Live and learn. Mac and cheese is a dish I have come to enjoy as an adult. I cannot recall my mother ever preparing it, though she was a fantastic cook.

Even more surprising, my mother was born in Italy and raised in an Italian household.

Why a live and learn observation today? I just read the history of mac and cheese. While it feels like a quintessentially American recipe, it is not. No way. Its origin ancient Italy in the 13th century. It was called “de lesanis.”

De lesanis was prepared sort of like lasagna. Lasagna sheets were cut into 2 inch squares and assembled in many layers with cheese and seasonings. The pasta and cheese were tossed. Then baked in an oven.

Velveeta not the cheese utilized, of course.

A woman who is an excellent Italian cook is Buffalo’s Fran Dixon. Her cooking prowess is magical. She is of Sicilian extraction. I just called her. She never heard of mac and cheese’s Italian ancestry either. She recalls her mother having prepared it only one time. As a dish for a meatless friday.

Ho ho, Donald! Kamala has had a “record breaking” week fundraising. Imagine! One week! Many donors first timers.

An Irish saying: “One whiff and you’re stiff!” Impact on local men.

Men who live in Ringaskiddy, Ireland, home of the Pfizer Pharmaceuticals plant that makes Viagra, reportedly experience constant erections. Residents and medical professionals claim it has to do with fumes from the factory. Pfizer insists however that it is merely the men experiencing a mass-placebo effect.

Men, it might be worth taking a trip to Ringaskiddy. For the fun of it, of course.

The U.S. lucked out and bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon dirt cheap.

I was taught in grammar school that Thomas Jefferson’s bargaining abilities were responsible. Not the case as the following clearly shows.

It was 1802. France had huge land holdings in North America.

Napoleon sent an army to New Orleans to open the port for additional shipping and French colonization. New Orleans and Louisiana were part of France’s holdings at the time. The army was under the command of Napoleon’s brother in law, General Leclerc.

Napoleon told his brother in law to stop first in Haiti, which France also owned. A slave rebellion was proving bothersome to Napoleon. He instructed General Leclerc to put down the Haitian rebellion and then proceed onto New Orleans.

The French Army was powerful. Too powerful for the Haitians. The rebellion was put down in quick order.

However, the French lost 70,000 troops. They died. Including his brother in law, General Leclerc.

The cause yellow fever. Brought on by the mosquitoes in Haiti.

Napoleon’s orders were swift. Get out of Haiti! Forget about New Orleans! Return home immediately!

Napoleon decided he wanted nothing me to do with the new world. He entered into negotiations with the U.S. to sell to the new country the Louisiana Territory.

The price was a clear indication of how desperate Napoleon was to remove France from the new world. Three cents an acre! Eight hundred twenty eight thousand acres for $15 million!

A bargain!

All because of those pesky mosquitoes!

Enjoy your day!

Perhaps God rained on the Paris Olympic Parade intentionally.

Sometimes people carry things too far. Good taste goes out the window.

It occurred during the Opening Parade at the Paris Olympics. A parody of the Last Supper by drag queens.

As I report the event, I cannot understand why it was done. Understand what I write now: I sense it to be ANTI-LGBTQ. Could not have been the brain child of true drag queens. I view it as a ploy by the far right in an attempt to discredit a group it constantly condemns.

Donald Trump spoke before a Christian audience in West Palm Beach Friday evening. His concluding words implied if he were President a second term, he would end elections. His words: “Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore…..You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

Friday’s comment was not Trump’s first such this election season. Before a different Christian audience last month, he made a similar suggestion about Christians not needing to vote after this year’s election.

Don’t be fooled my friends. Your basic freedoms are at stake in this election.

Socrates’ wisdom unbelievable. He knew so much, was so aware, at a time centuries ago. Too early to have developed such abilities. He did, however.

A Socrates quote I just came across. So true: “My advice to you is get married: If you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.”

The quote compelled me to research if Socrates was happily married. After all, he was a philosopher. A great one.

My research revealed Socrates had two wives. One was an “argumentative, troublesome wife who was the source of many headaches for the philosopher.” Her name Xanthippe. She and Socrates not the best of friends. She was a “shrew.” Described as the “bad tempered wife” of Socrates.

Watching Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon on TV an historical event most people would like to have seen. It was 1969. Being 89 has its advantages. I was married, a father and a practicing lawyer at the time. I watched it. The most memorable event viewed by me in my lifetime.

