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‘The Donald’

Will “The Donald” play his Trump Card? Could he be any denser than Obama?

I lived in New York when Donald Trump built his Trump Tower on 5th Avenue. I witnessed The Donald’s bold moves in construction and city affairs for years afterwards. He has been a guy of such vast egocentric force that he has never gotten lost — even in the brouhaha of The Big Apple. It has occurred to me several times that Donald Trump might be a hell-of-a president, just the kind of rough-and-tough “winner” the U.S. could well use at this time in the brutal world arena — if we could tolerate The Donald’s style that is! In public debate, there are few, if any, who can stand up to Trump’s self-assurance and buzz saw verbal assault. He is master of all the victorious techniques that cut the legs out from under opponents attempting to argue with him. Trump does not shy away from questions — he gives a straight answer, one you may or may not like. He surely would be colorful! God knows, it’s time for a winner in the White House! Could Trump be the guy?

Arts hall

Since I returned here to my hometown some 30 years ago, there has been incessant talk of “a new performance hall!” In my opinion, if there is to be a new hall, it should be on the scale of New York’s Carnegie Hall, which has a plethora of seats and first-rate acoustics. Size is the requisite. In my judgment, the minimum hall that would make any sense artistically and financially in Orlando would contain some 2,500 seats. We hear talk that UCF is building new halls — the largest of these, to be some 600 seats — too small to generate meaningful income. Orlando is “big-town” in population, athletics and is panting to become known for big-time arts performance.

In one breath, criticism of the Bob Carr Auditorium fills the air, and in the next breath, we hear of planning halls far too small to take its place. Why not let a refurbished, commercially viable Bob Carr remain, while concomitantly building a new hall for arts presenters? All the while, the number of arts presenting organizations shrinks: the Orlando Opera and now Festival of Orchestras, both gone. Predictably, cities may spend millions to erect appropriate barns after requisite “arts horses” are gone.

A Festival Board member writes that he hopes that Festival of Orchestras “will return to the community one day.” That depends on a leader to start it up all over again. Where do you find another knowledgeable leader who knows how to raise money? Don’t hold your breath.

Poor rendition

A certain gal in a TV commercial drives me nuts with her singing of the beautiful Donaldson/Whiting (Margaret’s Dad) song “My Blue Heaven.” This TV “singer” thinks her improvised notes are better than Donaldson’s original composition and dares to mess up a beloved evergreen.

Thermo turtles

Every morning b.w. looks out from our bedroom window at a big log that extends into the lake. She counts the number of turtles who have lined up single file on the log. The more turtles, the sunnier the day. The high so far was a spectacular day featuring a row of 12 turtles! She now refers to them as “barometric turtles.”