Senator Bernie Sanders understands “hardball” when it comes to Saudi Arabia. He has called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia, an end to military aid, a cessation of selling them weapons, an end to its price fixing oil cartel , and a call to the Saudis to let Putin defend their monarchy.

Love letting Putin defend them. Putin has exhibited to the whole world in recent months Russia’s failure when it comes to military prowess.

As I started the blog, I heard on a TV news program that Biden threatened the Saudi’s with the military pullback 2 years ago and the Saudis capitulated. I do not recall the issue.

No time to screw around. Hit ’em quick and hit ’em hard!

Bess Levin reports: “The DOJ thinks Trump still has classified documents because, Hello? That’s exactly the kind of shit he’d pull.”

Trump picked two “winners” for Senatorial candidates. Oz in Pennsylvania and Herschel in Georgia.

Oz delivered a speech thursday night at a $5,000 a plate fundraiser. I suspect the fundraiser was for Matt Gaetz since his in laws sponsored the event. The dinner took place at the Lynn Air Museum.

Oz delivered his speech standing next to what once was Hitler’s car. The car also bore a swastika.

The vehicle a 1939 Mercedes-Benz Model G4 Offener touring wagon. It was delivered to Hitler late in 1939. The Fuhrer used the car in Obersalzberg, Berlin, and Poland. He used it till the French seized it at some point.

Some believe it was no accident Oz stood by Hitler’s swastika bearing vehicle. There are those who believe it was intentional and for the benefit of the fascist elements in the Republican Party.

Herschel Walker has changed positions on the abortion, money, etc. issue headlining the past few days. He now admits a relationship with the woman who accused him of paying for the abortion. Also, “I could have sent some money.”

The woman yet unidentified, added yesterday that Herschel encouraged her to have a second abortion re a second pregnancy. She refused and did not. In addition, she confirmed he is the father of one of her children.

I am a music fan of Great Balls of Fire. I am not a fan of its author who made it famous. His personal life too much on the negative side.

It was this day in 1957 that Jerry Lee Lewis recorded Great Balls of Fire. Anthony Lewis sang it in Top Gun. The song is sung in the new Maverick film, also.

On this day in 1918, Sergeant Alvin York displayed heroics at the Argonne. He killed 20 plus German soldiers and captured 132. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts.

Gary Cooper later played Sgt. York in the movie Sergeant York.

Religion can be twisted. Its word not so much. Rather in its application.

A Mississippi Reverend refused to baptize the baby of unmarried parents. The Reverend Dewayne Warren of the Hickey Grove United Methodist Church the culprit. He made the child bear the “sins” of the parents. The Reverend accused the parents of “living in sin” and irregular attendance at church.

The Reverend’s conduct was not well received. It was met with furor. One woman said, “This is not Christian behavior…..we are called to love everyone.”

My concept is we are all God’s children. How dare the Reverend deny the child God’s blessing!

Eugene Robinson is a Washington Post columniust and frequent visitor to Key West. In a recent column he had to say this about Ian: “After Ian, Florida can’t rebuild the same way. It can be better…..There will be another hour as bad as Ian or worse. The best way to defend the Florida lifestyle is to reimagine it, not sentence it to perpetual destruction.”

Robinson is right on. Damaged Florida must be rebuilt taking hurricanes and other type storms into consideration. It might mean rebuilding Fort Myers a few miles down the road for example. Strict codes will have to be adopted and enforced. It all works!

I was out again yesterday at lunch time.

First, a manicure with Tammy. It was like she was waiting for me to come through the door. She could not wait to tell me her large salon had been flooded.

Three inches of water throughout. She and her husband had prepared for the possibility. Rather than sand bag the entrance door, they bought some sort of spray and sprayed the area. It was intended to prevent water from surging in. It failed.

Her deductible too large for an insurance claim. The water had to be cleaned out. It stunk she said. A foul water smell coupled with the smell from the major fire across the street. Two manicure chairs not working properly afterwards. Fortunately, damage overall not that bad.

