Just Wandering

Only thing I know that’s better than a good story is having a good story to tell .

I’m not a country music fan but I am a fan of stories and many a country singer has a story to tell. Even if it is only about just getting out of jail or a fixer up pickup truck. One country singer in particular became famously known as “The Story Teller” and with good cause .

That would be Tom T. Hall and back in 1972 Tom T. imparted his wisdom and wrote the words to one of the few country songs that I can actually quote … Old Dogs and Children .

I was cleaning up the entrance to a condo building in SW Florida the other day when a man entering the building asked ” How ya doing ?”

“Terrible” I replied….. said it and I meant it.

He laughed and continued on to inform me I sounded just like his Uncle .

” My Uncle always answered that question with….. My life ain’t worth a dime .”

I couldn’t help but respond with words written by a wise story teller …..

” That’s because there ain’t but three things in this whole world worth a solitary dime… old dogs, children…. and watermelon wine.”

Turns out I quoted a Tom T. Hall lyric to none other than the son of a brother of The Story Teller himself ….

Today is June, 26 . It’s the anniversary of the famous Berlin Blockade and the day of the true beginning of the Cold War in 1948. After the Russians blockaded the city of Berlin they ultimately built a wall through it to either keep people in… or keep people out.

I view this as somewhat interesting as I made a thirty five year career out of building walls . With trowel in hand I have built a thousand walls or more of brick, block and stone . Pretty walls in gardens, and factory walls. Walls for homes and schools and walls in gated communities to keep people out, and prison walls to keep people in.

I understand and have an affinity with walls.

At an estate sale two weeks ago I found little of the deceased possessions of much interest to me until I entered his office . Pride of place was a little cardboard box imprinted …

“The Berlin Wall…Authentic Berlin Wall Cuts.”

Inside the box was a chunk of concrete in a cloth pouch and authenticating paperwork proclaiming it to be a genuine piece of the famous Berlin Wall. Outside the box was an asking price of $ 1.00 and as I handled that piece of concrete I could feel the warm summer morning when when those men poured the concrete to build it back in 1961. And I could feel the anger and glee of those who tore it down in 1989.

When I noticed the Germanic name of a fellow American on other items in the room I knew the $1.00 asking price worthy of it’s historic value. In 1989 American citizens cheered when our President intervened and urged a foreign nation to take down a wall…and two days ago those same Americans cheered the construction of 200 miles of wall right here in our own land.

I’ll build a wall again…. and tear one down as quickly

Why did more than 900 people commit suicide in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978 ?

It was blind belief and faith in a leader that brought that tragedy to the news that day decades ago. Mr. Jim Jones led all those unquestioning and faithful followers …… to their deaths .

I see similarities today in that we now have a leader who endlessly ridicules and denigrates scientists and those in the medical profession. He fires them from life long works that were meant to protect us all simply because they may have had the educated temerity to point out his being wrong . And it seems we are willing to accept this without murmur.

A true leader would use every tool at his disposal for the benefit of those he’s responsible for and I would have to say that scientists and those advanced in the medical profession would be a very valuable tool right now. But a cult leader and a cult follower would have a different thought .

I guess what brought this on was that today I entered the ABC liquor store with my corona mask on. I patiently waited for a mask-less couple to finish their perusal of all the ales and beers in the cooler before coming in my direction. As I stepped aside ……

” Must be a Democrat ” the man said to his wife making sure I could hear.

“Must be a Democrat ” he said about some one who is likely more conservative than he.

Name it… air or water pollution , people with no medical insurance, even a world wide disease. And only here in the United States will “every single issue” become a partisan argument. And that is a symbol of us all ……. blind faith cult followers of two political parties.

Can’t think for yourself …. then drink the Kool Aid

I was fortunate to have lived a very large part of the 1980’s in Australia and that nation taught me a great deal. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that until well after I’d left her.

