Raise hell Key West!

DeSantis and Florida Republican leaders are neither good people nor supporters of LGBTQ. Actually, sneaks. Florida’s tourism marketing agency quietly removed “LGBTQ Travel” from its website in the past few months. No notice to any Florida LGBTQ business owners, including those in Key West.

Though not a crime, a dastardly act. When are Florida voters going to wise up and throw these Tallahassee Republicans out of office?

Note Key West has a strong Republican business community involved in LGBTQ matters. I wonder how they feel knowing they have been stabbed in the back by DeSantis and his cronies? And not for the first time.

Key West really has no friends in Republican Tallahassee, though many Republican Key Westers believe they do. How many times has Tallahassee screwed local Republican businesses? More than you can count. And they continue to do so. Wise up Key West Republicans. You are bending over and saying to Tallahassee do me some more.

What a week for me physically! Sick, sick and more sick!

It all began tuesday with my COVID and flu shots. My arm hurt like hell tuesday night. Never happened before.

Following physiotherapy wednesday morning, my left foot hurt. Pain increased during the day. By night, it was horrendous. I thought I might have broken a bone doing some balance exercises. Thursday foot not just swollen, continued swelling all day. Spoke with Dr. Norris. He thought it was gout. I failed to tell him about the COVID shot.

Norris put me on the gout pill. Twenty four hours later, pain and swelling down 65 percent. Saw Norris this morning. One more day on the pill and I should be fine.

Turns out the COVID shot can cause gout. By tomorrow, the pain should be totally gone.

Forget the other two problems. One corrected itself. The other under examination.

Dr. Norris is wonderful! An excellent diagnostician!

A former Marathon resident Bryan Roger Bishop, age 52, was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release thereafter for his July 6 participation in the terrorist attack on the Capitol.

He pled to coming out of the Capitol crowd following which he aimed and sprayed a chemical irritant at a line of police officers.  One police officer was sprayed directly in the face, a second by aiming the spray at an upward angle in order to spray under the officer’s face shield. After spraying the officers, Bishop entered the Capitol building and walked through various rooms.

A leader!

On this day in 1861, Major William French issued an order that all male citizens of Key West must take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. within 60 days, or they would be removed from Key West. A valiant, brave move by Major French. The Civil War was underway. Key West remained loyal throughout. The rest of Florida went Confederate. Key West was  vital to protecting Union shipping and preventing Confederate shipping.

Liz Cheney announced she will not vote for Trump. She will cast her vote for Harris. He announcement was expected. Cheney said she is voting for Harris because Trump will set the Constitution on fire in a second term.

Hunter Biden pled guilty yesterday in the tax case against him. He will be sentenced on December 16. He faces up to 17 years in prison and fines up to $1.3 million. He was “required” by the prosecutor to plead guilty to nine federal criminal charges.

His plea acknowledged he failed to pay $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016-2019. He has since paid the amount, however.

My professional past included working out federal tax pleas for some whose problems resembled Biden’s.

Tax attorneys and CPAs would have their clients retain me to handle the federal charges. A basic in every case was the taxes first had to be paid in full or in an amount satisfactory to the government. None of my clients ever did jail time, though they were heavily fined.

Biden did wrong. But the Republicans have forced him to pay a price for his sins far heavier than in my experience. The Republicans are punishing Hunter beyond normal to embarrass and cause pain to President Biden.

Wrong!

If Trump ends up with jail time for any of his wrongdoings, he should not complain. He set the modus operandi by which he will be judged.

Trump said in a speech this week that global warming is not a problem. 

I view it as every nation’s problem. Especially a nation that pollutes heavily. The U.S. is one.

Trump said his concern is not global warming so much. It is minimal from his point of view.  He is concerned with “nuclear warming.” I fear he would drag us into a nuclear war. The man is dangerous! Trump does not know what he is doing. He can wipe his derriere with his bravado!

No, no, no! JD Vance calls the reality of school shootings a black “fact of life.” Means we can do nothing about it. Vance said schools should beef up security, rebuffed stricter gun laws.

He speaks what the NRA dictates.

Who needs a Vance one breath from the Presidency! 

Harris raised $361 million in August. Nearly three times more than Trump did.

Go Kamala!

The pain continues. Four souls gone, four lives ended. Because of a whacked kid who may not have received the attention he required from his parents.

Yesterday the father of the 14 year old shooter was arrested and charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter. He bought his son an AR-15 for Christmas. The AR-15 was used in the shootings.

Rome is considering charging tourists to visit Trevi Fountain. Only one or two euros. Not to make money, but to control crowd size.

