Want a new house? Only $49,500,000!

What makes a house worth $49,500,000? --- the asking price for a property in SW Miami featured in a well-known realtor's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal today.
I took a peek at the web site and had a visual tour of the house inside and out. I don't know if what I saw is worth the asking price, and I don't plan on tapping my 401K to even visit - but it is mind-bending at this time to think someone has the faith in the American dream to ask this price and expect someone will come forward. Most likely a prospect will counter-offer and the price might drop a mil or two but forty-seven mil for a house? It does have a helluva view of the water!
By the way, more than 700 viewers had viewed the web site as of mid-morning!

John Wayne-May 26, 1907

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June 12, 1979 OBITUARY 'Duke,' an American Hero By RICHARD F. SHEPARD In more than 200 films made over 50 years, John Wayne (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0526.html) saddled up to become the greatest figure of one of America's greatest native art forms, the western. The movies he starred in rode the range from out-of-the-money sagebrush quickies to such classics as "Stagecoach" and "Red River." He won an Oscar as best actor for another western, "True Grit," in 1969. Yet some of the best films he made told stories far from the wilds of the West, such as "The Quiet Man" and "The Long Voyage Home." In the last decades of his career, Mr. Wayne became something of an American folk figure, hero to some, villain to others, for his outspoken views. He was politically a conservative and, although he scorned politics as a way of life for himself, he enthusiastically supported Richard M. Nixon, Barry Goldwater, Spiro T. Agnew, Ronald Reagan and others who, he felt, fought for his concept of Americanism and anti- Communism. But it was for millions of moviegoers who saw him only on the big screen that John Wayne really existed. He had not created the western with its clear-cut conflict between good and bad, right and wrong, but it was impossible to mention the word "western" without thinking of "the Duke," as he was called.

"...post-World War II"

Thursday, May 21, 2009: "Led by a rebound performance from left-hander Jon Lester, who limited the Jays to one run over 6 1/3 innings, the Sox completed a three-game sweep of Toronto with a 5-1 victory before the largest post-World War II crowd in Fenway history (38,347)."(John Brown, MLB.COM)

Spring comes to Franke

The mild winter is gone and the new spring season has descended all around the Lowcountry. An example of this is the beautiful entrance to Franke at Seaside in Mt. Pleasant, SC, a continuing care and retirement community where Mary and I now reside. Hope you enjoy the view. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

What happened to "love thy neighbor?"

I found it interesting that regular church goers in America are more likely to approve of state torture than those who go less regularly. This data came out in a Pew Research Center (see The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate) survey released April 30. White evangelical Protestants are most likely to tolerate torture. People who attend church at least once a week are also more inclined to support torture. White non-Hispanic Catholics and white mainline Protestants agreed torture is often or sometime justified. Are these good people focused on the harsh messages of the old testament and missing the message of the new testament about loving thy neighbor and doing unto others as you would be done unto?

Some say that information gathered under torture is not reliable: people under torture will tell you whatever you want to hear. Another thought about all this is the application of torture only works if the victim is convinced he or she will be killed unless they talk. When you have "guidelines" known to the world, friend and foe alike, that prohibit killing, then the victim need only be trained to hold out. That the victim may not be able to stand up indefinitely to torture is probably most true. The Gestapo proved this during World War II. Their prisoners were told that if captured they should try to hold out for at least 24 hours to give others the chance to get away. This is probably true to this day. But Bill Maher, HBO's resident political satirist, joked recently that one of the terrorists at Guantanamo had been water boarded so much he was showing up wearing a bathing suit, carrying a beach towel and a Danielle Steele novel under his arm.

Garden, ducks and the worm

Giamumusso Yard, Franke @Seaside. (Click photos to enlarge)

Canadian geese visit Franke @Seaside.


The worm turns.

Ducks out of Water

The expression "ducks out of water" applied to these curious creatures as they explored Augsburg Drive in Franke at Seaside, Mt Pleasant SC. (Click on picture for enlarged view.)

Case solved - Print recovered

The celebrated case of the missing print (last blog entry) has been solved. It was returned to its place of honor on my alcove wall shortly before noon today. To save the culprit further embarrassment, we will not disclose additional details of the case. Let us just say it was an honest mistake. Members of the firing squad may stand down.