While “down under” I once attended a sporting event of some 10,000 to 15,000 spectators and I don’t recall whether it was soccer, or rugby. But I do recall there being but one lonely police officer in attendance. I assume his presence was to address that rare “just in case” scenario that might happen at a sporting event of that size in a civilized nation.

Couple of years later I found myself back in the United States . It being pre personal computer days we all still read books and so one Saturday morning I found myself arrive at a Dalton Books Store for a quiet perusal of their wares . Little did I know that Daltons was holding a book signing event that day with a small time author in attendance.

That meant my expected quiet perusal had to be shared with a crowd of some “sixty five” other people …. along with three police officers. The officers presence I assume being to address any “just in case” scenario that might occur at a book signing of that magnitude here in the United States .

I’m a gun owner, and I guess I do believe in the second amendment. But I don’t believe in the need to attend a political protest with an AR 15 semi auto rifle and five 20 round magazines of ammo hanging off my chest. To me that’s just little boy playing soldier just because he has the freedom to play little boy playing soldier. It embarrasses me as an American when friends from overseas ask me why people carry rifles to protests here.

I’m embarrassed even more that I can’t answer the question as I don’t view the carrying of a semi automatic rifle in public as a freedom.

I view it as fear…. and when I’m afraid I don’t feel free .

We’ve all seen well worn coins . Old coins that have seen so many transactions that they’ve lost their sharp fresh minted edges as well as any collector value. I have one that I myself have caressed so often that I alone hold responsibility for it’s very aged and antiquated appearance.

The Wren is the smallest bird in the British Isles and I believe that is why its image was chosen to be placed on the smallest coin in use there, the farthing. The farthing is a coin that when in use was the equivalent to merely one fourth of an English penny and my well worn wren sits flip side of the coin to King George VI who show’s equal wear.

Recently a man asked if I had a knife on me and could he borrow it if I did. As I handed the knife over I mentioned the fact it was unlikely he’d ever seen me with out a knife in my pocket .

” Never carried one ” he said .

I thought about how different we were as I’ve rarely ever spent a day in my life with out a knife of some sort in my pocket. And truly doubt that there was ever a day when I didn’t reach for it and it to put it to use . There is always a rope to cut or fingernail to clean, maybe fruit to slice and hopefully not in that order.

I remember the very first time I cut my finger as I still own that very knife . It was a gift given me 59 years ago at the very tender age of almost six and I’ve felt naked without one in my presence ever since. This knife was made in Sheffield England and holds an English farthing in its handle and has been fondled almost daily over all these years as it brings back so much of the place its from and of the gifter.

One day King George and the Wren will be completely worn away….

…… and I’ll be buried with the knife in my pocket

Let’s spend our time listening to a President accuse another nation of deliberately poisoning the globe with an infectious disease shall we ? It obviously doesn’t matter that the intelligence community says it’s not so … or that all the previous pandemics were naturally caused. It only matters that he’s said it with no intention of ever backing it up with cold hard facts.

Let’s query why he would do that , or maybe we shouldn’t since half of us are blindly faithful and so desperately need to believe .

Not to let the intelligence community off the hook entirely mind you, as they are the guys …we’re told… that convinced GW that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction . On the strength of that “intelligence” we invaded another country and committed ourselves to yet another very long and unsuccessful war. And not a stockpiled weapon of mass destruction was to be found.

Of course no war is unsuccessful to those who’ve purchased the correct stocks .

So… back to the query… why would he do that ?

Well for a start it takes my mind off of all the errors that the “fake news” has reported about his recent efforts in his new position as “War Time President”. And as is the norm, when it looks like you’re guilty, lay blame.

Couple of days ago someone told me loudly about his belief that this virus was an act of war against the United States…. and I couldn’t help but wonder….

