BITS & PIECES

 Openers:  In the autumn of 1816, John Melmoth, a student in Trinity College, Dublin, quitted it to attend a dying uncle on whom his hopes for independence chiefly rested.  John was the orphan son of a younger brother, whose small property scarce could pay John's college experiences; but the uncle was rich, unmarried, and old; and John, from his infancy, had been brought up to look on him with that mingled sensation of awe, and of the wish, without the means to conciliate, (that sensation at once attractive and repulsive), with which we regard a being who (as nurse, domestic, and parent have tutored us to believe) holds the very threads of our existence in his hands, and may prolong or snap them when he pleases.

On receiving this summons, John set immediately out to attend his uncle..

The beauty of the country through which he travelled (it was the county Wicklow) could not prevent his mind from dwelling on many painful thoughts, some borrowed from the past, and more from the future.  His uncle's caprice and moroseness, -- the strange reports concerning the cause of the secluded life he had led for many years, -- his own dependent state, -- fell like blows fast and heavy on his mind.  He roused himself to repel them, -- sat up in the mail, in which he was a solitary passenger, -- looked out on the prospect, -- consulted his watch; -- then he thought they receded for a moment, -- but there was nothing to fill their place, and he was forced to invite them back for company.  When the mind is thus active in calling over invaders, no wonder the conquest is soon completed.  As the carriage drew near the Lodge, (the name of old Melmoth's seat), John's heart grew heavier every moment.

  Melmoth the Wanderer:  A Tale by Charles Robert Maturin (1820)

In the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, critic Chris Morgan heaps on the praise:  "Charles R. Maturin's best-known novel, Melmoth the Wanderer, is a tour de force, oneof the greatest exmples of Gothis horror.  For a start, the novel is long and complex, consisiting of five clearly interlinked tales in addition to an extensive framing device, covering different historical periods between the 1660s andf 1816.  But breadth an complexity are easly achieved through presistence, what Maturin possessed was an outstanding ability to create atmosphere in just a few sentences and to demonstrate the traits of character in a handful of words. [...] Each tale is a brief Gothic novel, varying in style and atmosphere, yet closely connected with the others in theme."  

Morgan goes on:  "While the novel is longer and more digressive than a 20th-century readr would normally welcome, its best passages are breahtaking and it evokes a series of string emotions."  Such literary lights as Scott, Byron, and Goethe waxed enthusiastic over the novel, while Balzac was inspired to write a sequel, Merlmoth Reconciled.  The book greatly influenced writers from Baudelaire and Wilde to Thackeray and Lovecraft.  To read Melmoth the Wanderer today is to encounter many now-standard and overused cliches; for the reader in 1820, that was not the case -- Maturin was there first.

John Melmoth does inherit his uncle's wealth and estate.  Among his uncle's effects he finds an aged manuscript which tells of an ancestor who has made a deal with the devil for 150 years of unaging youth,  That ancestor, "Melmoth," becomes obsessed with finding a person willing to take on the pact, thus relieving "Melmoth" of the eventual tortures of Hell.

Maturin (1780-1824) was an Irish Protestant clergyman and a writer of Gothic novels and plays.  Maturn's early works were published under apseudonym, but he was forced to abandon the pen name in order to collect royalties.  These works were criticized for their unorthodoxy Samuel Taylor Coleridge was particularly vehement in his criticism) and, reacting to the criticism once it was discoered that Maturin was the author, The Churh of Ireland banned the clergyman from any possible advancement in the church.  It was hard to support his family on the paltry salary he received as a curate, so Maturin continued writing.  In the years following his death, Maturin was recognized for his briliant and lucid religious writings, causing many in the church to rue the fact that he was forced to concentrate so much effort on his fiction in detriment to proselytizing for his religion.

