a response to Frank Chin

Well then, Frank. You are even more mean of spirit than you were in high school. Your skewed vision of reality then as well as for the many years you have been walking this earth manifests itself whenever you "open your pie hole", or do you now use a computer(?). I feel bad for your "not friend" to whom you wrote your latest rant. Accepting treatment for cancer and coming through it is not the easiest part of the life that a lot of us live. Many of us from the Bay Area have and/or are in that process. We are mostly in our early seventies, or have recently deceased. We prefer to remain friends with those whom we spent those three years. We also try to keep our good wishes for the same persons. We all revere our ethnic backgrounds. When we marry, we often add a different ethnicity that we learn about and help our children revere. In doing so, we find that we also appreciate the backgrounds of others not only within our families but those with whom we work or share experiences. Since I was born and raised in Oakland I did not know my southern background until I got in contact with some of my cousins and aunts. As you know, there were many different ethnic persons in Oakland. There were very few southerners though and so I was so appreciative of my relatives who helped me understand from where I came. I am sorry that you have not changed. I feel bad for you as well as Allan Kornblum. I hope he does well with his fight for life. I appreciate his understanding of you. I wish I were able to do the same. Suzi

Might as well finish what has happened

When I was last here, (writing about my 2009 experiences) I managed to break my ankle, right after Thanksgiving. Not cool. 5 days in Washington Hospital, Fremont after operation, 1 plate, 6 screws. No walking for 2 months.

Returned to Texas, Cindy driving but me not helping. We had Aidan, 4 yrs old and Matilda, the dog. Slow going. Once we got to Flagstaff we began to encounter snow. The last day was long and dark and slick. I don't know how she did it, but, Cindy got us into Little Elm, through the ice and snow that was everywhere, even the driveway was covered in it.

2010 was not a happy year. So glad I did not celebrate. By March I developed an internal infection from one of my numerous operations. They could not find which bug was having it's way with me so sent me to a rehab hospital for a month of antibiotic shots. At least I was able to continue my rehab from the ankle break there.

In August I decided that TX was not the place to be. Hot and then hot again. I jumped in my car with son Charles who flew out and drove to California with me. After a nice drive we arrived back home in Union City. I stayed a while to visit with the boys, then left to visit friends and head north on 101.

It was nice to visit with friends I had not really seen since high school and reminisce about what we did, or didn't do and who we still knew or knew about.

I left Santa Rosa and slowly worked my way up to Washington State along the coast. It was a peaceful drive and not crowded like when you are near metropolitan areas. There were excellent fir trees and some deciduous trees all growing so close together that it was almost like a deep and dark cave. Whenever I came out of the trees it was sunny and beautiful. The ocean views were stark and wild. But the fog decided to come in and cover the ocean from the higher parts of the road. Farther on it was a higher fog that made everything dark and damp. Once I got near Astoria, the traffic got heavier. Naturally I almost went the wrong way and headed toward Portland, when all I needed to do was cross the river. I did manage do do that and made my way up 101 to Aberdeen, WA and then on to Ocean Shores to visit with my sister and brother-in-law.

Lots o' public domain books

Where have I been - again?

It has been a long time since I was here.

In 2008 I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. So after 2 separate operations on my colon and liver (where it had extended it's tentacles), I began chemo-therapy. With my daughter Lucinda's help I stayed "with it" while living at her house. At least I thought I was OK. My chemo lasted until Sept.4, 2009. Now I have appointments every 3 months with the Oncologist, Dr. Kinsella, who was so very nice and helpful to me. I would recommend her and her clinic to anyone needing treatment for cancer. When my appointments become every 6 months, I am considering moving back to Union City.

Lucinda, her son, Aidan and I traveled to Union City by car in November, 2009. It was a fun trip, as long as I was not driving. I had not done so since my diagnosis. Lucinda took Aidan to children's science museums along the way. We also went to the Grand Canyon. Aidan was so happy.

We arrived in Union City during the early days of November. We had avoided most storms on the way. Only the Tehachapi Pass gave us moisture and driving through clouds. Our plans included trips to friends and relatives in California and Washington.

More on my "adventures" in California in my next post...

Where have I been?

Union City, CA is where I am and have been for the last 4 months. Fixing up the house here so that it is saleable. Lots of work involved.

As usual, I got myself busy in the projects; this time by doing the purchasing. That also tends to make me get involved in the mistakes as well as the immediate success. More time and more work.

Ellie will stage the house on Monday. She promised. We shall see if it happens. If it does, I will attempt pictures. I already know it will look a lot better than when I was living there with our whole family of 2 parents and 4 kids.

Wish me luck.