The cleanup crew came in. Tammy, husband Rick and their two high school children. They cleaned from 9 am to 7 pm non-stop. Got the job done.

I took a ride afterwards to other parts of Key West I had not yet seen. Debris everywhere. In some areas, mountains of it.

The cleanup has been ongoing. Trucks everywhere. Machinery loading the debris onto the trucks.

An excellent job being done.

Followed my cleanup expedition with lunch at Hogfish. At the bar with Julia.

My day was not yet ended. Veronica showed up at 4. Not expected. Jungle medicine. She beat me up for an hour. Tough hands. Strong strokes. When she left, blood was circulating everywhere throughout my body.

Enjoy your day!

President Biden in a talk last night in New York used the term “nuclear Armageddon.”

Let’s hope not.

Biden added,  “The nuclear risk as high as during the Cuban Missile Crisis.” Could be. With one difference, however. The first nuclear bombs to fall would have been in our back yard.

I still vividly recall the American and Russian ships in a standoff in Cuban waters. Two vessels moving towards each other. One Russian, the other American. We were seconds from war. A matter of feet. Suddenly the Russian vessel turned and a nuclear war was averted.

It was a your heart in your throat moment.

Today’s is Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday. May he not live to see a 71st.

He is enjoying his 70th with his finger on the nuclear button. Causing fear in millions.

The Russian people were rumbling in the streets yesterday. They are becoming increasingly fearful. Their “leader” is bringing them to the brink of an all out war that will also be fought on their soil. Not their cup of tea.

Will Putin survive? Will their be a coup?

Ian’s impact becoming more evident with each passing day.

Fort Jefferson Davis in Dry Tortuga took a beating. Sustained significant damage.

Ian was a Category 3 when it hit. Winds 120 mph.

Damage to Key West more than I realized. Yesterday was haircut time. Visited with Lori. Then lunch at Harpoon Harry’s. Followed by a drive around town.

Debris more than the day before. Tons of it curbside. Trees, foliage, furniture, kitchen cabinets, etc. Salute’s had just finished bulldozing the sand out. Sand had filled the restaurant.

Everything I saw surprised me. It was much more than I had realized.

Enough debris that Key West through Monroe County made swift application for federal assistance to aid in the cleanup. Federal officials moved swiftly in response. Wednesday night, Florida’s Major Disaster Declaration was amended to include Monroe County for Category A debris removal. Means debris. Nothing more. Debris which is removed within 30 days. Again, does not include anything else. Like housing assistance, for example.

The cost of debris removal has been estimated at $5 billion. There is no cap. If more, so be it.

Biden made a good move yesterday re pardoning simple marijuana federal offenses. Clean records for all. He recommended states follow suit re simple pot offenses, also.

A criminal record is a criminal record. It follows a person for years. Affects employment, housing and educational opportunities. Biden’s action will help thousands, if not millions.

Note that at least 20 states have legalized marijuana for nonmedical use at this time.

The January 6 Committee has rescheduled its “final” public hearing for next thursday at 1 pm.

Herschel making the Georgia Senatorial race interesting. I suspect he is lying through his teeth. What surprises me is the reaction of Georgia voters. MSNBC interviewed 6 mature responsible appearing persons. Knowledgeable appearing also. All 6 believed the bad things mentioned re Herschel. Nevertheless each took the position that retention of Senate control was more important than Herschel’s indiscretions.

We live in a screwed up society!

Enjoy your day!

OPEC+ consists of OPEC members and non-member countries with interests similar to OPEC. Russia is a non-member member. These nations represent 40 percent of global petroleum supplies. The organization is led by Saudi Arabia.

A primary goal is to maintain oil production levels to keep world prices at the highest possible. Yesterday, the group voted to cut production by 2 million barrels per day. One result will be a rise in gas prices in the U.S. World wide also, of course. Prices will rise uncomfortably.

I believe the rise was put in place for reasons other than merely making more money. To impose pressure on the U.S. and European nations re the Ukraine problem. The Saudis obviously siding with Russia in this regard.

