I have a granddaughter who apparently at age 4 has the concept of “Well, Duh!” down very well. So well in fact that he father is considering a penalty bank in the house to be used to record when anyone in the house uses Well, Duh! He told us the story the other day that he had asked Libby to say the blessing on the food and she had declined. Trying to guilt her a little into doing it, her father said, “Saying you don’t want to say the prayer is the same as saying you don’t want to talk to Jesus.”
Whereupon, she replied emphatically, “Well, Duh!”
Friday, December 30, 2005
Greenfield Churrascaria( Brazilian BBQ)
Thanks to our son who’s something of an expert on Brazil, we tried a Churrascaria (Brazilian BBQ) last night in Long Beach. We really didn’t know quite what to expect but were hungry enough to try something exciting and new. We felt a little underdressed having just put away all our tools and not really cleaning up more than brushing the dust from our clothes. We were really expecting to go someplace like Taco Bell or Burger King. But the folks at Greenfield welcomed us graciously without any hesitation. Even the complementary valet service signaled a warm welcome.
Our waiter took our drink order then asked if we had ever been there before. He explained that it was one price for all you can eat. The price was higher than we had expected but I can truly say it was worth it. There is a grand buffet for salads and other side dishes. Just the buffet dishes by themselves make a worthy meal. When you’re ready for the meat dish you stand a little wooden totem on your table with the green stripe on top. Almost magically and within seconds, a meat server appears at your table with one or two spits of roasting meat. Pepper steak, garlic steak, chicken, pork loin, bacon-wrapped turkey, lamb, rib-eye steak, tri-tip roast, and the list goes on. If the meat is coming too fast or you’ve had enough, you simply turn over the wooden totem so the red stripe is on top until you catch up. You can repeat your trips to the buffet or turn over the totem until you get your fill. Our meat server didn’t pay much attention to the red stripe, though. He kept coming back and, with a twinkle in his eye, tempting us with the next offering. I highly recommend Greenfield Brazilian BBQ.
Our waiter took our drink order then asked if we had ever been there before. He explained that it was one price for all you can eat. The price was higher than we had expected but I can truly say it was worth it. There is a grand buffet for salads and other side dishes. Just the buffet dishes by themselves make a worthy meal. When you’re ready for the meat dish you stand a little wooden totem on your table with the green stripe on top. Almost magically and within seconds, a meat server appears at your table with one or two spits of roasting meat. Pepper steak, garlic steak, chicken, pork loin, bacon-wrapped turkey, lamb, rib-eye steak, tri-tip roast, and the list goes on. If the meat is coming too fast or you’ve had enough, you simply turn over the wooden totem so the red stripe is on top until you catch up. You can repeat your trips to the buffet or turn over the totem until you get your fill. Our meat server didn’t pay much attention to the red stripe, though. He kept coming back and, with a twinkle in his eye, tempting us with the next offering. I highly recommend Greenfield Brazilian BBQ.
Passing the Torch
To those who would say there is nothing more satisfying than a job well done, I’d have to reply that there definitely is – a job well done by one of your children. During what is turning out to be a working vacation, we’ve had the opportunity, as with previous “vacations”, to work with our children on projects around their houses. From painting to installing flood lights to hanging curtains, we’ve been an extra pair of hands or eyes or just a sympathetic listener at times. At first, it’s nice to be the “expert” and to be listened to with great respect and awe but at this point I much prefer to be the assistant, the scrub nurse to the surgeon. After all, we can’t be around for all the kids’ home improvement projects and, while we might be only a phone call away, it is still good to see that they have the skills and experience to do the job on their own. It’s even better when they start giving grandpa some sound advice and instruction – if he’ll listen.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
On the Road Again
This has two meanings for us today. First, and most important, Carolyn and I dusted off our bicycles, pumped up the tires, loaded them in the back of the van and took them over to our favorite bike trail along the American River. There we rode from the parking lot to Jim’s Bridge and across the river. This would not have been anything special a year ago but this was the first time that Carolyn has ridden the bike since her operation this summer. She has only been to the gym 3 or 4 times since the operation as well. She just hasn’t had the stamina to exercise like she used to and like she really wants to. But this ride is a good sign that she is starting to get her stamina back again. It was only 2.2 miles but we didn’t want to push her luck. I’d say things are looking up.
The second meaning is that we are on the road to Southern California to see our newest grandson, visit with family members we didn’t see at Christmas time, and help serve breakfast to a couple hundred people attending the Rose Parade. It will be a whirlwind trip but it should be a fun one as well.