Incoming:

• "Nona Abbott" (F. Paul Wilson), Rx Murder and Rx Mayhem.  Cozy mysteries featuring Noreen Marconi, a family pratitioner from a small town outside Baltimore, hampered somewhat by the addition of the ghost of her father.
• Lewis Black, Me of Little Faith.  The noted "rage" comic takes on religion in this collection of humorous essays.
• Lawrence Block, The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder.  Block's most popular character tells his own story.  Block is now of the age where he can write and publish whatever he wishes, and we, as readers, should be grateful.  Here, Scudder recounts his life, the highs and the lows and the lower-lows, with a brilliant, poignant, honest, and rambling style which makes the fictional character m ore real than I thought possible.
• John W. Campbell, Jr., Frozen Hell.  An early draft of Campbell's classic story Who Goes There? (a.k.a. The Thing from Another World.
• John W. Campbell, Jr. (edited by Perry Chapdelaine, Sr., et al.), The John W. Campbell Letters, Vol. I and The John W. Campbell Letters with Isaac Asimov & A. E. van Vogt, Volume II.  Hefty volumes of correspondence (over 1300 pages total!) from the influential and contraversial editor of Astounding Science Fiction and Unknown.
• John Dickson Carr, The Island of Coffina and Other Mysteries from the Casebook of Cabin B-13.  All of Carr's two dozen scripts from the 1948 radio mystery series Cabin B-13.  A tret for lovers of both old-time radio and classic mysteries.
• Max Allan Collins & Matthew V. Clemens, Max Allan Collins Collection, Volume Two:  John Sand.  Omnibus of three John Sand novels:  Come Spy with Me, Love Fast, Spy Hard, and To Live and Spy in Berlin, and the story "Murderlized."  The conceit of the series is that Sand was the guy Ian Flemng based his James Bond novels on.  The three  novels were previously released in a boxed set titled No Time to Spy.
• Harlan Ellison, Getting in the Wind and Pulling a Train.  Early crime stories.  Betwen the two volumes, the entire contents of Ellison's early, difficult-to-get collection Sex Gang (published in 1959 under the name "Paul Merchant") are included, along with other stories.
• John Haefele, A Look Behind the Derleth Mythos.  Nonfiction about August Derleth and his influence on H. P. Lovecraft's literary legacy.
• William F. Nolan, Nolan on Bradbury.  What it says.  A collection of Nolan's writings about his friend, Ray Bradbury.
• Mark Rich, C. M. Kornbluth:  The Life and Works of a Science Fiction Visionary.   Heavily researched and flawed biography of talented and influential writer who died way too early at 34.  I got the impression that Rich really tried to be even-handed in his approach, but...  Althoug it's nearly impossible to get a handle on such a complicated person, Rich relied heavily on conficting anecdotal evidence, apparently placing Fred Pohl as the villain of the piece.  An entertaining and maybe/maybe-not reliable look at a fascinating person nestled among other odd and fascinating people.  A lot of unnecessary repetition here just screams for a good editoir.
• Justin Richards, Doctor Who:  The Only Good Dalek.  Graphic novel featuring the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy Pond.
• Nat Segaloff, A Lit Fuse:  The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison.  The expanded second edition of this biography, mainly culled from interviews with Ellison.  Like Kornblutth, Ellison is hard to pin down, but Segaloff seems to arrive at the core of one of the most influential writers of the past seventy years, yet he barely touches on how Ellison has placed his mark on American life.
• "John Wyndham" (John Benyon Harris), Plan for Chaos.  A previously unpublished novel written in the late 1940s/early 1950s and finally published in 2009.  A science fiction detective novel mash-up which met with a mixed reception.  Nazis are cloning a master race in the jungle while trying to provoke a nuclear war betwen the United States and Russia.  Not Wyndham's best effort, but an interesting curiosity.

Pickleball:  I am not the hippest person on this planet and am not au fait on current trends.  Recently I've been hearing a lot about pickleball; my first reaction was to scratch my head and to question my hearing.  Pickleball.  It's a strange word, isn't it?  What the heck is it?

