Ben Carson

Ben Carson has committed several mortal sins. First and foremost, he does not fit the liberal mantra of a downtrodden black man. Secondly, he sins because he doesn't wallow in poverty, blaming the white race for his inability to succeed. The third and most damning, is that he is a conservative, a religious man and a successful Neurosurgeon.

All of the democratic flailing about how if you voted for anyone other than Obama, you were a racist is suddenly come back to haunt the black community. The shoe, firmly on the other foot, has suddenly shifted. No longer is it racist to condemn Carson, who is obviously too successful to be a poster boy for damning the white right, the oppressors of all blacks.

The attacks begin. All of which have been refuted. It kind of reminds me of the CBS/Rather disaster. Several personal attacks have come forth directed toward Carson. None of which held water.

Carson even got attacked by Kareem Jabar, claiming he wasn't a good representative for the black community. Like a basket ball player is an expert on government. More proof that the black liberal community has rolled out  the big guns, reinforcing my example of racism in reverse.

A president doesn't have to be a foreign policy expert, nor an economist expert, nor a military tactician. What he or she does have to be is an intellect, something sadly lacking in the current admisitration. That is why they have cabinet members, advisers in all of those areas. Would that the current White House resident have taken advantage of that option.

I'll bid our conservative intellectual candidate against your hollow, great speaker with no content worth listening to. Pot stakes.

Halloween Bash

For years the serious party animals have trekked to the Captain's Wheel Resort for Halloween festivities. This year is no exception.

Costumes are desired, the more outrageous the better. Prizes will be awarded for those that dress up.

Live music will be on hand with the band, Borgata. The party starts at 800 pm, Saturday night, October 31. The last time I dressed up for Halloween forced me to hide the pictures taken of me. I came a Peacock.

Come on down or you will wish you had.

Bayview Businesses

The tourist season has come and gone. This year was real tough what with the heat, wildfire scares and dense smoke. In normal years the local businesses make enough to slide through the Winter months whole. That may not be the case this year.

Those of us that took the Mercantile for granted with past ownership, felt the sting of having to trek to Athol or even Coeur d'Alene for items that could have been purchased locally. Many items when mileage expenses are thrown in do not justify driving long  distances to save a buck or two.

The restaurants are in the same position. We could loose one or more this winter if patrons do not give their support. Please make an effort to patronize these businesses as much as possible. As a tourist town, we could dive into a bad local recession if businesses can't make ends meet.

For those of you that do not live in Bayview, keep in mind that regardless of weather conditions, the state keeps hwy 54 in excellent shape all winter. Many of us do not even bother to mount snow tires every fall.  Come on down, check the million dollar view, spend some money here.

Human Caused Global Warming, a Hoax

I was given a book on the defense of fossil fuels by my brother while in Indiana last week. It was written by an expert on Climate, Alex Epstein, titled, "The moral Case for Fossil Fuels."

Whether you are a proponent of the Liberal Mantra which is closely related to extreme tree hugging, Spotted Owls, etc. or are actually hungering for objective information in this area, I urge you to take the plunge and either buy, borrow or steal a copy of this 2014 publication, published by Penguin.

Some examples of the history of farming, which of course covers the fight against world starvation, are repeated in this book. Examples which I had not thought of and I suspect many of you hadn't either.

We have the utterances of the imaginative Al Gore, who predicted that we would run out of oil in 2017, while realizing a glut which has brought costs down immensely. Others, such as our current Secretary of State, are also exercising their flannel mouths and shallow thinking about the good and bad regarding fossil fuels.

The worst of course is coal. Except that if the world stops burning coal, which nature has provided abundantly, starvation and freezing weather would cause more deaths than the Black Plague back in the dark ages.

For example, less than 100 years ago, farmers walked behind a mule towing a single blade plow or other implement.   Today we have huge tractors towing many plows that instead of allowing us to farm 5 acres, we can farm 5000 acres. This caused the death of family farms you say? How many family farms could feed the millions of people that populate this earth. The answer is none, other than the farmer's own family, of which my family experienced back in the '30's and '40's.

This graduation from the mule to tractor was made possible by fossil fuel. Diesel, gasoline and oil. Take these away and the world starves. There is no way that we can survive without fossil fuels. There is nothing in sight that will economically replace even a fraction of the need.

