Roads Less Traveled

Prince Eugene of Savoy was a scrawny, innocuous little runt who nonetheless became a mighty warrior and helped defeat the Ottomans decisively, once at the Siege of Vienna in 1683, and more famously at the Battle of Zenta in 1697. He was thus instrumental in keeping all of Europe from becoming a Muslim caliphate, at least until today, and the riches that came his way as a result were poured into the Baroque masterpiece of Belvedere, his summer palace in Vienna, Austria. Continue reading →

This is a letter I wrote in response to a communication from Senator Bill Nelson in which he voiced his opposition to President Trump’s tariff policies.  The Senator cited a single industry spokesperson who claimed that there would be a catastrophic loss of jobs due to those trade measures.  I felt the need to rebut his false premises and statements.  Enjoy!  (Senator Nelson’s letter to constituents is at the bottom of the page)

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I don’t get it.  I’ve been watching the hysteric reaction of the news media, the MIC, the Deep State, the Zionist neocons and politicians on both sides of the aisle to President Trump’s new detente with Russia, and I’m left wondering why the prospect of peaceful coexistence with a nuclear-armed superpower is seen as a bad thing.  After listening to the usual drivel on TV, which includes accusations of treason in the executive office, you’d think they actually want an adversarial relationship with a country that our own generals acknowledge could annihilate us just as surely as we could them, and end the world as we know it in the process. 

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The total expense for my recent Florida-Michigan trip was $3183 for the 22 days.  That is a burn rate of $144/day, which is very cheap by most vacation standards for two people unless you just rented a cabin somewhere and stayed put. 

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I had one of those “Oh, shit!” moments while driving down I-75 on the way home.  It was when my phone rang.  I’m in the habit of just automatically putting every call through on the speaker, so when the caller asked if I had sold my fifth wheel yet, it was too late to mute the call, and the damage was done-my wife had heard it. Continue reading →

I’m cruising toward Georgia in the Carolina Mountains at the breakneck speed of 10MPH.  That’s because someone failed to put the DEF (exhaust fluid) into the tank, and when that happens the vehicle goes into “limp” mode, which I should be used to by now, since I am married and over 60.   Continue reading →

Before I start, I just want to shout out to that lone Ohio roadway crew that must handle the whole state.  I know this because you haven’t had time to fill in the car-swallowing potholes that line your highways like the craters on the dark side of the moon.  Here’s a haiku I made just for you:

Snapped axles, crushed dreams

Ohio, tragic state of 

roads best not taken

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So today I’m driving up to Michigan with a nearly full bilge tank sloshing around in the belly of my 5’er.  The plan is to drop it along the way before I arrive at my friend’s house, because I don’t want the first words after “Hello” to be, “Where can I dump my crap in your yard?”

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Once again I drive through a torrential flood to make the trip down the mountains from Boone more interesting (at least in the Chinese sense of the word).  As an additional bonus, I also get to brave a narrow gauntlet of serpentine roads that feature rock outcroppings jutting out menacingly from the adjacent cliffs.  At some points, I’m pretty sure it would be too dangerous to put an elbow on the sill of either window, so that by the time I reach what resembles a normal modern highway, I feel like I’ve gone through a real-world version of a “Road Warrior” video game in which players are expected to die ignominiously, and my hands are gripping the steering wheel as tightly as a Louisville Slugger (which is appropriate since that is very close to our final destination today). Continue reading →