Not The Time For My Cynicism. A Bill Withers Salute.

  • After the disaster and devastation that took place last week, my will to be my cynical and sarcastic self does not play out. The destruction that took place on the barrier islands of southwest Florida, through Orlando, the east coast cities of Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach, and coastal South Carolina is now estimated at $50 billion, 2.5 times greater than Hurricane Andrew, which devastated south Florida thirty years ago. I have no words to describe the combination of wind and water damage – and the lives that are forever ruined, or lost. I have asked before (the fires in California and the tornado destruction in Mississippi and Kentucky) and I am going to ask again. At the very minimum, get on your device and give to the American Red Cross. Hurricane Ian – go rest in hell. https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-ian-donations.html/

  • For many people in Florida, there will be no sunshine even when the sun is out. Here is a tribute to all the people whose lives have been altered by Hurricane Ian.

Bill Withers. We all know this talented artist from his massive hit “Ain’t No Sunshine.” The often used trivia question from this song: How many times he repetitively sang the two words ‘I know’? Below is a salute to everyone in Florida from the great Bill Withers. By the way, the answer to the trivia question: Twenty-six “I knows” in a row.

Adios, pay it forward, be safe and have a Funday Sunday!

Send Kintasha. Seen, Not Heard. Roger And Out. Hurricane Hunting.

Go Ahead, Make My Day. Parents Not Parenting. The GOAT. Winds Of Change.


  • I am not going to be ignorant to the fact that poachers kill animals for profit. I assume this disgusting practice has been going on for hundreds of years. With that said, we have reached a new low. Earlier this month, three orphaned chimpanzees were kidnapped from the J.A.C.K. Primate Rehabilitation Centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The kidnappers have now demanded a six-figure ransom, sending a photo of one of the chimps with her hands tied above her head. It is time to draw the line. It is time for a no-tolerance stance, and time to throw due process out the window with people who abuse animals. Look at Hussein below – what kind of sick individuals would do harm to this animal? The answer: people who no longer belong in our basic society. In the early 1900s, over one million chimpanzees roamed the forests of western and central Africa. Today, that number has sadly dwindled to approximately 150,000.
Hussein is one of the three chimps abducted early this month for ransom from the J.A.C.K. Primate Rehabilitation Centre.

After wondering what authorities could do to try and rescue the three chimps, I came across this video of Kintasha, a massive silverback gorilla weighing in at 550 pounds. These massive silverbacks are up to nine times more powerful than average humans and can run at a speed of twenty-five mph. So, there is your answer. Hire two silverbacks for way less than the ransom fee, drive them to where the chimpanzees are being held, and just let them loose. The crisis averted and CSI in the Democratic Republic of Congo would need to run DNA tests as the kidnappers are all of a sudden unrecognizable. Yea, I know, too much coffee this morning.

A young girl was teasing this silverback at a zoo in Nebraska. Great idea.

I will never forget being in a Marlowe’s Tavern, a family-oriented restaurant in the suburbia of East Cobb, in Marietta, Georgia. Behind me sat a family of four – typical for that time of the evening. The two kids, around the ages of 5-7, were up and racing around the table while the parents glared not at them, but at what must have been very interesting content on their phones. Screaming and yelling, the manager of the restaurant finally had to come over and tell the parents to get their kids under control, and most importantly get them seated. I know this parent behavior is systemic, but my sensitivity to these types of occurrences stemmed from my father, who had a zero-tolerance policy when our family was at a restaurant (which was not often). The no-tolerance carried over to me with my daughter. There were many times I picked her up and took her outside at restaurants – whether it was a Waffle House or nice Italian restaurant, as being seen, not heard, continued from my upbringing. Sebastian Maniscalco never said it better.


  • Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have more Grand Slam titles, but no one has had the full attributes of Roger Federer. Federer played his last match on Friday after an incredible twenty-four-year career where he won twenty Grand Slams and 103 ATP tournament titles. He professionalism, demeanor, and competitive nature will never be replicated, as he earned the respect of his rivals, especially Rafael Nadal. Their competitiveness on the court was unmatched, very different than John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, as the Federer -Nadal relationship developed into an off-court friendship which is relatively rare among tennis stars. As stoic and focused as Federer was on the court, the video below shows us the real Federer – giddy, fun-loving, and just enjoying the banter with his friend Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer – thanks for the memories.
The boys trying to shoot a short promo for Roger’s charity event.

  • They are from the 403rd Air Force Reserve and sometimes fly just five-hundred feet above the water. They collect vital data for the National Hurricane Center, providing the information needed for the forecasting of potentially dangerous storm systems. They are the NOAA’s hurricane hunters, which is a job not for the faint of heart. Here is a quote from one of the hurricane hunters on a mission two-years ago: “That was when the hurricane was intensifying from a Category 5 to a Category 5+. I felt like a feather in the wind that day,” Dunion recalled, adding, “I think we had about three to four G forces. That’s something that someone who’s getting launched into space would feel.” The next time you feel the need to bitch about your job responsibilities, watch this video…it should cork your whine.
Thank you to these very brave Hurricane Hunters.

  • Short and simple: Long live the king! Rest in peace, Her Majesty!
An Awesome Rendition at The Queen’s funeral.

Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and have a Funday Sunday!

Long Live The King. Offspring. Speed. A Customized Delta Force.

Following In The Footsteps Of Queen Elizabeth II. Who’s Laughing Now? The Carlos Alcaraz. “Bring Everyone”

  • She came to the throne in 1952 and gave seventy years of her life as the UK’s longest serving monarch. Fifteen UK prime ministers served her, starting with Winston Churchill. Last week, in her last official ceremony, she welcomed new prime minister Elizabeth Truss. Queen Elizabeth II died last Thursday at the age of ninety-six. I did not know much about the Queen, but I did read some interesting things about the British monarch:
  • Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Margaret, never went to school. They were tutored at home.
  • She was married to Philip for seventy-three years before his death in April of 2021. Philip was born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark but renounced his original titles when he married Elizabeth.
  • Over 80% of UK residents were not alive when Elizabeth ascended the throne.
  • During her seventy-year reign, she met fourteen different U.S. presidents.
  • Her stamina was amazing. In 2015, at the age of eighty-nine, Queen Elizabeth II carried out 341 royal engagements, more than Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate combined during that year. She made more than 260 official overseas trips.
  • Queen Elizabeth’s famous quote after becoming the U.K.’s monarch: “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

She was only twenty-one when delivering this speech, not knowing in a few short years, upon the death of her father, King George VI, she would become the Queen. At twenty-one, I was lucky enough to put ten words together, nonetheless address the world:

RIP Queen Elizabeth II

  • Offspring. No, not the band of the 1990’s, but the offspring of what I consider the greatest protagonist of all time. My friends gave me a good bit of raucous grief when I posted my Godzilla-King Kong comparison, lamenting my deep admiration for Godzilla. Well, who is laughing now, and more importantly where is this nasty creature’s mother? Yep, stay in your lane and deal with it.
Don’t Even Start With Me That This Is Not The Son Of Godzilla.

  • I have played (sort of) and watched a good bit of tennis over the years. I enjoy playing for all the good reasons including Vitamin D, a bit of exercise, and some good camaraderie. I usually do not enjoy watching tennis unless it is the U.S. Open or Wimbledon. I have admired the great professionals of the past, especially Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, fierce competitors who fired up the crowd and left it all on the court. Sure, there are today’s awesome players including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, but a new dawn has set on the sport, and his name is Carlos Alcaraz. He reminds me of a right-handed Rafael Nadal, while maintaining the demeanor of Federer and the fitness level of Djokovic. There is another discernible difference with Alcaraz, and it is called speed. Yes, Nadal in his earlier years was very fast, as was Michael Chang and Gael Monfils, but Alcaraz is gifted with that other speed that will set him up for success in the years to come. He is only nineteen and enters this afternoon’s men’s final at the U.S. Open as my favorite. This is one of many examples of his pure speed on the court:
Carlos Alcaraz – Any Questions?