Thirty five-forty years ago, I spent an entire month in the Rome area with my family. We visited Trevi Fountain several times. Never a crowd.

Steve and Cindy Thompson were in Rome in the Spring. Visited Trevi Fountain. Told me of the crowd, showed me some pictures they took. I found the crowded condition hard to believe.

The plan being formulated will not only charge tourists a minimum fee, but also require scheduled times to visit. Make an appointment!

It might work.

As far back as I can recall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has done the same for certain short term major exhibits. The system worked. You knew when, went and had your quiet uncrowded time enjoying the exhibit. There were many people, but not shoulder to shoulder. No aggravation involved.

I close with a live and learn addage.

The snack food you can thank monks for inventing. The pretzel way back in 610 A.D. A soft variety made from leftover bread, baked and twisted into the well known pretzel shape. Supposedly to look like arms crossed in a prayer pose.

Enjoy your day!

Another school shooting yesterday. Four dead. Two students, two teachers. Nine students hospitalized.

Will it ever end?

The place Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The two students were 14, as was the perpetrator. A schoolmate. The assailant has been arrested. No one else involved. He has been charged with murder and will be tried as an adult.

The teachers were 39 and 53.

Kids go to school today with run and hide instead of read and write. Has to stop!

We keep talking cease and desist. Our elected officials do not react accordingly. They used to submit solely to the NRA. Now to their gun owner/carrying constituents who “want” their guns, also.

What Louis thinks.

For years going back to my early days as an attorney, I have disagreed with the public’s “absolute right” to bear arms. I have always thought the opinions of the Supreme Court “blew it” in United States v. Cruikshank (1876), Presser v. Illinois (1886) and United States v. Miller (1939) where it was recognized the Second Amendment protected the right  to bear arms from being infringed upon by Congress and that the right to bear arms preexisted the Constitution thereby making it lawful.

Precedent supports the right to personal gun ownership.

Note clearly, something we all understand today, that the Supreme Court can decide to change precedent when “they” deem it proper/feasible. Roe v. Wade the latest example.

I have been of the opinion that the Second Amendment is constantly read in error by the Supreme Court. The Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

The coma between “state” and “the” is significant. The Supreme Court has refused to read the writing properly into its decisions. To me it allows a simple one. The accurate one.

When the Constitution and Bill of Rights were written, the United states was a young nation without as a practical matter a standing army of any significance. If war was to occur, citizens had to be mobilized.. They needed guns. The government did not have a sufficient number of weapons. Men took their own guns with them when they went off to war. Therein lies the necessity for the right of people to “keep and bear arms” so as the nation would be prepared to fight with guns.

Certain decisions distinguish between “possessing” and “bearing” arms. A stretch one from my perspective. It would take pages to analyze the distinction. However, my simple conclusion is why would a person need to bear or possess an AR-15 for personal protection?

We need a new Supreme Court not only to correct the abortion abuse but also the crazy and improper right to bear arms.

One last point. The population of the United States is somewhere around 333 million. I read somewhere last year and mentioned it in a blog that there are more personally held guns in the U.S. then there are citizens. The recent count is 393 million personally held guns.

Today’s painting.

Jack never named his paintings. I did some of the ones I purchased. This one’s name obvious. The Madonna and Child. Or, the Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus.

Jack knew the Madonna was special. He had outdone himself. Whereas his acrylics normally sold for $3,500, Jack added another $1,000 to the Madonna. Several of us wanted it. None of us wanted to spend the extra $1,000. Jack would not budge.

In the early Spring, Key West has a street sale every year. Covers half of Whitehead and runs tangently into some Truman Annex Streets. Big!

I came upon Jack’s white tent. Sitting prominently for sale was the Madonna. My Madonna! I yelled at Jack: “You’re selling my painting!” He responded: “You never bought it!” I answered: “I just bought it! $4,500!” Jack said: “It’s yours” and hung a SOLD sign on it.

America’s early history abounds in Indian tales. One of the most prominent involves Apache leader Geronimo. He was chased, captured and escaped many times. History and the movies fail to report his later year experiences.

In March 1886, Geronimo with a mere 150 troops was forced by General George Crook with 5,000 U.S. troops to surrender. He escaped one last time and was captured by General Nelson Miles in September 1886.

He eventually ended up at an Indian reservation near Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory.

What has rarely been reported is Geronimo became a successful farmer and converted to Christianity. He participated in Presidnet Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade in 1905. He later dictated his autobiography which was published in 1908 as Geronimo’s Story of His Life.

The American flag has gone through 27 changes. Makes sense. Every time a state(s) was added, adjustments had to be made to the flag.

