On Such A Winter's Day

"She was sitting in a garden more beautiful than ever her rampaging imagination could ever have conjured up, and she was being serenaded by trees."

~Lynn Kurland, Spellweaver

I am hopeless about trees. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I was a maybe a Druid in some past lifetime. I can't help it... I am hopeless about trees! I am at my worst in autumn, as you might have already figured out, because every time I pass a tree in during that season, that has all of it's amazing color, or colors, on full display, I invariably have to tap Alan on the arm and say... "Look at that tree, isn't it amazing?" To which is kindly replies, "Yes it is!" As if he has never heard me ask him that before, when he and I both know that I repeat that question almost daily throughout the season! Alan is a patient man, and he loves me, because if he didn't surly he would have begun to make fun of me by know! Hell, I make fun of myself about it, but he never does. Oh the things you find yourself putting up with when you are in love! LOL.

While the trees I saw and photographed the other day on MT Hamilton road had only a passing glance of autumn still in them, I found myself nearly as thrilled by the glistening drops of melted snowflakes that made the trees look like they were crying softly to themselves. The smell of the pine, and the visual treat of what seemed to be tiny rainbows, made me almost forget that autumn is my favorite season, rather than winter. I could have stayed on the top of the mountain for 3 or 4 more hours, but our time there was limited. It was okay, as we drove down the mountain we took turns seeing who could make the other laugh the hardest! I won when I named the block of snow we put on the hood of the car, Nutty Hardpack! Don't ask! LOL. I made up a whole life story for Nutty, and at one point Alan was laughing so hard he could barely drive. LOL.

Can you believe it? After 22 years of marriage I can still make my hubby laugh that hard?

What is it about snow, that makes one feel like a kid again?

:) Here is the last of my Mount Hamilton Road Series. Enjoy...

 

"Trees are as close to imortality as the rest of us ever come."

~Karen Joy Fowler, Sarah Canary

Mood: Happy

~Me

Snow Day

"I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas: It brings people together while time stands still. Cozy couples lazily meandered the streets and children trudged sleds and chased snowballs. No one seemed to be in a rush to experience anything other than the glory of the day, with each other and however it happened."

~Rachel Cohn, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Yesterday was a snow day. Well, actually, that's not all together accurate. The snow actually fell on Tuesday, as a fast moving cold front, down from Alaska, moved over the Bay Area. As soon as the snow began to fall, all the roads leading to it were closed! Isn't that always the way? The Bay Area isn't known for it's snowfall, and because of that, when we do get the maybe once yearly dusting, the powers that be tend to keep it walled off from us because folks tend to not know how to behave in it. Driving way too fast. Parking in dangerous places. Parking on private properties. You name it, we in the Bay Area do it. Not always on purpose, but that's not really the point. Anyway, the snow came and went so fast that we were lucky to be able to drive, not to where we usually go to see snow, South Lake Tahoe, but rather to the top of Mount Hamilton, in Santa Clara county.

It's a lovely long drive up the mountain, and it was a nice warm afternoon, so Alan and I decided to stop for a picnic at Grant Ranch Park, which sits about half way up the mountain. From there you get the first look at the domed buildings at Lick Observatory, which sits at the summit of Mt. Hamilton, at 4,200 ft. The summit still had a good bit of snow, and the road wasn't passable until the afternoon, so we got to the park just in time to have a nice relaxing lunch, and then drive up to the top! I thought it would be colder than it was, so it was a nice surprise to have the lovely view of snow, but to actually be comfortable. Grant Ranch Park was so lovely, I almost hated to leave it behind for the snow, but it didn't take long for me to change my mind. The drive to the summit was stunning!

Grant Ranch Park, Mt. Hamilton Rd

 

 

 

 

The Drive Up Mount Hamilton

 









The view on the eastern slope, looking toward Patterson, and Livermore...




And when it was time to go home, we decided to take a little bit of the snow with us! The medium size pack of snow lasted on the hood of the car all the way back down the hill, and was still there as we merged onto HWY 680!



