DON'T BOTHER THE FBI WITH KIDNAPPING TIPS
Well, we're in the Bangkok airport waiting to board our twice delayed flight to Siem Riep, Cambodia. We're going to visit for two days to see Angkor Wat, supposedly rivaling Tikal and other ancient Mayan sites in Guatemala. But only if we could get there..
We will be back in Bangkok on the 27th, but then we're immediately headed to Hong Kong upon arrival. We've moved our departure up a day because, frankly, we'd rather have more time there at this point. The trip has had its moments (mostly rainy), but we're ready to move on.
An update to the FBI story, they're not doing anything but suggesting I contact the local authorities (in Chiang Mai.. a few hundred miles away after the fact, etc. etc.) Not to mention the FBI website regarding missing children explicitly states they work WITH local authorities through the local U.S. consulate with a direct link to the tip page I posted my information on.
Anyway, here's the message they emailed back to me. How helpful for those children. I suppose if the adults had strapped bombs to the children and put them in a UPS overnight express box to the Washington D.C. they'd THEN be interested. How unfortunate for those kids.
TEXT...
Dear Mr. Reid,
Thank you for your submission to the FBI via FBI.gov. After a careful
evaluation of your information, it is our determination that your
complaint should be reported to the local law enforcement authorities.
For your information, the Internet Tip Line (ITL) was created on
9/11/01, in response to the terrorist attacks upon America. We quickly
established a mechanism for the public to submit information to the FBI
via the Internet, and we received our first tip at 10:31 AM that first
day. Director Mueller has since made the ITL a permanent part of FBI
operations, and we have thus far received over 600,000 tips from around
the globe, from which thousands of leads have been sent to FBI Field and
Legal Attache offices for action.
Initially, almost 100% of the tips received were related to the
terrorist attacks; however, now approximately 45% of all tips received
are related to almost every other FBI criminal program, e.g., drug
trafficking, organized crime, money laundering, pyramid schemes, child
pornography, fugitives, bank robbery.
Our operation is completely automated and paperless. Submitted tips are
received immediately, reviewed within minutes and prioritized by trained
Professional Support personnel, and action leads are set by Agents
within the hour, as appropriate.
I encourage you to share this information with your family, friends, and
co-workers, and encourage them to not hesitate to submit information
they may deem of interest to the FBI. Again, thank you for taking the
time to forward this report to us.
IMPORTANT - NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
The FBI does not maintain an email address to submit information or
attachments to directly; therefore, please do not reply directly to this
message via your email client. The FBI maintains an automated system
that is designed to track all information received to ensure that all
tips are addressed in a timely and efficient manner. Therefore, please
visit the FBI.GOV Web site again should you have occasion to submit
additional information. We WILL NOT review "reply" email.
Sincerely,
David N. Rushing/ap
Supervisory Special Agent
FBI Headquarters
Washington, D.C.
MORE LATER
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Friday, August 22, 2003
UPDATE LATER - SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES REQUIRE ASSISTANCE
Hi, everyone. Jill and I are in Chiang Mai, Thailand in the very far north of the country. The Golden Triangle is roughly 1.5 hours north of here (Burma/Thailand/China/Laos area famous for illicit heroin trade). This city is very safe and touristy as it's similar to Guatemala with regard to indigenous peoples, arts and crafts, etc. We're doing alright, though I think the exotic food has caught up with Jill. She's been a little under the weather, but not seriously so.
But I'll get to that another time. Below is a tip I've forwarded on to the FBI from here regarding a suspicious couple and four children that were with them this evening. If you have more time than you care to admit, feel free to read this and do some searching on your own for these people on line. I couldn't find them on my first hunt on the U.S. Missing/Exploited Children website. Read it and do some searching if you care to. Hopefully the FBI/U.S. Consulate will act soon.
TEXT OF MY TIP TO THE FBI
At 6:38 pm at the Pizza Company restaurant (dated and time by my order receipt) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I witnessed a suspicious pair of adults, one male and one female, with four children whom I believe might be kidnapped.
The couple were aged roughly in their mid-40s. I witnessed the female the most as the male was gone for a while with one of the children (boy) and returned to the restaurant right before I left with my pizza.
She was mid-40s, caucasian, slightly wavy black/dark brown hair between shoulder length and waist length. She was fairly tall for a woman, 5-6" or 5-7", maybe more, somewhat big-boned (150lbs. plus)somewhat thick-lensed, thick-framed glasses. She wore a t-length summer dress, blue flowers/patterns printed on white fabric. She wore a fair amount of make-up, though not extreme, with slight southern U.S. accent.
The male was probably similarly aged and I don't believe much taller. Likely under 6'0". He was caucasian, wore his blonde to slightly graying hair short/crew-cut style and had a closely shaven beard/goatee. He probably weighed no more than 170 lbs., likely less. He was fairly lean. He wore a light t-shirt sensible for this tropical climate and he wore what looked like longer walking shorts with pant leg to the knees and pockets with metal snap buttons on them. On neither male nor female did I notice eye color due to my distance.
With these two were four children. Two children were definitely girls, likely sisters due to similar features, and almost definitely bi-racial (black/white). I'm guessing ages ranging from 6-10, the older likely 9, younger likely 6 or so. They were both a little pudgy/baby fat but not significantly overweight. Fairly long, wavy semi-afro hair that had the blond/dark-brown mix of a biracial girl. Eyes were brown as best I could tell.
The third child was not more than two, still in diaper, blonde boy. I believe his eyes were blue. He was upset frequently and the woman would pick the child up, hold him and swat him across the bottom fairly hard with not-the-best intent based on demeanor. The more he cried, the more frequently she swatted him, including across the bare leg rather hard. All the while she would stare out the front window of the pizza store as if she was "looking out" (it was like a fish bowl completely surrounded with floor to ceiling windows).
The final child was likely four years of age, definitely a boy, black. He was rather skinny, very short hair. Nothing else distinguishable. He was away with the adult male while the woman was alone with the three other children. She was rather cruel in her description of having to put up with the children while the male was away.
In general, the demeanor, words, characteristics, etc. of the couple were suspicious in the way they spoke only to each other, the way she watched out through the front door cautiously and the way in which the two adult caucausians had four children, three of which were at least in-part black in heritage, and in age given the young two-year old boy they had with them and who, clearly, the adult female didn't truly care for. It was obvious these weren't benevolent parents with adopted children or missionaries with adopted children, etc. They exhibited no true care for the children, but rather borderline if not outright contempt.
I took my pizza back to my wife's and my room, then searched the U.S. missing/exploited children website to no avail. I went back and tried to snap photos of the couple to no avail given the lighting difficulties with my camera. They all departed the pizza restaurant roughly 30 minutes later (when I was there watching them from a distance in the Chiang Mai night bazaar) and as best I can tell they headed west from the restaurant along the main street that the Chiang Inn/Night Bazaar is situated on.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have, though I'm on vacation with my wife in Thailand presently. I can be reached at my email address korynasz@hotmail.com all the while.
We will be in Chiang Mai tomorrow (Saturday 23rd) until 6pm Thailand time as we're headed to Bangkok by overnight train arriving Sunday morning. I do not have a contact telephone number convenient as a result and no current arrangements in Bangkok where we may be contacted. On the 28th, we will be in Hong Kong at the Sheraton Harbor View Hotel and can be reached there.
If I can be of any other service..
William E. Reid
-Anyway, I'll write more later when I can. I get charged per minute for internet use, so I try to keep it short. Besides, Jill's back in the hotel room worried sick I'm sure. I left her there with the pizza to try to photograph the people, but didn't have any luck that wouldn't get me followed or worse.
Bye for now.
Hi, everyone. Jill and I are in Chiang Mai, Thailand in the very far north of the country. The Golden Triangle is roughly 1.5 hours north of here (Burma/Thailand/China/Laos area famous for illicit heroin trade). This city is very safe and touristy as it's similar to Guatemala with regard to indigenous peoples, arts and crafts, etc. We're doing alright, though I think the exotic food has caught up with Jill. She's been a little under the weather, but not seriously so.
But I'll get to that another time. Below is a tip I've forwarded on to the FBI from here regarding a suspicious couple and four children that were with them this evening. If you have more time than you care to admit, feel free to read this and do some searching on your own for these people on line. I couldn't find them on my first hunt on the U.S. Missing/Exploited Children website. Read it and do some searching if you care to. Hopefully the FBI/U.S. Consulate will act soon.
TEXT OF MY TIP TO THE FBI
At 6:38 pm at the Pizza Company restaurant (dated and time by my order receipt) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I witnessed a suspicious pair of adults, one male and one female, with four children whom I believe might be kidnapped.
The couple were aged roughly in their mid-40s. I witnessed the female the most as the male was gone for a while with one of the children (boy) and returned to the restaurant right before I left with my pizza.
She was mid-40s, caucasian, slightly wavy black/dark brown hair between shoulder length and waist length. She was fairly tall for a woman, 5-6" or 5-7", maybe more, somewhat big-boned (150lbs. plus)somewhat thick-lensed, thick-framed glasses. She wore a t-length summer dress, blue flowers/patterns printed on white fabric. She wore a fair amount of make-up, though not extreme, with slight southern U.S. accent.
The male was probably similarly aged and I don't believe much taller. Likely under 6'0". He was caucasian, wore his blonde to slightly graying hair short/crew-cut style and had a closely shaven beard/goatee. He probably weighed no more than 170 lbs., likely less. He was fairly lean. He wore a light t-shirt sensible for this tropical climate and he wore what looked like longer walking shorts with pant leg to the knees and pockets with metal snap buttons on them. On neither male nor female did I notice eye color due to my distance.
