America’s 250th Birthday

Posted on May 24, 2026 by Professor Taboo

As this once great nation called the United States of America celebrates its upcoming 250^th birthday, over the last decade our country has been struggling and fighting within itself to hold fast to its core values as engineered by its famed 18^th-century Core Founding Fathers and its treasured Charters of Freedom were spelled out on parchment.

But this weekend with Monday, May 25th, 2026, bookends the Memorial Weekend, we remember all of our fallen soldiers since 1776 to the present-day who made the ultimate sacrifice for this land, its citizens, their families, and everything this country is supposed to stand for… we face an uncertain, tumultuous next two years and beyond. We Americans are not only memorializing our fallen heroes this weekend and Monday, but we are also literally fighting for this democracy’s survival against an unprecedented, tyrannical King and his regime of sycophants!

*The proposed Arch de Trump on Columbia Island off the Potomac River will stand 250-feet tall and 165-feet wide*

During Memorial Day weekend up until July 4^th, Independence Day, ironically celebrating the break-away 250-years ago from another King and empire abusing its power and authority without representation from its colonists in the “New World,” we should also be remembering today the sacrifices so many soldiers, men then women, their families and closest friends as well as their fellow soldiers gave when it counted most. But very soon this will all be diminished, tainted, and obscured by a gross and gaudy monstrosity blocking the view of Arlington Memorial Cemetery as seen from the Lincoln Memorial and all other war memorials surrounding the National Mall. This construction of a self-imposed triumphal arch known as Arch de Trump will be a classless eye-sore and slap in the face for all veterans living and deceased by nothing less than a sitting President.

*A rendering of the planned arch as seen from Arlington National Cemetery toward Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, and Washington Monument*

Does this hideous, self-aggrandizing, Caesar-esque waste of taxpayer dollars demonstrate any level of reverence, patriotism, gratitude, and symbolism of a people’s democracy protected and won by our nation’s soldiers in blood? No, not even close. It is pure and simple one man’s deluded self-perception of unproven, empty greatness. Nothing more. It demonstrates the exact same arrogance all dictators, emperors, and kings throughout history built in their own image and a man’s disregard for his subjects, his people, and the enormous, selfless sacrifices made in their own lives and those to follow. Nothing about this repulsive arch speaks to any of those core values this nation has stood for and fought for in blood. This current mentally-ill president is and has been a shameful disgrace to us, to our foreign allies, and to true American history.

Therefore, let us remember what this Memorial Day weekend is really about: the true heroes who gave the highest price for our freedom, liberty, equality for one and all (E Pluribus Unum) and generations to follow, and who didn’t need or want Roman statues of gold, large glittering pools, flashy currency and coins, an Apian Way, museums and coliseums named after them, massive gold ballrooms, or worse, their face carved into Mount Rushmore. No, all these past, ordinary American men and women wanted was to be remembered for their sacrifice. That’s it.

Today, May 24th on CNN.com and again May 25th at 8pm EST/7pm CST, on normal CNN they are airing a special documentary called Why We Dream. It will be a vivid and intimate reflection by living WWII veterans exploring the power of memory and the quiet persistence of trauma and hope experienced in combat. It blends in rare wartime footage, 16mm home movies, cinematic portraiture, and classic film excerpts all directed by Meredith Danluck who created this emotionally driven examination of war’s lasting imprint. Here is a short trailer:

That is what celebrating 250-years means, or should mean. That is what a spectacular, sobering, unobstructed view of Arlington National Cemetery from the National Mall means to all this country’s veterans, living and passed, and their descendants. Let us not forget them and how humble, willing, and honored they fought and died to win, and then protect what it means to be one of many. I repeat, one of many. As the famous U.S. Army Major Richard “Dick” Winters of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagles told his grandson who had asked him if he was a hero in the war, Winters answered:

“No… but I served in a company of heroes.”

That answer is what most great ~~Commander-in-Chiefs~~ leaders give. They do not take all the credit and glory for themselves. They fully realize that in order to lead a platoon, a company, a regiment, a division… a nation, a true leader takes little to no credit for himself and humbly gives praise to those around him and the people he serves.

Remember Our “True” Heroes

Gone For… World Cup 2022!