Car repossessions are skyrocketing. A signal the economy may be at a tipping point.

Data indicates car repossessions have spiked by 50 percent from 2 years ago and 23 percent from just last year.

The English people were not aware of potatoes before the 16th century. Amazing! Spuds were foreign to them.

What happened was their sea faring men discovered potatoes growing in the mountains of South America. They found them tastey and brought them back to England. Men like Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Thomas Harriot, and Sir John Hawkins.

At the beginning, only the rich partook of potatoes. They were considered a delicacy. Eventually however all strata of society came to enjoy them. Many came to learn that potatoes were cheap to grow and helped sustain life.

Today is a doubleheader so to speak in nailing the French. Earlier the drag Last Supper. Now an event which occurred this day in Paris in 1794. Revolutionary figure Maximillian Robespierre and 22 leaders of “The Terror” were guillotined to the cheers of thousands.

Entertainment for the masses. Sickening.

On this day in 1917, the Silent Parade took place in New York City. Ten thousand African Americans marched on 5th Avenue to protest lynching.

Anti-black and lynchings were not uncommon back then and in later years. Even in Key West. In the 1920’s, most community leaders were members of the Ku Klux Klan. The  Florida State President of the Klan was a Key West resident and ran the Florida Klan from Key West. Key West also experienced some lynchings. 

Shipping was a major Key West activity in the 1920’s. In 1924 for example, Key West shipped more goods from its port than any other city in Florida. In May 1924 alone, Key West shipping totaled $3,319,876. Exports from the rest of Florida totaled $2,217, 949.

Those days are long gone. The Florida shipping world has changed dramatically.

I close with Key West’s beloved Tropic Cinema.

Tropic Cinema kicks off its Local Appreciation Month Thursday August 1. Locals will be admitted free thereafter on Tuesdays and Sundays through August 27. One ticket per ID holder. Children under 12 admitted free with a holder of an appropriate ID.

Enjoy your Sunday!

An unavoidable accident.

Buzz Aldrin pissed in his boot when he set foot on the moon.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two humans to set foot and walk on the moon. Teammates, Armstrong stepped onto the moon first followed by Aldrin.

Aldrin had an “accident” which pretty much caused him to piss himself the moment he set foot on the moon.

There was a “configuration” for the astronauts to pee during the flight and on the moon: A condom connected by a tube to a bag that would be emptied into a tank.

A problem occurred at the time of the landing. Armstrong was landing the module. The module’s legs were designed to crumble on impact. Armstrong landed the module too softly to trigger the compress mechanic. Ergo, the astronauts landed way higher from the moon’s surface than they were supposed to. The last step became a longer than planned last jump down. The small step became a long one. Aldrin’s condom tube system broke. He “pissed” his pants. The built up urine in the condom ran down into one of his boots.

Which means Aldrin did his historic moon walk “sloshing around in a boot full of his own pee.”

So what? I’m sure it did not negate the thrill of the occasion for Aldrin.

The Olympic Parade took place in the rain. Heavy rain. Participants and spectators soaked.

Once the center of Parisian fashion, duels and prostitution. Today’s Olympic tennis site is the 19th century Bois de Boulogne. At one time, a vast pleasure garden for men and women. The heart of 19th century Paris society – and sin.

A bit of politics.

Vance speaks with a twisted tongue. Typical Trumpie. He said yesterday: “I’ve got nothing against cats. I’ve got nothing against dogs.”

What about childless women?

An article by Eric Lutz in yesterday’s Vanity Fair was titled: “J.D. Vance Is About As Flat As A Day-Old Diet Mountain Dew.” The article’s opening line: “Notably heavy on cruelty and light on charisma, Donald Trump’s running mate is already giving Republican buyers remorse as they reckon with a more daunting Democratic ticket.”

Ho, ho, Donald! You did good in picking Vance!

Trump speaks well of Harris. Called her a “bum” yesterday.

What many Americans have become. Violent thug types. Created by and in the image of Donald Trump. Patrick Byrne is a former CEO of Overstock. A Colorado person. Colorado the place where a criminal case against a former Colorado election official is scheduled to go to trial next week. A woman. The charge tampering with election equipment.

Byrne funded efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election.  

Thursday evening, he participated in a nearly 3 hour  event on X Space. He made comments in support of the former election employee going to trial next week. He said 6 times that unless law enforcement dropped the case, it would face “a piano wire and a blow torch.” In effect, he threatened death.