Print stolen - reward offered

On Sunday, April 26, 2009, someone stole a signed print by Robert E. Kennedy of Hemingway's favorite hangout in Key West, Sloppy Joe's Bar. I obtained the print while visiting Key West in 1993 and later had it matted and framed. The print was hanging in the alcove at the front door to my apartment since February 2008, when I moved to Franke at Seaside. The theft has been reported to the Mt. Pleasant Police. The print is today valued at $300. A reward will be paid for information leading to the recovery of the framed print. (This is a copy of the stolen print.)

Looking for trouble

This painter on Saturday (April 25, 2009, was just trying to do his job in the Seaside Farms community but unsafe - and possible life-threatening - practices are a major 'no-no'. He has no second man on the ground for support, no belt and he climbed to the extreme top of the ladder and reached above his head to put some paint on the overhang. It may have worked this time but this kind of reckless disregard for job safety is trouble waiting to happen. (Click on photos for enlarged versions.)

Walkin' on water

I caught this young man "walking on the water" at Isle of Palms on April 23. He was on a board and propelling himself with a paddle around seven thirty in the morning when the sun was coming up and there was only a little breeze. I don't know how cold the water was but I wore jogging clothes.

Up and at 'em early in the morn...

At 6:45 this morning I closed the door of my apartment and walked quietly down the corridor and descended the back stairs into the parking garage and out into the neighborhood of cottages and homes. Everywhere it was silent. There was no one out on the street. Newspapers had been thrown in front of many houses and still laid on lawns and sidewalks. In front of a friend's house I picked up the paper and tossed it to the front door and continued on my morning walk. When I crossed the property line between Franke at Seaside and Seaside Farms I met one woman walking and talking on a cellphone. She was dressed in nurse's whites and headed in the direction of the main road. Would she catch a bus? Is there even a bus on that road in the morning? Would she wait to be picked up by a car and driver and taken to work? Shortly after a car passed by with one person in it. Going to work? Seaside Farms is a residential community of private homes, small to medium lots and generally well kept lawns. Some automatic sprinklers were operating and I left the sidewalk temporarily for the road to escape the water. Like Franke at Seaside there was no activity to break the morning silence. Except for the major differences in prosperity the area resembled a community in East Germany that I drove through in 1989. No one on the streets. No sound from the homes. No evidence that anyone even lived there. Suddenly a small dog was at my heels and startled me. I stopped and faced him down as he circles my legs. A teenage boy came running after him with a leash in his hand and as he got close to me said, "Sorry." I continued on my silent walk until I encountered a lady walking two small dogs, one on a leash and one walking point unleashed. Both were friendly and well mannered. We exchanged "good morning" greetings - the lady and I, (not the dogs and me.) I completed my circle of the Seaside Farms community and re-entered Franke at Seaside, a retirement and continuing care community. I circled back by my friend's house where I hoped to scrounge a cup of coffee but the newspaper was still on the front steps and I concluded no one was up and about. I got a cup of coffee at the Franke Bistro and am back in my apartment from where I can see a couple of people walking over to get some breakfast and begin a new day. "Another day in which to excel," was how one friend put in last week. A phrase I had not heard since the Vietnam war era.

Forget it

The cartoon wasn't that funny. Twice it failed to post correctly.

An anniversary of sorts

Fifty-eight years ago today I went on active duty with the United States Air Force and never looked back. Along with many other young men, I left Boston's South Station on a train around seven in the evening headed for Geneva, New York, and Sampson Air Force Base (now a state park). Immediately prior to leaving I had dinner with two friends, Ed and Marie Quigley, my mother and my girlfriend, Peggy Early (all now deceased). It was the end of my youth and the beginning of my adult life. I was in the Air Force eight years, the last six as a Special Agent, USAF Office of Special Investigations. This service led to a wider future in the internal security field that occupied me for two decades and took me around the world. I gave up the girl who saw me off at the railroad station, met and married another one, Mary Frances Cooper of Georgetown, SC, and we had five children. Several years ago we achieved the goal of parents everywhere: all of our children are on someone else's payroll.

We had a dinner table discussion last Sunday, some friends and I, about compulsory service for young people. A couple of years of military service, Peace Corps, working as a volunteer, etc. I know I benefited from my years in the military service but I would not favor mandatory service for young people today. If they can be encouraged to do it (e.g. Mormons with their young men), or if they choose to do it, then fine. But the beauty of being American is you can do what you want (within limits of being law abiding) with your life and time. This is a precious right and privilege I would not take it away from any young person. (Naturally, if our country was at war then obligations would arise and everyone would be required to do their bit.)