Alan and I had such a good time together, I wish it would snow more often! I love snow days!

Lick Observatory

Mood: Happy :)

~Me :)

Blossoms Before Snow

"Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow."

~Alice M. Swaim

On Sunday I didn't see any color on the trees. It was a typical winter Sunday! But by Tuesday morning, there seemed to be the beginnings of spring everywhere! Well, not everywhere, but on enough trees that I actually felt myself smile as I passed one lovely tree after another. Purple, pink, and the most beautiful hot pink Quince blossoms are just beginning to light up the last cold days of winter. Today I bring you pink blossoms, but it snowed here in the Bay Area, so I am off in search of soft, white, opalescent snow! Wish me luck! Mount Hamilton... here I come!

Stay Tuned!

Mood: Hopeful

~Me :)

Duvets Sets... Are They The New Beanie Babies?

"Instead of a Lemonade Stand, I should open up a "You know what I can't stand?" stand. I'll sell rants in small, medium, and large."

~Jarod Kintz, This Book Title Is Invisible

Does my hubby rock or what? He worked a 9 hour shift from 10:00 PM Sunday night 7:00 AM Monday morning, and still took me to IKEA anyway! You see, IKEA had a very special sale on a certain duvet set that I have been eyeing for the better part of a year! It's called Ransby. I have the same duvet set in green, and it looks lovely in the bedroom, especially against the cornflower colored walls, but I really lusted after the purple set. I have some deep purple and lavender splashes throughout the room. So, $9.99 for the purple set, priced down from $39.99 was something I couldn't pass up, and Alan kinda liked the idea as well!

Have you ever shopped at an IKEA on a holiday? LOL. Have you ever shopped at an IKEA on a holiday that falls on a Monday? LOL. It's an experience! The very first time I ever shopped at an IKEA was, coincidentally, on President's Day, 2011. Alan and I were in the process of packing, and moving to a new cottage that fell into our laps, which was a little way down HWY 580 in Hayward, Ca. We were needing some new curtains, and some rugs, and it was time to get a new bed, so off to IKEA we went! We fell in love with the place at first purchase! The new cottage opportunity fell through, amid some really bizarre circumstances, but our love of IKEA goes on! LOL. Anyway if you ever vist us, you will notice right away that we are pretty much an IKEA showroom, from one end of the cottage to the other!

Okay, so, the good part about shopping at IKEA is the awesome sales, the good and the bad part is that the place is usually packed with... wait for it... consumers. But, as you know, the best part about being packed into a big box retailer on a holiday, is watching the consumers around you share the experience of a good sale! Being a people watching person, I am always happy to see what I can see. And what did I see? Let me tell you... plenty.

As I walked into the downstairs showroom, I found that IKEA had recently decided to move their showroom sections around! Yikes! Where were the Textiles? Somebody moved the TEXTILES! OMG! Okay, no time to whine about it, it was time to face the scavenger hunt for what it was... FUN! Alan had an item he was wanting to pick up, so we divided and conquered! "Alan... you go find the kitchenware's and grab your steak knives, and I am going to find the duvet sets, and I will meet you by the checkout! Okay... I was a girl on a mission!

As I navigated through the sections, I saw multiple women pass me with multiple purple Ransby duvet sets! OMG... WILL THERE BE ANY LEFT? Well, I wasn't ready to just give up! I found a lady carrying 3 duvet sets, and asked her where they could be found. "They are near the checkout lines, hurry... there is a long line. I am a 50 year old woman, with 90 year old knees, but I am pretty sure I took flight at one point! Finally arriving at the back of the line, I made eye contact with a formidable woman who wanted the place in line I was about to claim. I wasn't having any of it! "I got here first, you have to get behind me in line! "I KNOW I WAS HERE FIRST!" said she. To which I replied with a quiet, deep, long stare. Guess who won? Yep... I didn't budge. I might be 3 ft 17 but I am no pushover!



