassador Bridge. Note however that only so many trucks can be moved at any given time.

I have a plan. One that would work at the Ambassador Bridge and Super Bowl. My plan based on expediency and one that would make it difficult for truckers.

Keys not required. Cross the wires beneath the dashboard. Truck locked? Break the window to get it. Then in orderly fashion have the trucks driven to several empty fields and left. Not in any given direction. Rather facing each other in every given way. Let it be chaos in reverse.

The trucks in a very short period are costing many others significant financial loss. The holdup at the Ambassador Bridge is costing the U.S. and Canada $360 million a day. Auto plants are closing or cutting back. Small businesses earning their livings on the periphery of those plants have neither customers nor cash flow.

I still do not understand why COVID restrictions caused the problem. Does not make sense. The news daily reports 90 percent of Canadians are vaccinated. Some report slightly different numbers. Ninety percent of truckers vaccinated and 80 percent of the rest of the population.

Truckers and their supporters have issued not one denial to the numbers.

The truck convoy name has been changed. It is now Freedom Convoy. Probably to make it consistent with what many truckers and protesters believe: The mandates raise an issue of personal freedom.

Tonight the event! Super Bowl! Bengals vs. Rams.

I am not much of a pro football fan. I was more into it during the years I would go to Don’s Place sunday afternoons and sit in the back outside watching several games at one time with Don and friends.

In recent years prior to COVID, I would attend a house party or go to a bar with friends. However, I continue to believe the virus is still with us. I disagree with states and people saying things are better and the masks can be removed.

Based on 2-3 weeks of the numbers coming down, the same thing occurred last summer and the numbers shot back up.

So I shall be watching Super Bowl from a comfortable easy chair with my feet up on an ottoman at home.

I have prepared myself for the occasion. I very rarely eat potato chips. I bought a bag of chips and an onion dip to pick on during the game. I also had a pizza delivered last night. To be eaten tonight. I enjoy my pizza cold. It is sitting in the refrigerator. It will taste great during the game.

I have become a non-drinker. Unfortunately, but that’s the way it is. I will treat myself tonight however to a glass or two of wine as I dine on the potato chips and pizza.

Drug deaths on the rise. Opium overdose the major contributor. More than 100,000 deaths last year.

Syracuse lost last night to Virginia Tech 71-59. The loss ended Syracuse’s 4 game winning streak.

Enjoy Super Bowl tonight!

Bum Farto where are you? The question oft asked in the past 45 years.

He is in the news again today.

Ever wonder why he disappeared?

On this day in 1976, Farto was found guilty of 3 drug violations in Federal Court. He faced 31 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for several weeks later. In the meantime, Farto was free on bail.

On the day he was scheduled to be sentenced, he left his Key West home for Miami to be sentenced. As the story goes, he made it out of his driveway onto the street never to be seen again. The suspicion being a Jimmy Hoffa type incident occurred in the street in front of his home.

Bum Farto’s legacy is not that he was Fire Chief, a pimp, a drug dealer, etc. It is the many tee shirts born of his disappearance.

Key West is one of the tee shirt capitals of the world. Tee shirts appeared in many Duval Street stores then and continue to this day. A popular tourist acquisition. The wording on the tee shirts: Bum Farto Where Are You.”

Some believe he is under a concrete highway somewhere in the U.S. Others, that he spent his remaining years on a remote Caribbean beach in the company of beautiful ladies.

I have learned many things in the 30 years I have been in Key West. One is contrary to popular belief. Key West is an excellent place to raise children. A conservative community once off Duval.

Key West is small. Roughly 28,000 people. Yet it supplies the best of everything education wise for its children.

The most recent example. Katrina Madok is a science teacher. Teaches fifth grade at the Gerald Adams Elementary School. This past week it was announced she is the recipient of the highest U.S. award for science teachers.

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science. She will receive the award from President Biden in Washington.

Seventeen teachers and monitors will receive the award. The award consists of $10,000 and a free trip to Washington D.C. to receive the award.

China is manipulating the Olympics. The nature of the beast.

Two Chinese American citizens and three all white American citizens are participating in the Olympics representing China.

Two gold medal winners. Skier Eileen Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi. Three white Americans who are members of the Chinese hockey team.

There is a drug issue which has held up the awards ceremony for events Gu participated in. The hearing is tomorrow. The Committee’s decision monday.

