Month: May 2026

Creativity. Backfill. Question of the Week. Predictions. Thoughts. Pure Talent.

There Are Many Ways to Create. Our Aging Workforce. Riders on the Storm. 30 Days of Bliss. It is the Last Day of May. “Gimmie Shelter”

  • Quote of the Week: “I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning … Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” – Miles Davis

I wonder how Miles Davis defined the word creative. The former trumpeter, bandleader, and composer went on to become one of the most innovative and influential figures in the music world. He helped define the jazz genre, successfully combining bebop, funk, and fusion – in most creative ways.

Creating goes way beyond music. Art and design yield paintings, writing, sculptures, and of course all types of music. The world of digital media produces content, including videos, podcasts, blogs, and social media for various online audiences. The business world creates innovation by launching a new business, new products, and new services. “I am always thinking about creating” is a powerful statement for the young and old to use their imagination and skills to unlock personal fulfillment and reach your goals and objectives.

There is no doubt that Miles Davis was all about creating. This video was from the 1991 Montreux Music Festival featuring Miles Davis and Quincy Jones.

Thoughts for the last day of May, 2026

  • I understand that background checks do not always reveal everything about a candidate. With that said, how did a CIA senior official mislead his superiors with his military and educational background? Along with the deception, this ex-CIA officer stashed over three hundred bars of gold, $2 million in cash, and 35 luxury watches in his Virginia home. Huh?
  • It will be interesting to find out what caused the explosion of the Blue Origin rocket at Cape Canaveral last Thursday night.
  • Have you used the Michelin restaurant guide to select a restaurant? I never have.
  • Tomorrow is already June 1st. Five months of 2026 already gone.
  • According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the chances of a widespread Ebola outbreak in the U.S. are extremely low…though isolated cases carried by travelers are possible. What?
  • A high school reunion touches many emotions. Just saying.
  • Last Thursday, a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania. To: NATO, the European Union, and Eurocorps, have you not had enough of Vladimir Putin and Russia? Seriously, enough is enough with this tyrant and rogue nation.
  • Have you wondered why golf balls have dimples? Here is one explanation:
  • Regarding wind and turbulence, there seems to be consensus by many authorities that the future of weather forecasting, specifically forecasting the strength and path of hurricanes, should have a higher level of efficacy in the near future. Meteorologists now can analyze massive amounts of information generated by artificial intelligence (AI) based on historical data. This historical data could recognize patterns with ocean temperatures, wind structures, and atmospheric pressure giving meteorologists a path to quickly recognize and predict storm movement and strength.

As a comparison, existing weather models rely on time-consuming physics-based models to simulate the atmosphere and predict storm movement. The power and speed of AI driven models with historical data should allow meteorologists the ability to accurately predict the path and strength of a storm up to ten days out. Let us hope so.

  • Would it concern you if half your workforce were age forty-five or older? That is the reality facing Florida’s $86 billion manufacturing sector. An aging workforce, combined with too few young people entering the skilled trades, is making it difficult for companies to transfer specialized knowledge to the next generation. Manufacturing is not alone in facing this challenge. In the utilities sector, the share of employment at firms where at least one-quarter of workers are age 55 or older rose from 35% in 2006 to 80% in 2022.

One way to solve these workforce issues is to provide younger workers with a positive path with discovering skilled trades. Forbes reports that “The highest-paid trade skills now offer a compelling alternative for professionals seeking a recession-proof pivot or alternative from a traditional career path: competitive six-figure salaries, faster entry into the workforce and robust demand. The modern landscape of skilled trades has also expanded significantly, encompassing sectors like renewable energy, aviation, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.“

Last year, “there were 650,000 open-skilled labor positions and only 150,000 workers entering the field,” reports Symone Graham of the Charlotte Business Journal. “For HVAC work alone, there’s a need for 400,000 technicians to be hired over the next decade.” That is a pace Carrier Global Corp. Chairman and CEO Dave Gitlin said exceeds anything the sector has seen.