Would you believe? Is this what we have come to? Is this where we are going?

Must stop!!!

The next day, Byrne backtracked the statements. Claimed he had been speaking metaphorically and is committed to peace.

Bullshit!

Moving on. 

In 1926, there were no laws making it illegal to steal an airplane. It took someone to do it to make the government realize stealing a plane was not a crime.

The “thief” was William McBoyle. All the facts leading up to the theft unimportant. Boyle was responsible for an airplane being stolen from its manufacturer.  After several months, he was arrested and charged by federal authorities for stealing a “vehicle.” There was no law specifically covering airplane theft at the time.

The U.S. Supreme Court in McBoyle v. United States threw the case out holding in effect an airplane was not a vehicle, vehicles were intended to run on land and an airplane was not.

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that new car prices were up, sales down, and dealers hurting. Auto stocks are dropping dramatically. Ford has dropped 18.4 percent, its worse drop since 2008.

Square watermelons the latest!

Round watermelons have always been difficult to refrigerate because of their size. Japanese farmers are growing square ones to make it easier for consumers.

Tempered glass molds are used. They are attached to the melons while the fruit matures on the vine. Japanese consumers are thrilled! A space saver and conversation starter at any gathering.

Some Key West.

Yellow fever the COVID of yesterday. On this day in 1864, Admiral Theodore Bailey, flag officer commanding a Squadron at Key West wrote: “My worst fears have been more than realized, and for more than two months yellow fever has held its course without abatement…..it has been raging at this point with a violence that has exceeded that of 1862, or I believe any previous year.”

The hurricane season is heating up. Tropical waves are moving off the African coast. 

A big bunch.

Beryl came early, did a big number and left. Since Beryl, there has been a hurricane pause. Roughly 3 weeks. More are coming, however. Meteorologists say sooner than later.

The heat an abomination. I do not know whether it is my age, the recent heart surgeries or it’s just plain hot! First time in my life the heat has bothered me.

Enjoy your day!

The day has arrived! The world is excited! The Paris Olympics begin today. The events will run from today through August 17.

The major event today is the Opening Parade. Always exciting. This year 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will participate. The Parade and Olympics themselves can be viewed on NBC. Normally from 3 pm ET. Today 1:30 pm because of the Parade.

The site of course Paris.

Biden’s withdrawal has screwed up Trump’s game plan. Trump is crazily and falsely attacking Harris. In one rally speech, he made 10 false claims about her.

Can it be because she’s a woman?

Lobster mini season always a danger. Boaters similar to those in the many boats that went out to capture the shark in the movie Jaws. Incompetent, inept, many boozed up, etc.

The inevitable happened. A 20 year old Floridian male was critcally injured after being struck by a boat operated by a Key West man. Sean Steven Bender was injured when a 19 foot boat struck him while he was in the water. The boat driven by a 36 year old man.

Bender suffered life threatening injuries and was airlifted to Miami Trauma Center.

New cars and trucks are not selling well. Extremely poorly. Why?

Dealers are panicking. Used cars and trucks are a better bargain. Many still under warranty. Insurance premiums a factor. They have soared by double digits this past year.

Though dealers are getting desperate, they would rather have vehicles rot rather than give discounts to customers. As to new trucks, one consumer said: “Dealers are about to learn a hard lesson…..people can’t afford $80,000 fucking work trucks.”

Boeing continues to have difficulties. Plane problems first. Now Boeing’s participation in a space program.

Two astronauts were sent aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for work. One week. Boeing can’t get them back. Now more than a month. Mid June was their original return time. Boeing says it will now be sometime in August. No specific date as yet, however.

I close with some observations relating to Moby Dick.

“Call me Ishmael.”

Herman Melville published Moby Dick in 1851. Since that time, the novel’s opening line “Call me Ishmael” has become one of literature’s most great sentences.

The book involves the sailor Ishmael’s narrative of the maniacal quest of Ahab, Captain of the whaling ship Pequod. Ahab seeks vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship’s previous voyage.

Moby Dick was a commercial failure and was out of print when Melville died in 1891. Its reputation as a “Great American Novel” was not established till 1919, the centurial of Melville’s birth.

The book thereafter became all powerful. I recall having read it in class during my third year in high school. Then again, it was required reading and expansive discussion in one of my English college classes.

Sad that Melville did not benefit economically from the greatness of his book.

I am off for an hour of physiotherapy.