With these two were four children. Two children were definitely girls, likely sisters due to similar features, and almost definitely bi-racial (black/white). I'm guessing ages ranging from 6-10, the older likely 9, younger likely 6 or so. They were both a little pudgy/baby fat but not significantly overweight. Fairly long, wavy semi-afro hair that had the blond/dark-brown mix of a biracial girl. Eyes were brown as best I could tell.
The third child was not more than two, still in diaper, blonde boy. I believe his eyes were blue. He was upset frequently and the woman would pick the child up, hold him and swat him across the bottom fairly hard with not-the-best intent based on demeanor. The more he cried, the more frequently she swatted him, including across the bare leg rather hard. All the while she would stare out the front window of the pizza store as if she was "looking out" (it was like a fish bowl completely surrounded with floor to ceiling windows).
The final child was likely four years of age, definitely a boy, black. He was rather skinny, very short hair. Nothing else distinguishable. He was away with the adult male while the woman was alone with the three other children. She was rather cruel in her description of having to put up with the children while the male was away.
In general, the demeanor, words, characteristics, etc. of the couple were suspicious in the way they spoke only to each other, the way she watched out through the front door cautiously and the way in which the two adult caucausians had four children, three of which were at least in-part black in heritage, and in age given the young two-year old boy they had with them and who, clearly, the adult female didn't truly care for. It was obvious these weren't benevolent parents with adopted children or missionaries with adopted children, etc. They exhibited no true care for the children, but rather borderline if not outright contempt.
I took my pizza back to my wife's and my room, then searched the U.S. missing/exploited children website to no avail. I went back and tried to snap photos of the couple to no avail given the lighting difficulties with my camera. They all departed the pizza restaurant roughly 30 minutes later (when I was there watching them from a distance in the Chiang Mai night bazaar) and as best I can tell they headed west from the restaurant along the main street that the Chiang Inn/Night Bazaar is situated on.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have, though I'm on vacation with my wife in Thailand presently. I can be reached at my email address korynasz@hotmail.com all the while.
We will be in Chiang Mai tomorrow (Saturday 23rd) until 6pm Thailand time as we're headed to Bangkok by overnight train arriving Sunday morning. I do not have a contact telephone number convenient as a result and no current arrangements in Bangkok where we may be contacted. On the 28th, we will be in Hong Kong at the Sheraton Harbor View Hotel and can be reached there.
If I can be of any other service..
William E. Reid
-Anyway, I'll write more later when I can. I get charged per minute for internet use, so I try to keep it short. Besides, Jill's back in the hotel room worried sick I'm sure. I left her there with the pizza to try to photograph the people, but didn't have any luck that wouldn't get me followed or worse.
Bye for now.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
SUNNY DELIGHT
Well, after several days of struggling through typhoon-style rain, unexpected crowds and miserable bus travel, we've finally got it together and found the little slice of paradise we'd hope to find all along.
It's called Ko Chang (fyi - Ko is the Thai word for island and it's pronounced kaw) and it's in the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. No sign of Khmer Rouge or landmines anywhere (just kidding!). The island is marked by the little red circle in the map below:
The place reminds me of Maui - verdant green mountains with cloud forests, nice beaches with moderate Pacific Ocean-sized waves/current.
It's only beginning to be developed significantly, so we've had the place nearly to ourselves. Long stretches of the most amazing beach and not a soul around. It's been very different from previous experience here, and we're enjoying ourselves immensely.
Today, we simply spent the day swimming in the ocean, trying pathetically to bodysurf waves entirely too small for it. Tomorrow, we'll be renting a motorcycle to explore the island and take a hike or two up some trails to waterfalls with pools for swimming. While we're here, we're staying at the Klong Prao Resort, a wonderful place for the money. About $20 per night gets us a nice, new modern bungalow/room near the beach and a lagoon, plus a huge all-you-can-eat breakfast brunch buffet. We gorge ourselves and then don't need to eat until dinner. It's quite a deal.
Now that we've managed to find a place that's more laid back (not to mention with fewer people.. topless sunbathing is expressly forbidden by law here - so few Europeans!), it's very much like vacation rather than a rat race for dry land. We should be here for a few days and then we're heading to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Travel in Thailand has also become more pleasant now that we've just decided to fly everywhere that we want to go. After the negative bus experience.. don't forget to ask Jill about the bus restroom incident.. we've decided to just fly. It's dirt cheap (one-way fares per person roughly $40-$60), very clean, very safe AND they feed you a meal on every flight. You read that correctly Southwest Airlines peanut-eaters, they feed you a MEAL on every flight. No flight has exceeded 1hr. 20 minutes to date. One was even 40 minutes and they still had meal and beverage service, even with lightning out the left side of the plane and some turbulence! The food varies from not bad to not great, but frankly, I appreciate the effort, not necessarily the finished product. I've taken digital photos of nearly all of it, so as soon as I find a computer with USB or when I get back home, I'll post some.
We'll fly to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand probably the 20th, spend a few days in their older cities up there and then ride the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning. We depart at 5:50 pm and arrive at 6:50am Sunday. We managed to reserve and pay for a first class sleeper compartment for $35 for both of us! It's obscene how cheap everything is, and really, the high quality of it all.
Before we flew to Trat/Ko Chang yesterday (16th), we spent two nights in Ko Samui. The one full day was very enjoyable as we went ahead and rented a motorcycle/moped and explored the island. We got away from the crowds and had a little adventure along the way. The beach was hot, but the water was wonderful and the scenery was nice. We swam in the morning and evening and left while it was crowded, so all was okay. But we're glad we moved on. And the beaches do look like the photo I posted the other day.
Anyway, it's 8pm here, so 6am I believe at home. Hope you all have a good morning and day. I've have gotten news from the States and both Jill and I are keeping some recent bad news from two different fronts in our prayers. We hope things improve dramatically, quickly. Until next time...
Well, after several days of struggling through typhoon-style rain, unexpected crowds and miserable bus travel, we've finally got it together and found the little slice of paradise we'd hope to find all along.
It's called Ko Chang (fyi - Ko is the Thai word for island and it's pronounced kaw) and it's in the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. No sign of Khmer Rouge or landmines anywhere (just kidding!). The island is marked by the little red circle in the map below:
The place reminds me of Maui - verdant green mountains with cloud forests, nice beaches with moderate Pacific Ocean-sized waves/current.
It's only beginning to be developed significantly, so we've had the place nearly to ourselves. Long stretches of the most amazing beach and not a soul around. It's been very different from previous experience here, and we're enjoying ourselves immensely.
Today, we simply spent the day swimming in the ocean, trying pathetically to bodysurf waves entirely too small for it. Tomorrow, we'll be renting a motorcycle to explore the island and take a hike or two up some trails to waterfalls with pools for swimming. While we're here, we're staying at the Klong Prao Resort, a wonderful place for the money. About $20 per night gets us a nice, new modern bungalow/room near the beach and a lagoon, plus a huge all-you-can-eat breakfast brunch buffet. We gorge ourselves and then don't need to eat until dinner. It's quite a deal.
Now that we've managed to find a place that's more laid back (not to mention with fewer people.. topless sunbathing is expressly forbidden by law here - so few Europeans!), it's very much like vacation rather than a rat race for dry land. We should be here for a few days and then we're heading to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Travel in Thailand has also become more pleasant now that we've just decided to fly everywhere that we want to go. After the negative bus experience.. don't forget to ask Jill about the bus restroom incident.. we've decided to just fly. It's dirt cheap (one-way fares per person roughly $40-$60), very clean, very safe AND they feed you a meal on every flight. You read that correctly Southwest Airlines peanut-eaters, they feed you a MEAL on every flight. No flight has exceeded 1hr. 20 minutes to date. One was even 40 minutes and they still had meal and beverage service, even with lightning out the left side of the plane and some turbulence! The food varies from not bad to not great, but frankly, I appreciate the effort, not necessarily the finished product. I've taken digital photos of nearly all of it, so as soon as I find a computer with USB or when I get back home, I'll post some.
We'll fly to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand probably the 20th, spend a few days in their older cities up there and then ride the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning. We depart at 5:50 pm and arrive at 6:50am Sunday. We managed to reserve and pay for a first class sleeper compartment for $35 for both of us! It's obscene how cheap everything is, and really, the high quality of it all.
Before we flew to Trat/Ko Chang yesterday (16th), we spent two nights in Ko Samui. The one full day was very enjoyable as we went ahead and rented a motorcycle/moped and explored the island. We got away from the crowds and had a little adventure along the way. The beach was hot, but the water was wonderful and the scenery was nice. We swam in the morning and evening and left while it was crowded, so all was okay. But we're glad we moved on. And the beaches do look like the photo I posted the other day.
Anyway, it's 8pm here, so 6am I believe at home. Hope you all have a good morning and day. I've have gotten news from the States and both Jill and I are keeping some recent bad news from two different fronts in our prayers. We hope things improve dramatically, quickly. Until next time...
Thursday, August 14, 2003
CRABBY IN KRABI, FOOEY ON KO SAMUI
Well, I think if we had a bit more strength the title would have been better, but the sentiment wouldn't have changed.
We're presently in Ko Samui, a large island in the Gulf of Thailand.
We arrived here around 7pm after journeying all day by bus from Krabi on the other side of the Thailand peninsula along the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean). The place is supposed to look like this (it very well may; we got here in darkness):
But instead, we're in the middle of Eurotrash Hell. What I mean by that is, all sorts of scroungy Europeans looking like they haven't showered in at least two months (as opposed to once a month back home). Hair braided to hide their greasy scalps, clothes (or lack thereof) offensive to the locals and all riding around on noisy scooters or in the back of obnoxious pick-up taxis. What was apparently once a beautiful, sleepy island has now become another tourist trap catering to low-rent European traffic.
Don't get me wrong; Jill and I love low rent. But unlike our fellow travellers, we do try our best to get to know the local culture and, at the very least, try not to offend. As we speak, several in this room are currently offending the locals by not obeying the "no shoes inside" custom. Why the Thai tolerate this (wait, money, right?!) I guess I'll never know.