It's a fairly new sport that has becme very popular.  Sort of a red-headed stepchild of tennis or ping pong, except pickleball has a frw different rules.  It can be played as singles, with one person on each side of the net, or as doubles, with two on each side.   There is a net.  Pickleball can be played indoors or outdoors, as long there is space for a court 44 feet long and 20 feet wide.  Each player has a pickleball paddle, which is larger than a ping pong paddle.  The pickleball itself is a hard plastic ball with 24 to 40 evenly spaced circular holes, and it bounces less than a tennis ball.  There is a seven-foot area on each side of the net, the non-volley zone --a ball must bounce off that zone before it can be hit.  Only the server can score a poiint, and serves must be done underhand.  Usuallu, the first sode scoring 11 points, with at least two points leading, wins.  The point system is confusing to me (I'm a troglodyte, remember?) so I won't try (can't) explain it. 

Pickleball is a game that is easily transportable, has low start-up costs, has a short learning curve.  It'sand can be played by a wide range of ages and fitness levels.  It's popularity grew during the height of the COVID pandemic as an alternative to other indoor recreastional sports.  This year it is estimated that there are over 4.8 million players.  Professional pickleball associations have begun to arise:  Association of Pickleball Professions (APP), Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), Major League Pickleball (MLP), and USA Pickleball (USAPB, which purports to be the governing body of pickleball in the United States; USAPB also established the International Federation of Pickleball [IFP], which purports to be the world governing body for the sport).  Pickleball has attracted a large number of investor, including Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant.

But whence came pickleball?  It was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the summer home of Joel Pritchard, who, with his friends Barney McCallum and Bill Bell, devised the game and established the rules.  As to the name accounts differ.  Prichard's wife said that it reminded ber of the pickle boat in crew, where the oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.   One theory had the name derived from the Pritchard's dog, Pickles -- although the Pritchards said the dog got its name from the game, not the other way around.  Bill Bell said that he named the game because he could hit the ball in such a way that it would put the other player in a pickle.

Pickleball is always popular with people.  The sound made when the ballis struck is a "sharp popping" one, and the constant noise has proved to be an irritant to many nearby residents.   Residents claim they cannot hold normal conversations because of the noise;others claim it to be "trauma-inducing."  Some communities are making efforts to tackle this problem.

Have no doubt about it.  Pickleball is here to stay.  The same has been said about many other fast-growing fads, including the macarena.

And don't get me started on the inappropriately-named beanbag toss game called cornhole.

operation under its cuirrent 

The 1st United States Congress:  234 years ago, on March 4, 1789, the United States federal government began its operation under its current form of government with the establishment of the 1st United States Congress.  Previously, the country was ruled by the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which had been finalized by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 and was ratified by all thirteen states by March 1, 1781.  It soon became apparent that the Articles of Confederation were ineffective in many areas for the growing country, especially ijnh the protectionist trade barriers between the states; other areas of concern were the raising of funds, the assembnling of delegates, and various commerce regulations.  Political leaders began talking about amending the Articles of Confederation and soon others joined in.  In March of 1777, a Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia for this purpose, and it became obvious that revising the Articles of Confederation were not enough to solve its many problems.  The Convention began drafting a new Constitution.  The new Constitution establish a chief executive (the President), courts, and taxing powers.

There were no formal political parties at the time.  Members were grouped in factions based on their voting records as either Pro-Administration (P) or Anti-Administration (A).  The new Congress was a bicarmal one, with the lower chamber (the House of Reprsentatives) elected by the people and the upper chamber (the Senate) elected by state legislators.  The size of the House was to be determined by the number and populations of the states; the size was to be determined by law, not the Constitution.  The term of a Representative was two years.  The Senate would be comprised of two Senators per state; the term for a Senator would be six years, with one-third of the new Senate serving two years, one-third four years, and one-third six years, allowing one-third of that body to be elected every two years.