The second meaning is that we are on the road to Southern California to see our newest grandson, visit with family members we didn’t see at Christmas time, and help serve breakfast to a couple hundred people attending the Rose Parade. It will be a whirlwind trip but it should be a fun one as well.
Monday, December 26, 2005
It’s a small world after all…
How many countries were under your Christmas tree? We had sweaters made in Thailand and Hong Kong. A GPS from Taiwan. An acoustic key finder and marbles from China. A digital camera made in Japan with parts from Germany and the USA. A figurine from the Philippines. A veritable United Nations under our Christmas tree. We do live in a global economy.
One of the most interesting representatives of this ever shrinking world was a shawl knitted by our daughter Jessica. The yarn she used came from Nepal where a cottage industry exists for women who spin yarn at home from recycled Indian and Bangladesh saris. Women from all over the world have contributed to this warm, brightly covered shawl which symbolizes how much our economies are now knitted together.
One of the most interesting representatives of this ever shrinking world was a shawl knitted by our daughter Jessica. The yarn she used came from Nepal where a cottage industry exists for women who spin yarn at home from recycled Indian and Bangladesh saris. Women from all over the world have contributed to this warm, brightly covered shawl which symbolizes how much our economies are now knitted together.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
A Very Merry Christmas
We had a lovely day. Hope yours was as nice.
We talked with most of our kids and several of the grandkids as well. Natalie was able to send us pictures of our newest grandson Joshua, held here by his older brother Nathan. We're looking forward to seeing them in just a couple of days.
Santa was good to us all. I enjoyed getting a couple of old-fashioned games that I played as a kid: Poosh-Em-Up Big 5 pinball machine and Stadium Checkers while Grandma got a GPS and a Kodak V550 pocket-sized digital camera. She was also very surprised with a Zim-Zam game which is now marketed under the name of Tether Tennis. Some sweaters for both of us and ... well I could just go on and on about the thoughtfulness of all our children. And mostly we're just so happy about having such a great family.
We'll be on the road for the next week so there may not be regular posts for the next few days. But stay tuned.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Merry Christmas! Will you marry me?
Our family has a tradition of popping the question in a humorous, unusual, or very public way. Our oldest son chose Dodger Stadium’s “Tribute to Tommy Lasorda night” to have 30 of his friends in the outfield bleachers hold up a huge sign they had smuggled into the game reading “Tiffany, will you marry me?” while he slipped from his seat beside her above first base and on bended knee presented her with the ring. Only Dodger Stadium’s policy at that time prevented him from using the scoreboard as well.
So it is not surprising that our youngest son chose Sea World to ask that all-important question of his girlfriend of over four years. Lisa loves animals and particularly penguins. She has been collecting penguin dolls, prints, stuffed toys, pillows, etc. for years. So, of course, she was delighted that Steve invited her to visit Sea World during a short Christmas vacation and even more thrilled that he had arranged for a “back stage” tour of the penguin exhibit so she could get closer to the animals.
Mid-way through the tour a king penguin (named appropriately Tut) sporting a festive red ribbon waddled out toward the tour guide. The ribbon appeared to be holding a note of some kind. The guide, looking a little puzzled, removed the note and after briefly scanning it said, “Lisa, I believe this note is for you.” You guessed it. The note said, “You don't have to wait any longer." Lisa, puzzled, looked at Steve who had pulled out a diamond engagement ring. He asked simply, "Lisa, will you marry me?” Still in shock, Lisa said yes.
Her parents and brother were there to witness the event as, of course, were many of Lisa’s penguin friends. Congratulations, Steve and Lisa.
So it is not surprising that our youngest son chose Sea World to ask that all-important question of his girlfriend of over four years. Lisa loves animals and particularly penguins. She has been collecting penguin dolls, prints, stuffed toys, pillows, etc. for years. So, of course, she was delighted that Steve invited her to visit Sea World during a short Christmas vacation and even more thrilled that he had arranged for a “back stage” tour of the penguin exhibit so she could get closer to the animals.
Mid-way through the tour a king penguin (named appropriately Tut) sporting a festive red ribbon waddled out toward the tour guide. The ribbon appeared to be holding a note of some kind. The guide, looking a little puzzled, removed the note and after briefly scanning it said, “Lisa, I believe this note is for you.” You guessed it. The note said, “You don't have to wait any longer." Lisa, puzzled, looked at Steve who had pulled out a diamond engagement ring. He asked simply, "Lisa, will you marry me?” Still in shock, Lisa said yes.