I will have more on this subject as time goes on. My voice is weak and the propaganda purveyors loud, but I will speak out anyway. Get the book. There is a ton of research that I couldn't begin to repeat. Buy the book.

Hillary's History

I received this as an e-mail. The origination is unknown, but since it relates historical facts I decided to reprint it here:

So The Clintons Weren't So Bad, Eh?

If you're under 50 you really need to read this.

If you're over 50, you lived through it, so share it with those under 50.

Amazing to me how much I had forgotten!

When Bill Clinton was president, he allowed Hillary to assume authority over a health care reform.

Even after threats and intimidation, she couldn't even get a vote in a democratic controlled congress.

This fiasco cost the American taxpayers about $13 million in cost for studies, promotion, and other efforts.

Then President Clinton gave Hillary authority over selecting a female attorney general.

Her first two selections were Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood - both were forced to withdraw their names from consideration.    Next she chose Janet Reno - husband Bill described her selection as "my worst mistake."

    Some may not remember that Reno made the decision to gas David Koresh and the Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco, Texas resulting in dozens of deaths of women and children.

    Husband Bill allowed Hillary to make recommendations for the
head of the Civil Rights Commission. Lani Guanier was her selection. When a little probing led to the discovered of Ms. Guanier's radical views, her name had to be withdrawn from consideration.

    Apparently a slow learner, husband Bill allowed Hillary to make some more recommendations.

    She chose former law partners Web Hubbel for the Justice Department, Vince Foster for the White House staff, and William Kennedy for the Treasury Department.

    Her selections went well: Hubbel went to prison, Foster (presumably) committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign.

    Many younger votes will have no knowledge of "Travelgate." Hillary wanted to award unfettered travel contracts to Clinton friend Harry Thompson - and the White House Travel Office refused to comply.

    She managed to have them reported to the FBI and fired.

    This ruined their reputations, cost them their jobs, and caused a thirty-six month investigation.

    Only one employee, Billy Dale was charged with a crime, and that of the enormous crime of mixing personal and White House funds.

    A jury acquitted him of any crime in less than two hours.

    Still not convinced of her ineptness, Hillary was allowed to recommend a close Clinton friend, Craig Livingstone, for the position of Director of White House security.

    When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of about 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (Filegate) and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, suddenly Hillary and the president denied even knowing Livingstone, and of course, denied knowledge of drug use in the White House.

    Following this debacle, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office after more than thirty years of service to seven presidents.

    Next, when women started coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment and rape by Bill Clinton, Hillary was put in charge of the "bimbo eruption" and scandal defense.

    Some of her more notable decisions in the debacle was:

    She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit.

    After the Starr investigation they settled with Ms. Jones.

    She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor.

    After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's
investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs.

    Hillary's devious game plan resulted in Bill losing his license to practice law for 'lying under oath' to a grand jury and then his subsequent impeachment by the House of Representatives.

    Hillary avoided indictment for perjury and obstruction of justice during the Starr investigation by repeating, "I do not recall," "I have no recollection," and "I don't know" a total of 56 times while under oath.

    After leaving the White House, Hillary was forced to return an
estimated $200,000 in White House furniture, china, and artwork that she had stolen.

    What a swell party - ready for another four or eight year of this type low-life mess?

    Now we are exposed to the destruction of possibly incriminating emails while Hillary was Secretary of State and the "pay to play" schemes of the Clinton Foundation - we have no idea what shoe will fall next.

    But to her loyal fans - "what difference does it make?"

    Electing Hillary Clinton president would be like granting Satan absolution and giving him the keys to heaven!

 
   

 

Great Escape

Sniffling, sneezing, coughing and wheezing, I boarded a Southwest Airlines 737 bound for the eventual destination of Indianapolis, Indiana. Actually the destination was/is Carmel, Indiana, an upscale residential community north of Indianapolis. The occasion was the celebration of my brother Stan Huseland's 80th birthday which will happen Saturday, October 10.

I call this a great escape, because my poor abused lungs were hacking up crap for two long months and counting, as smoke from area wild fires inundated my home in Bayview, Idaho.

The trip started a little rough, as I tripped coming back from the bathroom late the night before. I found myself propped up against a tray table, but apparently alright. My big toe though, hurt a little, so I turned on the light to inspect same digit. Much to my surprise, not only was the toe and the one next to it bloody, but the big one had lost it's nail entirely and the other partially. How that happened I have no idea, except I apparently caught my toe in the carpet. I slapped an over-sized band aid on it and took an APC, commonly known as Tylenol Three.

