Povey Prattle

  Good heated in cold weather.   Good eaten cold in hot weather.

Make your reservation now at "Mickey P's Air B and S". Do not miss this opportunity.   On 3rd July 2021 former President Donald J. Trump will be in Sarasota for a Fireworks Display (and more) at the Sarasota Fair Grounds. WOW! Don't miss it!   The show will start at 8:00 p.m. I know that you want to be there. I also know that accommodations can be very expensive. Fear not! Make a reservation RIGHT NOW at "Mickey P's Air B and S". Mickey P's Air B and S is but 1 1/2  miles from the Fair Grounds; an easy walk. My rates are simple (CASH ONLY) Just $800 per night for the exclusive use of a double bed in a private room, with its own bathroom. Or the deluxe package at $850  which includes two coffees, two Egg Mac Muffins; and two orders of hash browns. Mickey P's Air B and S's prices cannot be matched. Make your reservation now and thus secure your proximity to the great Donald J bottle rocket show. Only in Sarasota.  Only at the Fairgrounds.  Only

5:10 a.m .   Thursday 24th June 2021.   Glen Oaks Ridge, Sarasota, FL

  Peonage   (still practiced in Prison Labor?) via my friend Tom M Damon K. Roberts June 17, 2020    ·  “In 1866, one year after the 13 Amendment was ratified (the amendment that ended slavery), Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor (peonage). This made the business of arresting Blacks very lucrative, which is why hundreds of White men were hired by these states as police officers. Their primary responsibility was to search out and arrest Blacks who were in violation of Black Codes. Once arrested, these men, women and children would be leased to plantations where they would harvest cotton, tobacco, sugar cane. Or they would be leased to work at coal mines, or railroad companies. The owners of these businesses would pay the state for every prisoner who worked for them; prison labor. It is believed that after the passing of the 13th Amendment, more than 800,000 Blacks were part of the system

  From     Damon K. Roberts 4d    ·  “The treatment of enslaved people in the United States varied by time and place, but was generally brutal, especially on plantations. Whipping and rape were routine, but usually not in front of white outsiders, or even the plantation owner's family. ("When I whip niggers, I take them out of the sight and hearing of the house, and no one in my family knows it." An enslaved person could not be a witness against a white; enslaved people were sometimes required to whip other enslaved people, even family members. There were also businesses to which a slave owner could turn over the whipping. Families were often split up by the sale of one or more members, usually never to see or hear of each other again. There were some relatively enlightened slave owners—Nat Turner said his master was kind —but not on large plantations. Only a small minority of enslaved people received anything resembling decent treatment; one contemporary estimate was 10%

  Despite what the Presidents, the Prime Ministers, the State Governors say... . ...   the Pandemic is not over. What do they know?  They know that they want to be heroic; and that they want to hang on to power. If only the wisest national policies, in the face of this un-dying plague, were made by epidemiologists and infectious disease experts. Not a chance! Our elected leaders seek glory. The Pandemic is out of control in such countries as India, Brasil and Argentina.  And who in the world knows the truth about infections in China, in Russia, and yes indeed in Florida.  The Delta variant is most likely out of control throughout the globe. Matters are likely to get worse long before they get better . Scientists and Medical Doctors will tell you this.   Please  listen to them. Wear your masks; wash your hands. Ignore what the self serving political leaders  say. 

22nd June would have been the 97th birthday of Ben Morse, a friend to me and to many of my friends. Ben had two long and enriching partnerships, the first for forty years with Louis Beachner  ( a somewhat well known actor in his day); the second with Bruce Wirtz (an Episcopal Priest). Bruce served in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts which is why and how I came to know Ben.  Ben died in Dec 2016 here in Sarasota. Ben had also been in the theatre business,  here he is as a handsome young blade. The retired Ben was a fabulous cook; a witty host; and a man whose impatience was legendary. One day Ben handed me this box.  I hoped against hope that he was not about to propose to me. Fear not.   The box contained this Ben had noted that I needed an old fashioned bottle opener. I yet keep it in the box -  makes it easy to find in my kitchen implements drawer. He also thought that I should have a decent wine bottle stopper. Being thoughtful he chose one with a dog design  (back in the days w

  Thinking about my brother Steve on the fifth anniversary of his death  (at aged 63). His death no longer causes overwhelming grief; but the anniversary creates a deep sadness for me. And I have been thinking too about his wife my sister in law Angela; together with Steve and Angela's children Lee and Nicola; and S and A's five grandchildren.