Her parents and brother were there to witness the event as, of course, were many of Lisa’s penguin friends. Congratulations, Steve and Lisa.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Merry Christmas Scrooge
What better thing to do on a Friday morning before Christmas than to remember Dickens’ Christmas Carol and try to emulate old Scrooge. Oh, not the Scrooge at the beginning of the story but the one at the end as described in the penultimate paragraph of the story:
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.
In my case I have been reviewing all the requests for donations and charitable giving that have come across my desk in the past three months. I decided that I get so many of these toward the end of the year that I may as well save them all up to the end of the year and allocate out my donation budget at one time. That way all the charities and worthy causes catch me in the same mood.
But how to decide who gets what because I certainly don’t have a limitless budget for such giving. And how does one compare the starving children in Africa to the worthy cause of free speech in America or the plight of the Iraqi war wounded to the publicly supported local NPR station. I will have to say that it used to be much easier when paying tithing was about all our family budget could stand so there were no other causes I could support. We simply ignored the other causes.
I don’t have the final answer but I do know that I felt much better at the end of this exercise than I did at the beginning. And Scrooge would understand what I mean.
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.
In my case I have been reviewing all the requests for donations and charitable giving that have come across my desk in the past three months. I decided that I get so many of these toward the end of the year that I may as well save them all up to the end of the year and allocate out my donation budget at one time. That way all the charities and worthy causes catch me in the same mood.
But how to decide who gets what because I certainly don’t have a limitless budget for such giving. And how does one compare the starving children in Africa to the worthy cause of free speech in America or the plight of the Iraqi war wounded to the publicly supported local NPR station. I will have to say that it used to be much easier when paying tithing was about all our family budget could stand so there were no other causes I could support. We simply ignored the other causes.
I don’t have the final answer but I do know that I felt much better at the end of this exercise than I did at the beginning. And Scrooge would understand what I mean.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
The Twelve Days of Christmas
You’ve heard it before. “Why don’t we celebrate Christmas over several days like Hanukkah?” “Wouldn’t it make more sense to spread all this ‘joy’ out over a few days.” “You know the kids are operating on overload and this isn’t good for any of us.”
Having your grandkids spread out over the state makes it more difficult to get everyone together for family pictures or for Christmas celebrations. But spacing out the celebrations isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Because some of our grandkids will be celebrating on the actual Christmas day in Phoenix or Simi Valley with their other grandparents, we have to accept that we will either have to pick another day or just call them long distance and wish them a happy Christmas.
Last night we celebrated an early Christmas with two of our grandchildren before seeing them and their parents off to Southern California. It was a nice celebration because Tim and Jake could focus on just the presents we had given them without slighting Santa, their parents, or the other grandparents. Even so they came close to overload when Tim wanted to play with Jake’s stuff or vice versa. Giving them identical gifts might have solved that problem but identical gifts would be neither age appropriate nor what each boy really wanted.
We delighted seeing Tim’s eyes wide with wonder at getting a Prince Aidan action figure ("I didn’t expect this!” but was thrilled to add to his collection). Or watched with joy as Jake tore open the wrapping on his Tonka car collection, more excited at the discovery of the cars than of actually playing with them. I think a “Christmas evening” with each of our kids would be the ideal way to celebrate the season.
Having your grandkids spread out over the state makes it more difficult to get everyone together for family pictures or for Christmas celebrations. But spacing out the celebrations isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Because some of our grandkids will be celebrating on the actual Christmas day in Phoenix or Simi Valley with their other grandparents, we have to accept that we will either have to pick another day or just call them long distance and wish them a happy Christmas.
Last night we celebrated an early Christmas with two of our grandchildren before seeing them and their parents off to Southern California. It was a nice celebration because Tim and Jake could focus on just the presents we had given them without slighting Santa, their parents, or the other grandparents. Even so they came close to overload when Tim wanted to play with Jake’s stuff or vice versa. Giving them identical gifts might have solved that problem but identical gifts would be neither age appropriate nor what each boy really wanted.
We delighted seeing Tim’s eyes wide with wonder at getting a Prince Aidan action figure ("I didn’t expect this!” but was thrilled to add to his collection). Or watched with joy as Jake tore open the wrapping on his Tonka car collection, more excited at the discovery of the cars than of actually playing with them. I think a “Christmas evening” with each of our kids would be the ideal way to celebrate the season.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
‘Tis the Season ...
for holiday traditions. One of the family traditions that I always think about this time of year has nothing to do with our family and nothing to do with Christmas.
