In my last blog, I made reference to the fact that Christopher Columbus had not discovered America.

I worry how long, for how many years, Trump’s lie about having won the 2020 election will be considered truth by many.

A non-fact also engrained is Paul Revere’s ride. He didn’t do it. Israel Bissell did. How many have even heard of Israel Bissell? I have written about Bissell in the past. First time 12/10/13 “Israel Bissell” and most recently 1/1/23 “How Israel Bissell Was Cheated.”

My first blog repeated. It tells the story.

Listen, my children, / And you shall hear /  Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

The distinguished American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made Paul Revere famous when he penned the above opening lines to his famous poem.

One problem, however. It was not Paul Revere who was the hero in 1775 at the time the first shots were fired at Lexington which marked the beginning of the Revolution. It was Israel Bissell. Historians suspect that Longfellow took a bit of literary license. Bissell did not rhyme as well as Revere.

Paul Revere did make a ride that day. Several men did. Historians conclude Revere only rode somewhere between 1.5 and 20 miles shouting….. To arms, to arms, the British are coming.

Israel Bissell rode 345 miles. The trip took 4 days and 6 hours. He rode from Watertown, Massachusetts to Philadelphia. The trip was over the Old Post Road.

Longfellow apparently took further literary license with the actual words Bissell shouted…..To arms, to arms, the war has begun. Again for rhyming purposes.

Bissell carried with him a message from the colonists’ General Joseph Palmer. The message told of the Lexington attack and what the colonists should do to prepare for the British invasion. The message also stated that its bearer, Israel Bissell, was charged with alarming the citizenry. He was to be given fresh horses along the way as needed.

Bissell rode two horses to their deaths on the four day trip. His first horse died 2.5 hours into the trip at Worcester. A second died further along the way.

Every community Bissell passed through rang Church bells and fired muskets. Many colonists supported a war with the British and were happy to know it had begun.

In the 1950s, two columnists writing for the Berkshire Eagle wrote poems finally giving Bissell credit for the ride. Gerard Chapman and Clay Perry.

Chapman’s poem was appropriately titled Israel Bissell’s Ride. Certain lines read as follows.

Listen, my children, and you shall hear

Of Israel Bissell’s yesteryear:

A port less patriot whose fame , I fear,

Was eclipsed by that of Paul Revere…..

Perry’s poem was titled I. Bissell’s Ride. Certain lines from the poem read as follows.

Listen, my children, to my epistle

Of the long, long ride of Israel Bissell,

Who outrode Paul by miles and time

But didn’t make a poet’s rhyme…

Two questions arose over the years having to do with Bissell.

The first is whether he actually made it to Philadelphia. Documents from the time indicate an Issac Bissell who only rode to Hartford. He stayed in Hartford. He did not continue the ride. He was a less than an honorable man. He billed the new United States government for a six day stay in Hartford.

Historian Lion G. Miles came up with the story. He found his information in only one source. The Massachusetts Archives. All other historians and documents disagree with Miles. Issac was not Israel.

The other issue that arose was whether Israel Bissell was of the Jewish faith. I was amazed at how much time and effort was spent to arrive at a definitive conclusion. Israel Bissell was not Jewish.

A few historians believe that Bissell’s ancestry was of a Norman French / Swiss source. The majority however concluded that Bissell was part of the Byshelle family who in 1639 left Birmingham, England. The family was part of a Puritan group. All Bissell’s were determined to have been descended from the Byshelles.

I suspect Bissell’s first name Israel is what caused the inquiries. Historians discussing the Bissell issue pointed out that most children born in the colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries were given Biblical names.

So goes the story of Israel Bissell. A man almost forgotten not by history, but by poetry.

On to Clarence Thomas. A Washington Post writer described Thomas’ luxury vacations as…..That’s what friends are for! Another wrote…..The Supreme Court Justice lifestyle is for me!

DeSantis seems to do and say everything wrong. Ain’t no Presidential timber in him!

His most recent wrongdoing involves his three young children. He takes them everywhere as he campaigns. Such is not the way little kids should be treated. It is hard enough for the candidate to campaign. However to drag his young ones along to impress people what a great parent he is is totally misleading. He is brutalizing the kids.

