why we do it...

 
   After being away from this spot for a while, I return by asking you for a moment of personal reflection-privilege as they call it in Congress and parliamentary bodies.
    According to Blogger analytics this is my 1,115 post since I joined this part of the cyberworld in 2010. In 42 years of journalism and broadcasting work, jobs I loved, I was always a bit envious of the columnists, despite the fact friends who did that work said the demand was crushing. They were very good and eventually they phased from a daily deadline.  
    Retirement was an adjustment for this adrenaline junkie hooked on deadlines, travel, the rhythms of news rooms, production suites, the board room, the corner office, corporate conferences, network and other negotiations and far flung producing and directing. At first, I must have driven a few friends crazy with my manic photo downloads as we explored our new and beloved California. One of them, Maura, a precocious, bright, world traveler and world class writer and story teller asked "why don't you write a blog?"
     Maura's idea coincided with my need to build a social media profile as I was finishing my third novel and laying the ground work for another. It was certainly better than napping.

    And so as I decompressed and adjusted from a life of motion, tension and decision making, I looked on blogging as my chance to be that columnist. 

    In a parody of an old bromide, just like the holes in California sandstone, there are a million stories in retirement and leisure.

      Long time readers will remember this began as a daily effort. Soon I was disabused of that fanciful notion. But a new rhythm set in and with it became my sense of obligation and even purpose. 

      This blog has won no pulitzers nor stopped a war, but it's had a seriousness of intent-at least from this side of the keypad. 

      With time it has morphed to include social relevance, politics and opinion examination. And I know it has irritated some, including friends who think I'm a fuzzy headed polemicist.

      So with Lana's recent surgery, my own medical adventures, the arrival of a second grand child, the changes in the life of our eldest and her child's presence and obligations in the community, I've been variously occupied and have been pensive. We've spent time taking long views and pondering.

       A few years ago Bruce, the Catalyst of Oddball Observations and a long time friend and former newsie colleague asked why I cared or spent so much time on some of these topics. "Relax. Enjoy. You're retired. You can't do anything about it anyway. Our time has passed."
       He's right. We no longer have our hands on the controls, but I still care deeply about many things. But in this recent "ponder" I have come to understand it is not for my life span that I am concerned, agitated, motivated, inspired or active. No, it is for a longer deadline, certainly my daughters but even more so for the grand children. 

 Addie

Henry

     Lana and I are somewhat late to grandparent hood, so some of you have crossed the threshold already. 

    Issues matter. Politics, policy, attitude, citizenship, leadership, war, peace, the environment, safety and health all impinge on their future.

     So until I'm beamed aboard a mother ship, or recruited into a tripping, smiley face, "everything is beautiful" cult, or join a revolutionary cadre of the Avengers, or get lost with a band of lotus eaters camping in the Elysian Fields, or hit by a comet, I may irritate or disagree with a few of you. 

     It is my sincere hope that whatever intellectual product is left here, what ever photo images I capture of this life and planet I love so dearly, will be a record for my daughters and my grand children, a trace of what mattered to dad, pops and poppi, and perhaps an element of wisdom, warning, guidance or evaluation. I've come to think of this as a set of post cards from the past.  

    See you down the trail.

MATTERS OF CONTROL

     Lana's knee replacement surgery meant I spent a few days at the hospital, a rich tableau for an old reporter and watcher of people.
     One thing I am sure of is that nurses run things. Doctors matter of course and so do the administrators, but the nurses are the heart and soul and a good portion of the brains. It's similar to the army, where Sergeants run things. Nurses and sergeants know things based on practical experience on top of their considerable training. If you want to know something, ask a nurse. If nurses offer advice, take it.
     I'm biased because my youngest daughter Katherine is a nurse and so are several of our good friends.
     Maybe this nation would be a lot better off, if nurses were running the show.

there's a cure for that

        branding and castration in Templeton California

        I take it as my patriotic duty to rail about a couple of items and offer up a solution as pictured above.

         A military parade? Just one more warning sign on the growing checklist this guy is separated from reality,  normalcy, decency and intelligence and that he's acting so like a banana republic dictator he represents a danger to our democratic republic. He's got no politics or policy that we could fight about it, it's just his ego insanity, arrogance and lack of knowledge.

         Scores of experienced men and women warned us in the campaign, he's unfit, unqualified and lacks the intelligence to do the job. He won't even read the daily presidential briefs, he spends hours doing his "hair," comes to work late, leaves early and cannot be trusted.

         Yea, I know I'm sick and tired of it too. But we cannot for moment let this tyrant go unchecked or unchallenged so some times we have beat a dead horse. 

