Mail Call

It used to be my favorite time of the day: the arrival of the mailman. When I was a kid in SF, we were the third stop on the mailman's route. I'd sit in the window and watch him get off the bus and head down the hill...mail for Leah, mail for Irma & Joe, mail for us. I had penpals in those days. I used to contact a Mrs. Chegwidden who would set me up with some girl in England. I looked forward to my letters.

At Christmas it was great because sometimes the mail might come two or three times a day. A real bonus!

When we first lived in Davis, we hosted foreign students and everybody wrote to us when they got home. There was a time when our mailman (in the days when we knew who our mailman was) told me I got more foreign mail than anybody in Davis. That may have been true, because once a girl in Brasil sent a letter to "Mrs. Beverly, Davis, CA" and I got it.

(years later, I sent a note to "Longs Drug Store, Covell and Sycamore, Davis" and it was returned because I didn't have a street number on it!)

Nowadays, though, I get instant gratification for mail and it all comes in e-mail so now 99% of the mail that shows up in the mailbox is bills and junk mail. The junk mail can be overwhelming. This clip shows a "light" day!

Live Teddy Bears

Ned's mother-in-law raises chows and last Christmas (or maybe it was the Christmas before--I can't remember), her bitch had a new litter of pups. (Little did I realize then how much time I'd be spending with puppies in the foreseeable future!)

These little guys were 6 weeks old and she had fixed up a huge enclosure for them, draped with sheets, so they could sleep undisturbed.

We, of course, all wanted to play with the puppies and so we all had to wash our hands and then sit in a circle on a clean sheet on the kitchen floor. They were, of course, adorable. But in light of my life this past year, I have to laugh to compare how careful we had to be with these 6 week old puppies to how I treat the 2-3 day old puppies that I bottlefeed! When I think about how careful we were with the chows, it's amazing that I haven't killed any SPCA puppies!

Houston, we have lift-off!

Thanks to Ned's best friend, Greg, I can now attach my camcorder to the computer, upload a movie, and play around with it with Windows MovieMaker. You're in for it now.

This particular movie, the first shot with the camcorder, is really pretty boring. I decided to take some movies when I went down to have lunch with my mother. It was going to be wonderfully clever and informative, show you lots of interesting spots between Davis and San Rafael. But in the end...it's just pretty crappy.

But it's done and it's a start. And I'm pleased that the quality of the movies is better than those taken with the digital camera. Now if only I can find something interesting to film, the quality of this vlog might actually improve.

Childhood Revisited

Like a lot of mothers, over the course of our children's growing-up, I saved a lot of the pictures, stories, school projects, etc. that they did. What didn't get posted on the refrigerator door got put in boxes or file folders in a file cabinet.

The file cabinet then got "buried." There was so much furniture in my tiny office that you could only get to the top two drawers. It wasn't until we did a gigantic reorganization of the office that I was able to free up the bottom 3 drawers and have a chance to go through them.

I found stuff I hadn't seen in 20 years, stuff I'd always meant to give back to the kids when they grew up. So a couple of Christmases ago, I made up a big box for each of them, since I didn't want to just throw all of these "valuable" things away, but I also was trying to declutter, somewhat, and didn't want to keep them.

With a heavy heart, I did toss Paul's and David's, but for the other three, I made a box to give them each at Christmas. Tom and Laurel weren't going to be making it to Christmas with us that year, so I gave Tom his box at Thanksgiving. It was fun watching him go through it and Laurel seeing it all for the first time.

The book Laurel reads is really kind of funny. Tom has the soul of a Virgo and was always trying to keep things neat in this always-messy house, so this story is particularly appropriate!

What's funny is that Tom found a math paper which had a bad grade on it and his uncle Norm starts giving him a hard time about it. Tom was so indignant about it that he did some further investigation and proved that it wasn't HIS paper, but Paul's.

Pepper

I can't seem to get away from black dogs. You should see the black hair I sweep up off the Pergo every day!

Pepper is very cute, but I suspect it's going to take him a little time to find a family. There are several chihuahua mixes up for adoption now and, alas, he's not the cutest of the bunch. He's also older than the others (they figure about 7).