Biden tried to play “nice.” He went to Saudi Arabia this summer and “kissed the ring” in an attempt to assure oil prices would remain low. To assure what OPEC+ just did it would not do. Diplomacy did not work.

Time for the U.S. to change its game plan. Time for the U.S. to play hardball with Saudi Arabia. How, I do not know. Beyond my pay grade. However, we have those with the knowledge in Washington that do know. Get the wheels moving. Do what is necessary. Inflict some pain and discomfort. Not just on the Saudis. On other members of OPEC+ as well.

Saudi Arabia cannot be permitted to increase cost to its purchasers and commit other atrocities as they have in the past without paying a penalty.

Lets face it. The Saudis are not really our friends. Never have been. The U.S. got along because it needed them. We actually do not need them. We produce sufficient oil these days. The problem is the world needs OPEC+ oil. We have to help. Means getting the Saudis and OPEC to play ball. The U.S. can do it. We must impose pain on Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ till it hurts them bad. And then a bit more.

Sticking with the cost of gas, take a look at Monroe County.

The average cost for one gallon of gasoline in Florida is $3.25. Except in Monroe County. The average cost the past month $4.27 a gallon.

Why?

A popular Key West historical figure is Karl Tanzler aka Count von Cosel. He was arrested this day in 1940.

His love was Elaine Hoyo Mesa. She died. He first had her buried in the cemetery. A while later, he dug her up and removed her to his home. He kept her in his bed for several years before discovery. Such led to his arrest.

Halloween is around the corner. The MARC Pumpkin Patch is open at 1401 Seminary Street. Hours from 9 am – 7 pm through October 31. Take the kids and buy a pumpkin or two!

Solitary boat travel seems the thing. Key West’s Guy DeBoer our person! His a 7-9 month trip around the world. Unfortunately, Guy only made it to the Canary Islands where his sail boat Spirit ended up on the rocks. Effectively ending Guy’s journey.

Damian Browne another solitary ocean traveler. His trip not as long as Guy’s. Damian decided to travel from New York City to Galway, Ireland. His vessel a rowboat.

He did it!

The trip 112 days. Nautical miles 2,686. Average speed 1 knot or 1.4 miles per hour.

He described the trip comparable to “being in a washing machine.” His rowboat tipped a few times.  Damien in the water and his boat upside down. He had to somehow turn the boat and climb back in.

P.S. He can’t swim.

Mortgage rates continue to creep up.

U.S. 30 year average up 6.7 percent. Highest since 2006. Mortgage applications down 37 percent last week compared to a year ago.

This day in 1927 a major one in the entertainment industry and for the American public. The Jazz Singer staring Al Jolson premiered in New York City. First talking movie!

The Jazz  Singer revolutionized the motion picture industry. It was the end of silent films.

Enjoy your day!

A major Keys industry is lobstering. Spiny lobsters constitute a multimillion dollar business. China being its biggest customer.

Traps built specially to capture the lobsters are required. An industry unto itself. Ian blew away/destroyed 80 percent of the traps. Traps were blown as far as 7 miles from their settings. One fisherman estimates he lost 1,500-2,000 traps.

Traps presently cost $80 and more a piece. Two years ago, $40. The increase attributable to Ian. Two wood mills which make the traps are located in Arcadia, Florida. They were flooded. The cost pf rope has increased also. First, last year. More this year due to Ian.

The final and new cost involves aerial reconnaissance. Planes are being utilized to search for traps blown away. They can be recovered and most used again. Planes were used for the first time following Irma.

The expense getting the lobster industry back on its feet an expensive one. Federal and state assistance will be required.

I have to smile when I read the criticism being heaped on Fort Myers for purported delay in calling for a mandatory evacuation. I have no idea whether Fort Myers did wrong.  My initial reaction is in any disaster someone is sought to blame. Fort Myers may be such a victim. It called for mandatory evacuation after adjoining areas did. Less then 24 hours involved.