Bruce, a former boss of mine, had an ongoing gag with his brother about the winter solstice. The days get shorter and shorter as we approach December 21, the shortest day of the year. So every year Bruce and his brother would try to be the first to call the other on December 22 and in their cheeriest voice proclaim, “Hello, brother! Good morning! Notice how much earlier the sun got up this morning? The days are sure getting long.” Of course it was minutes or even seconds past midnight, the sun was nowhere in sight, and it was certainly not evident yet that the day was longer. But what a way to reconnect to your brother!
Bruce, a former boss of mine, had an ongoing gag with his brother about the winter solstice. The days get shorter and shorter as we approach December 21, the shortest day of the year. So every year Bruce and his brother would try to be the first to call the other on December 22 and in their cheeriest voice proclaim, “Hello, brother! Good morning! Notice how much earlier the sun got up this morning? The days are sure getting long.” Of course it was minutes or even seconds past midnight, the sun was nowhere in sight, and it was certainly not evident yet that the day was longer. But what a way to reconnect to your brother!
Insurgants
We finally figured out what our ant problem was. We don't have the common, ordinary ants around the house. We have Iraqi insurg-ANTS. But we're staying the course and expect to the win the war soon.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Hailstorm
A couple days later and we might have had a white Christmas. Although it was threatening rain all day today, there weren’t more than a couple of drops until about 4:00 this afternoon. Then, it seemed the heavens opened. Torrents of rain pelted the ground and suddenly pea-sized pellets of white, frozen rain were bouncing off the pavement and melting in the flowing runoff of the rain.
Normally, I wouldn’t have even seen it but I was leaving work just then and had to walk the 100 feet from the office to my covered parking space. The hail hitting the corrugated roof of the parking shelter made a fearsome sound. I wondered if this was going to get worse on the way home.
As I drove out of the parking lot, the radio announced a thunderstorm warning for our area. Nickel-sized hail was predicted by the Doppler radar for the area. Now I really wanted to get home and out of the way of a storm that could leave dents in my car.
But just as quickly as it started, the hail stopped and turned to rain. Then the rain stopped. By the time I reached home there were even dry patches on our street. What weird Christmas weather.
Normally, I wouldn’t have even seen it but I was leaving work just then and had to walk the 100 feet from the office to my covered parking space. The hail hitting the corrugated roof of the parking shelter made a fearsome sound. I wondered if this was going to get worse on the way home.
As I drove out of the parking lot, the radio announced a thunderstorm warning for our area. Nickel-sized hail was predicted by the Doppler radar for the area. Now I really wanted to get home and out of the way of a storm that could leave dents in my car.
But just as quickly as it started, the hail stopped and turned to rain. Then the rain stopped. By the time I reached home there were even dry patches on our street. What weird Christmas weather.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Three for three
As some of you know, Geocaching is (second to hunting for WMD in Iraq) the largest treasure hunt in the world – at least in terms of participants and treasures to be found. What’s nicer is that it is relatively inexpensive (you don’t have to start a war to play), not too strenuous, and virtually anyone with a GPS (Global Positioning System) and a little time can play.
With all the holiday preparations (I’m including Thanksgiving with Christmas so I can properly say “holiday”) and recent rains, we haven’t been able to get out geocaching as much as I’d like to this past month. To make matters worse, the last time we went out we collected a travel bug and he has almost died sitting on our window sill rather than traveling on as he is meant to do. If none of this is making any sense to you visit http://www.geocaching.com/ to learn all about the sport of Geocaching.
So between rain clouds I ventured out today to visit three sites that had recently been published on the Geocaching website. Two of the three were large enough to house the travel bug so I figured my chances were pretty good that I’d be able to get rid of it.
All three caches are on the former McClellan Air Base now called the McClellan Park, a combination Coast Guard air base and industrial park. The buildings still look very military although run-down like the military hasn’t been keeping it up well. And there are no MPs or BPs riding around in jeeps hassling visitors. Still, when one parks in out of the way places and wanders around looking in and under shrubs, one feels a little vulnerable to security guards and other officials who pull up and look like they want to ask questions.
I found all three caches, dropped off the travel bug, and got a nice self-guided tour of at least part of the base. I did get some funny looks but didn’t come even close to getting arrested or detained. I guess it really is an industrial park now.