Anway, after a long bus ride, we enjoyed a two-hour ferry ride across the gulf to the island. It was only sullied by the constant squealing of pigs tortured by the heat and suffocatingly tight cages atop a truck. Jill swore off pork for the rest of the trip. Jill just reminded me of the cigarette smoke.. how could I forget.
The two days before, we spent in Krabi province on the Andaman Coast. Specifically, we stayed at Railey Beach West, a tiny peninsula with its own bay. The scenery is stunning:
But unfortunately, we only got to enjoy it for two hours. When they say monsoons, they truly mean it. After swimming for probably 30 minutes, a monstrous cloud rushed across the bay and in a manner of seconds started dumping rain like I have NEVER seen before. It was like white-out conditions but with rain; I can't even imagine how much it poured while we stood in a cave and watched. When it let up just a bit, we headed back to the bungalow but got totally soaked in the process. Adding insult to injury, the sewer water in that bungalow overflowed in the bathroom so we had to change rooms.
Long story short, we've pretty much either been trapped by rain or on the move trying to avoid it the whole trip. Not pleasant. At least in Latin America, unless you're truly dealing with a hurricane (which we haven't yet) the rain can be counted on to last just so long, but never is a hurdle to travel by foot or by vehicle.
Hopefully, if there is room, we're taking a flight back to the mainland to head over to some east Gulf Coast islands that are supposedly dry nearly year-round and haven't been turned into a gigantic tourist trap like Ko Samui has.
I suppose it's obvious we're a bit negative about the experience right now, but we've been very privelaged to travel a good amount in Latin America. So far, the language barrier is probably a big culprit; we don't have that problem in Mexico and south. But we've also found some pretty amazing places that are still quite and like paradise in the Western Hemisphere. So far, this place has yet to stack up (except for at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table).
Until we get back to the mainland, hope all is well. We're both in 100% good health, though low in spirits. Better days are ahead.
Well, I think if we had a bit more strength the title would have been better, but the sentiment wouldn't have changed.
We're presently in Ko Samui, a large island in the Gulf of Thailand.
We arrived here around 7pm after journeying all day by bus from Krabi on the other side of the Thailand peninsula along the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean). The place is supposed to look like this (it very well may; we got here in darkness):
But instead, we're in the middle of Eurotrash Hell. What I mean by that is, all sorts of scroungy Europeans looking like they haven't showered in at least two months (as opposed to once a month back home). Hair braided to hide their greasy scalps, clothes (or lack thereof) offensive to the locals and all riding around on noisy scooters or in the back of obnoxious pick-up taxis. What was apparently once a beautiful, sleepy island has now become another tourist trap catering to low-rent European traffic.
Don't get me wrong; Jill and I love low rent. But unlike our fellow travellers, we do try our best to get to know the local culture and, at the very least, try not to offend. As we speak, several in this room are currently offending the locals by not obeying the "no shoes inside" custom. Why the Thai tolerate this (wait, money, right?!) I guess I'll never know.
Anway, after a long bus ride, we enjoyed a two-hour ferry ride across the gulf to the island. It was only sullied by the constant squealing of pigs tortured by the heat and suffocatingly tight cages atop a truck. Jill swore off pork for the rest of the trip. Jill just reminded me of the cigarette smoke.. how could I forget.
The two days before, we spent in Krabi province on the Andaman Coast. Specifically, we stayed at Railey Beach West, a tiny peninsula with its own bay. The scenery is stunning:
But unfortunately, we only got to enjoy it for two hours. When they say monsoons, they truly mean it. After swimming for probably 30 minutes, a monstrous cloud rushed across the bay and in a manner of seconds started dumping rain like I have NEVER seen before. It was like white-out conditions but with rain; I can't even imagine how much it poured while we stood in a cave and watched. When it let up just a bit, we headed back to the bungalow but got totally soaked in the process. Adding insult to injury, the sewer water in that bungalow overflowed in the bathroom so we had to change rooms.
Long story short, we've pretty much either been trapped by rain or on the move trying to avoid it the whole trip. Not pleasant. At least in Latin America, unless you're truly dealing with a hurricane (which we haven't yet) the rain can be counted on to last just so long, but never is a hurdle to travel by foot or by vehicle.
Hopefully, if there is room, we're taking a flight back to the mainland to head over to some east Gulf Coast islands that are supposedly dry nearly year-round and haven't been turned into a gigantic tourist trap like Ko Samui has.
I suppose it's obvious we're a bit negative about the experience right now, but we've been very privelaged to travel a good amount in Latin America. So far, the language barrier is probably a big culprit; we don't have that problem in Mexico and south. But we've also found some pretty amazing places that are still quite and like paradise in the Western Hemisphere. So far, this place has yet to stack up (except for at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table).
Until we get back to the mainland, hope all is well. We're both in 100% good health, though low in spirits. Better days are ahead.
Monday, August 11, 2003
HELLO FROM THAILAND
It's Monday night at 9:30 and I'm in the lobby of our Bangkok hotel using the internet. That link goes to information about the place. 9:30pm here is roughly 7:30am there, so I'm wishing everyone a good morning.
The trip so far has been surprisingly comfortable. After a couple of hours with Tom and Kate exploring the seedier side of San Francisco for shorts and aspirin, we boarded our Cathay Pacific 747 and spent 13 hours arcing from San Francisco north and over to near Tokyo, then south across Taiwan and into Hong Kong. The Cathay Pacific flight was surprisingly comfortable. True to their word, we had tv screens in the seats in front of us and we watched whatever we wanted. For Jill and me, mostly our eyelids. They fed us well and it was quite a pleasant experience.
We only spent two hours in the Hong Kong airport, but it was pretty quiet early in the morning. There was evidence of the SARS outbreak. All passengers staying in Hong Kong, rather than going on to other destinations, had to fill out a health declaration form, have their temperature taken (I didn't find out exactly how that was done...) and then you walk through an area where a really high-tech infrared camera detects your body heat. We did that ourselves and it was kinda spooky looking on the monitor for everyone to see.
Bangkok is a surprisingly comfortable city in many ways. For a developing country, it's cleaner, nicer and it feels like a little bit less of a headache than Mexico City. We haven't yet felt like we were choking on gas fumes. We've taken an elevated train to most everywhere we've gone of any distance. Today, we went over and took a boat along the Chao Phraya river to the old city center where we toured many wats (temples) and the old royal palace.
To date, we haven't been able to find a computer with a USB port, so I'm unable to upload any of my photos. Suffice it to say, there's plenty of them. We have photographed nearly every meal we've had, plus various street scenes, scenes of and around the elevated train, interesting buildings, and of course, the wats and the royal palace. But here's the Temple of the Emerald Buddha we visited today:
Although the weather is sweltering and humid, we're compensated by being able to visit everything and eat anywhere we want for extremely cheap. Our hotel room, in the center of town right near the train, has been barely over $10. Tonight we had our most expensive meal that in the States would have cost $45. For the both of us, it was $10. And everywhere you go, the aroma of the most incredible food wafts around the corner. Not only that, but the orchids are blooming everywhere and you can't miss all the sprays of color. It's quite a remarkable place. Every corner a new sky scraper in all sorts of shapes and designs are springing up.
Bangkok isn't without its negatives, though. I suppose for both of us, the most unpleasant thing isn't the weather (though it can be oppressive) or all of the stairs you climb here to transit or hotel rooms (elevators haven't yet seemed to have taken hold of the Thai imagination), but rather the occasional middle-aged farang or foreign white man being escorted, well, by an escort around town. Fortunately, none of the women have obviously been under-aged girls. But it's still quite disturbing. I won't write a dissertation about it, but it's quite out in the open. Neither the men nor the women try to conceal anything. The ironic thing is that the locals do not condone the activity, even though they don't openly object. It's just that Thais are incredibly passive about unpleasantries because of their culture of "saving face" or avoiding conflict. But the white men don't seem to understand it, or if they do it's doubly wicked, so they assume that the locals think it's alright.
My time is running out. We're safe and sound and I'll update again soon with better information. Tomorrow we're headed for Krabi on the south Andaman Sea. After a two-hour goose chase looking for a recommended travel agent, we settled on a different one and we'll be flying Thai Airways to Krabi at 8am (while you're watching the 6pm news). Bye!
It's Monday night at 9:30 and I'm in the lobby of our Bangkok hotel using the internet. That link goes to information about the place. 9:30pm here is roughly 7:30am there, so I'm wishing everyone a good morning.
The trip so far has been surprisingly comfortable. After a couple of hours with Tom and Kate exploring the seedier side of San Francisco for shorts and aspirin, we boarded our Cathay Pacific 747 and spent 13 hours arcing from San Francisco north and over to near Tokyo, then south across Taiwan and into Hong Kong. The Cathay Pacific flight was surprisingly comfortable. True to their word, we had tv screens in the seats in front of us and we watched whatever we wanted. For Jill and me, mostly our eyelids. They fed us well and it was quite a pleasant experience.
We only spent two hours in the Hong Kong airport, but it was pretty quiet early in the morning. There was evidence of the SARS outbreak. All passengers staying in Hong Kong, rather than going on to other destinations, had to fill out a health declaration form, have their temperature taken (I didn't find out exactly how that was done...) and then you walk through an area where a really high-tech infrared camera detects your body heat. We did that ourselves and it was kinda spooky looking on the monitor for everyone to see.
Bangkok is a surprisingly comfortable city in many ways. For a developing country, it's cleaner, nicer and it feels like a little bit less of a headache than Mexico City. We haven't yet felt like we were choking on gas fumes. We've taken an elevated train to most everywhere we've gone of any distance. Today, we went over and took a boat along the Chao Phraya river to the old city center where we toured many wats (temples) and the old royal palace.
