Biloxi - Day 2

Yes, ye socks, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Mini-Vacation continues.

Day 2 began with leaving the casino culture behind in favor of some real culture on the grounds of Beauvoir, the magnificent old home of Jefferson Davis.

Yours truly had visited the site many times before, so kinda knew what to expect. I was glad to see the home had been restored following Katrina. The former presidential library and museum, however, was completely obliterated and ground will not be broken for its replacement for another coupla weeks.

The grounds were markedly different, many fewer trees. And, the graceful marble arch that once greeted visitors was still laying in pieces near the veterans cemetery like a big jigsaw puzzle.

In strolling thru the rubble, we encountered a former groundskeeper (Gary) who knew everything about the history of Beauvoir and gave us a unique guided tour.

While this historic site still hasn't recovered 100% in the 4+ years since Hurricane Katrina, it was nice to see how much time and effort was being poured into Beauvoir. It is very evident how much the place means to the community, which makes it all the important that any of ye socks planning to visit this little corner of heaven add a stop here to your itinerary.

That being said, it is now time to head back to casino-land. There's the much-heralded strawberry shortcake to be sampled at Boomtown before checking in at the Beau Rivage.

More later.

Was it ONLY five years ago?!

Believe it or not, it was.

This is what it looked like in my old neighborhood up in Apopka the day the name "Charley" became synonymous with "disaster" throughout Central Florida.

Those are the first bands of the storm rolling in from the Gulf, where the hurricane first struck with its deadly force.

We should've known it was going to be bad, arriving as it did on a Friday the 13th . . .

Actually, we made out relatively well in Apopka. Yours truly only lost one branch of one oak tree.

Just a few miles down 441, Orlando got hit much worse.

I remember my parents' home lost its roof. And, one of their old oak trees tumbled down into the driveway to block the garage . . . ripping up a bunch of concrete sidewalk on its way down.

I remember many of my friends and relatives being without power . . . more importantly, without air conditioning during a Florida summer . . . for as long as 9 days.

May the memories serve as a reminder to all ye socks living in hurricane prone areas. Stock up on your storm supplies now before anything like Charley is imminent. Ye'll thank me later.

I don't like Ike

No, I'm not referring to the former president. I actually like him.

And, I'm not referring to the "misunderstood" former "better half" of Tina Turner. Although, his rather nasty disposition and brutality may be a near equal of the Ike that's on everyone's mind today.

Of course, I am referring to the nasty hurricane that is threatening so many of my friends out in the Lone Star State.

If you won't take the advice of those of us in this little corner of heaven who have survived so many storms in recent years, then remember the lessons of "What's Love Got to Do With It?"

Ike can pack a punch.

So, let him eat your dust.

You'll be much better off.

Oy, Fay!

Don't you just love it when the experts can't agree on something as important as . . . oh, I don't know . . . like maybe the projected path of a killer storm?

It seems the National Hurricane Center and the government-sponsored meteorological eggheads over at NOAA are insisting (at least at this hour) that Tropical Storm Fay will clear Cuba today, reintensify, and hit somewhere around Tampa on Florida's west coast.

But, our friends Tom Sorrels and Eric Wilson at WKMG ("Local 6") are defying that prediction. They tell us the mountains of Cuba are going to push the center of the storm east, and this will be a "Miami event."

I hope Tom and Eric are right.

Ye socks down in South Florida my think that a bit selfish, but I'd rather our little corner of heaven be on the west side of the storm than that much-dreaded northeast quadrant we learned so much about during the infamous summer of '04 . . .

Batten down the hatches and hold on to your seats, folks! It's gonna get dicy around here one way or the other!!

Mystery, thy name is Arthur.

OK, I'm starting to freak out a little, and here's why.

1. It's the first official day of the 2008 hurricane season, and we already have a named storm: ARTHUR.

2. In cleaning up the attic of the Elizabeth Avenue house, I found an old framed picture of my Uncle ARTHUR.

3. I got a call on my cell phone, but didn't recognize the number and let it go to voice mail. When I checked the message, it was from some guy I don't know named ARTHUR.

4. I got a DVD in the mail from blockbuster.com, and it's about King ARTHUR. (Starred Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley, actually very good.)

5. In boxing up old paperwork at ye Lake Hammer Chalet, I came across an old check I never deposited from an old college buddy whose first name is ARTHUR.

