Dust Devils

We began our trip at 5:30 AM on Friday, July 25th. After an uneventful trip up the Eastern Sierras we approached the little town of Walker, CA on Hwy 395. A nice little town of inconsequential significance. This little town is on the edge of the Sierras and Antelope Valley. Walker is on the north end of the Walker River canyon. I mention these landforms because that will give you an idea of the wind patterns. While driving through the town we were driving behind a semi tanker truck with two trailers.

On the northern edge of town we could see the wind swirling on the side of the road. The wind started kicking up the dust and assorted weeds and small shrubs. It looked like a tornado. (dust devil –noun- a small whirlwind 10–100 ft. (3–30 m) in diameter and from several hundred to 1000 ft. (305 m) high, common in dry regions on hot, calm afternoons and made visible by the dust, debris, and sand it picks up from the ground. From "Dictionary.com") My wife suggested that we pull over and let it pass. I was about four car lengths behind the tanker truck. I was waiting to see what he was going to do. He was going to go right through it. The dust devil crossed the road and hit the second trailer on the tail end. The trailer moved about 1 to 2 feet side to side. It was amazing how much power that little wind storm had.

We made it our destination after a, finally, great trip. It is great to see Mother Nature at work.

David

away

This blog may be dull the next few weeks. I will be away on a trip and my opportunities for blogging may be limited. I will try to keep my faithful readers (or interested parties) up to date as to my whereabouts but I will be on the road. I will write more when I return.

Thank you.

David.

Crows

During my walk a few days ago I mentioned that I saw some crows fighting it out in a tree. Today (Saturday, July 19th), I had another experience with crows. This time I have a picture. These crows somehow got caught in the unused batting cage of a local high school's baseball field. The cage is attached to the dugout. The gate from the dugout was open and there was also a small opening in the chain link fence on the other side which they could easily have walked through. But these crows (I am told they are pretty smart birds) could not seem to find the way out or remember how they got in there.

The birds did not seem to be panicking but they were flying from their perch on a small storage box to the opposite corner of the cage. It occurred to me that they may be disoriented from their predicament and it has not occured to them to walk out. Could it be that in their predicament they just didn't think to walk? They fell back on their skill of flying. That which they do best will get them out of this mess. I shall bring some seeds tomorrow in the hopes that I can coax them out.

We shall see what happens.

UPDATE: (Sunday, July 20th)...My son and I went back to the school and the cage. The birds were gone. They must have figured it out on their own. I thought that they might have. There were maybe too many human things in the dugout for them to try that route. They have flown the coop.

D.

Walking

My wife and I go walking almost every day now. She drags me out walking because she is trying to get me healthy. I turn 50 in less than two weeks and she is throwing me a party. I think she wants me around to throw her a party in 4 and a half years. I will gladly do it. Faithful readers know that I like to party. Partying is an excuse for cake and that may be why my wife wants me to walk. Too much cake.

I have two brothers and four sisters. At any given time when we were growing up someone was having a party. Someone was having cake. We all had different tastes so we all experienced different cakes. And so, I have come to love cake.

I am diabetic. I can't eat cake anymore. Another reason my wife drags me out walking.

It is great to live in Southern California where the weather is always nice and it doesn't rain on our walks. But I remember when we were newlyweds and we did go out walking. It rained on us that particular time. And we had a great time. Even now, 20 years later, we still enjoy walking. I enjoy the time with her. She is a great person to talk with. And she has learned to keep up with me. It used to be that she was always lagging behind me when we walked. I had to get where I was going. Walking has to be aerobic. No, she said, it is just a leisurely stroll.

You see, we have our differences. I walk because I get to spend time with her. We talk, we shop, we dine, we walk. We have a rule that we will not eat out at a restaurant unless it is within walking distance of our house. We walk two miles each night so that gives us about 7 restaurants in our area. No, there are nine. But two of them are down the hill and just beyond the 1 mile mark (two miles round trip). We are trying to build up our stamina.

