June, 2005 Time, youth, and the circle of our lives The lyrics are from a song by Jackson Browne called 'The Pretender' and are in italics I'm going to rent myself a house In the shade of the freeway I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning And go to work each day And when the evening rolls around I'll go on home and lay my body down And when the morning light comes streaming in I'll get up and do it again Amen Say it again Amen    Traveling along the roadway; one of my favorite musicians blaring from the speakers, Jackson Browne with an old tune, one that resonates in my psyche as I travel along. This tune brought back a rush of memories, hopes and dreams from my miss-spent youth and now from this time in my life.    It sings to me of my youthful yearning to be rid of earthly desires, of a time when I most wanted nothing more than to wish for nothing from life but fun. Of a time when I saw the 'folly' of the working man, rising early each morning to toil in labor and vexation for his earthly reward of Monday night football and pizza, and a new car every third year; an endless succession of days and nights rolling along through the decades until the man finally gets to retire to his pitiful pension and social security. I want to know what became of the changes We waited for love to bring Were they only the fitful dreams Of some greater awakening I've been aware of the time going by They say in the end it's the wink of an eye And when the morning light comes streaming in You'll get up and do it again Amen    And then I went into the Army and learned a lot about a lot of things. And came out with a deeper appreciation for life and the things this country can give us, but still I resisted the call to material acquisition. But wanting to live in an apartment and not on the park bench I had to work. Caught between the longing for love And the struggle for the legal tender Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring And the junk man pounds his fender Where the veterans dream of the fight Fast asleep at the traffic light And the children solemnly wait For the ice cream vendor Out into the cool of the evening Strolls the pretender He knows that all his hopes and dreams Begin and end there    But I had a boss who demanded long hours at times. I was on the treadmill of modern life. I was endlessly putting money into life so I could make it to work. The landlord raised the rent on the apartment in a stunning series of 'bumps' until I decided to bite the bullet and buy a house. Still for years my bookcases were cinder blocks and lumber, and the furniture was made from cable reels and driftwood. The walls were decorated with homemade art and animal hides I tanned myself. My indulgence was my motorcycle.       Then I met Vickie... Ah, the laughter of the lovers As they run through the night Leaving nothing for the others But to choose off and fight And tear at the world with all their might While the ships bearing their dreams Sail out of sight    Yes, we ran through the night with the bliss of new-found love. And it matured and grew stronger through the years. And we did not care about the ships that sailed by in the darkness of our love. I'm going to find myself a girl Who can show me what laughter means And we'll fill in the missing colors In each other's paint-by-number dreams And then we'll put our dark glasses on And we'll make love until our strength is gone And when the morning light comes streaming in We'll get up and do it again vGet it up again    And now twenty years are come and gone, we live alone in the hills, a land teeming with wildlife, alone in our contented life, together with one another and the all-encompassing creation that we have entered into here. Going along in our own little world, just the two of us now that the boy is grown and gone to his own life. I'm going to be a happy idiot And struggle for the legal tender Where the ads take aim and lay their claim To the heart and the soul of the spender And believe in whatever may lie In those things that money can buy Thought true love could have been a contender Are you there? Say a prayer for the pretender Who started out so young and strong Only to surrender    An ancient Greek once said "Man comes into this world feeble, bald and toothless, he will grow and mature, and before he leaves this world he will again be feeble, bald and toothless". Life is a big circle of mystery, you never quite know what lies beyond the next bend, but you can bet that if you are lucky enough to live long enough, you will likely be feeble, bald and toothless as you near the end.    And I am now in the middle of the circle, and look back with some wry amusement at my youth and the hopes and dreams. Gone are the dreams of living in a hollow tree or a cave alone, and now I relish the thought of my warm house and comfortable couch with my own groove, my MP3 collection, satellite Television and internet. But my tastes and desires remain simple. Good yet simple food, good beer, and a happy time with my wife, the two of us laughing at the dog, tending the gardens, and talking.    What is there for the human but to have companionship and a secure dwelling place? So go and have some fun, but put your back into your work so that you can provide for your family. And take care of your family, both in a physical and a spiritual sense. Put as much effort into your familial relationships as you do your work. Show compassion for your children and spouse, and try to be the type of parent that will lead your children to a sense of themselves in a moral and work sense. For there is nothing better for a person than to work well and efficiently, and to enjoy it and provide a service to the community, but none of that is worth anything if you are lacking in love. June 11, 2005 The Michael Jackson Trial, and some of it's local impact    There are a lot of national and international media people in the neighboring town of Santa Maria. And now they are writing about our town while they sit and wait for the jury to decide. So on a news visit I found some articles that mention Santa Maria.    This article mentions that the local area is in the national spotlight.    More of the same was in this article.    Another article is titled 'Bittersweet time for town as Jackson trial ends'. A journalists guide to local restaurants. The Gastronomic Guide to the Michael Jackson Trial I liked this page, it showcases the local eateries. Now, I LOVE to eat, and I eat a great deal (eating is my favorite hobby), but I hardly ever eat in restaurants (Vickie and I have both worked in restaurants; enough said). I have only been to a few of the restaurants mentioned and reviewed here.    But do go to Jocko's restaurant which is reviewed at Jocko's Restaurant, Nipomo CA, it is THE local eatery that gets national reviews, and it's in our little town of Nipomo too!    My favorite burger joint in Santa maria is Orcutt Burger, reviewed at Orcutt Burger. They have GREAT burgers, that even come close to our home-made burgers at home!     The Klondike is the best pizza place I've ever eaten in, and Tuesday nights are the best night (because it's all-you-can-eat-night). I eat only the white garlic sauced pizzas there, 'cause I like garlic that much. June 11, 2005     This is a group that hates 4x4 vehicles. They are specifically against the SUV's in cities that are used just to commute to work and drop kids off at school. I don't think they'd consider me an urban 4x4 driver. Most of the times that I drive our 4x4 I actually do put it into four wheel drive as I drive it to the top of our mulch pile and dump off more mulch. You can see our truck at Fall 2004.    Now, to be honest, I don't know why 4x4's became so popular in the USA the last dozen years. You have more axles and the transfer case to keep lubed, and they use a lot more gasoline. Now there are a lot of drivers who drive a 4x4 like a regular passenger car which they are not. They are much more prone to rollovers, and should not be driven along weaving through traffic like I see so many young (women especially) drivers do.    The website ESUVEE has a lot of info on SUV's in general. I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks that an SUV or 4x4 is a good passenger vehicle. 4x4 vehicles in general are good for hauling things and the occasional rutted or sandy road. If you are not going to be going into mud and sand or some terrain regularly that would dictate such equipment, I'd not pay the extra that this equipment costs. 'Oceans Will Solve Global Warming is a study that says that the oceans will absorbe the Carbon dioxide that is feared to be a greenhouse gas. This leads into my theory of the Eartha s a self-regulating system that will maintain it's equilibrium by moving resources around to maintain a liveable environment.