Food - thinking about it

Recently I have been giving some thought - more than usual - to food. Perhaps this occurs because food, including the lack of sufficient food in parts of the world, is the recent topic of our Charleston area study group's bi-weekly discussion.

My thoughts, however, are more local in nature than the world-wide supply and demand. In recent weeks I have been to different places where food is being offered at reduced prices and in ways to attract more business. In an upscale downtown restaurant, sampler meals were offered. For $30, $40 or $60 you could sample one or more items off the appetizer, entrée and desert menus, along with some rolls and non-alcoholic beverage. A second place, a family style restaurant, offers prime rib for $9.95 on special nights of the week. The third venue offered two meals for the the price of one on three nights early in the week.

Another observation has to do with how much food is served, eaten and wasted. From the discussion group readings it is clear that people in many parts of the world do not have enough to eat either because it is not available or they cannot afford it. Recently in a restaurant the waiter asked if we wanted bread. I said "yes" and simultaneously my companion said "no." So he waiter brought four rolls to the table. I ate one and at the end of the meal asked what would happen to the three remaining in the bread basket. They would be thrown out, he said, unless you take them home. I took them home and ate two of them at breakfast the following morning.

In the dining room of the nursing facility where my wife lives the amount of food that is not eaten and goes into the disposal is troubling to me. The food is basic, well prepared and in most cases palatable. (I eat an occasional sample meal there to stay abreast of my wife's care.) Similar events can be observed in the dining room at the retirement community where I live. In restaurants I am often amazed at the amount of food carried away from tables. It appears to me that Americans waste a tremendous amount of food.

At the same time I understand restaurants serve large portions to attract customers, drum up new and repeat business and stay solvent. Skimpy portions mean dissatisfied customers who are not likely to return. What is about us that we will leave food on our plate and have it thrown in the garbage rather than settle up front for a smaller serving?

Perhaps your own experiences are similar. Perhaps not. Food is a subject too often taken for granted in America because we have so much of it. Should we look at it differently? I would like to hear your views.

E-mail me at arch@archibald99.com or comment on this blog.

Looking at Reagan - huckster or salesman of the year

No one really cares about the lives of the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. Former presidents are another story. Consider Ronald Reagan whose presidency ended in January 1989 and who died in June 2004. When he died it took seven days to haul him across the country from California to Washington and back to the land of fruits and nuts, to round up the usual fawning suspects to praise him fulsomely to the heavens before finally putting him in the ground. It is not unreasonable to suspect his early career in show business influenced his final bow on the American stage.

As time passes, however, it is possible to look at Mr. Reagan and consider whether he was the great savior of the Western World from the evil empire, the Soviet Union, or the "amiable dunce" as early critics labeled him. Or, perhaps he was something else, something in between the worshipers and the icon bashers. Two new books by Will Bunch (Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our future, Free Press, 276 pages, $25.00) and William Kleinknecht (The Man Who Sold The World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America, Nation books, 316 pages, $31.00) will provide new insights.

Like the chameleon who changes the color of his skin to suit his mood or match his surroundings, Reagan flipped from being a Roosevelt liberal and union president to being a co-operator with the House Committee on Un-American Activities in outing Hollywood reds and a spokesman for General Electric where he honed his "Morning in America" image.

The one constant in Reagan's career from hawking light bulbs to occupying the Oval Office is that the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. The middle class got stuck with the resulting bill. Much is made these days about a small percentage of rich people paying all the income taxes. Well, hell, they got all the money they ought to pay the taxes.

These two new books aside, one political observer, Garret Keizer, a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine, suggests that a longer view of Mr. Reagan may be necessary. Perhaps twenty-years is not enough time to properly assess the man and the myth. In the April Notebook essay in Harper's, Mr. Keizer writes:

"Take for example, that 'arch conservative' Ronald Reagan, who from the perspective of a hundred years will be seen as the last of the California hippies, a man who told us that if we just let the markets run wild and the Magic Bus of juggernaut capitalism go barrel-assing down the road with its freak flag flying all would be groovy and out of sight. What was his 'Morning in America,' but a cover of 'Aquarius'; what was his presidency but the last act of 'Hair?' - preferable, I admit, to the helter-skelter criminality of Cheney and Bush. But to call either administration 'conservative' in its blithe overconfidence is to hold up a picture of your brain on drugs."

...hope for all the rest of us...

