Huh?

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) recently passed out high-res waterproof color flyers directing Milpitans to call certain numbers if they have an odor complaint. Seriously. It reads, "ODOR COMPLAINT PROCESS: If you should detect an odor, call BAAQMD's toll free hotline: (800) 334-ODOR (6367). You may call this number at anytime [sic]. Be sure to make the complaint immediately so the inspector can begin to trace the odor." You know if they're passing out flyers that they're probably trying to save time and money but I don't get the super expensive, high-quality paper. I guess they had to do that so people wouldn't think it was some kind of joke. My question is, "Does this apply to farts?" Just imagine if there really was a hotline to call every time somebody farted! They'd have to send a HAZMAT team on some calls! Trace it right to the offender! Slap them with a fine! A fartometer would measure the offense and fine fartknockers accordingly.

The Meaning of Love.

love /n.(luv): passionate affection of one human being for another.

That's what the dictionary says, but it's not quite explanatory enough. Love is reading the paper together on Sunday mornings. Love is holding hands in the movie theater. Love is marveling over a visit from a ladybug. Love is looking at flowers up close together. Love is the sound of birds singing on a bike ride. (Us, not them, silly.) Love is running to the convenience store at three a.m. to buy someone some cough syrup because the medicine cabinet's empty. Love is being married for 53 years. Love is so much more, so very much, much more, that it would take a blog the size of the entire internet world wide web to fill with the myriad descriptions of its many incarnations and variations. Love is everything. Love is in us all. May love prevail and triumph over every evil act or thought. May love reign high for all eternity. Amen. (Ha ha, made you pray!)

Ever So Interesting Critical Commentary.

I love these comments from different people coming in about my song:
"Lovely!" (Bill)
"I just really like the sound of your voice." (Jim)
"Pretty." (Tim)
"Nice." (Rowland)
"Too sad." (Henry)
"Bubble gum." (John)
"Creepy." (Charlotte)
"Musical." (Terry)
"I'm in New Zealand. I'll listen to it when I get back." (Abbey)

I liked 'creepy' the most of all. It was said so sincerely and besides, creepy in this instance is good. The sound of it creeps through you. At least that's how I feel.

Tahoe in June.

Welcome back. Been in Tahoe the last 4 days, thanks to the miracle of Mom, Dad, and TimeShares of America. Just got back to reality. Lovely scenery. Spent some money there, didn't even gamble. Well, I lost $2 in the slots -- that was enough. Everything is pretty high dollar, especially gasoline. We window shopped, walked, talked, made sandwiches, bbq'd by the pool. Anyway. Got sunburned at the Renaissance Faire, Pope Beach, a bike ride, and a long boat ride. Well, time to unpack. Take care and be well.
Peace. Pam

Renaissance Actors


Braided Falconess


Meadow overlooking Historic Baldwin~Pope Estate


Beachbum Babe


Zephyr Cove


Cave Rock


Lady of the Lake


Visit From A Ladybug


Drifting Shoals


Sunset Cruise



On Top Of The World

Grief and Peace.

Watching Mrs. Reagan kiss that casket just now was the all time tear jerker of all time. All of Washington is there. It's a veritable Who's-Who of world leaders and politicians. You can hear the many jets flying over, protecting that precious airspace.

Gotta run. The lump in my throat is making it hard to type. Farewell, Mr. President.

"Trust, but verify." -- Ronald Reagan

Ode to Ray.

Ah, it's a sad day. Ray Charles has passed away. What great music he brought the world, the way he sang with such feeling and spark. He is more than a legend to me.

"I was born with music inside me. That's the only explanation I know of," Charles said in his 1978 autobiography, "Brother Ray." "Music was one of my parts ... Like my blood. It was a force already with me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me, like food or water." -- Ray Charles

Sure, Ray. I know exactly what you mean.

C-SPAN Gets the Thoughtful Award.

Goes to C-SPAN, for being all live, all the time. C-SPAN was thoughtful enough to televise, live, President Reagan's funeral procession inside the Capitol Rotunda. Real time is so all-encompassing, and no commercial breaks, no talking heads. Just him, and us. I feel as if I were there. My thoughts certainly are. The flowers, the draped flag, the Honor Guard. Five of them, absolutely motionless. Only a string quartet could have made our grief any more magnificent. Thanks C-SPAN, for taking me live.

In Studio - The Sequel.

Well, not exactly my sequel, but a sequel nonetheless. In studio recording Charlotte's demo. What started out as an estimated four- to five-hour session turned into nine grueling hours. Hard, fun work. Greg Kihn says, "...a recording session is like a train going down the tracks...once it starts, you just can't stop it." He said that on the air the very Monday after that long Saturday session, which started out at 6 p.m., and didn't wrap until 3 a.m. Weary from the impact, driving to work, I had to agree because I knww exactly what he was talkin'bout.

Go far, Char.

As If.

I'm stuck on that song. It's 4 A.M. and I couldn't sleep because the full moon is blazing through my bedroom window and the dog was barking...my circadian rhythm's geeked because of the hours I have been keeping. The new song is dissident and weird. People like weird. I hope. It's about infidelity, and how alcohol can train-wreck things. A made-up quote from say, Hillary Clinton, or Mrs. Kobe Bryant. Someone who's just tired of hearing about her man's misadventures. My sound engineer is a genius. Stay tuned, I'll post it here.

Don't Wanna Know.

That's the name of the new song and it turned out well. Proud.

Superfoods.

Tore an article out of the Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine entitled "14 Superfoods." Each has a plethora of antioxidant and life-extending properties and ever since, I have been doing my darndest to incorporate more of these superfoods into my daily diet. They are, in alphabetical order:
Beans
Blueberries
Broccoli
Oats
Oranges
Pumpkin
Salmon
Soy
Spinach
Tea
Tomatoes
Turkey
Walnuts
Yogurt

To my overwhelming dismay, Chocolate is not on this list. Nor is Red Wine. I have sent a letter to the editor and am awaiting response. Imagine that. Chocolate, not a Superfood? If any food in the history of humankind were to be considered "super," it would have to be Chocolate. Who are these quacks trying to kid? The nerve. On the other hand, here is a list of 10 Super FAT foods you should NEVER eat.
Note: Chocolate is NOT on this list, either.