Not wishing to cancel my trip, I jumped in my car and headed toward the airport in Spokane, with an intermediate stop to see my newest grandchild, just a couple of weeks old, parented by my son Brian and his lovely wife, Jennifer. Lana, a fifth daughter is of course a beauty, albeit born a little chunky, weighing in at over 9 pounds.

I checked in, presented my baggage and went through security. I discovered a new rule. If you are over 75, they don't make you take your shoes off, which was fortunate, since the left one had a bloody band aid on it and I wore no socks, just moccasins. I tippy toed through the terminal, dodging killer feet that were determined to step on my abused big toe. 

My flight was in two parts. Spokane-Denver and Denver-Indianapolis. Landing in Denver, the touch down was a little rough either meaning we hit a wind shear on short final or the flight attendant made the landing, but we managed to walk away from it safely, which 99% of the times is routine in our airline industry. Still, when I passed the pilot I was moved to suggest they not let the flight attendant make any more landings.

When we deplaned, I noticed that we taxied past the huge concourse that Southwest uses as a hub, to the very end. I inquired what gate I needed to go to for my second flight, I was informed that it was gate A28, which I learned later, was a half mile walk from where I was.

Arriving finally in a pre-collapse condition I explained my recent toe challenge to the very nice lady at the counter, who immediately ordered up a wheel chair ride to the plane. I had pre-boarding  privilege, as a disabled passenger, and was boarded first, a new experience. They also ordered up a wheelchair for the other end.

As my brother and sister-in-law scanned the arriving passengers, they overlooked the old guy being wheeled out of the tunnel until I waved. I told them not to be concerned, as my condition was temporary. The young porter was extremely kind, even remembering to stop off at a rest room. He wheeled me right up to the car in the parking garage and was tipped accordingly.

Lo and behold, all my symptoms are gone. No more hacking up Flem, sneezing or any of the usual stuff I suffer every morning. Fresh smokeless air does wonders. I will spend a few days here until Wednesday, October 14, then repeat my journey back to my home, which I hope will be smoke free when I return.

Gone

I will be out of touch until the 15th.

American Legion Eligibility

I have debated with myself for many weeks now as to whether I wanted to write this. But I am both a communicator and have an axe to grind. Several years ago I was recruited by the Athol Post 149 by a member that was trying to line up votes in which he was running for something.

When we discussed eligibility dates, I explained that I served in the Washington National Guard from November, 1953 to June, 1956 at which time I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. I served for four years from June 1956 to June 1960. After that service I was awarded a service connected disability for the period of active duty.

A problem exists here. You see the Legion doesn't think I'm a real veteran because I joined the air force after Korean eligibility expired January 31, 1955. Eligibility started up again in February 1961 through May 7, 1975.

During both Korean and Viet Nam, as many served in Europe and North Africa as did in combat zones. The ones in Germany were waiting for the Soviets to come charging through the Fulda Gap from East Germany. It was the height of the cold war. But I digress. Those that never heard a shot fired in anger who served in places other than combat zones are eligible to join the American Legion.

I too served during the cold war. Our air force was so worried about Soviet nuclear attack that they designed a rapid relocation program called Reflex Alert. An entire SAC wing would relocate for a 90 day period either in Morocco or Libya. We had three bases in Morocco. Sidi Slimane, Ben Guerrere and Nouaseur, just 21 miles south of Casablanca. I was at Nouaseur. We were there to facilitate the SAC Reflex TDY's. I remember standing on the wing of an aircraft, fueling it when I observed three generations of bombers on the ground at the same time. The monster B-36 with 6 pusher props and four jets, the B-47 that appeared to be a fighter on steroids and the venerable B-52. I spent 18 months there followed by two years at McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington.

But I'm not a real veteran according to the hierarchy in the upper reaches of Legion leadership. The only justification I can come up with is that they, being combat veterans think they are above the rest of us. Soon the old men running the legion will find themselves alone, since the young vets from Afghanistan and Iraq are not interested in joining an old men's club, which is the result of stagnation.

Am I bitter? Bet your ass I am.Whether a war was or wasn't being held during my service of four plus almost 3 years of reserves was not my choice. I was there for whatever happened. Draftees that polished tanks in Germany for two years are members in good standing.