With all the holiday preparations (I’m including Thanksgiving with Christmas so I can properly say “holiday”) and recent rains, we haven’t been able to get out geocaching as much as I’d like to this past month. To make matters worse, the last time we went out we collected a travel bug and he has almost died sitting on our window sill rather than traveling on as he is meant to do. If none of this is making any sense to you visit http://www.geocaching.com/ to learn all about the sport of Geocaching.
So between rain clouds I ventured out today to visit three sites that had recently been published on the Geocaching website. Two of the three were large enough to house the travel bug so I figured my chances were pretty good that I’d be able to get rid of it.
All three caches are on the former McClellan Air Base now called the McClellan Park, a combination Coast Guard air base and industrial park. The buildings still look very military although run-down like the military hasn’t been keeping it up well. And there are no MPs or BPs riding around in jeeps hassling visitors. Still, when one parks in out of the way places and wanders around looking in and under shrubs, one feels a little vulnerable to security guards and other officials who pull up and look like they want to ask questions.
I found all three caches, dropped off the travel bug, and got a nice self-guided tour of at least part of the base. I did get some funny looks but didn’t come even close to getting arrested or detained. I guess it really is an industrial park now.
The lighter side of Christmas
We recently hosted another Christmas party. As the evening wore on people drifted into our living room where, gathered around the piano, we sang Christmas carols. For the most part, I played while the others sang. We had anticipated this so we even had lyric sheets prepared for the more common carols - both religious (Silent Night) and secular (White Christmas). We were just about done with all the songs that I had printed up when someone called out, "Let's do Grandma got run over by a reindeer!" I, of course, protested that we didn't have the lyrics printed out for that. That didn't seem to faze anyone as the lyrics are apparently quite well known by now. And I did have the music in the songbook pictured above - The Lighter Side of Christmas.
After we played and sang that, I suggested we try "Grandpa's gonna sue the pants off Santa" also from that book. No one was familiar with that but they all wanted to hear it. I played while someone read over my shoulder. Is it some kind of comment on our society that so many people laughed but agreed with the sentiment? We had a lawyer in the crowd who pointed out that the songwriter had taken some literary license with some of the legal technicalities. You don't get "arraigned" in a civil case, for example. Darn lawyers. They're always spoiling something.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Number nine
Although he’s number nine he holds a place in our hearts as dear as any of our other eight grandchildren. We just haven’t gotten to know him yet.
Our hearts jumped a little when the phone rang last night at 10:20 pm. We’ve been answering calls lately that we wouldn’t normally answer because any of them might be THE ONE. But when it actually is THE ONE, we were still a little surprised.
Little Joshua came into this world around 9:30 last night weighing in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 19 inches. Although his mom claims that he is two weeks early, his size indicates that he was ready. And we’re ready to go see him. Christmas plans mean that won’t be for a week or so. But Joshua better watch out ‘cause he’s gonna be smothered in love.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Serendipity
…noun; Etymology: from the possession by the heroes of the Persian fairy tale “The Three Princes of Serendip”, date 1754. Formerly rare, this word and its derivatives have had wide currency in the 20th century. Definition: The faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident. The phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.
“Serendipity” is also the name of the performance we attended last night at the Chautauqua Playhouse in Carmichael. And what an unexpected discovery it was! It wasn’t, of course, entirely accidental either on our part or theirs. We have had season tickets to the Chautauqua for the past three years. Originally, it was because it was the closest theater to our home and then because we were truly enchanted by the plays and musical productions they stage there. For their part, the performance showed that a lot of talent and thought had gone into selecting the performers and the numbers which were a mix of thoughtful, zany, sad, inspirational, inane, and intriguing. Many rehearsals had honed the performance to a smooth running evening. From the handwritten insert in the program announcing the evening’s pianist to the singer who used crib sheets for his talking parts, we could tell the run had suffered from personnel sickness or change. But they pulled it off well.
Although the performance itself was a happy discovery, an even happier discovery was the couple we invited to go with us. Friends from church, we discovered through the evening what really delightful people they are and all the exciting things they’ve done in life. From smoke jumping to in-the-sky traffic reporting, from working in Soviet east Europe to manning a tall sailing ship across the Atlantic, this couple has so many stories to share. And they do it in such an unpretentious manner. Makes me glad we buy four season tickets each year.