Enjoy your day!

The real person who sat for Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is who? More than one opinion.

The most popular is Lisa Gherardini. Her married name. Her maiden name Lisa del Giocondo. Her husband a Florentine fabric merchant. Neither rich nor poor. They were middle class.

Lisa has been described as “an unremarkable random wife. She ended up as one of the most recognizable faces in history.”

Lisa was much younger than her husband, as was the custom in those days. She was 15 and he 29 when they married. She bore him six children.

Her husband convinced Da Vinci to do Lisa’s portrait when she was 24. He began but never seemed to finish. She was 40 when Da Vinci died and the portrait was still partly unfinished.

History explains the delay in completing the Mona Lisa was its cost. Private portraits were cheaper. Da Vinci needed money when he took on doing Lisa’s portrait. However soon thereafter, he received more costly paintings to do and put Lisa’s painting to the side. He went back and forth to it over the years.

Speculation has attached to the Mona Lisa. The claim has been made that Lisa was not the model. Rather it was a male, Da Vinci’s male apprentice Salai.

At a point in time, the issue arose as to whether the Mona Lisa was actually the portrait of a man in drag. A painting of one of his personal employees, Gian Giacono Caprotti. He was considered a beautiful young man. Da Vinci was known to enjoy young males so the story has had traction.

Da Vinci had many interests and inspirations. He was into perspectives, proposition, and mathematics in the creation of his art. Was the Mona Lisa work product the result of these interests rather than the actual Lisa?

The Monas Lisa has been hung for viewing in the Louvre in Paris since 1797.

On loan/display at other museums over the years. In 1963, it was on exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for several weeks. It was seen by more than 1,600,000 persons. I was “2” of them. Returned a second time to stand and stare. Captured by the work’s beauty and peacefulness.

Biden passed the sword last night on TV. His speech touchingly somber. Reflected none of the shortcomings apparent in the debate.

I wish Biden well during the remainder of his term. I hope Harris beats the hell out of Trump. I have a feeling she just might.

Netanyahu addressed Congress yesterday. The part of Congress that appeared. Roughly 40 Democrats refused to show. Including Senate President as Vice President Kamala Harris. Several Jewish members of Congress refused to appear also. Among them Senators Sanders and Schatz.

Netanyahu appeared via what was a Republican motivated invitation. A Trump ploy in my opinion. I believe it failed to work out as Trump  anticipated.

Netanyahu insulted the U.S. By so doing, he insulted me and you. He compared the Hamas attack as “like December 7, 1941…..a day that will forever live in infamy.” He further stated: “Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stood with Hamas. They stood with rapists and murderers.” He claimed the protesters had “already become Iran’s useful idiots.”

Speaker Johnson criticized Harris for not appearing. He failed to add that Senator Vance also did not appear.

Overall, Netanyahu received a warm welcome from the Republicans and a lukewarm one from the Democrats who did appear.

Thousands appeared outside to protest Netanyahu’s appearance. Things got a bit out of hand. The protesters burned American flags. Raised in their place small Palestinian flags. I take the burning of an American flag, though legal, a personal insult.

Another negative affecting Netanyahu was what occurred at the Watergate Hotel where he was staying. Security was tight. Apparently as tight as when Trump was shot a few days ago in Pennsylvania. Some person or group got into Watergate and strew piles of maggots, meal worms and crickets around. None personally affected Netanyahu. Too bad. He would have ben deserving of such an insult.

Trump must be wondering how he made what is becoming an apparent mistake in selecting Vance as his running mate.

Circulating the internet is a video of Vance speaking two years ago when he was campaigning for the Ohio Senate seat. He knocked women who were childless and had cats. His claim was to the effect: “People without children do not have a ‘direct stake’ in America’s future.” The video has become part of today’s campaign. How can Vance knock women who are childless? Some cannot have children for physical reasons, some have husband’s who are incapable of planting the seed, some merely do not want children. Many become stepmothers as Harris did when she married Doug Emhoff in 2014. In fact, she adopted his two children.

Vance will lose a significant number of votes by attacking stepmothers. Deservedly so! A winner he is not. The only help he will be to Trump is in assisting Trump to be defeated.

Racial attacks in the House against Harris are becoming increasingly pronounced. GOP leaders are giving the appearance of being concerned. Speaker Johnson told his members to stop socially attacking Harris. I suspect he spoke with tongue in cheek. In an answer period following, Johnson said, “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

An example of segregation defeated. A Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, that had been the scene of nearly 6 months of sit in protests against its white-only lunch counter dropped its segregation policy this day in 1960.