The line moved pretty fast, it was a comfortable endeavor. Less than 10 minutes total, but in that 10 minutes I saw plenty of interesting sights. One woman had her 4 children with her, and she and the 4 children each had two sets, which was the limit per consumer. It was in the rules, and children are consumers, so no harm done, but the scene reminded me of the old Beanie Babies days when I would see ladies, with bugged out eyes, purchasing multiples of the cloth toy, and getting so addicted to the whole proposition that they resembled cocaine addicts, rather than collectors of that certain novelty toy, and it wasn't unusual to see those ladies buck the system by bringing not just their own children, but whatever children they could bribe in order to get more than their share on the babies!

Don't get me wrong, I purchased some Beanie Babies back then, and one of my best gal pals worked for a toy store, and when she found out I was looking for one of the deer babies, even saved one for me because I found it so cute. I still have that little guy, sitting on my cedar chest. I gave a couple of the bears to my mother after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She was prone to violence on and off, and when she threw the toy at me, it didn't hurt. It was a busy, sad time in my life, but those little toys made her happy, and in turn, they made my life easier. I have a special place in my heart for Beanie Babies, but I don't think about that time in my life much. Just today I did I couldn't help but think about it a little bit today.

I kinda doubt those purchasing the duvet sets today because it hurts less when thrown at you, but what in the world did the lady buying 10 sets plan to do with them? Was she going to sell them out of the back of her car, just as some Beanie Baby profiteers did? Did she have 10 different relatives that never had contact with each other, that she was going to gift the sets to? Who knows? Personally, when I finally reached the front of the line, and they still had one set left in Queen/Full size, I didn't give it all another thought. And while an IKEA duvet set will probably never reach the cult status that Beanie Babies did, today proved that a bargain is a bargain, and when possible some are still willing to push the limits and rules, and there will still be folks like me, happy to observe the trends, shopping habits, and values of her fellow consumers.

Life... you gotta love it!

 

I found a great article about the Beanie Baby phenominom. Go take a look!

Wall Street Journal: How I Got Burned By Beanie Babies
By Karen Blumenthal

"I'm not a consumer, because consumers are consumed with shopping. No, I prefer shoplifiting."

~Jerod Kintz

Mood: Happy But Tired

~Me :)

The Folly Of Giving Up

"Resume"

Razors pain you
Rivers are damp
Acids stain you
And drugs cause cramp
Guns aren't lawful
Nooses give
Gas smells awful
You might as well live.

~Dorothy Parker

I was very sad to hear about the suicide of country singer Mindy McCready. I wasn't really a fan, I only know a couple of her songs, but I appreciated what I heard. To be honest, I knew more about her personal life, and demons, than I did about her talent. But just because I didn't know much about her talent, doesn't mean it didn't hurt when I heard she had died. We are so lucky to have talent as a part of what makes us... well... us. Those in the arts that share their gifts with the world, make every single day better on earth. No matter what's happening, the arts can help one begin to heal. I knew this for sure on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, when the Ethereal Musician, you know the sax player in my neighborhood, began to play America on his horn. The wasn't a sound outside. No birds seemed to be in the trees. No planes taking off from Oakland airport in the sky, no sounds of children playing. Everyone was inside, glued to the TV, all except for the musician... healing himself, and his neighbors, through music.

In the spring of 2001 I was in a bad place psychologically speaking. I was very near giving up. I wanted for it to just happen. A meteor hit me. An accidental case of extreme food poisoning. Get hit by a bus. Something. Anything that could just let me leave my life behind. Anything to make the pain stop. Honestly, I am not sure exactly why I am alive now, because at the time, I didn't do myself any favors. Depression and Anhedonia had a complete hold on me, and I was in so much pain, I couldn't feel anymore. I don't even really remember that time with Elvis. I was THAT disconnected. I was that way for about 2 years or so, then one day Alan got my cameras out, and said go find something new and I tried. Failed. Tried again. Started a blog, this blog, and baby steps later, here I am. It took one day at a time, and like a person standing on the ledge of a building, it took... not... looking... down.