On the weekends we try to walk to the mall. That is just over two miles (four round trip) and adds eight more restaurants and the food court (yippee). So we have a great variety in our area. It is a nice rule. It sounds good and it is a great story for my doctor. But we don't really adhere to it. We broke it tonight. Oops! I wasn't supposed to say that. Things happen.

Today I went walking by myself. I was inspired to write this little story because this evening, for my reading I chose one of my favorite authors. This gentlemen seems to write about stuff that hits close to my own life. We are about the same age and each have a wife and two kids. I think we are of the same intelligence because of an article he wrote a few months back.

I love his writing. He is very intuned to human nature and very insightful. Several years ago he vacationed with his family at the same town I did with mine, although not at the time as us. I enjoy reading his articles. Check out John Derbyshire's "The Road To Wisdom" on his website
http://www.johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/Straggler/page.html .

John, one of my dreams was to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, which starts in my neighborhood and heads north all the way to the Canadian border. Just a bit more than 30 miles. Someday maybe. The other great walk I thought about was from Point Barrow, Alaska down the Rockie Mountains through Canada, through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and down through Mexico, Central America, across the Panama Canal and down into South America all the way to Tierra del Fuego. That was the plan of an 18 year old.

I am now pushing 50 (pushing it really hard, but it is stronger than me and pushing real hard back). That Tierra Del Fuego dream may fall but not the Pacific Crest Trail dream. I still cherish that one. Maybe I can get my wife to go on that one with me.

I HAVE been rambling. Please someone stop me. I almost missed my main reason for writing. Tonight, as I walked out on my own, there was a commotion between two crows in a tree near my walk. I stopped and looked up. At the very top there was perched a crow making all kinds of cries. He would poke his head into the heavy leaves and Caw and Caw. I was curious. He seemed very vocal. When he pulled his head out he had in his beak another Crow's wing. He stretched that wing out its full length. I could see the other crow's beak. I could not make out what he was carrying, perhaps a snail or some other tasty morsel but the bird in the bush was not letting go. Finally the vocal one gave up.

It was almost pleasant to see that the commotion was a food fight. Nature at its purest. The fight for survival. It was a very nice walk. Thank you John for the inspiration.

David.

Conversation

Good evening. I just returned home after a great party for a dear friend's birthday. It is great to get together with family and friends. She is "family". A dear person whom I have known well for over 20 years and whom my wife has known for over 25 years. She is a dear friend also because she is a faithful reader of this blog.

I commented that not very many people comment on my blog. (I actually have a few faithful readers.) She stated that I should not be concerned about how many people read my blog. I should be writing for myself. Yes, true, but all writers write for an audience. One of the reasons I started this blog was to write, to force myself, to write regularly. I am writing more regularly now than before I started this so that works. In a way she is right. But what I really want is to develop some sort of discussion. I want to be a better writer. I want to be known for my writing. But I write pretty tame (lame?) blog posts. I know that. I wanted to offer some insights into daily life. Boring...every one's life is different. Everyone has opinions. How can I set myself up as someone different? How can I make people stop by?

I may have to go against my original thoughts or my original desire on this blog. Maybe I should put forth more opinions. Become more "controversial". Raise some eyebrows, stir things up. I wonder how many visitors and comments I could get at that point.

I am an anarchist. I am a realist. How can anyone tell any other person what to do with their lives? How to live? I believe we are all put here for a reason. A reason that might be between us and our maker. I am reading a book about the future of western society and in that book the West degrades into anarchy after the liberal, politically correct policies of the sixties begin to rule our lives. Watch out, they have been slowly implemented into today’s society by slowly brainwashing the electorate. We have to stick up for individual rights.

I became a republican because they believe in less government control over individuals' lives. I have yet to see a perfect governmental system. But I believe in the one we currently have, with all its faults, it works. I believe that the reason we are facing some of the problems that we have now is because we are moving away, slowly away from the ideals and principles that helped to develop this great country.