To date, we haven't been able to find a computer with a USB port, so I'm unable to upload any of my photos. Suffice it to say, there's plenty of them. We have photographed nearly every meal we've had, plus various street scenes, scenes of and around the elevated train, interesting buildings, and of course, the wats and the royal palace. But here's the Temple of the Emerald Buddha we visited today:
Although the weather is sweltering and humid, we're compensated by being able to visit everything and eat anywhere we want for extremely cheap. Our hotel room, in the center of town right near the train, has been barely over $10. Tonight we had our most expensive meal that in the States would have cost $45. For the both of us, it was $10. And everywhere you go, the aroma of the most incredible food wafts around the corner. Not only that, but the orchids are blooming everywhere and you can't miss all the sprays of color. It's quite a remarkable place. Every corner a new sky scraper in all sorts of shapes and designs are springing up.
Bangkok isn't without its negatives, though. I suppose for both of us, the most unpleasant thing isn't the weather (though it can be oppressive) or all of the stairs you climb here to transit or hotel rooms (elevators haven't yet seemed to have taken hold of the Thai imagination), but rather the occasional middle-aged farang or foreign white man being escorted, well, by an escort around town. Fortunately, none of the women have obviously been under-aged girls. But it's still quite disturbing. I won't write a dissertation about it, but it's quite out in the open. Neither the men nor the women try to conceal anything. The ironic thing is that the locals do not condone the activity, even though they don't openly object. It's just that Thais are incredibly passive about unpleasantries because of their culture of "saving face" or avoiding conflict. But the white men don't seem to understand it, or if they do it's doubly wicked, so they assume that the locals think it's alright.
My time is running out. We're safe and sound and I'll update again soon with better information. Tomorrow we're headed for Krabi on the south Andaman Sea. After a two-hour goose chase looking for a recommended travel agent, we settled on a different one and we'll be flying Thai Airways to Krabi at 8am (while you're watching the 6pm news). Bye!
Friday, August 08, 2003
DAY OF DEPARTURE
The day has arrived. Vacation is about to start. Jill and I leave tonight on a flight at 8pm headed for San Francisco, where we'll then take our first big leap off the western edge of North America.
REMEMBER - korynasz@hotmail.com or korynasz@yahoo.com is how to get a hold of us. We'll be checking email regularly.
Here's the itenerary specifically for all of you who care to know:
08 AUG 03 - Friday
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2439
LV Portland, OR 800P
AR San Francisco, CA 950P
09 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 873
LV San Francisco, CA 130A
10 AUG 03 - Sunday
AR Hong Kong 630A
Cathay Pacific Flt. 713
LV Hong Kong 855A
AR Bangkok 1030A
------------------------------------------------------
28 AUG 03 - Thursday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 700
LV Bangkok 835A
AR Hong Kong 1235P
30 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 872
LV Hong Kong 415P
AR San Francisco 145P
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2438
LV San Francisco 410P
AR Portland 600P
-----------------------------------------------------
There you have it. We don't know where all we'll be staying in Thailand yet, but we do have confirmed reservations in Hong Kong:
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road
Kowloon
Phone: 852-2369-1111
We'll be staying there for two nights, Aug 28th and 29th. We wouldn't ordinarily stay in a place that fancy, but Hong Kong hotels are running incredible specials right now so why not bump up a notch and live a little, right?
Well, we promise all you worry-warts out there that we'll be very careful in our travels. I realize Jakarta, Indonesia was bombed recently, but it's a long ways from there to Thailand AND Thailand is far more diverse, democratic and socially stable than Indonesia could ever dream of being. Not only that, but Thailand takes its tourism industry (it's biggest economic asset, by far) VERY seriously, and as such, spends heavily on security and law enforcement to keep Thailand safe, thus keeping its travel reputation safe.
Just remember: the most dangerous thing in ANY country is the transportation system and infrastructure. Thailand has a very good transportation system; Hong Kong has one of the world's finest. Therefore, we're statisically much safer in Thailand & Hong Kong than we were in Guatemala both times.
I'll be blogging on this site occasionally to let you know where we are and what we're doing. I did indeed buy a digital camera (Minolta Dimage s414), so I'll try my best to post photos in "real-time" as we travel.
So, until we arrive on the other side of this little planet of ours, God bless.
The day has arrived. Vacation is about to start. Jill and I leave tonight on a flight at 8pm headed for San Francisco, where we'll then take our first big leap off the western edge of North America.
REMEMBER - korynasz@hotmail.com or korynasz@yahoo.com is how to get a hold of us. We'll be checking email regularly.
Here's the itenerary specifically for all of you who care to know:
08 AUG 03 - Friday
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2439
LV Portland, OR 800P
AR San Francisco, CA 950P
09 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 873
LV San Francisco, CA 130A
10 AUG 03 - Sunday
AR Hong Kong 630A
Cathay Pacific Flt. 713
LV Hong Kong 855A
AR Bangkok 1030A
------------------------------------------------------
28 AUG 03 - Thursday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 700
LV Bangkok 835A
AR Hong Kong 1235P
30 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 872
LV Hong Kong 415P
AR San Francisco 145P
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2438
LV San Francisco 410P
AR Portland 600P
-----------------------------------------------------
There you have it. We don't know where all we'll be staying in Thailand yet, but we do have confirmed reservations in Hong Kong:
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road
Kowloon
Phone: 852-2369-1111
We'll be staying there for two nights, Aug 28th and 29th. We wouldn't ordinarily stay in a place that fancy, but Hong Kong hotels are running incredible specials right now so why not bump up a notch and live a little, right?
Well, we promise all you worry-warts out there that we'll be very careful in our travels. I realize Jakarta, Indonesia was bombed recently, but it's a long ways from there to Thailand AND Thailand is far more diverse, democratic and socially stable than Indonesia could ever dream of being. Not only that, but Thailand takes its tourism industry (it's biggest economic asset, by far) VERY seriously, and as such, spends heavily on security and law enforcement to keep Thailand safe, thus keeping its travel reputation safe.
Just remember: the most dangerous thing in ANY country is the transportation system and infrastructure. Thailand has a very good transportation system; Hong Kong has one of the world's finest. Therefore, we're statisically much safer in Thailand & Hong Kong than we were in Guatemala both times.
I'll be blogging on this site occasionally to let you know where we are and what we're doing. I did indeed buy a digital camera (Minolta Dimage s414), so I'll try my best to post photos in "real-time" as we travel.
So, until we arrive on the other side of this little planet of ours, God bless.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
SHOCK OF SHOCKERS
Well, the California recall election just inched closer to resembling a Wrestlemania Battle Royale as Schwarzenegger announced he'd run.
Hang on to your hats, folks.
Well, the California recall election just inched closer to resembling a Wrestlemania Battle Royale as Schwarzenegger announced he'd run.
Hang on to your hats, folks.
CORRECTION
A reader has brought it to my attention that my age is, in fact, not 28. I have assigned a crack team of researchers to find out exactly how old I am. In the meantime, on August 6 throughout history:
1787 First Draft of U.S. Constitution Debated
1911 Lucille Ball is Born
1917 Robert Mitchum is Born
1928 Andy Warhol is Born
1945 U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
Interesting day to say the least.
A reader has brought it to my attention that my age is, in fact, not 28. I have assigned a crack team of researchers to find out exactly how old I am. In the meantime, on August 6 throughout history:
1787 First Draft of U.S. Constitution Debated
1911 Lucille Ball is Born
1917 Robert Mitchum is Born
1928 Andy Warhol is Born
1945 U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
Interesting day to say the least.
NEW PHASE OF BILLANDJILL.COM ON BILL'S 28TH BIRTHDAY
That's right.. happy birthday to me! 28 years and going!
To celebrate the occasion, my colleague Jason Morgan at the Rhode Island office of Johnson Gardner has set up a picture server. So, here's a photo for the ladies: Calvin Klein's new underwear models.
Cool, huh?!
That's right.. happy birthday to me! 28 years and going!
To celebrate the occasion, my colleague Jason Morgan at the Rhode Island office of Johnson Gardner has set up a picture server. So, here's a photo for the ladies: Calvin Klein's new underwear models.
Cool, huh?!
Saturday, August 02, 2003
WORK STILL EXTREMELY BUSY - BILL NOT ON THE BALL
The deadline for Oregon low income tax credit housing development applications has created quite a bottleneck of work for me, so blogging updates have been very low on the ladder of priority lately. This week, over a 48-hour period, I got two hours of sleep. That's right, two all-nighters in a row with one two hour nap.
Now some of you may sit and scoff.. "back in my day, I went three days without sleep after walking through six feet of snow back and forth to work uphill.. BOTH WAYS.
Yeah, whatever.
But in the meantime, here's some updates that I truly wished I could spend more time discussing.
TOM DONE WITH BAR EXAM
Tom emailed to let me know the bar exam was over and he felt pretty good about it. Signs are encouraging and hopefully he can move on to bigger and better things with certification behind him. He didn't say when he'd get results, but I'll update as much as possible.
JOHN AND JUDY FIND A HOME IN HILLSBORO
In quite a surprising turn of events, John and Judy found a house they both really like and they signed the papers last night on an offer for it. It's located here in Hillsboro, just a couple of minutes away.
Take a look at it if you care to:
The House
3B/2b, 1480 sq. ft., single-story, large corner lot, RV parking and more wallpaper inside than you'd care to imagine. That'll all come down in time. Anyway, it's a pretty nice house and it meets a lot of their needs. They're thrilled, so things are looking good.
Well, I'm back to work. I'll get around to posting more things soon enough. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The deadline for Oregon low income tax credit housing development applications has created quite a bottleneck of work for me, so blogging updates have been very low on the ladder of priority lately. This week, over a 48-hour period, I got two hours of sleep. That's right, two all-nighters in a row with one two hour nap.