A difference of opinion exists as to whether Betsy Ross designed/made the first flag. Reliable sources say the Continental Congress released the first flag on June 14, 1777, a flag Betsy Ross had nothing to do with.

I have written about Betsy Ross in the past. A charming woman. Her sewing shop was actually a house of ill repute owned and operated by Betsy Ross. The girls in the back actually sold themselves as the wares.

Betsy was helpful to the new Nation, however. She spied on the Brits. Anything she or her ladies picked up from British soldiers was conveyed immediately to the Colonists.

Trump may be picking a fight with an equally tough guy. Perhaps even tougher. His new opponent fights hard. Generally on the side of truth. Not a grifter as Trump tends to be.

The man is Mark Zuckerberg.

In a letter dated August 26 to Congressman Jim Jordan and his Committee, Zuckerberg advised the White House had pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the Pandemic. Trump denies such and threatens to see Zuckerberg is jailed for life.

Zuckerberg also printed his letter on Facebook and X.

Zuckerberg said his then decisions on hindsight would not be made today. Zuckerberg said, “We’re ready to put back if something like this happened again.”

Live and learn. Oh, so many times! In the Civil War, Confederate forces invaded the border state of Kentucky. Kentucky had declared its neutrality in the conflict.

I never knew till this week that Kentucky had declared neutrlity. Makes the Confederates look like shitheads.

At some point, Kentucky declared itself Union. Upset by the Confederate invasion. The state was a battlefield throughout the War. Kentucky remaining equally occupied. Grant himself led several battles in Kentucky during the War.

James Darren has died at 88. An aortic valve heart problem. Mine was operated on. I am not certain how his problem was worked on. My new valve saved my life.

I enjoyed Darren as an artist. An excellent singer. Played Moondoggie in three Gidget films. Played a dramatic acting role in Guns of the Navarone with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn. He was godfather to one of Frank Sinatra’s daughters.

A well liked as well as talented individual.

Ashley one of my physiotherapists. She just returned from a one week trip to Croatia. Great place, she said!

Ashley went with 10 friends. They rented a 70 foot yacht with a captain and mate. Had a ball!

Skipping Buffett today. Very tired. Had a multitude of things to do yesterday besides physio. Additionally, I got my COVID and flu shots yesterday. Knocked me on my ass last night and today so far. First time. I have had every COVID and flu shoot with no problem.

Buffett did everything. Multi-talented. Tomorrow films, television and soundtracks.

I close with my beloved Syracuse. They beat Ohio State in their opening game. Syracuse was favored.

Saturday at noon, they play Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is a 3 point favorite.

Enjoy your day! I’m shot from the shots! Going to bed!

Labor Day appears to have changed. No longer the same.

Labor Day became a federal holiday to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers.

The holiday became established slowly. Step by step. First, state by state. Oregon was the first state to make it a public holiday in 1887. President Grover Cleveland made it a holiday for “federal employees” in 1894. It took into the late 1930’s for all states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to make Labor Day a statutory holiday.

When I was a youngster in Utica, the Labor Day Parades were exciting. Later, as a young lawyer I participated in the Parades.

The excitement is gone. Labor is successful. Yet other parades celebrating successful efforts continue to be big and supported. The last time I was in Utica was 2008. I don’t know if they still have a Labor Day Parade. I do not think Key West is having one today.

New York City is having a Labor Day Parade. Not on Labor Day, however. Why, I’m not sure. The Parade will march up Fifth Avenue on saturday, September 7.

Good things/happenings should not be taken for granted. If so, they tend to dissipate.

Mary Dobbs. Who is Mary Dobbs? This can be embarrassing. Better I be embarrassed, however.

At 89, I forget some things quickly and easily. It happened yesterday.

I was grocery shopping in Publix. A woman stopped and asked if I was Key West Lou. You have no idea how pleased I am when this occurs. I love the fact that people read my blog. Probably an ego thing. Whatever, it is good for the soul.

We chatted. Her name and therein is my problem. I recalled immediately when she left that her first name was Mary. I “think” her last name was Dobbs. When I realized my forgetfulness had come into play, I scooted around Publix looking for Mary. Could not find her. She must have checked out.

For the moment, I will assume it was Dobbs. If I am incorrect, I ask Mary to write and set me straight. 

Mary explained she had been reading the blog for years. My chest expanded! She and her husband had a home in Key West. They still lived in New Jersey, however. He had one more year to retirement and then they would be spending more time in Key West.

She knew all about my heart attack and teeth problem. A loyal reader!

