Someone like Gore Vidal, Truman Capote or Maurice Sendak was proud of the expression...politics make strange bedfellows...No one involved in these 2012 political games knows if they are being honest or not. We have seriously lost a grip on reality....and those people running for office are guilty of self-serving "pretzel logic". So, it goes back to........ Take care of your family, be as healthy as as you can be, have an elevated level of compassion for those less fortunate, and those who think they are superior, make the people around you happy and keep 'em laughing....Take care of the business at hand, do the things that make your life work and help others focus on the same.
Advice, I'm full of it....and what did I have for dinner last night? Beer and blueberry cake...horrible farts and two pounds heavier in the morning.
2012...remember? The last year of the Mayan calendar...The Queen said, "Let them eat cake!"
With this in mind, we have made plans for another month of camping and cycling in Europe. I'm sure we'll be there for the official collapse of their economy...I've been carrying some of these Euros around for twelve years. They'll be worthless by December.
So, what's important now is cranking our way up mountain passes highlighted in the Giro d'Italia and toasting the day with local wines (in recycled mustard glasses). If I find plentiful wifi signals you'll be able to see the whole thing unfold on fb.
Don't waste much time on the politicians and their rhetoric this Autumn...take care of your families and stay as healthy as you can...or, resolve to attain excellent health, because there will be life after 12/21/2012...however, it could be a radically different reality for all of us. That's what the Mayans were indicating, there would be a rearranging of priorities...not the end of the World. If your guy loses this Fall, believe me, it won't be the end of the World.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Power Outage
It couldn't happen here...two-thirds of a billion people lost their electricity in India last week...of course, one third of a billion never had legitimate connections with the power grid. North America is far too clever and modern for such an event... right? Some things are beyond our control. Would two-thirds of Americans be uncomfortable if the power went down for a week?
Here in Northern Plumas County we have been training for such an event for.....well, the last one hundred years. Every Winter, and I have been here for the last 27, we experience an outage for at least a day, and I can remember week long outages, as well. We have an unrealistic "faith" in our modern country to be able to avoid such an event.
Oh yea, I am plugged in. I avoid online banking and I don't own a cell phone...but hell, I use an electric toothbrush! Google EMP and see if that doesn't scare you. I'm a big fan of the Sun...I'm tickled pink that it comes up on a regular schedule, roughly every twenty-four hours, and I've made a habit of absorbing as much Vitamin D as humanly possible, on my deck or on the lakeshore for at least twenty minutes a day, when it's warm enough...but, still that nuclear reaction orb in the sky scares the shit out of me when I spend five minutes thinking of how powerful it is and how much it dictates our well-being here on earth. Salutations to the Almighty Sun.
Here in Northern Plumas County we have been training for such an event for.....well, the last one hundred years. Every Winter, and I have been here for the last 27, we experience an outage for at least a day, and I can remember week long outages, as well. We have an unrealistic "faith" in our modern country to be able to avoid such an event.
Oh yea, I am plugged in. I avoid online banking and I don't own a cell phone...but hell, I use an electric toothbrush! Google EMP and see if that doesn't scare you. I'm a big fan of the Sun...I'm tickled pink that it comes up on a regular schedule, roughly every twenty-four hours, and I've made a habit of absorbing as much Vitamin D as humanly possible, on my deck or on the lakeshore for at least twenty minutes a day, when it's warm enough...but, still that nuclear reaction orb in the sky scares the shit out of me when I spend five minutes thinking of how powerful it is and how much it dictates our well-being here on earth. Salutations to the Almighty Sun.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Naked French Roast
Up in the morning at six o'clock, the birds have been celebrating for an hour already and a few glints of sun are shooting through the tree tops. No need to get dressed...it's 72 in the house. I love summer....carefully, I descend to the kitchen and activate the teapot...the joints loosen as I make my way over to the remote and bring the Weather Channel to life, at low volume.