There is a woman named Elizabeth Francis. She is the oldest living American. Her age 114. She is a supercentenarian. A big word for her big years. Born in Louisiana, she presently resides in Houston, Texas.

I am still for Cheney as Harris’ Vice-President pick. It would guarantee a Harris victory.

Enjoy your day!

Famous author O. Henry did jail time. Three years for bank embezzlement. 

His real name William Sydney Porter.

To escape imprisonment, he fled to Honduras. His wife and child remained in the U.S. His wife fell deathly ill. William returned to be with her during her time of terminal illness.

Eventually jailed, of course. While imprisoned, he began writing stories to support his young daughter. He adopted O. Henry as his writing name.

Following discharge from prison, he went to work for New York World. His arrangement was to write one short story  a week from 1903-1906. It was during that time he wrote The Four Million which contained one of his most beloved stories, The Gift of the Magi. Recall it. The tale of a poor couple who each sacrifice their most valuable possession to buy a gift for the other.

He continued writing till his death in 1910. His specialty everyday people, often ending with an unexpected twist.

His life a difficult one. He was plagued with financial problems and alcoholism. 

Nevertheless, O. Henry is considered one of the world’s great authors.

U.S. men walk on the moon! First humans ever! The day July 21, 1969 at 12:51 EDT.

Neil Armstrong first, then Buzz Aldrin.

They returned to Earth this day in 1969.

What follows, I have shared in my writings over the years. Armstrong’s stepping on the moon was at that time and still is in my mind the greatest feat I ever observed. The impossible had been accomplished.

I wanted my four children to share in the experience. It was late at night. All four were asleep. The oldest my son John who was 11. The youngest, my daughter Lisa who was 5. My wife got the four up and downstairs to the family room TV. I explained away what was happening, the significance of it, etc.

To this day, none of them remember.

Judge Aileen Cannon and J.D. Vance are on the same team. Think alike. Reason enough not to vote for Trump-Vance.

Vance lacks stability. A “revolutionary” at heart. He said in 2020 that Trump would run again in 2024 and if he won Vance’s position would be: “Fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every single servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people.” He further stated  if the courts ruled against the position, “Just blow them off.”

Vance further added: “We’re in a late Republican period,” alluding to weaknesses in the Ancient Roman Republic. “If we’re going to push back against it, we have to get pretty wild, and pretty out there, and go in directions that a lot of conservatives right now are uncomfortable with.”

Do you want Vance one breath away from the Presidency?

Harris money flooding in! Democrats have raised more than $250 million since Biden announced he was withdrawing and endorsing Harris.

Ho, ho, Donald! Aren’t you glad you started that rumor a year ago that Biden was too old?

President Biden addresses the nation tonight. He plans on explaining his decision to drop out of the race and discuss his years of service.

Listen in! Watch! Biden’s words will be one of the closing speeches by a great President in the process of laying down his mantle of leadership.

Netanyahu’s day today in Washington. The unwelcome visitor. Crowds of protesters expected. Many officials plan to give Netanyahu the cold shoulder.

He deserves no better.

I live and learn. Today’s new knowledge: Four U.S. Presidents never had a Vice-President…..John Tyler, Millard Filmore, Andrew Johnson, and Chester A. Arthur. All were Vice-Presidents who became President when their Commander in Chief died.

A different story today. The 25th Amendment which became law in 1967 spells out a series of contingency plans to fill any executive vacancies.  Where there is a vacancy in the office of Vice-President, the President shall nominate a Vice-Presidnet who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Being Prince of Wales and the next King of Great Britain pays well. Prince William is 42. His salary the past financial year $30 million.

Not a bad paying job! Makes my gigantic attorney salary look like peanuts. We should all be high level royalty!

This year’s Hemingway Look-A-Like winner is 71 year old David “Bat” Masterson of Daytona Beach. A former pilot. He beat out 121 other contestants. This was his tenth attempt seeking the Look-A-Like title.

He does look like Hemingway! White beard and all!

I went out again last night. Second time in almost six months. Not because I am ready to hit the road again. Not till I have all my teeth. Which now appears to hopefully be mid September.

The Dixons are in town. Two of my best friends. They have always been there for me. They were back visiting this week. I had dinner with them friday night at La Trattoria. Did Happy Hour last night with them and Steve and Cindy at The Grand.