His head is screwed on wrong!

What I live and learn! How I live and learn! One way from my readers. Many who are friends also.

One is Fred Klein. New York City labor attorney. He and his wife snowbirds six months a year in Key West.

I wrote concerning my experience Friday night at the Thai Island Restaurant and sushi. Fred came back at me with some interesting information.

The Thai was in the James Bond movie License to Kill. I recall writing a few weeks ago about parts of License to Kill having been partially filmed in Key West. I missed the Thai part.

The bar at the Thai appeared in the film as the fictitious Barrelhead Bar located on Bimini in the Bahamas.

Even more interesting is Michael G. Wilson who was the sole screenwriter for License to Kill. Wilson was once Fred’s law partner.

Wilson wrote most of the Bond movies partnered with another. Several with the famed Richard Mailbaum. Due to the Writers Guild of America Strike in 1988, Wilson wrote the entire movie License to Kill alone.

Wilson also made cameo appearances in every James Bond movie made since 1977. He even got to talk in one. He had a few lines in License to Kill.

A small world indeed.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Oh, what a happy hour it was!

Yesterday at the Thai Island Restaurant. At the end of the Palm Ave. bridge on Garrison Bight. The last and only time I was there was a good 20 years ago. Upstairs in the restaurant portion.

An upstairs and downstairs. Only a bar downstairs. A dungeon. Old and decrepit. Clean, but run down. No air conditioning. Open windows and a fan or two. Perfect! Old Key West personified!

Met several new people. All Key Westers like me. Old in the sense of the years they have been a part of Key West.

One raised a subject with which I totally agreed. Those new to Key West have neither the understanding nor appreciation of what Key West was or is. Poor company to meet and be with.

I was with Steve and Cindy Thompson and their friend Ellen. No one is old Key West more than the Thompsons. They came to our island in the early 1970’s. Ellen is from Arizona. Met her for the first time. She and Cindy boat several times a week on Ellen’s 22 foot Maco. Steve and I were waiting for them in the Thai bar.

Seated next to me was Jordy. She with several friends. Her husband several stools away so I never got to chat with him. They have a home on United and another elsewhere on the island income producing. Been here some 15 years.

Names from this point forward escape me. Sorry.

Met a lovely lady who worked for Blue’s News for years. What a wonderful job that had to have been!

I have not seen Tonto for a couple of years. A bartender for many many years at La Te Da. Now retired. Did not run into Tonto. Did meet her sister and niece, however. Wonderful people! Asked them to remember me to Tonto and her partner.

My apologies if I missed someone.

The sushi! Outstanding! In this dump of dumps, great sushi!

Jordy had ordered a burger and fries. The burger a foot tall with everything on it. The fries had to be special hand cut. Big thick pieces. Salted just enough. I began picking on them without even asking Jordy’s permission. As good as the sushi.

I will return.

We must save that which is ours! The coral reefs. Unique to the Keys. The warm temperatures are killing them.

Yesterday, a group of 12 research divers embarked on a 10 day mission to visit several Iconic Reef sites in Keys waters. Their purpose to study the extent of recent coral bleaching from the hot sea temperatures and determine what can be done to remedy the problem.

Good show!

An example of how close German subs were to the U.S. in World War II. On this day in 1942, German submarine U-508 sunk the Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo 15 miles south of Key West. The two ships were part of a convoy that sailed from Key West and were loaded with newly developed radio equipment destined for a base in the Caribbean.

There is a belief that evenings when there is a full moon affects the brains of some. Brings the crazies out.

Not to be believed. False.

I find its falsity to be amusing. One of my best friends while I was practicing law was a police lieutenant, Bob Mazza. Without fail, each month when it was time for a full moon he would mention, “The crazies will be out tonight.” He believed it and so did his Chief. Extra men were on duty those evenings. The next day Bobby would stop in and tell me what strange happenings occurred. Like the night a whacko threw an empty garbage pail off the roof of a 2 story building and hit Bobby in the head.

Christopher Columbus discovered America. We were taught such in early grammar school and no one ever contradicted it throughout the normal education process.

