Sunday Morning Coffee — June 1, 2025– Sunday Morning Scramble

By Roy Berger, London, England

Good Sunday morning from across the big pond. Today we will have our coffee, Americano black, in London with a traditional full English breakfast—eggs fried, tomatoes grilled, and toast dry with a little butter on the side; hold the bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms and baked beans please. We are Scrambling from here on a business trip almost seven years to the day when I thought I took my last one. Never say never. After 20 straight annual visits here on behalf of Medjet to review and renew our operational cost protection in the Lloyd’s of London market my work and biz travel days ended in June 2018. However, my very capable successor Medjet CEO Mike Hallman pulled me off the bench and asked me to return one more time to honor Charlie Boyd, our Lloyd’s syndicate underwriter, on his retirement. From my first visit in 1998 I learned the Lloyd’s market was a ‘relationship’ experience — once you are established and reputable the market embraces you and your business as one of their own. Charlie Boyd epitomized that standard throughout our two decades together. A good underwriter, fair as can be, and an even better bloke. He even influenced me to become a Chelsea supporter in the Premier League. Charlie has one character flaw and it’s a big one — somehow he became a Red Sox fan. I’ll need to get past that this week but with Boston trailing the Yankees by 10 games in the standings, or table as the Brits call it, that won’t be hard. Glad to be back here for a few days.

Over the past year London has become a frequent stop for both my wife Andi and me with our son Scott and daughter-in-law Cayla living and working in the city. In fact, they were so excited about my visit this weekend they took off on holiday to Portugal. But with the kids expecting a little package in August, Andi will want to come back every other week. Bobbies on bicycles, two by two. Westminster Abbey, the tower of Big Ben, the rosy-red cheeks of the little children.

England has become a melting pot for people from all over the globe. In fact on your next trip over you might bump into a former neighbor or two. According to Britain’s Home Office, their interior ministry, through March of this year over 6,600 Americans applied for British citizenship, already topping the previous largest annual total since records have been kept the last 20 years. An immigration officer in Britain said she expected further increases in the quest for citizenship because, as she said, of the “political landscape” in America. Hope the door hits you in the tuchus as you leave.

One more note from overseas. Ko Yamaguchi is a high schooler in Japan of whom you’ve never heard. He’s also a baseball player. Opposing coaches and pitchers wish they never heard of him either. Yamaguchi has discovered the consummate way to try and get into a pitcher’s head. He switches the side of the plate he bats from after every pitch. As the pitcher tries to get into a groove, there is Yamaguchi jumping to the other side. In the video clip I saw the pitcher got so frustrated he figured the best way to get rid of the guy was just to plunk him with the next pitch.

Meanwhile back on our mainland— Give me your two cents worth and I’ll give you a penny for my thoughts, but not for much longer. Months ago we wrote the American penny is probably on a death watch as production of the one cent piece costs about four cents. In 2024 3.2 billion pennies were produced at a cost of over $100 million yet the pennies were only worth $32 million. No need to bring in DOGE on this decision. The US Treasury Department said the production of copper coins will begin to wind down next year. It’s estimated there are $14 billion pennies in circulation with an incredible 60% sitting in jars or draws never again to see the light of day. Ultimately discontinuing the penny won’t have an impact on credit or debit transactions but will force cash transactions to wind up or down to the nearest nickel. However, let’s not get too comfortable with that either. The Mint says it now costs fourteen cents to produce a nickel.

I’m not sure if he is there or not, but I hope Pete Rose tells Major League Baseball to go to hell now that MLB has posthumously reinstated him back into the good graces of the game. Sure Rose made mistakes and he paid for them. Years ago, in a different life, I had a couple of occasions to host Rose. He really wasn’t a nice guy. But he was the best hitter our generation ever saw, an incredible competitor and a winner. MLB’s move, eight months after Rose died and couldn’t enjoy it, is cowardly.

Kudos to the Federal Trade Commission which on May 12 issued a ruling requiring live-event ticketing and short-term lodging businesses to include all mandatory fees in the advertised price of purchase. This ideally will end the hocus-pocus of hidden charges when buying event tickets. It also should put a stop to one of my biggest banes, the phantom hotel resort fee which now has to be included in the lodging pricing. Hopefully the FTC has crocodile teeth to enforce.

Three generations of the Tyler family: President John, son Lyon and grandson Harrison.

This presidential family didn’t need Viagra. Harrison Ruffin Tyler died last Sunday at age 96. It’s noteworthy in American political history as Mr. Tyler was the last living grandson of U.S. President John Tyler who left the Oval Office almost 180 years ago in 1845. President Tyler was never elected, instead he rose to the top when William Henry Harrison died a month into his term. Tyler, a Virginia slave owner and lifelong Democrat succeeded Harrison as our tenth president from his vice presidential seat. President Tyler was a busy guy off the field fathering 15 children with two wives. Tyler’s 13th child, Lyon was born in 1853 when his dad was 63, but mom only 33. Lyon’s son Harrison was born in 1929 when his dad was still going strong at 76.