The good news is that enrollment in trade schools and trade programs will increase six percent per year by 2030. Demand for skilled trades continues to rise with the desired outcome of a high income, high growth career both feasible and possible. A few skilled trades with their average salaries:

  • Ultrasonographer (operators of imaging equipment): $90,000 – $105,000
  • HVAC technician: $60,000 – $95,000
  • Elevator installer/technician: $85,000 – $130,000
  • Aircraft mechanic: $75,000 – $115,000
  • Electrician: $65,000 – $105,000
  • Plumber: $60,000 – $105,000

At some level, all of us have had this level of skilled labor show up at our homes:

Here are some answers to the last Question of the Week: If you took or were given a fully-paid, guilt-free sabbatical for an entire month starting tomorrow, how would you spend that time?

  • Beach house in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It gave us an opportunity to discover what the next step in life is.
  • I would take 2 weeks in Italy and then the other two weeks visiting family and friends.
  • I would live in a Spanish speaking country learning to speak Spanish daily.
  • Hmmm. My current life is one big sabbatical! I strive to learn something new or re-learn something daily. Its amazing to re-use a skill or remember a favorite recipe and enjoy the discovery all over again! 😉
  • I’d split it between time with my family and travel.
  • Amelia Island or the Amalfi Coast.
  • La Dolce Vita all the way! Start in Sicily, primarily Palermo. Then up the Amalfi coast, basking in Positano, then hitting the enormous lemons in Sorrento. Definitely skip Naples and go to the eternal city which never gets old. From Rome up to the hilltop of Orvieto and their signature green ceramics. On to Tuscany to relish in its beauty and excellent wines, hitting Montalcino, Florence, Siena, Volterra, San Gemignani while sneaking in a side trip to Portofino. Then Perugia, the university town undisturbed by today’s world. Continue on to Bologna with an errand to run over in Parma. Hitting Verona, then the ever magnetic Venice.
  • I’d split it between time with my family and travel.
  • I can think of too many naughty things but since I just got back from California, I would spend a month visiting wineries and tasting California wines.

This week’s Question of the Week has no pretense regarding President Trump and politics. This question relates to his age and health: Will President Trump, who turns eighty-years-old next month, stay in office through his second term as President, which will end on January 20, 2029? If your answer is no, please give a reason.

Notes: 1. as part of my 2026 predictions, I did predict that President Trump would not stay in his role through his second term. 2. Half of US adults do not believe that Trump now possesses the mental acuity or physical health to be an effective president, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll from last month.

  • Pure Talent. Shaped by the dynamics of the late 1960’s, with the reality of social unrest, violence, and war, The Rolling Stones’, on their 1969 Let It Bleed album, released the iconic song “Gimmie Shelter.” Mick Jagger was joined on vocals by Merry Clayton with Keith Richards delivering a guitar performance bar none. Richards’ guitar opening has been and is still used in films and television to this day. The Rolling Stones and the song “Gimmie Shelter” always give us Pure Talent.

Adios, pay it forward, be the best human, and have a Sunday Funday!

Talent Defined. Fly Your Flag. Question of the Week. Pure Talent.

Natural and Learned. Memorial Day. One Month for You. Lou Gehrig.

  • Quote of the Week: “Everybody has talent and it’s just a matter of moving around until you’ve discovered what it is. A talent is a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in.” – George Lucas

I’ve asked about hidden talents before and received many interesting answers. I also feature a Pure Talent segment in each post, highlighting people and their abilities in areas such as music, sports, and intellect. What I find especially interesting is that some people do not fully acknowledge their talents, and others keep them hidden altogether. For example, my friend K.C. has an incredible voice, and T.D., now in his late 60s, still plays golf at an eight handicap. Their talents are very different, but both are deeply committed to what they love—singing and golf.

Webster’s definition of talent as “any natural ability or power,” with the keyword being “natural” or how you are hard-wired. There are other ways to garner talent, through knowledge and skills, or in other words a learned behavior that eventually yields talent. As a reminder, here are some answers to a question I recently posed about a talent that you have that most people are not aware of:

  • I have the ability to decorate a home or a person –(almost always myself) –from treasures discovered at garage sales.
  • My hidden talent: I can stick my fist in my mouth-literally and figuratively.
  • OK since you asked it is my uncanny ability to putt one-handed and to hit tennis shots behind my back.
  • Private pilot and scuba divemaster…..Very senior special ops…here I come.
  • I do song parodies about family and close friends.
  • I was a trumpet prodigy in high school, awarded a music scholarship to a renowned music department in a prominent university. Turned it down–What do you do with a music degree?
  • For a many reasons, tomorrow is an important holiday in the United States. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May and was formerly known as Decoration Day. Memorial Day commemorates all who have died in military service for the United States. Tomorrow takes on additional significance with those around the world who have fallen in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. If you have a flag, please fly it this weekend. If you do not have one, please go buy one.

