Tropic Press: J.C. Bruce: Onward Thru The Fog

Relaxing is overrated—it’s too stressful

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:27:00 GMT

National Relaxation Day is coming up on August 15, and I’ll be avoiding it like a Cyclospora infection.

Relaxing requires too much work.

I cannot recall the last time I went on a vacation, for instance, in which the plan was to do absolutely nothing, just goof off.

No, vacations have to be scheduled to the last detail; no free time or we might miss out on …

Here’s how to squash your neighborhood relations

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 19:23:00 GMT

One of our favorite holidays is coming up this week: Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day on August 8.

I realize it is entirely possible that some of you may be reading about this exciting tradition for the first time, so here’s a primer.

The holiday has actually been around for a while. It was first celebrated in 1944, and it was the brainc…

Avast ye swabs. August is International Pirate Month

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:17:00 GMT

With August right around the corner, it’s time to prepare for International Pirate Month.

And while it is all fun and games to dress up and pretend to be Jose Gaspar or Capt. Jack Sparrow, real pirates were no laughing matter.

In fact, we can thank pirates for the formation of the United States Navy.

Before the Revolutionary War, we relied on the Brits to …

What a re-leaf to find a walking plant

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:17:00 GMT

While we delight in sharing the silly holidays that populate the calendar these days, some are more frivolous than others.

I give you the upcoming Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day, which arrives on July 27.

While I rarely acknowledge this, I do try to observe some of these annual events, no matter how ridiculous, as a dutiful journalist.

So, for instan…

When is a dork also a geek or a nerd?

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:21:00 GMT

This week, we celebrate Be a Dork Day, which sounds like one of those stupid, made-up, phony-baloney holidays that crop up all over the calendar.

And, of course, it is.

Still, ever desperate for material to fill this column, I found myself asking:

What is a dork, really?

Which, I suppose, is a dorky question to ask. Nevertheless, I learned that:

While being …

Into the Everglades, a pithing we will go

J.C. Bruce — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 13:32:23 GMT

The annual Florida Python Challenge begins this week, a boisterous competition in which hundreds of Florida men and women will slosh into the Everglades to render gigantic reptiles unalive.

There’s a $10,000 prize if you remove the most snakes, but to enter you must first pass a test. I decided to check it out.

It begins with an online tutorial followed b…

The heat is on, and summer’s in the city

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 19:01:00 GMT

Welcome to July, typically the hottest month of the year in the northern hemisphere—unless you live near the coast, which it just so happens we have a lot of here in the Sunshine State.

Coastal areas of Florida tend to experience their hottest days in late July and into August, according to meteorologists, because the waters of the Gulf and Atlantic tend…

Before June ends, a salute to the Constitution

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 18:59:00 GMT

As this month nears its close, we look forward to July, specifically July 4, which marks the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But we should also acknowledge another anniversary, the signing of the Constitution, which took place in June, 11 years later.

July 4, 1776, was, of course, the day we threw off the shackles of …

It’s Father’s Day and summer all rolled into one

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:56:00 GMT

This coming week, we get to experience a rare mathematical anomaly.

Well, if it’s an anomaly, I suppose by definition it’s rare. Or at the very least, unusual. So, forgive the repetitive redundancy.

Anyway, the odd occurrence coming up is that Father’s Day and the first day of summer arrive on the same day this year. The last couple of times that happened…

The secret story of the Space Pen finally revealed

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:51:00 GMT

In honor of the upcoming Ballpoint Pen Day, we will now reveal the startling truth behind the story of the space pen and the persistent rumors that while Americans spent millions designing a pen that would work in space, their Russian competitors opted to use a pencil.

This story goes back to the early days of our efforts to catch up to the old Soviet Un…

Incredibly, we still celebrate Confederate holidays in Florida

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:48:00 GMT

Courtesy of Florida Phoenix

While it is tempting to rejoice at all the marvelous advances our civilization has made over the years, this week we have a humble—and embarrassing—reminder of how much is left to do.

I am referring to the official State of Florida holiday celebrated this week—specifically on June 3—honoring the birthday of Jefferson Davis.

For …

Say goodbye to the snowbirds and hello to hurricanes

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 27 May 2026 18:42:00 GMT

We’re about to roll into the month of June, which officially marks the beginning of hurricane season.

Those of us who live here in South Florida year-round celebrate this date for two reasons:

1. By the first of the month, most of the snowbirds who winter here will have flapped and squawked their way back north because—let’s be honest about this—they don’…

Ride, Sally, Ride—my favorite headline never

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 20 May 2026 18:40:00 GMT

In a few days, we celebrate the anniversary of Dr. Sally Ride’s historic Space Shuttle launch.

It is also the anniversary of one of the weirdest newsroom debates in which I’ve ever engaged.

At the time, I was the managing editor of the Austin American-Statesman, and the newspaper had both afternoon and morning editions. The big story of the day on June 18…

Celebrating the endangered Endangered Species Act

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 13 May 2026 18:34:00 GMT

This week, we celebrate Endangered Species Day, an event that itself may be in peril by government efforts to weaken legal protections for threatened wildlife.

Among the habitats close to home, the federal government wants to reduce protections for species such as Rice’s whale to allow more oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Much of this controve…

And now, Florida’s most important holiday

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:32:00 GMT

Now that Star Wars Day and Cinco de Mayo are fading images in our rear view mirrors, it’s time to look ahead to May’s next big holiday, and I’m not talking about Mother’s Day—that would be too obvious.

No, this is about a commemoration that reminds us of what’s really important here in the Gunshine State, what drives our economy, and what allows us to be…

May the Fourth be with you. Always

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:29:00 GMT

Today, we start our annual countdown to Star Wars Day, the highlight of the month of May.

Sure, May has other holidays, among them, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and the always popular We Jump the World Day (more on this exciting event in a few paragraphs).

Star Wars Day is, of course, on May 4^th. As in, “May the Fourth Be With You.”

And if you don’t get the …

Why we’re such homers about planet Earth

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:27:00 GMT

We celebrate Earth Day this week, but you may be asking yourselves:

OK, fine, Earth, but what about all the other planets? When do we celebrate them? Aren’t we being just a tad self-centered here?

Actually, it’s possible that nobody has ever asked those questions, which is why we raise them here because, yes, we are homers, we do like Earth the most becau…

Here’s how you organize your taxes – not!

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:23:00 GMT

The third week of April is officially designated “Organize Your Files Week,” an onerous event I’m forced to engage in this time every year after filing my income taxes.

You see, I have a highly sophisticated tax organization system.

In my home office, the very place where these immortal words are pecked out on my keyboard, I have this old, beat-up, two-dr…

We get to vote for our own Senators, no thanks to Tallahassee

J.C. Bruce — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:20:00 GMT

When Floridians go to the polls this November, we will be deciding, among other things, who will be the state’s next member of the United States Senate.

The incumbent senator, Republican Ashley Moody, was not elected. She was appointed to the job by Gov. Ron DeSantis after Sen. Marco Rubio quit to become U.S. Secretary of State. So, this will be the firs…

The Easter Bunny speaks German. Who knew?

J.C. Bruce — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:52:00 GMT

This Sunday, we celebrate Easter, which as we all know is the day that children go to sleep with a tooth under their pillow so the Easter bunny can slide down the chimney and eat all their cookies and milk.

Hmmmm. Maybe I’ve conflated a few different holidays there.

But since this column is dedicated to making you the smartest person in the room—or the Zo…