….what Italy had to do with it

At the age of seven I visited a place known as St. Albans in an ancient land my Mother and I once called home . While there my Grandfather walked me to the remnants of a wall built by the Romans 1,700 years prior. I was fascinated by this ancient structure protected from vandals by a wrought iron fence. As the adults walked away I squeezed through the iron bars and tore a small piece of that ancient wall from where it had sat for all those years .

It was my treasure and I kept it secretly hidden throughout most of my childhood until I sold it for a quarter to another kid .

Nowadays the wife and I happily indulge our weekends in the hunt of items of interest from times long past to times as far back as only yesterday . I cannot deny my mercenary past and will have to admit that it’s more than enjoyment and love of history that provokes our endless searches…. there is profit to be made.

We are not the only ones who gain from our weekend searches . There are often delighted collectors provided with long sought after items that they wouldn’t find elsewhere. We’ve found , possessed and sold to collectors and historians the likes of early NASA items from the estate of a retired NASA engineer. We’ve “discovered” and parted with one of the finest collections of antique Addis wood carving chisels in the country. Those chisels were from the 1850’s and manufactured in the very London neighborhood my Grandfather grew up in.

I enjoy no end a British television series called The Detectorists . It’s a wonderful story of two treasure hunters in England who spend their weekends in search of treasure with their metal detectors . They scour the English country side in an endless quest of Saxon antiquities and Roman gold. That show brings back many fond memories of that ancient place …… and memories of a fellow adventurer.

A friend …. now deceased…. had similar interests though at a different level. He sought and robbed ancient graves in South America . His many finds were quickly snatched by hard core collectors willing to chance the illegality of their purchase. He was a fellow mercenary that sought treasure for both joy and profit, and I think of him when I watch that wonderful British TV show .

Pensive ?…. why shouldn’t I have been?

I sat on a stool in the master bathroom at a 45 degree angle from the very large mirror above the sink. From that position my left eye could just barely see the wife about to make an attempt at something for the first time in her life. The right ear was tuned in to the volume of the TV in the other room and I could hear clearly a documentary about the 1970 Kent State massacre.

The Corona virus has created many changes to our lives and has done so rapidly . “Adapt and Overcome” is a military saying that needs us all paying heed. It’s the reason I sat on a stool in the master bath while the wife began her hair cutting apprenticeship upon my head with a borrowed hair clipper.

Not to make light of that horrible day on May 4th 1970 as I remember that time well. But men with short hair back then had hair down to their shoulders and while I listened to that documentary through the right ear I could see through my left eye the wife about to remove mine with zero experience. I started to think that since the corona virus has shut all barber shops, perhaps we should consider a return to the hippy looking roots we enjoyed back in 1970.

But in twenty minutes the deed was done. I was afraid to face the mirror and witness the results but the wife proudly proclaimed……..

” It looks good Baby ! … and I felt relief until she added ….

“But a barber could fix it ” ….

I’ve decided it will need two or three beers to muster the courage to face a mirror and what the wife keeps chuckling at ….

” So …what do you like most about Florida ?” is the question.

“The birds ” the wife will quickly remark while I simultaneously mention “lizards”

She of course wins again and I refill the bird baths out back at least twice a day while not a single lizard bath is to be found anywhere on the property .

I love the lizards in Florida….they are bold and have no fear of giants and they rely on no one. Little green tropical leprechauns if you will that will fearlessly sit on my work bench while I toil at a hobby. Being ugly doesn’t seem to bother them much either and so they seem to me to be true representatives of happiness. I’m pleased to note that my yard has more than its share of these happy little green beings and happier still I don’t need to lug gallons of water out to them twice a day.

Not to say I don’t enjoy the birds and their baths. We have numerous species that que up to take their turn splashing and wing flapping in the very expensive water I provide. From her seat in the living room the wife delights no end at the view . But they aren’t the same ..… as a lizard.

Through the window we just gratefully witnessed a hawk pluck a black snake from the back lawn . But he wouldn’t have done it with us closely present as birds are afraid of giants.

