I finished reading Maggie Haberman’s Confidence Man yesterday. Took me 7 months. Book long. Five hundred eight pages. With all the reading I do each day, I was fitting it in a page or two at a time. Brought me back to college when I had to read War and Peace for a course. My recollection over 1,100 pages. Thought I never would finish.

Haberman’s work excellent. A first hand insight into Trump.

I want to share one of Haberman’s descriptions of Trump: “A ‘Bad’ Trump always revealed himself. That was the man who made racist comments and then insisted people had misunderstood him, giving his allies cover by which to defend him. He was interested primarily in money, dominance, power, bullying, and himself. He treated rules and regulations as unnecessary obstacles rather than constraints on his behavior.”

Netanyahu is taking heat in polls as the judicial crisis deepens.

I admire the Israeli people. They are in the streets by the thousands. Refuse to take Netanyahu’s anti-democratic authoritarian crap. They recognize freedom is precious, smell the rat, and are not going to take it.

America’s evangelical church is in crisis. Gone far afield politically. The young are drifting away. There is only one solution. Simple. Stop lying and return to Jesus and the Bible. 

The Catholic Church has been drifting also. Though not as swiftly and as far yet. Pope Francis fights constantly to thwart the movement. A tough job.

MAGA Republicans fear babies born in the United States of non-citizen parents. Congressman Matt Gaetz introduced a bill yesterday to end “unqualified” birthright citizenship for children whose parents are not themselves U.S. citizens.

He and his fellow ultra right conservatives have an “imaginary fear” of what could come in 20 plus years.

Since 1866, the 14th Amendment has granted citizenship to all “born or naturalized in the United states, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

Gaetz’s bill is another example of MAGAs wanting to change long established law.

Gaetz is in the news in another regard. He and his wife saw the new movie Barbie. His wife has called for the movie to be boycotted. Her basic opposition is that it is anti-man. She says the movie is “useless” and “unintelligent. Some conservatives have described it as “man hating” and “feminist.”

Whoopie Goldberg mocked Mrs. Gaetz’s comments and those of conservatives on The View saying in effect what’s the big deal, “it’s a movie about a doll.”

Enjoyed Happy Hour yesterday at the Grand with Steve and Cindy Thompson and Cindy’s sister Christine. Met Steve’s friend Eddie again. Matt, the congenial bartender. A full bar. Food good. Company excellent.

Two oddities noted as I drove into Key West for Happy Hour. It was 94 degrees. Hot! Key West was packed. Highly unusual this time of year. Then it dawned on me. Lobster Mini-Season begins today. Tourists were in town ready to dive for lobsters for 2 days beginning today.

Drugs appear to be on the rise attempting to enter the U.S. Not for use in Key West. For national distribution.

They are being found packaged floating in waters off the lower Keys. Seventy pounds were found  by a recreational boater recently. The packages had a butterfly picture on them. Cocaine. Its estimated street value $1.1 million.

The Coast Guard and Border Patrol are being kept busy.

A summer of strikes and warned strikes to come in the U.S. The Key West Golf Course experienced a strike in 1923. Laborers went on strike. Demanded their wages be increased from $2.50 to $3.00 per day. 

Citizens’ Voice this morning: “I live on United Street, where I used to be able to park my vehicle outside my house. Now the new 15-foot sidewalk, which we don’t need, prevents me from parking on the road which I do need. Who the hell approved this?”

An upset citizen who got it right.

Enjoy your day!

Joke of the day: Why did Santa Claus get a parking ticket? He parked his sleigh in a snow parking zone.

The heat this month caused me to share this “joke” I came across this morning. The heat affects all of us one way or another.

I recently came across a listing of the ten greatest artworks in the world. 

I have been fortunate to have seen five of them. The experience comparable to quietly sitting in Church talking to God.

Those I have seen and where: Pieta / St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Van Gogh’s Starry Night / Museum of Modern Art New York City, The Creation of Adam / Part of Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, The Last Supper / Santa Maria Della Grazie Covenant Milan / and The Mona Lisa / while on loan in Rome or New York City.

The world has been dramatically f–king up the past 10 years. Netanyahu and Trump 2 reasons why.

The World Weather Attribution (WWA) initiative released an analysis today re the “heat hell” searing parts of the U.S., southern Europe and China. The WWA is a group of international scientists who assess climate change. Their conclusion: The heat waves would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. The role of climate change has been “absolutely overwhelming.” The blame man’s burning of fossil fuels.

