Life aint always pretty

So happy holidays to all. Snow here and there, lives full of joy,
sleigh rides each evening under the stars, hot chocolate by the
bonfire, just one big wonderful time of year.

Except real people are hurting, and living and dying, and life is not
always fun and smiles and please pass a bowl of cheery fresh oranges
picked by underpaid workers in Venezuela.

Watching and reading Dave and how his life is being pulled in two
directions at once. Life and joy and growing relationships on one
hand and the helpless feeling of watching a family member suffer and
knowing there is nothing we can do on the other. And it happens to
all of us. Each family that has a new birth is infused with joy as if
no other family on earth has ever been so blessed, so covered with
joy at the newness of life. And at that same moment, down the street,
in your very own town is a family suffering through the agony of the
end of life and feeling that no family on earth has suffered as they
have.

Part of me finds support for the "circle of life" concepts that are
so common in Buddhist philosophy by looking at the cycles of our
lives. Part of me wonders at the power and beauty and raw strength of
youth while another part (the larger part?) cries out for the
confusion and suffering that comes late in life. Just in my office at
PUC, one family has a new baby, another family just watched a mother
die, last week. How does it all balance out?

Watching my own mother move into the more complex stages of Alzheimer
disease is a struggle. Just writing that down is a struggle, it
somehow makes it too real. Too real, the changes in personality and
the loss of depth and soul and history and joy in new things and
confusion and loss of awareness that there are even changes taking
place. Where is the balance in life with a disease that takes our
heart and leaves our body to slowly die over ten years. Where is the
balance in life when who a person is slowly fades away into quiet. It
has been called the "long goodbye" by writers better then I, but
where is the goodbye when there is little awareness of the changes by
the person who is changing.

Hold each other, say "I love you" while there is still time. Be there
for each other, life is not for ever.

so, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and to all a good night.

craig

Hot water

Outside temperature, 35F
Water temperature, 105F

Perfect

Friends of ours gave us a used outdoor hot tub this past summer. I
measured and figured and calculated and found a way to install it in
our very small back yard. The installation needed to pass Linda's
approval and I had to figure out a way to get power to the spot. My
dad helped me, an electrician friend helped, I borrowed a crane to
lift it over the back fence. This is true, it does pay to have a
friend there also. And we got it installed.

I guess I have needed one of these things all my life. Mark and I are
in and out of it every day. Every single day. Linda is not such a
fan, but she has jumped in a few times. If I wake up sore, I jump in
the tub. Come home tired, ten minutes in the tub. Get sick, jump in
the tub whenever you feel chills coming on. Five or six times a day
then.

Want to go outside and watch for meteors? This seems to be just what
a hot tub was made for, my son and l laying back in the hot water,
watching the stars and discussing just about any topic a thirteen
year old can imagine. Girls, teachers, driving, desert, mountain
biking, computers, growing up, parents, school... it all seems to
come up for discussion under the influence of hot water.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for:

Linda, my loving wife who is in the other room right now watching
"Monster Garage" with Mark. Not because she wants to, but because she
wants to do something with our 13 year old that he enjoys. j

Mark, our wonderful son who is so normal at 13 it makes my heart
ache. The joys and pains of the teen years are just starting and he
is so sensitive and tender right now and I wish it would last
forever. But, on the other hand, I want him to spread his wings in
the future and set his own path.

My parents who will be coming to visit tomorrow. I am so blessed and
lucky since I am here in CA and get to see Mom and Dad. Brian and
Cowboy are too far away for all of us to get together very often, I
am blessed.

Brian and Cowboy, that is Kelvin for you CVA'ites. Both are in
Tennessee with their families. They lurk on the list and speak up
once in a while. None of us seem to talk that often, but I know they
are just there and we are here.

A roof and a bed and a job. I saw a report on "60 minutes" last night
about the thousands of family homes in New Orleans that will be
bulldozed to clear the rubble from the blocks and blocks of the city
that can not be lived in. The Lord has blessed us here in earthquake
country with many years of quiet.

I am just thankful for so much. There will be a family gathering on
Thursday here in Angwin at my uncles house. There should be about 25
uncles and aunts and cousins and spouses and it should be clear and
dry so we can sit outside away from the TV and the dead bird and it
will be wonderful.