I was charmed by Mary. Not only that she read the blog, but also because she appeared a nice person. I told her when they were back in Key West next year to contact me so we could get together. I do not enjoy socializing, etc. without teeth.

Mary, again I hope I got your last name correct. If not, please do let me know what it is.

The Jimmy Buffett Parade was yesterday. Packed Parade wise and spectator wise. Reflected the impact Buffett had on Key West and the world.

One of the Parade’s highlights was the singing of “Margaritaville” in front of the Margaritaville Restaurant. The singing was led by Howard Livingston and Buffett songwriting collaborator Will Kimbrough.

More Buffett today! What a terrific weekend!

Buffett and his writings.

Jimmy Buffett was a person of many talents. Including writing.

Three books quickly made it onto The New York Times Best Seller list. Two spent over seven months on the Times fiction list: Talk from Margaritaville and Where Is Joe Merchant? His memoir A Pirate Looks at Fifty, published in 1998, went straight to number 1 on the Times non-fiction list.

He also wrote two children’s books, The Jolly and Trouble Dolls, with his eldest daughter, Savannah.

Buffett’s novel A Salty Piece of Land was released on November 30, 2004. The first edition  of the book included a CD single of the song “A Salty Piece of Land.” The book was a Times best seller soon after its release.

Buffett’s last title Swine Not was released May 13, 2008.

Tomorrow, Buffett’s film and television works.

Yesterday was a terrific sport day!

Syracuse won its first football game of the season in good style yesterday. Beat Ohio State 38-22. 

Next week, Georgia Tech.

Syracuse has a new coach this season. Fran Brown. An excellent start. May his success in leading the team continue.

Syracuse’s offense was excellent. Its defense left something to be desired. Needs work against the run.

Scottie Scheffler won the biggest golf victory dollar wise yesterday. The FedExCup. The victory paid him $25 million.

 Scheffler had a big year otherwise. His total earnings this year $62.3 million. Big bucks!

Two old Keys impactful Keys stories.

The first involves yellow fever.

Yellow fever is caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. 

It was rampant for years in Key West. As early as 1829 when Key West had its beginnings. In that year, Pardon Greene, one of the founders of Key West, was lying at the point of death.

The U.S. has not had an outbreak of yellow fever since 1905. Attributable to a vaccine and now in the lower Keys a Mosquito Control Board that protects us. 

There remains two areas in the world that still suffer the ravages of yellow fever big time. Africa and South America.

Enjoy your Labor Day! A cook out with friends would be in order. The best way to spend a holiday.

Th time has arrived. Jimmy Buffett Weekend. A deserved celebration of the man’s life.

Key West cannot do enough to honor him.

Yesterday, Route 1, aka A1A, running from Key West north some 340 miles in Florida was named the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.” There was a time back when Buffett named one of his albums A1A. Ironic the highway will now carry his name forever.

Buffett’s sister Lucy is in Key West for the weekend to celebrate the various activities honoring her brother. She accepted the sign yesterday reflecting the renaming of A1A after her brother.

Today, the next part of Buffett’s history involves Parrotheads.

Parrothead is a commonly used name for Buffett fans. Even their children have a name: Parrotkeets or Keets. Proving the tradition will live on.

Parrotheads meet annually in Key West for a 5 day festival held after Fantasy Fest each year. The event attracts approximately 5,000 Parrotheads.

Tomorrow, Buffett’s writings.

Live and learn.

Why are cans “ribbed?”

Reasons are based in engineering. The ribs allow the can to flex slightly during the heating and canning process. They also add structural stability to the product when it is shipped and stored.

When were cigars invented? Not in Key West, though a major producer of cigars many years ago. Cigars date back to around 2500 B.C., when the Mayans began cultivating tobacco for medicinal purposes.

Sex and crickets. Cricket screaming is a call for a mate. Sex desired. Some smaller crickets, in order to amplify their “scream-screaming,” will chew a pear shaped hole in a leaf and position their body in such a way that the noise they are making is amplified.

Pope Francis says it is not that bad to have sex outside marriage. He said extra marital sex is “not the most serious” sin.

A sin nevertheless. Our Lady of Fatima said to Saint Jacinta in 1919: “More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than any other reason.”

Francis in my opinion was not justifying fornication. He was merely putting out there a hierarchy when it comes to sin. Genocide, murder and such are much worse. Definitely sins, however. Ergo, wrong acts.

Boils down to a sin is a sin!

As a practical matter, I find it hard to believe that Hitler and I will be mates in Hell. His Holocaust far outweighs my few sexual transgressions over the years which I confessed, said my three Hail Marys and was forgiven.

