AUTUMN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA


While I hear tales from friends of the cold (minus 19) and snow back in our home state of Washington, a long, slow, lazy smile creeps across my face :)

Winter in southern California is like one long vacation...we used to plan all year for our winter escape to warm ports of call....Mexico, Hawaii, Arizona, Texas (yes even Texas - San Antonio is a favorite)...a week or two basking in the warm sun, only to return to ...brrrrr...the icy cold north winds and biting snow of the North West. Not being skiiers any longer (those were part of the 'glory days' LOL), there wasn't much to do but hibernate, in between bulldozing our way through feet of snow to get to work and back every day. Do I miss it? I don't miss the icy cold. I don't miss shoveling the walks. I do miss watching the snow fall though, coming softly down from the sky to blanket the earth with it's softness.

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

WHO PROFITS FROM NEW TSA SCANNERS?

The following is from Rep. John Duncan Jr, former Chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee and the current top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, where he questions the role of lucrative government contracts in TSA’s new naked body scanning machines (November 17, 2o10).

“Mr. Speaker:
A nationwide revolt is developing over the body scanners at the airports, and it should.
Hundreds of thousands of frequent fliers who fly each week are upset about getting these frequent doses of radiation. Parents are upset about being forced to have their children radiated or being touched inappropriately by an unrelated adult.

There is already plenty of security at the airport, but now we are going to spend up to $300 million to install 1,000 scanners.

This is much more about money than it is about security.

The former secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents Rapiscan, the company which is selling these scanners to his former department.

Far too many federal contracts are sweetheart, insider deals. Companies hire former high ranking federal officials, and then magically, those companies get hugely profitable federal contracts.

The American people should not have to choose between having full-body radiation or a very embarrassing, intrusive pat-down every time they fly, as if they were criminals.
We need a little more balance and common sense on this.”

Coming from a Republican, Republicans being the party who, when in power, got us into this war to begin with, and who initiated the whole Color Coded Alert system post 911 to "warn" us all (ergo keep us in a perpetual state of fear), this can be, correctly, interpreted as strictly a political ploy to discredit the Obama Administration. For, if in power, the Republicans would be declaring anyone who dared to criticize the new security measures as "unpatriotic."

But putting that aside, this is one area I agree on, the TSA has acted rashly and recklessly, to the point where lives are endangered (health-wise) by the very devices seeking to "make us all safer". And now, almost worse yet, we learn the connection behind some in Govt (such as Michael Chertoff who was Bushes Secretary of DHS) who have made, and stand to make, millions upon millions of dollars by foisting this awful system on all americans who fly.

Now that americans have voiced their outrage, it will be interesting to see just how much "power" the american public has to affect change, or if its a little too late to close the barnyard door now that the horses have already been let loose.


I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on man unless they act. ~G.K. Chesterton

THANKSGIVING AT TAFT CAMP

We were up early this morning (5 am) to shower, dress and make the drive to the Taft Camp to visit Corey this Thanksgiving Day. He'd asked we come early, right at 8 am when the visitation hall opened, and we were there promptly. Corey was wanting to have a shorter visit today so he could join his friends in the chow hall for the turkey dinner that was being served, and we were happy to get to spend the morning with him, and then send him off to a good meal. Maybe twice a year a really decent meal is put out at the camp, on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. It was rumored "REAL" turkey was being served, you know, sliced from the bird itself...not the processed, loaf style, loaded with MSG and other preservatives that would normally be served. Real turkey and all the fixins, can't beat that! In fact as Rod and I were taking our leave, just before noon, one of the guards was telling me he'd just come from having his lunch at the chow hall and the meal was pretty damn good! Yes, real turkey, and all the goodies, including a pumpkin dessert. Almost good enough to write home about. So it was nice knowing our son was headed over to a great culinary experience, by prison standards that is. Did my heart good.

As I said earlier, Corey had asked we arrive promptly at 8 so we could have a nice long conversation to start our holiday. And we were there ... but where was our son??? The minutes ticked past...5, 10, 15...I was thinking "What THIS time?" (remembering last fridays little "failure to communicate")...when in he comes looking slightly rumpled with a sheepish smile, like he'd just drug himself out of bed! Well thats precisely what he had done LOL...he'd slept in. Something he's never, in these past 6 years, done! Not on a visiting day. He explained how he'd opened his eyes upon awakening, then shut them, then it hit him with a jolt that he had a visit! He said he literally bounded off his cot, raced to the showers, threw a quick iron over his t-shirt, tossed on his clothes as he ran thru the unit for the door! We had to laugh, he looked dazed and confused and a little rumpled to boot...but a sight for sore eyes nonetheless!