Black tea is my preference for waking the tastebuds...the dog springs to life and sits in front of the sliding glass door, suggesting a patrol along the property line....not wishing to go that public with my morning nudity, I decline and send her on her way.
It's July! We are recording the Tour de France...time to get the coffee on and locate a pair of boxer shorts because...I'm about to go mindless, on automatic pilot for two hours...the spell can only be broken by the dog, begging for her eight o'clock bowl of kibbles or...one of the neighbors, trying to locate her cat...
I don't mind wearing boxers, in a pinch, but I am very attached to my freedoms. Happy Fourth of July!
Black tea is my preference for waking the tastebuds...the dog springs to life and sits in front of the sliding glass door, suggesting a patrol along the property line....not wishing to go that public with my morning nudity, I decline and send her on her way.
It's July! We are recording the Tour de France...time to get the coffee on and locate a pair of boxer shorts because...I'm about to go mindless, on automatic pilot for two hours...the spell can only be broken by the dog, begging for her eight o'clock bowl of kibbles or...one of the neighbors, trying to locate her cat...
I don't mind wearing boxers, in a pinch, but I am very attached to my freedoms. Happy Fourth of July!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Retirement, Ha!
President Holland of France announced that retirement at 62 is a thing of the past...not an unexpected move in these difficult times...however, the new retirement age in France is 60. I write this on my last day of my 62nd complete year of sensing life and breathing outside the womb.
I actually retired back in 1985 when I gave the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company my notice and moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I would no longer be a "grunt" on the bottling line...drinking my "benefits" and looking forward to SacValley life behind a steadily growing beer belly. During this post-grunt period I have been a part-time teacher, writer and promoter of all things related to bicycling and full-time Father, not the kind you kiss on the hand and bow down to. No complaints here, life has been more than fair to me. The sixties are starting with me feeling as healthy and strong as a "forty something".
The Summer is starting off in grand style, we have heat, a full lake and energetic customers lining up at the door. Working with Colby at my side, for most of the summer, is an absolute joy. He has numerous ideas about how to run a business but, he has a ton of respect for how the business has been operated for the last eighteen years. I really can't imagine a better employee...or offspring, for that matter.
Here we are, charging into our nineteenth Summer of operating a recreation business on Main St., and I am optimistic....not so much that we will make more money...but, that we'll continue to thrive. It's never been about "more $". My priorities have always orbited around health, honesty, happiness and forthrightness... really, what else is more important!
This is not a diary entry...more a statement of purpose, from my operating manual...imprinted in my character from growing up in Michigan, with guidance from a caring and wonderful family....just letting you know that I appreciate you all and look forward to exchanging hugs, hopefully sometime in the next year. In the meantime, Here goes, starting my 63rd year...tomorrow!
I actually retired back in 1985 when I gave the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company my notice and moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I would no longer be a "grunt" on the bottling line...drinking my "benefits" and looking forward to SacValley life behind a steadily growing beer belly. During this post-grunt period I have been a part-time teacher, writer and promoter of all things related to bicycling and full-time Father, not the kind you kiss on the hand and bow down to. No complaints here, life has been more than fair to me. The sixties are starting with me feeling as healthy and strong as a "forty something".
The Summer is starting off in grand style, we have heat, a full lake and energetic customers lining up at the door. Working with Colby at my side, for most of the summer, is an absolute joy. He has numerous ideas about how to run a business but, he has a ton of respect for how the business has been operated for the last eighteen years. I really can't imagine a better employee...or offspring, for that matter.
Here we are, charging into our nineteenth Summer of operating a recreation business on Main St., and I am optimistic....not so much that we will make more money...but, that we'll continue to thrive. It's never been about "more $". My priorities have always orbited around health, honesty, happiness and forthrightness... really, what else is more important!
This is not a diary entry...more a statement of purpose, from my operating manual...imprinted in my character from growing up in Michigan, with guidance from a caring and wonderful family....just letting you know that I appreciate you all and look forward to exchanging hugs, hopefully sometime in the next year. In the meantime, Here goes, starting my 63rd year...tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Just "gettin' by"
The bicycle shop is a gathering place for folks who are barely making it in life. For one reason or another...lost their license, can't afford insurance, don't want to waste money on car culture, lost their "balance" in life, need someone... who'll be decent....to talk to.