6. Flipping thru channels today, I stumbled across a PBS show on King ARTHUR.

7. I quickly changed the channel and found myself watching the Golden Girls. Then, I really started freaking out. If you remember, the cast is headed by Bea ARTHUR!!!!

What could all this mean, I wonder?!?

Charley Anniversary Reminder

I know hurricane season technically started two and a half months ago. But, those of us who live in storm prone areas know things really don't get cooking in the Atlantic until August.

So, on this, the 3-year anniversary of one of the worst storms that ever ravaged Central Florida, I want to take the opportunity to warn all you socks against complacency.

And, perhaps appropriately, I saw on tonight's news that we have not one but TWO storms a-brewin' out there. One's about 10 days out in the Atlantic and headed this way. The other is in the Gulf and more likely to hit Texas.

The thing about hurricanes is that you get PLENTY of notice to prepare. So, do it now if you haven't already. There's really no excuse to play the victim with this much warning.

You read it here first.

An Empire of Wealth

That's the title of economic historian John Steele Gordon's most recent book. (The subtitle is "The Epic History of American Economic Power.") I got over my own recent economic jitteriness this weekend to actually part with some money and buy a copy, and I have not been disappointed.

How could one feel disappointment after reading anything by Gordon, anyway? I mean, the guy is such an optimist. And, I guess when you approach history from a broad perspective, it's hard not to be optimistic about the good old USofA.

Gordon has good credentials both as an optimist and an economic historian. Both of his grandfathers held seats on the NYSE, and he is buddies with Steve Forbes. Some consider his works the literary descendants of Andrew Carnegie's Triumphant Democracy.

Gordon's critics will charge that he glosses over the stumbles we've had as a nation, and perhaps they have some merit. Indeed, he concludes his ringing endorsement with the events surrounding 9/11, reminding Americans (and the rest of the world) that wars are won by money, not guns alone. And, we have more wealth in the US than anywhere else.

I wonder if he will add a post-9/11 appendix in the next edition of this book, dealing not only with the impacts of the War on Terror, the hurricanes of 2004-5, and the impending credit crunch . . .

Anyway, great book. And, if you socks out there enjoy it as much as I have, you might want to check out some of Gordon's other books:

• Overlanding - which recounts a landrover trip he took from NYC to Tierra del Fuego.


• The Scarlet Woman - a history of a whorish Wall Street during the Civil War era.


• Hamilton's Blessing - in which he exalts our first Secretary of the Treasury for embracing the idea of a national debt as a unifying force.


• The Great Game - an overview of Wall Street history from 1653 to 2000.

Of course, if you really want to read a good book, I can recommend a true masterpiece . . .

Huckabee on Cavuto

Well, Huckabee on Fox news anyway. Neil Cavuto was mysteriously absent this afternoon. But, his fill-in had a pretty good interview with my favorite presidential candidate.

They started off talking about why the Republican congress got fired last year: over-spending, corruption, and failure to adequately handle Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. But, the worst of the three, they agreed, was over-spending. The Huckster says one way the GOP can regain credibility is to get back to its roots and advocate much-needed spending cuts.

Pseudo-Cavuto (don't you like how that rhymes?!) tried to place some of the spending blame on President Bush, noting how Gerald Ford (of all presidential examples) managed to veto 7 GOP spending bills during his short term. And, he had a point. W hasn't vetoed any to date. But, Mike assured him El Presidente will indeed be "spilling some ink" on future bills, if the Democrats follow-thru on their much crazier spending projections.

Then, the fill-in tried to grill Huckabee for the "D" rating he received from the conservative Cato Institute for over-spending during his term as Governor of Arkansas. Mike came right back with an "F" for Cato's grading process. He says they try to apply a rigid template to all 50 states without taking into account that each government has its own spending procedures, especially as relate to federal mandates. If you go back and look at how Huckabee spent money over which he had actual power to exercise discretion, he deserved an "A."

Finally, the former governor made a pitch for the Fair Tax. Although he claimed a 7-year old running a lemonade stand could understand it, I'm still not sure about it myself. He says it will save $250 billion in current compliance costs, not to mention bringing back an estimated $10 trillion (yes, trillion with a "T") from offshore accounts. And, he's looking forward to the day when he (as president, of course!) will have the pleasure of hanging a "Going Out of Business" sign at the IRS.

All in all, a good appearance.

But, I would've preferred to see a tete-a-giant-tete between Mike and Neil . . .