When I was in high school, I worked in a then styled super market six days a week. Five after school and all day saturday. 

I did everything monday through thursday.  Stocked, weighed and marked fruits and vegetables, and sliced cold cuts mostly. Friday nights and all day saturday, I would bag groceries at the check out counter. Brown paper bags of all sizes. The two largest were difficult to carry to a customer’s car when loaded. Heavy! Carts were light and not permitted outside the store.

 Plastic bags did not exist back then. We’re talking 1949-1953. Don’t think plastic was invented yet.

 Guess who invented the paper bag. It was 1868. A woman cotton mill worker, Margaret Knight. She invented a machine to make the bags with a flat square bottom. Paper bags originally looked like large envelopes.

A man named Chares Annan saw her design and tried to patent the idea first. Knight said, No way Jose! Stood her ground. Filed a lawsuit and in 1871 won the patent for her design.

I received a comment yesterday re the attacking of a Colorado apartment by illegal immigrants. I checked it out. The story appeared 3 times on right wing MAGA sites. Made them questionable in my mind. So I did not report on the substance of the comment.

Received another comment later in the day from another reader claiming the “apartment story” was only being reported by the right wing press. The writer viewed it as fake news designed to be a political “Willie Horton” event.

I researched the issue again last night.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis had the matter investigated. The Governor reported the armed gang takeover was ‘imagination.” Police intelligence supported the Governor’s position. Claimed it was a feature of “Danielle Jurinsky’s imagination.”

I can’t figure out who Jurinsky is. The Governor is adamant the whole thing, including the photos, are a phony. The local DA claims the story is true.

I report what I have read. Where is the truth? What is the truth? I’m sue the truth will out in due course. Another 24-48 hours should clearly establish the truth.

Tomorrow’s blog will be interesting. Even, exciting. I plan on presenting my first Jack Barron painting which will be offered for sale.

Enjoy your day!

Key West’s Jimmy Buffett weekend has arrived. Labeled “Just a Few Friends Key West” commemorating one of Key West’s favorite sons.

Buffett died September 1 last year. Beginning today and running through September 2, his memory will be celebrated. It is proper that Key West is the place for the “party” as Key West is where he developed his signature “tropical rock” style and laid back persona. All of which helped make him a world renowned musical icon.

Enjoy the weekend! It is loaded with Buffett activity everyday through September 2.

Continuing with my rendition of Buffett’s life, today his musical style.

Buffett’s music combined country, rock, folksy calypso and pop musical with tropical lyrical themes. The sound called “gulf and western” or “tropical rock.”

Buffett called his music “drunken Caribbean rock ‘n roll.” He described it as “pure escapism…..as part of the human condition that you’ve got to have some fun.”

The Washington Post described Buffett’s music as a combination of “tropical languor with country funkiness into what some have called the Key West sound, or Gulf-and-Western.”

The Associated Press once described Buffett’s sound as a “special Gulf Coast blend of country, pop, folk, and rock, topped by Buffett’s swaying voice. Few can mix steelpans, trombones and pedal steel guitar so effectively.”

His theme can best be described as “seaside and booze.”

Tomorrow, Parrotheads.

The touted Kamala Harris interview last night on CNN. She was joined by her V-P partner Tim Walz.

Harris was a winner. No faux pas. If anything, I thought CNN’s Dana Bash was not the great interrogator anticipated. Her questioning lacked depth and significant follow up.

CNN’s format for the show basically sucked. It was disjointed. CNN tried to make it the big deal it was without any fanfare by breaking up its presentation in segments and not following up the segments timely and in proper order. Left the viewer confused.

CNN tried to do a bang up job and instead did a poor one.

Harris was fine. She will have no difficulty with Trump in the debate. May put him to shame.

Walz bothered me. Where he may have verbally misspoken in the past, he should have owned up to the few misstatements as such. It would have ended once and for all the continued questioning of insignificant issues. There are three: Service in war, rank, and the approach he and his wife used in getting her pregnant. Nothing more than lapus linguas. Refer to them as such and move on.

My researching trips me on to things I never knew. Simple things. 

Let me share a few with you.

Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood to the gills. One pumps it to the rest of the body.

Recipes. Thousands. The oldest? For beer. It dates back to 3,900 B.C. in ancient Sumeria.

This one I question, but it’s out there. The smell of freshly cut grass is a plant distress call, produced by the grass as a defense mechanism.

RFK Jr. thinks chemicals in the environment can make kids gay. He says he will help Trump “pick the people who will be running the government.”

I have been telling you for years RFK Jr. is a whack! Can you imagine him in government helping Trump run the country? Trump is weird enough on his own. He does not need any help.