And they won’t look you in the eye like a lizard will

I still don’t get it …

Three weeks from the promise of instant help I must confess with all honesty…I didn’t need it. I’m of course talking about the economic stimulus checks we’ve all been offered …..

However, if my anti socialist government is happy giving $Billions to farmers to bail them out and $Billions to airlines to bail them out, then I’m willing to accept my paltry $1200 stimulus check in order to get the economy back on track . Mind you, I’m not happy when a government offers us an “economic stimulus” check as it only means we are in deep shit and back on track ain’t happening when the twelve hundred is gone.

Like millions of other people I have accessed the “Get My Payment” portal of the IRS daily for over a week… only to be informed my eligibility could not be ascertained with the information I provided.

Today it proclaimed for the first time that I am indeed eligible for this benefit. It provided a link to input my banking information for direct deposit which coincidentally was the same info the IRS used to accept my owed tax payment . I diligently typed in all the required banking info plus the requested info from my 2019 Tax Return that the IRS used to accept my tax “payment” .

I’m informed that “The information I have provided does not match the information on file” ….….

Just got my water bill. It came with notification that as of April 1st water rates were to increase by 7%. So I just paid $109 for a months worth of water for two people.

To be fair on that statement I will admit we do a lot of laundering mop heads and cleaning cloths for our small service industry business. On the other hand it was double our electric bill while running central air conditioning in SW Florida.

One of the reasons for our large water bill is the local government agreed to subsidize the infrastructure and needs of two large projects. One being a large hotel/condo with water front dining….. all nine stories of it on a harbor water front that prohibits anything taller than four.

” It will bring jobs ! ” is what everyone kept touting loudly as an excuse to support the already wealthy investors in their endeavors.

” It will bring jobs ” has long been the mantra…. to an area where every business in the region already cannot meet its staffing needs . I didn’t need a job, I made my own and I couldn’t get enough people to accept the ones I offered. And I didn’t need a 7% rate increase on my utilities.

Almost overnight my service industry centered economy here in SW Florida has laid off half the work force yet I still can’t get anyone interested in a job….. why ? I’ll tell ya why …

A painting contractor working on one of the buildings I maintain had to lay off some of the help. Today one of those “poor” laid off workers came by to brag that his stimulus funded unemployment benefits were to the tune of $ 800 + a week . I guess that means there is no chance I’ll get him to accept a job from me ….. As you’ve heard me say before ….

” Who ever thought Socialism would prosper so quickly under the present leadership ? “

As an aside construction of the big hotel on the harbor is presently abandoned as it would seem the owner, Allegiant Air, is going to need to be subsidized…. just like the farmers who also sell their votes .
Likely the unfinished hotel will look like a bombed out Beirut building for years while I cough up an additional 7 % for water….

Per usual…. I didn’t get it

Other people were already bragging they’ve received their much touted $1200 stimulus check.

I didn’t, and so like millions before me I accessed the highly advertised “Stimulus Portal”

It kindly informed me that
” According to the information on file we cannot determine your elligibilty at this time “

Can’t determine my eligibility ? U.S. citizen residing in the United States, paid an awful lot of income tax last year, I employ people… they can’t determine my eligibility ?

… they couldn’t determine the wifes either.

So I got off my ass and filed my Federal Tax Return for 2019 on line . Before accepting my tax return however the IRS required I type in last years Adjusted Gross Income . That was easy as I have the transcript I received from the IRS last year with that very information on page one.

My tax return was rejected of course due to the IRS claiming my numbers for last years gross adjusted income were incorrect. I sit here now looking at the transcript from the IRS sent to me last year, and the figure I placed upon this years question of last years Gross Adjusted Income …… identical to the penny.

I used to quietly smirk at the inefficiencies of the numerous third world nations I visited.
Now I’m embarrassed that many from those “shit hole” countries have lost interest in coming here…. kind of loosing interest myself… ya know?

You have …… I know you have .