“Serendipity” is also the name of the performance we attended last night at the Chautauqua Playhouse in Carmichael. And what an unexpected discovery it was! It wasn’t, of course, entirely accidental either on our part or theirs. We have had season tickets to the Chautauqua for the past three years. Originally, it was because it was the closest theater to our home and then because we were truly enchanted by the plays and musical productions they stage there. For their part, the performance showed that a lot of talent and thought had gone into selecting the performers and the numbers which were a mix of thoughtful, zany, sad, inspirational, inane, and intriguing. Many rehearsals had honed the performance to a smooth running evening. From the handwritten insert in the program announcing the evening’s pianist to the singer who used crib sheets for his talking parts, we could tell the run had suffered from personnel sickness or change. But they pulled it off well.
Although the performance itself was a happy discovery, an even happier discovery was the couple we invited to go with us. Friends from church, we discovered through the evening what really delightful people they are and all the exciting things they’ve done in life. From smoke jumping to in-the-sky traffic reporting, from working in Soviet east Europe to manning a tall sailing ship across the Atlantic, this couple has so many stories to share. And they do it in such an unpretentious manner. Makes me glad we buy four season tickets each year.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Call me a cynic (warning – political rant)
This morning’s Sacramento Bee carried two stories on the front page that appeared to be unrelated but I find there is a relationship that is important and representative of the times.
The first story was about President Bush reversing himself and now agreeing with Senator McCain that the United States should reaffirm that torture by US personnel anywhere in the world is illegal and that includes actions that are “cruel, inhuman, or degrading”. I think that before the Iraq prison scandals and the photographs so conveniently made available by our soldiers there, most Americans thought that was our policy. And I think most Americans will wonder why we had to take this step so publicly. I’m sure Dick Cheney is still shaking his head because he seems to like the idea of torture under the right circumstances. Never mind that studies have shown torture to be counterproductive and inefficient. People lie under torture as much or more as without it. Just look at the medieval witch trials.
The second story was the breaking news from the New York Times that President Bush ordered illegal domestic spying following the 9/11 attacks and that domestic spying has been going on ever since. This is a flagrant violation of Americans’ civil liberties but of course was done for the best of purposes – national security. Even the so-called Patriot Act wasn’t carte blanch enough for Bush. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “A people who would sacrifice liberty for security will lose both, and deserve neither.”
But the connection I make is that it really doesn’t matter what laws we have on the books regarding torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees. The president can at any time issue an executive order nullifying such a law in the name of national security, his administration would certainly back him, and the nation would know about it 3 years later if we’re lucky. I thought we believed in the rule of law and that no person is above the law, not even the President of the United States.
The first story was about President Bush reversing himself and now agreeing with Senator McCain that the United States should reaffirm that torture by US personnel anywhere in the world is illegal and that includes actions that are “cruel, inhuman, or degrading”. I think that before the Iraq prison scandals and the photographs so conveniently made available by our soldiers there, most Americans thought that was our policy. And I think most Americans will wonder why we had to take this step so publicly. I’m sure Dick Cheney is still shaking his head because he seems to like the idea of torture under the right circumstances. Never mind that studies have shown torture to be counterproductive and inefficient. People lie under torture as much or more as without it. Just look at the medieval witch trials.
The second story was the breaking news from the New York Times that President Bush ordered illegal domestic spying following the 9/11 attacks and that domestic spying has been going on ever since. This is a flagrant violation of Americans’ civil liberties but of course was done for the best of purposes – national security. Even the so-called Patriot Act wasn’t carte blanch enough for Bush. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “A people who would sacrifice liberty for security will lose both, and deserve neither.”
But the connection I make is that it really doesn’t matter what laws we have on the books regarding torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees. The president can at any time issue an executive order nullifying such a law in the name of national security, his administration would certainly back him, and the nation would know about it 3 years later if we’re lucky. I thought we believed in the rule of law and that no person is above the law, not even the President of the United States.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Tule Fog
It's that time of year again. Driving to work this morning I drove into a solid wall of white fluff that would have been upsetting had I not been expecting the fog for some time. The rest of the drive to work was slower than usual as everyone was paying more attention to the traffic than they usually do. And we will be dealing with the fog off and on until sometime in March.
In Sacramento we have something called the Tule Fog (pronounced too-lee and related to the tule marshes) which can limit visibility to 200 yards or less. You can be driving along thinking that you can easily see several car lengths ahead of you and all of a sudden you can barely see a single car length. Freeways become death traps with chain reaction, multiple pile-ups occurring as visibility drops without warning. As recent as 10 years ago the Sacramento airport would shut down for days at a time as airplanes could not take off or land with just the instrumentation they had then. Flying from Orange County one day, we spent two hours circling Sacramento only to be redirected back to the Orange County airport.