I close with a bit of Key West history you may or may not know. Certain streets in Key West are named after Key West’s first American owners. Four at one time: John Whitehead, John Simonton, John Fleming and Pardon Greene.

Enjoy your day!

The past two days have rained big time. Yesterday the worst. Heavy rain all day. Thunder big time. No lightning, however.

The weather report was to expect another big rain day today. With lightning added. In fact, rain till next thursday.

So far, no rain today. Overcast. Ergo, cooler. 

This summer is the first time in my 30 years in Key West I have enjoyed the rain and the cool it brings with it. The heat just got to be too much. I am disappointed the storm that was to strike today has not.

Some people are stupid. I would suggest employer in this regard. I had to go to the Key West Mount Sinai offices yesterday for an ultrasound re 3 blood clots I picked up during my heart surgeries. It was pouring as I left my house. No problem. I took my large umbrella and went to my car.

There were three men working on a neighbor’s house trimming the trees. Understand my new neighborhood is an old one. The palm trees and other trees are 2 plus stories high. Here are three guys covered in plastic cutting away with mobile saws while standing high on ladders. The shame of it all. Their employer should have sent them home for the day. There was no lightning. However it was pouring like hell and the thunder was roaring big time. You never know when a lightning bolt is going to strike. Those three workers could very well have been struck.

I went to the Mount Sinai offices. Only one other car in the parking lot. There was me and one other patient. I assume the weather. Everyone had called in and cancelled because of the weather.

I had gone the day before when I was originally scheduled. The ultrasound technician had not come in. No one had called me. I showed up for nothing. In a raging rainstorm also.

These blood clots have been of concern to me and the doctors involved in the surgery. I had the heart attack, was shipped to Mount Sinai in Miami and had 3 heart surgeries over a 5 1/2 week period. The blood clots were the result of the surgeries. Two in my left arm and one on my high right chest over my heart. Medicines could not be used to dissolve the blood clots because of the heart surgeries. They had to dry up and go away on their own.

Yesterday’s ultrasound was to determine if they had and were gone. The technician could not tell me. My appointment with the Miami doctor is in two weeks. The tech could see I was anxious fortunately. I knew she could not tell me of her findings. Without her specifically telling me anything, I was able to infer if a clot had been seen, the patient remains on the the table and a doctor called. I think I understood what she was saying. I left feeling better.

Life goes on in spite of the weather. Today a pretty good day. This morning I did physiotherapy, kept a scheduled manicure and pedicure, and shopped some groceries.  

My blog is very late today because of the weather and what I have shared with you thus far.

It was one in the afternoon before I got started on the blog. My notes are voluminous. However I have already written 500 words and will be saving some of the material for tomorrow’s blog.

I want to talk about my friend Steve Thompson. Yesterday was the anniversary of the opening of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado in 1954.

Steve spent 2 years at the Academy in the 1960’s, but not as a student.

Turns out Steve was talented in blowing a horn. The “baritone bugle.” In his third year in high school, the Air Force came by to hear his high school band that had a reputation of sorts. The Air Force personnel were impressed with Steve’s blowing of the bugle. Steve tells me it sounded like a trombone.

Two years later after having graduated, he expected to be drafted. The Vietnam War was raging. Instead of a draft notice, he received a letter from the Air Force telling him to appear at such and such a place and time to discuss his playing with the Air Force Academy Band. In those days, Academy students did not comprise the band. It was made up of regular Air Force members.

Steve went to the meeting. He was told whoever heard him two years earlier was impressed with his playing and he was to be recruited. However not to go to Vietnam, to go to the Academy to play in the Academy band.

Steve met with his recruiter two days later and joined the Air Force. For the next two years, he played the baritone bugle in the band. They even gave him the rank of sergeant.

They really wanted him!

Steve’s twin brother Rich was drafted at relatively the same time. He did go to Vietnam, was wounded and also to this day has problems with Agent Orange. Rich runs a fishing business in Alaska. Halibut and salmon. I have met him. Great guy, great wife. Rich cooked salmon he brought with him from Alaska for dinner for me when he visited Steve a couple of years ago. He also reads this blog every day. Love you, Rich!

Today’s blog is already over 900 words. Long. I am going to end here. I have the material researched. However do not want to put you to sleep reading it. It will save for tomorrow.

Enjoy your day!

One of the greatest and most successful military commanders of all time was Alexander the Great. Born in 356 B.C. He became King of the ancient Greek kingdom Macedon at 20 following his father’s assassination. Alexander died young at 32.