You have heard me lament no end my frustrations over the cheap shit crap I have purchased. The toilet roll holder that pins a roll so tight to the wall it gets shredded half to death before the roll will roll . Towel hooks with a design that allows the towel to instantly slide to the floor…. it’s replacement that won’t tighten enough to stop it wobbling to a 35 degree pitch …

I recently broke the glass pot on a fairly new cheap shit coffee maker and experienced some mild excitement in finding a generic “universal” coffee maker carafe replacement. The carafe looked good enough as how good does a glass coffee pot need to look ? At $9.95 and as it fit the coffee maker to a T ….. I deemed it perfect .

When we first came to Florida I made a huge “Yankee” mistake… not once, but twice . I went fishing at the beach for six hours barefoot . If you’ve ever experienced sunburn on the tops of your feet you must surely feel empathy. The memory of not being able to wear shoes for a week due to both pain and the size that those two red lobsters had swollen to came back the other day.

You see, the new carafe has a small design flaw ….. its shape . No matter how careful, you just can’t pour a cup with out 10% of the coffee running down the side to drip all over the counter. Or as happened… onto the top of my foot .

Generations ago uneducated men knew how to make a coffee pot that didn’t piss coffee on your foot. And now it takes a design engineer to create one that does …..

I’m betting those uneducated coffee pot makers of years ago were too smart to stand barefoot in the sun for six hours as well….

I’ve said it before…. I’ll say it again

Three days ago Fox News broadcast it all for us to watch . A televised small business event where Mr. Trump broadcast to us all how Ivanka created 15 million jobs ….”15 million jobs” he said.

Now if he’s telling the “truth” I’d have to say it’s a good thing we drained the swamp . If we hadn’t drained the swamp we would all have been denied the incredible expertise of Ivanka… and Jared. …

We’ve effectively dismantled many governmental departments these past three years , and hamstrung others by replacing proficient leadership with loyal leadership. We’ve accepted the excuse that saving money is important and the belief that many of these Government departments are not really necessary . Now that we have “drained the swamp” I can’t help but notice that we can’t efficiently maneuver medical supplies around… or get on line and file for unemployment. …like they do in civilized countries .

But… thank God we’ve drained the swamp and replaced it …..

And there they are…”standing in” for professionals are the likes of Ivanka and Jared. And we all think that we’re getting a deal cause they don’t take a pay check ….

Well they are in it for something…. and I ain’t buying its for love of country

and we better keep draining because young Baron is going to need a job soon as well …..

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again .

put the damn gators back in the swamp

Ya know, back in the start of this blog it was my every intention to steer around politics but lately I just can’t seem to help myself . In light of our new press secretaries statements, in particular those pertaining to Corona Virus…. I just can’t help but let loose again.

So… lets look at the Corona Virus time line since January … with quotes from the man himself who our new press secretary describes as being the “best authority “

