Have You Driven a Ford Lately?

Thankfully, we live in a country where freedom of speech is protected. We also enjoy a great many other freedoms that we take for granted, like freedom to travel, freedom of the press, freedom to choose a job and even worship whom and where you please.

There is also a corporate freedom of being able to write your own mission statement, create your own values and make your own business decisions. Business is free to advertise to their heart's content (albeit, within certain legal limits), to cater to whom they want and sell a unique product.

And there is the freedom to shop where you want.

The Art of Sneering

"There was a laughing devil in his sneer," penned Lord Byron in 1814. King David also wrote about this inherited evil, saying he was bent on sinning even when he was conceived. (Psalm 51:5) The Apostle Paul penned similar thoughts in his letter to the Ephesian Christians: You and I were "by nature [birth] the children of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3).

So it's easy to see myself on that train, sneering at the funny-looking photographer.

Bigger and Better Banana

Paso Robles' recent billing as the inevitably-to-be largest city in San Luis Obispo county has some old-timers shocked-and-awed. Its once nondescript and plain complexion has discovered make-up and face lifts on land east, west, north and south.

New industry and business bring more people to the area. More people in the area means a higher population. And a higher population means Top Banana status.

Pray for city government to stay in control of the herd and only ride on the best and fastest horses.

You can see a 1.3MB view of this Salinas River panorama here: http://www.pasorobles-usa.com/images/PasoPan01.jpg

Women and Memory

The latest news that gum-chewers have better memories should interest the fairer sex who claim to have better memories than men, whether they chew gum or not. Here is the reason: It is not the gum itself that produces the phenomenon -- it is the repeated mandibular motion of chewing. This rhythmic mastication increases heart rhythm and blood flow to the head and brain, thus delivering the extra chemicals necessary for recall and retrospection.

The argument follows that since women talk two to three times more than men during a given day, their constant flexing of the mandible increases heart rate and blood flow to the brain also, which is why . . . uh . . . I can't remember what I was going to say.

Until next time . . .

Amazon.bomb Part II

Still no shipped item from Amazon.com. I waited and waited, giving them a chance to redeem their dropped ball, but my patience was 'rewarded' with today's e-mail, saying it will most likely arrive before December 6, which is more than 2 months after ordering!

The order was cancelled, an sour e-mail sent, and B&H will get my money.

Lesson learned. No more ordering from Amazon.bomb.

One Windy Afternoon

Our Wednesday jaunt up Highway 1 met with about a 35 knot headwind and voracious waves. Zipping past Cambria and Hearst Castle, we headed toward the lighthouse at Piedras Blancas, only to find it closed. We stopped at Ragged Point and got some pictures before heading south again.

Allie, the windsurfer, was looking forward to raising her sail in the whipping winds like the other guys. She soon left the surf because her "sail was too big." --- Just couldn't hold on. Wildly blowing sand covered the wet shoreline as the pelicans and gulls huddled in large crowds, windward beaks grazing close to the sand. This was no place for hat wearing or kite flying, but it made for some great photography.

Amazon.bomb

Order Date: October 4, 2006
Order #: 104-0559760-xxxxxxxx
Recipient: Dave Skinner c/o KP Corp
Items not yet shipped:
Delivery estimate: November 8, 2006 - November 17, 2006 1 of: Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Sold by: Amazon.com

Let's see: Order something from Amazon.com on October 4 and don't expect to receive it until November 8-17th. Sounds logical and forgivable if the loving, forgiving person I am. I could get mad and send another e-mail to customer service. But what would that get me but another canned answer.

There's a reason for all of life's glitches. You get a choice: Rule or be ruled.

Sixty(een) Candles

My 16th birthday was on a Monday in 1962. No surprise party that I can remember. I think we lived on 16th Street in Paso with the Birk's. I'll guess this was the occasion I bought a new 10-speed from Sears. Bright yellow, lightweight, the perfect vehicle to zip up Vine Street to see one of the Mandella sisters that winter. Man, that was a great bike!

Today's surprise 60th celebration at work revealed the hard work and bravery of those who decorated after I left work yesterday. High hanging Happy Birthday signs, a 60 t-shirt hanging above my collator, big black balloons and crepe paper covering the collator and cutter, spinning purple 60 dangly things, three gag gifts and signed card --- all showed the affection and fun-loving nature of the gang at work. Special thanks goes to Debby, Jan, Roy, Roberta and anyone else who helped!

These Old Davy major milestones spur times of self-examination, perspective, and thanksgiving. Self-examination = you're getting older, but how much wiser? Perspective = not too many years to go, buddy. Thanksgiving = Lord, thank You for the love others show in this sin-infested world. Thank You for friends who care and show it.

Election Galore

Little genius is required to know it's election November next month. Last minute feeding frenzy for candidates with a bit of money left.

We are so thankful for our system of government --- its freedom to vote for the candidate of our choice --- and are even more thankful when all of the rhetoric, misinformation and hype is over on the first Wednesday following the first Tuesday in November!