I am the designated one to cook the fatted gluten for the vege
dishes. I have been doing some test cooking and it will be just fine.
I will be cooking a cottage cheese nut loaf and a "tender bit
casserole". Both very good, recipes available on request.

craig

Desert musings

>>
>> I guess I hale from the older days. Gosh that sounds old. I
>> knew Dave Seibert when he was just a single young man all
>> confused about who he should marry when the answer was right
>> in front of him. My family got to CVI and then CVA in 1971
>> and stayed until 76. I returned in 78 for one year and then
>> off to Laurelbrook through a curvy path. My oh my, them was
>> the days.
>>
>> Sitting here at PUC tonight listening to some old Dallas
>> Holm and Don Francisco that Linda just purchased on the
>> Apple iTunes store. "He's Alive" and "Rise Again" original
>> versions. I think back to all the growing up that happened
>> there and even after all the trips back to the desert I have
>> made there are still some things that I would like to do
>> with my 13 year old Mark.
>>
>> Climb Pariot mesa, I have only done it twice in all my
>> years.
>>
>> Climb the old "burro trail" up the north (river) end of
>> Porcipine ridge. Did that once with ken miller and camped on
>> top. We hiked the short hike over to look down onto big
>> bend. And maybe that trail could be made into a bike trail
>> and create a continous bike route from Moab to the valley.
>>
>> Ride a dirt bike, down, up the old road down into the wash
>> behind Castle Rock. When I was a kid it still looked like
>> you could drive down it, probably not now.
>>
>> I would like to prove once and for all if there are deer on
>> top of "the mesa". How did they get there?
>>
>> I would like to see the dinosour tracks on Fischer mesa.
>> Tromped over them so many times, never saw them.
>>
>> I would like to four x four up above miners basin with my
>> kid. I know the road is closed now and open to hikers and
>> pedal bikes but it sure was a fun drive in about 1974 with a
>> old military 4x4 with a flathead straight six.
>>
>> I want to try to gather some quartz crystals from above
>> beaver basin. And this one I still plan to do. I know it got
>> pretty cleaned out in the crystal craze of the 1980's but
>> there still must be some up there.
>>
>> and, while not a complete list, I would like to camp at
>> Werner lake with my family who has never been there.

Making Plans for the Desert

I finally had the time last night to sit down with a map and a book
on the Mojave desert to start some serious research for our next
small expedition to the desert. This time it will be on the "old
mojave road" in eastern California. We will be driving from the
Colorado river west to Barstow on a dirt road. It is just under 140
miles of dirt road and supposedly some long soft sand sections plus
several passes to cross, it will be fun. This is scheduled for a few
days during the week after Christmas when we and Gerald and Quincy
from San Dimas will do the run together.

The old Mojave Road is an old supply route used by traders and
military trains in the late 1800's. This was not a well used route
for migrants due to the high summer temperatures and long stretches
between water. The route does lead across the desert from spring to
spring with dry stretches averaging about 18 to 30 miles. Turns out
one of these springs was the site of the last "shoot out" in the west
over water in 1925. Along the way we will pass the "penny can"
hanging from a joshua tree where superstitious wayfarers must drop a
penny in the can (who cleans out the pennies?). We will also pass the
Mojave Road mail box where the visitors log is located and we will
also pass the "government rock pile" on Soda Lake where each visitor
is encouraged to bring a rock to the middle of the lake to add to the
pile and to read the plaque. (the words on the plaque are secret and
known only to those who go out to the rock pile, OR to Guigni's
Grocery and Deli in St. Helena)

Eleven years ago we started this adventure. Gerald or I had learned
of the trail and we got together to drive about half of the road. We
promised each other that we would return soon and finish the
adventure. Eleven years is not soon but it is an indicator of how
caught up in life we can get. Mark was 2 last time we were on this
road. He turned 13 last Friday. Time is flying.

i-Impact

Well it has been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.

Apparently the entire community has been transplanted from Minnesota
to Angwin, California.

This week the circus of the mind has blown into town and it is taking
the hearts and minds and souls of the people without refund or
deposit. It is called i-Impact.

i-Impact (do a google if you like) is an expensive, intensive series
of weekend seminars that "all" thinking people should invest in to
look inside themselves and find the true meaning in life, find the
answers to all the problems in your life you never were able to solve
and thus become a whole person, all without the need for prayer.