The problem inconsequential from my perspective. I hope Gu’s situation is not turned into a Jim Thorpe one.

I mentioned yesterday the 30,000 turkeys that had to be euthanized because of bird flu which struck an Indiana turkey farm.

Concern is spreading. Fear that the bird flu will move rapidly throughout the U.S.

Bird flu is already wide spread in Europe. It has also affected areas in Africa, Asia and Canada.

A devastating U.S. bird flu outbreak in 2015 killed nearly 50 million birds, mostly turkeys and egg laying chickens in the Midwest. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer and second largest exporter of poultry meat. Ego there is a massive U.S. concern. If the flu spreads, it will affect the economy, inflation, etc.

It has been announced that COVID can result in stillbirths where the mother is unvaccinated. The coronavirus destroys the placenta and leads to the stillbirths.

Syracuse/Virginia Tech tonight at 6 pm. Both teams coming off 4 game winning streaks.

Jesse Edwards has developed into a star Syracuse player this season. The 6’7″ center has improved dramatically with each game.

Syracuse will be without his services tonight and the rest of the season. He fractured his left wrist against Boston College this week and will be out of commission the rest of the season.

Enjoy your day!

The Canadian truck convoy protest is expanding. Moving swiftly. Disrupting everything in its path. Consider how much it has accomplished since last saturday.

I am concerned. It is obvious. This is the fourth time in a week I have addressed the problem.

Note this is not an incidental occurrence. It is organized. Moving too fast to be otherwise.

Canadian laws are a bit different than ours. The Ottawa police chief advised over the weekend he did not have the authority in most instances to deal with the protesters.

Such must be the case. One of the Mayors involved went to court yesterday seeking an injunction to allow police to “physically” move in and end the blockade.

Two developments since yesterday. One came to our attention for the first time yesterday. The other new.

The first has to do with American support for the convoy. The convoy which is already threatening the U.S. economy.

Sean Hannity is cheering the truckers. Tucker Carlson’s online store is selling tee shirts: “I (heart) love truckers.”

U.S. conservatives are openly supporting the convoy. Many are speaking out in that support. Some are the “fringe” in Republican politics.

Congresswoman Wendy Rodgers one of the crazies. Her reason for supporting the convoy” “It will be payback for Colin Kaepernick and the kneeling.”

Rand Paul claims in support of the convoy: “Somebody’s gotta stand up.”

There is a concern the convoy intends to disrupt the Super Bowl sunday. The game to be played in Los Angeles. There is also concern the convoy may attempt to disrupt the State of the Union Address March 1.

The Department of Security has brought attention to the two concerns.

Note that 2 hashtags have  in the past week been getting big play: #ShutDownSuperBowl and #SugarBowlTrafficking.

Trump and the toilet dump continues to get more attention. Not so much as a joke. Rather that it exhibits one way Trump may have tried to destroy documents that should have been preserved. Documents that are suspected to have been flushed down toilets in the White House and Mar-a-Lago.

Yesterday, videos began appearing on TV and the internet showing Trump claiming toilets do not have proper power to flush. He did it primarily at rallies. Made a joke of it, but stayed with the theme.

Trump claimed it took 10-15 flushes to get things to go down.

Could the “things” have been missing and shredded documents?

It happens. Livestock becomes afflicted with a disease and has to be destroyed in its entirety to prevent spread.

The “bird flu” struck a poultry farm in Indiana. Thirty thousand turkeys had to be euthanized.

The Indiana case is the first to show up in a commercial U.S. operation since 2020. It has been six years the bird flu on Indiana farms was last discovered. Hundreds of thousands were killed as a result.

Bird flu rapidly spreads among all type poultry. It is a foreign disease. Should not even be occuring in the U.S.

Denise Derrer Spears is a member of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. She said, “It’s a big deal…..We need to stamp it out before it gets out of control.”

Syracuse begins playing better basketball and disaster strikes.

One reason for the better play is that of center Jesse Edwards. He is out for the season. He fractured his left wrist in the Boston College game tuesday. He is being operated on this morning. He will be out for the season.

The sun may be shining brightly. However, it continues to be cold in Key West.

Enjoy your day!

This is the third time in less than a week I am writing about the Ottawa truck convoy problem. The truck convoy is rapidly expanding. Beyond Ottawa. Its effects being felt even in the U.S.

