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• our water supplies and systems are outdated and subject to failure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.

Kindle for PC

Recently I installed Kindle for PC on my computer. This is a great "add-ons" for reading books online. First, its free and I don't need a Kindle reader. This is the Amazon reader that sells for $139 if you want one you can carry around. The program does everything the regular Kindle reader will do. Amazon has a large number of books that can be downloaded for a reduced price as well as a bunch of free books. Currently I am reading Benedict XVI's first volume of Jesus. This is not an ad for Amazon. I just enjoy the program.

OUT OF AFGHAN WAR

After the response of some Afghan folks to the burning of the Quran by some nut in Florida resulting in the death of 7 UN people and the parade with anti-American signs, I urge the President to remove all American from the country. Declare victory and leave.

Report to Representatives.

From time to time I like to write down my hopes for actions by our politicians in the hope that they will read my blog for insipration on how to vote. As of today, my desires for my government are:
1. Return to the draft for military service. A volunteer army leeds to separation of voter and taxpayer. If there were a draft young people would be interested in world affairs.
2. Pull all American military out of Iraq and Afganistan. If we haven't won after all this time, we are not likley to ever win.
3. Explain to me and others why we have large numbers of troops in Germany, Japan and dozens of other countries.
4. Establish a national health plan, single payer type. Medicare works very well thank you.
5. Order that all government owned vehicle run on natural gas.
6. Fix the potholes in all our roads and streets.
7. Reduce the speed limit in Interstates to 55 mph. Enforce the speed limit. This would serve two priorities: improve milage of automobiles, put monies in the treasuries of cities from speeding fines.

Barry Bonds Trial

Today begins the jury selection for the trial of Barry Bonds. I have real difficulty in the decisions to try Bonds. The US Attorney says its necessary to prove that one can't lie to a Grand Jury and not be punished. Bonds has been punished by the public. With the serious budget shortages facing the government it seems to me that they must have more serious cases on which to spend their time and resources. I'm left with the conclusion that the US Attorney is seeking his own publicity. If they don't get a conviction I assume the Attorney General will remove this US Attorney!!

Snowstorm?? Coming

Wednesday and off to the Museum for another day in my volunteer commitment of two days a week. Today I plan on digging out whatever information we have about snow in Crockett because the weatherpeople are saying that this weekend we may have snow down to 1000 ft.. The neatest weather page I've seen in awhile is an interactive map of every reporting point in the US. Take a look at it and enjoy. As an old (both age and long ago) weatherman I remember having to take the reports sent via teletype, plotting the data on a map and then giving it to the forecaster to analyze and send it out via fax machine.

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is still in the crosshairs of the District Attorney although the latest indictment dropped some more counts. Given the stated intent to cut the costs in the courts, etc., one would think they have more important and urgent things to do than to take on something several years old that have little chance of conviction.

Sunlight Finally

Tuesday the 25th of January. For the first time in several weeks the fog has lifted and its not raining. Temperature in the high 60's. California has returned. Tonite is the St. Rose Pastoral Council and I intend to make a pitch for a goal energizing the Catholics in our parish who have drifted away. 2012 is the 1ooth anniversary of becoming a parish and hopefully we will do more than have a luncheon for the Bishop.