Horrors and Heroes

Joe Rosenthal's chance picture of the second raising of the Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima has given him legendary status, albeit unwanted in his humble opinion. Joe has died, along with John Bradley, one of the six men in the picture. Three of them later died on Iwo Jima; John and two other survived. Taken back to the states to help raise war bond money, these men accompanied the photo as they spoke to audiences around the country.

I think John is the one who hated doing it. He went on to work as an undertaker at a funeral home in Antigo, Wisconsin. A fellow who works at his 'establishment' commented on the movie and John today on the Nikon photo forum I frequent:

I just got back from seeing Flags of our Fathers. Its really amazing how powerful an image can become. The right picture at the right time can become an unstopable force.

Its a little strange seeing this book made into a movie. It was a little strange all the attention little old Antigo WI got when the book came out, and seeing John Bradley depicted on screen in the theature located one block from the funeral home he ran until his death in 1994... Just a little bit weird.

John never would have wanted that book written, much less a movie made about it. Two of his sons, Tom and Steve run the funeral home now. The original building was tore down ten or eleven years ago, and a new one built on the other side of town. I've worked for them for awhile now, doing memorial videos and a few other things around the funeral home. (they dont pay enough, LOL!) They have this little statue of the flag raising in an alcove off the main hallway. A couple of times people stopped in to get their picture taken by the statue. We would just kind of roll our eyes after they left.

But anyway, getting back to the subject at hand. I think the movie did a good job of showing how powerful an image can be. And how missunderstood.

And from Wikipedia:

Following his appearances at the last bond tour, John Bradley married his childhood sweetheart Betty Van Gorp, settled down in Antigo, and had eight children. He fulfilled his life-long dream by buying and managing his own funeral parlor, but was tormented by memories of the war; Betty says he wept in his sleep for several years and kept a large knife in a dresser drawer for "protection".


Memorial plaque placed by his family on the spot of the flag raisingHis son James Bradley (who wrote a book about the flag-raisers in 2000 titled Flags of Our Fathers) speculated that his father's determined silence and discomfort on the subject of his role in the Battle of Iwo Jima was largely due to memories of John's best friend, Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski. Ignatowski was captured, dragged into a tunnel by Japanese soldiers during the battle, and was later found with his eyes, ears, and fingernails removed, his teeth smashed, the back of his head caved in, multiple bayonet wounds to the abdomen, and his severed genitalia stuffed into his mouth. Bradley's recollections of discovering and taking care of Ignatowski's remains haunted him until his death.

Ordinary men doing the extaordinary with fear, trembling and an understanding that they might die in battle. It was a time lie face down in the sand, praying to God for mercy.

One Cool Cat

There's little doubt that cats are cool. And they don't mind telling you so. Cool, but clueless. Kind of like some people.

Well, it's all tied up in the 4th inning of the 7th game between the Mets and Cards. I'm rooting for former A's manager. Looks like it will be the Mets and Tigers for the big series. No heart-throbbing here in California over either of them.

The world is going to hell and we get excited about swinging bats and perfect spirals.

The Latest Reason for Global Warming

Whew! The latest word is that you don't have to trade that honkin' SUV in to help save the planet from global warming. We can now start blaming the Indian Ocean for the rise in temperature, at least out here in the western United States.

Maybe it's all those American jobs being exported to India and surrounding countries. That's an awful lot of cargo ships spewing their deadly VOC's into the atmosphere.

Happy Birthday, Mike

Mike's 21st birthday will be spent at his FOB in Afghanistan. He's an MP, drives a patrol Humvee that search and destroys Taliban. His mom is sending him two packages of Twinkees, a pack of beef jerky, some other stuff and a card signed by everyone where we work together. She hears from him (computer connection) regularly.

It's the waiting, praying, and trusting that take front row at the front lines and rear lines back home.

Happy birthday, Mike!

My brother, Marty's, birthday was yesterday, so "Happy Birthday, Mart!" You were in a war, too. Vietnam. We don't talk about it. I don't think you got shot at, chased Viet Cong, or drove a Humvee. But someone was praying for you, too.

Is There a Reefer Ranch Near You?

The rage in Stockton is to see how many expensive houses you can buy, gut the interiors, put in elaborate growing systems, circumvent the electric meter and start growing California pot. Twenty homes have been discovered.

After a few weeks, the citizens are on the prowl for these homes and no suspicion is considered too trivial. Can't see in your neighbor's windows? Must be a pot house. Never see anyone home? Gotta be a weed farm. Only young Asian guys frequenting the place at odd hours? You guessed it --- a reefer ranch.

The rumor is that Spinach will be the next cash crop.

Better Blonde Than Dead

A recent study has determined that motorcyclists who don't wear helmets are less likely to be in an accident. The report states that drivers are extra cautious when they see someone without headgear and tend to drive farther away from them.

Well, now you can be doubly-safe by buying that wig you've always wanted and gluing it to your safe-and-sound-keep-your-brains-in-the-can helmet.

Paula's Wigs is a good place to start.