SOME DAYS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS

NOT ONLY SOME DAYS BUT SOME WEEKS AND SOME MONTHS. At least that describes last week. A week ago, we had to put BEAR to sleep. His rear legs were paralyzed and he couldn't move around. For the past 12 years he has been part of the family. He was smarter than most of the folks he lived with but kind and caring. We miss him. He was Pete's best friend. Last Saturday, Pat fell again. This time from the top of the stairs, backwards. She was bruised but nothing broken. We are looking into installing a chair lift to navigate the steps, if we can afford it.

Exercise Begins

So today I actually began an exercise program. Now the challenge is to keep it going. Today we walked out to the end of the Eckley pier and back. Wind moderate with comfortable temperature. Each day, except Wednesday and Saturday (museum days) i hope to spend some time walking until I can do a full half hour at a brisk pace. This morning my left knee let me know it had enough.

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Eckley provides mental exercise also with the remnants of the old Garden City and the abandoned pilings from along the Strait in the days of sailing ships hauling grain from the several piers supporting warehouses. Port Costa is around the bend and not visible from the fishing pier.

SUMMER ARRIVES

For awhile we speculated that summer has again passed us by. But today and yesterday temperatures have reached 90 degrees or better. Be that as it may, my decision to forgo speculation about political issues seem to be working. It saddens me that when our country faces serious deficiencies in almost every direction. Lets see:

• roads, bridges, dams, levies, schools all need modernizing
• we continue to funnel resources (money, lives, reputation) into Iraq and Afghanistan
• terrorists can still construct nuclear bombs
• our water supplies and systems are outdated and subject to failure
• wealth continues to accumulate for the 3 or 4 percent of our population
• drive by shootings in Oakland and Richmond continue at record levels.

I can continue to list things that need correction with hardly any solutions coming to mind.

Some Days Are Better Than Others

So this week has caused adrenalin  spikes. Both my wife and I had dental appointments. She had three teeth pulled and I had a filling. Two days ago she (my spouse) fell and hit her head on a dresser resulting in a cut requiring stitches at the emergency room. She will have the stitches out on Sunday. And Bear, our 80 pound dog, is not feeling well. Like me, his joints are getting difficult to move.

But these are very minor thing and I am grateful for a life worth living.

On Saturday we will celebrate 56 years of married life, together.

DEBT LIMIT

Time is quickly passing and we will reach the point where the "full faith and credit" promised by all government securities will no longer be true. After 70 years of faith in the US structure, I have lost it. Now is the time to signal to anyone who wants your support in the next election to let them know that they won't have it unless they are willing to compromise to work out a bill. The "tea party fanatics" who believe they are doing the will of their pricipals will see the damage when the stock market falls to the lowest point since the 30's.

Crockett Signal Being Written

One might conclude from this picture that Dan Robertson is painting but he is really editing the Crockett Signal. If you haven't yet read the May 2011 issue, it is for sale at the Crockett Museum and Historical Society. Dan not only publishes the magazine but he keeps us informed about the doings in town. He is also a Museum director. The picture above is posted on the Port Costa Conservation Society and was probably taken by Lewis Stewart.

Presidential Politics

I was saddened when I listened to President Obama at an unscheduled press conference discussing the noise being generated by some of the media concerning his birth certificate. Despite proof to the contrary nearly half of the Republicans bought into the lie that he was not born in the United States. The fact that large numbers of Americans accepted the lie proves that Goebels was correct when he said that if you repeat a lie often enough it will be accepted as the truth by a growing number of people. In my opinion this reflects a serious racial bias against a black man being president.I fear for our country.