The Sloops of the Hudson River is a fascinating work about these sailing craft that once plied the waters from New York City to Albany and beyond. The book is written by Paul E. Fontenoy and published by the Mystic Seaport Museum.

Those of you not interested in sailing vessels may want to pass. However, if you have a passing interest in how New York and its environs developed, you are well advised to consider this book. In the first place, Mr. Fontenoy tackles the details with a bit of flair, adding in personal contemporary accounts to bring life to a subject that would otherwise be too many facts and figures. Similarly, he has fold-out designs of various sloops which give the reader an opportunity to see their design from every angle. He goes all the way to produce financial records from various businesses to demonstrate the rise and fall of the traffic these vessels conducted.

After a bit of pondering, I propose that the development of trade, and in particular the efforts these owners and sailors invested into their operations, are demonstrable evidence to the evolution of the American Character. Here are people making their living on their own, without supreme guidance or central planning. They profited or failed much of their own accord, learning lessons from both experiences along the way. When their achievements of a more basic age are compared against those of today’s sophistication, I dare say modern progress seems a bit lacking.

If nothing else, those sailing types among my readers will enjoy the book for its technical excellence and readability. Enjoy it.

…is what Mr. Vernon Fletcher is at the moment. He came through his surgery well enough. Of course he’s been dosed with a fair amount of pain killers and some other pharmaceuticals. Surgeon’s report was generally positive. He should be departing the facility around the end of the week for further recovery at home. This is proof his inner tiger lives strong.

Mr. Vernon Fletcher goes under the knife today. It’s not a major procedure but big enough to cause concern. A bunch of talented surgeons will be doing their best to restore him to 100%. MVF has the heart of a lion and he’ll pull through. Thanks for all your well-wises. He knows you’re praying for him and is very grateful, as am I.

I’ll update in a few days.

…early this morning. Went out, bought The New York Times, and instead of sticking to the travel section and the book reviews, I read some of the other pieces. How stupid I was!

The New York Times has its point of view; I appreciate that. Viva la diferencia! as my old pal Charlie used to say. Trouble is, through the various articles I read, there was nothing short of a vapid, pathetic, ignorance bandied about like so much high-minded civic righteousness. These sundry writings of today’s issue degenerated into a pablum of calls for allegiance to the state. That’s right, swearing fealty to the all-knowing, all-providing greatness of government, which is the only entity capable of solving perceived problems. Woodrow Wilson is invoked. Harvard scholars are quoted. Damn fools expound at length on the supposed merits of the premise that the citizen needs a higher purpose than his own goals. No, there are no instructions for making the official oath or public salute. They veil the essence in sweeter sounding platitudes than overt devotion.

Perhaps I awoke in another reality this morning. Or maybe not. Maybe America is no longer the land of the free to pursue their happiness, nor the home of the brave enough to deal with the failure if they don’t find it. America might have waned into a sort of half-life isotope of a society, only strong enough to kill itself while doing minor damage to others.

Consider the facts: A congress that wants to seize control of an industry to doll out benefits to less than 10% of the population. The same congress wants command of every tickle of energy produced. A President who strategizes politically to further his personal influence while soldiers die in the field. State governments littered with debt, most of which was incurred to pay-off (in one form or another) various reliable constituencies. Cities that harbor criminals from the law.

And this is the group to which the citizen is to prostrate himself before in the name of a higher purpose. What would that purpose be? King and country? Like it or not, the American who was once free now lives in the yoke of royalty put in place by his own hand. The citizen is fastening the chains about his neck, volunteering for servitude. Where there is service, there are the served. No greater a messenger than The New York Times is calling for more of this. Get your collar fitted while the really snazzy ones last.

And if you want to know where it ends, I can reliably say that it does not end. Tyranny is forever. When you turn your back, deny its existence, or placate it with tribute, tyranny will dominate you. Tyranny will start by taking your dignity, continue by destroying your achievement, and not stop until you are its slave.

Sound dramatic? Well, ask those who survived Soviet Russia or Mao’s China. They were told to find a higher purpose. They were told to make sacrifices. They were told there would be more for everyone if they only gave all they had. Stalin had his dachas as did the rest of the apparachniks while too many others starved. Mao had his dojo by the lake while bullets landed in the backs of the heads of less conforming people. Unfortunately, The New York Times doesn’t talk much about these kind of consequences. Maybe their writers and those Harvard dons have know knowledge of the reality of the uber-state. Maybe they live in a state of denial that doesn’t reach their lofty offices or leafy campuses. Sadly, the rest of us don’t have that option.

Or, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the average citizen is quite happy with bread and circuses (low interest loans and World Series Baseball as it is called today.) As George Orwell wrote at the end of 1984, “Winston loved Big Brother.”

The Salvare is a 120,000 ton displacement former cruise liner which Dr. Steven Jossy converted to a floating hospital. In case you missed the video as part of the previous post, here is the website for Dr. Jossy’s venture: www.the-salvare.com.  Click on the live links at the website to discover more.

Through the course of writing Universal Coverage, I could hardly believe the many things I thought were fiction are actually becoming fact. When it comes to health care systems, choose wisely.

Salvare, a floating hospital off the coast of Cape May, NJ may be the future of quality medical care in the United States. Watch the video.

Check out the website for more details: www.the-salvare.com.

Something to think about.

…from my man, Benjamin Franklin, philosopher, scientist, founder of a nation:

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing.

Those are words to live be.

Here’s another video of a departing flight from Queen Breatrix Airport, Aruba, DWI.

I can’t get enough of that view.

Bon dia.

Alicia de Larrocha passed away several days ago. Being in transit, I only learned of this sad fact last evening. A friend sent me some YouTube links of her in concert. Here’s one for those interested in seeing a great pianist making it look easy.

Even with those small hands, Sra. de Larrocha could play with ease, the true sign of a master. She will be missed not only in Spain, but the world over, for her beautiful music and legendary performances. As a side note, consider the magnificent tone of that Steinway in the video. Also a treat.

The wind turbine project continues here in Aruba. All the foundations have been built and now the towers, generating units, and blades have arrived. A team assembles them even as this post goes up. The first photo shows the truck that delivers the generating units arriving on site and being unloaded.

To grasp the scale of these units, consider them beside that Toyota Yaris parked along side the truck. The next photo shows the base into which fits the tower and the nacelle which houses the generating unit.

Finally, you can now see one wind turbine completely assembled and the next one in progress.

Let’s have one more look at that, shall we?

Reports indicate this facility will be producing energy in January 2010. I hope so. The wind blows strong in Aruba. No reason not to make some electricity. Why not built another ten or twenty or thirty?

Bon dia.