I finally healed. Through Alan and Elvis's love and patience. Through my online friendships. I healed because of Alan putting the camera in my hand. When I was ill I had NO IDEA that one day I would be standing on the corner of Lexington and 20th in San Francisco, watching Woody Allen making cinema magic. I didn't know until years later that he had also had a bout with Anhedonia, and that Anhedonia was the working title of Annie Hall. But he worked through it, and didn't give up. And I think about him sometimes when I have moments where I revisit the option of giving up. He didn't give up, and because of that, I have had many, many happy hours watching his brilliant movies. I don't just admire him for his talent... I admire him for his ability to not give up.

Suicide. It should be a four letter word. I heard once that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. That couldn't be more true or accurate. Suicide gives those rooting for your downfall a lot of power. It robs you of all the moments of excitement and joy you can't even imagine happening. It hurts those who truly love you for the rest of their lives. The folly of suicide is the fact that you can't hold those who will mourn you, and help them heal. The act itself is personal selfishness on a catastrophic level, that never allows for I am sorry. Mindy McCready couldn't see beyond the pain. I know what that's like. But thank God, I made it out alive, because if you would have told me back in 2001 that I would be standing on a corner, in San Francisco, on a mild August day, watching Woody Allen filming a movie, and making inadvertent eye contact no less, I would have said... "You're nuttier than me!"

And wouldn't the joke have been on me?

I would have missed that sunset over Angel Island. Isn't it just about perfect?

I really do wish Mindy hadn't given up.

"Inventory"

Four be the things I am wiser to know...
Idleness, sorrow, a friend and foe.
Four be the things I'd been better without...
Love, curiosity, freckles and doubt.
Three things I shall never attain...
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
Three be the things I shall have till I die...
Laughter and hope and sock in the eye.

~Dorothy Parker

Mood: Quiet But Thankful

~Me :)

Al Capone, Is That You?

"I've been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War."

~Alphonse "Al" Capone

I believe in ghosts. I believe in orbs. I don't know if I believe in ghost orbs. Since I am a big fan of all things paranormal, I have seen plenty of documentaries that have dealt with the orb phenomena. For the most part I am skeptical. I just don't know if every small round shape that flies in and out of a camera frame is necessarily a ghost. Of course I haven't closed my mind to it either. I still watch documentaries, and yes reality shows, that deal with the subject, but I am just saying I would like stronger evidence. In the meantime, for me, the theory of ghost orbs is inconclusive. That being said, I find the orb in the above photo... interesting.

On Friday evening, Alan and I packed a couple sandwiches and some sodas, and headed to our favorite spot on Grizzly Peak boulevard to do some photography, take in the awesome view, and enjoy the sunset. When the sunset was at it's most beautiful, I decided to focus in on the Golden Gate Bridge, the Berkeley Pier and Alcatraz. The sun was setting, and it lit everything up in a gorgeous bright red cast. When I took the photo I didn't see an orb, I spend a fair amount of time focusing a preparing the shot, so I suppose an orb could have gotten by me, but I don't think it did. When I first saw the orb during editing I was a bit frustrated and disappointed, but when I realized that it was different than most orbs, in that it is solid, I kinda became amused by it. The orb is hanging over the south/east side of Alcatraz.

Hmmm... interesting.

Could it be the spirit of a former inmate of the the island penitentiary? Well, sure, and there is a long list, but who was arguably the most famous inmate on "The Rock?" Why, Al Capon! Could it be he was hanging around, enjoying the sunset with the rest of us sunset watchers? Was he watching the sunset, or was he out, scanning the sky, in search of the asteroid that buzzed by earth last week? Maybe he knew the Bay Area was due for our own meteor show last Friday night! Yep, the Bay Area had it's own close encounter with a heavenly flyover. You see, a meteor, much smaller than the one that slammed into Russia, lit up the night sky over the peninsula and Ocean Beach in San Francisco! Alan and I missed the light show by about 30 minutes, but maybe Mr Capone didn't! LOL.

So Tell Me... Ghost Orbs...

Supernatural? or Super-Stupid?

You be the judge!