        There is the vexing matter of those who continue to support him, and the republicans who refuse to rebuff him. I submit they will be remembered by history as fools and a cancer on the great American experiment. 

         Wouldn't you love to see this bloated over the hill playboy and scammer meet justice-Batman or Avengers style? Or from a cowboy like those pictured above.

an example of the decline

          It was an item many would have missed. The Sinclair Broadcast group, the nation's largest owner of TV stations, is fighting for deregulation so they can amass more stations. That alone is a topic for discussion, but the point today is Sinclair asked executives, including news executives and local news directors to contribute to the legal fund.

         They are nuts! They are turning their back on 50 years of journalistic cannons. All major news organizations, ABC, NBC, CBS, FoxNews, and CNN forbid journalists from contributing to candidates, parties or political organizations. Frankly, as a journalist, you wouldn't want to. It helps eliminate conflict of interest or the perception of a bias.

        "I've never seen anything like this," says Professor Lewis Friedland of the University of Wisconsin and a former TV producer, "it's blatantly unethical."

        Sinclair's senior vice president of strategy and policy said there was nothing wrong with the request since it did not go to reporters, anchors or other newsroom employees. Rebecca Hanson said the news directors "were solicited as a result of being part of our managerial level, not because of their role in editorial." Ms Hanson, you cannot have it both ways.

        I was a news director at the flagship station of a TV chain and a member of the management, but also responsible for day to day news operations and content on three stations. Journalists and news people always put priority on content. Hanson's comment and lack of understanding of the ethical violation is so typical of profit driven corporate management where the only thing that matters is the bottom line. And it is not unlike the logic of those who can support donald trump. Oh, by the way, Sinclair mandated that local stations run pro trump commentaries, right wing harangues and pro trump news stories. Mandated that! They are further right than Fox News and they plan to challenge Fox by purchasing new stations, but first they must challenge the Federal Government. 

        I would not, nor could I have, worked for Sinclair. They are a bane on real journalism, but this is the age of trump, where someones opinion carries as much weight as facts, science and truth. It's an age where money and lies persuade.

       There are days when I wonder if traditional American values or principles of fairness, honesty, experience and the value of intelligence and history can survive an age of Facebook, social media, news by flavor, right wing news bias, low information citizens, big money and swindlers like trump and Putin. Maybe not, but not without a fight and a full defense of the constitution and bill of rights. 

        The staff person who was tasked with explaining to the president what the 10 amendments that are bill of rights were says he got to the fourth, trump rolled his eyes, used his finger to blubber his lips and that was it. It is a good bet donald trump has never read the constitution, doesn't know what the separation of powers or checks and balances are -but he's pretty sure his button is the largest.  

        

        See you down the trail.

        

Close to Home

proud hubby

    The big weekend in Cambria got a little bigger when Lana won first place in the annual 927 Unconventional Art Show.

    Her WADING FOR EQUALITY is a paper mache sculpture featuring faces of women- family, friends, rights pioneers and powerful women. She is wearing boots and wading on a sea of issues; body image, under representation, reproductive rights, rape, sexual harassment, glass ceiling, equal pay and pregnancy leave.

     Judge Sam Peck called it "highly topical feminist art."

You can link here to see other award winners in the 927 Show.  It was begun in this art colony back in the early 70's as a place for wacky, ironic, zany and satirical art, often with an edge or political note.

     Doubly proud of Lana this weekend because she was also

a "biker chick" in Cambria's annual Pinedorado Weekend Parade.

      Frequent readers may recall that our parade is homegrown. There are traditional marching units and then there are some that are organic in a uniquely Cambrian way. In some cases there is no explanation.

      You may remember it begins and ends with the Calliope.

   The Cambria Garden Club Unit got my attention.  Lana is reprising one of their earlier presentations-The Blooming Biker Babes!

    One of the day's highlights was this little dear who simply could not stop dancing to the passing music. This little princess belongs to the local Gowdy family.

   We know for a fact that the pilot here, Glen, has put this machine through the paces on some high performance tracks.

 A crowd favorite is the Slabtown Rollers who stop along the route to serenade the crowd.

   Sometimes it is a family thing. Everyone in the act.

  An historical note to the frame below. The PCWT is the Pacific Coast Wine Trail and is on the path to becoming one of the world's most unique appellations. All of these vineyards are within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean.

   As noted previously, sometimes there is no explanation.

   This Cal Fire unit drew applause and cheers along the entire route. With the Chimney Fire fresh in mind everyone wanted to celebrate this representative of the "heroes."

    The Post Scripts

     Have  great labor day holiday.  

      See you down the trail.