Jan 8 – First CDC warning on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Jan 9 – Trump campaign rally
Jan 14 – Trump campaign rally
Jan 16 – House sends impeachment articles to Senate
Jan 18 – Trump golfs
Jan 19 – Trump golfs
Jan 20 – first case of COVID-19 in the US, Washington State.
Jan 22 – “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”
Jan 28 – Trump campaign rally
Jan 30 – Trump campaign rally
Feb 1 – Trump golfs
Feb 2 – “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”
Feb 5 – Senate votes to acquit. Then takes a five-day weekend.
Feb 10 – Trump campaign rally
Feb 12 – Dow Jones closes at an all time high of 29,551.42
Feb 15 – Trump golfs
Feb 19 – Trump campaign rally
Feb 20 – Trump campaign rally
Feb 21 – Trump campaign rally
Feb 24 – “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
Feb 25 – “CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus.”
Feb 25 – “I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.”
Feb 26 – “The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”
Feb 26 – “We’re going very substantially down, not up.” Also “This is a flu. This is like a flu”; “Now, you treat this like a flu”; “It’s a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”
Feb 27 – “One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
Feb 28 – “We’re ordering a lot of supplies. We’re ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn’t be ordering unless it was something like this. But we’re ordering a lot of different elements of medical.”
Feb 28 – Trump campaign rally
Feb 29 – First COVID-19 death in US
Mar 2 – “You take a solid flu vaccine, you don’t think that could have an impact, or much of an impact, on corona?”
Mar 2 – “A lot of things are happening, a lot of very exciting things are happening and they’re happening very rapidly.”
Mar 4 – “If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work — some of them go to work, but they get better.”
Mar 5 – “I NEVER said people that are feeling sick should go to work.”
Mar 5 – “The United States… has, as of now, only 129 cases… and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep these numbers as low as possible!”
Mar 6 – “I think we’re doing a really good job in this country at keeping it down… a tremendous job at keeping it down.”
Mar 6 – “Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They’re there. And the tests are beautiful…. the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This was not as perfect as that but pretty good.”
Mar 6 – “I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”
Mar 6 – “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.”
Mar 7 – Trump golfs
Mar 8 – Trump golfs
Mar 8 – “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus.”
Mar 9 – “This blindsided the world.”
Mar 13 – [Declared state of emergency]
Mar 15 – 3,613 COVID-19 cases, 69 deaths
Mar 17 – “This is a pandemic,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

Half the town are now wearing masks which only partially hides their ugly countenance .

Face masks will soon become mandatory I believe as this ugly virus is showing it’s strength and nearby towns have already implemented the mandatory in public mask rule. With that in mind I sought and discovered that Amazon can’t deliver an appropriate mask prior to the end of March…. a mere seven weeks away….. What to do now ?

As usual the answer is the internet. And so being unaware of the need of more specifics I typed into Google search the simple wording of …
“Do it Yourself Masks” ….. and the multitudes of choices all proved very interesting .

Today at the local liquor store I found myself standing in line on my designated six foot apart from another customer mark on the floor. Some fellow line standers were wearing masks and others not. I couldn’t help myself… sometimes I just need to indulge my own humor. I just had to tell all in line a simple fact….

” I’ve been looking online for instructions on Do It Yourself Masks… I think I’m gonna go with the pigs head. ” I proclaimed.

It brought a mild chuckle from some while others, ignorant of the need of humor, ignored it.

At that very moment a motorcycle pulled up to the front of the store and its pilot dismounted and entered the store wearing a rabbits head mask …..
The place erupted into laughter so I guess my pigs head choice was second rate .

However the ABC liquor store manager wouldn’t let the motor cycle pilot enter with a complete face covering mask. I’m betting he’d wished he’d gone with the pigs head …..

Flip Flop

Even though I live a life that would be deemed the “mantra” of conservative idealism some members of my family have placed a different brand upon me.

So… what is the “mantra of conservatism” ?

Personal responsibility comes to mind… as does fiscal responsibility.

Reliance on no social benefits what so ever can be thrown in there as well.

Being completely self reliant and self employed on top of being denied any social benefit I have had the need to ask for these past 30 + years… I’d say I sing the conservative mantra .

However, there are those in my family who would label me a Liberal Communist .

That title bestowed upon me because it was…and still is… my belief that Obama’s stimulus package worked. Let’s build roads and bridges and put people back to “work” for their money was the idea . Because of that theory we got new roads and bridges. And people started working and building homes here in Florida again…. six years ago.

I’ve just spent years struggling to get people to come to work 5 days a week. It only became more difficult as the rate of the unemployed kept dropping. Almost overnight this terrible virus caused half the people in my service industry economy to lose their jobs. One would only imagine this would create a pool of workers ….. but

I just received an email from another cleaning company with the request for help .

She can’t hire any one ….. seems those laid off workers don’t want to accept a new job until they find out what kind of money they will get from the super stimulus unemployment benefits we all keep hearing about.