Either way, this particular or is kind of pretty! In a tough guy way! ;)

San Francisco Meteor Video. Friday, February 15, 2013



Mood: Encouraged

~Me :)

Sleeping Dylan

"Meow means "woof" in cat."

~George Carlin

Dylan has an amazingly calm affect on me. Just watching him sleep helps me sleep better. On the other hand, when he is talkative... he is TALKATIVE! Dylan does not have any problem speaking his mind. The subject varies from MY BROTHER HENDRIX IS A JERK, to PLAY BALL WITH ME RIGHT NOW! Sometimes he will make little sounds and noises when calling me. I have heard his say MaMa. I know, it's hard to believe. Sometimes, very early in the morning, I can hear him in the window answering the call to morning coming from the cute little rooster next door. And most evenings you can hear what sounds a lot like singing coming from the bathroom just off my office. It's a fairly regular event since he was a small kitten. He gets into the bathtub, and sings away. I think he likes the acoustics in there. LOL. There is stress in life, it can't be avoided, but when you have a little person like Dylan, who loves you no matter what, it makes everything so much easier to take!

I love him. He is my baby.

"If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much."

~Mark Twain

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Messages

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

~Albert Einstein


I saw this car last Tuesday. I love it. Not only does the owner have a clear message about how loved they are, the person who felt so enamored demonstrated their affection using Post-It notes. Every since Carrie Bradshaw was dumped by that cad Jack Berger, I have wondered if anyone had ever found out they were loved by a Post-It note. Happily, the answer is YES! Guys, and Girls... don't break up with your person using a Post-It note, but on the other hand there is no bad time to tell your love just how much they are loved... and yes... a Post-It note is a good start!

Sex And The City
"I'm Sorry I Can't, Don't Hate Me"
Season #6 Episode #81: The Post-It Always Sticks Twice



Mood: Happy :)

~Me :)

Happy Valentine's Day ~ 2013

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

~Dr. Suess

Okay, I admit it, I am kinda dorky about Valentine's Day. It's not always filled with big bouquets of roses, romantic movies, and dinners in fancy restaurants, in fact, some of my best Valentine's Days have been spent by myself, reading letters Alan wrote to me a million years ago. SIGH. Then he comes through the door, and I know he is safe, and my day finally begins, and at the same time is complete. Never underestimate the power of a quiet evening at home, great love stories are built on little moments.

"The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space."

~Marilyn Monroe

Happiness :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

And now "Laughter In The Rain" by Neil Sedaka


~Me :)

The Artist

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."

~Leopold Stokowski

The Bay Area is full of magnificent artists. Painters. Sculptures. Writers. Dancers. Filmmakers. Performance Artists, and of course Musicians. But every once in a while the natural beauty of the landscape, or seascape in this instance, come together to create a moment of art, that if you are lucky, you will still be thinking about years later. I am pretty sure I will remember what I saw yesterday, on a small cliff in Half Moon Bay, for a long time.

Meet piano liberator, also known as Mauro Ffortissimo. He calls himself the "piano liberator" because of his vision for this particular grand piano. He recently acquired the piano when the new owners of a house in Half Moon Bay found that a past occupant had been left behind... a grand piano. The piano was said to be too rusted and old to be properly tuned, so the new owners gave the piano to Ffortissimo who had a vision for it's last days.

The artist, and a some friends of his, moved the piano to a small cliff at the end of Kelly drive in Half Moon Bay, and that's where it has been since the beginning of February, becoming a part of the landscape, as the artist plays music ranging from the classical to the Beatles. While I was taking the photos for this post, I was lucky enough to enjoy what will be some of the last notes from the piano, and how could I not smile when one of my favorite Beatles songs, "I Saw Her Standing There," met in the air with the sound of the ocean for accompaniment.

Thursday, February 14th, Valentine's Day, will be the last day the piano will be played by the artist on that small cliff in Half Moon Bay, as that is the deadline posed by the city for it's removal due to environmental concerns. As with each evening for the last couple weeks, the piano will embrace the sunset as it's life comes to an end. It is the plan of the artist to set the piano ablaze, perhaps Viking style, at some point soon, but it's it isn't as sad as it might seem, because if I shut my eyes, and think of the music I heard today, I can almost imagine it crossing over into Valhalla.