The new Constitution also spelled out the three separtion of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches being co-equal bodies.  The new Constitution was ratified by the end of 1788 and was set to be implemented on March4, 1789.  On April 1, the House of Representatives achieved a quorum and elected its officers.  On April 6, the Senate did the same.  They met in joint session on April 6 to count the electoral ballots and unanomously declared Gearge Washington as the country's first President; John Adams, who had received 34 of 69 votes, was named Vice President.  Adams was inaugurated as Vice President on April 21, and Washington as President on April 30.  The new government was off and running.

Here's a little quiz I call How well Do You Know Your Founding Fathers?  Here's five members of the original Senate and five members of the original House.  Which state was each from?  (Your choices are Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Souoth Carolin, and Virginia.  I've excluded North Carolina, and Rhode Island; North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the Constitution by March 4; New York had seated three of its six representatives and neither of its two Senators by March 4.)  Answers below.

Senate:

 

1. Tristram Dalton ((P) 

2. Oliver Ellsworth (P) 

3. James Gunn (A)

4. Ralph Izzard (P)

5. Paine Wingate (A)

House:

1. Egbert Benson (P)

2. Aedanus Burke (A)

3. Lambert Cadwalader ((P)

4. Elbridge Gerry (A)

5. James Madison (A)

Passings:  This past week has seen a lot of notable deaths, including some people who have had an impact on my life.