Let me share my thoughts re mandatory evacuation.

Few leave.

The residents have been through hurricane warnings for years. In many, told to evacuate. Initially did. Nothing happened. The hurricane missed them or was insignificant so they could have remained. People get tired of leaving and nothing happens. No easy task evacuating.

Then there are those who cannot afford to leave or have nowhere to go.

Assume all heed the warning and evacuate. They can’t. Insufficient gas available. No question about it.

Those that do leave find themselves bumper to bumper for hours. Stopped because of accidents, too much traffic, emergency vehicles, etc. Traffic does not move fast. I recall Georges. It took me 17 hours to get to Miami. Three hours to get to Big Pine alone. Big Pine 30 miles north of Key West. The traffic signal at the main intersection was working. Traffic was two lanes north. The south bound lane had been made north bound. The cross roads in Big Pine had next to no traffic. However the north bound traffic on US 1 was held up by the light. People stupidly stopped for it.

Judge with a grain of salt.

Everything/person Trump touches he destroys/corrupts. The court system next. Including the Supreme Court. The Mar-a-Lago documents case an example. Now he is trying to get the Supreme Court involved. Believing of course his friends like Thomas and the others he appointed owe him and will rule his way.

The court system was not and is not intended to work that way. Justice supposedly blind.

Congratulations to New York Yankee Aaron Judge. He broke Roger Maris’ American League home run record yesterday. Maris’ record of 61 home runs had stood for 61 years. Judge hit #62 last night.

Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001. However it was discovered he used steroids. He has yet to make it to the Hall of Fame. His last chance comes this December. I do not believe he belongs. He cheated.

The Daily Correspondent 10/3/22 reported: Archeologists In Greece Unearth ‘Larger-Than-Life’ Statue of Hercules.

Two thousand years old. In a dig in the town of Philippe located in Northern Greece.

I’m not surprised. I have spent much time in Greece. As long as two months at a time. Traveled the country a bit. Everywhere I went, they were digging. Unearthing whole cities, neighborhoods, artifacts, etc. Greece is antiquity itself. Worth seeing.

Lunched at Roostica yesterday. Limoncello wings. Always delicious!

Today plan on lunching at Harpoon Harry’s. Turkey special. Thanksgiving dinner. Always delicious, also!

Lunching out today because of voodoo massage at 4. Vast improvement since begun. Not sure if it will ever be complete.

Enjoy your day!

A school board budget committee in Bellevue, Virginia voted to eliminate fourth grade entirely. The committee decided it was “the best path forward” announcing: “We believe the school’s budget will be much healthier if we cut all fourth grade students entirely.”

A school board spokesperson said, “A clear choice. Each of the 500 fourth graders cost $10,000 a year.” The spokesperson added, “Sadly, with each fourth grade student sucking up valuable finite resources like teachers, textbooks, lunches, and desks, we’ve been operating in the red…..eliminating an entire elementary school grade will improve our school for the remaining  first, second, third and fifth graders.”

The spokesperson added after the board saw the improvement in test scores that eliminating fourth grades had achieved, the committee also opted to cut all students at the school as well.

Published in The Onion last night. Popping up all over the internet this morning. Written in The Onion and here with tongue in cheek.

Florida has been suffering a housing crisis of significant magnitude. Ian has made it worse. Dramatically so.

Key West suffered its third fire in a week. At the Roosevelt Garden Apartments. Displaced 14 persons. Six units involved. Two totally destroyed. Four inhabitable, but will have to be repaired first.

The fires a contribution to Key West’s housing problems.

Steve Thompson, Logan’s Lobster House, Alaska, and Jimmy Buffett.

Logan’s Lobster House was at the end of Simonton Street. I enjoyed Stu Logan when I went there to eat. Steve was a big man and he loved to talk. Live lobsters in a tank for everyone to gawk.

He said he spent his summers in Alaska every year, but the rest of the time he was here. I told him my brothers were commercial fishermen there. After that we had many stories to share.

Stu hired Jimmy Buffett to play. I’m sure it was his busiest day.

Latest Mar-a-Lago news of interest.

The Washington Post reported that in February Trump attorney Alex Connor refused Trump’s request that he advise the National Archives all documents had been returned. The Washington Post also reported Trump himself packed the boxes with the documents himself at the White House prior to their being shipped to Mar-a-Lago.

Two evidentiary points that will assist in burying Trump.

Trump is sue crazy. He keeps the courts busy. Fortunately, the court system is free. Probably why he uses it so frequently.

Trump brought a new lawsuit. He filed a $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN. In all likelihood, a waste of public dollars in the final analysis.

He should be charged for ALL costs for abusing the free court system, judges and staffs. The man is eating up tax dollars like crazy. Does not phase him in the least. Recall how many times he bragged he was too smart to pay taxes.

Enjoy your day!

The U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term this morning. In addition to arguments, the newest Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will be inducted. Another female thorn to aggravate Justice Alito.

Alito is the scurve who authored the decision which repealed Roe v. Wade. He has been riding a high since.

One liberal female Justice he finds especially aggravating. Elena Kagan. Bess Levin in a 9/29/22 Vanity Fair article spelled it out. The article titled: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Last Seen Obliterating Abortion Rights, Wants Liberal Female Colleague To Shut Her Mouth.

Alito apparently believes critiquing his action “crosses an important line.” Levin describes Alito comments re Kagan as “medieval.”

Kagan comments upsetting Alito include her belief that half the population are being treated like second class citizens, the Supreme Court is losing connection with the people, and the Court is legislating when it decides cases today rather than acting as an umpire. He is upset with Kagan’s position that the Court is imposing its personal preferences on society. Going a step further, Kagan’s belief the Court is inflicting one party’s ideological views in its legal decisions.

Alito recently commented in a Wall Street Journal interview re Kagan’s positions: She is saying or implying the Court is an “illegitimate institution questioning our integrity crosses an important line.”

Levin spells out Alito’s Wall Street comment thusly: In effect what Alito is saying is he “wants Elena Kagan to shut her liberal mouth, which is not only some anti-free speech bullshit but a conservative way for him to ignore the fact that he shares a large portion of the blame for the widely held view that the Court has no integrity.”

Kagan is supported in her positions by female Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Today a third is being added to the group, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Not yet a majority. However stick to your guns ladies. Alito believes he is above criticism. Especially well founded criticism from women. Alito not only cannot stand criticism, he abhors its female source.

Enjoy your day!

Everyone I have run into since Ian passed by Key West say the same thing: “We’re lucky.” Truth be told, I agree.

Sloan was here yesterday removing the fallen foliage round the house. She is my helping hand in every regard. She echoed what everyone else was: : “We’re lucky.” She had an addition, however. Recall I had difficulty sleeping the night Ian slowly blew over and it rained like hell. The mere sound and knowledge of the event exhausted me.

Sloan added to it: “The house shook.” Her house. During the night while she was in bed.

Let me explain the why of “we’re lucky.” Irma.

Irma was a category 4. It was aimed straight at Key West. For several days prior to landfall. Never deviated. That is why I left 5 days before its anticipated landfall. Prior to hitting, it had been projected as a Category 5.

Irma was narrow compared to Ian. Just before reaching Key West, it deviated west slightly. Enough to avoid a major impact to Key West. A hurricane is wind. My sailing experiences have taught me wind is fickle. Never know when it is going to turn one way or another. Irma avoided Key West. However came back over the Keys 20.5 miles later. Landfall and significant destruction to Cudjoe Key.

That experience remains locked in the minds of Key Westers.

Lets turn now to Ian.

Ian a big storm. Could be the largest ever.  The meteorologists claim it was anywhere from 500-1,000 miles wide. It passed by Key West 30 miles west of the Dry Tortugas. The Dry Tortugas are 70 miles west. Which means Ian passed Key West 100 miles to the west. No big deal considering Ian’s width. It could easily have swung east, made up the 100 miles and left Key West buried in debris and perhaps death.