Now some of you may sit and scoff.. "back in my day, I went three days without sleep after walking through six feet of snow back and forth to work uphill.. BOTH WAYS.
Yeah, whatever.
But in the meantime, here's some updates that I truly wished I could spend more time discussing.
TOM DONE WITH BAR EXAM
Tom emailed to let me know the bar exam was over and he felt pretty good about it. Signs are encouraging and hopefully he can move on to bigger and better things with certification behind him. He didn't say when he'd get results, but I'll update as much as possible.
JOHN AND JUDY FIND A HOME IN HILLSBORO
In quite a surprising turn of events, John and Judy found a house they both really like and they signed the papers last night on an offer for it. It's located here in Hillsboro, just a couple of minutes away.
Take a look at it if you care to:
The House
3B/2b, 1480 sq. ft., single-story, large corner lot, RV parking and more wallpaper inside than you'd care to imagine. That'll all come down in time. Anyway, it's a pretty nice house and it meets a lot of their needs. They're thrilled, so things are looking good.
Well, I'm back to work. I'll get around to posting more things soon enough. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
WORK EXTREMELY BUSY - BLOGGING LIGHT
Work is extremely busy right now with several market need studies and applications for tax credit housing due at the end of the week. Needless to say, I haven't been able to get to the blog and update as I'd like. Here are a couple of brief updates..
TOM SEQUESTERED, TAKING BAR EXAM
Tom is taking the bar exam over the next couple of days and has been taken to a secure, undisclosed location. Yesterday, he reported he had quite an ecumenical group pulling for him: Lutherans, Catholics, Baptists/Presbyterians, Jews and a Muslim friend were all seeking blessings for his bar exam results.
Good luck, Tom and keep yourself cool and calm.
JOHN AND JUDY BACK IN OREGON
John and Judy flew into Oregon Monday night at 8:50pm after a week in San Antonio with family, particularly Art Wachdorf's retirement. They reported a good time was had and that Art's send-off was quite impressive. They didn't, however, enjoy the humid heat and were glad to be back to Oregon, currently in the middle of a 100-degree heatwave. Ain't that luck. They looked at more houses today after a doctor's appointment this morning.
Work is extremely busy right now with several market need studies and applications for tax credit housing due at the end of the week. Needless to say, I haven't been able to get to the blog and update as I'd like. Here are a couple of brief updates..
TOM SEQUESTERED, TAKING BAR EXAM
Tom is taking the bar exam over the next couple of days and has been taken to a secure, undisclosed location. Yesterday, he reported he had quite an ecumenical group pulling for him: Lutherans, Catholics, Baptists/Presbyterians, Jews and a Muslim friend were all seeking blessings for his bar exam results.
Good luck, Tom and keep yourself cool and calm.
JOHN AND JUDY BACK IN OREGON
John and Judy flew into Oregon Monday night at 8:50pm after a week in San Antonio with family, particularly Art Wachdorf's retirement. They reported a good time was had and that Art's send-off was quite impressive. They didn't, however, enjoy the humid heat and were glad to be back to Oregon, currently in the middle of a 100-degree heatwave. Ain't that luck. They looked at more houses today after a doctor's appointment this morning.
Sunday, July 27, 2003
UPDATE: RELATIVES KILLED IN NEW LONDON SCHOOL EXPLOSION
My friday update included details of various odd and strange places that Dad can visit while he's in Rusk County, Texas. One of those places was a museum and tea shop commemorating the deaths of nearly 300 students and teachers in New Longon, Texas due to a natural gas explosion at a school there in 1937.
Well, it turns out distant relatives died in that explosion. My mother wrote with this information:
I mentioned to mom that you had noted the school gas explosion, and she did say that that was the school that her cousins were killed in. They were a set of twins, one girl, and one boy. Joe and Cathryn Gordon. They were the children of Harry and Bess Gordon. Harry was Grannie Hays' cousin. She lived with Harry's family after her mother died, and her dad sent her to live with her aunt. At the time, he was unable to raise her properly, he had to work to send Fannie (Harry's mother) money to support her and her siblings(two brothers: Harry and Homer). Harry was Earl's dad. Remember Cousin Earl?? Anyway, that is the lowdown on the cousins and their relation to Grannie and Me-Maw. I remember pictures of them, but don't know what happened to those pictures after mom and dad moved to Alaska.
Well, there you have it. They were Chambers, Gordons by marriage it appears. Earl Chambers, or Cousin Earl as he's referred to above, died a few years ago. But in the few years before he did pass away, he came up to Alaska to fish and had a great time... even at the ripe old age of 83(?). I don't know how he can be forgotten - an excitable man, he not only spoke some dialect of Cajun/East Texas English, but frequently studdered through it when his blood pressure was up (nearly always). He had only one lung due to cancer as a result of years of smoking and installing asbestos as an international journeyman construction worker and he wore glasses with lenses thicker than those on a lot of hobby telescopes. But none of that really stopped him. In fact, he took to fishing in Alaska pretty quickly and with impressive endurance, all things considered. But it did take him time to learn how to fish in Alaska because the Cook Inlet was too deep to either dynamite or telephone the fish...
We visited him in his home one time - Jasper? - where he had recently purchased the neighboring property. It didn't take him long to have the house bulldozed, just so he could guarantee that a family with children wouldn't move in next door. Could you really blame the old guy?
Oh, well. Rest in peace, Earl.
My friday update included details of various odd and strange places that Dad can visit while he's in Rusk County, Texas. One of those places was a museum and tea shop commemorating the deaths of nearly 300 students and teachers in New Longon, Texas due to a natural gas explosion at a school there in 1937.
Well, it turns out distant relatives died in that explosion. My mother wrote with this information:
I mentioned to mom that you had noted the school gas explosion, and she did say that that was the school that her cousins were killed in. They were a set of twins, one girl, and one boy. Joe and Cathryn Gordon. They were the children of Harry and Bess Gordon. Harry was Grannie Hays' cousin. She lived with Harry's family after her mother died, and her dad sent her to live with her aunt. At the time, he was unable to raise her properly, he had to work to send Fannie (Harry's mother) money to support her and her siblings(two brothers: Harry and Homer). Harry was Earl's dad. Remember Cousin Earl?? Anyway, that is the lowdown on the cousins and their relation to Grannie and Me-Maw. I remember pictures of them, but don't know what happened to those pictures after mom and dad moved to Alaska.
Well, there you have it. They were Chambers, Gordons by marriage it appears. Earl Chambers, or Cousin Earl as he's referred to above, died a few years ago. But in the few years before he did pass away, he came up to Alaska to fish and had a great time... even at the ripe old age of 83(?). I don't know how he can be forgotten - an excitable man, he not only spoke some dialect of Cajun/East Texas English, but frequently studdered through it when his blood pressure was up (nearly always). He had only one lung due to cancer as a result of years of smoking and installing asbestos as an international journeyman construction worker and he wore glasses with lenses thicker than those on a lot of hobby telescopes. But none of that really stopped him. In fact, he took to fishing in Alaska pretty quickly and with impressive endurance, all things considered. But it did take him time to learn how to fish in Alaska because the Cook Inlet was too deep to either dynamite or telephone the fish...
We visited him in his home one time - Jasper? - where he had recently purchased the neighboring property. It didn't take him long to have the house bulldozed, just so he could guarantee that a family with children wouldn't move in next door. Could you really blame the old guy?
Oh, well. Rest in peace, Earl.
Friday, July 25, 2003
I thought I'd try a new Blogger tool by posting a link to a Seabiscuit review with it.
Basically, my new toolbar item lets me blog any link that I find and read that moment, rather than keeping that window open AND having the blog edit web page open.
Quite a nifty tool. Plus, you get to read a review of Seabiscuit that seems to be a summary of all points made about the film in any other review I've read.
I still think I'll go see it, but it'll probably be at the Grand Lodge.
Basically, my new toolbar item lets me blog any link that I find and read that moment, rather than keeping that window open AND having the blog edit web page open.
Quite a nifty tool. Plus, you get to read a review of Seabiscuit that seems to be a summary of all points made about the film in any other review I've read.
I still think I'll go see it, but it'll probably be at the Grand Lodge.
BILL AND JILL'S BACK YARD INVADED, OCCUPIED
Last week, while watering plants, Jill's head was buzzed a few times by a daring Rufus hummingbird.
Jill remembered that we have some old feeders, so she made some nectar, filled the feeder and hung it on the branch of the apple tree closest to the back sliding glass door for views.
It took less than one day for our back yard to become Grand Central Station for several hummingbirds, at least three of which are in the backyard regularly. There's probably more if they'd slow down and let us count them. They fly all around the apple tree, sit on a branch, sit and guzzle nectar from the feeder, sit and rest on the tomato plant stakes, or generally fly all around in pretty much any possible direction playing and chasing each other. They're a lot of fun to watch.
But now it seems they've staked our back yard as theirs and they aren't shy about letting you know it. Anytime either of us go out in the back to start the grill, water plants or do whatever, they fly all around and twitter as if we've really put them out and don't belong in their yard. In fact, they have no qualms about buzzing not too far from your head rather bravely to let you know who's boss. They even buzz right up to the back screen door in front of the cats just to taunt them. You gotta love that.
Either way, it's been a fun addition to the back yard.. more mouths to feed, but rather cheaply!
JILL "RETRIEVES" STOLEN CAR
Yesterday, Jill had to walk around an older compact car, running with no one in it, parked right in front of our mailbox. Jill thought nothing of it at first, but then the neighbors noticed its rather peculiar circumstance. Jill called the cops and, indeed, the car was stolen and just dumped off on our street while still running.
Jill's journalism training kicked in and she started querying the policeman about the theft. It turns out the car was stolen fromBeavertron Beaverton and dumped off in our neighborhood unceremoniously and inexplicably. The cop then said that our neighborhood has a great reputation and that they were shocked something like this happened here.