The truth is Columbus did not discover America. The first people were nomads who crossed the Bering Land Bridge thousands of years ago. The first Europeans to set foot in America were probably the Vikings led by Leif Erikson 500 years before 1492.

“Society” is like life, like the body. It decays gradually. One part at a time over a period of a generation or two.

One example is patriotism. A declining attribute in today’s society. Can America be saved? A Democrat victory in November 2024 will help, though not necessarily guarantee it.

Nutsy Marjorie Taylor Greene wants the U.S. to withdraw from NATO because “they are entirely beholden to Russia.”

So said she who is now considered number 2 in power in the House of Representatives.

It has to be something in the water! A local Scottish school district announced 17 sets of twins will be starting primary school next friday. Five year olds.

Not the largest number ever. In 2015, another school in the district had 19 sets of twins who entered primary school.

Clarence Thomas is a big time freeloader. Not just Harlan Crow’s fancy vacations. A new ProPublica report shows Thomas enjoyed at least 38 more luxury vacations. All from conservative benefactors. All while sitting on the Supreme Court.

None disclosed.

Ethics expert Don King says it best: “It’s just the height of hypocrisy to wear the robes and live the lifestyle of a billionaire.”

Enjoy your day!

On this day in 1885, the first commercially operated electric streetcar in America opened in Baltimore.

I recall riding streetcars in the late 1930s when I was a very very young boy. The streetcar preceded the bus as public transportation. I caught the streetcar in its last stages of existence. By World War II, everything was buses.

We were poor back then. Though I did not know it. It was public transportation for our family. After the war everyone had money, however. Late in 1945, my father ordered a new car. It took two years to arrive. I can still recall how thrilled my father was that he owned a car. A two tone green Nash Ambassador.

It was August 10, 1985. Johnny Carson, long time star of NBC TV’s Tonight Show, was in Key West to visit the site of the Atocha as the guest of Mel Fisher.

Mentioning Mel Fisher brings Jean Thornton to mind. She knew Mel. Harassed him till he agreed to take her out to dive. This was many years ago. Jean became the Key West Golden Girl as a result thereof.

Jean was visiting from Birmingham with her fellow school teacher friend Debbie. They struck oil! Gold coins and emeralds.

Changed Jean’s life. Soon no longer a school teacher. 

Beside the condo all these years in Key West, Jean and husband Joe travel a lot. Next week, it’s Alaska.

I recall Jean telling me that whenever they take a long trip, which is often, she sells a few of the gold coins. Still able to do it 38 years later.

Great going, Jean! Enjoy Alaska!

The Citizens’ Voice this morning re the Keys “traitors” who attacked the Capitol on January 6. Marathon residents. The husband was retired military and also on a disability pension. The comment: “Funny how he can’t work, but can storm the Capitol.”

A Palm Beach editorial today titled Personal Benefits of Slavery Bring Ridicule to Florida. Last paragraph right on: “The implication that slavery was somehow good for its victim is inaccurate, outlandish and abhorrent. Nothing good came from slavery, America’s original and ongoing sin. Yet here’s our state once again on a national stage facing a thunderous laugh track response to its defense of a teaching standard that’s indefensible.”

Recent Keys heat has been anywhere from high 80s to low 90s. Yet feels over 100 degrees.

Nearly all Southern Florida has been under an excess of worsening heat. The last two days the worst.

The National Weather Service in Miami said the high “feels-like temperatures as high as 115 degrees in some places.”

Comment on Twitter today: “I’m so old I remember when school didn’t start till after Labor Day.”

That’s me!

A concluding comment.

The length of my blogs vary. Today’s short. Tomorrow could be 1,100 words.

I do the same research beginning at 5 every morning. Hit the same sites. Sometimes the news isn’t new news. Sometimes whatever I research fails to interest me, turn me on, excite me. In those circumstances, I don’t wish to bore you nor myself. So my blog is short as it is today.

It’s how the cookie crumbles.

Enjoy your day!

Today Shakespeare, tomorrow the Bible.

The Bible teaches us. Indoctrinates us in a sense. DeSantis says the school system shall not be used to “indoctrinate” children.

DeSantis claims he is “God’s protector.” Accordingly, the Bible should be, may be, off limits. 