Note also the hype was Ian was going to make landfall at Tampa-St. Petersburg. Deviated at the last minute and hit Fort Myers. Fort Myers is 144.5 miles to the south. The Irma, Key West, Cudjoe Key scenario on a larger scale.

“We’re lucky.”

Seventy one years ago on this day in 1951, the City Planning Board approved a zoning change for the Dairy Queen to build on United Street near White Street. Still standing and busy. Continues to give pleasure to so many, including Louis, Robert, Ally, and Lisa.

Guy DeBoer reported yesterday that Spirit was on a jack stand ready to be hauled to a repair yard. Total exterior damage was visible for the first time. One side beat up. The other, nothing.

Major damage to hull, bottom of keel and a tick on both sides of the rudder. More than Guy had anticipated. However, fixable. Guy in going to begin the repairs himself.

For those on in their years like me, a Phyllis Diller quote is in order: “I’m at an age where my back goes out more than I do.” So true it is.

Putin and Trump both have a propensity for saying and/or doing the wrong thing.

The Putin way. Ihor Murashov is the head of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s largest. Russian troops stopped his car Friday, blindfolded him, and took him to an undisclosed location.

The Trump way. Trump called for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s death. Trump posted late Friday on his Truth Social Platform: “He has a DEATH WISH.” Why suggesting McConnell’s death? Why perhaps subtly encouraging his MAGA followers to kill McConnell? For agreeing to a deal to fund the government through December.

Many states have gun buy back programs. New York is one.

Kim lived a 6 hour drive from Utica, my home town. He drove to the Utica Police Station to have some guns purchased by the State. The program applied to real guns and those that appeared to be real.

Kim had 110 phony guns. They were 3D-printed guns. He had received the computer program for Christmas from which he made the “guns.”

Kim sold the 110 guns to the State for $21,000. He received from the State 42 gift cards worth $500 each.

The State negotiated the amount to be paid him. The State was reluctant to pay the full value for 110 guns printed out on a computer.

The whole thing made the Attorney General’s office uncomfortable.

Since the sale to Kim, the State has adjusted the program so 3D weapons would not be honored. The State after paying out the $21,000 felt it had been exploited.

Syracuse beat Wagner 59-0 yesterday. Syracuse was favored by 55 points.

I’m surprised by the size of the victory. I expected a significant Syracuse win. Not 59 points, however.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Lisa, my baby. Fourth and last child. Fifty eight years old yesterday. Happy birthday my love!

Ian ain’t showing no respect! Only way to describe the situation. Traveling all over. Puerto Rico and other islands. Florida, South Carolina and other states. Leaving behind devastation, ruin, and death.

Why so bad? Global warming involved? Difficult to say. There have been other hurricanes as bad. Andrew and the Hurricane of 1935 for example.

Even as a Category 1, Ian with its water damage is wreaking havoc in South Carolina.

I got out of the house yesterday. Some errands to run and wanted to see what Key West looked like.

Damage nowhere similar to Fort Myers and other areas. Which I knew would be the case. We were lucky.

The streets were different. Many areas covered in brown. Looked like hardened shit. The only way to describe it. Note the damage was foliage. I assume cars drove over it turning it into brown mulch which dried. Time and rain will wash it away.

Tree branches and leaves laying on the roadside. People already cleaning up. More than I would have thought. In some places, tree trunks sawed into pieces lying with the branches and leaves. In other places, a piece of wall or two and some furniture which I assume had been soaked when water entered a home.

I ran into no flooded streets. Of course, Ian had visited 2-3 days earlier.

About a 100 boats displaced. Appeared to be live-a-boards.

I did not go near the beaches. I had been forewarned the road running by Higgs was buried with sand. Smathers with concrete. Not sure yet if parts of the Boulevard or sidewalk running along Smathers was ripped up.