Who’d of ever thought ….
that socialism would prosper under a “conservative” government ?

Hot Line
We need to drain the swamp , cut regs and eliminate red tape !
We need to cut government spending at every opportunity !

Such is some of the rhetoric that got the man elected and my current state of Florida seemed only too happy to pursue his train of thought. So it seems, did a large proportion of other states in the union.

Now we live with government agency’s led by temporary “acting” leadership, many whom seem to be actually aggressively opposed to the departments they now control. Locally for instance my state recently eliminated the positions of 150 highly educated scientists studying the reasons our water is turning into a health hazard.

It was obvious that we didn’t want to hear what they had to say and the whole bunch of them were replaced by a fishing boat captain. Cut regs and spending …what’s a red tape ?

Whatever you feel about it many are nervous about the covi 19 pandemic. Now that we here in Florida are facing a mandatory 30 day stay at home order I needed answers as to where my business stood, and what to do. My local government advertised a help hot line … call 211 for all answers and advice. As I maintain eleven “over 55” condo buildings I needed to know if we were considered essential services and so called the hotline.

The answer was clear and very concise ….

“We don’t know” ….

Living in Florida my comments pertaining to draining the swamp are just as clear and concise…

Put the damn gators back in the swamp !

The USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN – 71 3/31/2020

One of our latest Aircraft Carriers has just announced that over 100 of her crew members have tested positive for Covi – 19 and I offer her crew my thoughts and hopes. I well understand what may be going through the minds of that crew right now.

That crew is…. to a man and woman… concerned mostly about their families back home . Wives and Mothers… Husbands. And kids, who haven’t been seen in months and in many instances , have yet to be met for the first time . And such is the life of a Navy family .

Here at home I see the nervous expressions on the faces of fellow shoppers at the grocery store and Walmart …some wearing masks . Here we have the option to prepare and be ready and stay at home and the option of “social distancing”.

Those Sailors on the Roosevelt don’t have that option. I remember 45 + years ago my time on an Aircraft Carrier when any time spent more than an arms length away from another human was a rare and very cherished moment.

To the crew of the “Teddy Roosevelt” I offer a “Hand Salute” …and forever calm seas
….. hurry home safe …. we’re thinking of ya

Highest Civilian Award … The Presidential Medal of Freedom

That’s what our President awarded Rush Limbaugh in Feb. of 2020. And I will never deny him as President his choice to do so…. even though his choice disgusts me .

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award that recognizes those who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

I posted a couple of posts on this blog about two American hero’s.

One was posted on August 16, 2011 about a man named Pat Smith.

Another was posted on August 18, 2011 about a woman named Susan Stuart.

And I would be proud to know you took the time to look through my blog for their stories as apart from here these American Heros stories were buried on some page 17 of local news papers ….

Now this may sound like sour grapes … and I say let it, but Rush earned my entire lifes income every two and one half weeks … year after year after year . He earned that money getting on the radio every day to whine about socialised medicine in other countries and about how unfair his taxes were.
That was his contribution my President deemed worthy of his award .

Personally I don’t believe Rush Limbaughs contribution to be worth a medal as it could never equall the contribution of the likes of Pat Smith or Susan Stuart.

In two days two people expressed the same thought to me and I found it quite interesting .

And the thought they expressed was that the economy was worth the risk.
” Sure, some people might die, but hey this is important, we can’t let the economy collapse .” they said almost verbatem…. both of them. “We should just go back to normal and chance it” …. they said

One of those women is a client of mine and the other one of my very own employees.

Now here is the interesting part . They both have something in common in that they both attend seperate Evangelical “store front” Church’s. And they both voted according to their very strong Pro Life beliefs.

I guess they are both now worried about covering the car payments and rent bills negating any true beliefs in pro life.

Now … lets attack the Dems again about socialised medicine cherry picking who gets care and who don’t …. shall we ?

