We are on the Norwegian Encore from Miami to Southampton, UK, and will be at-sea for the next few days.  This gives me an opportunity to wonder how the USA got to the point where a convicted criminal, liar, misogynist and all-around lout, former president Donald Trump, has a 50-50 chance of getting re-elected tomorrow. About the voting public. Most of them have gone through our K-12 school system, which, in addition to academics, teaches you to be a good citizen, with some pride regarding our country.  Just about all states require students to daily recite the  Pledge of Allegiance .  Written by minister Francis Bellamy in 1892, it is short, simple and meaningful. I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This was adjusted in 1954 when President Dwight Eisenhower, concerned about the Communist threat, asked Congress to add "under God." I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Uni...

 I retired in 1999 at the age of 59, so I've had a quarter century of bliss.  But more about that later. Then there is Bette Nash.  She passed away last month at the age of 88.  She was an avid New York Yankees fan, and last lived at a retirement community in New Hampshire. Was born in 1935. Hired in 1957 by Eastern Air Lines as a legal secretary, but attended its charm school and became a stewardess in 1958, the year I graduated from high school. Kept working as a flight attendant through her marriage to James Nash in 1973, and had a son, who has suffered from Down syndrome.  She continued working. Switched to Trump Shuttle in 1989 after Eastern's shuttle and 17 aircraft were sold to Donald Trump. But, as most of Trump's enterprises fizzled, including this one, she moved to U.S. Airways Shuttle, which became American Airlines Shuttle in 2015 when those companies merged. Honored by American Airlines for 60 years of service , given diamond earrings by chairman CE...