For those new to this blog site, I'm on a 7-day Pride of American cruise through the Hawaiian Islands. Yesterday and today, the Big Island. This island has the audacity to call itself Hawaii, so the state has to differentiate it by calling it the Big Island of Hawaii.  And big it is. With an area of 4050 square miles, it is 41% of the State of Hawaii. Is bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined, about the same size as Connecticut and slightly smaller than the country of Qatar. Picking up from yesterday in Hilo, there is what I did on this side of the island. Lunch of Mexican Tortilla Soup and assorted curries and such on mixed salad. With a cone. We caught a shuttle to downtown Hilo and were met by my Blue-Bar Pigeon and friends. Walked through the Farmer's Market.  Rambutan. Soursop. Dragon Fruit. Longan, a cousin of lychee. Garlic and ginger. A large Jackfruit.  As long as my cane. Mangosteen, said to have curative powers. Did you know coffee also comes from Kau and P

From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):            DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30       3880    14748       1224       299      465 Jan      14        4142    15512        1151         189      712 Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398 Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194 April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37 May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59   June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95  July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411 Aug 

First, guns.  What is the matter with the USA?  The Texas massacre was only yet another for many more to come...unless the U.S. Congress acts. The New York Times  this morning chimed in: By now, the story of American gun violence is unsurprising. Mass shootings happen frequently. The list from just the past decade includes supermarkets in Buffalo and in Boulder, Colo.; a rail yard in San Jose, Calif.; a birthday party in Colorado Springs; a convenience store in Springfield, Mo.; a synagogue in Pittsburgh; churches in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and in Charleston, S.C.; a Walmart in El Paso; a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis; a music festival in Las Vegas; massage parlors in the Atlanta area; a Waffle House in Nashville; a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.; and a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.   Even school shootings happen often enough that we know some of the names: Sandy Hook Elementary School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Oxford High School, Santa Fe High School, Columbine High