So far, the truck convoy’s activities can be labeled successful.

A most recent update. The auto industry is being affected.

Ford maintains an engine plant in Windsor and an assembly plant in Oakville. Both experiencing part shortages and production lines are dramatically closing. Toyota has 3 Canadian plants. Part shortages, again. The plants are incapable of manufacturing anything.

The General Motors plant in Lansing, Michigan cancelled its second shift at its midsize SUV plant.

Canada is the U.S.’s biggest trading partner. The primary connection between the 2 countries is the Ambassador Bridge. Twenty five percent of all trade between the U.S. and Canada passes over the bridge. It is blocked at one end.

Recall this past saturday when the truck convoy problem commenced, it was to protest mandated vaccines.  The only mistake the truckers appear to have made since saturday is their concocted excuse for the convoy protest. Canada is 90 percent vaccinated.

The cry now has been expanded to “end all COVID-19 restrictions.”

Canada is fighting back. Not enough yet. They are still trying to figure out necessary steps to take.

A new ordinance was passed over the weekend making it a crime to bring fuel to the trucks. It is being enforced. Food is scarce. Police are arresting persons attempting to deliver food to the truckers.

The trucks are stopped blocking roads. The damage that is being done to commerce and normal traffic movement growing. The auto industry one example.

There is no end in sight yet to disruptions protests of any nature in Canada and elsewhere.

I clearly recall last summer when the pandemic appeared to be shutting down. Mask removal in many jurisdictions was permitted. People started going out. Even me.

I lasted 4 weeks. Such was the amount of time it took me to realize the numbers which had been down had only diminished for a short period. They were on their way up again.

History repeats itself. Things are supposedly getting better again. People are anxious “to live” again. Politicians heeding their cry. Mask mandates are being removed.

No one seems to recall last summer. A sudden drop in infections, masks off. Play again. Then a surgence and all the COVID restraints in force again.

I believe politicians are listening to the cries of their constituents and not taking into account what is in the public’s best interest. The numbers wil swing up again in the next 30 days.

The politicians seem unaware all states are still in the red. Means the COVID problem still significant.

Foreclosures are on the rise. Dramatically.

The numbers tell the story.

Foreclosures the highest since March 2020. They are up 139 percent from a year ago. One hundred thirty nine percent no insignificant number!

It has been reported Bob Saget died from a head trauma. He must have banged his head when he fell. The head trauma resulted in a brain bleed.

A brain bleed is a serious occurrence. I know from personal experience.

I have been on blood thinners for years because of my heart condition. When I began falling big time, my primary and heart physicians warned that if I had a hard head bang, to contact one of them immediately. Tests had to be made immediately. Death could occur within 24 hours with no outward symptoms of warning.

Before the cane became a part of my life, my falls were frequent. Severe head bangings involved in a few.

I heeded the doctors on 6 occasions. Medical attention was swift. First x-rays. A couple of times another test. Perhaps a cat-scan. Each medical person I was involved with along the way, warned me to be available whenh is or her results became known. The doctors coordinated. Everyone kept tabs on me.

The bottom line was that if a brain bleed was indicated, I would be on the operating table without delay.

Everything was done swiftly. Final results available in less than 2 hours each time.

Fortunately, never a bleed.

If Saget had a brain bleed and was unaware, I can understand why he died.

Ron DeSantis has indicated he is anti-gay and is proud of it.

He immediately lost the votes of the gay populations living in Key West, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

DeSantis’ head continues to be in his ass. The only way I describe what he does.

Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin wrote an interesting article concerning DeSantis’ recent proclamation titled “Ron De santis Signals He’ll Be Open To Making Florida An Anti-Gay Hellhole.”

He supports the Don’t Say Gay bill which would ban talk or gender identity and sexual orientation in Florida’s primary schools. He recognizes what he describes as the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding upbringing and control of their children.

He believes in the right of parents to take legal action against school boards if they think their “fundamental rights as parents have been violated.”

School boards are elected by the people to represent parents and children. If parents have the right to overrule by private lawsuits decisions of school boards, why do we have school boards at all? Let chaos reign. Let entire communities decide the propriety of issues made by school boards.

A new term in the media: Trump’s Toilet Dump.

