If Donald Trump were Pinnochio, there would not be room in our country for anyone or anything else. Talk about a Big Lie!. Trump is now claiming that he did not know who he was dining with when he had dinner with two well known antisemites, at least one of whom is a Holocaust denier. Are you kidding me?
Trump is a man who knows he knows everything. According to him, he never made a mistake, never handled any situation less than perfectly. Now he wants us to accept his explanation that he did not know who these neo-Nazis were! ———————————- And while we are on the outrageous, Herschel Walker has claimed that Trump has done more for the Black people in the United States than the last four Presidents combined. I am not sure he can name the last four Presidents. I would bet a lot he could not name the first four. ——————————- There is an old joke that the best way to have one’s garbage picked up during a garbage strike in New York City is to wrap your garbage as Christmas presents and leave them in your unlocked car. Well, I can now point you to the perfect wrapping paper.
Here is my favorite text from Trump yesterday:
"45th Pres: I’m saving ONE for YOU! ULTRA MAGA TRUMP WRAPPING PAPER today! Stand with me this holiday."
I won’t ever stand with Trump or understand anyone who does. However, if I still had a dog and had to use a pooper scooper, I know what I would do with his wrapping paper. I do wonder who came up with the idea There may be bathroom tissue with Trump’s picture. If there is not, there should be. ———————————— Who is rooting for McCarthy to become Speaker? Many have argued that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know and prefer him. Based upon the fact that the Republicans put up so many terrible candidates that they tore defeat out of the jaws of victory, my thinking is that I want McCarthy to lose and I want someone even worse than he is. The more the Republicans screw up in the next two years, the better the Democrats will do in 2024.
Obviously, it would be better for our country if we did not have a dysfunctional government, but, for now, it is what it is, and it could have been a lot worse. if we can right things in two years, two years of chaos is not a bad price. ———————————— We had a really nice lunch with Stefano and Luca at Sabatini. We had not been there in years, but when we first started coming to Florence, maybe 30 years ago, Sabatini was considered the best restaurant in the city. It was quite expensive. Now, other places have raised their prices considerably, and Sabatini not that much so I would no longer consider it to be expensive. Sabatini is a real restaurant, with table clothes, and tables spaced apart.
The menu is extensive.
I had fried eggs with truffles first and then ossobuco which they cooked without salt. They were out of sorbetto limone, which is unheard of. With hundreds of gelaterias in the city, literally many on the same block, I suggested they go out and buy a gallon to tide them over. My ossobuco was prepared Milanese style with risotto. The portions were not large, but large enough now that I eat about a third of what I ate in my heyday.
Both Barbara and Stefano had the same egg dish. Then Barbara had sliced anatra (duck) and Stefano had a filet. Luca had a large platter of cheese and meats and the same ossobuco as I. They put a plate of roasted potatoes on the table. I ate one piece and it was great. Of course, Barbara would not try even one, but she did eat some very good crackers and bread served first.
The three others shared a contucci (hard cookies which one dips in Vin Santo, a sweet wine) We drank an inexpensive house Chianti which was fine. Sabatini does have a great wine list, much of it, but not all reasonably priced.
As a side story, one of the great red wines of Tuscany is the Solaia. The 97 Solaia was a really great wine. Before we started living in Florence but visited and stayed in hotels, we ate mostly at a place called Buca Lapi. They sold the 97 for $50 or less and we thought we had died and gone to heaven. We drank it regularly. Now, understandably, very hard to find but it was on Sabatini’s wine list yesterday at euros 798. ——————————— In the never-a-dull-moment department, I got up a little before 5 a.m to go to the bathroom. I almost always check my emails which I did today. What did I find? An email from daughter Beth that our youngest son Steven fell last night walking his two German Shepherds, broke his hip and is having emergency surgery in a few hours.
I just spoke to Steven in the hospital and he is in a lot of pain. Fortunately, we have a wonderful family friend, an excellent surgeon, Jimmy Stern, who helps us get the right doctors and looks after us in times of medical need. He is, however, a huge Steeler fan but that is more than okay. I try to make sure there are always two Pittsburgh tickets for him. When I was in the hospital, he looked in on me at least twice a day. Not sure he reads my blogs, but I want him to know how grateful I am. ——————————- Go Ukraine