I finally decided not to be a member of an organization that didn't want me. I quit. One person even had the gall to suggest Son's of the Legion or Auxiliary. a blatant insult to my service. No longer am Iwilling to associate with those that I was essentially lying to.

Rooster Postscript

Since the aggrieved party didn't mention names, I won't either. But I do know who the rude neighbors are. After seeing DFO's Sunday column, apparently they felt the heat and got rid of the rooster. In every city, (Bayview is unincorporated) where chickens are allowed, roosters are not.

Jeanna contacted David Stewart, commissioner for the second district who paid attention to her dilemma. He contacted David Callahan, director of planning and zoning for Kootenai County. The zoning in the affected neighborhood is restricted residential. Callahan was proactive and was poised to jump all over this chicken caper. (pun intended)

Sunday morning came and went. No new crows were heard. Apparently believing that it would be counter productive to push any further, they avoided not just the official response, but a very lot of adverse publicity of which I would have participated.

All is well that ends well. One would hope that deliberate harassment of neighbors will cease. The need for the county commissioners is follow up. It would be very simple to enact an ordinance covering dense packed residential areas which would prohibit Roosters, Pigs and other obnoxious animals. 

THE UNZENS

I received a surprise this weekend as a call came in Saturday from Scott Unzen and his lovely wife saying they were boating south on their annual  trek to Bayview. I met them about four years ago when they introduced to me their love of my blog, Bay Views. Most of the time I get very little feedback, except when someone disagrees with me.

These were genuine fans of the blog. I humbly accepted the good things they had to say, knowing that they might be a majority of two. Actually, there are a few others, as my page views are approaching 393,947 page views since a Guy named Dave Oliveria, Ring master of the circus called Huckleberries on-line held a clinic on blogging back in 2005.

I was so ignorant of how the Internet worked that he had to practically tell me how to turn the power on. He led me by the hand, along with several other helpful friends until I learned to copy & paste, load photos, etc.

When the Spokesman-Review started the Idaho Handle Extra and the neighborhood special editions, I called and asked the then editor why Bayview wasn't included. His name was Tad. A victim of cost cutting he stood on his principles and quit. But first he hired me as an corespondent. He then added Athol and spirit Lake to my territory.

One thing led to another and I suddenly was a journalist. That last about five years, when they jerked the string and decided Idaho wasn't profitable. Rather than blaming their advertising department, they pulled out, not realizing that the bean counters were wrong and content and reader satisfaction was paramount. In short, they stopped being journalists and became as I said, bean counters.

There are two areas that drive newspaper income. Advertisers and subscribers. Advertisers count your subscribers to determine the exposure they get. Subscribers were dealt several blows. First, in pulling out of Idaho, just Bayview and Athol subscribers lost 60. These were people that enjoyed reading about themselves and their neighbors.

Then the extra money they get for selling the back page of a section overwhelmed the good sense of journalists who did jumps from the front page to interior pages causing folding and unfolding and sometimes skipping stories. The final blow, was when they started doing reverse jumps.   That is where they start a story on page 9 and continue it on page 8.

The total disregard for the reader has cost them hundreds of subscribers, which then push the advertisers to other venues.  Bean counters run the S/R, not journalists. The paper continues to shrink while subscriptions go up in cost. This is a prescription for failure. I feel sorry for my friends that write and photograph for what was once a great daily and soon will be a weekly.

Interesting Relatives

Most families have at least one and possibly more, interesting relatives. I will talk about those in my family, other than myself, who many have considered ... different for many years. But no, the award today goes to my Aunt Anna Huseland Gibbons.

When my Grandfather, Gunder Asbjornson Huseland died in 1908 just (in a reversion to a Norwegian, slip I originally spelled it yust) a short time after migrating from Wisconsin with my Dad, Amos, the youngest at seven years old and six older sisters. The family had established a homestead in an area of Stevens County, Washington know as Aladdin. Aladdin does not exist anymore, but the old highway between Colville and Northport is known as the Aladdin Highway. Since 395 was built, it now serves as a rural road serving folks who live in the farming areas along Deep Creek.

This homestead was called a timber claim and was 160 acres straddling Meadow Creek, a short distance from Aladdin Hwy and Meadow Creek Road. This intersection was prior to Highway 20 which took a long leisurely route from the Colville Airport through the mountains and ending a few miles south of Ione, in Pend Oreille County.