This process (about $4,000) over 5 weekends must be raking in the
dollars based on the number of local, mid-career couples and managers
I know who have signed up for the life changing experience and are
paying out of their own pockets for the keys to unlock their happier
selves. A trip to Cancun, without a hurricane, a little snorkeling
and a prayer life could probably do the same thing.

i-Impact is a group process, in a hotel conference center where you
are led into the steps of self discovery by a "mentor couple" who
have experienced this themselves and have invited you to join them in
this journey of discovery. The first night is free. Of course if you
do not sign up after the first night, then you are in denial and your
resistance to self improvement is evidence of just how much you need
this type of program. Each weekend is then a stand alone seminar of
development. Thursday, noon to 11PM, then homework, Friday, noon to
midnight, then homework, Saturday, 10AM to midnight, then homework,
Sunday, 10AM to midnight. Four or five weekends of this, if you have
not found your self then you are not looking in the right places.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Two stories, two different endings:

I just finished reading the book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, (Atria Books, 2004) by Aron Ralston.

This is the story of the young man who was caught by the hand by a slipping boulder while canyoneering in South Utah in 2003. He was held tight by his right hand for 6 days while he ran out of water, reviewed his life, hallucinated wildly and finally found the inner strength to cut off his hand with a dull pocket tool and then hike and rappel down a 65 foot cliff to his rescuers.

I read the last several chapters about the final phases of his ordeal aloud to Linda and Mark around the campfire near Loon Lake on the edge of Desolation Wilderness, just west of Lake Tahoe. I am so moved by his courage and self control, yet moved also by his crying out in prayer to God or anyone else who would hear him and offer rescue or solace. While it is clear that his physical health and preparation helped keep him alive; it becomes very clear in the book that his mental stamina and personal courage were key tools in survival.

More personally,

I took a call from my friend Logan in Las Vegas last night. We met him in Utah years ago when Mark was young at a Nissan 4x4 event (goneMoab). He is an independent man who has worked hard in the IT and telecom industry and converted that hard work into free time devoted to exploring the West, Western history and leading wilderness 4x4 groups on rides and tours. He explored and designed the trip L2H which we were involved in last year; driving from Badwater, Death Valley to the top of Mount Bancroft. (or 282 below sea level to 12,470 above)

Logan was unable to join us and the Southern California Xterra club on the trip since he was sick at the time. He has been sick ever since and called last night to tell us that the doctors say he is dying. Logan is gay, he is one of the dearest men I know and he has spent months and months fighting every bug and lesion and skin cancer known to affect people with suppressed imune systems. He says he is not HIV positive. I suspect he is. He called me about six months ago absolutely filled with joy that he had a new boy friend that cared about him and enjoyed his company even though he was sick. I was very happy for him.

Last night I cried, I cried for him, I cried for the suffering in this world, I cried for the end of pain. Logan said he has brain lesions now and the drugs will either work to halt them, or he will die. He called because he needed someone to tell him he is loved and cared about even while there seems to be little we can do to ease his suffering. He has long ago been estranged from his family, his only contacts are several friends who stay in touch from time to time.

And I wonder about the two stories.

Two men, two lives, both interested in life and love and happiness and wilderness and freedom. Two different endings.

Random thoughts and tires

Sitting here listening to PUC internet radio podcast http://
www.puc.edu/pucradio as I try to develop some thoughts at the end of
the day. PUC can proudly say that we are the first SDA college to
offer scheduled podcasting of a campus program of news and info for
the campus and students.

Today was new tires day on the Pathfinder since tomorrow is the start
of a scheduled wonderful weekend of camping. $921 later I have four
new bfGoodrich tires on the machine. I have never in my life thought
that tires could cost almost $1,000. I know, could have put on some
cheep brand but the Craig Theory is that these tires will last long
enough to make the extra expense worthwhile.

On Friday my family is going camping for the first time this summer.
Seems hard to believe but we never spent a night in our camper this
entire summer. Mark and I had our trip to General Conference but we
never did get any camping in. Mark has the day off from school
tomorrow and we are going up to Icehouse Reservoir above Placerville
for a weekend of camping, hiking, 4x4ing and general book reading. I
need to get away after two weeks of getting the late arriving
students into the computers and registered for the fall term. Linda
has been swamped at the Bookstore with the normal flood of students
complaining about the cost of books and supplies for students. Mark
has settled in fine in his school and a day off will be nice.

Mark is now involved in weekly math tutoring after school and he is
more excited about school then I have seen in a long long time. He
wants to go to school, what a wonderful concept. In a couple weeks he
is scheduled to go on a two night field trip up to the Lassen Peak
area for a Science field trip. We are so pleased that he is in a
Christian school that can go on such a trip and present nature as the
Book of God without getting bogged down in evolution.