New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman reports in her forthcoming book “Confidence Man” that “printed words of paper” frequently clogged a particular toilet in the White House. Staff believed Trump had flushed pieces of paper down the toilet each time.

Winston Churchill described Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”

Nothing much has changed that would alter Churchill’s opinion of Russia. Putin is Stalin reincarnated and runs Russia in the same fashion as Stalin had.

Weather cold today. Sharp. High 60’s. High will be 7o degrees. I cancelled a doctor appointment. Too cold to go anywhere.

Enjoy your day!

Dueling in Key West was a popular confrontation in 1829. It was based on a code of honor brought over from Europe.

Its purpose was not so much to kill. Rather, to gain satisfaction for a wrong done.

A duel took place in Key West in 1829 between Charles E. Hawkins of the Mexican Navy and William Allison McRea, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. McRea and Hawkins’ wife were engaged in a meretricious relationship. Hawkins saw McRea leaving his wife’s bedroom via the window.

Hawkins challenged McRea to a duel. Guns were the weapon of choice.

Both men were poor shots. Hawkins was wounded in the wrist, McRea in the thigh.

Rents across the U.S. continue to skyrocket. They are at an all time high.

Key Westers do not have to be told. Rents were extremely high even before the recent surge.

The Ottawa truck convoy protest deserves close watching. I wrote about it in yesterday’s blog and spoke at length last night on Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

I write again today. The world was initially told the truck protests were against mandated vaccines. It did not take long to determine such was not really the case. Ninety percent of Canadians had been vaccinated before the protest.

The news has leaked out in a very few days that the protest is  planned by extremist groups. The same type extremist groups involved in the U.S. on January 6 and many European nations and and Australia.

The convoy protest began saturday in Ottawa. It has extended in 4 days to the Ambassador Bridge connecting travel between Canada and the U.S. Travel is being blocked.

Two thirds of Canadians do not approve of the protest.

Australia is in its eighth day of a truck protest. More such protests are planned for London and Dublin.

The purpose of convoy protests wherever held is to “undermine and overturn democracy.”

A one day minimal protest was held sunday in Alaska. One hundred attended. Alaska’s Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan attended in support of the protest. Trump and Florida Governor DeSantis have already expressed their support.

China is exhibiting their newest robots at the Olympics.

They are bartenders, have the capacity to mix drinks. They deliver ordered food to tables in restaurants. The food is dropped onto tables from above in the hands of robots. They are also being used for mundane purposes such as mopping floors.

Syracuse won again! Their fourth straight win. Beat Boston College last night 73-64.

Lord, let Syracuse’s success continue!

Enjoy your day!

A comment in Citizens’ Voice this morning: “The traffic on this island is insane.”

Who am I to argue? Truth is truth. Fact, fact.

Thirty years ago my decision making process was down to two different communities where I would buy my vacation home which in time would be my retirement home. Naples and Key West.

One reason Naples lost out was the traffic. Horrendous!

At the time, traffic was so minimal in Key West that the question would arise…..What traffic? Traffic was sedate as was Key West’s life style.

Key West won.

The tune…..What a difference a day makes, etc. In this instance, thirty years. Key West traffic abominable. Its lifestyle anything but sedate.

The old way was better.

It is becoming apparent Key West and its adjoining communities have become home to a pagan motorcycle gang. The Sheriff’s Department has arrested its third member this year.

In 2019, there was an indication a pagan group was on the rise. First indication was a Facebook comment by a Big Pine member of the pagan motorcycle gang. He wrote, “Sons of the Fire God are coming to a neighborhood near us.”

Gas prices are the highest in Florida since 2014.

Recently, gas prices jumped $.12 in one week. Twelve cents again the following week. A total of $.24 cents a gallon in 2 weeks.

Last week, the average per gallon cost in the State was $3.47. Expected to go higher.

The price of crude rose $6 last week. Expected to soon rise to over $90 a barrel.

If this upward move is sustained, it is expected to trigger a $.15-.20 hike in coming weeks.

The irony, joke, in all this is whereas the State’s average presently is $3.47 a gallon, Key West’s is $4.25.

Things never change!

The Ottawa truck convoy situation has completed its first week. Still going strong.

Havoc and chaos taking over. Authorities have wasted no time labeling what is occurring while deciding how to handle the problem overall.

The Ottawa Mayor said, “This is a nationwide insurrection.”  He declared a State of Emergency” declaring the truck convoy an “occupation.”