Back in the day of my family though, Meadow Creek Road travelled a short but steep route up over what was then called Huseland Hill, past Big Meadow Lake and on down to Ione. This was a very short rout for those living in the area of Aladdin, but to those in Colville not so much.

But I digress. After the death of Gunder, there was absolutely no income for the family. Zero, Zilch. The older sisters journeyed to Spokane, where they entered domestic service. They then send money home to Mom. Eventually, Seven years later, Gunder's widow married a man whose homestead was just a few miles north. His name was Pat Grace.

During that period the older sisters married as well. One, Anna, married a man who's occupation was tattoo artist. Working for Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Baily Circus, he soon convinced Anna to allow him to tattoo her. All of her. Eventually, she hired on with the circus as Artoria, the tattooed lady, where she worked for years. Her only child, a wonderful lady, lives in retirement in rural South Carolina, near antebellum homes and cotton fields.

Now that you know some of out secrets, how many of you have those long kept secrets that beg to be released. Tell us about them.

Seasonal Changes

It never ceases to amaze me how abruptly our seasons change. But this year tops them all. Going from almost consistently above 90 degrees and smoke, to the '60's and rain in just a day or so is huge.

With fires burning everywhere,  the rain, unusually, is very welcome. I'd sure like to see our resident Climatologist's prediction for this Winter. We need a decent snow pack this year or we are in big trouble.

Although this labor Day weekend is going to produce cool, rainy weather, next week end looks great.

I have a ton of green tomatoes yet to ripen. During the real hot months, fruit doesn't set. So a tomato grower gets two crops. An early one and then a pause where only green tomatoes exist, then if we are lucky, warm September weather will produce a good second crop. Or, there is always the indoor ripening process with numerous methods. (They all work)

I just spread a newspaper on my little used dining room table and lay them down not touching each other. Another way, is to wrap them individually and store in a cool dark place. The problem with that, though is you cannot see which ones are ripening when.

As far as pulling the plants and hanging them upside down is the mess that is created unnecessarily.
Just pick the easiest and run with it.

Smoke No More

It is becoming difficult to remember when we had clear blue skies. That is turning into a ruined last month of Summer. It isn't just about weather, it is all about tourism. The restaurants and stores along with marinas are suffering a dearth of people.

First, we had the Cape Horn Fire, which through thoughtless  publications from the Spokane TV Stations, kept on hammering on smoke, fire and the proximity of these fires, gave the impression that Bayview was out of bounds due to near by fires. I put that (fire) out by seducing  TV crew into actually learning the facts, rather than just using press releases about  percentages of containment rather than on scene reporting.

Then the three Sister Fire, which never actually was seen in Bayview.

Now we have the smoke. For days, now, smoke has settled into our little valley and has stayed. Smoke from fires north and west of us has joined into a devilish cloud of smoke, dust and hey, a couple of sprinkles of rain.

No end is end sight save the age old forest service statement that only the winter storms will put these fires out. It doesn't just end there.

Next spring, we will see devastating mud slides, baring rock that will not grow new trees. Homes that were not destroyed from fire will succumb to these land slides.

It's going to get worse. Much worse. Only time will tell how bad. In the mean time, the restaurants, marinas and other businesses have lost their best months of profitability  and are faced with the winter people that number about 300 to the 3000 summer crowd. The boat owners,Float home people and other fair weather friends, will be gone, and some of the Great recession effects will be present.

Alien Voters

The stage is set for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections. Obviously only citizens can vote. Some states are issuing drivers licenses to illegals. Federal courts are striking down protections for proof of citizenship.

Today, a non-citizen can register to vote by merely claiming that they are citizens and the states cannot make them prove they are. Idaho currently requires a picture ID at the polls In other states, the courts have ruled that it makes too tough for low income voters to comply with.

At this point there is no way that citizenship can be disproved. Is this a liberal conspiracy? I don't know, but it certainly works in favor of the Democrats who would inherit much if not all of the votes from these people.

Congress needs to step up and enact legislation that would protect us from these illegal acts.

Forest Fire Causes

For many years the Sierra Club and other extremist ecology groups have packed the courtrooms of this nation stopping forest managers from timber sales, thinning of forests and prescribed burns.

This Summer, the worst fire year since 1926, finds trees packed together in out of control brush is a direct cause of crowded forests burning during dry years. For every action, there is an opposite reaction. This is it.

