"Liberation Day"...

Yesterday was what Donald Trump calls "Liberation Day," the day he imposed tariffs on every other country in the world, ranging from 10 to 49 percent, claiming he is only imposing reciprocal tariffs that are half of what those countries charge us, and that it will bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Paul Krugman, a Nobel-prize winning economist turned political commentator, has said that Trump has "gone full-on crazy," and that his graph of countries' tariff rates are complete fabrications. Is Trump lying or is he really that stupid? Krugman says that Trump's economic policies will do swift and severe damage to the economy, and that is already happening with the stock market. I have to wonder if all those Trump supporters who voted for him, believing he would lower prices, will still support him as their 401 (k)s tank and prices go up, not down? When I was down here in Stuart, Florida this past summer, most of the voters, including the yachting crowd at the Sunset Bay Marina, where I took the photograph above, were all gung-ho for Trump and his policies. But tanking a strong economy with low inflation makes no sense whatsoever. Can destroying the country to make it "Great Again" actually be popular with the MAGA crowd? Talk about scary.

A Return Visit To CityPlace

I visited CityPlace down in West Palm Beach the other day and must say it is as vibrant and beautiful as ever. However, it is a much different place than when I first visited when it opened in the fall of 2000. It was getting a lot of hype in the local newspapers back then. It was a mixed-use development just south of the downtown area, with the goal of reviving the area, which was in a bit of a decline back then. The emphasis was on traditional retail, and it was anchored by Macy's, a Barnes and Noble Bookstore, and an AMC 20 screen theater. As now, there were fountains, beautiful landscaping, and a very upscale vibe. All three of those anchors are gone now. In place of the Macy's is a cultural arts center, the AMC theaters have been replaced by two high-rise office towers, and there are a lot more upscale condos and apartments to go with the pricey restaurants and shops. But it is still a very nice place to hang out.

A number of historic buildings were incorporated into CityPlace and restored, including the Grant Van Valkenburg House, built in 1918 and seen in the photograph on the right. But upscale apartments and condos, along with more and more high-rise office towers, one of which is right across from the Valkenburg House, predominate. On the plus side, it definitely results in a lot more foot traffic for those restaurants and shops.

One of those historic buildings in the neighborhood is the Hotel Evernia, seen in the photograph on the left and located on - wait for it - Evernia Street. It was built in 1925, during the Florida land boom of the 1920s, and started life as the Hotel Enoree. It was restored back in 1979, became the Hotel Evernia, and is the oldest running hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida. Just for fun, I checked the rates and found that a room with a private bathroom goes for $170, depending on time of year, of course, while a room with a shared bathroom goes for $148. I don't know about you, but if am paying almost $150 for a room (which I never try to do) I would definitely want a private bathroom, but that's just me.

The best thing about CityPlace is that it is just south of Clematis Street and downtown West Palm Beach, which is a pretty lively spot, with restaurants, pubs, tiki bars, and a large park space that borders Lake Worth. That park hosts a number of events, including Clematis by Night, which features live music and other events every Thursday night. Since everything is in walking distance, you only have to park once, which is a real plus in that now very busy area. And if you happen to own a super yacht, you are in luck! There are marinas all along the shores of Lake Worth that can accommodate you. It is a real temptation for me to bring my superyacht down here from Colorado. I'll just have to figure out the logistics. Very carefully.

Bye Bye Snowbirds, Bye Bye!

I am no one to complain about snowbirds, since my sister Susan and I are only part time residents here in Stuart, Florida, but being here during the season (traditionally January through March) can be a major pain, with Exhibit A being Stuart Beach. Susan and I like to stop at Wendy's each afternoon and head to Stuart Beach for lunch. This beach used to contain a number of covered shelters where you could sit and watch the ocean, but a few years ago they put in the Seaside Cafe and eliminated all but two of those shelters to put in tables for the customers. But you can still see the ocean from the tables in those two shelters - except during the season, when the place is so crowded, even on weekdays (as seen in the photo), that if you do find a table, it is at the very back, with no view at all.

And so, when we went back to Stuart Beach yesterday afternoon, I was surprised to find that our favorite tables with the best view of the ocean were all open, and although there were people at the cafe and on the beach, it was not overwhelming. And then it occurred to me that yesterday was the last day of March, the day all those snowbirds check out of their seasonal rentals and who were probably on the road back north. What a difference. I can now understand why locals often complain about those snowbirds, although I am sure all the hotel owners, shopkeepers, and everyone else who benefits from the tourist dollars are more than happy to take their money. In any case, I am now wondering if the outdoor patio at Sailor's Return Restaurant in the Sunset Bay Marina, with the killer views of the St. Lucie River and the boats in the marina, will now actually have tables available, not to mention parking spaces, and if the valets will no longer be parking rows of cars right behind those spaces, requiring a trip to the valet stand to ask them to move the car. But miracles do happen. And no, we are NOT snowbirds. We come here three times a year, including during the heat of summer. Although locals might call us demented snowbirds.

Stormy Weather

The Treasure Coast of Florida (which consists of Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin Counties) has been experiencing drought conditions since the beginning of November, but this past weekend the weather turned a little stormy, with rough surf and possible rip currents. I took the photograph on the left yesterday afternoon between downpours and just made it back to the car before the rain began again. In the background is the House of Refuge, which was built in 1875 on Hutchinson Island, just east of present-day Stuart, as a lifesaving station.  If ships foundered on the offshore reef called Gilbert's Bar, sailors would be rescued and given a place to sleep by what were called "keepers" until a ship came and picked them up. The House of Refuge is now a museum operated by the Historical Society of Martin County. Back when it was a lifesaving station, this area was all wilderness. These days it is all traffic.