My concern is now that a Florida school district has stripped some Shakespearean passages nothing may be “sacred.”

DeSantis has openly acknowledged he is Catholic and claims his favorite Bible verse is John 14:6 where Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” I worry he may adopt Christ’s words for his own and consider himself somewhat Christ like.

There are well educated people out there who have already come forth claiming certain Biblical passages are not right for school children to read.

Nuts one and all!

Ohio did it! It was People against the Politicians yesterday. The people overwhelmingly rejected a GOP backed proposal that would have made it tougher to protect abortion rights.

It appears the Supreme Court’s rejection of Roe v. Wade was the catalyst to a slow but sure return towards sanity in this country. Still a long way to go. However, all indications are we are on our way.

A Keys couple has been charged in the January 6 Capitol riot. Marathon residents. Bryan Roger Bishop 51 and wife Tonya 47.

They were arraigned yesterday in Federal Court in Key West, released on $100,000 bond, must appear in Washington, D.C. next week for a further court appearance.

The $1.58 billion Mega Million winning ticket was sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida. No further details available.

A Texas woman did “good!” Survived a horrible incident!

Mowing her lawn. She was attacked by a snake and hawk at the same time.

The snake fell from the sky and wrapped itself tightly around Peggy Jones. The snake apparently was the caught prey of a hawk. The hawk swooped down to retrieve the snake. Hacking Peggy’s arm in the process.

Peggy said she was scared big time.

The snake was squeezing her hard at the same time the hawk was clawing at her arm. She called out for Jesus to help her.

The hawk succeeded on its fourth try to recover the snake. Peggy’s arm is healing. The next day, she returned to complete the grass cutting job.

Judge Aileen Cannon described by Bess Levin as “dopey and constitutionally dubious.” One legal expert accused Cannon of showing “ignorance” and “bias” following her recent pro-Trump ruling.

Is a “fair trial” possible? Many question Cannon’s capacity to “judge” the classified documents case.

I am one of them.

She has to go!

Winston Churchill: “There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion.” Such would apply also today TV talk show and social media commentaries.

Fun time yesterday! Happy hour at The Grand from 4-7. Shared the time with Steve and Cindy Thompson, Christine and Ed. Matt the congenial bartender.

The Grand has a good deal for locals during August. Half price on everything all day. Everything means just that. Food and booze.

I enjoyed pennes in oil buried under a bed of mussels. Love mussels! Got into them big time here in the Keys. Sort of in memory of my mother. One of her favorite dishes.

Enjoy your day!

Words of wisdom from the mouth of Teddy Roosevelt: “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your problems, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

Nixon resigned this day in 1974. He was caught. They had him. He was facing impeachment, indictment and probably jail. Saw the handwriting on the wall. Walked away.

Trump refuses to see what is. He will therefore pay the ultimate price. Unfortunately, he is dragging the country down in the meantime.

The Ohio election today a most important one. It provides the people with the power to overcome a gerrymandering legislature. Let’s see if the people of Ohio want to exercise that power.

How did Judge Aileen Cannon graduate from law school? How did she pass the bar exam?

Yesterday, she asked prosecutors in the documents case to explain the use of grand juries in Florida and Washington, D.C. in the case. Intimating impropriety.

Using multiple grand juries has been legal and proper for many years. As long as grounds exist. Such exist in this case. Trump screwed around with classified documents in Florida, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey.

Is she stupid or inclined to favor Trump whenever she can? I suspect both, with the weight heavier on the side of incompetence.

A bear in Dubai must have been singing….. Don’t crate me in!

The bear was in a crate stored on a plane waiting to take off from the Dubai International Airport friday. The bear got loose.

A major issue in Iran. Everyone upset. Who is responsible? Everyone pointing the finger at another. Iraqi Airways, whose plane it was on, says it’s not. The government says it’s not.

The bear was sedated and removed from the plane. No damage done. Nevertheless, everyone wants to know who is responsible. It’s amazing what takes on a high degree of importance in a country. The bear escaping the crate is viewed as a big deal in Iraqi. It would be less so in the U.S.

On this day in 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. The Russians wanted to “get into the act ” before the war ended.

August 8, 1945 was 2 days after the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and the day before the bomb fell on Nagasaki.

A typical Soviet Union ploy even back then. The Russians wanted to reap some benefit from the Allied victory over Japan without any loss on its side.

Bad guys then, bad guys now!

Leprosy. The Biblical disease is on the rise in the U.S. Eighty percent of the cases are in Florida. Twenty percent of those cases in central Florida.

Why? Reasons varied. Armadillos are a carrier. Also, respiratory exchanges from one person to another.

International migration under consideration. Other states experiencing leprosy cases have a high number of illegal immigrants.

Enjoy your day!

The crossroad is being reached early in the most recent federal case against Trump. The January 6 case venued in Washington, D.C. The one assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.

Trump has already been ordered to file responsive papers by 5 today on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s motion for a protective order re discovery to be turned over to Trump. Discovery of persons and proof to be offered at trial. A simple perfunctory motion. Usually granted per forma.

Trump’s actions are turning the motion or what may soon follow into a major situation. Trump’s was admonished by the judge who arraigned him in effect not to try to influence witnesses nor to do anything out of the ordinary.

Not Trump’s way, however. In the past 72 hours alone, he has been beating up witnesses and speaking adversely and disparagingly re Smith and Judge Chutkan.

Such conduct is not acceptable. Not in a case involving Trump alone. It is a no no in all cases. 

There are rules in all federal criminal cases. Rules to be followed by those involved. The prosecution and defense alike. Trump is not special. It is not his courtroom. It is the people’s courtroom. Everyone plays by the same rules.

There is one boss in a courtroom. The judge. Not Smith, not Trump. 

Trump must be made to understand that. It is up to Judge Chuthan to make him  understand.

The most powerful person in the U.S. is a Federal District Court Judge. Even more powerful than a Supreme Court Justice.

It is up to Judge Chutkan to take the bull be the horns and make Trump understand. She can do it and I suspect will do so early on in this matter. She will make him understand if he fails to play by the rules, he will await trial in jail. 

In effect, Judge Chutkan must become a Judge Sirica. He took the Watergate case in hand and look at what happened. How many and who went to jail. There was no screwing around with Sirica in his courtroom.

From what I understand, Chutkan is a tough but fair judge. Just what Trump’s case requires.

The sooner she exercises her power, the sooner this matter will be on a some what normal path to resolution.

Enjoy your day!

Happy Sunday!

Square watermelons? Yes, in Japan. A real and common part of Japanese life.

A specific company grows the square watermelons. They are grown on a vine in a square box to ensure perfect shape and size. Their shape and size allows for more convenient shipping, stacking and refrigerator storage.

Our coral reefs are threatened. In a race against time and heat, non-profit upper Keys based Reef Renewal USA is moving coral from its inshore nursery off Tavernier to much deeper cooler water offshore..

Hopefully, the process will be successful.

Clarence Thomas has another questionable activity in his background. He owns a $267,230 RV luxury motor coach which was financed by a friend. 

He purchased it in November 1999. Used. Eight years old.

He “satisfied” the loan in November 2008.

Several unanswered questions remain. “Satisfied” does not necessarily mean the loan was paid back. The person who provided the loan refused to provide a copy of the loan agreement to the New York Times reporter. Nor would he answer whether Thomas had adhered to the repayment schedule, if any.

Thomas has refused to respond to questions surrounding the loan.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford named Sidney M. Aronovitz, a Key West native, as U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida. At some point in time, a federal building was constructed on Simonton Street. It was originally named the U.S. Post Office, Custom House, and Courthouse. In 2009, the building was renamed for Sidney M. Aronovitz, who by that time was the former long time District Court Judge.

Words of wisdom? Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, said: “I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.”

This by the man who went through the most strenuous physical program preparing for the trip to the moon.

Sad: This morning Sweden knocked the USA out of the World Cup.

Such is life! Win some, lose some.

The game was decided by sudden death kicks.

Enjoy your Sunday!

For some reason, John Keats’ poetic line “A thing of beauty is a joy forever” has been on my mind this morning. I have not thought of the quote in years. Again why this morning, I do not know.