"Fool me once, shame on me"

from Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America in his Weekly Update

"when longtime lobbyist and Hollywood actor Fred Thompson -- a man who once rented a red pickup truck in order to campaign in Tennessee as a man of the people -- indicated this week that he would seek the Republican presidential nomination, we knew how the media would describe him: Authentic. Folksy.

Let's back up a moment: Thompson didn't even drive the rented pickup, as The Washington Monthly reported in 1996:

Finishing his talk, Thompson shakes a few hands, then walks out with the rest of the crowd to the red pickup truck he made famous during his 1994 Senate campaign. My friend stands talking with her colleagues as the senator is driven away by a blond, all-American staffer. A few minutes later, my friend gets into her car to head home. As she pulls up to the stop sign at the parking lot exit, rolling up to the intersection is Senator Thompson, now behind the wheel of a sweet silver luxury sedan. He gives my friend a slight nod as he drives past. Turning onto the main road, my friend passes the school's small, side parking area. Lo and behold: There sits the abandoned red pickup, along with the all-American staffer.

The pickup was, literally, a rented prop designed to help a wealthy actor/Washington lobbyist/trial lawyer play the role of salt-of-the-earth populist.

But Chris Matthews and the Beltway pundit crowd don't encounter many actual working-class voters as they stroll the dunes of Nantucket. A wealthy lobbyist/actor who rents a red pickup truck to play the role of a regular guy strikes them as "authentic" and "folksy." Mark Halperin wrote this week that Thompson won his first Senate race "after driving his trademark red pickup truck all over Tennessee."

It wasn't "his" and he didn't "drive" it, of course, but the illusion of authenticity is all that matters to the pundit class. Thus a wealthy lobbyist in a rented pickup is folksy and authentic. (A Nexis search for "Fred Thompson and (Thompson w/20 folksy)" returns 40 hits since January 1. Several mention the red pickup; only Wonkette bothered to mention it was rented. The Washington Post assured readers that "[t]he signature red pickup truck from Thompson's Senate campaigns will be dusted off.")

On Hardball last night, Chris Matthews and Pat Buchanan swooned over Thompson:

MATTHEWS: I like the fact of how he responded the other day to Michael Moore. He's got a cigar. Of course, he can't light cigars in his home. Nobody can with their wives around. But he sat there with the cigar. But it was refreshing to me to see a politician with a cigar.

[...]

BUCHANAN: Well, you're right. There's this great naturalness to this fellow, and he was not -- he's not programmed in any way and he's fresh as he can be. I think he moves right into the front tier.

[...]

MATTHEWS: I can tell you, as a reporter, covering him back when he ran against Jim Cooper in that uphill race in Tennessee -- I called him up. I said -- I was doing like a column then -- and I said, "Can I see you?" He didn't have a title then. "Can I see you, Fred?" He says, "Yeah." He said, "Where do you want to meet for breakfast?" He says, "Where are you staying?" I said, "At this hotel." I was staying at, like, a three-star hotel. He says, "OK, I'll meet you there for breakfast." No flacks, no staff, no pomposity. He shows up. ... He seems like the real thing to me.

Matthews previously gushed over Thompson's "movie star" looks and "daddy" image.

Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald details more media fawning over Fred Thompson:

[T]he illusion of manliness cliches, tough guy poses, and empty gestures of "cultural conservatism" are what the Republican base seeks, and media simpletons like [Newsweek's Howard] Fineman, Halperin and Matthews eat it all up just as hungrily. That's how twice-and-thrice-divorced and draft-avoiding individuals like Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh become media symbols of the Christian "values voters" and "tough guy," "tough-on-defense" stalwarts.

And it's how a life-long Beltway lobbyist and lawyer who avoided Vietnam, standing next to his twenty-five-years-younger second wife, is held up by our media stars as a Regular-Guy-Baptist symbol of piety and a no-nonsense, tough-guy, super-masculine warrior who will protect us all."

It is time to tell the truth and share it with each other. I will not be "fooled again".

O'Sullivan's Dance Academy Wins

Today, Melissa's talented kids won first place in the Dance KAR competition in Alameda, CA. It was a production number based on Harry Potter. It was original and age appropriate.

The background and props were done by Melissa and a number of talented parents. There are 3 sections of stairs which seem to move by themselves just as in the books and movies. It begins with children arriving in a small boat with no oars or motor which floats across the stage.

The dancing is wonderful and includes roller skating, modern dance, jazz dance, modern top 40 dancing as well as flying owls and a kwiditch game.

I found the pictures. One of the team and the trophy and the other of a part of the performance.
The trophy is 4ft. tall. Taller than some of the dancers.

Congratulations, O'Sullivan's Dance Academy. www.osdance.com