Are we learning? Are we becoming more accepting of the cause? Can the nations of the world get together to resolve the problem before it becomes dramatically worse?

Gerrit Marshall is a retired broadcast engineer from Madison, Wisconsin. Saturday was his 68th birthday. A very big day for him. In more ways than one.

On his 11th try, he won the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. Beat out some 140 other contestants.

Congratulations!

Florida was very anti-black in the early 1920’s. Much worse than DeSantis’ Florida of today.

Key West was the second largest city in Florida. The Grand Dragon of Florida’s Ku Klux Klan was Key Wester Charles H. Ketchum. Key West was the headquarters of Florida’s Ku Klux Klan and maintained an office on Eaton Street.

Under Ketchum, the Florida Klan became more violent. Conducted more lynchings per capita than any other state. Ketchum also organized the notorious Rosewood Massacre of 1923. Rosewood was a mostly black community. The Klan burned it to the ground.

Key West’s Klan included the Monroe County Sheriff, the Key West Police Chief, the Key West Tax Collector, the Key West Fire Chief, and the head of the criminal courts.

Key West blacks had no recourse to justice under the circumstances.

History has a habit of repeating itself. We must be on our guard nationally, statewide and locally. Racism is breeding nationally and statewide. Locally, Key West is still safe.

I recommend “The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Key West” to you. It was written by Tiffany Duong in Keys History 2/25/21. It is the source of much of my writing re the issue in today’s blog.

Citizens’ Voice today: “If Key West doesn’t fix the potholes on United Street soon, I’m going to start planting trees in them.”

The potholes have existed for years, getting worse each year.

Enjoy your day!

A Ukrainian retaliatory strike?

Russia claims Ukraine hit two non-resident buildings in Moscow with drones at the same time Russia was bombing port infrastructure in southern Ukraine. If true re Ukraine bombing Moscow, good! Russian people have to experience some of the pain and suffering the Ukraine has been undergoing the past one and half years. Otherwise, the Russian people will not appreciate what Putin has imposed on the Ukraines.

Moscow suffered no casualties in this instance.

Netanyahu and his cohorts are destroying Israeli democracy. Netanyahu and Trump birds of a feather.

Why is this type power so important? The Israeli people will not stand for it. Their demonstrations speak to it. There will be blood in the streets.

The Israeli Army has said it will not oppose the people. Its Air Force said planes will remain on the ground. Legislators have threatened to quit.

American Brian Harman won the British Open. Ran away with it by 6 strokes.

Harman a 36 year old Georgian. His first win in years. 

His wife and 3 children are with her parents in Syracuse while he was playing in Scotland. His parents live in the Keys.

His putter was his best friend for 4 days. He won $3 million. 

A happier person could not have been on TV afterwards.

Good for him!

DeSantis spews religious talk to support his radical positions. Quotes the Bible occasionally. Not necessarily correctly. He is trying to create a new path, his path, to right and wrong.

Re the actors Strike, George Clooney had this to say: “Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living. This is an inflection point in our industry. For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors, that journey starts now.”

State Farm is now Florida’s second largest home insurer. Vows to stay in Florida.

Let’s hope so. Insurance companies are running away at a rapid speed from Florida. Can’t blame them. As cash rich as they are, even insurance companies have limits. Hurricanes and flooding can endanger their existence.

There has to be a solution. DeSantis should spend more time figuring out how to retain insurance companies instead of suing Disney, contemplating suing Bud Lite, and burying us with stupid MAGA laws a majority of the people don’t want.

J. Robert Oppenheimer is often credited with being the “father of the atomic bomb.” He is noted to have said: “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

A heavy understanding for a man to know of himself. A mental weight to carry for life.

Today is National Tequila Day. A hell of a drink. I know. There was once a time when I enjoyed a shot or two.

Enjoy your day!

Wild fires in Canada, wild fires on the island of Rhodes, Italy and Greece real hot, rain in the U.S. northeast, extremely hot portions of the U.S., tornadoes in the U.S., etc. Tell me there is no global warming! Those that deny global warming contribute to the end of life itself. 

Pamplona, Spain replicated on Duval Street in front of Sloppy Joe’s yesterday. More than 100 Hemingway Look-Alikes and a special breed of bulls on wheels made the run.

Keys coral reefs losing color. Reason: Record high water temperatures.. Which means they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered.

The reefs should be vibrant and colorful this time of year. Instead, are swiftly going white.

I commented two days ago re the trial taking place in Texas brought by 13 women who could not obtain abortions and the pain and suffering they were forced to endure as a result. The article in Vice News moved me. Especially the testimony of one woman who vomited while testifying in the courtroom. One of the impacts of her experience. The article is titled: No Mercy: Women Denied Abortions, Testify, Cry and Vomit In Texas Court.

One of the women is named Casiano. Her problems multiple. One involved the fetus itself. Anencephaly. Anencephaly is a lethal condition where a fetus does not have a fully formed skull or brain. Impossible for the baby to survive when born with such a condition.

A portion of her testimony follows.

Casiano, who returned to the stand after she threw up, was the third and final patient to share her story on the stand on Wednesday. A 29-year-old mother of four, Casiano learned that her fetus also had anencephaly. She wanted to get an abortion and release her baby to heaven, as she put it in court. But she didn’t have the money or resources to travel out of state, so she and her family started to prepare, instead, to bury her baby—a girl who they named Halo, “because she’s always going to be above us,” Casiano said. 

They tried to raise money by selling soup, among other things.

After she gave birth, Casiano recalled, she had to watch her daughter struggle and gasp for air. As she testified, Casiano rocked back and forth as well as looked up and away, as if reliving the memory. She recalled watching her baby turn from pink to blue, from warm to cold, as she died over the course of four hours.

“I kept telling my baby, ‘I’m so sorry this had to happen to you,’” Casiano said. “There was no mercy for her and I couldn’t do anything.”

Afterwards, Casiano had a simple funeral service for Halo. When the funeral tried to charge her an extra $1,100 because the funeral was set for Good Friday, she cried. “I felt like there was always something,” Casiano testified. 

She still hasn’t picked up Halo’s death certificate. She’s also had her tubes removed and has started to throw up whenever something happens that triggers her body to “remember” what it’s gone through.

Slate ran a similar article on 7/22 titled: The Kind of Life That Texas Really Values. The article’s opening line: “A woman saw her infant’s death a needless torture. To the State, it’s a necessary sacrifice.”

Sick!

A haunted Key West cemetery? St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Graveyard.

Tortured souls living there?

Some reported having seen: A man who appears as a vaporous apparition wearing 19th century attire, an old sea Captain, children gathering around a statue of an angel in the center, children’s voices heard but the children not seen, floating orbs of light and inexplicable sounds.

Best description for what DeSantis is trying to do with slavery in the curriculum of Florida schools: WHITEWASH it.

Won’t work. History is history. Cannot change what was. Good, bad or indifferent. DeSantis will in due course go, history will remain.

Enjoy your Sunday!

My cell phone went off at 5 this morning. A severe weather alert. The alert was running from then to 8 tomorrow night.

The warning: Heat will feel like 109 degrees, though temperatures will be in mid 90’s. Where: Monroe County. Monroe County covers all of the Keys. Heavy humidity, also.

Greece is hot! The heat abusive. Acropolis is closing at noon each day in order to protect visitors and employees.

Athens’ Mayor was interviewed on a TV talk show last night. Athens and Greece suffering greatly from the heat as is most of the northern hemisphere. 

He was asked what to do for the heat. His immediate response: “Plant trees.”

My curiosity piqued. I knew shade is cooler. Nevertheless, I researched the issue. Shade the answer. Trees provide shade. Shade cools. The cooling effect can be as much as 20-45 degrees cooler.

Plant trees! May not help this season, but will in subsequent ones.

To my friend Theos, stay cool!

Ain’t no breath like hog’s breath! Hog’s Breath has been sold. Purchased by timeshare giant Westgate Resorts.

Lobster Mini-Season in a few days. July 26 & 27. Key West and lower Keys will be flooded with lobster fishermen.

Boats galore will go out. 

I lived on the water in Key Haven for 23 years. I used to sit early mornings on my deck watching the boats go out. All size boats. Many overloaded with divers. Reminded me of the scene in Jaws where boats all sizes and overloaded went out looking for the Great White.

Unfortunately, accidents happen, injuries occur, a few die occasionally. The divers. The lobsters are expected goners. 

Hemingway Days Run of the Bulls at 1 today. Begins at Sloppy Joe’s. Fun to watch.

In the summer of 1990, the movie Criss Cross was being filmed in Key West. Starred Goldie Hawn.

Monroe County proposes a 28 percent budget increase. The $147 million increase is 28 percent of the current $519 million budget.

Why not? Keep bleeding property owners. Affect rental levels. Force more people to move.

A “jeer” on the Key West Citizen editorial page this morning: “To the proposal to consolidate Monroe County and Dade circuit courts. What is being presented as a cost-cutting measure is merely another example of gerrymandering and a continuation of a power grab by certain political factions.”

