It’s that time of the year! We’re gonna play, “It is a wonderful life!!”

The game is is played just like happened to George Bailey of Bedford Falls. Only instead of what would be the world be like if you hadn’t been born, it is what would your life had been if you had made a different choice along your journey.

OK, I’ll go first. My life changed in the spring of ’65 when I wore sandals to high school. I was a junior at Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, California. Although Walnut Creek to Berkeley is now rated by Goggle as a mere 15 miles apart, at that time it was a million. Walnut Creek was still in the ’50.

From sandals my life quickly went down a path to hanging out in Berkeley, being kicked out of Las Lomas, and of course there were some sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll! Self-discipline left me. I used to think of being a writer or an attorney. And then I was working in a gas station.

It has been an adventure. Maybe I would not have been happy as an attorney. But then telling lawyer jokes for a living probably would have been a great compromise!

There are changes in our society given birth to in the ‘60’s. And then there is also the pain for families and individuals. There are those like myself, who were invincible, and if anything happened there was always penicillin, which could cure any and every thing. Still as the result of a little exploration ended up chronically ill.

Tough choice, and no angel along for the ride!

A season for all!

Lately when anyone says merry Christmas to me, I reply in a friendly way with a smile, what about Chanukah? Have gotten only smiles in return! Try it!

The meaning of Thanksgiving

The meaning of Thanksgiving for about the past 35 years is it is the holiday where heads, hippies etc., started to make peace with their parents and the family's traditions.

What’s more important, feeding children or enforcing petty rules?

Yes, I am still in Northern California, the East Bay to be more exact. My stay was extended soon after I arrived in early September from one month to the end of October. My mother is making good progress on her recovery from various and usual aliments for an 87 year old. I plan to be back in Juneau the first week of November.

The front page story on today’s SF Chronicle titled ‘S.F. schools’ lunch money cut off‘, just blew me away. You’re probably thinking oh, there must have been some rotten beef served, unsanitary conditions, or someone is putting money in their pocket. But those answers are wrong, wrong and wrong again. There are some petty violations of the program’s rules. Things like occasionally one of the children will take less then the required number of items. It is news to me that there is a way to get children to eat what they don’t want. It’s OK for them to throw the food away. And that way they will learn how to waste food. It gets even more ridiculous then that. Sometimes the trays are handed out fully loaded and the children don’t get to make a choice of what they are served! This helpful for the younger students, but it is just not part of the program! One school ran out of milk one day. This is a big no no. There no errors allowed in this game.

Meanwhile 57% of San Francisco public school students depend on the school lunch program. Thankfully, the city has advanced the funds to cover the costs. They will be reimbursed when the program meets all the picky little requirements. Wonder what the mayor Galloping Gavin is doing about this? If I were the mayor, I’d be on the phone in a flash. My first call would be to the President. Surely, he is more compassionate then this. Then there be a ring ding to Nancy, Diane and Barbara. Part of being a politician is pulling strings and getting things done one way or another. And this time it is even for a good cause!

Every so often in Alaska we get petty bureaucratic types in our government. And what do we do? Ignore them and hope they go back down south where they belong. We are companionate enough to not make them swim or walk.

It is time to wake up and help feed the children!

San Francisco, lunch program, funds, what is more important?

Soaking & Bloging

Today was a true Southeast Soaker! A hard heavy rain most of the day, but mercifully with only brief periods of wind. I had plenty of days like this under my umbrella at Mickey's Bagel Bistro. There I stood, seemly impervious to the weather, smiling at all who passed by like I was having the time of my life. My thoughts were this was good for business. Couldn't show that the rain and lack of business due to it were bothering me in anyway. Often wondered and still do if people thought I was some kind of simpleton. Back in those days when I demonstrated some of my wit and wisdom in letters to the editor, people would come up to and ask incredulously, 'Did you write that?' My thoughts were who do you think wrote it? But with all seriousness about me I'd reply that I had hired a ghost writer!