Turns out the reason for his sleeping in was a late night last night....whipping up several cheesecakes for a goodbye dinner party for a buddy tonite. Corey has become quite the little chef since entering the prison gates at Taft. Over the years I've adapted (to fit the ingredients he's able to purchase off commissary, and to be cooked in a microwave vs a stove or oven) and sent him many recipes, including cheesecake recipes. He perfected his cheesecake recipe and is "famous" in the unit, for these superb cheesecakes he makes. We're talking 4 inches tall, thick, NY style, in an array of flavors, including chocolate mocha, peanut butter/chocolate swirl, snickers candy bar, etc...His friends I've met in visitation attest to his skills, tell me they are the best they've ever had! I look forward to sampling one myself, but will have to wait another 3 years to do so.

We had a really fun time together today, us Three Muskateers. Lots of interesting conversation (the news, books we're reading - in particular one Corey is currently reading called The Disappearing Spoon -football hi lites, family updates and funny stories), lots of teasing and laughing, the time passed far too quickly and before we knew it we were hugging our son and reluctantly taking our leave. But we left him with a big smile on his face, anticipating the good meal ahead, some great football games and the big party later in the day. Like Corey says, "Let the good times roll!" LOL

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy. ~Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

Out of hand TSA

Thank goodness I am not one of the many having to travel the "not so friendly skys" this holiday season! Or anytime for that matter. More and more we hear stories of passengers put through embarrassing, undignified, and demeaning pat downs and full-body scans as they go through the security gates at our nations airports. Today there was an article on MSN Travel News whereby a gentleman, 61 years of age, a retired special education teacher, on his way to a wedding, was subjected to what amounts to much more than simply a 'pat down"... as was his right this man requested a private search as he is a cancer survivor who must wear a urostomy bag to collect urine from an opening in his stomach. He had had to remove his belt at the scanner, and when taken to the private room, his pants, two sizes too large in order to accommodate his medical equipment, fell down to the floor. How humiliating, and frightening, for anyone...standing before strangers in uniform who have adopted an attitude of control and annoyance (made me think of my son in prison, who routinely is subjected to this type of search, and worse) . In performing the "pat down" the screener knocked the bag and caused urine to leak out onto the gentlemans body. This poor man then had to leave the room, covered in urine, proceed to his gate, board his plane, and was unable to clean himself up until the flight was well underway.

Another recent story involves a woman, a longtime flight attendant and cancer survivor, who was ordered to remove her prosthetic breast during the screening process. And then again, today I watched a video on UTube where a very young boy was virtually being stripped of his clothing and patted down by screeners. If that was my child and some strange man, an airport "employee," was touching my child in such a manner I would be furious. I really had no idea things had gotten this out of hand! Its been at least a year or more since Rod and I have had to fly anywhere. We prefer to drive on our twice yearly trips back to Washington....we have both gotten tired of the whole exhaustive process involved in flying anywhere anymore...the lines, the delays, the screening, the rude employees at the airports that we encounter, the tiny crowded airplanes, the new costs for luggage, no meals or snax...who needs this right? And to have to pay premium prices to boot!

If it really has gotten this much worse (last we flew we were not subjected to such invasive procedures) we will surely only be flying somewhere in the event of an emergency! Where will this end? Just how much are we willing to give up to "feel" safer? Because ultimately there is never a guarantee of safety in this life, no matter what price we pay.

It seems these stories are starting to come out of the woodwork now, more and more of them, as well as lawsuits against the TSA. And so today, a news release tells us the TSA expresses "possible" flexibility with screening proceedures. With 1.9 million people flying this Thanksgiving holiday, I certainly hope so. I shudder to think of the unhappy experience flying over the holiday will be.

In a state-run society the government promises you security. But it's a false promise predicated on the idea that the opposite of security is risk. Nothing could be further from the truth. The opposite of security is insecurity, and the only way to overcome insecurity is to take risks. The gentle government that promises to hold your hand as you cross the street refuses to let go on the other side. ~Theodore Forstmann

Friday with Corey "A Failure to Communicate"

Today I was up early to shower and dress before hopping in the car for my 45 minute drive to visit Corey at the Taft Camp. Rod was to join us later in the morning, first he was scheduled for a checkup with his surgeon, related to his AAA surgery Oct 6th (from which he is recovering slowly but surely). I arrived at the visitation building, checked in and walked inside to find an available table. One of the things I like about the Camp visitation as compared to visitation over at the adjacent Low Security Prison (where Corey spent the first 3 years of his sentence prior to being transferred here) is the very fact we CAN choose our own seating, we needn't wait to have a guard on duty select it for us. Also we have regular size tables, and can sit next to each other, as opposed to across from each other.

Anyways, I selected a table that has become one of our "regular" spots to sit, funny how we are such creatures of habit (well some of us are), and was pleased to see friends of ours, Susie and her husband Ron, sitting at an adjacent table. Susie drives up from San Diego every friday to visit her husband, on occasion she is a welcome overnight guest at our home, those times she is able to visit at the camp two days in a row before making the almost 5 hr drive back. I stopped and chatted with them a few minutes before sitting down at my table to wait for Corey.