Media Bias, Oh no, Never

One item crossed my path today that grabbed me and bugged me. Item one, media bias in the reporting of the words of any public, conservative person, this time William Bennett, to promote the idea that conservative people are foolish, racist and unworthy of consideration.

First, the currently popular book, Freakanomics, promotes a view of the world not fully understood by many casual reviewers and the section on crime demographics and abortion is particularly problematic as Bill Bennet found out today. He commented that the book hypothesizes that the increase in abortion has contributed to the decline in crime in America. He went on to theoretically comment that abortions of black males would reduce the crime rate. He carefully extended his comment to include the statements that such an idea is morally wrong, empty of any value and reprehensible.

The author of the book responded to Bill Bennett's comments on the authors blog.
http://www.freakonomics.com/2005/09/bill-bennett-and-freakonomics.html

Then the 24 hour news system of America picked up his remarks and edited them down to just the salacious words with no context and began to condem the man as a racist pig on the far right of the spectrum.

The entire little episode seems to show up the new media and reporting style more the the possible poor choice of words on talk radio. It also follows on the heals of the news medias cheerful and entirely wrong reporting of all the rapes and assaults and murders and chaos in the New Orleans Superdome that never actually happend. Never mind checking the facts or getting it right. Getting it first, fast and emotionally is what keeps the viewers. Issue the corrections later.

Mt Sinai, Ron Wyatt and pseudo archeology

> http://www.jimandpenny.com/en/

As always I am interested and thrilled by new ideas and
theories regarding history and the Bible. The above web site
is the story of an American family in Saudi Arabia and their
journeys into the desert in search of Mount Sinai in Arabia
instead of in the Sinai region of Egypt. Very interesting.

I do not remember just where, on the web I am sure, but I
have seen pictures of this same mountain in Arabia and read
the story of others who have found this mountain and feel
that it fits the description and image of Sinai better then
the "traditional" site to the north and west.

But I am dissapointed that this family, and others, have
relied on the writings and theories of Ron Wyatt, the
deceased and completely debunked self made researcher who
said he solved all the big puzzles of Bible geography before
he died.

http://www.wyattmuseum.com/

Ron Wyatt was a busy man who over a number of years
discovered:

Noah's Ark
Sodom and Gomorrah
Mt. Sinai
The Red Sea crossing site
Ark of the Covenant
Blood on the Ark mercy seat
How the pyramids were built
The golden calf alter
And other wonderful discoveries too wonderful to discuss....

This site which argues against Ron Wyatt discoveries
describes him as, "a devout Seventh Day Adventist."

http://www.isitso.org/guide/wyatt.html

All three sites above are interesting reading with the
standard disclaimer that since it is on the internet let the
reader beware and draw your own conclusions.

Did I mention we rode up Mt St. Helena?

Mark and I purchased new mountain bikes this summer.
Specialized Hard Rock's.
He and I have ridden and ridden all across the PUC property and other spots in Napa County. In late August there was the annual Howell Mountain Challenge race held at PUC and Mark came in third in his class on his very first race. The race for his class was ten miles of roads and trails in our back yard and his local knowledge probably helped cover his lack of experience.

I was supposed to ride in the race but was unable to enter after a tragic and freak accident involving a massive sprain of my left ankle while practising riding wheelies on my new bike. Freak thing, should not have happened and I failed to calculate the forces of gravity. So no race for me.

But last sunday we rode up the fire road to the top of Mt St Helena.

From the website: summitpost.org

Mount Saint Helena is the highest point in the San Francisco Bay Area watershed. It is located on the boundaries between Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties, about 80-90 miles north of San Francisco. It is of volcanic origin, situated in the general area of Clear Lake Volcanic Field, a geologically active area with numerous geysers and hot springs. From the summit on a clear day Lassen Peak, High Sierra, Snow Mountain, Mount Diablo, Mount Tamalpais, Pacific Ocean are all visible. With a binocular you can even see the high-rise buildings in downtown San Francisco.

Mount Saint Helena has a summit plateau bordered by five sub-peaks. North Peak is the highest point. The edges of the summit plateau drops off precipitously to the surrounding valleys. A fire road (gated) goes to the top, where there are radio and TV antennas. Most of the hike is along the fire road, however the lowest 1 mile is a hiking trail if you use the hiker's trailhead. Along the fire road there are numerous rock outcrops popular for technical rock climbing.

