Sad Lance Armstrong

This morning I was looking at a fabulous photo on the front page of the Sacramento Bee of Lance Armstrong and his adorable little children. The darling little girls are in yellow sundresses and the photo is a complete aw shucks cute moment.



And then I realized that he divorced the mother of those darling little girls when they were just infants. And the boy was a toddler.

I'm not saying that he's a bad guy, but it certainly threw a wet blanket on the whole heroic victory thing.

What Else You Should Do In California

I got an e-mail from Little Miss Attila with her suggestions.

Spend a day at the San Diego Zoo;
Wander around Old Town San Diego, and buy art at one of the galleries;
Go to Comicon at the San Diego Convention Center;
Drive to the beach right at the Tijuana border, and look at the fence
that goes into the sea there;
Walk the main drag in La Jolla, and stay at the La Jolla Bed and Breakfast;

Hike San Jacinto;
Stay at the Strawberry Creek Inn in Idyllwild during the arts festival
in the summer, and explore the rocky grottoes along Strawberry Creek;
Rent a cabin in nearby Fern Cove during the winter; get snowed in;
Spend a weekend in Palm Springs, and ride the tram to the top of the mountain;

Walk along the "boardwalk" (it has no boards) in Venice, watching the
bohos go by; walk south through Muscle Beach, and have dinner on
Washington Blvd. at one of the great restaurants;
Have an evening drink at Casa del Mar, in the "world's largest living
room," overlooking the beach, with the ferris wheel at nearby Santa
Monica Pier lit up against the night sky;
Ride the ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier;
Attend one of the free Thursday night concerts at Santa Monica Pier;
Run along the grassy median on San Vicente in Santa Monica;
Window shop at the Santa Monica Promenade;
Eat lunch or an early supper at Fritto Misto in Santa Monica;
Take the monorail up to the Getty Center; take in the views and wander
around in the gardens;

Hike the trails in La Canada, near Pasadena;
Drive up Angeles Crest Highway into the Foothills, with the weekend
motorcyclists whizzing by you (make sure you start with breakfast at
the Hill St. Cafe);
Visit the Arboretum;
Have tea at the Japanese tea house in Descanso Gardens (weekends only).

Now to look up and see if they have links.

Bad Piano Bar

Last night I tagged along with Marlene and friends for a birthday party at 2 Grand, Sacramento's new sing-along piano bar. Not good. They make fun of the people who don't participate --- I think if your show is good you don't have to force people to stand up or clap their hands.

To their credit, they did play George W. Bush's favorite song:

Brown Eyed Girl
Van Morrison

Hey, where did we go
Days when the rains came ?
Down in the hollow
Playing a new game,
Laughing and a-running, hey, hey,
Skipping and a-jumping
In the misty morning fog with
Our, our hearts a-thumping
And you, my brown-eyed girl,

You, my brown-eyed girl.
Whatever happened
To tuesday and so slow
Going down to the old mine with a
Transistor radio.
Standing in the sunlight laughing
Hide behind a rainbow’s wall,
Slipping and a-sliding
All along the waterfall
With you, my brown-eyed girl,
You, my brown-eyed girl.

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
Just like that
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
La dee dah.

So hard to find my way
Now that I’m all on my own.
I saw you just the other day,
My, how you have grown!
Cast my memory back there, lord,
Sometime I’m overcome thinking about
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium
With you, my brown-eyed girl,
You, my brown-eyed girl.

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
Laying in the green grass
Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah
Dee dah dee dah dee dah dee dah dee dah dee
Sha la la la la la la la la la la la la
Dee dah la dee dah la dee dah la
D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d...

More Things You Should Do

I'm looking to add some new activities to my famous Things You Should Do in California list. Can you recommend any fab places you think I should add? Spectacular Irish Pubs? Great Motorcycle Rides? Best Community Theatre? Secret Swimming Holes? Best sushi? Coffee House? Wineries? Celebrity Sighting Spot? Golf Courses? Festivals? Microbreweries? Spas? Hotels? Restaurants? Specialty Stores? Parades? Movie Locations?

Make a comment, include a link. Thanks.

League Clambake

Am home and settled from my trip to Pasadena for the First of many Bear Flag League conferences. The sparkplug for the event was Justene at Calblog and many pitched in to help. The Boi from Troy was an excellent moderator and the speakers interesting and relevant.

We heard breaking news from Ted Costa that MAPA (the Mexican American Political Association) had endorsed Prop 77 by an overwhelming number -- something like 4 or 5 to one in favor. Read MAPA's political agenda from their website and you'll see how surprising this is.

Daniel Weintraub had some very nice things to say about us ...

None of them are famous, or even particularly well known. Most probably get only a few hundred or at best a couple of thousand visitors to their sites on an average day. But multiply those little clusters of readers by the 100 blogs in this group and pretty soon you are talking about real numbers. A political story covered in all of these blogs would probably be read by more people than one of my columns published in The Bee.

Alan Hoffenblum, author of the California Target Book said he frequently surfs through the Bear Flag League before his twice weekly radio shows on KCAL Radio in LA.

I'm hoping to organize a cocktail gathering for our group during the California Republican Party Convention at the Anaheim Hilton the weekend of September 16th. More details will follow.







Real Nice Clambake
Carousel
by Rodgers & Hammerstein


This was a real nice clambake,
We're mighty glad we came.
The vittles we et
Were good, you bet,
The company was the same.
Our hearts are warm, our bellies are full,
And we are feeling prime.
This was a real nice clambake,
And we all had a real good time.