I went to Bank of America to get cash. The ATM out of money. Went inside. Packed. I left. Never saw so many in the bank at one time. I really did not need cash that bad. My cards would do if I spent any money.

The building across from Bank of America which was on fire wednesday morning destroyed. Doubt any part is salvageable.

Traffic was heavy everywhere.

Stopped at Lisa’s to wish her a Happy Birthday! She was tied up on a conference business call. Shared a few words with Jake and went home.

The Key West Citizen has changed its name. Effective today it is Keys Citizen. Understandable. Money. The paper has published less and less about Key West in recent years. Cut its publication to 4- 5 days a week. Now it will cover all the Keys with one paper. Publication days will continue to be limited.

Ian had to cause a lot of turmoil for the ocean population. I was and continue to be concerned about the turtle hatching population on the beaches. Thousands gone forever.

I doubt the reef itself is attractive today. Should take a few days for the water to calm down.

Steve Thompson wrote of the beauty of the reef in the 1970’s.

My first time to the reef was just too cool. White sand beach we pulled onto.

It was like floating in a giant orange castle. Bright colored fish floating by with no hassle. The water was so clear it was like outer space. Everything moving at a slow space. Couldn’t believe no one was around. Just the reef, the fish, and not a sound.

I never saw it that bright again. I’ll remember that dive till the end.

Guy is making progress. Spirit back on a flatbed today. The flatbed will take Spirit to a repair yard. There it will remain during repairs. At the moment, Guy plans to remain and work on the repairs himself.

Syracuse/Wagner 5 pm today. Syracuse a 55 point favorite.

Hope there are no surprises.

Enjoy your day!

A touch of humor in these moments of extreme pain.

Bare Assets on Truman is a gentlemen’s club. Its BARE ASSETS sign stood in its parking lot on Truman. The sign did not make it. Ian apparently has LGBTQ problems. Does not like strip clubs.

When it rains it pours. More appropriately stated, when it rains Key West experiences fires.

While Ian was pounding Key West, the town had 4 fires. Two of significance.

The first was reported yesterday. The  retail/residential property on Flagler. The second occurred last night at the Key West Airport. Started in a hanger and spread to several others. Engulfed a helicopter and sea plane. Five private planes were were able to be saved.

The cause is under investigation.

My Mother was a diabetic. It killed her. Her case an extreme one. She had to shoot herself in the stomach twice a day.

Mom never complained about anything. Except, the daily injections. To her it was a cross she was bearing.

An announcement yesterday indicates diabetics are on the threshold for relief. A drug taken orally is on the horizon.

A capsule has been developed at MIT which has the capacity to travel through mucous in the GI tract. Insulin is protein based and until this time protein based pills were unable to travel through mucous in the GI tract.

Ginni Thomas appeared before the January 6 Committee yesterday for close to 4 hours. She answered all questions posed. Though some of her answers were on what might be described as the whacky side. She insisted the election was stolen from Trump by Biden’s people.

She is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Thomas. She insisted she never discussed public/court maters with her husband. Hard to believe. The woman is a liar. She and the game her husband play contributes to the growing lack of confidence the people have in the Supreme Court.

Many bodies are cremated.

I never gave much thought to what the final product consisted of. Assumed it was the entire body that made up the ashes. Recently learned not so. The ashes are the body bones burned down. Other burned body parts go down a drain.

A new form of embalming is slowly gaining notoriety. Embalming with water. The corpse is dissolved in water. Called “aquamation water” aka “alkaline hydrolysis.”

The body is placed in a pressure vessel which is then filled with a combination of water and potassium hydroxide. Heated to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Boiled for 6 hours till all that is left is liquid and bone. The liquid is drained off. The bones crushed. As with cremation, it is bone residue which is given to survivors.

The liquid drains into the sanitary system. Can be used also to water a garden or other green spaces.

Cost cheap. Once the undertaker has purchased the machinery, the procedure an inexpensive $116.40.

The Mayo Clinic has been using the system/process for years.