While everyone ate and drank, I devoured a bowl of tomato soup and two diet cokes. My weight loss is now 62 pounds.

I was up and out at 8 this morning. Cardiac physiotherapy for one hour. Tough, but good. So I am told!

Enjoy your day!

Many the time when I was young my parents would admonish me not to swim immediately after eating. I was told, as many of my generation, that it could lead to drowning.

Bad habits are catching. I did the same with my children.

Turns out such information was false. Doctors now say there is no need to wait at least 30 minutes after eating to go for a swim.

“Cocaine sharks” swim off the Brazilian coast. A real problem. The sharks are ingesting cocaine discarded by smugglers.

Scientists tested 13 sharks for coke and each one came back positive.

Netanyahu. Regardless he is the head of a national state, he should not be allowed to speak before Congress tomorrow. It is as if he owns Congress. He is not necessarily welcome this time. Doesn’t bother him. His “friends” made sure he received the invitation. 

Biden went out of his way to support Netanyahu and Israel initially re Gaza and Hamas. Biden hung in there to his detriment in recent months.

Harris is showing where she stands. As Vice Presidnet, she is the head of the Senate and would normally assume that position when Netanyahu appears. She has announced she will not participate. Biden however will meet with him privately afterwards.

Very few would consider Trump a “class act.” His interview by Kaitlan Collins following Biden’s withdrawal reflective of the statement. Trump said: “The worst President in the history of our country.” He believes Vice President Harris will be easier to beat.

“Worst President?” Trump forgets his four years as Presidnet. Without question, his four years one of the worst terms!

I hope Harris surprises him. It will hurt even more since she is a woman. Trump cannot accept being bettered by a woman.

Nikki Haley Voters PAC announced support for Kamala Harris. Ho, ho, Donald! It’s only the beginning!

GOP Vice President candidate J.D. Vance spoke to an Ohio rally last night. One of the lead up speakers was Ohio State Senator George Lang who predicted a “Civil War” if Trump loses the Presidential election. A MAGA Republican troublemaker.

He later recanted.

Does Trump fear Harris? He has doubled down on plans to drop the next Presidential debate scheduled for September 10 to be broadcast by ABC. He’s making noises like he wants to avoid the debate or rewrite the rules.

U.S. immigration problems a top news getter. Cuba has had a massive emigration wave the past two years. One million people have left Cuba. Ten percent of Cuba’s population.

Cause is attributed to a severe economic downturn and a government crackdown on dissidents.

There was a “Golden Age of Hijacking.” From 1968 to 1972. Hijacking rare since then. The last hijacking occurred in May 2021. It involved a Ryanair commercial jet flying over Belarus. 

On this day in 1982, an Air Florida flight bound to Key West was hijacked. Two men doused the cabin of the plane with gasoline. They then brandished cigarette lighters and hijacked the plane to Cuba.

Henry Ford did it! On this day in 1903, he sold his first car, a Model T, for $850.

Xander Schauffele won the British Open. The 30 year old golf professional is at the top of his game. He has won two majors this season. The British Open and the PGA Championship. He has propelled himself to #2 in World Golf Rankings.

A couple of weeks ago, I predicted Sahara Desert dust would hit Florida. Nothing happened. Last week, I asked what happened? Where was the dust?

Yesterday, meteorologist’s predicted that this coming saturday and sunday the dust storm will combine with dust particles and leave a film on everything the droplets touch.

The prediction suggests the Tampa/Fort Myers area will be the most severely struck.

Some Keys thoughts.

One day lobster mini season tomorrow in Key West. Only for Florida residents. A new extra day given us by the benevolence of Governor DeSantis. An extra day no one wanted nor requested. Let’s hope no problems occur.

Strange weather happenings yesterday. Frightful weather in Plantation Key and Islamorada. 

Near Plantation Key hit with a severe thunderstorm. Resulted in damaged trees, power lines and set sail to a trampoline 30 feet up on a tree. Wins were described as being of “small hurricane force.”

Islamorada had a tornado rip through the community. Damaged cars, trees and support fences.

A flying saucer was observed this day in 1952 by 3 persons on Harrison Avenue. They described it as a reddish – yellow ball.

My yesterday a difficult one. The Dixons gave me a blender friday. I have been going crazy with it. Too much! Sunday evening and yesterday I loaded it up with everything. Fresh fruits and vegetables, canned fruits, vegetables and meats. Turned everything into liquid. Enjoyed being able to easily drink everything down.