So, not only did Jill do her civic duty, but she also confirmed what we knew all along: we have a very safe, nice neighborhood. If only Jill would learn to hotwire German cars.
DAD HEADED TO RUSK COUNTY, TEXAS
Dad called and reported that instead of working in Rock Springs, Wyoming, he's headed to Rusk County, Texas, not far from the Lousiana border, to drill some wells.
Why there's only 1,381 miles between the two places.. Nearly 23 hours behind the wheel of his Blazer. Mere Child's Play
So, I've enlisted the internet to assist him find things to do and attractions to visit while he's there in the way ONLY the internet can do it. FYI, Henderson is the County seat, but in true Texas fashion, the town named "Rusk" is NOT in Rusk County. The following information is courtesy of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce website previously linked.
-->There's the New London Museum & Team Room in New London. Read this charming description, and then look forward to a nice cup of Earl Gray after the tour:
On March 18, 1937, a massive explosion destroyed the New London Junior-Senior High School, instantly killing an estimated 296 students and teachers. The subsequent deaths of victims from injuries sustained that day brought the final death count to 311 . The explosion was blamed on a natural gas leak beneath the school building. Within weeks of the disaster, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring an odor to be added to natural gas, which previously was odorless, and therefore, undetectable. See the dedicated workers and volunteers searching for survivors. See a teacher’s grade book, a twisted desk, Red Cross records and worldwide newspaper headlines. Listen close as one of the survivors takes you on a tour and tells you an unforgettable story.
Yowza, how's that for quaint? Even Waco hasn't opened up a similar museum for the Branch Davidians carnage AND tea house. Now we know who to thank for the lovely formaldehyde aroma of natural gas: some nincompoop rough neck from New London. Cautionary tale for natural gas industry, or for the educational system in Texas? I report, you decide.
-->The Gaston Museum, described below:
The mission of the Gaston Museum is to preserve the history and heritage of the 90 square mile area of the East Texas Oil Field once known as the Gaston Independent School District (the largest rural school district in the world at the time). One of the richest school districts in the 1930’s, the majority of its students were children of the oil field workers. It is their lives that are chronicled at the Museum. The present restored and furnished facility, called the White Complex, contains White’s Snack Shop, a 1940’s Roadside Café and the White’s home, which is a 1930’s oilfield "tent house" converted into a permanent home.
When it comes to his profession, I don't get the impression Dad's going to feel like the Maytag repairman in the Henderson area. Plus, I'm betting that given this is Texas, the "White's" they refer to in that description isn't a family name, but an adjective.
-->Last, but certainly not least is the Arnold Outhouse (you do not need your eyes checked, you read it correctly):
In September of 1983, the chairman of Rusk County Historical Commission heard about an authentic outhouse built in 1908. Following her nose (emphasis added by me.. I definitely didn't want you to miss that) for adventure through the pages of history, she decided to investigate. As it turned out, she was able to purchase the three-holer which once belonged to John R. Arnold, a prominent turn of the century lawyer in Henderson.
The Victorian Outhouse is equipped with three holes to fit a variety of "behind" sizes. (Whew.. that's a relief to know. I was beginning to think Mr. Arnold had an unfortunate medical condition) A window above the sitting place provides light for reading and louvered shutters cover the adjacent windows to provide much needed ventilation. Like any fine toilet of today, this one has lids to fit each hole. The construction is an example of Arnold’s meticulous nature. Doubled walls keep the outhouse warm in the winter, while wainscoting, a type of paneling and trim, protects the wood as well as decorates the structure.
The Historical Marker on this outhouse is a true prize because it is the first to be awarded to an outhouse in Texas and may very well be the first prize in the nation.
There are so many more ways to riff on this that I'll just leave it be and let you have the pleasure.
Dad, if I hear you claim you're bored in Rusk County, I have no sympathy.
OLD FRIEND LIVING IN PORTLAND
Yesterday on my MAX ride into downtown, I bumped into an old friend of ours from Eugene. Turns out he's living in Northwest Portland and was on his way to work as well. When I asked how his wife was doing, he might as well have kicked me in the stomach, because he said they had gotten a divorce. When we lived in Eugene, before and after our wedding, they were a happy couple and we always enjoyed social occasions with both of them, including our wedding.
I'm still a bit in shock over it, as is Jill. We very much like both of them. The circumstances aren't entirely known by me and I won't go into what I do know. But it is quite unfortunate. We hope to have him over to the house for dinner before we go on vacation, but we'll see how scheduling works out. It'll be nice to catch up.
More updates later...
Last week, while watering plants, Jill's head was buzzed a few times by a daring Rufus hummingbird.
Jill remembered that we have some old feeders, so she made some nectar, filled the feeder and hung it on the branch of the apple tree closest to the back sliding glass door for views.
It took less than one day for our back yard to become Grand Central Station for several hummingbirds, at least three of which are in the backyard regularly. There's probably more if they'd slow down and let us count them. They fly all around the apple tree, sit on a branch, sit and guzzle nectar from the feeder, sit and rest on the tomato plant stakes, or generally fly all around in pretty much any possible direction playing and chasing each other. They're a lot of fun to watch.
But now it seems they've staked our back yard as theirs and they aren't shy about letting you know it. Anytime either of us go out in the back to start the grill, water plants or do whatever, they fly all around and twitter as if we've really put them out and don't belong in their yard. In fact, they have no qualms about buzzing not too far from your head rather bravely to let you know who's boss. They even buzz right up to the back screen door in front of the cats just to taunt them. You gotta love that.
Either way, it's been a fun addition to the back yard.. more mouths to feed, but rather cheaply!
JILL "RETRIEVES" STOLEN CAR
Yesterday, Jill had to walk around an older compact car, running with no one in it, parked right in front of our mailbox. Jill thought nothing of it at first, but then the neighbors noticed its rather peculiar circumstance. Jill called the cops and, indeed, the car was stolen and just dumped off on our street while still running.
Jill's journalism training kicked in and she started querying the policeman about the theft. It turns out the car was stolen from
So, not only did Jill do her civic duty, but she also confirmed what we knew all along: we have a very safe, nice neighborhood. If only Jill would learn to hotwire German cars.
DAD HEADED TO RUSK COUNTY, TEXAS
Dad called and reported that instead of working in Rock Springs, Wyoming, he's headed to Rusk County, Texas, not far from the Lousiana border, to drill some wells.
Why there's only 1,381 miles between the two places.. Nearly 23 hours behind the wheel of his Blazer. Mere Child's Play
So, I've enlisted the internet to assist him find things to do and attractions to visit while he's there in the way ONLY the internet can do it. FYI, Henderson is the County seat, but in true Texas fashion, the town named "Rusk" is NOT in Rusk County. The following information is courtesy of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce website previously linked.
-->There's the New London Museum & Team Room in New London. Read this charming description, and then look forward to a nice cup of Earl Gray after the tour:
On March 18, 1937, a massive explosion destroyed the New London Junior-Senior High School, instantly killing an estimated 296 students and teachers. The subsequent deaths of victims from injuries sustained that day brought the final death count to 311 . The explosion was blamed on a natural gas leak beneath the school building. Within weeks of the disaster, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring an odor to be added to natural gas, which previously was odorless, and therefore, undetectable. See the dedicated workers and volunteers searching for survivors. See a teacher’s grade book, a twisted desk, Red Cross records and worldwide newspaper headlines. Listen close as one of the survivors takes you on a tour and tells you an unforgettable story.
Yowza, how's that for quaint? Even Waco hasn't opened up a similar museum for the Branch Davidians carnage AND tea house. Now we know who to thank for the lovely formaldehyde aroma of natural gas: some nincompoop rough neck from New London. Cautionary tale for natural gas industry, or for the educational system in Texas? I report, you decide.
-->The Gaston Museum, described below:
The mission of the Gaston Museum is to preserve the history and heritage of the 90 square mile area of the East Texas Oil Field once known as the Gaston Independent School District (the largest rural school district in the world at the time). One of the richest school districts in the 1930’s, the majority of its students were children of the oil field workers. It is their lives that are chronicled at the Museum. The present restored and furnished facility, called the White Complex, contains White’s Snack Shop, a 1940’s Roadside Café and the White’s home, which is a 1930’s oilfield "tent house" converted into a permanent home.
When it comes to his profession, I don't get the impression Dad's going to feel like the Maytag repairman in the Henderson area. Plus, I'm betting that given this is Texas, the "White's" they refer to in that description isn't a family name, but an adjective.
-->Last, but certainly not least is the Arnold Outhouse (you do not need your eyes checked, you read it correctly):
In September of 1983, the chairman of Rusk County Historical Commission heard about an authentic outhouse built in 1908. Following her nose (emphasis added by me.. I definitely didn't want you to miss that) for adventure through the pages of history, she decided to investigate. As it turned out, she was able to purchase the three-holer which once belonged to John R. Arnold, a prominent turn of the century lawyer in Henderson.
The Victorian Outhouse is equipped with three holes to fit a variety of "behind" sizes. (Whew.. that's a relief to know. I was beginning to think Mr. Arnold had an unfortunate medical condition) A window above the sitting place provides light for reading and louvered shutters cover the adjacent windows to provide much needed ventilation. Like any fine toilet of today, this one has lids to fit each hole. The construction is an example of Arnold’s meticulous nature. Doubled walls keep the outhouse warm in the winter, while wainscoting, a type of paneling and trim, protects the wood as well as decorates the structure.
The Historical Marker on this outhouse is a true prize because it is the first to be awarded to an outhouse in Texas and may very well be the first prize in the nation.
There are so many more ways to riff on this that I'll just leave it be and let you have the pleasure.
Dad, if I hear you claim you're bored in Rusk County, I have no sympathy.