Question of the Week: The last Question of the Week asked about aligning a song with your past. Here are a few of your answers:

  • Hold Your Head Up by Argent
  • A Pirate Looks at Forty by Jimmy Buffet
  • Crazy Train by Ozzie Osbourne
  • Into the Night by Benny Mardones
  • Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
  • Right Now by Van Halen
  • Unstoppable by Sia!
  • Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits
  • Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise by the Avett Brothers

Here is this week’s Question of the Week: If you took or were given a fully-paid, guilt-free sabbatical for an entire month starting tomorrow, how would you spend that time?

I Have a Few of My Own Questions

  • Did you ever drink Schlitz, and remember their tag line? “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer.” It is the end of an era as the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, after one-hundred seventy-seven years, has produced their last batch of the beer.
  • Are you surprised that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a series of appeals from many drugmakers requiring the ‘big pharms’ to negotiate with Medicare on prices for their most popular drugs? The first round of negotiations is expected to lead to $6 billion in savings for the federal government and a $1.5 billion reduction in out-of-pocket costs for seniors. I am thinking about the 1st and 5th Amendment parameters with the government dictating to private companies how and what they charge for their products. Just sayin’.
  • Do you trust ChatGPT or any A.I. tool with your financial planning?
  • At forty-one years old, he was a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series. Is it concerning that his family and team could not convince Kyle Busch to get to a hospital early on to deal with a severe case of pneumonia that resulted in sepsis? RIP, Kyle Busch.
  • Tomorrow I am taking a hard look at my subscription services. Do you know what your monthly spend is for streaming services? I know some of you mooch off your friends and family – maybe that will be my go-forward? 🙂
  • An unexpected surprise last weekend attending my high school reunion. Held in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the surrounding beach area has completely been redeveloped with hotels, restaurants, and bars. Well done, Deerfield Beach.
  • Have you used an ‘air taxi’ yet? The New York City metropolitan area is using these eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) to move people back and forth from New York City to their three large airports (Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK). Last week, the Tampa, Sarasota, and Orlando regional transportation authorities announced eVTOL’s will be used to move people to and from these three airports. “Meet George Jetson, and Jayne, his wife” comes to mind.
  • Have you listened to Bad Company‘s greatest hits lately? The playlist is fantastic.
  • Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” aired for the final time last week. I have not watched late night talk shows for a very long time. Have you?
  • May 29, 2026, and June 12, 2026. I am hoping that Anthony Maras’ film Pressure gives us a more intense look into the lead up to the D-Day invasion. I am also expecting big things from Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated sci-fi thriller “Disclosure Day.” I am not one for sci-fi in general, but the subject matter of this movie has my attention.
  • Pure Talent. Diagnosed with ALS later in life, “The Iron Horse” left a profound mark on both baseball and society. Despite serious health challenges, Lou Gehrig became one of the game’s greatest players, winning an American League MVP and the Triple Crown. In 1927, the left-hander hit .373 with forty-seven home runs and 173 RBIs. Joe DiMaggio, another all-time great, once said of Gehrig, “I not only admired Lou but I was amazed by him…To see his broad back and muscular arms as he spread himself at the plate was to give the impression of power as no other ball player I ever saw gave it.”

Lou Gehrig had a career batting average of .361, and a .731 slugging percentage. Lou Gehrig was Pure Talent.

Adios, pay it forward, be the best human, and have a Sunday Funday!

Imagination. Mother’s Day. RIP Ted Turner. Thinking. Pure Talent.

Mental Pictures. Larry David is So Wrong. “The Mouth of the South” Random Thoughts. Do You Drink Beer?