It's an important "island of sanity" where anyone can walk in and smell the tires. I'm allowed to keep working with my hands while we talk...so it's no problem to welcome them in. At least that's how we function here in Chester, California and I know the same happens in many shops in Chico. At least the music is excellent and the shop dogs are friendly.
I like putting people on bicycles...or tricycles. I want them to clutter up the streets and highways, and the bike rack at the post office. It reminds the motorheads/the large carbon footprint folks, that the meek, gentile traveler is still plugging along under her own power and deserves a little space on the tarmac.
It's an important "island of sanity" where anyone can walk in and smell the tires. I'm allowed to keep working with my hands while we talk...so it's no problem to welcome them in. At least that's how we function here in Chester, California and I know the same happens in many shops in Chico. At least the music is excellent and the shop dogs are friendly.
I like putting people on bicycles...or tricycles. I want them to clutter up the streets and highways, and the bike rack at the post office. It reminds the motorheads/the large carbon footprint folks, that the meek, gentile traveler is still plugging along under her own power and deserves a little space on the tarmac.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Stretching The Window
I'm not sure which is best, a morning forty-five minute up and down bicycle ride or forty-five minutes in the Thera Sauna...with either, I tend to lose three or four pounds of water weight, funny, when I do both in the same morning I still only lose four pounds. When I choose to take the dog for a forty-five minute walk in the morning I lose nothing. I can lose a pound just paying bills at the bike shop. Either way, taking the dog for a walk is only good for the dog.
The bicycle shop is my home away from home and I get in at least 6,000 steps just putting the bicycles and kayaks out on display...it's my belief that you need to keep movin', keep sweating, when the opportunity arrises, and stay somewhat social. Do this and you'll be happy as you slide into your seventh decade of life. I feel so fortunate to be here.
Celebrate Life...Celebrate the Temporary...has long been a credo of mine. Not too radical but, definitely more freeform than my siblings. I do wish I could be closer to my Michigan family...2,300 miles is too big a hop. So, that is what writing is all about for me...a small window into the life of your big brother. I don't believe in curtains but, for some reason I struggle to stretch this window...and I can only do that by writing more. It is frustrating that I can't reach out and HUG any of you...only in my dreams. This is also why I enjoy Facebook, it is the biggest family connection I have...no casual friends here, these are the people that I can be naked with...and I love you all.
Yep, all this introspection is due to the fact that my 62nd birthday is just around the corner and I'm adding up the things that I am THANKFUL for, and yes, family is near the top of my list. Really, for me there is no Bucket List. I'm quite satisfied with my accomplishments and explorations...this is a mighty good life.
The bicycle shop is my home away from home and I get in at least 6,000 steps just putting the bicycles and kayaks out on display...it's my belief that you need to keep movin', keep sweating, when the opportunity arrises, and stay somewhat social. Do this and you'll be happy as you slide into your seventh decade of life. I feel so fortunate to be here.
Celebrate Life...Celebrate the Temporary...has long been a credo of mine. Not too radical but, definitely more freeform than my siblings. I do wish I could be closer to my Michigan family...2,300 miles is too big a hop. So, that is what writing is all about for me...a small window into the life of your big brother. I don't believe in curtains but, for some reason I struggle to stretch this window...and I can only do that by writing more. It is frustrating that I can't reach out and HUG any of you...only in my dreams. This is also why I enjoy Facebook, it is the biggest family connection I have...no casual friends here, these are the people that I can be naked with...and I love you all.
Yep, all this introspection is due to the fact that my 62nd birthday is just around the corner and I'm adding up the things that I am THANKFUL for, and yes, family is near the top of my list. Really, for me there is no Bucket List. I'm quite satisfied with my accomplishments and explorations...this is a mighty good life.
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