Can't believe how I have neglected this blog. Am going to have to save up my money to hire a good ghost! Am going south for the month of September and think I will have time for a daily entry. As money is tight these days, you will have to put up with my writings and thoughts, such as they are! Give it a try!

The Way It Was!

Went to the gold Medal Tournament tonight. No not to watch basket ball but to do a little marketing for my job. Anyone from SE Alaska knows that Gold Medal is a really big deal. One of the vendors, Walter H. Adams, Sr., was selling his book The Way it Was! I've know Walter for over 20 years, but did not know he had written a book. So I bought a copy and sneaked in reading a page or two. The book is about growing up in SE during the 40's and 50's. It is very good, interesting, well written and straight from his soul. The book is available at Hearthsidebooks.com. Did not find it on Amazon, but Hearthside will ship anywhere. Give it a read.

At last about Obama

Here it is almost February, and somehow I haven't mentioned Barrack Obama. You might think that even in my infrequent entries, that his name would have come up. Obama has had and will continue to have a tremendous effect on our country and the world. As a vehicle for change and a realization of what our society is, his impact is on a par with WWII and Jackie Robinson. WWII ripped open America, ending isolation and indifference to different regions of the country. Without Jackie, the first Afro-American to play major league baseball in the modern era, would any of the subsequent changes have been possible? Of course, if hadn't been Mr. Robinson no doubt it would have been another Afro-American.

I was well aware of Mr. Obama. At the time he ran for the Senate I was in Minnesota. My brother-in-law, Dr. David Gill ran for Congress from a heavily Republican district in southern Illinois. He lost twice. And the incumbent, Tim Johnson, even handily survived the Republican repudiation of 2008. Obama had met David. And we were impressed with that. And even more impressed and awed that he remembered David, from one meeting to the next.

In '04, I wished that Hillary would have come forward and made a run for president. There was no doubt in my mind that she would have been easily nominated, and then "cleaned Bush's clock!" Leading up to '08 and into the campaign, I kept repeating that like it was some kind of mantra. And for Hillary that is how it turned out. She would have, but didn't come forward and time passed her by. 2008 just wasn't Hillary's time. But it was Obama's. And he was someone who I could wholeheartedly support. Throughout September and October my fingers were crossed. He didn't seem to have a big enough lead in the polls to overcome the Bradley effect. In order to win he needed to be at least 10 points up in the polls. As the campaign slipped into November, it seemed that maybe he would be elected.

In the days leading up to the election a joke came to me. It was a very mild joke, seemly innocuous . But it was a stereotypical one. It didn't seem quite right to me, and then the next day it was completely wrong. My 8 year old daughter called me election night. Unfortunately due to the unfairness of our divorce and custody laws we have very little contact. She was very excited. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, "we have a new president and he's afro-american!" The next day the realization began to form in my mind that Obama's victory was more of an affirmation of our values then anything else. It didn't matter that he was Afro-American, but that this very smart and capable relatively young person had the courage to try and lead this country at this time of economic crisis and find an end to the war in Iraq. For the first time in a long time, about 45 years, I was proud to be an American. Proud of our values and our society.

In the next 2 months Bush became increasingly irrelevant. It must have been like 1933, when the country waited for Hoover to leave office, so Roosevelt could begin the work of ending the depression.

Inauguration day seemed like a holiday, a day of celebration. Here in Juneau, people gathered in Centennial Hall to watch the events on a giant screen TV. My daughter's second grade class came for the event. Each time the signal was lost, I held my breath. Hoping that we would not come back to a scene of an assassinated president. We didn't, the celebrations went on, and once again I took a breath.

I came of age in the '60s. I remember the assassination of John Kennedy, Vietnam, the chaos, the events of '68, and the aftermath over the following decades. I am glad to be alive at this time and that I live in America. I am happy for my daughter that she is living thorough this time. And am confident that the renewal of our spirt that seemed to happen overnight is real and will be long lasting!

Oh, some readers, may be wondering just what the joke was from election day. So mild and yet in a blink irrelevant. Finally we have a president who can dance, dress and play basketball. The reality is that once again after 8 horrible years we have a president who can think, reason and lead.