During those 12 years, conquered most of the known world. Such is why he is referred to as Alexander the Great.

His father King Philip II got his son the very best teacher. From 13 to near 20, he was tutored by Aristotle.

Alexander was never defeated in battle. Won 20 major battles. His soldiers were extremely loyal to him.

He founded 70 cities. Most were named Alexandria after him. The most notable Alexandria in Egypt, today Egypt’s second largest city.

Alexander had a fantastic horse. Bucephalus. He got him wild, broke him, trained him and rode him in all of his campaigns.

Alexander was extremely brave. Always at the front of his soldiers. The first into battle.

The cause of Alexander’s death a mystery to this day. He got a pain in his back and was dead 12 days later.

Even his burial place remains shrouded in mystery. No one knows where, not even close. Archaeologists still looking for his final resting place – anywhere from Egypt to Greece.

Names, names, names. Where do names come from, are they real or acquired, etc.?

Very few are aware of the name of Shakespeare’s wife. Anne Hathaway.

Born 1556 A.D., 426 years before her namesake the famous Hollywood star Anne Hathaway.

The movie star’s family name was Hathaway. Her father a labor attorney, her mother an actress. The movie star was actually named “Anne” after Shakespeare’s wife. At birth, not when she became an actress.

Some cartoon characters have middle names. Most, if not all, people are unaware.

Here goes! One you might not believe. For real, however.

Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy. Donald Fauntleroy Duck.

Wow!

The four most popular dog names in the U.S. are Bella, Luna, Charlie and Max.

Jimmy Buffett, the voice of Huckleberry Finn.

In November 2011, Buffett was the voice of Huckleberry Finn on Mark Twain’s Words & Music, a benefit for Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home and Museum. It was released on Mailboat Records.

In August 2013, Buffett released the album Songs From St. Somewhere. He recorded many of the songs at Eden Rock, St. Barth’s.

By 2020, Buffett also had a collection of songs he wrote that might be discarded as “lesser – known.” All recorded on various guitars. He released them in album form from songs no one knew by heart.

Buffett’s years were adding up. His health not the best. He performed his final full concert at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on May 6, 2023. He made two final concert appearances, as an unannounced guest, at concerts by Coral Reefer Band members in Amagansett, New York on June 11 and Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on July 2.

The Portsmouth appearance was his final one before his death.

Equal Strain on All Parts was released posthumously in November 2023. Buffett got the idea for the album title from his grandfather’s description of a nap.

Buffett was posthumously selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 in the musical excellence category.

This is not the end of Jimmy Buffett in my exploration of his life. Though gone, he will live on forever. His music will never die.

Tomorrow, I’ll touch on his musical style.

An historical fact. Old Faithful, the geyser, was used as a “laundromat.” In the later 1800’s, many travelers who made it to the land that would become Yellowstone didn’t need to carry further with dirty clothes. They just dropped them in Old Faithful’s bubbly pool. The clothes came out clean. Warm, too.

Key West’s Edward “Coto” Garcia  was selected to sing at the New York World’s Fair this day in 1939.

I recall my father taking me to the New York World’s Fair in 1940. The World’s Fair ran two seasons, 1939 and 1940.

I was 5 years old. I was impressed by all I saw! Overwhelming!

The sphere and ball. Think it was called the Trylon and Perisphere. All white.

I recall how tired I was. We walked all day. I recall flowers everywhere. Different colors. Jets of water shooting into the sky.

I cannot recall specifically any of the displays. I was too young. I do remember viewing the exhibits in awe, however. They all represented “tomorrow.”

On this day in 1999 after an $8 million restoration of the Key West Custom House, aka the Key West Museum of Art and History, the building was reopened. Lisa was a significant worker in the fund raising endeavor. Her first job in Key West was at the Custom House. I think her position was Development Director or something similar.

She also chaired a huge black tie banquet in the Custom House to celebrate the building’s reopening.

I attended with an overflow table of friends. I was proud of Lisa and the job she did that evening.

I was especially moved by the patriotic feeling that permeated the room. Key Westers expressing their American feelings. At one point and unplanned, a woman stood from her seat at her table and began singing The Star Spangle Banner. Everyone immediately stood and joined in. A chilling experience.

Another patriotic day forever to be recalled is this day in history in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech before 250,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

I close with Pepsi-Cola.

Pepsi-Cola weas invented by pharmacist Caleb Bradham of New Bern, North Carolina. He first called it “Brad’s Drink.” After 5 years and on this day in 1898, he changed the name to Pepsi-Cola.

Enjoy your day!

For most, you have to be my age to recall the early TV show Leave It To Beaver. A family sitcom, parents and two young sons.