Good show! Call it for what it is right away. No pussy footing aound.

The Police Chief immediately recognized the problems confronting the police in how to deal with the truck convoy saying local law enforcement was “never intended to deal with a city under siege.” He further decried the lack of resources and legal authority to disperse the protest.

The overall situation is reported to be “mayhem.”

The trucks are jamming blocks and blocks of streets curb to curb. They have not moved since arriving. The trucks have taken on an image of a city within a city.

They appear to have settled in for the long haul. Food and water in limited supply. Fuel desperately. It is winter in Ottawa. Snow covers the trucks and streets.

Normally, the tractor portion can be kept warm by running the truck’s motor. A problem has developed. Trucks are running out of fuel. The City has passed a law prohibiting fuel being brought to the trucks in any fashion. The law went into effect 2 nights ago.

Arrests have already been made of those seeking to bring in fuel. The police have even begun making arrests for any breaches of law covered.

It appears from videos and investigation that January 6 was a day of violence. The new politics of violence.

Republicans refuse to accept the fact.

The most recent example being the body of the instrument upon which Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were censured last week by the National Republican Party. Its wording referred to January 6 as “legitimate political discourse.”

How can purportedly responsible people refuse to see the truth surrounding the day? Sewer politics at its worst.

We live in a world today where information, entertainment, etc. is readily available via TV, radio and the internet. There was a time such was not so. In fact, the radio was a big thing.

Such evidenced by the notoriety then and historically today that on this day in 1922, President Warren Harding had a radio installed in the White House.

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me at 9 my time for a fast moving half hour show. I rant and rave about everything. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

There was a time I took golfing trips. Twice to play Pebble Beach.

By this time, everyone has seen the video of Jordan Spieth’s second shot on hole 8. The one from the edge of a very high cliff over an expanse of water way below to a green on the other side.

He was crazy to even attempt the shot. His swing could have carried him forward and down into the rocks and ocean below.

His next round would have been playing with Arnold Palmer on the cloudy course above.

Let me tell you of my experience playing hole 8 and also hole 7.

I start with an undeniable fact. I was the world’s worst golfer. Took only one lesson and never practised. I played once or twice a week. I did it because I enjoyed the camadreship, nature’s beauty, and hole 19.

My handicap was 35. Never enough. I usually shot 135. Never was I ashamed. We played for money. My friends always had to give me strokes. Most were in the area of 10 handicappers. The strokes evened things out.

We went to California to play Pebble Beach. A wonderful experience! The course the most beautiful and most difficult I ever played. Television is not able to do justice to most of the holes.

Hole 7 a par 3. The tee standing alone on a high windy hill. Straight down, the green a tiny appendix to the land. Surrounded by a few small sand traps, and the ocean on 3 sides.

The wind atrocious. Could blow you off the tee.

My 3 companions were all excellent golfers. They were concerned about the wind above. Decided I should hit first so they could figure it out. I took it as an insult, but said nothing.

My shot never made it up up and away. I topped the ball.

It skidded down the narrow fairway, hit a few rocks and ran through a sand trap onto the green. I was thrilled. I was on.

My smart aleck friends all put their lofty drives way up in the air and into the ocean.

I smiled and walked away saying nothing.

Next hole #8. The most difficult hole I ever played anywhere.

A par 4. Your drive is up a hill. Not high. However high enough so you can’t see where your ball will land. A par 4. The area wide enough so wherever your ball landed, it would be safe.

No one in my four some hit as far as Spieth did to the edge of the cliff. It took me two shots to hit where my buddies hit their drives.

Permit me to describe what our eyes beheld. Where our next shots were intended to be hit.

A long high cliff. U shaped. Halfway down on the other. The cliff looked to me to be a 100 plus feet. The news this morning reports it as 70 feet.

The cliff straight down. Reminded me of the cliffs in Santorini, the cliffs of Dover, and those in Wuthering Heights. I expected to hear Heathcliff calling Cathy.

The distance from where we were to the green on the other side  impossible to hit over. Wide! Between the two, the roaring ocean below.

There was a safe way. You could hit to the left. There was a fairway for golfers like me. A huge hairpin curve. Two to three shots to the green.

We all opted to go for the green over the roaring waters below. I knew I would never make it across. However, hope springs eternal.