  • Quote of the Week: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.” – Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein’s quote reinforces that your imagination is important. Einstein’s perspective that innovation and knowledge do not come from information alone – it comes from using your imagination to connect ideas in a variety of ways. While knowledge sometimes connects the dots from point A to B, using your imagination can take you everywhere.

Our imagination is the most important asset we possess. It is our power to create mental pictures of things that don’t exist yet and that we want to bring into being. Imagination is the magic wand we use to shape our future. How often do you use your imagination?

Hall & Oates, from their massive hit album ‘Private Eyes’ with their underrated song, Your Imagination. Well said.

  • Today is Mother’s Day. Reach out, see her, call her, or do something in memory of your mom. Larry David is the last person we want to watch provide his take on his mom…but, to all moms: Happy Mother’s Day!!
  • He came home from his father’s outdoor advertising (billboard) company too late to watch the evening news. That was one of the issues that generated an idea to buy a local Atlanta television station and use satellites to beam sports and entertainment content nationwide. The success of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) provided momentum for Ted Turner to launch CNN, the first network to provide nonstop news coverage. The live coverage of the Persian Gulf War helped CNN gain worldwide credibility and the rest is history. Ted Turner passed away last week at the age of eighty-seven. He revolutionized television and went on to provide the world with levels of philanthropy, including a $1 billion pledge to the United Nations. RIP Ted Turner.

James Earl Jones with his signature station identification for CNN:

  • Question of the Week: If you life had a theme song, what would it be?

Things I Think on May 10, 2026

  • A study should be completed on the strategy and tactics deployed by the jockey who rode the Kentucky Derby winner. The word amazing comes to mind.
  • Is this too invasive or am I being too sensitive? Meta will begin using AI to analyze users’ bone structure and height as part of what it says is a broader push to help remove users under age 13 from its platforms.
  • I am not sure I understand the uproar with Delta no longer serving snacks and beverages on their flights shorter than 350 miles (usually an hour’s fight). Can passengers not wait an hour to drink and have a snack? Then again, I do not understand passengers who need to use the bathroom after boarding….and BEFORE the flight backs away from the gate.
  • Along with Ted Turner, Atlanta and the baseball world lost another icon yesterday. RIP Bobby Cox.
  • Starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron, the upcoming movie The Odyssey looks interesting.
  • Take the time to learn about Psilocybin. This psychedelic extract from magic mushrooms could go a long way with leveling human emotions, especially with people suffering from anxiety and depression. This is interesting and confusing all at the same time, especially reading this report from Medical News Today: Psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” produces various physical and psychological side effects that typically begin within 20 to 45 minutes and last up to six hours. While often sought for spiritual or euphoric experiences, it can also cause significant distress, especially at higher doses or in unsupportive environments.
  • Las Vegas was a necessary business trip for me due to an industry conference. My words for Las Vegas: dirty, overpriced, poor service levels, and wrong in many ways.
  • Hilton Head was a necessary trip to rendezvous with three of my college friends and former teammates. My words for Hilton Head: clean, beautiful, full of bike riders, golfers, and tennis players, and a beach bar called the Tiki Hut. So right in many ways (though the summer months are a bit too busy with tourists).
  • Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024 and again in August 2025. Their recent demise will only elevate already ridiculous airfares. No, I was not advocating that the U.S. Government bailout Spirit, but 4,000 jobs in the state of Florida alone were lost with the shutdown.
  • Another cruise ship debacle. Whatever that ‘hantavirus’ really is, someone better quickly figure it out before people start canceling their cruise vacations. Hantavirus can cause severe respiratory illness and is fatal in about 35% of cases. The Andes strain found in South America can spread between people, though rarely, and carries a mortality rate of 40%. No known treatment exists for the Andes strain.
  • Shakira and Copacabana Beach match up very well, to the tune of two million fans attending her concert on this famous Brazilian beach.
  • Pure Talent. This interview, conducted by the financial planner Rastamonkey, gives us a lesson with saving money. Kudos to both Rastmonkeys for their wit and directness. Where is your f’in plane? Rastamonkeys are Pure Talent.

Adios, pay it forward, be the best human, and have a great Mother’s Day.