Once upon a time I was a crew member of a US Aircraft Carrier and I can’t deny I hated every moment of it. There is one memory of it though that now stands out … the Skipper.

Perhaps he wasn’t the best Skipper as my ship ended up with one the highest AWOL rates of any vessel in the history of the US Navy… But he did succeed at one thing, at least for a while, as all Captains of naval vessels generally succeed at ….. leadership. Plain and very simple word is “Leadership” . I believe a simple definition is that leadership is the art of motivating a body of people to act toward achieving a common goal.

My Captain of 5,000 men took us …. all 5,000 of us… and united us into cohesion to complete the task. And all of us out there on that sea were a perfect example of America …. we were a microcosm of America out there. ….. we were

“Rednecks and Spics, Spooks, Athiests , Jews and Evangelicals, Muslims. We were cultured and educated and high school drop out losers . We were small town farm boys and inner city toughs . We were alcohol abusers and teetotalers and druggies. Some of us were foriegners … we were America.

That’s what and who we were all those years ago. And that Captain united us all to perform the mission at hand. He united us for the benefit of the vessel , ourselves and ultimately our country. Our back grounds and political points of view having not a thing to do with it. He united us as a leader is supposed to do., for the benefit of us all .

“For the benefit of us all.”

Recently the fear of a pandemic disease caused some of us to experience great fear while others followed the leader in his belief it was an opposing political parties hoax . My Captain of that aircraft carrier would have recognized that fear immediately . And he would have comforted those in fear and used the strength of those who weren’t afraid to aide him do it. That is what creates a united “crew “.

I make no apologies for my belief that the present “leadership” is weak as he could never equal the Skipper of a naval vessel,
and unfortunately for us all…. he wouldn’t even try … he’s far too busy ridiculing those that are

Let’s deal ….
Once in a while I try to get rid of some of my surplus items by posting an ad on our local Craigslist.

Last week it was a couple of belt sanders that I never use and so put them on the market for the good deal price of Fifty Dollars for the pair .

Evidently it was a good deal as someone drove 40 miles to pick them up .
The man got out of the car eyed them up, tried them out and said ….

” Fifty bucks for the pair ?…. yeah, I can do that. ” …. but

“But let me ask you something first…. are you a Trump supporter ? ” he wanted to know .

“Would it make a difference ?” I countered, not really in the mood for politics.

So he opened the back door of his car to display a large load of brand new Trump/ MAGA hats that he proudly proclaimed to be of his own design.

” I was thinking that maybe we could cut a deal” he said.
Looking at this car filled with hats and his hopefull look I agreed ….

” Sure…. we can cut a deal.” I said , ” I’ll take a hat and $ 60.00 “

Sorry …. but I need belt sanders a lot more than I need…. hats

Culturally divided nation ?…..

Sure it is … in fact my own home is culturally divided .

I’m reminded of that fact every time I wear my expensive pale yellow cotten shirt . That shirt you see, sports an oily half moon stain that just won’t come out and the shirt is still just too expensive to turn into a “work shirt” .

Along those cultural divides Americans like chunky salads. I mean salads the likes of stabbing a fork into a Ranch Dressing infused hunk of iceberg lettuce the size of a golf ball. Maybe even plunging that fork into a complete half of a tomato with large rings of onion hanging from the left tine . That’s a salad .

Latinos however make salads with the same ingredients as Americans except that it is diced up finer than cole slaw….” Ensalada” they call it . This means they’ve never had to learn how to properly slice an onion or tomato .

Americans, with full understanding of the beauty of a chunky salad, will always slice an onion crosswise so that we end up with “rings” of onions, and likewise tomatos.

Latins, such as my wife, will slice them in true “Ensalada” form …. lengthways. Thats why my first bite into a wonderfull freshly grilled hamburger caused a half moon shaped olive oil mayonaise saturated piece of onion to easily escape the bun to land above my left breast.

I wear that shirt often with the stain over my left tit as proof of my acceptance ….
….. of cultural division