I went into the water. As did 2 others. However one made it. A 10 handicap. We were all thrilled for him!

Some background information re the course.

I last played Pebble Beach at least 30 years ago. Cost then for a round $175. Can imagine what it would be now.

The course was used 10 months a year as a money maker. Everyone wanted to play Pebble Beach.

The course was a mess. In terrible shape. A disgrace.

I learned later that the owners let hackers like me enjoy. Their cash flow had to be fantastic. However 2 months before the big tournament, the course was closed down. No one played it. Pebble Beach was brought back to its pristine beauty. That is what you saw on TV yesterday.

No carts were permitted on the course. The concrete paths ran along one side of a fairway. Had curbs on both sides so it was next to impossible to drive a cart onto the fairway. You had to carry your clubs that you thought might be needed to your ball and then back to the cart. A lot of work!

We had lunch one day at the Pebble Beach Club Room. As beautiful as the course. Dark panelling. Maroon leather chairs and benches. The food befitting a place such as Pebble Beach.

It is exciting each year to watch the tournament on television. I can recall about 12 of the holes I played. Each time I excitedly say in my mind: You were there, you played that hole!

Enjoy your day!

The lessons George Floyd’s death taught the Minneapolis police. Changes were made. Changes that were to limit police error in the future.

One area corrected were no-knock search warrants. New rules for the police to follow in conducting no-knock raids. The rules were to “heavily restrict” their use. Supposedly were to be limited to “high risk circumstances.” Specified as a “high risk circumstance” were “circumstances like hostages.”

The new rules went into effect November 2020.

Last wednesday, a no-knock raid was conducted. At a Minneapolis house where 22 year old Amir Locke was sleeping on a couch. The new rules require the police to announce their presence and purpose prior to entering. They did not in this instance.

Other rules were violated as will be delineated. One “old rule” not frequently observed involved police video cameras be turned on and working. They were in this raid.

The raid occurred in the night time. The police announced themselves only after they broke into the house without knocking.

Amir Locke was not the name on the search warrant. He was not the man the police were looking for.

The police shouted “search warrant” only after they were in the house.

Locke was wrapped in a blanket asleep on a couch.

Note everything being share is reported to be on the video cameras.

A police officer yelled at Locke who was asleep: “Get on the ground!” Followed by: “Show me your hands!”

A waking Locke is startled, begins to move around still lying on the couch, and at some point he grabs at a gun to defend himself.

Locke never had a chance to defend himself. He was moving around on the couch when he grabbed the gun. At that point the police unloaded a volley of shots into Locke killing him.

The police never told Locke to put the gun down.

The police report indicates Locke pointed the gun at them. Videos indicate otherwise. They also show Locke’s finger was not even on the trigger and he was using gun safety by keeping his finger straight ahead off the trigger.

Locke had no criminal record and his gun was legally owned.

One of the attorneys who represented the Floyd family has been retained to represent Locke’s family.

My weekly grocery order was delivered this morning. Half my order. Half the items ordered were not available. I order basically the same things every week. The shortage this week indicates to me things are getting worse and not better in solving the supply problem.

The New York Times reported this morning what will occur if Russia invades the Ukraine. As many as 50,000 will be killed. A refugee problem will occur immediately causing a crisis that will affect all of Europe.

If memory proves correct, this is the first time I am significantly commenting on the Ukrainian situation.

Even when Russia had reached 130,000 troops, I find it difficult to believe Putin would say “go!” I have consistently felt Putin has been playing a bluffing game.

For certain reasons.

Putin does not want a war. The Russian people have enough problems without a war of the magnitude the Ukraine would immediately turn into. Russia is suffering serious economic and coronavirus problems comparable to the rest of the world. Public support would be lacking.

Putin’s popularity has been diminishing in recent years. He has organized opposition in Russia. Could place him in a precarious position re staying in power.

The final and most worrisome problem is a nuclear disaster. It could occur depending who ends up fighting who.

I worry about NATO. Would NATO stand strong? Germany continues to make negative noises. Germany is dependent on Russia for a large percentage of its gas and oil needs.

If Germany does not fight, NATO is dead. In spite of all the noise Germany is making, they have no choice but to join the battle with other NATO forces. Otherwise, Putin will have them “by the balls” thereafter.

France another problem. They have always been a problem. Even at the beginnings of World War II.

