Tree Work I believe I have discussed my fascination with trees. My favorite painting is one by an Argentine artist named Rikelme, and it is painted in the fashion of the Group of Seven Canadian artists that painted in the 19th Century in a light Rococo style. It is a lone tree on the rolling Pampas of Argentina. When I went last week to the Mission San Luis Rey and stopped by the grave site…
Weather Watch I am about one week away from our trip to Nova Scotia and several other of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. We will be flying from San Diego to Halifax, Nova Scotia via Toronto on Air Canada. Five years ago, before the COVID Pandemic, we had planned a family trip to Krakow, Poland and I had booked our flights from San Diego to Krakow on Air Canada for some long-since forgotten reason. WIth…
Lightning Strike We are all packed and ready for Nova Scotia on Monday, but we may or may not have that option after all. A few days ago, we got a notice from Air Canada that they are trying to avert a pilot’s strike that is set to begin on Wednesday unless they can all come to terms. By Canadian law, they have to give a 72 hour notice if the strike is going forward.…
A Bright New Day Today is the first real post heat wave day on the hilltop. It is 63 degrees outside and should reach up to about 80 during the day. I just spoke to Joventino the gardener (in Spanish as usual) and he seemed genuinely happy for the heat to have passed. You see Joventino works at least six days a week for at least 10 hours a day in the outdoors. I’m sure…
The Year of the Debate For the second time in three months and for the first time in my life, I am anxiously awaiting another presidential debate. I guess for people who have followed politics for many years, this may not seem so very different form other election years. But for me, this is a strange feeling to be on tenterhooks over a debate. This has caused me to look up the work tenterhooks and…
The Reagan Legacy Today we are going to see the new Dennis Quaid movie called Reagan. It chronicles the life and times of the 40th president of the United States. After the difficult transitional years with Jimmy Carter in the presidency, when so very little got done in what was, admittedly, a difficult moment in American history, it was not at all surprising that America wanted something different. It always does. I remember those times…
Future v. Past We are rolling up to the big presidential debate on Tuesday night. I have never thought that this debate would happen. In fact, I have $10 riding on the notion that there would be no debate because Trump would no-show. At this point I think the odds of that outcome have fallen to below 50%, but I wouldn’t throw away my bet ticket just yet. I have been watching what the various…
Life in Reverse My friend Tom is on the road north and will, within a month or so, land back at his starting place in Australia. He is the son of two Czechoslovak parents who left the country as the Communists took over with Soviet assistance in 1948. They left with their two young sons via Italy and eventually landed in Perth, Australia in a refugee camp. It was there that Tom was born into…
Back in the Oven We are currently experiencing a late season heat wave. The Excessive Heat Warning sign is posted and it looks as though today is the first of what is expected to be a four-day streak where this hilltop high temperature is expected to exceed 100 degrees. It says it’s 101 right now. Someone finally published a temperature map that seems to confirm what I have always known since moving out here. On…
The Picture of My Youth In a few hours from now, my old friend from high school, Tom Wohlmut will arrive for a two day stay with his wife Brenda as they make their way west from Santa Fe, heading for their new life in Australia. Tom is one of two friends I can say I have retained from my youth and I have many fond memories of our times together in Rome during our…