Judge Aileen Cannon did no favor to Justice this week when she decided Trump’s document trial would begin in May 2024. Never will. Trump will come up with some excuse (like too close to election) and be granted another extension of the trial date. This one after the election.

Fortunately, the Department of Justice may be able to get the January 6 case (once indicted) tried earlier. The January 6 matter is simpler to prove and should move forward forthwith.

DeSantis wants to sue Bud Lite now. Disney was not enough. Florida has enough “people problems.” The State and its Presidnet seeking Governor should pay attention to those problems rather than stretching out with wild theories to sue corporate giants.

Bess Levin does it again. Dramatically describes Trump’s reaction to Judge Cannon’s setting a trial date  well before the 2024 election and word heard that racketeering charges are likely to come out of the Fulton County probe. Her article in Vanity Fair covering Trump’s frame of mind is titled: That Sound You Hear Is Donald Trump Screaming, Crying, and Throwing Up in a Mar-a-Lago Bathroom.

Enjoy your day! Walk the Hemingway Duval Street Fair and watch the Running of the Bulls.

Tony Bennett died. He made it to 96. God looked with favor upon him.

A great vocalist. An American legend. “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” one of his top recordings.

Frank Sinatra said of him: “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me…..moves me.”

My life has been full with meeting interesting people. Tony Bennett one of them.

It was sometime in the 1970’s. I was in New York on business. Finished a bit late. Noticed a steak house nearby. Decided to try it. Not one of the famous ones.

I was eating at the bar. A fellow came in and sat next to me. Looked familiar. I could not place him, however. Tastefully casually dressed. Blue blazer, shirt open at collar, kaki slacks and white tennis shoes. No socks.

We began chatting. Continued doing so for about 3 hours. Talked about nothing and everything. In the midst of the conversation, it dawned on me who the man was. Tony Bennett! I politely said, you’re Tony Bennett. He modestly said yes and we continued talking as we had before.

Turned out his arranger was from my hometown Utica. I did not know the family name.

The steak house was on the first floor of a hotel. Bennett lived in the hotel.

A memorable meeting for me.

As predicted, the coral reefs are suffering from the excessive heat. Warm water is impacting the reefs. Bleaching and other diseases occurring big time.

Though none of us want one, a hurricane would help the reefs by knocking down the water temperature. Unfortunate that one horrible event is required to eliminate another. I do not favor a hurricane. 

Hemingway Days have arrived. Tonight, the second preliminary round of the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. Finals tomorrow night. Sloppy Joe’s the locale. Running of the Bulls tomorrow at 1.

Fun time!

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has the backing of Jim Jordan re Kennedy’s bogus Hank Aaron COVID conspiracy.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not his father. He has never been at any time during his adult career. He’s a whacko job!

DeSantis is not qualified to be Presidnet. He has already proven he is not qualified to be Governor.

Among Florida’s new standards for teaching American history which were approved wednesday, one of them claims African Americans received some “personal benefit” from slavery. They “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their present benefit.”

Like what? Slavery is slavery!

History is history and should not be changed. Even in the slightest.

Abe Lincoln is turning over in his grave.

The British Open Royal Liverpool Course is tough. Tough, tough. Almost to the point of being unfair. Bunkers ridiculous. Deep and straight up. Rough horrible.

Holes 17 and 18 described as “monstrous.”

Courses today are getting tougher and tougher. Is this the way golf is to be played? Is this golf’s future?

Finally, a $1 billion winner! A Powerball ticket sold at a Los Angeles shop near skid row. I’m curious to learn who purchased the winning ticket.

This day in 1925, the “monkey trial” ended in Dayton, Tennessee. John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Years later, it was determined Scopes’ arrest and trial were a fraud. Even Scopes was in on it.

City fathers got together and arranged the whole thing hoping it would bring notoriety and business to Dayton. It did.

I have written about the falsity of the Scopes trial several times over the years.

An anti-abortion lawsuit in Austin, Texas is in the news. Brought by women who were denied abortions in medical emergency situations. They testified, cried and one vomited while testifying.

I strongly suggest you read the detailed article in Vice News 7/20 re their testimony. Some of it will cause you to tear up.

The heat the U.S. is experiencing is even more so in Europe. The summer’s heat wave is the third extreme one in 20 years.

In August 2003, more than 35,000 died. Last year, 61,000. This year more than that number expected. A contributing factor is most European homes are not air conditioned.