About biking up Mt. St. Helena: it is a rewarding 5 mile up-hill journey to the 4343 foot summit. You start right around 2200 feet at the fire road entrance. There is a gate but you can easily hoist your bike over it after parking just down the road a little bit. Be extremely cautious of traffic when crossing the highway to the entrance. Many drivers think they're competing in the Indy 500 when they drive this stretch of highway so WATCH OUT.

Once you reach the top keep an eye out for some of the outstanding features of California. All of this is hard to take in at one time especially if the weather isn't on your side. Try to go on a clear day or just after a storm. If you can swing it, go early before the sun rises and you'll be rewarded with a SPECTACULAR sunrise. I always bring a camera. Every day presents something new. So Mount Saint Helena is one of those places that should be visited over and over agian. It's gaining popularity though and it is often almost impossible to find a place to park. So go early!

Now back to Craig

the ride up took 1 hour and forty five minutes of relentless riding, walking, riding, pushing, short rests and riding some more. Each of us thought about quitting at different times, but we pushed on to the top of the south peak. If I keep this up I may end up in shape.

Announcing Craig's Blog

After much wondering and pondering and realizing I needed to do it
for me, I have finally created a weblog and decided to share with you
that it exists.

Sending Mark to a new Christian school got me started. Thinking about
hurricanes and weather has kept me going. There is always something
going on. For better or worse the weirdness and shallowness of the
SDA community will be observed on from time to time. And it any of
you desire to comment that is fine too.

http://okbacktothestory.blogspot.com/

craig

Hurricanes and weather erata

When you think about the devestation that Galveston had over
a hundred years ago from a hurricane you wonder what the end
of time will/would look like with multiple calamities all
over the earth. The devestation from these storms in the
Gulf of Mexico makes any earthquake in California pale in
comparison. Even the '06 quake in San Francisco caused
historically uncertain damage since the city was ravaged
with fire just after the quake. And stories continue to this
day about some fires being set to destroy property that was
not destroyed in the quake.

But these hurricanes have destroyed more, killed more then
the quakes by far. I spent some significant time reviewing
the site weatherwar.info and while the super secret monster
government takes control of the world weather using secret
weapons that we never heard of and it all will kill us but
they wll never tell us theory leaves me unconvinced; I do
wonder what impact humans have had on the weather.

Right now, in the far north there is an on-going melt off of
glaciers and polar seasonal ice that has been going on for
more then fifty seasons.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2558319.stm

What impact has man and the machines of man had on this long
term event? I have no idea, but I wonder.

As a counter point to the current melt back in the arctic,
science points out that the hills of Ohio and the carved
canyons of Yosemite were both made with the action of ice in
either large ice age flows or tremendous glaciers of the
distant pass.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ice/chill.html

So what brought an end to such great ice and cold ages of
the past? I am not discussing passage of time here but the
cause of change. At the end of the "ice age" there must have
been some cause of global warming.

What was that cause. I doubt that it was the automobile

Schools and Control

I would never have ever ever pushed the buttons of a teacher or choir
director or principals wife. No, not me.

There seems to be a teacher preparation method that instructs young
teachers to "involve" the children in the classroom structure and
leadership. This will give the children "ownership" and make them
feel "valued". OK, wonderful, but just who is in charge? Often it
seems it is the kids. One of the local SDA schools seems to focus on
student satisfaction and "self esteem" rather then academics and
sound instruction. The families in the region openly comment, " you
go to this school for the academics and to that school for the good
self esteem." As if a quality school could not offer both at the same
time.

I have commented here before that I was invited to sit on a "parent's
panel" is a teacher training seminar at PUC, this was a couple years
ago. In the seminar the panel of parents were presented with various
parent/teacher communication opportunities. Your kid hit another
child, your kid lit the bathroom on fire, whatever...
In each situation the parents were asked to express how the school
should handle the situation and communicate with the parents and
child. After each parent expressed what they thought should be done,
the facilitator explained to the teachers in training exactly how to
respond to that type of parental "meddeling or micro manageing". The
student teachers were told over and over. "you are the teacher and
you need to not let the parent's desires control the relationship."
So the teacher is supposed to be in charge and if the parent does not
like the teacher classroom style, go ahead, talk to the teacher but
don't expect any great results. The teacher is in charge.

Flower of the Day

It is about time for my picture to arrive on the blog. No particular reason, just time. Today I posted a lengthy report on our family choice of schools on the CVA list. One of the list members was asking why we chose a christian school rather then an SDA school. Now I wish I had sent the post as an email to the blog so I would not need to say it all twice. Too bad.