Steep slopes that burn will lose their top soil to erosion which will take thousands of years to regenerate, if ever. Whether we will learn from this experience or not is problematical. Most extremists never get the message that normally comes from logic.  

Lead Point School

My son Brian and I took a road trip to the furthest reaches of NE Washington State Yesterday. The purpose was to meet with the Superintendent of the Northport School District to explore the possibility  of forming a volunteer group to repaint and do other minor rehab items, then applying for National Historical status. After all, what is a better historical item in an agricultural area, than the venerable one room school house.

Where our interest came from was that Nina Baron Huseland's first teaching job was at the Lead Point school in 1929. She was my Mom.

Our trip was for more than one purpose. I wanted to show Brian the original short route from Colville, Washington to Ione, in Pend Oreille County. Currently, the Tiger route beginning at the Colville Airport, is the main well paved road. This was not always the case. For many years the direct but steep route was from Aladdin at the west terminus, following Meadow Creek past Big Meadow Lake and down into Ione. It is about one third the distance of the Tiger route. Still a dirt road, is is well groomed. The western portion used to be referred to as Huseland Hill, since it bisected Gunder Huseland's homestead.

We picked a bad time to do this though. Forgetting that road construction season was upon us, we passed an ominousness sign. Road work 33 miles. They were chip sealing 33 miles of the highway. Finally, we made it to Ione whence we ascended the aforementioned short route.

On into Northport we traveled, passing another what used to be a one room school which had two names. Doyle school and Deep Creek School. It is now a storage building on the farm it resides.

We were well received by Don Bribault, Northport Superintendent of Schools, along with a school board member who's name I didn't write down. They appeared interested in the concept, since for several years they had failed to sell it. As a home, the building had some obsolescence. The bathroom was limited to an outhouse. No indoor plumbing, a well that was probably only about 20 feet deep, as the area is near the shallow end of what is Deep Lake, sub-irrigating the land under the school. We were impressed, as Don, after discussing our planned visit the next day, drove the several miles to check out the school before meeting with us.

It badly needs paint, was the exterior is deteriorating. (Lead based paint, of course) I am about to start a Facebook group, as soon as I find a way to do it without getting stuck part way through the process. We will gage interest, as well as willingness to contribute to the fund. In short, it would be cheaper to build new, rather than to rebuild this un-insulated building into a legal residence. What is a kudo to this mostly ghost town, is that vacant since 1960, after multiple neighborhood use, not one window pane was broken.

Wish us luck as we attempt to save this educational icon, the One Room School house that offered 1-8th grades to area farm kids. Without school buses, the schools had to be within walking distance of the homes it served, ergo the plentiful numbers of them that existed back in the early 1900's. Those that are left are easy to spot as they all used the same plans when built, probably given free by the U.S. Government.

Paper saving was in effect even back then, as wrap-around blackboards decorate the walls.

Fifties Revolution

I decided this weekend to revisit the dulcet tones of 1950's tunes. I started with the Crew Cuts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9G0-4TWwew.

Hm, well how about Bill Haily & the Comets:This was the start of real Rock and Roll. Their hit, "Rock around the clock" took over the charts from the gradual slide from Rhythm & Blues, which then became a part of the rock generation. There were many others, but I'm coming on with the pioneers in music.

The mid-fifties  which coincided with my junior-senior years in high school, was the most revolutionary period in music. Elvis blasted upon the scene which brought many country singers to score well in both genres. Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, (my neighbor's ex husband) The Big Bopper, who could forget Ritchie Valens and La Mamba.

Then there was the star attraction in those days,  Buddy Holly & the Crickets. The three were touring together during cold winter weather, on unheated buses. Holly decided to fly to the next venue, which was North Dakota. Waylon Jennings, the bass player for Holly, gave up his seat to one of the other head liners. They all died along with the pilot on that cold snowy night.

There were others that met the same fate, as making it to a commitment was gospel for these performers.

To sum up the fifties, is that we had some horrible lyrics like Shboom, Shboom, and some great music. During the three years I was in High School, 1954-56 we had holds overs from WW11, like the Andrew Sisters, the McGuire Sisters, and other trios and quartets.

The music that grew out of that mishmash produced great harmony in the 1960's like the Everly Brothers and many others.