By the way, the women’s U.S. Open champion, Iga Świątek, is very much a carbon copy of Alcaraz, with amazing court coverage and tremendous court speed. She has now played in three major finals and won all three. Amazing.


  • This is my headline of the week, and can we just make Kim Jong Un go away? “North Korea will ‘automatically’ launch nukes if Kim killed” Seriously, how do the leaders of the world put up with this strange, unbalanced individual?
  • Congratulations to Orlando City for capturing the U.S. Open Cup. Exploria Stadium near downtown Orlando was rocking last Wednesday night.
  • I do not have to go into any extensive detail. Twenty-one years ago today.
  • It is day two hundred of the Russian invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Yes, everyone, day two hundred. Is it time for everyone’s Delta Force of Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Liam Neeson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Jason Statham, and Jean Reno to pay a visit to the Kremlin? Yes, I listed Jean Reno, because there was no nastier badass than Reno in his role as Leon in the movie The Professional.
Jean Reno Starred In the 1994 Classic The Professional

Adios, pay it forward, be safe, and Have a Funday Sunday!

A Quick Read To Start Off September.

A Few Short Takes To Start Off The Month.


It is Labor Day weekend. The U.S. Open and college football are in play, and worldwide, the other football is also in full swing. Here are a few things I think I think as we move into the Fall, Halloween, and the year-end holiday season:

  • I have belabored the point of electric cars and what seems to be a suspect power grid infrastructure. I have also discussed California’s directive regarding the year 2035 and their stance on no further sales of gasoline-powered cars. Then we read that on Friday of last week the state of California has requested that all electric car owners slow their rate of charging their cars – because the state’s power grid is failing due to extreme heat. Make your own assessment of this situation.
  • It is okay to shower in Jackson, Mississippi. It is not okay to open your mouth while showering. The city’s water treatment facility is not working and has been out of order for five days. This is 2022, right?
  • Orlando City meets Sacramento this Wednesday night in the U.S. Open final at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium. This game has been sold out for weeks, and it is Orlando City’s first opportunity to earn silverware. Get it done Orlando City!
Orlando’s Exploria Stadium.
  • I felt really bad for the 300,000 people who made their way to the space coast for last Monday’s launch of Artemis I. I did find it strange that after all the testing and performance protocols, issues with a hydrogen bleed line did not rear its ugly head until forty minutes before launch. The news yesterday was not any better as NASA once again scrubbed the launch, with the projected launch window to be determined at a later date.
  • I do not know the details of climate change. What I do know is that many bodies of water in the United States, including Nevada’s Lake Mead, are drying up at a very fast rate. At the same time one third of Pakistan is under water due to massive flooding. Regarding the climate, make it a point to visit Death Valley, California in the next few days to enjoy temperatures reaching 125°F. Seriously, what the hell is going on? (No pun intended.)
ap-16229678361908.jpg
Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
  • Serena Williams. An amazing professional tennis career. It will be interesting how she enjoys being a mom and manages her business enterprises, including her venture capital firm.
  • The Napoleon complex at its finest. Vladimir Putin did not bother attending yesterday’s funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader. A snub or just Putin’s narcissistic mind and manner?
  • How does everyone feel about the updated Covid-19 boosters?
  • Headline of the week: More than 40% of Americans think civil war is likely within a decade.”
  • Labor Day is tomorrow. Celebrated on the first Monday of September, Labor Day is designated to pay tribute to the achievements of American workers. As always, a special tribute to all healthcare workers and first responders. Please everyone, fly your flag.
Good Morning America does a great job with this Labor Day segment.
  • This time of year can be great with the summer behind us and all the good things the Fall brings. Speaking of good, this band earned more than fifty Gold and Platinum albums and sold over 100 million albums worldwide, earning them a solid spot as one of best selling music artists of all-time. I have seen Earth, Wind, & Fire twice, and it is amazing that they can play for two hours and you know every song they play.
September from Earth, Wind, & Fire.

Adios, pay it forward, be safe and have a Funday Sunday!