• Jimmy Buffet.  The singer/songwriter whose mellow music, beach bum persona, and inventive lyrics inspired a legion of Parrotheads, died Friday.  He was less than two months younger than me.  Thanks to him, I could dream of a cheeseburger in paradise, wish I had a pencil-thin mustache, and find my one particular harbor.  I attended one of his concert in Charlotte, North Carolina, almost three decades ago and had a great time.  My girls went to a number of his concerts.  Christina once volunteered to work the ambulance during one of his concert, expecting to watch his show for free; it didn't work out that way -- she spent the entire concert hauling drunks to various medical centers and never heard a single song.  **sigh**    Here's a recording of Gratful Dead's "Ripple" that Buffet did for Playing for Change, along with David Crosby, Bill Kreatzman, Clarence Bekker, Roberto Luti, David Hildago, Blind Boy Paxton, Tita Tsira, Tula, Las Rosas Angelinas, the Sassi de Montea Strings, the Chicago Children's Choir, and many other talented artists throughout the world.  It indicates the universality of his talent and his popularity.          https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10203781690334479&set=a.1199421157436
• Bob Barker.  The Truth or Consequences and The Price is Right television host and animal rights activist died on Saturday, August 26, less than four mnonths before his 100th birthday.   Along with many other people in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, I grew up with Bob Barker on our television set.  In 1987, Barker did the unthnkable for a television host -- he stopped dying his hair and let it go gray.  Good for him!  A blocked artery, a stroke, prostate and skin cancers, and a number of falls plagued Barker over the past two decades, but he passed away peacefully in his sleep.  As one on-line wag and Price Is Right fan put it, I'm surprised he did not make it to 100 without going over.
• Bill Richardson.  The former UN Ambassador and Governor of New Mexico died last Friday at age 75.  Richardson's fsather was Mexican-American by dewcent and his mother was Mexican Spanish; Richardson hinmself was American by birth and was a descendant of William Brewster, a Mayflower passenger.  Following college, Richardson worked for Massachusetts Representative F. Bradford Morse (Morse would later go on to a high position in the United Nations), and later was a staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and worked for Henry Kissinger's State department during the Nixon administration.  He moved to Santa Fe in 1978 and ran for the House of Represntative in 1980, losing narrowly.  Two years later, he was elected to the House, where he remained for 14 years, representing "the country's most diverse distcit" and holding over 2000 town meetings.   He served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Conference and later as Cahirman of the House Subcamitte on Native American Affairs, where he sp[onsored anumber of bills protecting Indian rights.  Richardson later served as Deputy Majhority Whip, where he established a friendship with Bill Clinton.  He was the ranking house democrat to work on the passage of NAFTA and served as a back channel to Mexico's then president; for his efforts, he was awarded the Aztec Eagle Award, the highest award Mexico can give to a foreigner.  His diplomatic skills came into play whenj he help0ed release two Americans being held by Saddam 
  Hussein in 1996.  He also played a mapor role in releasing an American prisoner from North Korea in 1996 and in obtaining a pardon for an Amerocan being held in Bangaladesh.  For these efforts, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.  As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, he helped broker a ceasefire with the Taliban in Afghanistan and was disappointed when the ceasefire did not hold.  In 1998, Richardson became the Secretary of Energy.  His tenure there was marred by a controvery when a scientist named Wen Ho Lee was suspected of given nuclear secrets to the Chinese Government.  Although Lee was eventually cleared, the scandal loed to Richardson's tightening security within the department, which led to the creation of the National Nuclear Security Admisitration, a foerunner to the Homeland Security Department.  Richarson became the first energy secretary to implement a pklan for the disposal of nuclear waste.  He also oversaw the largest return of federal land to an Indian tribe in over 100 years.  Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in 2002. and entered the Guiness Book of Records for the most handshakes in an eight-period, beating the previous record set by Theodore Roosevelt.  Richaron institu3ed a number of economic reforms, supported some LGBTQ rights (while opposing gay marriage), signed a permit system to allow New Mexicans to carry concealed handguns, and supported a plan  to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses (under the plan, traffic fatalities decreased and the uninsured rate for drivers fell fomr 33% to 11%).  While all this was happening, Richardsson continued to act  in negotiations with foreign governments on behalf of the federal administration.  During his second term as governor, he was able to ban cockfighting and to legalize medical marijauna   In 2007, he ran for president but dropped out after poor showings in early primaries and caucuses.  He signed a bill elimating the death penalty in New Mexico, and, in a somewhat contraversial move, declined to pardon Billy the Kid for an 1878 murder, for which then territorial governor Lew Wallace had promised (but never delivered) a pardon.   Richarson's second term as governor was marred by a federal grand jury investigation of alleged pay-for-play deals; at the time, Richardson had been nominated as Secretary of Commerce but had to withdraw the nominatiuon because of the charges.  After he dropped the nomination the grand jury dismissed the charges.  Pay-for-paly also came into focus when the non-partisan Citizens for Responsibilty and Ethics (CREW) in Washington named Richardson one of the 11 wirst governors in the United States because of various ethical issues.  The Committe had been established as a cpouinterweight to a number of conservative organizations then existing and much of their work targeted Republican lawmakers, allowing some to  label it a "Liberal watchdog.  The asscoiated Press reported, however, that CREW "has a history of targeting members of Congress representing different races, philsophjies and political parties."  In documents that were unsealed in 2019, Virginia Guiffre alleged that she was sexually trafficked by Jeffery Epstein and Ghilaine Maxwell as a minor to several high-profile individuals, including Richardson.  Richarson hdenied the charges and offered his assistance in the investigation.  The U.S. Attorney's office stated that Richardson was neither a target, subject, or a witness in the case and that no allegation against Richardson was under investigation.  My own opinion is that Richarson was a successful politician who accomplished many positive things.  Successful politicians, rightly or wrongly, are susceptable to charges of wrong doing, but -- as far as I can tell --  there is no there there.
• Mohamed Al-Fayed.  The Egyptian-born businessman and one-time owner of London's Harrads department store died Wednesday at age 94.  Most remember him as the father of Dodi Al-Fayed, who died in the automobile crash that claimed the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.  Al-Fayed alleged that the crash was orchestrated by MI-6 on behalf of Prince Philip.  He also claomed that Diana was pregnant with Dodi's child and that he was the onloy one who had been told of the pregnancy.  Al-Fayed claimed that the crash occured because the Royal fam ily did not want Diane to marry a Muslim.  No evidence ever came to light about Diana being pregnant.  Multiple inquiries also tended to disprove Al-Fayed's claim of a conspiracy.  But it's hard to keep a good conspiracy theory down.  Lord knows the Royal Family can be sketchy to support all sorts of rumors.
• Faye Fantarrow.  The young British singer/songwriter who was being mentored by the Eurythmics star Dave Stewart, died Saturday of an agrtessive brain tumor at the age of 21.   She had tweice beaten leukemia at ages 8 and 13.  I had never heard of her before, but her death saddens me.  Here's her recording of "AWOL":      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRSqwJTYqV8