The Catholic Church opposes its use. As it initially was with cremation. The U.S. Conference of Bishops in 2011 announced it was “unnecessarily disrespectful of the human body.”

Water embalming is legal in 19 states.

Putin on the move again this week. Two new developments.

One involves damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Putin claims sabotage. As does the rest of the free world. The saboteur? Putin, of course. Though he denies it and blames Germany, the U.S., etc.

The other, the formal “annexation” of 4 parts of Ukraine today. Putin making a big deal of the signing which is scheduled for today. The vote of the people earlier this week was around 90 percent in favor. Of course, done in front of a gun barrel and witnesses.

Putin at some point will run out of games to play. He will be left only with the nuclear option. I find it hard to believe he would play the card. Death and destruction for all concerned. Russia, Europe in general and the U.S. The simpler and less deadly solution is for the Russian people to drag Putin out of his office onto a public square and hang him.

Neville Chamberlain screwed up big time this day in 1938. He sought to avoid war, to appease Hitler. The Munich Pact the result.

Chamberlain viewed it as “peace with honor” / “peace in our time.”

What it really amounted to was total capitulation. Within months, World War II began.

Enjoy your day!

Ian represents nothing less than nature at its worst. With a destructive path that will continue into early next week.

Key West was spared. Other Florida areas not. TV viewings of Ian’s force and destruction borders on the unbelievable. Water rolling on shore. Filling many first floors. In some areas, second floors. Ian’s power so great it sucked water right out of a river and major waterway. Unbelievable. Cars floating. Soon bodies.

The most moving event I viewed on TV this morning. I do not recall where. However, a family apparently opted to stay. Their home 2 stories. Viewing showed husband/father on second floor. Water waist to chest high. He was talking to some TV personnel safely in a studio somewhere. The man was talking about trying to get on the roof. Unable to do so. There was an open window next to him. TV people were telling him to get everyone out and find something to hold on to that would float till help could arrive.

Help of course hours away. Not part of the conversation.

As the talk was ongoing, there was a rapid swoosh of water and the screen went blank. My feeling is the man was washed out the window. Probably drowned. His family. Don’t know.

Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run yesterday. Tied Roger Maris’ record set in 1961.

I remember the 1961 season. I was a young lawyer at the time. Maris and Mickey Mantle both played for the Yankees. Both were leading the home run race. Maris slightly in the lead most of the season. A couple of home runs ahead.

The country followed the race with attention and excitement. Maris ultimately won with 61.

I hope Judge gets a few more home runs in the final days of the season. Records are made to be broken. Maris’ has held the record for 61 years. Time for a new top gun.

Bad enough Ian imposed itself on Key West this week. So did a major fire.

Just before 6 yesterday morning, a joint retail/residential structure burned. Total loss. Forty residents without homes. All commercial businesses without a home, also.

The building is located at 3201 Flagler. Directly across the street from Bank of America.

Syphilis is on the rise in the U.S. A recent study showed a 26 percent increase in the one year period 2020-2021. The increase of special concern. Twenty-twenty had marked the lowest number of cases ever.

The concern extends to the unborn also. The same study noted a 24 percent increase in congenital syphilis. Fetuses in the wombs. Born dead or soon after birth.

Last week I wrote of an increase in venereal diseases. STDs.

Contributing to the problem is we are becoming an increasingly sex conscious nation. I’m not arguing with the increased desire. Enjoy! Sex is pleasurable. Experts suggest AIDS/HIV not the concern it once was. People feel freer to enjoy.

Experts also believe a lack of public investment a cause. Money not being appropriated to assist in minimizing the affliction.

There is a cure. Penicillin. No vaccination is available.

The experts further indicate that syphilis has become such a non problem over the years, that many of today’s doctors do not even recognize it when they see it.

Syracuse/Wagner saturday at 5 pm at Syracuse. Syracuse 4-0, Wagner 0-3.

Syracuse a 55 point favorite. If I were a betting man, I would bet Wagner. Fifty five points a hell of a spread!

Enjoy your day!