The Artist And The Piano...
 

 

And The View

 



Whoah, we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Since I saw her standing there

From "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles

Mood: Peaceful

~Me :)

Hey! Shoes Don't Grow On Trees You Know!

 

Yes, No, Yes, No?
Red or Blue?
Yes Red, No Blue?
In Out, Up Down?
Do Don't, Can Can't
Choices Sit On The Shelf Life
New Shoes In A Shoe Shop.

If The In Crowd Are Squeezing Into A Must-Have Shoe
And The One Pair Left Are Too Tiny For You
Don't Feel Compelled Into Choosing Them
If You're Really A Size 9, Buy That Size.
While Everyone Else
Hobbles Round With Sore Feet
Your Choices Should Feel Comfortable
Or They Aren't Your Choices At All.

Why Limp When You Can Sprint?

~David Baird, Fiesta Of Happiness: Be True To Yourself

Shoes
By Shania Twain



Mood: Silly

~Me :)

Words To Live By

Walls have ears
Doors have eyes
Trees have voices
Beasts tell lies

Beware the rain
Beware the snow
Beware the man
You think you know

~Songs of Sapphique

Catherine Fisher, Incarceron

Some people think revenge is a dish best served cold. I don't know about that. All warm and toasty is pretty good to. Isn't it funny how some warm lovely days and end in the deepest of nightmares? Some people never learn. ;)

~Mood:

~Me :)

Every Day Is A Winding Road

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked.Where do you want to go? was his response. I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter."

~Lewis Carroll

Alan and I spent most of the day last Tuesday in San Francisco. Sometimes, we like to take the long way home along the coast. Especially if we are leaving the city at, or near, the usual commute hours late in the afternoon. So, in that we were leaving the city at 4:00 PM, we took the coast. One of the things I like best about this route, is the lovely scenery of the ocean, and the quirky points along the way such as the Point Montara Lighthouse, the Moss Beach Distillery, which is rumored to be haunted, although Ghost Hunters debunked that rumor pretty easily in my opinion, and the lovely town of Half Moon Bay. There is always something to see along this route, but one of my favorite sights is always the way the winding road slants just before we get to Pacifica.I thought about straitening out the photo, to make the scene a bit more appealing, but in the end I wanted to show you, accurately, how it looks. TILTED! LOL.





Alan is the one who usually does the driving in San Francisco and along the coast. It's just nice to sit back and relax and take in the view. I enjoy the challenge of taking photos out the window as the tilt of the landscape changes. It's fun. And I am happy when we are driving along those winding roads. I thank God every day for Alan, and of course, my cameras.

Happy Girl. Happy Life.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: Frozen

"Cold! If the thermometer had been an inch longer we'd have frozen to death."

~Mark Twain

RRC: Frozen

When I first saw what the challenge would be for this round, I wasn't sure I could come up with anything. The weather in the Bay Area has been nothing short of glorious... if you like that thing! LOL. Personally, I like a little more rain in my winters. But one of the hazards of living here is that you rarely see snow, unless you are willing to take a drive to one of the far northern counties of California, or western Nevada. Plumas is lovely with snow this time of year, and I might make it up there before the end of the season, but it's going to take a bit of planning. We'll see. But for now, I have assembled some examples of "Frozen" from both the archives and the 2013 files.

Frozen...

Frozen Lime Cocktail (February 8 2013)


Frozen Water Fountain (A Snow Day In Tilden Park) 2010


Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Scoop (San Francisco Haight Ashbury Summer 2009)


Frozen Hot Cocoa ( A different interpretation of the effects of "Frozen" 1/23/13)


Frozen Rain Drops (Tilden Park 2011)

 


Hey, Why Did The Rain Freeze? (Little Bird's First Look At Snow Tilden 2/18/11)


I liked this challenge. It was fun! Now that you have seen my post, go check out what the other participating Robins have come up with. Just click the link at the top of this post, to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog, where you will find all the information you need to join in, and the list and links to everyone's posts.