The Golden Boy

Back in the day, the San Jose Seahawks Rugby Club had a handsome, charming salesman named Kevin Golden playing loose forward. He had great manners and a sweet disposition every single time I ever encountered him. But my friends from other teams had quite contrary opinions about him. While traveling in New Zealand, I watched a game through a camera lens and saw him throw a few blows inside the scrum. He was a fella full of testosterone, and he needed rugby (and boxing, his other sport) to keep him nice the rest of the time.

I thought of Kevin today while reading the Russell Crowe stories. I don't advocate violence, but remember the rest of the story about Russell.

"God bless America, God save the Queen, God defend New Zealand and thank Christ for Australia." - Russell Crowe speech after winning the Oscar.

You know that he's an Honorary Texan and that he and his band did a charity concert for the daughter of Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) a few years back.

Proudly displayed his grandfather's British Honours medal (MBE) while making his Oscar Winner speech in 2001.

Russell Crowe has narrated a groundbreaking television series about Anzacs, which explores the bond between Australian and New Zealand soldiers during war.

Crowe recorded the voice-overs during his Christmas break in Australia, before heading to Canada for the filming of Cinderella Man. The Oscar-winning actor agreed to narrate Colour Of War: The Anzacs because of his pride in his grandfather's work as a cinematographer during World War II. (Stan Wemyss, Crowe's grandfather, was awarded an MBE for his achievements.)

He's criticized obnoxious George Clooney


And Joan Rivers doesn't like him ... "At least half of Hollywood hates Russell", says the source. "Joan's just the only one with enough cojones to announce it on national television."

I just wanted to remind you that he has a few good points.

The Twilight Zone

Doesn't this seem kind of spooky ... just a few hours before I posted on Monday about how I need a husband, I received a comment to this post from someone who I think used to be an old boyfriend of mine. Someone who went to my junior high at the same time as me whose name is Dan Michael. My boyfriends name was Danny Michaels. And now I wonder, was his last name Michael not Michaels. Perhaps he'll cruise by again. And I'd bet he doesn't know it's me.

I have no information about his qualifications to be a husband. Is he currently single? What would he do if his wife was confronted by a rodent or marsupial? These are the questions that must be answered.

Kyle - Get a Blog

My friend, Kyle Vallone, is getting hammered by the lefty blogs for his prolific Letters to the Editor program.

A good writer should be writing. Join us in the blogosphere, Kyle.

And you can blog about the blues, too. One of the high points of the RNC Convention was riding in the elevator with Kyle doing an impromptu concert on the harmonica.

I Want To Get Married - Now!

I am in a desperate search to find a husband and get married, hopefully within the next week. I have a short list of requirements and I hope my readers will scour the ranks of their single male friends to see if they can think of any prospects.

I've always considered that the number one reason to get a husband is rodents. but today I'm adding marsupials!

Friday night my cat Franz brought a friend in to the house to play with me. A baby possum. I started screaming at full tilt and Franz dropped him. The little possum lay with his head on the kitchen linoleum playing dead, but I could see it was just an act. I had not quit screaming yet. I rushed Hanz and Franz (the brothers) out into the backyard. The possum lay still for a couple of minutes, then lifted his head and looked around. I was still screaming, so he galloped across the floor to hide in back of the TV. Now he was about 15 feet away so I quit screaming and almost quit hyperventilating.

I called my sister Jeannie and she gave me my instructions. Barricade all the other rooms in the house. Get A Broom.

I did that and then went a little closer. The possum was hiding under the TV stand with his butt and tail sticking out. I watched him with an eagle eye and moved the sofa away from the wall. Now there was a clear path from the TV corner to the front door. My sister said make a Hansel and Gretel trail of cat food toward the front door.

About an hour later he came out from under the TV cart in the wrong direction, coming toward me, not toward the door. I was braver now and pushed the TV cable wires with the broom. He set off in the right direction, toward the door. He sat on the door threshold for what seemed like an hour deciding whether he should make the 6 inch leap to the outdoors. He finally jumped out and ran across the bricks to the garden. Hallelujah!

Now there's one remaining problem. My cats are not hunters. In their 12 years they have had only 4 or 5 captures in total. So that little possum must have been living pretty close by or Franz would never have captured him. Do you think that means I have a possum family in my garage?



So, I'm sure you can understand why I want to get married.

*Update

B.T.'s sister, Maureen Collins Baker, will be at the Sacramento Fair Oaks Blvd Borders on Wednesday, June 4th, at 7pm autographing her new book, Outrageous Hero, The B.T. Collins Story. See you there!

Here's info about the book

http://tinyurl.com/3jwaz6

B.T. Collins "Captain Hook" Scholarship
Santa Clara University

"You must know of my love and affection for everything that embodies generosity and selflessness, and that is Santa Clara University . . . . . . . I started off at 29 years of age to remake my life at Santa Clara University."
Brien Thomas (B.T.) Collins
Santa Clara University, B.A. 1970, J.D. 1973

B.T. Collins came to Santa Clara as a student after losing a leg and arm as a U.S. Army captain in Vietnam. His optimism and energy transformed many of his classmates. His good humor and generosity endeared him, and his loyalty and strength of character propelled him. He served as Director of the California Conservation Corps and Chief of Staff for Governor Jerry Brown. He also served as Deputy Finance Director, Director of the California Youth Authority, and as an elected member of the California State Assembly. He regarded public service as a privilege, and frequently urged others to "give back." His sudden death in 1993 left some challenges unmet, but also left the most important ingredients needed to meet them: inspiration and integrity.

The B.T. Collins "Captain Hook" Scholarship provides financial aid to continuing students who are dedicated to pursuing public service careers, and have demonstrated outstanding leadership potential