What to say?

It has been a week. Mark is settling in to his new school and Linda and I are adjusting to the drive. 110 miles a day for school drop off and pickup is going to be interesting if we don't find some car pool partners.

Mark is pleased with his teacher and the school. He is aware that this change actually holds him back a year and he is doing sixth grade over again. He said, I am glad since I understand the work better. I hope that does not mean he is thrilled to not have to work hard since he already knows the material. I was doing the age/grade math in my head last night and if he has no other setbacks it should be all OK. He will finish 8th grade at 15 and turn 19 during his senior year in high school.

I guess all the angst on my part is related to me. How am I doing as a father, are we providing the very best for Mark. I more then hope so, I want to make it so. Yesterday Mark asked me to help him print out some pictures of him for the school bulletin board. A baby picture and a current pic. We did that and then he showed me a paragraph he wrote to go along with his pictures about his dad. About me. I was touched. He wrote of a loving dad who spends time and takes the family camping and loves God and cares about Mark.

Mark changes schools

Today was the day we had to finally decide where Mark will be attending school this school year. Short history. We pulled him from PUCE late last year due to significant conflict between Mr Fisher and Mark in the 6th grade classroom. Mark was failing to learn, the teacher was failing to use teaching methods that connected with Mark. Mark finished the year in home school. That was in March or April. Since then he has been working on all his subjects at home and after the summer break we started a home school program led by Linda that included all required 7th grade subjects plus band at PUCE and math at Sylvan Learning Center in Santa Rosa. Due to a variety of conflicts from scheduling to personalities we decided that Mark needed to be back in the classroom. But where?

Dona is teaching at First Christian School in Napa and recommended we explore that option. I wanted us to explore Foothills school. Linda and Mark visited both schools and felt the differences in each school made Napa Christian the best choice for Mark. Both felt the attitude of the school, the style of the teacher and the focus on Jesus Christ was stronger and better suited to Mark in Napa rather then Foothills. So we started doing the financial math. Tuition, $470, deposit $250, uniforms, $200?, monthly gas, $400. It all seems completely insurmoutable. Impossible.

I was in Albion at dept retreat and Linda and I spent much time on the phone together, then time praying apart. How could we pay the bill in Napa, what was God's plan? What was the best decision, where was the clear sign from God we needed. I finally declared that based on finances alone we had to make the choice for Foothills, it just had to be the right decision. I spoke with Linda again, she felt, NO, it was not the best choice. I spoke to Mark again, he said, "Dad, I will go to school where ever you and Mom feel is the best place for me, but I must say that I did not like the noise and talking back to the teacher in the class at Foothills and I am afraid if I attended there I would start to act the same way. I think the best place for me is Napa but I don not know how you can pay for that. But the spirit there is much better and more like Jesus."

Well, how do I go against that? How could I possibly say, No, all wrong there kiddo, off to Foothills you go? Maybe this was the sign I actually was looking for.

Linda and Mark are in Napa right now, finishing details of enrollment.

Yesterday

Yesterday I went to a memorial service for a man I only met twice in my life, Dr. Rodney Beard. He was a professor at Stanford from 1949 to 1969 and I met him twice at business luncheons in the 1990's. He served on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Hearing Board prior to my service and that was our only connection. The service was in the Faculty Club at Stanford.

At the service his daughter Marney told family stories and shared that the family used to vacation at what she called, "white cottage ranch" when she was young. I spoke with her after the service and learned that we were probably both in Angwin at the same time in the early 1960's. Circles of life that rarely touch.

I was at the service to reconnect with other friends from the BAAQMD and it was a treat to spend an hour with Tom Ferrito and Ken Manister. Tom is the former mayor of Los Gatos and Ken is a law professor. Both are practising attorny's. Tom, Ken and I were each Chairperson of the Hearing Board over the years and I will probably forever have the distinction of being the youngest Chair in the history of the Board. Ken is currently representing a company before an air district board in Red Bluff in a case involving medical waste disposal. http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,134~26762~3048765,00.html
In this case the green activist and slandor slinger, Bradley Angel is representing "Greenaction" of San Francisco in questioning the validity of the CEQA process of the permit. Bradley is the activist fired by Green Peace after failing to prevail over my Hearing Board in the IES case of about 1998 in Oakland.

Day one of the rest of the story

This is posting one in Craig's blog. Topics will range across: family, work, God, friends and related topics.