Labor Day Songs:

• John McCutcheon relates a tele and then sings one of labor's greatest anthems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1qIDwV8SlQ
• Judy Collins with another great anthem in support of women's sufferage           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYIHPj-3hg0
• Utah Phillips tells us "There Is Power in the Union"            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O93YpTYCWRk&list=PLUWvKmQgF7zxywJLFTPoaF2bXkiwl5zVs
• Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers with "Talking Union"         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Khc3mz0eSU
• Sweet Honey in  the Rock with "Step by Step"            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXwM3pJFqAc&list=PLUWvKmQgF7zxywJLFTPoaF2bXkiwl5zVs&index=16
• Hazel Dickens with "They'll Never Keep Us Down"          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HwP3f2oaA8&list=PLUWvKmQgF7zxywJLFTPoaF2bXkiwl5zVs&index=24
• Rosalie Sorrels with "I Am a Union Woman"             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuSZT8M3R7c&list=PLUWvKmQgF7zxywJLFTPoaF2bXkiwl5zVs&index=20
• Peggy Seeger with "I'm Gonna Be an Engineer"          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IGVxBb5uYk
• The labor movement was closely associated with other movements for justice and equality as Malvina Reynolds reminds us                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBJGgN6m5Uw

Holidays:    In addition to Labor Day, today is also National Eat an Extra Dessert Day, as well as National Macadamia Nut Day.  With all those macadamia nuts you might also want to celebrate Mouthguard Day.  One celebration that should not be missed is National Wildlife Day, which has nothing to do with National Eat an Extra Dessert Day.  Some unsiung heores are also celebrated with National Newspaper Carrier Day.  Worthy celebrations all.

It should also be noted that today is Mitzi Gaynor's 92nd birthday.  The singer/actress appeared in such films as 1956's Anything Goes, The Joker Is Wild (1957), and, in a starring role, 1958's South Pacific -- for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe.  In September 1964, she was the act sandwiched between two sets by the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.  Hormonal teen-age girls remembered the Beatles; hormonal teen-age boys remembered Mitxi Gaynor.  Go figure.  Judge for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTaWejnLw2Q  and  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkVP6YRLi3U

Florida Man:  There's a lot that's been happening later, much of it not good.