Meanwhile, in Jupiter, the surf was also pretty rough, as seen in the photograph on the right. Jupiter has about three and a half miles of beach, which runs from the Juno Beach Pier up to and beyond Carlin Park. Whenever I pass the sign for this park, I think about Elliot Carlin, the long-time patient of Dr. Bob Hartley on the old Bob Newhart Show. Mr. Carlin would always greet people he didn't know by asking the person next to him "Who's this Bozo?", among other endearing traits. I have to assume the park was not named after him, although I recently found out that Google Maps shows the condo on Sheridan Road in Chicago where Bob and Emily Hartley were supposed to live in that series, and so you never know.

I have never had much luck when I visit Blowing Rocks Preserve, run by the Nature Conservancy and located on Jupiter Island, which is situated between Jupiter and Stuart. The blurb on the internet for this preserve states that "Blowing Rocks is a unique limestone outcrop in Florida where breaking waves spray plumes of water up to 50 feet in height through erosional holes, creating a distinctive and memorable spectacle." The first time I visited was last summer, and a sign said that the rocks were currently covered by sand and to visit another time. I thought that given the rough surf this past weekend, this would be the time to check the place out. But alas, no. I have to assume that the "distinctive and memorable spectacle" must only occur at high tide, which would have been around 11:30 P.M., and I did not feel like hanging out there for another 8 1/2 hours. Which is why I am featuring the photograph on the left, which shows un-blowing rocks, but pretty big waves, nonetheless.

A Tattered Cover Bookstore Update

And no - Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore is not returning as an independent 4-store chain. It is still owned by Barnes and Noble, and the back-office staff have not been offered their jobs back. However, Kwame Spearman, the Ex-Tattered Cover CEO, has purchased a building with partner Rich Garvin that will become the location of a new 3,500 square foot bookstore and 2,000 square foot eatery called Denver Book Society. This building was the location of Humboldt Kitchen and Bar at 17th and Humboldt for 10 years and before that Strings, a very upscale and iconic Denver restaurant. As Denverites may remember, Spearman and partner David Back led an investor group that bought the Tattered Cover to "save it" back in December 2020, but which ultimately led the store to Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a sale to Barnes and Noble last summer. Spearman says he learned valuable lessons from his experience as a first-time bookstore owner and now believes he has a formula for success. He plans to be open by the spring of 2026. We will see how that works out. And yes - that is indeed a photograph of the main floor of the Tattered Cover Bookstore in LoDo (Lower Downtown Denver) that I took when I worked at that chain as the bookkeeper. And to be honest, I don't think anyone will be able to recreate that atmosphere again.

Leaving, Or In This Case, Arriving On A Jet Plane. A Private Jet Plane

Here in Stuart, Florida there is a small airport called Witham Field located right in the middle of town. There is no commercial traffic, but it has been in the news lately due to a large increase in private jet traffic there. This is the result of restrictions placed on airspace around Palm Beach, Florida, due to our beloved and revered President Donald J. Trump's weekend trips to his club at Mar-a-Lago, where he winds down after a long week of Making America Great Again, although unfortunately, not making anyone's 401K great again. The story was mainly about neighbors near the airport having to deal with all the noise from those jets taking off and landing right over their houses. I myself am amazed at how many private jets go in and out of that airport.  I am even more amazed at the size of those planes, such as the one in the photograph above. Are there many passengers aboard? Or is it just a flying mansion for the very rich? There are, after all, a lot of wealthy people in this area, especially on nearby Jupiter Island. In the story on the local news, one of the jets seen at Witham Field was Holtec One, owned by Holtec International, which specializes in building parts for nuclear reactors, as well as transport and storage casks used for spent nuclear fuel. If that jet on the news was Holtec One, is there a Holtec Two, Three, Four, or even Five? And if so, do all the top executives get a private jet, kind of like some companies provide company cars? Nice work if you can get it, but can you really get it if you try?

The Chicago White Sox Home Opener: Sox Win! Sox Win! Sox Win! Sox Win!

It was all smiles on the South Side of Chicago yesterday as the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 8-1. It was a very impressive start for the White Sox, with good pitching (especially by starting pitcher Sean Burke, who pitched 6 scoreless innings), good fielding, and good hitting. The Sox were leading by a score of 3-0 in the bottom of the 8th when they added 5 insurance runs to seal the win. This is something they did not do last year, when they had a nasty habit of giving up the lead late in the game on their way to losing a major league record 121 games. The name of the stadium, by the way, has been changed from Guaranteed Rate Field to Rate Field, no doubt because nothing can be guaranteed now that Donald Trump is president again. Makes sense to me.

One positive aspect of losing a record number of games last year was that management knew they were not going to go anywhere in 2024, and brought up a lot of young players to see what they could do, including this year's starting pitcher, Sean Burke. The White Sox have a lot of new young players this season. In fact, I only recognized three position players from last year: Luis Roberts Jr., Andrew Vaughn, and Andrew Benintendi, who hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 8th inning. This is basically a whole new team with a new manager, Will Venable, and they look really good. And I am happy to report the fans turned out in droves Opening Day. One bad season is not going to keep dedicated White Sox fans from showing up, proof of which is the crowd seen on the concourse in the photograph on the right.

As you can imagine, White Sox announcers Steve Stone, seen in the photograph on the left, and John Schriffen, on the right, were beside themselves with joy with the result, and are predicting great things for the team this year. And happily, Stone has signed a multi-year contract that guarantees he will be the White Sox for years to come, although working a more limited game schedule, I assume because he is now 77 years old, although a youngish 77. I am definitely looking forward to watching more White Sox games on MLB.com this year, especially since it is now costing a fortune to subscribe, but what is money when you can watch your South Side heroes all season long? But check with me later in season regarding that opinion. For now, let's play two!