Too much! Got bloated big time! Very uncomfortable all day. Fine now. Will blend less  in the future.

Enjoy your day!

The shame of it all. The Democrats bought Trump’s tales of the past year re Biden’s age. The Democratic “leaders” capitulated. Trump had them “shitting their pants.”

If Trump wins, the Democrat elites will have given the Presidency and country to him on a silver platter.

The avowed purpose of those seeking to take Biden down was to defeat Trump. The absolute necessity and reason. Then it should be done. No game playing, bringing other Democratic Presidential candidates to the forefront, etc. Democrats should go for the jugular in defeating Trump. Which means moving forcefully, swiftly and unexpectedly ahead.

Forget not the purported primary reason for “dumping” Biden was to hopefully defeat Trump.

Then do it.

Which means everyone should immediately back Harris in obtaining the nomination. There is no free time or little time. Kamala is capable of being President.

The key is to surprise and blow Trump and his people out of the water. A key effort in achieving the result is to run a Republican on Harris’ ticket as her Vice-Presidential choice. Hit Trump where it hurts! Where he least expects it!

Liz Cheney, for example. A former Republican, now an Independent. Whichever party, immaterial. A respected political figure. A Trump hater. One not fearing to speak out yesterday and today against him. For the same “value” reasons that Biden wanted Trump’s defeat to be a reality.

Two women heading the ticket. So what. Solidifies a winning block of voters in this election year.

Cheney my first choice.

My second, Chris Christie. Brass balls!

A two party ticket not uncommon in Presidential politics. Abraham Lincoln did it in the 1864 election when he picked the Democrat Andrew Johnson as his running mate.

I go back to my gut feeling. Harris-Cheney would destroy Trump-Vance.

Please give serious consideration to my suggestion.

Enjoy your day!

A Citizens’ Complaint: “I miss the days  of complaining about leaf blowers and wind chimes. Election season can’t end soon enough.”

A patient doing the wrong thing in a hospital can be a cause of death. On this day in 1856, a sailor was admitted to the Key West Marine Hospital 3 weeks earlier for tuberculosis. He died of yellow fever contracted during his 3 week hospital stay. “He would have recovered could he have restrained from committing some imprudences that were the real cause of his death.”

German submarines were relatively close to Key West shores during World War II. Some closer than others. On this day in 1942, the merchant vessel William C. Bryant was damaged 44 miles southwest of Key West by German submarine U-84.

A couple of political observations.

No question but that at some point Donald Trump will believe his image belongs on Mount Rushmore. One problem. Not much room on Mount Rushmore to place a head the size of Donald Trump’s.

The Republican Convention and Trump himself were fantastic to view. Interesting to say the least. The lies were repeated and made to sound truthful. The Republicans buying them and I fear many non-Republicans.

There is an excellent Opinion piece in today’s New York Times by David French. I suggest you read it. The article is titled “One of the Republican Convention’s Weirdest Lies.” The thrust of the piece is that the Republic Convention was centered around a fundamentally false premises: “That in our troubled time, Donald Trump would be a source of order and stability.”

French takes on each Trump claim, promise, lie and breaks it down factually. 

An excellent work!

Moving on.

A respectful observation. It is popular today for women to shave their pubic hair. It has not always been so. Fifty-sixty years ago, a rarity. 

Turns out the “activity” must be one that comes and goes. Hundreds of years ago for a period of four centuries, anyone entering Milan had to walk beneath “The Porta Tosa.” A bas relief of a woman shaving her public hair.

There is speculation as to the meaning/intent of the Porta. Ranged from an insult directed to Constantinople to the historic depiction of a woman startling oncoming soldiers into retreating.

Chernobyl was and still is a nuclear disaster. It occurred in 1986. The area still contaminated. Basically the only people residing near the area are those working to control the contamination. Their time strictly limited and measured.

The question has arisen as to how long could a person stand in Chernobyl without melting? Obviously, serious business.

If a person remained in an area of the heaviest radiation exposure, scientists believe maximum time guaranteeing death to be 5 hours, 37 minutes, 20 seconds. No recovery to be expected. The person would be dead.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Last night a big one for me. My two very close friends Fran and Tom Dixon returned and I ate my first for real meal since January 31.