Traffic and inconvenience aside, I really love fog. On foot, in the middle of a park or somewhere where you can’t be killed by something roaring at you at 60 miles per hour, fog has a calming effect. It limits the world to the immediate surroundings. Even sounds in the distance are muted. I feel like I’m living in my own little world. Is this how young children perceive the world before they get used to news reports telling us just how big and dangerous the world really is?
In Sacramento we have something called the Tule Fog (pronounced too-lee and related to the tule marshes) which can limit visibility to 200 yards or less. You can be driving along thinking that you can easily see several car lengths ahead of you and all of a sudden you can barely see a single car length. Freeways become death traps with chain reaction, multiple pile-ups occurring as visibility drops without warning. As recent as 10 years ago the Sacramento airport would shut down for days at a time as airplanes could not take off or land with just the instrumentation they had then. Flying from Orange County one day, we spent two hours circling Sacramento only to be redirected back to the Orange County airport.
Traffic and inconvenience aside, I really love fog. On foot, in the middle of a park or somewhere where you can’t be killed by something roaring at you at 60 miles per hour, fog has a calming effect. It limits the world to the immediate surroundings. Even sounds in the distance are muted. I feel like I’m living in my own little world. Is this how young children perceive the world before they get used to news reports telling us just how big and dangerous the world really is?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Hello. My name is ...
I’m convinced that we should all be required to wear legible nametags at any sort of social function. Last night I attended a semi-social occasion that was the annual Holiday party for the board and volunteers of the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library. The pot luck appetizers, desserts, and drinks were there in abundance and the crowd was about as much as the space would allow. I chatted with fellow board members whom, for the most part, I knew and also with volunteers whom, for the most part, I didn’t know. How embarrassing it was then at the end of the evening to find out that the fellow board member I was calling Don all evening was actually Bob.
Of course a name tag wouldn’t have helped when the volunteer to whom I had introduced myself at length reminded me that we had actually worked side-by-side for four hours at a book sale less than 6 months ago.
Of course a name tag wouldn’t have helped when the volunteer to whom I had introduced myself at length reminded me that we had actually worked side-by-side for four hours at a book sale less than 6 months ago.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Fire drill
I know I shouldn’t complain about having to stand around outside in 45 degree weather when there are places a whole lot colder on the 13th of December. I was one of the fortunate ones who could pick up a coat on the way out of my office. Others were in short sleeves or light sweaters suitable for the office but not for the parking lot. And the drill seemed to go on and on before they called us back into the building.
Still it was comforting to come back into the office and see evidence that someone had checked all the offices and cubicles for stragglers who might not have made it out in a real fire. And it was a good reminder that fires and other emergencies don’t wait for good weather to happen.
Still it was comforting to come back into the office and see evidence that someone had checked all the offices and cubicles for stragglers who might not have made it out in a real fire. And it was a good reminder that fires and other emergencies don’t wait for good weather to happen.
Monday, December 12, 2005
No progress in 500 years
I'm currently reading "The Trial, A History, from Socrates to OJ Simpson" by Sadakat Kadri. In it he describes Medieval justice where it was necessary to get a confession from the accused to “seal” the guilty verdict. Extreme means including death threats and torture were used to this end since not having a confession might mean that an innocent person had been convicted. Many accused were tortured to death maintaining their innocence rather than confess and be executed following their conviction.
Thus, I find it ironic that Governor Swartzenegger has denied clemency for Stanley Tookie Williams because “Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption.” In other words, because Mr. Williams maintains his innocence, he will be executed. Had he admitted guilt and expressed remorse, there is at least a possibility that the governor would have commuted his sentence. But I guess we can expect no better thinking than that.
Thus, I find it ironic that Governor Swartzenegger has denied clemency for Stanley Tookie Williams because “Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption.” In other words, because Mr. Williams maintains his innocence, he will be executed. Had he admitted guilt and expressed remorse, there is at least a possibility that the governor would have commuted his sentence. But I guess we can expect no better thinking than that.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
The Littlest Nutcracker
Yesterday, we celebrated the annual Christmas production of Tricks Dance and Gymnasium where our grandsons Tim and Jake have their gymnastics classes. Tim also does dance. Tricks puts on a recital called the Littlest Nutcracker which is roughly based on the Nutcracker Ballet with score by Tchaikovsky. It is a perfect display piece for the many classes that Tricks has. This year, Tim was one of the wooden soldiers and at least partly because he is the only boy in their dance classes, he was center stage with the small group of soldiers. This year he fully participated, dancing the feet and hand motions as well as any in his group. If he had any stage fright it wasn’t visible from where we sat. Bravo, Tim!!