"Who bothers to cook TV dinners? I suck them frozen."

~Woody Allen

~Mood: Happy

~Me :)

My Two Cents

"The post office has a great charm at one point of our lives. When you have lived to my age, you will begin to think letters are never worth going through the rain for."

~Jan Austen

It made me sad, when I heard the news the other day that the U.S. Postal service will be discontinuing Saturday letter deliveries late this year. The Saturday delivery is something taken for granted in my lifetime because it was one of those things, like banks being closed on Sundays, was just how stuff worked. But when I was a child, we didn't have postal carriers... going... well... "P*O*S*T*A*L" either! I can remember, when I was in first grade, postal carriers were one of those people we were told we could run to, if a policeman wasn't around, in the event a stranger was attempting to hurt or kidnap us. But in my lifetime there came the phenomenon known as the "going postal." A phrase that is associated with sudden, extreme workplace violence. The first case of which occurred in 1983. For the generation after mine, suddenly, the postman wasn't necessarily the adult to go.

But then when I was a child, we were told that the police were our friends. They could help us, if we were lost or in danger. But as I sit here writing this blog post, there is a manhunt for a former L.A. County police officer. It seems that 5 years ago he was fired from his job in the police department for allegedly lying about a fellow officer. Apparently the resentment from being fired, when he felt he had told the truth, has been simmering for most of the last 5 years, and now after having killed at least 3 people, he is heavily armed with different kinds of ammunition, including an assault weapon, and is threatening to kill police officers and their families. I guess this incident could be put down to "going postal" but somehow that seems way too simplistic.

Both services, both stressful working places, and no money to take care of the people who take care of us. The postman seeing pay freezes, hostile dogs, larger routes, pressure to deliver on time, low social support, the cuts in budget have resulted in sometimes mandatory overtime, and physical pain due to carpal tunnel and low back pain. And police officers face dangers from what the L.A. County police department is facing now with a former police officer experiencing a mental break, to the dangers of gang violence, and the over abundance of assault weapons on the street. And unless something is done soon, things will only continue to deteriorate.

Why is it America is exceptional again?

Between the time I was 6 and the time I was 26 I saw a lot of things change.

When you look back, I am sure you see it as well.

It makes me wonder why we haven't discussed national health reform before now.

It we hadn't become such a greedy nation. If we had put thought and resources into health reform and gun control, and making psychiatric services available, and not stigmatize those who sought help, would there be a manhunt tonight for a former policeman, going postal? I suppose we can't know for sure, but I would love to see some real change begin to happen and maybe check back in 20 years to see how the statistics move. If I lived in L.A. tonight I would be terrified. The man they are looking for is mainly threatening police officer's and their families, but he is characterized has highly intelligent weapon savvy, and I have a feeling, no one in southern California is safe.

America has changed a lot since I was 6 years old. I hope it will changed again soon... for the better. I would like to see us become a truly exceptional country, one leading the world in health and psychiatric care. One that leads the world in it's people putting each other above any materialistic object of mass destruction, such as the assault weapon, and large capacity ammunition. One that cares deeply for our children, and put nothing above their safety! When the Post Office was created by Benjamin Franklin I doubt he had any idea what would take place one day, likewise, I don't believe the writers of the consitution could look into the future and imagine assault weapons.

Would the Wright brothers have invented the airplane if they could have somehow known about the events of 9/11? We had to change the way we did things in America after that day, and I think since the shootings massacre at Sandyhook we need to change again. Will there be a peaceful ending to the manhunt in L.A.? I hope so, and will pray for that tonight. Will we somehow face an America that doesn't have a post office one day? Well, of all of the things I mentioned here, that is the one thing I think could be put back on track. It won't happen overnight. It might not happen in 20 years, but if we don't try then we might as well give up on it now.

The price for a First Class stamp rose to 6 cents on January 17th 1968.

~Mood: Discouraged/Quiet

~Me