He also seems to have bonded with me. I gave him to Ashley at Petco and she put him in one of the fenced off sections and every time he saw me (I was photographing some of the other dogs for the web page) he would let out this blood-curdling howl and try to climb the fence to get to me. When Ashley brought him home this evening, he was absolutely thrilled and spent most of the evening sleeping in my lap--he's even figured out how to jump up with the footrest raised, which he didn't seem to be able to do last night. So I guess he's adopted me...I just hope he finds a home soon, though he's an easy dog to have around. He's a sweet little thing--want a chihuahua mix?

Suppertime!

The one thing that I don't like about my new Pergo floor is that it has hampered Sheila's happy "suppertime" dance, but I was glad that I got it (mostly) recorded while she still did it. (Now her feet slip on the Pergo, so she's much more cautious when she gets fed.)

I had Walt feed her while I took this video. She doesn't get as excited when he feeds her as when I do, so this is a more calm version of the Suppertime Dance. But this is something she worked out by herself. I never trained her to go and sit by her feeding spot and wait for me to bring her dinner to her. She still does that. No matter how many other dogs I have to feed first, she sits there and waits till it's her turn--and then does the happy dance when she can see that it's about time for her bowl to be put down.

You can take the girl out of the city....

Though I don't think I could ever be a "city girl" again (it took about 15 years before I settled into suburban life), there is still nothing I love better than visiting somewhere where I can look out on a view of San Francisco.

I took this brief clip when we were at dinner in Sausalito last night and it makes me look forward to when I can actually move movies from the DV camcorder onto my computer (hopefully this weekend). This is an OK movie, but I suspect it would be much better if I had been able to use the camcorder.

Shhh...be very quiet

Some city workers just knocked on my door. I think.

I thought I heard a knock and Sheila started barking her head off. I went to the peep hole in the door and saw someone I didn't recognize in a uniform, but I still was wearing on my nightgown, so I didn't answer the door.

See, the thing is that on my door is a sign which says "If I'm working in the back of the house I may not hear you; use the door knocker and knock LOUDLY."

If this guy knocked (and I assume he did, because I really did think I heard something), he knocked very, very softly. Now. My question is--if you expect someone to answer the door, why do you knock as if you're afraid you'll wake someone up? It was 7:30 a.m., so it was logical to think that the household might be sleeping (though I'd been up since 5), but still--either you don't want to wake people up, or you do, so why be so very polite about it?

Dear Old Mom

I spent an entry on Walt's mother, now it's time to introduce my own mother. She celebrated her 86th birthday yesterday and today I'm taking her out to dinner to celebrate (I was going to take her out yesterday, but she got confused and thought we were going to lunch, so made plans with some friends to go out to dinner).

My mother is a pretty amazing woman. She has outlived all but one of her 9 siblings (all of whom died of lung-related illnesses). Her younger sister still lives, but is in an Alzheimer's facility. My mother, though now showing more memory lapses (like forgetting our discussion about what time we were going to dinner yesterday), is still often more bright and alert than I am.

She belongs to several groups, and volunteers at the Hospice of Marin thrift shop twice a week. Her social calendar has no blank days in it. You can hardly add a new activity because it's so full of lunches and dinners and fund-raising events, and mah-jong games and theatre shows to attend. It makes me tired just reading it.

My mother, no matter how old she gets, chronologically will never be "old." She keeps her mind active by constantly working jigsaw puzzles. She reads every newspaper from front to back.

She's a fantastic grandmother with a wonderful relationship with her grandchildren.

I am so very lucky to have her in my life, and so fortunate to be able to say that in addition to being my mother, she is also my best friend.

Making History

There have been one or two times in my life when I've been witness to history, and yesterday was one of them. I've told the story here

This morning I put the video together and realized how much I need to get that camcorder up and running. For an event like this, the movie function on a digital camera just doesn't do it justice.

Since we were not allowed to bring cameras into the assembly, I took some footage out of the television coverage.

It is impossible to describe what a roller coaster of emotions yesterday was...and I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for those who have waited so long for the opportunity to marry (31 years for Shelly & Ellen, 34 years for another couple from Grass Valley, for example!)

Amazing Lady

This brief clip was taken a couple of months after Walt's mother's 90th birthday party (she's 92 now). She could still see a bit then and was trying to see the photos from her party. Sitting to her left is our daughter-in-law, and sitting in the other couch is my sister-in-law (Walt's brother's wife).

