Good Friday Celebration

Dad
Grand Marshall of the Easter Egg Hunt
Weston Lakes, TX
April 18, 2025

Good Friday is not normally a celebratory day. It is more usually a day of remorse and reflection.

Yesterday, however, we celebrated and enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt while spending time with my Dad, whom I have not seen in over a year. He was in good spirits when we retrieved him from his residence and we spent the day interacting with some of our Texas family. 

Preston and Eva
After the Egg Hunt
Weston Lakes, TX
April 18, 2025

We spent a long day enjoying the sounds of children and watching them play. I even got to play catch with a football. Since I didn't bring my baseball glove, and there aren't any other lefties in the family, we couldn't play catch with a baseball--my preferred sports ball. 

It was relaxing and enjoyable to watch the kids play while catching up with the adults. 

It was also nice to focus on family and take some respite from the news of the day. 

-- Bob Doan, Weston Lakes, TX

Arriving Houston

Passenger Pick-up Terminal C
George Bush Intercontinental, Houston, TX
April 17, 2025

 When Chris and I journey to Houston, we mostly fly into Houston Hobby, not George Bush Intercontinental (IAH). It was quite an experience landing at IAH last evening. I have to confess, I have never been as confused about where to go trying to leave an airport before and that includes some really complicated airports like Rome. As we headed to baggage to meet our ride we were confronted with a myriad of avenues through which to exit. There was the taxi stand door, the limo and paid rider pick-up door and later we were advised of the passenger pick-up door, which was a bit hidden. Weren't we all passengers? 

I picked the wrong exit first. We wound up where the Lift and Uber drivers along with limos pick up passengers. Walking around the corner we happened upon the taxi stand. But finding where normal people get rides from family was nowhere in sight. Calling Pennie, my sister who was trying to find us as we were trying to find her, she told me to head back inside and exit through the portal marked Passenger Pick-up. 

We found it. 

They found us!

It was a miracle and then after slogging through grid-locked airport traffic for another what seemed like 20 minutes we were on the road. 

And so the Easter holiday begins. I believe today will be devoted to an egg hunt. We will retrieve Dad from his residence so he can enjoy the fun with most of his Texas great-grandchildren. 

-- Bob Doan, Weston Lakes, TX

Traveling for Easter

 Chris and I are off to the Houston area for the Easter holiday this afternoon. 

It will be good to see my sister and her family and my Dad. It had been a while since we made the trek to Texas. 

We are flying on United, since they have a direct flight from PBI (Palm Beach International) to IAH (Houston -  George Bush Intercontinental). All of the other airlines had layovers and flight changes that, as we all know, can become a problem. It has been a while since we flew United, but the direct flight from PBI is worth the few extra dollars to not have to drive to Fort Lauderdale (FLL).

Finn is not traveling with us. He is spending the weekend with another family and will enjoy himself getting reacquainted with their cats and meeting their new puppy. 

It should be an exciting few days for all of us.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL 

Tax Day 2025

Blowing Rocks Marina
Tequesta, FL
April 15, 2025

Did you survive Tax Day?

 We are experiencing some absolutely fantastic weather. I remember other South Florida Aprils where the temperatures were already in the 90s and the humidity was oppressive. These days, however, the humidity is enjoyable and the temperatures are only now beginning to reach into the 80s.

I rode almost 22 miles yesterday and did not even really break a sweat because of the pleasant humidity. I did a longer ride through some areas that I only infrequently visit. It is nice to note the changes and the route I rode has a very nice wild area which is not unlike the trail I rode last summer on the Great Allegheny Passage. 

For the evening, Chris and I headed off to Tiki52 and $2 Tuesday. I think I am writing too much about Tiki52 because it seems to be getting busier even as the snow birds are departing. After enjoying some adult beverages and wings, Chris and I walked out onto the dock at the marina and stared longingly at the ICW. It has been too long since I was out enjoying it from a boat. 

Well, the big event was Tax Day--and while I had already filed my taxes the small fortune I owed the government was withdrawn from my accounts yesterday. Ouch! I did a little too good in my investments, of course that was before the tariff nonsense which has negated all of the gains on which I just paid taxes. I am pretty sure 2025 will not be a repeat of 2024--we have a long way to go to get back to where the previous president left us. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Can't Be Bought

 I was encouraged about Harvard University's response to Trump. No--we won't be bought. 

According to Reuters:

April 14 (Reuters) - Harvard on Monday rejected numerous demands from the Trump administration that it said would cede control of the school to a conservative government that portrays universities as dangerously leftist.

Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration of President Donald Trump announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school.

What the Trump-led Executive Branch is doing to private educational institutions is wrong! Using the power of money to stifle freedom of education goes against the very core of what makes us Americans--education free from political dogma to foster diversity of thought. 

Freedom of education is what made America great. Yes. we may not agree with everything being taught, but that is a good thing because being exposed to diversity of thought helps us better understand and appreciate the freedoms that we have especially when we see such freedoms stifled in other countries.

Maybe money can't buy everyone?

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Monday Musings - April 14, 2025

 

1. It is the 2nd Monday of April. Welcome to Holy Week! There are 37 Mondays remaining in 2025. 

Rino on the Road
Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa
February 25, 2025

2. Chris and I are finding it hard to believe that we were in South Africa two months ago! It seems like yesterday that we were sampling wines and enjoying the wildlife while riding through a National Park in South Africa. 