Enjoy your day!

I’m back. Two days off. Surgery yesterday. Endoscopy.

Modern day surgery never ceases to amaze me. The anesthesia. A shot. The intravenous and you’re out. No counting back from 100. No dreams during the surgery. When you wake, you can’t believe it’s over.

End of life should be that way for everyone. You drop. You’re gone. Unfortunately, many suffer from dreadful diseases and feel the pain thereof.

The question regardless of your method of dying, is what is next. An afterlife? 

At my age, the question is a constant. I read about those who have died and returned, etc.

None of us will ever know till it happens.

This morning’s Keys Citizen main front page article concerns a “move” to consolidate Monroe County’s court system with Dade County. Reason: Monroe County is a small county not requiring its own judicial system.

Believe it not.

My friends, leave well enough alone.. Tallahassee runs all over us as it is. We don’t need a judicial system that does also.

Keep what has been for decades unchanged. Give up no part of the judicial system. Fight the move. You will regret the consolidation if it happens.

The Keys are unique and require judges who understand its special problems.

Mel Fisher’s day! This day 1985. After 15 years of searching, Mel Fisher found the mother lode of the Spanish galleon Atocha. After years of struggling and never losing confidence, he deserved it!

Man walks on the moon for the first time! This day 1969.

I remember it clearly. Excited me. One of the most thrilling events to occur in my lifetime.

It was late at night. My recollection after 11. I had my wife wake our 4 young children and bring them downstairs. I wanted them to see and remember the event. They saw, but never have remembered. Too young.

Trump seems to claim “everything” is his. First, the classified documents. Now, perhaps Israel’s antiquities.

The Israeli antiquities include part of Israel’s national treasure collection: Clay lamps and ancient ceramic candles.

They were shipped to the U.S. in 2019 for a Hanukkah event. Got “stuck” here due to the pandemic. Somehow have ended up with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Israel has tried for several years without success to obtain their return. Trump apparently has refused. There has been no comment from Trump thus far re their release.

Enjoy your day!

The hottest spot in the U.S. yesterday was Furnace Creek in Death Valley, Nevada…..125.6 degrees. Normally one of the hottest spots in the U.S.

Other American cities were also record scoring. Phoenix, Arizona exceeded 100 degrees for the 18th consecutive day.

Italy experiencing “one of the most extreme temperatures ever.” Locals go to the mountains. Little air conditioning available in the cities. Unaware tourists arrive in droves and suffer the heat.

Especially Rome where tons of tourists arrive every summer. They end up in the streets and squares sweating like hell not having realized how hot it would be.

I have spent considerable time in various Italian spots. The air conditioning problem the same everywhere. They have little to none. Electricity the problem It has been forever there is insufficient electric power available. The Italians never remedy it. That is why most run off to the mountains for 1-2 months every summer.

This morning’s Washington Post in a headline wrote: In The Earth’s Hottest Spots, Heat Is Testing The Limits Of Human Survival.

Trump announced this morning that his attorneys had been notified he was a “target” of a Department of Justice investigation. It is assumed it has to do with January 6. Trump expects it to be a “third indictment.”

Trump announced over the weekend how he will handle the expansion of Presidential power if elected. He would expand the power into all areas of government based on “his” judgment. No Congressional permission, oversight or judicial review would be required.

Thank you Adolph Hitler. Clearly Nazism. Authoritarianism at its worst. Reminiscent also of Mussolini when he took over the Italian government.

His pronouncement typical Trump. He tells us in advance what he is going to do and then does it. He must believe his conduct in such fashion makes what he does more acceptable. It does to some. If he is elected, I fear it will be to many.

Judge Aileen Cannon has her first opportunity to shine as a judge or show her true ilk when she hears a motion to fix the trial date for the Trump documents case. The government suggests 12/11. Trump wants the matter adjourned till after the election.

Joe Manchin loves the role of troublemaker. He cannot win as a third party candidate. However, he could draw enough votes from Biden to permit Trump to win.

I was under the weather yesterday. Never made it to Toni Tarracino Celebration of Life event or dinner with the Dixons.

No blog tomorrow. I have what I consider minor surgery scheduled for 8:30. I will be knocked out.

Tomorrow is National Hot Dog Day.

Amazing how we have a “day” for everything!

A comment in this morning’s Citizens’ Voice: “Keep Miami out of Key West. Tip your musicians, keep the art alive and the spirit chill. Wear sunscreen and a tutu on your birthday.”

Enjoy your day!