There is a story behind it. One that goes back some 35-40 years ago when I spent a month in the Rome area with my family. My parents and son returned home 3 days earlier than my wife, daughters and I. They had something that needed to be done. We had spent the month at the villa I have mentioned in the past in Lovinia on the Mediterranean some 40 miles outside Rome. Since my parents and son were leaving and my wife wanted to do some shopping, we all left Lovinia.

We spent the 3 days in Rome in a pensione. An Italian guest house. It was run by friends. Black Franciscan nuns. It was their nunnery and they operated the pensione as part of it for economic reasons.

The American dollar was strong. The Italian lira in the dumps. One American dollar got you 2,200 lira. My wife said give me $3,000 and I will shop for 3 days, outfit myself and our 3 daughters for a whole year. Promise not to ask for any money for clothes for a year. Go for it, I told her.

Recall $1 American money was equal to roughly 2,200 lira. I made the money exchange for my wife. A little more than 6 million lira filling two large paper bags.

The ladies shopped and I wandered the streets of Rome alone. An interesting experience. 

One such experience found me at the foot of the Spanish Steps. To the right of the steps were a series of buildings. The first was a two story simple structure. There was a small brass plaque by the front door: John Keats Museum. John Keats, the name was familiar. Who? Then it dawned on me, he had been a poet. I had taken two years of English literature and Keats I recalled was one of the poets we were required to read.

I went in. The second floor was the most interesting. Keats’ bedroom where he died, a room I assumed was a former living room and a couple of smaller rooms. Keats still did not really register with me other than his name was now familiar.

The “living room” contained his writings. A large number were encased in glass. I strolled along reading some. Then I came across the one that brought total recollection to mind. A crumbled wrinkled yellow piece of paper on which Keats had written the poem containing the line…..A thing of beauty is a joy forever. It was as if I was looking at Lincoln’s Gettysburg address that he had written on a brown paper bag in pencil as he traveled to Gettysburg.

The poem, the line especially, brought tears to my eyes.

Keats had lived only 25 years. He was born in London 10/31/1795 and died in Rome in that bedroom 2/23/1821. An English poet. More specifically, a romantic poet. His works had been published for 4 years before he died of tuberculosis.

The house/museum is located at Piazza di Spagna 26.

The nuns had been good to us during our entire stay in Italy. When in Rome itself, which was frequently, we would stop, have coffee with them or lunch, took some of them to dinner a couple of times, celebrated the American Memorial Day with them at a roof top party they threw on the pensione. Most of the nuns were Americans and it was obvious they missed their homeland greatly. When our rented car broke down because we put the wrong gas in, they came to get us and gave us their car to use for two days while their mechanic fixed ours for nothing. They were concerned the rental company would rip us off.

Two interesting factors involving the nunnery and nuns.

The room my wife and I occupied was terrific. Huge and comfortable. A great bathroom. Bathrooms not necessarily one of Italy’s better offerings.

I wanted to have sex in the bedroom. My wife said no. We were in a nunnery! That is why I wanted to have sex. Sort of an odd perversion, I guess. She finally acquiesced.

The other was a statue of the Blessed Mother.

The Mother Superior was originally from Utica. Her brother lived across the street from us in Utica. The family name escapes me.

One night after everyone had gone to sleep, the Mother Superior and I were sitting in the kitchen having coffee and chatting. By candlelight. I am not sure they had electric power after 10 pm.

We had become friends. She sat there with her habit head covering off. I was impressed with her long beautiful hair.

I felt indebted due to the way the nuns had treated us over the past month and wanted to do something. I handed her a check for $1,000. She refused to take it. We had a bit of an argument. Finally, she said she would take it for one reason. If I gave it to her with the understanding that the nunnery would use it to purchase a new Blessed Mother which they badly needed.

Of course!

Over the years, many Uticans stayed at the pensione. Recall that the Black Franciscans operated St. Elizabeth Hospital in Utica. When they returned, we would run into each other or they would call me. To tell me they saw the beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother and the inscription beneath it stating Through the Generosity and Goodness of Louis Petrone. 

One more story about the nuns.