Biden is playing the situation well to date. If Biden sanctions Russia economically, the Russian people will shortly thereafter be demonstrating in the streets.

Biden has told Putin the U.S. will sanction him personally. Such would not make Putin a happy camper.

Another tool Biden has is to take Russian gas lines and make them immobile. Half of Europe including Russia, would suffer economic woes as a result thereof.

No disrespect intended, I believe certain southern states are still fighting the Civil War. Texas an example. Mississippi another.

Mississippi’s Republican Senator John Kennedy is upset Biden will be nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court bench. He claims such a pick will not know “a law book from a J. Crew catalogue.”

He happens to sit on the Judiciary Committee which is involved in the advice and consent process.

I came across an interesting quote today: “The smallest deed is better that the grandest intention.” Sort of like: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

Enjoy your Sunday!

I went out last night. First time in several months.

Oh, what a time it was!

Broke my quarantine. For a good reason. My good friends the Reardons rented a house for January and February. I finally capitulated and agreed to go out.

The Reardons hail from Skaneateles, New York. A few miles outside of Syracuse. A very affluent community.

The Reardons owned a restaurant for many years in Skaneateles. Sold it 2 years ago. Deservedly enjoying life more now.

I had one condition. We had to dine outside. They are aware how fanatical I have been about COVID.

I was able to get a last minute reservation at The Reach. Its new restaurant. Probably 2 years old.

Turned out to be an excellent choice. We were able to get a table on the porch. Interestingly whereas in past days when I had dinner there, only a portion of the porch was used for dining. Now, the entire porch. Business obviously booming. The place was packed.

The food the best. Quality wise and price wise. No different than any other top restaurant in Key West. Dinner prices astronomical. In the $50 range. Cheaper than some. Yet still on the high end.

I was the host. Thrilled to pay the bill. Self quarantining, I spend no money. I frequent neither bars nor restaurants. The bank account builds.

I enjoyed fish ‘n chips. A huge yellowtail deep fried. Everything but the head. Outstanding!

Even snuck in a drink. One over a 4 hour period and did not finish it.

The company was as good as the meal, if not better. I enjoyed being with the Reardons again.

There are those who are suicide prone. Drink the kool-aide. I refer to the Republican Party. They continue signing their own death warrant.

It is like the Party wants to die.

It added another nail to the coffin yesterday. The Republican Party voted to censure Liz Cheney and Alan Kinzinger. Two Republicans who were not afraid to call January 6 for what it was and recognize Trump’s involvement.

The two are the only Republicans sitting on the January 6 Committee. None others wanted to participate on the side of democracy, truth and justice.

The Party announced that by the vote it will “cease all support” of the two anti-Trump lawmakers.

I am confident the censure bothered neither Cheney nor Kinzinger. It represents their badge of courage.

The public is aware Trump is under scrutiny by authorities in New York, Atlanta, and Washington,D.C. He may have to deal with indictments.

Trump has to have a concern. He reflected such at his January 29 rally in Texas. Trump called on his supporters to stage mass protests against law enforcement officials in New York, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. who are examining whether he broke the law,

Trump described the prosecutors involved as “radical, vicious and racists.”

Authorities in the cities mentioned are taking Trump at his word and preparing for such protests. They are preparing for violence and chaos.

The job numbers for January were better than expected. Four percent.

I find it difficult to understand why so many knock Biden claiming he is doing a lousy job. He has not delivered on all his promises yet. However, his record thus far is outstanding. Note also he has only been President one year. He still has three more years to add to his successes.

People should stop listening to far right Republican lies.

Super Bowl is big money in many respects. One is the cost of advertising during the show. Some 30 second ads will cost as much as $7 million.

The U.S. has crossed 900,000 COVID deaths.

Syracuse plays Louisville at 2 this afternoon. The game will be carried on ESPN2. I look forward to watching it. No predictions. I have given up. I am a fan who merely “hopes.”

Enjoy your day!

The Last of the Mohicans was published this day in 1826. A romantic novel set during the French and Indian War. The book was written by one of the world’s most famous and respected authors of his time, James Fenimore Cooper.

The novel described by many as a “masterpiece” is Volume 2 of the Leatherstocking Tales.

The blog today is primarily about James Fenimore Cooper and the novel. I write about both due to the close familiarity I have had over the years with Cooperstown.