We are asking more and more that the government take care of us. This was the thinking going back to the sixties. The welfare state. The war on Poverty. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask rather what you can do for your country." We should donate time and services to our country? Jonah Goldberg in National Review Online stated "For those who don’t remember, the 13th Amendment says: 'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime . . . shall exist within the United States'." I know in this upcoming election there is (are) a candidate (candidates) who would "set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year". (Emphasis mine). And now he wants to make the faith based initiative of GW Bush a government position too. Does he understand the constitution?

Hmmm. Isn't going to work and becoming a productive, tax paying citizen a noble goal? I began paying taxes when I started working at age 12. Maybe not income taxes but consumption taxes. I spent all of the money that I earned. I bought gas to run my lawnmowers. I paid taxes on the candy and goodies I bought with my money. As I got older, I paid gas for my cars so that I could get to a better paying job so that I could spend more money. I paid tuition in college. I paid taxes at the school cafeteria where I ate lunch. I paid taxes on the books I bought. I paid the government for the privilege of driving on their/our roads. I contribute.

What have I received for my taxes? I expect the government to "…establish Justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity…" I expect justice. When someone breaks the law, I want him or her punished. If someone wants a job I want him or her to have every opportunity to find the job that they want or are suited to do. I want people to be able to go to school and receive a quality education. I want the government to be strong enough so that I don’t have to worry about being blown up while I am trying to provide a better life for my family and community.

Community? Yes, of course. When I was in college taking a course in economic geography I learned that for a company to be successful it must sell outside its own community. Otherwise it is just redistributing the wealth among its own. And when that happens there is a diminishing effect. True wealth and growth is obtained by continually bringing in new moneys. I made the choice in college that, if possible, I would work for a manufacturer. It took me six years to do that but I finally did break through. I have been doing that ever since. I am, I feel I am productive. I pay taxes.

I am sorry for rambling. This is how I feel. I want to write. I want the freedom to be able to pursue my livelihood by it. I want that opportunity. So please forgive me if, in the future, I may rattle a few nerves. I am just speaking my mind.

See Lady, you have a profound affect on me. Happy Birthday.

David.

Depression

There was a time in my life when I felt depressed. There were a variety of reasons for that. Life is tough and we can’t be happy all the time. It just doesn’t work that way. There are a lot of things that are beyond our control. And I got depressed. It was never a serious depression, but I needed someone to talk to. I had no one. I am married but at the time my wife was going through her own pain. I could not talk to her. I needed her and I missed her. Her father lay in a hospital suffering from several diseases from which he would never recover and I could not talk to her about my own selfish little sadness.

I admired the man. I respected him. I went to him and asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. I thought it the honorable thing to do. I admired his faith and how strong it was. I admired all the things he had done in his life. And I miss him. That was why I was there for my wife. She needed a strong shoulder to cry on and I tried to give her that. I hope I gave her that.

He died in August, amost two years ago. And I thought about him the other evening (I actually think of him quite often). My wife had rented a movie with a story line about a father’s death and his leaving behind two adult children struggling to get by in a world with too few opportunities. In the story the daughter asks the son to pick up the ashes because she can’t handle it. It reminded me of an old Kris Kristofferson song lyric, "Who’ll be there to bring the body home" ("Star Spangled Bummer (Whores die Hard)"from the "Spooky Lady Sideshow" 1974 album). That line says a lot about a life. What do you leave behind you when you go? And who do you leave to pick up the pieces? Several days after his death my wife and I went to pick up her dad’s ashes from the funeral home. We were asked to transfer them, to drive them to the cemetery where they would be interred next to his parents. I remember that I felt an overwhelming gratitude at being allowed to offer him this final courtesy. I felt honored.

As for my depression, I got over it. There are more important things in life than to let a little sadness overwhelm you. Count your blessings. I am lucky to have many. I hope that you have many too.