The Mother Superior asked that I bring a gold cross back to Utica to give to the nuns at St. Elizabeth Hospital to deliver to their mother house in Syracuse. The box it was in was about 1 foot by 6 inches x 6 inches. I asked for the receipt for the cross. What receipt? She had none. I explained I was going to have enough aggravation going through customs. Remember my wife spent $3,000 on clothes. We already had 21 suitcases and boxes to go through customs with.

The Mother Superior said no problem. She boldly wrote on the box: Through the Goodness of God. I said good luck! No way is this going to work. She said don’t worry, God will be with you.

He was. When we approached customs in the U.S., the officer looked at my 22 pieces (overwhelming in appearance), smiled, asked if we had a good time, and passed us on without looking at anything.

I feel good at the moment. I was going to write about Trump and whether he would end up a dictator or jailbird. This story was more pleasant to share. Hope you enjoyed it.

Enjoy your day also!

What goes around, comes around. Oh, the truth the words speak!

When the shoe is on the other foot, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Justice can’t handle it.

Conservative Republican Justices have controlled Wisconsin’s Supreme Court for 15 years. The majority recently switched. The Democrats now in power.

On their second day in power, the Democratic majority fired the director of the State’s court system. It was within their power to do so.

Conservative Chief Justice Annette Ziegler called it a “raw exercise of overreaching power.”

Makes me laugh. The conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court has been “brutal” over the years. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, they can’t take it!

David Brooks’ Opinion Piece in the New York times yesterday: What If We’re The Bad Guys Here?

Brooks wrote re Trump: “Why is this guy still potentially viable, after all he’s done?”

Brooks answers by quoting North Carolina political scientist Thomas B. Edsall: “Republicans see the world changing around them uncomfortably fast, and they want to slow it down, maybe even take a step backward. But if you are a person of color, a woman who values gender equality or an L.G.B.T. person, would you want to go back to 1963. I doubt it.”

Brooks followed up with: “The Trumpers are reactionary bigots and authoritarians. Many Republicans support Trump no matter what…..because at the end of the day he’s still the bigot in chief, the embodiment of their resentments, and that’s what matters to them most.”

Key West had a no tipping law in 1936. Tipping was considered un-American.

Try it today! All hell would break lose! Tipping is an inherent respectable part of wage earning in all parts of the U.S. 

Our reefs are dying. Extremely hot water the cause. Nothing to joke about. However a Citizens’ Voice comment this morning makes practical though not realistic sense: “Maybe someone could tow one of those big icebergs down here and anchor it over the reef.”

Dinner last night at Brady’s with Cindy and Steve Thompson. Steve and I wanted the lasagna special which is normally featured wednesdays.

Not last night. No lasagna. I must have been the only one eating it. The cook said no more for a while. Ergo the specialty last night was chicken parmigiana. As good as the lasagna was!

Enjoy your day!

Trump was federally indicted again yesterday. He was charged with conspiring against the U.S. Another reckoning for him.

Trump retaliated by likening the indictment to a “Nazi prosecution.”

Yesterday’s indictment may be the first to be tried.

How Trump handles the weight of these cases upon him amazes me. No one person is that strong. When and how will he break? Or, will he opt to try each case?

Yesterday’s indictment contained many interesting facts. One at page 33, I found especially interesting. Recall Trump was pushing Pence to reject the States’ certification proceedings on January 6. A  January 1 telephone call between Trump and Pence covering the issue is set forth at page 33. Pence told Trump he had no Constitutional authority to do what Trump wanted and reject the certifications. He went on to say it would be improper for him to do so. 

Trump’s response bespeaks Trump’s nature: “You’re too honest.”

I have constantly taken the position the Ukraine and Russia problem would not resolve until the Russian people themselves felt the pain of the war. Appears such is beginning, though on a minimal scale.

Few nations are free from the adverse weather affecting our planet. The weather problem seems to be peculiarly hitting the major polluters big time. China and the U.S. are the world’s worst. China’s capital Beijing is being buffeted  by the heaviest rainfall in 140 years.

Is climate change affecting hurricanes? Atlantic waters are hot as hell. Keys reefs are dying. Fish patterns changing. And…..hurricanes are dying. They begin to form and then dissipate.

Kenny Chesney visited Key West again. Popped into Captain Tony’s and sang a song.

Chesney visits Key West impromptu frequently.

Enjoy your day!