A legal pain in the ass. If the intent of being on offense in a football game is to advance the ball then good for the NFL owners who decided two weeks ago to leave the controversial tush-push as a part of the game. Teams opposed can stop whining and figure out a way to stop it.

One out of every four international students at American colleges and universities are from China.

Worth a watch: MobLand, 10 episodes on Paramount/Showtime. Two British crime families intent on destroying each other. It takes an episode or two to figure out the players and which team they are on, but it gets pretty intense. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren and Tom Hardy. Also Your Friends and Neighbors, nine episodes on Apple with Jon Hamm. This one took a little while to get going, but worth it. It’s tough to separate Hamm from Don Draper but this story line could have easily been written for Draper if Sterling Cooper had terminated him. Good stuff. And if you are looking for a two-hour feel good movie, the just released Nonnas on Netflix is it. Great cast with Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Branco and a bunch more.

Without argument the toughest 16 wins in professional sports run from the beginning of the National Hockey League playoffs to win #16 and hoisting the cherished Stanley Cup. The difference between playoff teams and margin of victory is razor thin. Remarkably the defending champion Florida Panthers are back in the Finals for the third straight year. A classic hat trick of excellence. They are joined by the Edmonton Oilers who return for the second straight time. If played to form, the last four wins for either side should make for scintillating hockey. Edmonton is a slight favorite to hoist the Cup, something they failed to do last year in seven games. Even with home ice I think they are a false favorite. The Oilers are explosive, but Florida is solid all around with better goaltending. I hope Edmonton wins but I bet the Panthers and took the odds. The NBA is also four wins away from a champion: Oklahoma City is the best and should topple the pesky Indiana Pacers. And a tip of the cap to the New York Knicks who this season gave long time suffering loyalists a reason to watch basketball until the last day of May.

This from travel blog Joesentme.com will get you thinking: “In 1981, the 13,000 air traffic controllers handled about 5.5 million aircraft departures and around 300 million passengers. Last year (2024) there were approximately 10 million departures carrying 980 million passengers with 14,000 available air traffic controllers. (Which means) over the last 40+ years, the number of flights nearly doubled, passenger traffic has more than tripled and we’re trying to manage it all with just 1,000 more air traffic controllers than in 1981.” According to the New York Times, 99% of the country’s 313 air traffic control facilities are understaffed. The only two presently operating with a full complement of controllers are Fort Lauderdale and Akron, Ohio.

Before we leave the skies, thumbs-down to Southwest Airlines. For years Southwest created a business model that was anti-legacy carrier differentiating themselves from United, American and Delta. Lately their ticket pricing ceased to be a value and very legacy-ish. They continued to promote heavily that they didn’t charge for checked luggage, sit wherever you please and didn’t nickel and dime their customers to upgrade to a more comfortable seat. That’s no longer. On Tuesday Southwest began charging for checked bags as the transition to just another legacy carrier began — $35 for the first bag, $45 for the second. Soon to come reserved seats and the ability to pay extra for an additional inch or two of so-called comfort. Southwest is now just another one of the airlines they used to mock. It will be very interesting to see how the travel public reacts— whether then can keep the leisure traveler and entice the business sector. While Charlie Traveler may not like the new structure, Southwest is gambling that Wall Street will. In 2024 American Airlines pocketed $1.5 billion, that’s with a ‘b’, in checked bag revenue to the delight of their investors; toss Delta and United in the mix and it’s almost $4 billion, again with a ‘b’. That’s a lot of former discretionary income dollars that 15 years ago, when all bags on all airlines were free, would have been reinvested into the American economy.

And finally, combining travel and this week’s visit to London, if you do have travel plans this summer I very sincerely encourage you to spend a few minutes at Medjet.com and look at the program. Dozens of Sunday Morning Coffee readers have become members. Medjet is not a travel insurance product; instead, it’s a membership that entitles members transportation back to the hospital of their choice should they become sick or injured and require ongoing hospitalization anywhere in the world over 150 miles from home, international or domestic. Memberships begin at only $99. I’ve been a part of this company for over 25 years and trust me, I’ve seen the difference its made in people’s lives with the one simple decision to become a member of Medjet. I hope it’s something you never need but you’ll cherish the travel peace of mind it gives.

This is my 24th trip to London. In the course of time I’ve learned to mind the gap and under no circumstance ever order spotted dick for dessert. Cheers from one of the world’s great cities.

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I’m proud that Medjet is sponsoring Sunday Morning Coffee. I spent 20 wonderful years with Medjet in Birmingham, Alabama, and can tell you unequivocally they are the standard-bearer for medical assistance membership programs. A talented staff, who cares about its members, is at the forefront of the company’s success. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, domestic or international, a Medjet membership should be an important part of your travel portfolio before you leave home. Check out the Medjet website at medjet.com or just tap on the Medjet logo and you’ll be able to get a look at Medjet’s services, rules and regulations, pricing, and an overview of the organization. And remember, any opinions expressed in Sunday Morning Coffee content or comments belong to the author and not the sponsor. Safe travels with your Medjet membership! — Roy Berger