OLD FRIEND LIVING IN PORTLAND
Yesterday on my MAX ride into downtown, I bumped into an old friend of ours from Eugene. Turns out he's living in Northwest Portland and was on his way to work as well. When I asked how his wife was doing, he might as well have kicked me in the stomach, because he said they had gotten a divorce. When we lived in Eugene, before and after our wedding, they were a happy couple and we always enjoyed social occasions with both of them, including our wedding.
I'm still a bit in shock over it, as is Jill. We very much like both of them. The circumstances aren't entirely known by me and I won't go into what I do know. But it is quite unfortunate. We hope to have him over to the house for dinner before we go on vacation, but we'll see how scheduling works out. It'll be nice to catch up.
More updates later...
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
SUNDAYE INJURES KNEE
Saturday, Sundaye did something to her back right leg and was limping around the house on it pretty badly. After we took John and Judy to the airport, Jill got an appointment at the naturopathic vet clinic in Portland.
The vet determined that Sundaye's knee had somehow been slightly injured and prescribed a nutritional supplement to help Sundaye's recovery. As of today, Tuesday, Sundaye's barely showing any limp.
I think she was faking to get attention since there were four cats in the house at the time, but Jill strongly disagrees.
KATE MAKING A FORTUNE AS AN UNDER COVER SHOPPER
Tom reported on Monday that Kate has been making a killing lately as a secret shopper in Sacramento. Over one weekend, she apparently bankrolled at least $200 plus the food she gets to eat or the products she gets to keep and for which she is reimbursed.
Tom isn't sure which is better: the fact that Kate is having fun and getting paid to go shopping OR the fact that he has a little more time to study alone each day. Sounds like it's win-win for everyone involved - absence makes the heart grow fonder... and when did a woman ever turn down a shopping trip?
On another note, Kate's sister Krissie bought a house recently and we congratulate her. It's a great step. The hook to the story is the fact that she had to share a camper with some friends that weekend in order to stay in line and claim one of the houses. That is, as they said back in the day, insane. Either way, the road to equity is a good, if somewhat bumpy one.
TERI AND THE GIRLS IN LAS VEGAS
Mom reported on Monday that Teri and the girls were visiting for the week. My brief call was enough to make it clear some bargain with the devil had been struck Mom and Teri. Somehow, Mom talked Teri into sanding the floors to smooth the grout in the newly-laid tile. Meanwhile, Mom agreed to keep the girls entertained in the pool, with the TV, or however else. I don't know which was louder on the phone - the girls, the TV or the grout sander. Here's a brief snippet of our conversation:
Bill: So, how quickly have the berries gone?
Mom: Well, MeMa made a fresh pie.. just a sec, okay? (in the background BZZZZZZZZ)
...Toni turn the TV down...
Okay, the pie was very good... uh, just a sec..
...Toni turn the TV down!...
The marionberries are all gone now.. wait a sec..
...Toni turn the TV down!...
DEAD AIR
Bill: You there?
DEAD AIR
Mom: okay.. well, the marionberries are all gone now.. um, just a sec...
...TONI TURN THE TV DOWN!...
Bill: So do you have any marionberries left?
Or something like that. They were all having a good time, anyway, it sounded like.
Saturday, Sundaye did something to her back right leg and was limping around the house on it pretty badly. After we took John and Judy to the airport, Jill got an appointment at the naturopathic vet clinic in Portland.
The vet determined that Sundaye's knee had somehow been slightly injured and prescribed a nutritional supplement to help Sundaye's recovery. As of today, Tuesday, Sundaye's barely showing any limp.
I think she was faking to get attention since there were four cats in the house at the time, but Jill strongly disagrees.
KATE MAKING A FORTUNE AS AN UNDER COVER SHOPPER
Tom reported on Monday that Kate has been making a killing lately as a secret shopper in Sacramento. Over one weekend, she apparently bankrolled at least $200 plus the food she gets to eat or the products she gets to keep and for which she is reimbursed.
Tom isn't sure which is better: the fact that Kate is having fun and getting paid to go shopping OR the fact that he has a little more time to study alone each day. Sounds like it's win-win for everyone involved - absence makes the heart grow fonder... and when did a woman ever turn down a shopping trip?
On another note, Kate's sister Krissie bought a house recently and we congratulate her. It's a great step. The hook to the story is the fact that she had to share a camper with some friends that weekend in order to stay in line and claim one of the houses. That is, as they said back in the day, insane. Either way, the road to equity is a good, if somewhat bumpy one.
TERI AND THE GIRLS IN LAS VEGAS
Mom reported on Monday that Teri and the girls were visiting for the week. My brief call was enough to make it clear some bargain with the devil had been struck Mom and Teri. Somehow, Mom talked Teri into sanding the floors to smooth the grout in the newly-laid tile. Meanwhile, Mom agreed to keep the girls entertained in the pool, with the TV, or however else. I don't know which was louder on the phone - the girls, the TV or the grout sander. Here's a brief snippet of our conversation:
Bill: So, how quickly have the berries gone?
Mom: Well, MeMa made a fresh pie.. just a sec, okay? (in the background BZZZZZZZZ)
...Toni turn the TV down...
Okay, the pie was very good... uh, just a sec..
...Toni turn the TV down!...
The marionberries are all gone now.. wait a sec..
...Toni turn the TV down!...
DEAD AIR
Bill: You there?
DEAD AIR
Mom: okay.. well, the marionberries are all gone now.. um, just a sec...
...TONI TURN THE TV DOWN!...
Bill: So do you have any marionberries left?
Or something like that. They were all having a good time, anyway, it sounded like.
JOHN AND JUDY LOOK AT HOUSES IN HILLSBORO, LEAVE PROMPTLY
I realize this is old news, but I'll update anyway. Saturday, they left here and arrived in San Antonio for Art Wachdorf's retirement ceremony from Lackland Air Force Base Intelligence. He was the commander of the Warfare Intelligence unit, but good luck getting him to talk about anything. I do know that wherever he worked, he had to keep specially-constructed blinds closed all the time to prevent satellites from spying what he was working on.
Anyway, they're beating the heat and having a decent time so far. The ceremony is this coming weekend and then they return to Hillsboro for a day.
John and Judy did go looking at houses in Hillsboro, Cornelius and Forest Grove. Apparently, they had the good luck to find two houses they really liked. I think it took us a few weeks before that happened. As soon as I find the MLS number for each one, I'll post them for all to see!
Maybe we can have a vote on which house they should buy!
GRAYCIE SPIRITED AWAY ON SUNDAY
Well, it's unfortunate it didn't work out, but Graycie the cat is headed to New York and her new home. She's scared of other cats, so it just couldn't work out with Molly down in Medford at John and Judy's house. Jim Hardison and his sister Janet came over to the house to pick up Graycie. Jim lives in Portland with his wife Maria. Until recently he worked for Will Vinton Studios in Portland, the one and the same that made the California Raisins commercials, the PJ's and the current M&M's commercials.
I do believe Jim worked on the M&M commercials personally. I don't know what company he's at now, but it's in Portland also. You can read all about Janet over at Les Hardison.com. She conducts extensive family tree research for both the Wachdorf and Hardison families, among many other things. She'll be escorting Graycie, of whom I don't have a photo, to her new home in a carry-on cat bag. Peanuts or pretzels?
My quick break is over, so I'm back to work now. More updates later...
I realize this is old news, but I'll update anyway. Saturday, they left here and arrived in San Antonio for Art Wachdorf's retirement ceremony from Lackland Air Force Base Intelligence. He was the commander of the Warfare Intelligence unit, but good luck getting him to talk about anything. I do know that wherever he worked, he had to keep specially-constructed blinds closed all the time to prevent satellites from spying what he was working on.
Anyway, they're beating the heat and having a decent time so far. The ceremony is this coming weekend and then they return to Hillsboro for a day.
John and Judy did go looking at houses in Hillsboro, Cornelius and Forest Grove. Apparently, they had the good luck to find two houses they really liked. I think it took us a few weeks before that happened. As soon as I find the MLS number for each one, I'll post them for all to see!
Maybe we can have a vote on which house they should buy!
GRAYCIE SPIRITED AWAY ON SUNDAY
Well, it's unfortunate it didn't work out, but Graycie the cat is headed to New York and her new home. She's scared of other cats, so it just couldn't work out with Molly down in Medford at John and Judy's house. Jim Hardison and his sister Janet came over to the house to pick up Graycie. Jim lives in Portland with his wife Maria. Until recently he worked for Will Vinton Studios in Portland, the one and the same that made the California Raisins commercials, the PJ's and the current M&M's commercials.
I do believe Jim worked on the M&M commercials personally. I don't know what company he's at now, but it's in Portland also. You can read all about Janet over at Les Hardison.com. She conducts extensive family tree research for both the Wachdorf and Hardison families, among many other things. She'll be escorting Graycie, of whom I don't have a photo, to her new home in a carry-on cat bag. Peanuts or pretzels?
My quick break is over, so I'm back to work now. More updates later...
Friday, July 18, 2003
GRAY DAVIS UPDATE
Justice Prevails! Tom sent along word that a judge threw out the lawsuit contending the signature-gathering for Davis' recall attempt was illegitimate. That means the ballot is still a go, however a serious "alternative" to Davis has yet to emerge.
I still don't believe Schwarzenegger is going to do it. He's still tight-lipped and nothing direct is being said. Or maybe that's simply his reaction to catching his wife sharpen her chin again..
So if he's the Terminator, does that make her the Predator?!
ROUSING SPEECH BY TONY BLAIR
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made an outstanding, important speech yesterday to a Joint Session of Congress. There's plenty of commentary about it that you can read at Andrew Sullivan.com. But I'd encourage you to:
Read It or
Watch/Listen to It
The bottom line is that this man is probably more liberal than half of the Democrats in that chamber, but instead of perpetrating the shallow, bitter opposition to EVERYTHING Bush does like modern Democrats, he forcefully justifies military intervention in Iraq for liberal reasons and still differs with Bush on the environment, monetary and time commitment to nation building and several other issues. He bluntly, though appropriately, states his differences in this speech.
