Heat

Marie and I just took an adventurous trek over to Redding. With all the current wild fires in the area most of the normal routes were closed Highways 299 and 36 the most direct roads both closed. Highway 96, a more convoluted route also closed. We ended up driving all the way up into Oregon and hitting I5 and then coming back down into Redding, turning a normally 3 hour drive into about a six hour jaunt. Now that may seem extreme but some good came out of it. We passed through some beautiful country (scenic views of Mt. Shasta, the Castle Crags etc.) that Marie had never seen before. But the really bizarre thing of the whole trip was the temperature swing. Coming back home, As we passed form Oregon back into Calif. on route 199 (From Grants Pass to Crescent City) We stopped in Cave Junction for some refreshment at the Dairy Queen 'cause the temperature was at 104 (way to hot for a couple of fog crawlers from the coast) as we proceeded south and home we passed through the tunnel at Oregon Mountain just inside the Calif. border, temperature still at 104. almost immediately the outside temp started dropping. with in minutes the temp had dropped to 80.... by the time we reached highway 101, about 35 miles)the temp. was down to 57. That's a change of almost 50 degrees... amazing !!

Rudy's a Crossdresser !

Recently it was stated to me, as a fact that Rudy Guliani was a confirmed crossdresser. Now as one that listens to way to much talk radio (ya gotta love Sirius) this was something that I had not heard, so I decided to do some checking. What I found with just a few minutes of research was this. There were two times that the man has dressed up in drag. Once for a skit during an apperence on Saturday Night Live, and once when he did a "tacky" Marilyn Monroe impersonation at a friends celebrity roast.
Now if this is the criteria that makes a crossdresser then there are thousands of men all across this country that are guilty.... the guy that puts on a dress and goes to a Halloween party as a Russian Beauty Queen...... the guys who put on leotards and tutu's for the lodge talent show, or what about actors like Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire, Dustin Hoffman as Tootsie.... or all the guys that have put on a grass skirt with a coconut shell bra for that scene in South Pacific.
The article that was the fuel for this rumor was printed in the Washington Post and filled with inuendos and few facts leading those that wish to be led to draw from the inferences, and thats just plain wrong. But whats even worse that that, is to read that and even though it sounds like BS, to take it as fact. Like I said it took me less than five minutes to find the facts.

Advice

Over the years we get advice from various sources, parents, friends, people we admire or respect even people we don't really care for. Some of it is totally useless (this comes mostly from drunk friends) and it can be difficult to sort out the good from the bad, especially when we are younger. What we learn then (when we are young) can be a powerful influence on us as adults.
I have been listening to some recent stories about certain radio talk show hosts ( Bill O'Riley and Rush Linbaugh ) and things that they reportedly said on their respective shows. If I where to listen to one side I would believe that these people (the talk show hosts) where racists, unpatriotic or have a host of other character flaws. Then If I listened only to the other side I would believe that a group of people had entered some grand conspiracy to rid the air waves of their ilk.
But lucky for me I remember some advice I got from a High School teacher of mine (Mrs. Black) "Never accept one groups words as absolute, look at things from the view of all involved, search for the truth and don't let others make up your mind for you"
The consequence of that advice is that when I hear something like this brouhaha, I really want to know what it's all about, so I go looking for the truth. I found the audio of the events in question and listened intently, and this time I've got to agreee with the people that think there is a conspiracy. I feel a great disappointment in the fact that members of our elected goverment don't have the same capcity to search out the truth as a simple little old millworker like myself, It seems that they should have gotten Mrs. Blacks advice and not let others make up their minds for them.

An Introduction

Greetings to the blog world, This is my first post and I don't have much to say right now.
I hope to expound more as time passes but I'll open with my favorite saying.
Success lies not in doing what others consider to be great, rather in doing what you know is right.