The oldest religious text on Earth is not the Bible. It is The Kesh Temple Hymn. Dates back to 2600 B.C. and was found in Sumer, one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

A judicial comment and defendant after statement that would fit in divorce court: “Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully, and I’ve decided to give your wife $775 a week.”

The defendant responded: “That’s very fair your Honor. And every now and then I’ll try to send her a few bucks myself.”

A perceptive Facebook question this morning: “If money doesn’t grow on trees, then why do banks have branches?”

A sex counsellor commented over the weekend, adding she thought her words were right on: “Men need sex to feel loved. Women need to feel loved to have sex.”

A significant Key West land deal. A new marina. The Happy landings Marina. To be established along North Roosevelt Boulevard, down the driveway past the Lions Club Building.

Is any portion of this property part of the choice bay front bottom site on North Roosevelt Boulevard that the Monroe County Commission in 1953 approved a 99 year lease for $1 a year with the Key West Lions Club?

Rory McIlroy won the Scottish Open yesterday by 1 stroke. He birdied the last 2 holes to tie and then win.

McIlroy putted great, opposed to his previous day’s play. Drove long, but poorly. Hit only 4 fairways. His iron shots from the rough were dramatic.

My cell phone screwed up and I lost a lot of names, numbers and addresses. Looking for someone whose name I cannot recall. Old age. She does read the blog frequently, however. So I spell out some of her background. She is in her 80’s, lives in Fort Lauderdale, has had a condo in Key West for years, her husband a deceased dentist, I met her and her husband in the Chart Room many years ago. She thought me arrogant. No longer does. She, her aide and I have had dinner together frequently in recent years.

If she reads this, I ask her to please e-mail or call. No, she has not won the lottery.

Lunch at noon yesterday at Harpoon Harry’s. It was sunday. Never again. Packed! I had to stand and then sit outside in the sun waiting for a table for 40 minutes. The food was excellent, the wait too long. I will limit my visits to weekdays.

Parking was no better.

Dinner at Brady’s tonight with the Dixons. They have never been.

Enjoy your day!

Over the years, I have made some great friends. Most funny. Typical are Fran and Tom Dixon from Buffalo. They visit Key West 3-4 times a year. Tom is involved with Ocean Key. This photo was taken friday night at La Te Da. Says it all. Fun is what Key West is all about.

It has been extremely hot the past week. Low 90s in Key West. Not as bad as other parts of the country. However, bad enough. Not the time to be outside.

Ocean temperature has been in the mid 90s when normally it is in the mid 80s. Makes a hell of a difference. 

A meteorologist made an interesting comment yesterday re one of the effects of the high ocean temperature re the Keys. He claimed the coral, which has already been in trouble for years, would be dead by the end of the summer. Sounds pretty severe. I am not a meteorologist. Find his statement hard to believe. Hope he is wrong.

A next door neighbor is 85. Our cars are parked next to each other. As I was leaving Friday, he drove in. Sopping wet. His tee shirt soaked. He had been hitting golf balls.

My neighbor visits doctors as frequently as I. I told him he was a flaming ass. He shrugged his shoulders and said he had gotten bored from staying in.

Are we anti-everything? A remake of Disney’s Snow White deletes the seven dwarfs. Only one will appear.

Why? Issue appears to include “dwarfism.” No one buying the line. Movie people are upset. They claim viewers will be very unhappy in 2024 when the movie is released. 

Watched Rory McIlroy in the third round of the Scottish Open yesterday. He leads the field by 1 stroke at the end of 3 rounds.

He should be leading by 5 or 6. Driver and irons terrific. Putting sucked.

If he loses today, his putting will be the blame.

Nothing is sacred. Even religious persons want to tear down that which has been acceptable for over 2,000 years.

Archbishop Stephen Cottrell is one of the Church of England’s highest ranking members. He has taken issue with “Our Father” in the Lord’s prayer. He claims the basis for his position is “earthly fathers have been destructive and abusive, and for all of us who have labored rather too much from an oppressively patriarchal grip on life.”

Something must be in the air. Got to be. Too many crazy people.

An article in Sportsheedo Health and Fitness claims: People with the longest life span have two common truths. Not dieting or exercise. It’s personality traits. A positive attitude and high emotional awareness aka emotional intelligence.

Not established gospel. Yet. May never be.

I’m 88. Rarely exercised. Dieted frequently with little long term success. I do have a positive attitude. Though intelligent, not emotionally so.

Ergo, not certain any of this is valid. It does make interesting reading, however.

Enjoy your Sunday!