After reviewing a long line of musical changes, while I wouldn't give up the musical crossroads, better music came in the 1970's. Credence Clearwater, the Doors, the Hill Top Singers who recorded a CocaCola commercial that went viral. They had to go back to the studio to record those famous words: "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony..." .

But my all time favorite goes back to the 1964-68 career of the Seekers, with Judith Durham, an Australian like the rest of the group, perhaps the greatest female lead ever.  They mostly recorded in England, where with two top hits, "I'll never find another you," and shortly thereafter,"A world of our own, both of which knocked the Beatles off the Number one charts. Check them out on YouTube.

Bayview Wins

A bloodbath was averted Thursday afternoon at the candidate interviews for Water & Sewer Board. Susan Weeks, attorney for the water district organized and pretty much led the interview process. The beauty of it all is that everyone played nice.

There were some very qualified applicants, with the unanimous winner, being Richard Doney. Richard has owned his home in Cape Horn Estates for 15 years, with residency beginning 6 years ago upon retirement from the Monrovia, California Policy Department. He spent 30 years and held just about every position except police Woman.

A detective, a Helicopter pilot for the department, who just in case, always sat on his bullet proof vest. Richard was a detective for 22 or those years before transitioning to helicopter pilot. He taught law enforcement at Rio Hondo College, as well as the California Police Academy.

What most of us didn't know, was that the Cape Horn Fire Brigade was activated during the Sunday start of the big blaze and operated with their tanker trailer for 36 straight hours. Richard Doney was right there with the other 12 resident/firefighters. They doused hot spots and saved at least 6 houses from destruction.

Currently, Richard is president of the Cape Horn Estates Home owners Association. Please welcome this super qualified new member of the Bayview Water & Sewer Board of directors. His motto is, "What is good for the Goose, is good for the Gander." A straight shooter, who does nothing behind any one's back.

Water & Sewer Board Election

Today is the day that the Bayview Water & Sewer Board elect a 5th member. As it stands now, two are holdovers and two are the newly elected members. Agreeing on a 5th could be challenging.

For well over 20 years, elections were unnoticed, unadvertised and ended up with appointments rather that transparent efforts to adequately represent the wishes of the absent voters.

As it sits now, 2 are holdovers that never ran for office, but were appointed. Two ran and handily beat their incumbent opponents. Both have different agendas. Exhibited by the hasty meeting held 5 days after Chuck Waller's passing, an attempt was made by the holdovers to maintain a 3-2 majority and hold onto what some wags have referred to as "Big frog, Small pond" attitudes.

Since neither side can have a majority, it is hoped that common sense will prevail and a person with good qualifications and ties to neither side will be elected. If that doesn't happen, then a person will be selected by the state. It is preferable that this slot be filled with a knowledgeable personable individual with a positive attitude, rather than plunging deeper into disarray.

We are about to find out which will occur.

Cape Horn Fire Pictures

 

The first three pictures show the total destruction of several houses near the shoreline. I have seen burned homes before. Never have I seen such total destruction. No charred wood or plumbing, chimneys ... Nothing. Just what looks like concrete rubble.

What I found remarkable though, was when I drove out to the end of the Cape. Not one house was damaged on the uphill side. Where the fire burned all the way down to the road, and knocked on the back doors of some homes, all were saved except the 6 that were grouped on the same access road on Lake Front. I hear one home owner rented a float home while waiting for insurance issues to work through. I think I can speak for all of us that live or recreate here, that one we feel for the people that were burned out, and two, the heroic efforts of the fire fighters saving most of the homes that were at risk.

While on the cruise Thursday, we saw a spot fire up the mountain and in an area that hadn't burned. There was a thunderstorm 3 days previous, which was most likely the cause. The wind was dead calm and the smoke was vertical. Friday we were out all day and not even a wisp of smoke. 

The last picture shows the only place a shipwrecked couple could have got out of the water. Both sides for quite a distance were sheer rock walls clear down to the water. This would explain why the panicked firing of flares, given the rough water conditions then. Lacking training that might have made them understand what happens to a flare that is fired into the wind and an up angle it is no wonder why it curved back over their heads and started the fire.

We can second guess them and many will. But untrained and in distress, the chose to use the only life saving means at their disposal. That they had flares, required on all boats, was to their credit. Unfortunately they should have fired them at a shallow angle. Even then, using a hand held radio and calling for help would have been safer for all.