Alice (Walt's mother) has always amazed me. She was widowed when Walt, the oldest, was 15. She worked to support her three kids, and once the last one flew the coop, she set out to see the world. Literally. She's been through the Panama Canal, ridden a camel in Egypt, climbed Mayan ruins in Mexico, took a cruise around South America, visited all the European countries, took a cruise down the Rhine River, and down the Volga River. At 82, she took a trip on the Orient Express, which had only recently been refurbished and was running again. She visited parts of China that had never seen Caucasian people before, washed out her linens in the sink in her hotel room.

She has an inquisitive mind and used to read everything (now she has to rely on what is available on tape). I've always admired her greatly.

Marathon???

The Food Network says it's having a "Labor Day marathon," meaning that they are showing back-to-back cooking programs.

Uh.

When do they NOT show back-to-back cooking programs???

Don Juan

Well, if you live long enough, you finally get to experience (almost) anything.

This morning I got my first obscene phone call. A guy who said he was "Don Juan," and that he wanted to tell me how beautiful and sexy I am.

I almost laughed when I hung up on him. I wonder if he could have seen the person he was speaking to if he would have continued to tell me how beautiful and sexy I am!

I feel like I've "arrived." I was able to hang up on an obscene caller.

Grandma's Birthday

Walt's mother turned 92 this week. She's slowing down and her macular degeneration hampers her ability to get around as well as she used to, but she's still going strong.

When she turned 90, we had a big surprise party for her and the highlight of the party was this song, composed by Tom and Walt's sister's boyfriend (the two guys with the guitars). They called themselves "Joe and the Matriarchal Remnants" and each of her kids had a verse to sing. This is just a brief clip of the chorus.

The Grand Tour

I drove around Davis today, taking what I've come to call "Tour of Memorials to the Dead Sykes Children of Davis" which I give to unsuspecting folks who come to visit us.

It's not that the kids were all that special, but we live in a relatively small town and with all the stuff we've been involved with over the years, we just kind of have a "known" presence that resulted in all these memorials to the kids. After all these years, it has become a comforting tour for me to take, rather than the emotional tour that it used to be.

The story of the grave marker, which I mention on the "tour" can be found here.

Looking for a Home

Trixie is still very skittish. She was happier last night sleeping safely in her cage, rather than out in the family room.

This morning I was supposed to take her to the Farmers' Market to the SPCA booth and hope she'd find a home. Naturally, I mis-read Ashley's e-mail and spent 15 minutes waiting at Petco instead of the Farmers' Market. But we eventually got there and she began to relax a little, especially with the little kids.

I left her there and went off, later to be called by Ashley to say that she has found a home, but the family won't be able to take her until tomorrow, so she'll spend one more night with us, but this cute little girl is going to a good family. I'm very pleased.

(Trixie's new name is Abby)

Dear Mr. Bush

A letter from Michael Moore...

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

Letting it all hang out

I have, from time to time, posted photos in my Journal which show bits and pieces of my office, but couldn't get a proper angle to show the size and condition of the office in all its glory.

So with video available, I can let it all hang out, so to speak, and give you a feeling for just how small, cramped, and cluttered the office really is. I keep thinking that if this office were twice as large as it is, I could actually be organized.

But I know that would never happen.

Be It Ever So Humble...

Soon our house/yard will look like this, as summer comes to an end and autumn begins. I took this movie clip a year or so ago, when the leaves were beginning to fall. It was to show the folks back in Australia where I lived, but obviously the street has not changed much since then!

This is called the "city of bicycles" (though I suspect we are less inundated with them now than we were when we moved here, as more and more people are driving instead of biking). You get a taste of that during the brief film.

Also, the red car in the driveway belonged to David. It still runs. The ultimate irony was that the week after he died and we brought the car up here to our house, someone stole the stereo out of the car. The dashboard is all torn up, but the car is so old, it's not worth fixing. Walt drives it occasionally. I do when I absolutely have no other choice, but I wouldn't dare take it out on the highway.

Weird Sheila

I made this video awhile ago, to keep a record of the strange way Sheila plays with Kimba, and how she shows her dominance. The movie is silent, but I was able to add a soundtrack to it to give my impression of what is happening.

Incidentally, not being a computer geek, I don't have all the fancy doo dads for doing things like voice-over, so the way I did this was to record into my PDA, which made a wave file and then copy the wave file to my computer and then use that as background for the movie. I was rather pleased with myself when I figured out how I could do that.

Incidentally, someone commented on not being able to see Steve's movie which is on BlipTV. BlipTV plays movies in the format in which it was recorded. This movie of Sheila and Kimba is in Windows Media, and I believe Steve's video is also in Windows Media.