Fran and Tom are from Buffalo. Met them in Key West some 20 years ago. We became deep rooted friends immediately. They visit Key West 3-4 times a year. Tom has an affiliation with Ocean Key.

We have not seen each other since last Fall, however. They have a daughter in Wellesley. Two children already. A third was on the way. The third born a month ago. A new granddaughter. Fran the dependable perfect mother and grandmother. Frequently did the trip from Buffalo to Boston to help.

They are my “friends.” Real ones. I had to fight them off when I had the para-thyroid surgery in Tampa a few years ago and the heart surgeries in Miami recently. They were always a plane ride away from coming to sit with me. I told them “no.”

We met for dinner at La Trattoria last night.

My first shock was seeing Tom with a cane. I still recollect my cane days. He is coming off a hip replacement surgery and requires it. He looked distinguished.

Fran her usual beautiful self. Two days here and already deeply tanned.

I enjoyed the evening. Even more so because for the first time since January 31, I ate a meal. I gambled and ordered lasagna. Thought this toothless wonder could muck it up appropriately. I was correct. What a joy! Followed it up with chocolate mousse for dessert. Yes, felt like I died and went to Heaven!

Speaking of teeth, saw one of my dentists yesterday. Finally making progress. I suspect the whole procedure should be complete by mid September. Wowie! Note I have lost 62 pounds since January 31 because of my inability to properly eat. Losing weight a top priority for many, even me! Sixty two pounds a bit too much, however.

This week Hemingway Days are being celebrated. Generally, a big deal. The town full! Not last night. The street crowds were slight when I walked to La Trattoria at 6 and continued to be light when I left at 9. Tom told me Key West was not as busy as normal during the day yesterday either. I called earlier in the day for a reservation at Antonia’s. Was told they were closed till monday. La Trattoria was only half full last night.

Today, the Running of the Bulls. Hopefully, there will be a big crowd for the event.

My day began yesterday morning with a session at Select Physical therapy. Ashley beating up on me again. Tough! Good for me, however. Supposedly making my heart stronger.

Today in 1985 was a big one for Mel Fisher. After 15 years of hard work and debt, he finally struck gold and more. He discovered the “mother lode” for the Spanish galleon Atocha. It was a God bless time for Mel, his family and Key West.

I might add a significant find for Jean Thornton also. Sometime afterwards, she went out diving with Mel Fisher looking for more gold coins, emeralds, etc. The search never ends. There is always more to be found. 

Jean happened upon some gold coins and emeralds. Changed her life! The Indiana school teacher was no more.

A comment in today’s Citizens’ Voice. An obvious “truth” item: “The City of Baltimore will likely complete the reconstruction of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge before Key West finishes replacement of the Staples Avenue Bridge.”

Sheila Jackson Lee, a long sitting Black Democratic Congresswomen from Texas, died yesterday from pancreatic cancer. She was 74. A brilliant outspoken woman. A champion African American and women’s rights advocate, her voice will be missed in the Halls of Congress.

The Trump who spoke at the Republican Convention was not a “new Trump.” Only his delivery was different. Not his words. Instead of yelling and screaming, he was quiet and subdued throughout. His message the same he has been delivering for years.

His introductory remarks lengthy. Too long, I thought. However, he is an actor who knows when he has a good thing going for him and will not easily let go. It was the bullet that missed killing him. God looking out for him the obvious reason. He was too much God in his remarks. Things like only by “the grace of God” and “I had God on my side.” He “played” the God issue to an extreme. Well for him, however.

The faces of the Convention delegates gave me concern. Most were not the same as in previous years. They were blue collar America. Working people. Part of the Trump plan to transform the Republican Party for election purposes. Well done, frankly.

The Democrats appear to be going elitist. The “new leaders” are botching it. If successful in eliminating Biden from the race, it will be impossible for the Dems to win. Too little time left. Also, people like Biden. Even if Democratic leaders do not. They are “pissing” on their leader. Democrats may not come out to vote for whoever Biden’s successor might be.

I continue to believe in Biden. The job he has done and will do. Much better by far than what Trump will IMPOSE on us. Trump talks one game now but will act a different one if Presidnet. Also Vance is not a winner. The next few months will show the same. Why Trump picked him, I do not understand.

A closing thought. Trump and the Republican Convention was geared toward capturing the votes of the working class. Only to get elected I assume. He speaks with a forked tongue. His commitment is to the CEO’s of America and will not change.

Enjoy your day!