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Professor Taboo

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And gone for several lunches too I’m sure! 😉

This is a WPPSA for all my blog-followers and any visitors stopping by here between Nov. 20^th thru Dec. 18^th, 2022. What is a WPPSA you ask? Well, it is a WordPress Public Service Announcement, of course! And it is telling all of you that I will be very unavailable here during all the FIFA World Cup games for the next 4-plus weeks. Most of the televised games here in the U.S. are between 4am to 4pm CST until the Round of 16 then later in the day with the quarter-finals beginning Dec. 3^rd.

*Khalifa International Stadium – Doha, Qatar*

Real quickly, here are the U.S.A.’s first three games, Central Standard Time (UTC offset: -6 hours)…

USA vs Wales — 1:00pm CST, Nov. 21
England vs USA — 1:00pm CST, Nov. 25
Iran vs USA — 1:00PM CST, Nov. 29

Best of luck to your nation or favorite national team, if your native country didn’t qualify this year. My second country, my home away from home in world football/soccer, or futebol as it’s called in Brasil, is… well, you guessed it: Brasil. I will be cheering passionately for both teams! Meanwhile, for a teaser-appetizer of the planet’s most greatest sporting spectacle only every four-years when about 7/8th’s of the planet’s population watch obsessively every match, here are some of the Top 35 Goals of all World Cups since 1958. Enjoy.

See you all here after Dec. 18^th and the Final. GO USA!!! Then Brasil!!!

Live Well – Love Much – Laugh Often – Learn Always

On the Great Turtle: Mackinac Island 2021

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Professor Taboo

While I have a couple of hours respite and sister spends the day and afternoon with Mom, I thought I’d quickly throw together—ladies and gentlemen, I do mean in reckless haste—many of our best images with a sampling of cell-phone videos I managed during our Family Getaway this past June to Mackinac Island, Michigan. A teaser, if you will.

As you read on, please play this musical accompaniment to better set-the-ambiance of this magnificent island stuck in a most charming bygone time…

Why did I wait six-months to share these pictures and videos? It wasn’t intentional, I assure you. There are some days and nights on Mackinac which in my amateur production expertise (which is none) deserve a brief backstory and context. Along with my perfectionistic cinematic ideas, I have wanted to make this feature presentation as delightful, humorous, eye-popping, and as memorable, for Mom especially, as was possible and even accompanied by Victorian-Edwardian time-period music in the background. It deserves in my mind nothing less. Furthermore, since my high school days I have dreamt onto my Bucket List a trip to the Grand Hotel ever since one of my favorite 1980 romantic films, Somewhere In Time was released. I am and always have been a huge sucker for time-travel stories!

Obviously, six-months later this dramatic award-winning aspiration has proven more problematic for me than I first thought. I imagined I’d have significantly more free-time upon our return to create this Oscar- and Emmy-nominated short motion picture. It hasn’t happened. Grrrrrr, Murphy’s Law-firm: 6, Dwain: fat donut-hole. 😒

Without further ado, here is a quick Teaser of what I hope will arrive here sooner rather than much later…

Day 1 — on the grand veranda at The Grand Hotel after finally checking-in about 3:00am in the morning due to my brain-fart at the Detroit Metropolitan International Airport. More on that in the final production.

Day 3a — exploring the island after relocating to our second accommodations at Harbor View Inn. Our two nights at the Grand Hotel when all said and done ran a measly $1,799.82. Harbor View Inn was a welcomed relief on the pocket-book, hah!

Day 3b — horse-carriage ride into town to Main Street to grab a visitors map, then Astor St. for lunch at the Yankee Rebel Tavern. I had a remarkably good Summer Orchard Salad with Bell’s Amber Ale on draft, a combination I couldn’t get enough of over our stay, followed by a walk on Market St.’s shops and parlors.

*Click on image for expansive 2-page map*

More themed music for your reading, listening enjoyment…

Day 5 — the family splits up! What? Say it isn’t so Nellie! I want to visit the military fort and museum, Fort Mackinac, and for some unfathomable reason, the ladies had no desire whatsoever to steeply climb the walkway up to the harbor-side gate, watch a celebratory 6-pounder cannon fire over the town, and witness a 19th-century soldier reenactment firing his M1873 .45-70 Springfield rifle. Seriously? What could possibly be more fun than hearing a barrage of Springfield rifles firing in unison? Here is what they did, pffft…

Here’s what I did, furthering my vast historical, military, and cultural knowledge of northern Michigan and the old U.S. frontier:

Please excuse my labored breathing in these two videos

I promised a few of you birding, butterfly, and insect enthusiasts a video of Mackinac Island’s Butterfly House & Insect World and I am delivering! Now, granted I am not a professional videographer, not even with my own Motorola moto e5 Go. In fact, I was sternly criticized by a dear female friend for two production-and-editing screwups: 1) what’s my malfunction with recording horses-asses all the time, and 2) “hold the damn phone sideways Steven Spielberg wannabe!” Case and point:

I will have to stop here. I know, I know… many of you are crushed by this. My sincere apologies, but I have run out of free-time. Sister has returned with Mom and she must dart off to her mandatory house-meeting before the Xmas weekend and holidays officially start tomorrow. Until next time when I finagle a bit of solo time, I will endeavor to work hard on the entire final, award-winning feature with full Victorian-Edwardian music accompaniment. It should be something Mom will cherish—at least that’s my hope.

Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always

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More Thanks, Despite It All

Posted on November 25, 2021 by Professor Taboo

Today me and my family have much to be grateful for in spite of so many recent events in our lives and country. Hence, on this day we enjoy the company of loved ones, laughing together, remembering all the good shared, missing those who in leaving this life took a part of our hearts with them. Together in gratitude we listen to music (two songs) befitting our mood and fortunes.

And…

Happy Thanksgiving to you all with warmest wishes from the Miller-Strange family.

Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always

Our Getaway

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Professor Taboo

Today’s blog-post is going to be slightly out of blogging character for me. Well, in the sense that I don’t often unveil amorous secrets behind the curtains of the Professor’s heart, today I am sharing a portion of my private, romantic, sentimental side. WARNING! For any Alpha-hyped He-Man reading this, if you have aversions to being swept away in passion and raptured in the moment, then look away! Read no further! This will not be your pitcher or keg of beer. Sorry mate. No bowed-up pectorals or brawling here.

It may or may not come as a surprise to some of you who follow my blog that I am a sucker for serendipitous enchantment on matters of the heart. If this beguiling moment includes windows of history, windows I’ve been enamored by since I was a boy, then just count to three and ring the bell because I am out, done, a goner. I will be so lost you’d think I was hypnotized or lobotomized. Add aspects of time-travel in the story and like Richard Collier, I will never return. Yes, with hands in the air I confess; my propensity for moments when time stands still is my kryptonite.

Who is Richard Collier you ask?

Funny you are wondering. Elise asked the same question, sort of, and she could barely take a breath waiting for the answer. But I will come back to this moment in time a bit later, hah, apropos teaser intended. What I want to first spill is how our long-awaited family trip unexpectedly came about.

My Mom's Eastern Airlines flight attendant photo, 1958--1962.

For over two years Mom has been itching to travel somewhere. For several years she has yearned to see Australia and her Great Barrier Reef. This has been a long-time dream of hers and her closest sister, her now late sister, unfortunately. Recently though if it was with her domestic partner, or a close friend, or with me and my sister, it didn’t matter. She’s wanted to go before it’s too late, at her advancing age, and medical issues make it impractical. The last three years she has been reminding us how thrilled she’d be to go and experience another part of the world, somewhere, anywhere she hadn’t experienced.

Lately we’ve been pummeled, so to speak, with her getaway-gestures every month, if not every week. The getaway bug-n-itch had had a grip on Mom for some time. I’d say it no longer itched, it turned into a damn rash! Her pleading was unrelenting sometimes! Yep, Mom’s former years as an Eastern Airlines flight attendant (above image) had been reenergized with a vengeance! Mom was once an Eastern Airlines Flight-attendant in 1958–1962, based out of LGA, JFK, and EWR, New York and New Jersey respectively. She wanted to fly a lot longer, but a special surprise from her then boyfriend (my father) stopped those plans after their very “romantic weekend” in San Antonio, TX in the former Robert E. Lee Hotel downtown. But I am rambling and digressing; apologies. Back to our story.

For years we had been tossing around destinations, but never made a final decision. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic along with the predictable outcomes and repercussions the last two-plus years. Pfft, no more elaboration needed on that world catastrophe.

Moving on. Fast-forward now to February 2021, but skipping over our two hellacious winter storms that came within a few hours of wiping out Texas’ entire electrical grid for a long, long, very long time.

With mass production of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, etc, vaccines finally rolling out once competent federal leadership in D.C. took office January 20th, followed by mass distribution scaled much higher and wider than the previous Administration ever cared to do, getting the vaccines into cold-storage, out to sites, and proper staff to stick Americans twice, our family getaway was back on and indeed probable. Hold your horses cowboys and cowgirls! Now comes a number of new stumbling blocks. I had the honor and privilege to temper Mom’s jet-setting excitement, if that was even possible.

I explained to her and sister that if we were going to make this dream-trip happen and safely, our first major hurdle was going to be full vaccinations for all three of us, in a timely immediate manner at that. Easy? No, not really. In fact, I thought I might have to persuade Mom to postpone our excursion for another year—ugh, after having just done that in 2020 due to the pandemic. Moreover, I knew how formidable it was going to be to motivate my sister to get fully vaccinated soon. I would have to hound her even more than I was already doing! Mom and I have received both our shots, my sister received her second shot this past week. Done! First couple of hurdles behind us.

Skipping back a month, when the three of us were able to finally coincide our three different schedules/calendars and meet for a weekend in mid-April 2021, we toss about places such as the Grand Canyon National Park, Glacier National Park, Sequoia National Park, Gatlinburg, Colorado Springs, Nags Head North Carolina, Portland in Oregon, The Finger Lakes in Upstate New York, and Augusta, Maine. Then I threw into the pile of possible destinations, one of my personal wishes: Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel. To my dismay my sister and Mom became very intrigued. Mom was immediately sold on the Lilac Festival and the Butterfly House & Insect World, and my sister to the fact that it was an island completely unlike a hectic 21st-century tourist bee-hive rat-race with way too many rude people scurrying by you and over you. After all, she did suffer from panic-anxiety attacks easily triggered by too much perceived chaos. My sister is also an artist and art fan. She still paints when time allows. Mackinac Island has a sizable artsy twist as well, with art shops and an art museum. It seemed I had hit a homerun with my longstanding longshot, teenage dream destination! They had all sorts of questions. They wondered too how I even knew about this island lost in a bygone era. Answering their curiosity, I return to the beginning of this blog-post.

I admitted to them that I have always had a weakness for serendipitous romance, history, the Victorian-Edwardian Eras, and a very soft spot for time-travel stories, books, and films. Re-enter Richard Collier and Elise McKenna:

“Is it you?” Woah, I get goose-bumps every time I watch that scene because of what Richard Collier went through to get there with Elise. This 1980 cult-classic “Somewhere In Time” was filmed on Mackinac Island, Michigan because the Grand Hotel and island’s Tourism Bureau vowed to freeze time and banned all modern, polluting, combustible-engine vehicles as well as other “modern” developed fossil-burning machines in order to preserve its uniquely vintage history—its Victorian-Edwardian Age on Lake Huron. There is no other island like it within the United States proper. The island is seemingly and delightfully stuck in time. Needless to say, I was and I am beyond myself, ecstatic to be traveling there with Mom and sister in just a few weeks.

If any of you are unfamiliar with the timelessness of Mackinac Island, MI, then I give you a quick photo-montage (below) followed by a link to the island’s Bureau of Tourism. I hope you too can see why I have always held a special place in my heart for this island… lost Somewhere In A Time not so long ago when finer things in life were patiently appreciated, savored, sought, enamoring, and embraced. I start with images from the movie with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve at the Grand Hotel. Following those images are current photos of the small Victorian-Edwardian town, popular sites like the Butterfly House & Insect World—the place where Mom and sister will spend many hours—tea houses out on grand patios, Al fresco dining spots, Fort Mackinac where I plan to visit, and one location Mom and I plan to lounge many times: the Grand Audubon Wine Bar.

The Grand Hotel Mackinac Island
Filming the 1980 movie.
“The picture” that bid time return.
Richard sleeps overnight on grand porch.
Jane Seymour today as “Elise McKenna.”
Somewhere In Time themed weekend at the Grand Hotel.
Birds-eye view of Mackinac Island.
Harbour View Inn where we’ll lodge the last-half of our stay.
Grand Audubon Wine Bar where you’ll find myself and Mom quite a bit.

Should you be interested in more details and information about this incredible island, visit the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau. There you can also view online their 72-page guidebook which introduces you to the island’s historic splendor.

We will return home after eight nights and nine days there. Travel will take two half-days. I do hope to bring back with me many photos of our getaway on Mackinac Island. This might be my last blog-post until then, after we return to Austin, TX, then I back up to Dallas. In the meantime, the anticipation is mounting, ugh, as if time is slowing down. Imagine what time will be when we are there!

Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always