The Second, Second Best Blog

First Jay, then Kay, and even Nicky have all stopped visiting. I must admit to being more than a little sad that I no longer see them and just don’t know what has become of them. For a couple of months now, there have been two other birds coming erratically. They sometimes come three days in a row and other times are absent for more than a week. It has been particularly irksome that they sometimes arrive in the morning a few minutes after I leave for work and again in the evening about an hour before I get home. My most excellent spouse, Patricia, tells me that they squawk until she goes out with peanuts. And then they don’t come on the weekend! But yesterday was different. I was home and they both came for an hour or so, as did the two crows. Some new names are needed for these latest arrivals: non-gender-specific beginning with O and P. Patty suggested “Pat” for one. There is one that is a little smaller than the other and who definitely “talks” more. I’m thinking “Oprah” would be appropriate somehow.

On Sept. 27, I made my first trip the famous El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood…

Occasionally I do take a look at the blogs in my blogroll. Today I wandered over to Matt On Not WordPress and found this video. I think it speaks for itself better than I can, so take a look.

Since the boys left home and I went back to work, my most excellent spouse, Patricia and I eat out more and cook far less than was the case a few years back. Even when not going out frequently, like we did last week to celebrate her birthday, we only cook a couple times a week and then dine on the leftovers or eat something that requires little or no preparation. We got into the habit of fixing a green salad for each of us almost every night for a while. We have rather different tastes. I like iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, radishes sliced thin, some onion, and diced tomatoes. She gets Romaine lettuce, sometimes spinach, and tomato chunks. We both like mushrooms, but it is damn difficult to buy in small enough quantities that it gets eaten before going bad. In fact, that is the biggest problem with preparing meals for one or two, no matter what it is.

So when I rummaged through the crisper tonight to get my salad ready, I grabbed what at first appeared to be some green onions. It was actually an Hawaiian onion, purchased …
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There are three general routes that I take on my lunch hour walks, though I try not to take exactly the same path twice in a week. Yesterday, I chose the eastern route, intending to walk through the two green belts in the Serrano Park neighborhood of Lake Forest. I just missed the light at the cross walk at Cape May so rather than wait three or four minutes I continued north on Bake, thinking I would have less of a wait at the next light. About half a block later this classic-looking old white Rolls Royce appeared, travelling south. When it passed, there as a scraping noise coming from it, so I turned and watched as it approached the intersection of Bake and Irvine. It pulled over toward the curb, like the driver intended to stop, but did not slow down. Twice it actually touched the curb, the passenger side of the car lifting a few inches each time. Finally, it turned right and went out of sight, quickly followed by a sickening bang and crunch. [Read more →]

If you have looked at the Panorama Page you have probably seen the strawberry field which I sometimes pass on my lunch hour walk. The old ranch house and garage on Parker Street, and even the beautiful old tree beside them have been demolished and were being hauled away as I walked past them yesterday.

Is it possible that Obama could really effect change if elected President? Sure. He would change into just another politician who begins with great promise and then is gradually villified when the lofty changes he envisioned prove to be out of reach of the Washington crowd who’s top priority is raising money to get re-elected.

I’ve been a registered Republican most of my adult life, ever since I realized that I’m a fiscal conservative, but the rest of my views place me a little left of center. I should register as an independent but then I couldn’t vote in many primary elections. I don’t mind telling you I never voted for George Bush and I can’t believe he actually got elected - twice!

This election cycle has been unbelievably long. Does anyone remember that when Obama was first asked if he was considering a run he said “No”? Finally we are into the semi-finals. As usual, the last two standing are saying whatever the polls tell them will make themselves look good and the other one bad.

I was truly on the fence until I read George Will’s column in the Commentary section of Sunday’s Orange County Register. It made me realize that Obama’s promises are not only as empty as those of all the politicians who came before him, they simply are impossible to keep in the real world.

If you desire to see Obama’s star rise higher, don’t elect him President. Let him find another way to change the world. Look what happened when Al Gore lost. He got a Nobel Prize while George is getting the lowest approval ratings since Nixon.

This post is especially for the three most faithful readers of the Second, Second Best Blog, each of whom has mentioned the disappointment they experience when checking here and finding nothing new. Sorry. Writing is a rather slow process for me. I have to get kind of worked up about something before the words will start flowing. Then it must be re-read and proofed and tweaked and sometimes pushed back on the track originally intended instead of the tangent I went off on. Then I get tired of the whole thing when it’s about three quarters done. Why, again, did I think that was a good idea?

One of the (very) few subjects I intended to write about when I started this blog was my Dad. There are only four other people on the planet who could potentially know as much about him as I do, so I guess that makes me a defacto expert. But there are already a great number of stories concerning fathers and sons, and though each one is unique, I doubt that ours would generate as much interest or could be told as well as some of the others out there. Anyway, here is a little snippet.
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Old Hernandez had some trees,
E I E I O,
And on those trees he had some leaves,
E I E I O,
With a leaf leaf here,
And a leaf leaf there,
Here a leaf, there a leaf,
Everywhere there’s leaf grief,
Old Hernandez had some trees,
E I E I O


The tree men came and brought some saws,
E I E I O,
Those falling limbs they gave me pause,
E I E I O,
With a chainsaw here, and chainsaw there,
Here a saw, there a saw,
Everywhere a chainsaw,
Falling limbs they gave me pause,
E I E I O

Old Hernandez had some trees,
Eee! but not no mo’

Exxon-Mobil just scored the largest profit in American history. All three of the major American car manufacturers are in deep do, due to falling car sales. Think maybe Exxon-Mobil ought to help them out? After all, EM’s profits are due in large part to the car makers past success. Just a thought.

Just went to see “The Dark Knight”. Wow! When I was a boy, I read DC comics. Superman was my personal favorite and Batman was a close second. I was so excited when I heard that a Batman TV series was coming…and so disappointed when it actually arrived. “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” are even better than what I was hoping for as a 15 year old boy. Christian Bale is hands-down the best of any who have tried on the bat suit. And that Joker! Seriously! Is it true that he and the Brokeback Mountain cowboy are one and the same? Because there is no trace of him (or Heath Ledger) on the screen.

On my way home from work a few evenings ago, I saw this little car in my rear view mirror. At first glance, I thought “Old Jaguar”, but as it came closer, I saw it was way too small. It looked to me sort of like a miniature late ’50’s era Thunderbird. It ended up about 2 car lengths ahead of me in the left turn lane at the next light. I couldn’t quite make out the name on the back. I had enough time to dig my little Canon out of my pocket and snap this before the light changed. It wasn’t until later that night that I uploaded the picture and finally read the name. I just now spent about two hours with Google trying to find another picture but no luck. Anyone know the model name?