• It's not easy being a dog in Florida. 75-year-old Arlow Lorenzo Phillips of Pasco City has been arrested for animal cruelty after he tied his pit bull to his car and then went speeding down the highway.  Police received reports from witnesses about the bloodied, howling dog being dragged along the road by a driver who was driving erratically and speeding.  Phillips told police that he had forgetten the dog was tied to the vehicle.  Earlier, though, he had taken the dog to a veterinarian and said that it had been hit by a car.  The dog could not be saved.  Phillips had had his drivers license revoked since 2007 and had been convicted seven times of driving without a license, along with unspoecified charges.
• In other sad pit bull news, 25-year-old Corey Vaughn Dacres of Pembroke Pines has been arrested for drowning the family pet in an apartment complex swimming pool.  According to police, Dacres had gotten into an argument with relatives and grabbed the dog when he left the apartment.  He then threw the dog over a locked swimming pool gate into the water, climbed the gate, and held the animal under the water until it was dead.  Dacres then went back to the apartment and told the family what he had done.  He said he wanted to get "revenge" on his relatives.
• Another dog was luckier.  A Longwood, Seminole Cpounty, resident was walking his small dog,, Molly, when they had a bear encounter.  The man was injured and taken to the hospital, whilke the dog went missing.  Neighbors found the dog several days later and it had been attacked by the bear.  They took the dog to a veterinarian and paid for the one and one-half surgery while the dog's owner remained in the hospital.  Bear encounters are becoming more frequent in /Florida this time of year.  Bears are searching for food in preparation to hibernating and there have been many reports of bears threatening small animals and frightening residents.  Authorities suggest that, before going out at night, residents flick their outside lights on and off several times to frighten the bears away.
• Florida Man Kevin Broz of Orange County and a professional alligator hunter ha bagged the second heaviest alligator on Florida reciord.  The gater weighed in at 920 pounds and had a length of 13 feet 3-and-one-quarter inches.  The Florida Wildlife department esitmated the alligator's age at betwwen 60 and 90 years old.  Broz said that he had never had any concerns about swimming in Florida waters but now that he has seen that alligator, he does.
• Florida Man Joel Banza, 50, of Sanford, has been arrested for the murder of his 40-year-old girlfriend.  Jaycee Cartegena Clememente was found stangled with a zip-tie around her neck.  Banza tried to convince police that she had committed suicide.  Neither the police not the medical examiner believed him.
• Florida Man Donovan Faison, 21, also of Sanford, was arrested after a months-long investigation for the murder of his girlfriend Kaylyn Fiensa, 19, in November 2022.  Fiensa was three-months pregnant with her second child and refused to get an abortion, according to reports.
• 19-year-old Edward Comacho was arrested after ramming a stolen vehicle into a gun store in order to steal guns.
• Florida Man and Osceola County Pizza Hut manager Calvin Cook, 31, was arrested after he sexually assaulted a female employee he had locked in a room at the store.  He told police that he was aware that she was a minor.  It didn't seem to bother him.
• 27-year-old Orange County deputy and Florida Man Brian Espina was arrested for speeding on his motorcycle to impress his girlfriend.  He was clocked at dong 90 miles an hour -- twice over the speed limit -- but denied witness reports that he was racing.

Good News:

•  Couple who won $100,000 in lottery plans to spend it on fostering shildren       https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/couple-who-won-100000-in-lottery-plans-to-spend-money-on-fostering-children/
• Stray dog who escaped Michigan shelter three tiomes finds new home at retirement center        https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/stray-dog-escapes-michigan-shelter-3-times-in-order-to-find-new-home-among-elderly-care-facility/
• Ultrasound scanners inside a bra could detect breast cancer earlier and between screenings       https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ultrasound-scanners-inside-of-a-bra-could-detect-breast-cancer-earlier-and-between-screenings/
• New blood tst could detect Parkinson's before it begins to damage the nervous system        https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/new-blood-test-could-be-used-to-diagnose-parkinsons-before-it-begins-damaging-the-nervous-system/
• Man averts oil tanker disaster by crowdfnding to remove crumbling ship from Red Sea        https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/remarkable-man-averts-oil-tanker-disaster-by-crowdfunding-to-stop-crumbling-ship-from-releasing-tons-into-red-sea/Montana youths sue state over climate change -- and WIN          https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/montana-youths-sue-state-over-climate-change-and-win-citing-state-constitution/
• Enzyme discovered that could turn air into energy, possibly providing a new clean way to make an energy dream come true         https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/discovered-enzyme-turns-air-into-electricity-to-make-energy-dreams-true/
• And, for your moment of joy, here's a video of a little boy giggling as four puppies play with him      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/little-boy-cant-stop-giggling-as-4-puppies-shower-him-with-love-watch/

Ha Ha:   My brother thinks he's so smart.  He told me that an onion was the only food that makes you cry.  So I threw a coconut at his face.

Today's Poem:

Up-Hill

Dos the road wind up-hill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the day's journey take the whole long day?

From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?

A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

They will not keep you standing at the door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

Of labour you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who work?

Yea, beds for all who come.

-- Christina Rossetti 

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How Well Do You Know Your Founding Fathers?  Answers:

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