Corey had asked I arrive around 9 am this morning, and I was johnny-on-the-spot as always. I took my place at the table, waited a little while, decided to change my dollar bills into coins that are more readily accepted by the vending machines, then went back to sit down and wait some more. Minutes passed...5...10.....15...20....Javee, one of the regular inmate orderlies (and a friend of Coreys) came by to say hello and also to join me in wondering what was taking Corey so long to show. At one point he went back to the Control Room to verify the guard who had checked me in had indeed remembered to call Coreys name on the intercom...he said he had. So again I sat and waited, as I watched other inmates show up for visits with family or friends who had arrived and been checked in AFTER I had been.

FINALLY, as Javee and I are chatting, I see a smile cross his face as he looks across the room...Corey is coming into the visitation room. Well it seems, as famously worded in Paul Newmans movie Cool Hand Luke, there had been a "failure to communicate". Corey had decided this time he would wear his warm gray sweatshirt to visitation as the weather has really cooled off, and he had just gotten over a cold. Often we've seen other inmates wearing their warmer gray sweatshirts in visitation, and though Corey had never worn one in before he understood it was "allowed". Well I guess it depends on which guard is on duty any given day. The rules set forth by the establishment (in this case the dress code at visitation) we've learned are always subject to interpretation" by whichever guard happens to be on duty. Today the guard on duty believed gray sweatshirts were NOT allowed to be worn to visitation, so when Corey arrived at the outside entrance to the Visitation Bldg, he was greeted with "Leavell, seems we have a failure to communicate"...I wonder how long he'd been waiting to use that line??? LOL ...though I have to add, the guard was friendly and kept it light, but proceeded to tell Corey he needed to go change into a white T-shirt, gray was not allowed in the visitation room. Though it is always a complete waste of time to argue with a prison guard, Corey did argue the fact that as stated in The Rules visitors to the Camp are not allowed to wear white, gray or khaki colored clothing because those are the colors the inmates wear, in the units, the yard, and in visitation. Regardless as to whether Corey was right or not, the guard wasn't about to lose face, and instructed him to return to his Unit to change his clothes. Hence the long wait before we were able to begin our visit today. I was just happy to see him, and to spend the day with him.

In retrospect, my wait today was nothing compared to a young woman who had the misfortune of arriving for her visit close to 10 am. It is between 10 and 11 normally that the guards do a "standing count" of the inmates throughout the facility. I believe there are 3 such "counts" during a 24 hour period, morning, afternoon and late at night. No inmates are allowed to move about the compound at those times, until the count is cleared. So I watched her sit and wait patiently, all alone and looking a little bereft, for almost an hour and a half for "her inmate" to be allowed to proceed to the visitation room.

MY BESTS FRIEND'S RANCH

We stopped in to see our good friends, The Hollans, on our way through Washington to our cabin. They have 3000 acres which I find absolutely awesome... imagine...all that space!!! I love the idyllic farmhouse... its warmth and comfort immediately engulfed me and I felt a deep peace. How I love coming home!

From the time we got as far as Sacramento, until we reached our cabin retreat, we were embraced by nature as we do not know it in Bakersfield. Granted the central valley is lovely in itself, as is most all of California, magnificent really, but the mountains and forests of Oregon and Washington, after living in desert climes all year long, are a gift!

Signs of "patriotism" (or a teabagger?) along the way....

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." ~Abraham Lincoln

Bigfoot at Klamath Falls

DAYS AT SIDLEY LAKE

Early morning mist over the lake, the day is breaking....What humbugs we are, who pretend to live for Beauty, and never see the Dawn! ~Logan Pearsall Smith

At one time I had found this old fishing 'camp' tucked away on the northeast side of the lake to be an eyesore...over the years I've come to appreciate the old, rundown cottages (shacks!) and rusty trailors that make up the bulk of the accommodations it offers...it has a 'spirit and charm' all its own :).

























A cold, wet treat for a thirsty passerby.












On a clear day the lake is like glass...every cloud in the sky reflects back at itself with a smile.



















I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me. ~William Hazlitt

FALL VACATION

We made a trip back to Washington State a few weeks ago, hoping we'd not be too late for autumns glory. Here in southern Cal, at least here in the central valley, we get very little to write home about come Fall...of the trees that DO go dormant for the winter few have leaves that assume the glorious reds and golds we are so used to back 'home'.
But catch the color we did! Oregon was awash in the vibrant hues of fall, as was our home state. Upon arriving at the cabin we took in the lovely oranges and golds that signaled winter was not far off...we inhaled deeply of the brisk, clean air, a welcome relief from the smog-laden air we had taken for granted...until now!

The first morning after arrival, an early morning mist crept ever so slowly across the lake...and the calls of the loon were the only sounds to be heard as I opened my cabin door.

Silence is more musical than any song. ~Christina Rossetti