James’ father William Cooper was the founder of Coopersville. Today, known as Cooperstown. He was a man of wealth. Spent some years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Cooperstown area.

Cooperstown sits at the southwest end of Otsego Lake. The elder Cooper built Otsego Hall there. James spent his early years living in the house. Left for many years. Returned to spend his last 15 years in the home.

During the away years, James was off to school, joined the Navy, traveled the world thereafter, lived in New York City and Europe. All before returning to the family home in 1834.

The house was in a state of disrepair. James renovated it completely. It became a show place. The mansion burned down in 1857, never to be rebuilt.

James was a bit of a prankster. His deeds caused him to be expelled from Yale in his third year. One of the pranks blowing up another student’s door. The more humorous, locking a donkey in a recreation room.

The Last of the Mohicans is an exciting story set in the 1750’s. The British and colonials were engaged in a war with the French and their Indian friends.

The novel has been described as “romantic.” Several relationships involved in the story.

The key characters are Hawkeye, a colonial sometimes British scout. Two noteworthy Indian characters. Chingachgook, last chief of the Mohicans. His son Uncas who is the last of the Mohicans. And the two Munro sisters who were part of the love aspect.

My hometown Utica and Cooperstown are relatively close. Cooperstown is south of Utica. Thirty five miles separates the communities.

Which means I was fortunate both in my youth and later adult life to have been a frequent visitor to Cooperstown.

Cooperstown is the home of many places of historical interest.

One is the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. I was lucky to attend the induction ceremonies many times over the years. My grammar school class made the trip the first time. I belonged to several youth organizations which got me there many times thereafter. Watched first a professional game at Abner Doubleday Field. Then the induction ceremony followed by a tour of the Museum.

Even in my adult years, I visited. Merely to walk through the Hall of Fame again. On occasion with my children and grandchildren.

Near where the house that James’ father built and James lived, now stands the Farmers’ Museum. The name misleading. It is a whole community. Designed back in the lifestyle of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. A home, barn, doctor’s office, lawyer’s office, drug store, newspaper, etc.

People were smaller/shorter back then. The size of rooms and furniture were actual for those days. Befitting the time. A person today could not for example sleep in a bed or chair. Much too small.

I always enjoyed walking through the Farmers’ Museum.

I had my twin grandson’s Matthew and Michael with me once. They had to be all of 6 or 7 years old. It was during the time Clinton was involved in the Monica Lewinsky matter.

We were in the drug store. A rado was on and talking about what had occurred. When we were back outside, Matthew looked up at me and said, “Poppa, he did a bad thing.” I nodded my head yes.

Part of the Farmer’s Museum included an area for livestock. A horse was near a fence. I was with two of my granddaughters. I don’t think they were more than 5 years old.

All of a sudden, the horse had an erection. A big one. The girls were staring. I immediately swept them away. I said nothing, they said nothing. Fortunately, I would not have known how to handle that one.

Sometime back in he 1930’s, the Fenimore Art Museum was built. A lovely neo-Georgian structure. The grounds, art work, etc. beyond compare. The only way to describe the place.

Several times I attended cocktail parties at the Museum. The perfect setting for such an event.

The owner of a small railroad had a home in the center of Cooperstown. The name of the railroad and his name escape me.

My Congressman for years was Sherry Boehlert. His district included Cooperstown and Utica. Each summer he would throw a cocktail party for his supporters at the house.

Another magnificent Cooperstown structure, a tour of the home was always given. The tour guide’s comment to one of the bedrom’s was: “This was Gene Tierney’s room. ” Gene Tierney was a famous movie star in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The Otesaga Hotel. Huge. Sits on the golf course and lake. A wrap around porch covers half the building. Rocking chairs all over. The perfect place to sit and contemplate.

Cooperstown is the home of Glimmerglass Opera. I am ashamed to say I never got to attend.

Cooperstown today is a small lovely tourist town. Street side cafes, interesting boutiques, exquisite dining places. Stores selling tourist items, including tee shirts. One difference from Key West. No “dirty” ones. All the shirts relating to baseball heroes, etc.

Hope you enjoyed today’s blog. I appreciate I got carried away. What began as a tale involving The Last of the Mohicans turned into a travelogue up to today’s time.

I enjoyed writing it. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Enjoy your day!