Network TV censors were pretty tough back in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Rarely gave a show much slack.

Ward and June Cleaver were a “squeaky clean” family. Had nothing to do with naming their son “Beaver.” The censors had a problem involving Beaver, however.

In the very first episode of the show, Beaver wanted to order an alligator from the back page of a comic book. He failed. So he found a dirt bag to sell him a baby one.

By the third episode of the new show, 7 year old Beaver and his brother Wally swiped from their father’s liquor chest a bottle of booze which they fed the alligator. Beaver decided to try it also. The alligator and Beaver got drunk.

The episode involved a bathroom scene in which Beaver stored the alligator in the toilet.

Censors said no way! It was not the use of the toilet being by anyone. Even a sick Beaver. It was the “showing of the toilet” itself. Toilets were not permitted to be shown on TV in those days.

A compromise was arrived at. The scenes were allowed to show the back of the toilet tank. Only the back. Nothing more. The toilet bowl was the offensive item. It could not be shown at all. The alligator in the bowl or Beaver being sick had nothing to do with it.

How stupid! All Americans use a toilet or toilets every day, even back then. Nothing secret about a toilet bowl. However that is how it was in those days.

The world has been a crazy place at different times. England in the 18th century for example.

Most decks of cards reflected the Ace of Spades larger in size than the Aces of Hearts, Clubs or Diamonds.  The picture size.

There is a reason for it. An historical one.

In England the Ace of Spades picture was not only larger, it was elaborate.

The reason being the government printed the Ace of Spades. No other card. The specific reason was taxing. The British government taxed playing cards for 400 years, If you sold cards, you were required to buy the Ace of Spades from the government. That is how the government collected the tax. Faking/counterfeiting the Ace of Spades was against the law.

In 1805, the government pursued Richard Harding. He sold a lot of cards and made his own Ace of Spades to avoid paying the tax.

The government chased his ass. Could not find any phony Ace of Spades anywhere under is control, even remotely.

The government finally got him. They found thousands of forged Aces of Spades at a daughter’s house in a basket under her dirty underwear.

The English never found Jack the Ripper. He only killed people. They executed Harding however because playing cards was a serious business. Collecting taxes more serious than catching a murderer.

Trump plays loosely with right and wrong.

Have you heard this one?

There is a fund raiser scheduled for January 6 defendants. It will be held at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on September 5. Just 2 months before Election Day.

The rally poster is beautiful. Magnificent! Portrays Trump’s picture on top in a prominent position. Just below him and to the left is a photo of Rudy Giuliani. 

The rally is sponsored by the non-profit group Stand in the Gap Foundation. The rally is billed as a J6 Awards Gala.

Tickets cost up to $50,000 for a table of 12. The money is being raised to pay legal fees for those being prosecuted for their roles on January 6 when a mob stormed the Capitol to protest Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.

Trump is listed as an “invited guest.” Word is he will not be attending. Giuliani is also listed as an “invited guest.” No word whether he will appear.

Trump is facing multiple conspiracy charges involving January 6.

Trump has not shied away from embracing the event or its participants. He describes the “terrorists” as “hostages” and “political prisoners.” He has also opened some rally events with a recording of some of the January 6 defendants singing the National Anthem from their jail cells. On top of which, Trump has promised to pardon people charged in connection with January 6.

The Stand in the Gap Foundation is run by Sarah McAbee. She is the wife of Ronald Colton McAbee, a former Tennessee deputy sheriff, who is serving 5 years in prison for “a prolonged multi-assailant attack on police officials” at the Capitol.

Ms. McAbee found the Stand in the Gap Foundation with January 6 defendant, Shane Jenkins.

Jenkins is a Texan now serving 7 years in prison for shattering a window in the Capitol with a tomahawk and then pelting officers defending the building with a wooden desk drawer, a flagpole, a metal walking stick and a broken wooden pole.

In the days following January 6, prosecutors say Jenkins sent a message to an associate saying he was “not over this election.” He added, “I have murder in my heart and head.”

The first three topics today are unusually long. As a result I am skipping Jimmy Buffett today. I will pick his story up tomorrow.

Let me say I am very impressed with what I am learning as I research Buffett. He was an unusual person. Entitled to all the respect the world is giving him. He accomplished so much. All good, healthy and happy.

I have to hustle. Some tests this morning of the two blood clots in my left arm as a result of the heart surgeries several months ago. The trauma never ends. Can’t complain, however. I am absolutely convinced the three heart surgeries and 5 1/2 weeks in Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami saved my life.

Enjoy your day!