3. In the land of tariffs and confusion we are not too sure what is and is not going to be exempted from tariffs. 

4. Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on winning the Masters on a sudden death hole and completing a career Grand Slam! It was exciting to watch. 

5. Today in History. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. The assassin, actor John Wilkes Booth, shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged,” as he jumped onto the stage and fled on horseback. Lincoln died the next morning.

Booth, who remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies, initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait. Two weeks later, Richmond fell to Union forces. In April, with Confederate armies near collapse across the South, Booth hatched a desperate plan to save the Confederacy.

Tariffs on imported semiconductor chips coming soon, Trump says - Reuters

Russian missile strike kills 34 in Ukraine's Sumy, Kyiv says - Reuters

Rory's time! McIlroy wins Masters to complete career Grand Slam - Reuters

Trump administration says it is not required to help wrongly deported man return to US - Reuters

White House's new policy to ignore reporters who share their pronouns sparks debate - FoxNews

Five missing and one dead after boat capsized off coast of Florida, authorities said - CNN

No evidence linking Tufts student to antisemitism or terrorism, State Dept. office found - The Washington Post

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Do we have to do it all over again?

 

Chaos and confusion. That pretty well sums up the week we just managed to live through. 

It is apparent that there is no master plan, the White House is just throwing stuff against the wall and hoping it will stick. And if it doesn't, they are denying that it happened.

One of the most concerning occurrences this past week was the refusal, in court, to correct the injustice done to the Maryland father illegally sent to El Salvador AND the continued refusal to find a way to allow those deported to the prison in El Salvador their due process. 

Wait--destroying the world trade markets without a cogent plan--or any plan is a close second. 

One writer sums up some of the week's happenings as follows:

On Friday, China imposed 125% tariffs on goods from the U.S. A spokesperson for the Chinese Finance Ministry said that Trump’s tariff machinations “will become a joke in the history of the world economy.” At 9:20 a.m. President Trump posted: “We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY. Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly. DJT.” The new tariffs had badly threatened Apple Inc., and at 10:36 p.m. the U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a notice that various electronics, including smartphone and computer monitors, are exempt from the tariffs.

When economist Justin Wolfers commented: “I just want to tip my hat to the crack team of White House economists who were able to discover—in just a few short days—that the U.S. is dependent on China for smartphones, computers and semiconductors.” Dr. Soumya Rangarajan noted that “a basic medicine we use 1000x per day in the hospital, heparin, is also dependent on China, and people will die without it.” As Sabrina Malhi of the Washington Post explained, about 12 million people hospitalized in the U.S. need heparin every year, and it is only one of the many medications that will be affected by Trump’s tariffs on goods from China.

(Letters from an American)

It is clear that there is no plan and that we are living at the whim if a president who has visions of grandeur, but has no comprehension of the second and third order effects from whipsawing leadership. 

Sadly, the week ahead looks to be as turbulent and unconstrained as the week past. Maybe the Easter holiday will bring redemption and sanity. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Weekend Arrival

 Well, Saturday definitely arrived. At least the weather is good.

It was rough yesterday. I had to cancel a hotel room after the designated cancellation time. That meant that I paid for a hotel room in which we did not stay. That sucks! And it was an expensive room as well. 

Well, that is how things have changed. I did save money on gas by not driving to Tampa; so I guess it almost works out. 

Wait--I also paid for seats and parking at a MLB game that I did not attend. I hope the empty seats enjoyed the sound of the bat hitting the ball and the cheering of the crowd.

These things sometimes happen on short notice. It just sucks that the fiscal downside is so steep.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

At the Precipice of the Weekend

Moon Setting
Tequesta, FL
April 10, 2025

Another Friday has arrived, just as expected. Whew!

My weekend plans changed dramatically this morning--but I always say that plans are made to be changed. 

I guess I needed a quiet weekend anyway. Next weekend, hopefully, we will be in the Houston area visiting my Dad and enjoying Easter. 

I caught an interesting image of the moon setting behind a home last night. It was really interesting because depending upon where I stood, I could either see the moon or it would have already be behind the house. I tried to get it right at the roofline with the palm in front. 

So, with the radical change of plans, we will see what the weekend brings. 

I guess I'm at the precipice hoping not to fall. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Another Beautiful Florida Day

Crossing the Loxahatchee River
Tequesta, FL
April 9, 2025

 It was a cool 63 degrees as I headed off on my bike yesterday morning. Having been away, it always feels good to get back out on my bike. Yesterday was no different. The wind was cold even with a sweatshirt, when I started the ride. I finally warmed about 4 miles into the 14-mile ride I had planned.

It was great to be out on the bike after driving over 2500 miles during the previous 9 days. What a trip! Tequesta to Elkridge to Ithaca to Elkridge and then back to Tequesta! Whew. And that does not include the travel around Maryland.

We are off to Tampa tomorrow for boating, a ballgame, and an overnight. I am excited to boat Tampa Bay for the first time. I hope the weather holds. It is supposed to be pleasant and sunny!

Today we have a few house projects that need attention and so I will be skipping my bike ride., It is amazing how things seem to go awry when we are gone. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL