To obtain a copy of one of the previous Hindsights & Insights columns listed below, please contact:
Chris Belland
P.O. Box 1237
Key West, FL 33041
cbelland@historictours.com
305-292-8920
INDEX
1. Where Have All The Children Gone? – Kids no longer working for pocket money. Children’s games, etc.
2. I Like Ike – Obama being elected president.
3. Hot Diggity Dogs – Dogs I have owned.
4. Take This Job & Ship It – The Neocolonization of America – foreign manufacturing,
5. No Sex But Plenty Of Lies & Videotape – sports stars, salaries, drugs.
6. Common Courtesy Isn’t So Common – But It Should Be – lack of manners in adults and children.
7. If ____Died Today, How Would You Feel? Making up with Fred.
8. When The church Mortgage Got Paid Off – The Church Was Lost – The need for common purpose in Key West.
9. Bulls & Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered – Obscene salaries and bonuses for executives.
10. The Madeline Bean Building? Oh! You Mean “Inky” – The expansion of Key West City government and relocation of City Hall.
11. I Passionate About _____; Another In The “Blank” Series – Passionate people.
12. Electronic Connectivity, The Greatest Illusion of Our Time – electronic communications and the loss of personal contact.
13. Que hola Cuba? – Trip to Cuba.
14. What We Need Around Here is More Honking! – lessons to be learned from geese.
15. If You Died Today, People Would Say _____________ - how we will be remembered.
16. Mr. Watson, Come Here, I Want To See You – The Rise & Fall of the Phone – and An Apology – remembering old phone numbers and how telephones have changed.
17. Mother’s Day, Not Just Your Mother, Not Just One Day a Year – A mother’s day letter to your mother.
18. Memorial Day & Tolerance – Can You Really Think of One without The Other – Observing Memorial Day and religious tolerance.
19. School’s Out – It’s Summertime – Boyd do I Wish I Was Sixteen Again – Reflections on being a teenager.
20. Resolution Revelations – Every Day Can Be January First - a list of Life Resolutions.
21. The Lost Treasures in my Grandfather’s Tool Box – Visiting grandparents after church on Sundays.
22. A Father Is a Guy Who Has Snapshots In His Wallet Where his Money Used To Be – the history of Father’s Day, questions you wished you asked grandfathers and father, letter you wrote to your children.
23. Doing Unto Others is the Only Stimulus Package We Need – Hints on being friendly and welcoming visitors to Key West.
24. July Fourth – The Ongoing Experiment with Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness – reflections on history of 4th of July.
25. Looking Into The eyes Of The Snake & Barely Escaping – Michael Jackson’s death and media circus.
26. Oh Poor, Pitiful Me? Somebody Ought To throw Some Cold Perspective In My Face! – on being depressed then appreciating what you have compared to the rest of the world.
27. Hot Diggity Dog Revisited – Whose House Is This Anyway? – Hawkeye’s arrival in the house.
28. The Lowest Price Is Too Expensive A Cost For a Sense of Community and National Pride – Big Box stores and their affect on communities.
29. All For The Want of a Nail, The Kingdom Was Lost - Or Was That a Smile? – Explaining the “We’re Glad You’re Here” program.
30. If I Knew Today Was My Last Day On Earth I Would __________ - Live every day like it’s the last.
31. How To Succeed As A Student & Other Odd Places You Might Find Yourself – Tips for students returning to school.
32. Cell Phones, The “F” Word, Text Messages & Breaking Wind – cell phone etiquette and school dress codes.
33. Labor Day, Much More Than Another Excuse For a Barbeque – history of Labor Day. Offshore manufacturing.
34. Someone To watch Over Me … And, For That Matter, all of Us – Appreciation of older brother, fire, emergency and police personnel.
35. Click, Click, Clop, Clop … What A Strange World In Which We Live! – Trip to Nicaragua – electronics in a third world country.
36. Vote For Or Against Or Maybe Not Complain Later – Perspective on Obama’s days in office and importance of voting.
37. Worrying About The Future Robs Yu Of Your Enjoyment Of The Now – Anticipation of bad
news.
38. How Lying Made Me A Better Person & May Save My Life – Lying to policeman about wearing seat belt.
39. In This World, Do The Right Thing & Make Your Own Luck – Cyberscams.
40. For the Holidaze I Propose a New Greeting – Boogobbleho! – Overcommercialization of the holidays.
41. The Tourist Business Is A Lot More Than Carved Coconuts & Rubber Swords – Vacation stories and the rewards of being in the tourist business.
42. “In War, There Are No Unwounded Soldiers – Veterans Day – reflection on wars.
43. Dear Children, Writing A Good Letter Is Becoming A Lost Art – letter-writing, penmanship, Fannie Box, thank you notes.
44. Don’t Kid Yourself, New Yorkers Are Different From Us – They Need To Be! – Experiences on New York Trip.
45. How Are Ya? And Other Strange Human Conventions I Can’t Fathom – Forms of greetings. 46. The Nobel Peace Prize – The New International T-Ball Trophy Equivalent – Obama’s s Nobel Peace Prize.
47. To Family, Friends & Foes and Readers in General – My Holiday Gift to You All – 4 short stories as holiday gifts – On Gossip, On Common Purpose, On Tolerance, Prejudging Others
48. For The Love Of Words And The Fact I have Nothing Else to Give You – Word originations: Jumbo, Golf, Leg Up, Ps & Qs, Yankee, Dutch Courage, Scuba, maritime terminology, Indian giver, Judas Goat, Vandalism.
49. The Fifth Horseman, Father To Famine, Pestilence, War and Death – Population growth.
50. Why I Love Key West and Believe Its Best Days are Still Ahead – Likable and familiar things about Key West.
51. Airline Travel – Getting There is No Longer Half The Fun – The flying experience of today. 52. A Personal Search For The Dream of Martin Luther King in the 21st Century – Martin Luther King Day – growing up in south Florida.
53. The Nether World Between What you Need and What you Want – Haiti Disaster
54. The State of the Onion – Thursday Morning Quarterbacking The President’s Speech – Review of Obama’s State of the Union address.
55. Gone But Not forgotten & Going, Going, Almost Gone For Good – reminiscing over childhood experiences.
56. Looking For Love? Unlike The Hokey Pokey, That's What It's All About - Valentine's Day column
57. Take Aways From Vancouver Besides The Medals - addiction of watching Olympics on television and dedication of Olympians.
58. Morals, the Sadly Moving Target of the Baby Boom Era - changing morals and acceptances of today compard to yesteryear.
59. Dead Bonsais And Lessons My Mother Taught Me On Forgiveness - Forgiving.
60. Trying to Understand That Which Cannot Be Understood - Afghan and Iraq wars - sitting next to a soldier on an airplane.
61. Pescadaro, Mont St. Michel and the Vagaries of Being on the Road Less Traveled - Serendipitous experiences when unplanned things happen.
62. Stores That Put A Price On That Which Is Priceless - Treasures found in antiques stores and the stories behind the those treasures.
63. The Question Of The Chicken Or The Egg May Be True For Faith Or Trust - Easter Column. 64. The Most Amazing Invention Of All Time Was _________ - Different opinions on what it was.
65. My Story Of A Twenty Dollar Bill On The Road To Hell - A story of good intentions.
66. For Better Or Worse, When Does A Place Become Your Home Town?
67. Birthdays And Other Musings On Getting Older
68. A Paean To Mothers And Motherhood - Past, Present And Future
69. Immigration
70. Looking For The Good, Bad & Ugly in an Oil Spill - The BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
71. The Coming Week And Its Days Of Hope And Remembrance - Graduations and Memorial Day
72. Remember If You Are Able, Imagine If You Can. At Least Never Forget - The 66th Anniversary of D-Day
73. The Older We Get, The Smarter Our Fathers Become - The relevancy today of quotes from Thomas Jefferson.
74. The Only Father I Ever Had And The Best One I've Ever Known - Father's Day.
75. Then And Now, How A Guy's World Has Changed Over The Years - The influences on men's lives today.
76. Fireworks And Picnics Are Fun But Let's Remember What They Cost - Fourth of July and reflections on Independence Day.
77. Snips And Snails And Puppy Dogs Tails - In Honor Of A Young Boy - Harrison's visit.
78. The Selfish, Unsure But Goodly Nature Of Charity And Good Deeds - Charitable donations. 79. Once The Kings Had Fools, Now The Fools Are The Kings - Sports celebrities.
80. The Old Days? Guess What? You're Living In Them - Reflections on things past and our rapidly changing world.
81. What Can Be Silent For Centuries Yet Speak At Your Command? - The love of books and reading.
82. Taken For A Ride - Alfred Sloan's Other Legacy And Gift To The United States - How GM conspired to eliminate mass transit.
83. The Strange Consequence Of Going On Vacation And Coming Home To A Burgled House
84. What It Takes For Success In School Is Pretty Much The Same For Life - An Open Letter To The Sons And Daughters (Including My Own) Of Our Community
85. A Long Way To Go For Birthday Cake But A Short Ride To Better Know Myself - Aunt Bea's 90th birthday party.
86. Living In The World of No - Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh.
87. Rationalizing the Af-Pak-Iraqi-Stan Tar Baby - What Now?
88. One Very Small Act Of Defiance Against Shoddy Merchandise
89. The Greatest Thing That Ever Happened To Me
90. Unless You're Paris Hilton, Famous Is Not A Job Description
91. Dear Son, BTW, FYI, When You Take The SAT, KISS! LOL! (Teen Speak) - SAT Essay Question
92. Our greatest Gift Is Sometimes The One We Abuse The Most - Being grateful for what you have.
93. What's The Only Thing Worse Than Reality TV? Elections
94. Life Is Not Fair, But Then Maybe That's The Point
95. Obama, Wherefore (An What For) Goest Thou? To India In Style It Seems
96. Thanksgiving, A Brief History Of The Myth, The Reality And The Present.
97. Boogobbleho! The Holi-Daze Are Upon Us - Gird Your Loins Or Rethink It
98. The Tragic And Triumphant Tale Of Two Boys In A World Going Mad
99. You Don't Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows
100. Number One Hundred And Other Footprints In The Sand
101. The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing - The spirit of Christmas
102. The New Year - Common Sense Inspiration From A Statesman - The national deficit, expense of war and welfare.
103. Raising A Child Is Like Putting A Message In A Bottle
104. When You're 87, 'Follow Me' Takes On An Entirely Different Meaning - World War II veterans.
105. The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions And Deadlines
106. What Does Taking Tolls Have To Do With Making Break? - The elimination of toll booths and more.
107. The Irony Of A Shrinking World In The Jet Age
108. How Do I Love Thee? That Depends On What And Who's Asking - Valentine's Day column 109. Our Life Of Convenience And The End Game For PIN Codes
110. Power Seems To Corrupt. It Seems Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely - unrest in the Middle East.
111. If You Have A Hero, Maybe You Should Think About Telling Them
112. Between Winning & Losing, I Prefer The Former - It's American. Right?
113. Another Of Mother Nature's Reminders Of Who's The Boss - Japan Earthquake & Tsunami 114. Life Isn't Always Fantastic. Then Again, Maybe It Is
115. The Difference In Life Between Urgent And Important
116. "My Party Can Lick Your Party!" "Like To See You Try It." "I Can Do It." "No You Can't."
117. Gutting Our Education System Is Like Eating Our Young
118. Smoking And How Far We've Really Come, Baby
119. What A Show, What A Game! What A Night! Go Conchs!
120. Bin Laden May "Sleep With The Fishes" But He Is A Long Way From Gone
121. Computers And Trying Not To Forget What Brought Us To The Dance
122. What You Thought Was Important Often Changes Or May Not Have Been In The First
Place
123. When Giants Walk Among Us Then Leave, We Remember The Good They Left Behind
124. Bumper Sticker Logic And The Detachment Of American Society
125. Congratulations, Graduates - Now Stay Out Of The Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda Club!
126. "I'm Mad As Hell And I'm Not Going To Take It Any More!" Yeah ... right
127. The Cat's Out Of The Bag! This Is No Flash In The Pan
128. Sometimes the Smallest Things We Do For Others Make The Biggest Difference
129. Are We Witnessing The Last Days Of The Last Rich Generation?
130. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of "Putting Yourself Out There"
131. Guests And Fish Don't Always Stink In Three Days, Just Usually
132. The Shameful Game Of Chicken Being Played Out In Washington
133. The Commoditization Of Everything And The Devastated Landscape of Retail
134. In These Strange times Perhaps We Need the Strange Values From Yesterday
135. Getting Ready For One Of Life's Great Adventures
136. The All In One Day Reaquaintance With Two Old Love Affairs
137. Goodbye Irene, Goodbye Irene, We'll see You In Our Dreams!
138. 9/11 - Ten Years Later & the Lessons Learned
139. Getting To Know You - Getting to Know all About You (to be sung)
140. Bumper Sticker Logic - If You Can Read This - Thank A Teacher
141. We Don't Have One Fox In The Hen House, We May Have Quite A Few
142. On Our Way to The Last Roundup, We Either Make a Trail Or Follow One
143. Next Saturday Is An Opportunity to Give A Well-Earned Thank You
144. Ninety Days & One Year Ago Flagler's Folly Became A Modern Miracle
145. The Anticipation Of Children Is Optimism To Which We Should All Aspire
146. When Good People Pass, We Are Left With Lessons Of Their Life And The Lesson Of Their Passing
147. The Cause Of The Woes We Protest Today Are Looking Back At Us Every Morning In The Mirror
148. When Celebrities Trash Our Institutions they Dishonor Themselves And Us
149. Mmmm! I Think I'll Go Plant A Mess Of Pizza Bushes
150. How Do You Celebrate A Holiday With Roots In A Sacred Event
151. In These Troubled Times We Should Listen To these Two Guys
152. Sometimes Subtle, Sometimes Not, But A Constant Nonetheless
153. It's The First Time I Ever Asked For this On Christmas - How Times Change
154. Happy New Year! A Time To Look Back And Reflect And Forward To Resolve
155. Life Is A Puzzlement And The World Is A Mystery
156. Flagler - A History Of Wealth & A Wealth of History
157. Instead of Wasting Away - Eat Your Life Away Again In Margaritaville - It's A Lot More Fun
158. A Few Things You Might Want To Remember When You Are Alone In The Voting Booth
159. How To Poison Your Best Friend And Get Away With It
160. New England's Loss And The Shame About Wes Welker And A Few Others
161. Love And War Aside, All's Not Fair at The Westminster Dog Show
162. And Then He Said, "Let Me Tell You About My Grandchildren"
163. Cowboy Wisdom: "Leave While Yer Still Lookin' Good"
164. The Sometimes Funny, Not so Funny, Hidden Tax of Regulations
165. Don't Be A Stranger In A Very Strange Land. Leave A Legacy
166. A Mother's Wisdom: "If You're Bored, It's Your Own Fault"
167. "Old Vay Is Best", Or So Said Willy Engel About the New Best Thing
168. Faith Is Not Unlike Describing color to A Sightless Person
169. The Golden Age(s) Of Travel And How I Blinked And Missed The Last One
170. Happy Earth Day And The Frightening Imbalance Of The Modern World
17l. How Will We Be (Or Not Be) Part Of The Third Industrial Evolution?
172. Doctors I Have Known And Who Have Known Me Up Close And Personal
173. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed For Mothers
174. If We Do What We've Always Done, We'll Get What We've Always Got
175. Ruminations on Friendships And a Perspective Of Quality Over Quantity
176. Richie Wells And Other Near Misses In The rendezvous With My Destiny
177. Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Franklin And Jefferson Had An Advantage: No TV
178. Eat Your Dinner. The Kids In Europe Are Starving (Thanks Dad)
179. From Small Acorns Grow Mighty Oaks, Or Something Like That
180. Cheap And Frugal And the Ocean Of Difference Between Them
181, Complaints - Take A Number Then Die Waiting For a Meaningful Answer
182. Social Conventions And How In The World Do They Keep Their Pants Up?
183. Sometimes We Find Ourselves Different People than We Though We Were
184. Charmed Lifes Don't Necessarily Mean Fame And Fortune
185. A dispatch From The So Called "Far Away Land" And An Interesting Contrast
186. The Barriers We Overcome Define Us As Human Beings, Then It Gets Interesting
187. Damn It! Stop Texting! You're Missing The Good Stuff
188. One Of The Great Treasures Of Our Community Is Mistreated Or Forgotten At Our Peril
189. If You Could Look Into The Future, Would You? Actually, You Are
190. We Don't Need A Presidential Election - We Need The Second Coming
191. The Rise Of Islam, For Better Or Worse, A Reality Of Our Day
192. A Skewed Point Of View Or A Point Of View Upon Which To Be Skewered?
193. You Say You Don't Believe In The Boogie Man - Maybe You Should Reconsider
194. The Greatest Ponzi Scam Ever Perpetrated Is Hidden In Plain Sight
195. Between The Spin And Conspiracy Theories, The Immediate Truth Would Seem Preferable
196. Are The Lessons From 50 Years Ago Valid? From Cuba To Iran
197. I'm So Rich That Sometimes I have To Pinch Myself To Make Sure I'm Not Dreaming
198. Campaigns, Voting And Some Thoughts On The Eve Of History
199. Aaahhhh ... The Sweet Months And Other Things Have Returned
200. Have You Ever Read A Story Without Any Words? I Have
201. Paying It Forward Is Very Much akin To Making A Deposit In Your Bank
202. Sure, Be Careful What You As For - But Then Carefully Ask
203. Isn't It Interesting To Find Out The Truth Behind What You Thought You Knew
204. It Is December 16th And We Should Remember This Date As Much As July Fourth
205. Murder, Torture, Arson, Mayhem, WMDs, End Of Days, IEDs and ... Christmas
206. A True Meaning of Christmas Found In The Land Of Have Nots
207. Things Aren't Working The way They Used To But, Hey, It Is A New Year
208. United We Stood, What Happens Now That We Are Divided?
209. More Often Than Not, Even The Passage Of Giants Only Leaves Footprints In The Sand
210. A Set Of Paint Brushes Is An Unlikely Source For A Set Of Values
211. My Mama Used To Say Comunities Are As Communities Do
212. Hot Digitty Dogs Part 3 - Why We Love Dogs Sometimes More Than Each Other
213. Ha! Ha! Ha! We Were Just Kidding! Ha! Ha! Ha! No, Seriously, We Were!
214. Work, If It Really Is, Maybe Should Be Rethought
215. Standing For Something And Walking Between The Raindrops
216. Our Dilemma Between Work And Play And The emerging Barrier To Both
217. Serendipity Comes From The strangest Places With Messages We Should Not Ignore
218. Meeting Miss Agnes - A First And Lasting Impression Of A People And a Place
219. Julius Caesar, Marie Antoinette, Alexander The Great, Leonardo Da Vinci
220. Remaining Interested In An Increasingly Interesting World
221. "And Remember, He Only Made It Though The Eighth Grade,," Really!
222. Happy Birthday Dear Mother, Happy Birthday To You! (To be sung)
223. Spending A Week In The City Of Fear - Boston Strong!
224. After All, What's A Picnic Without Ants! Surprise! Surprise!
225. The Art Of Patience Is Perhaps The Hardest Of All In Politics And Motherhood
226. The Future Is Coming And Boy Oh Boy Is It A Lollapalooza!
227. Forget Them Or Forget Them Not, Either Way, It Makes A Difference
228. Honoring Thy Father And Thy Mother Wasn't Exactly A Suggestion
229. School's Out! Oh Boy! Wow! Great! I Made It! Er ... Now What!
230. Happy Father's Day! The Day That Almost Wasn't
231. All Aboard The Cootie Cruise And A Hot Stock Tip - Purell!
232. Stumbling Our Way To Liberty, Equality And Justice
233. Hey Y'All, Don't Read This Column! I Have Used The 'N' Word