In Rochester, Pa. state food inspectors told some church ladies they couldn't sell pies they baked at home at the church lunch on Good Friday. Some state employees, obviously, don't have enough to do.

Closer to home state school administrators are struggling to keep their schools afloat and some 1,500 teachers on the job. Trouble is Governor Mark Sanford isn't doing his share. He has to date refused to release $700 million in stimulus funds that could be used for education. President Obama's team told the governor he could not use those dollars to pay down long term debt. The governor now says he will release the money if the legislature finds a matching sum in South Carolina revenue to pay down long term debt. As a former legislator I know if the legislature - acting for the citizens of South Carolina - had $700 million in revenue to pay down debt it wouldn't be looking to Washington in the first place.

The editorial staff of the local newspaper, The Post & Courier, has again taken the governor to task again for "his intransigence" in this matter. The paper accuses the governor of advancing his personal national profile in hopes of securing the Republican nomination for president in 2012. "There seems to be little doubt that Mr. Sanford is moving in that direction, and apparently his position on the stimulus money is playing better nationally than in South Carolina which is bearing the brunt of his refusal."

Three cheers for The Post & Courier. I've been reading this paper since I returned to South Carolina in 1959 and I cannot recall it ever criticizing a Republican like it recently has this governor. Maybe there is hope for the rest of us.

Two views on the Navy brig in Hanahan

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Letters to the Editor, The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC

Brig leadership

Post and Courier reporter Tony Bartelme has done a valuable service to the newspaper's readers with his story on the Hanahan brig. The professionalism of the brig's leaders and staff comes across loud and clear. I believe this story ought to dissolve a lot of apprehension about housing "war on terror" prisoners in the Hanahan brig.

When the brig opened, I was the public affairs director at the S.C. Department of Corrections. The brig leadership and staff at that time came to Columbia to learn some of the ways a modern, well-run prison system operated.

I remember SCDC personnel stressing with brig personnel that "prisoners are sent to prison as punishment for their crimes, not for punishment." Again the attitude of the brig's current leadership, as reported by Mr. Bartleme, makes it clear they still understand this, even if other officials in the Department of Defense do not.

FRANCIS X. ARCHIBALD
Franke Drive
Mount Pleasant

No to terrorists

I am grateful to The Post and Courier for letting me know that terror suspect Al-Marri was relaxed and smiled during his recent court appearance. I think our nation needs to remember 9/11 every day and watch the videos of the sacrifices that were made on that day and the days after.

It has reached the point that terror suspects have more rights than anyone else. Now President Barack Obama wants to remove them from Guantanamo and put them somewhere else. Our state could possibly be the one picked to receive them.

I say if President Obama wants to put them on American soil, let it be in his home state. We do not want them in South Carolina.

PEGGY NICHOLS
Quail Hollow Court
North Charleston

Moscow Rules

A movie review this week for "Duplicity," starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, calls it a smart, sexy, sophisticated film. Roger Moore, the syndicated reviewer, said the picture was shot, edited and scored "like a sexy, '60s caper picture - conga drums and horns, split screens," and spy jargon ("Moscow Rules"). (The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC, 3/1/9/09.)

What are Moscow Rules? Other than those who slink around dark alleys, boarded up warehouses, lonely apartments and rainy streets associated with spies and spy-catching who even thinks of such things? Some say there never were any Moscow Rules; that these were the figment of fiction writers' imaginations. Others swear that vastly outnumbered Western spies operating against Soviet and East German Stasi agents throughout Europe during the Cold War survived by following Moscow Rules.

Fact or Fiction, true or not, these are the Moscow Rules:
1. Assume nothing.
2. Never go against your gut.
3. Everyone is potentially under opposition control.
4. Don't look back, you are never completely alone.
5. Go with the flow, blend in.
6. Vary your pattern and stay within your cover.
7. Lull them into a sense of complacency.
8. Don't harass the opposition.
9. Pick the time and place for action.
10. Keep your options open.

And by the way. "Duplicity" has four (out of five) stars. Ought to be a treat for Julia Roberts' fans. Clive Owen - an up and coming action actor has a bright future. See you at the movies.

Touche...

A friend asked: Where did President Obama get the cardboard cutout of Francis Archibald? (See "Fresh Sights and Faces", below). I also stopped long enough recently to be photographed near the FBI building, on Pennsylvania Avenue; our nation's monument to the now-controversial J. Edgar Hoover.