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah...
Cold weather and rain teamed up to drive all the ants in our neighborhood to our house for a visit. Now we’re used to the occasional single column of ants seeking whatever it is that ants seek. And when that column looks more like a four-lane freeway, that doesn’t really bother us as we simply move around the ant stakes to block their free flow. But Thursday evening we were both blown away when Carolyn opened the door between the garage and the laundry room and turned on the garage lights. “Arnold, I think we have a swarm of ants,” she said relatively calmly. The green welcome mat just outside the door could not be seen because of the carpet of moving ants. There were rivers and streams of ants leading from (to?) that welcome mat and out the garage car doors and side door. Some rivers were 2 or 3 inches wide, others nine inches in some places. It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen. They didn’t seem to be swarming inside, just throughout the garage on the garage floor.
Fortunately, we had just purchased a new can of ant spray so I began the task of subduing the enemy even as they were starting to crawl on my shoes and over my legs. The ant rivers were the easiest to attack and were soon simply non-moving black ribbons on the garage floor. The areas against the walls behind the freezer and other stored materials were more difficult. The low-lying fumes of the spray were beginning to reach those areas that I hadn’t sprayed yet such as underneath the cars and some of the boxes. The spray can fizzled out just as I spied one more stream of ants trying to follow the pipes from the water heater.
It was late at night and raining heavily so we weren’t in the mood to go shopping for more ant spray. But when we found a small column of ants in the guest bathroom I looked through the supplies in the laundry room to find another can there. The threat appeared to have been conquered. We were just glad that the species of ant was little sugar ants rather than red warrior ants.
When I got home from work the next day, there was evidence that Carolyn had found another column of ants in the kitchen around the stove area. And again they were handled quickly. At least they didn’t seem to be getting into our food anywhere. We looked in all our cupboards and pantry. But this morning when we looked into the cereal cupboard, we saw hundreds of ants scouting out the cold cereal. Nothing like the first invasion, of course, but still ants were on and in all the cereal boxes. Where they hadn’t actually gotten into the cereal we were able to wipe or spray them off. The contaminated ones we simply threw away. There were only one or two.
Now we’re wondering where the next attack will be. And I can’t get the Pink Panther song out of my head. You know:
Dead ant,
dead ant,
Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant……
Fortunately, we had just purchased a new can of ant spray so I began the task of subduing the enemy even as they were starting to crawl on my shoes and over my legs. The ant rivers were the easiest to attack and were soon simply non-moving black ribbons on the garage floor. The areas against the walls behind the freezer and other stored materials were more difficult. The low-lying fumes of the spray were beginning to reach those areas that I hadn’t sprayed yet such as underneath the cars and some of the boxes. The spray can fizzled out just as I spied one more stream of ants trying to follow the pipes from the water heater.
It was late at night and raining heavily so we weren’t in the mood to go shopping for more ant spray. But when we found a small column of ants in the guest bathroom I looked through the supplies in the laundry room to find another can there. The threat appeared to have been conquered. We were just glad that the species of ant was little sugar ants rather than red warrior ants.
When I got home from work the next day, there was evidence that Carolyn had found another column of ants in the kitchen around the stove area. And again they were handled quickly. At least they didn’t seem to be getting into our food anywhere. We looked in all our cupboards and pantry. But this morning when we looked into the cereal cupboard, we saw hundreds of ants scouting out the cold cereal. Nothing like the first invasion, of course, but still ants were on and in all the cereal boxes. Where they hadn’t actually gotten into the cereal we were able to wipe or spray them off. The contaminated ones we simply threw away. There were only one or two.
Now we’re wondering where the next attack will be. And I can’t get the Pink Panther song out of my head. You know:
Dead ant,
dead ant,
Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant……
Annual "Accounting Gang" Christmas Party
It’s become a tradition. I think this is the third time now that we’ve had the “accounting gang” over at our house for Christmas. We used to hold a party for the group at a fancy restaurant but some of that group found it a little too expensive for their budget and the places were usually so noisy that you couldn’t really talk with anyone other than the person seated on either side of you. Having it at a house allows for a lot more conversation and socializing. We had 13 people this time but we've had 12 to 16 people. That’s almost the perfect size for us as we can congregate in the family room for drinks and hors d’oeuvres, eat a sit down meal in the dining room, or sing along with the piano in the living room. And actually we did all three on Friday evening. Everyone seemed to have a good time and only reluctantly left when the evening was over.
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