It's truly a shame he's British because he'd be one heck of a Democrat. Mind you, I wouldn't exactly want him to prevail in a national election, but his ability to articulate alternate vision and leadership is SORELY lacking in the modern Democrats and as a result, Republicans aren't being properly challenged for the betterment of national policy.
DOG POISONING PLOT THICKENS
A purely local interest story, but it's now getting more interesting. Portland's Laurelhurst Park has recently been the site of 16 dog poisonings. 8 have died, 8 are now sick and their prognosis isn't likely good. Until now, the story was just a bizarre case of some nutjob poisoning dogs out of spite or sheer cruelty. A sad enough story, but this report from Yahoo News makes it slightly more interesting...
It seems the poisonings are politically motivated supposedly in an effort by some cruel vigilante who wants to see Portland's dog leash laws be enforced. You see, Portland has been in the middle of a dog-leash controversy. The City has dog leash laws on its books, but they've been relaxed about enforcing them because, well, you know, it's cool to be casual about the law and everything else, in Portland. That means that any park you go to in Portland, you're liable to come across all sorts of dogs irresponsibly set free to roam around and do whatever, whereever on whatever.
Dog owners in Portland are the most self-centered, law-flaunting bunch of nitwits I've had the misfortune to encounter... wait a minute, that describes a lot of people around here in general.. It's bad enough that they let their dogs crap wherever without cleaning up. No, it goes further into pretty disgusting hypocrisy. Specifically, most of the morons letting their dogs run free are the ones that are loathe to allow one tree be harvested or one salmon be caught in the name of environmentalism and animal rights. But then they let their dogs run free and what impact does that have? Here are the first obvious three that come to mind...
They attack other dogs on (or off) leashes, violating the right of the leashed dog and its owner.
They threaten children or adults who may be frightened of dogs and are within their rights to demand safety in public parks.
They scare off, chase, or attack any wild animals left in the more wild public park spaces.
This is particularly true for Portland's Forest Park, which is the largest single park inside a city limits in the U.S. It's a big, undeveloped forest full of hiking and walking trails and that's it. But you know what? You can walk and hike and ride all you want through there and you'll NEVER find a squirrel or any other animal that a wandering dog would threaten. Nothing. Wandering dogs have taken the wild out of the park.
I in no way condone what that dog-poisoning sicko has done. It's cruel and tragic and he should have the book thrown at him (or her) when they catch the person. But if irresponsible dog owners and other hypocrites want the Portland Police to not strictly enforce the leash law, why should the Police be asked to enforce animal cruelty laws?
Maybe owners of dead or sick dogs who ran free flaunting the law, meant to protect pet AND human, should consider that question.
Justice Prevails! Tom sent along word that a judge threw out the lawsuit contending the signature-gathering for Davis' recall attempt was illegitimate. That means the ballot is still a go, however a serious "alternative" to Davis has yet to emerge.
I still don't believe Schwarzenegger is going to do it. He's still tight-lipped and nothing direct is being said. Or maybe that's simply his reaction to catching his wife sharpen her chin again..
So if he's the Terminator, does that make her the Predator?!
ROUSING SPEECH BY TONY BLAIR
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made an outstanding, important speech yesterday to a Joint Session of Congress. There's plenty of commentary about it that you can read at Andrew Sullivan.com. But I'd encourage you to:
Read It or
Watch/Listen to It
The bottom line is that this man is probably more liberal than half of the Democrats in that chamber, but instead of perpetrating the shallow, bitter opposition to EVERYTHING Bush does like modern Democrats, he forcefully justifies military intervention in Iraq for liberal reasons and still differs with Bush on the environment, monetary and time commitment to nation building and several other issues. He bluntly, though appropriately, states his differences in this speech.
It's truly a shame he's British because he'd be one heck of a Democrat. Mind you, I wouldn't exactly want him to prevail in a national election, but his ability to articulate alternate vision and leadership is SORELY lacking in the modern Democrats and as a result, Republicans aren't being properly challenged for the betterment of national policy.
DOG POISONING PLOT THICKENS
A purely local interest story, but it's now getting more interesting. Portland's Laurelhurst Park has recently been the site of 16 dog poisonings. 8 have died, 8 are now sick and their prognosis isn't likely good. Until now, the story was just a bizarre case of some nutjob poisoning dogs out of spite or sheer cruelty. A sad enough story, but this report from Yahoo News makes it slightly more interesting...
It seems the poisonings are politically motivated supposedly in an effort by some cruel vigilante who wants to see Portland's dog leash laws be enforced. You see, Portland has been in the middle of a dog-leash controversy. The City has dog leash laws on its books, but they've been relaxed about enforcing them because, well, you know, it's cool to be casual about the law and everything else, in Portland. That means that any park you go to in Portland, you're liable to come across all sorts of dogs irresponsibly set free to roam around and do whatever, whereever on whatever.
Dog owners in Portland are the most self-centered, law-flaunting bunch of nitwits I've had the misfortune to encounter... wait a minute, that describes a lot of people around here in general.. It's bad enough that they let their dogs crap wherever without cleaning up. No, it goes further into pretty disgusting hypocrisy. Specifically, most of the morons letting their dogs run free are the ones that are loathe to allow one tree be harvested or one salmon be caught in the name of environmentalism and animal rights. But then they let their dogs run free and what impact does that have? Here are the first obvious three that come to mind...
They attack other dogs on (or off) leashes, violating the right of the leashed dog and its owner.
They threaten children or adults who may be frightened of dogs and are within their rights to demand safety in public parks.
They scare off, chase, or attack any wild animals left in the more wild public park spaces.
This is particularly true for Portland's Forest Park, which is the largest single park inside a city limits in the U.S. It's a big, undeveloped forest full of hiking and walking trails and that's it. But you know what? You can walk and hike and ride all you want through there and you'll NEVER find a squirrel or any other animal that a wandering dog would threaten. Nothing. Wandering dogs have taken the wild out of the park.
I in no way condone what that dog-poisoning sicko has done. It's cruel and tragic and he should have the book thrown at him (or her) when they catch the person. But if irresponsible dog owners and other hypocrites want the Portland Police to not strictly enforce the leash law, why should the Police be asked to enforce animal cruelty laws?
Maybe owners of dead or sick dogs who ran free flaunting the law, meant to protect pet AND human, should consider that question.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
CLEAN YOUR PLATE
Here it is.. the long-delayed look at the type of food Bill and Jill will be forced to eat on our flight to Asia. Stranded in a plane at 35,000 feet in the middle of the Pacific, where else are we going to go?
So here it is...
No, just kidding. Though, that's an actual food item in a Chinese hotel somewhere.
Actually, a review of the various meals experienced by Cathay Pacific passengers documented at airlinemeals.net was reassuring. The economy class meals actually got decent reviews, with photos. On a scale of 1 to 10, most airline meals were given a score of 7+ by passengers! For instance:
Sweet & Sour Peking-Style Pork Chop w/ Rice (followed by vanilla ice cream sandwich for dessert, not shown)
or this:
Fish & Rice, Fruit and a Roll
or this:
Braised Chicken with Steamed Rice and Pak Choy, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chip topping, Pineapple Cake, Bread Roll
All these meals actually look good and got good reviews. I'm feeling pretty good now. But then I looked at Business Class and First Class meals and was shocked at the difference.
and
and
I don't know what half of that stuff is, but it SURE looks better than the economy class food and significantly so. Plus, actual plates, silverware, even ice cold Stoly. The funny thing is, those first class twits rated their food the same (7-8 on average) as did economy class. This is definitive proof that people in first class truly are an insufferable bunch.
But hey, after learning the truth behind first class privelage, I'd be MORE than happy to be insufferable!
MOM REPORTS FROM VEGAS
Well, in an email, Mom reported that she got in to Vegas safe and sound and has since gotten a bunch of tiling finished. Good for her.
She also mentioned the strangest phenomenon on her way down. It seems she made a rest stop in Canyonville, Oregon, which is one hour between Roseburg and Medford.
When she got back into her car, she reportedly discovered that her wallet had $20 more in it than when she stopped! How on earth do you suppose that could have happened?! When we make a pit stop there, our wallet is usually $20 lighter.
Anyway, we're glad she got in alright and had a great trip all the way around.
JOHN AND JUDY ARRIVE IN HILLSBORO
Feeling stronger for the trip, John and Judy arrived in Hillsboro today. I don't know what they have planned now, but I do hope we get to go out for dinner tonight. They brought Gracie up and we are going to deliver her to Janet Hardison, who is visiting Portland from Illinois, this weekend. Gracie just didn't get along with Molly no matter how hard Judy tried. Gracie will make a wonderful pet for someone that doesn't have any other cats.
Here it is.. the long-delayed look at the type of food Bill and Jill will be forced to eat on our flight to Asia. Stranded in a plane at 35,000 feet in the middle of the Pacific, where else are we going to go?
So here it is...
No, just kidding. Though, that's an actual food item in a Chinese hotel somewhere.
Actually, a review of the various meals experienced by Cathay Pacific passengers documented at airlinemeals.net was reassuring. The economy class meals actually got decent reviews, with photos. On a scale of 1 to 10, most airline meals were given a score of 7+ by passengers! For instance:
Sweet & Sour Peking-Style Pork Chop w/ Rice (followed by vanilla ice cream sandwich for dessert, not shown)
or this:
Fish & Rice, Fruit and a Roll
or this:
Braised Chicken with Steamed Rice and Pak Choy, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chip topping, Pineapple Cake, Bread Roll
All these meals actually look good and got good reviews. I'm feeling pretty good now. But then I looked at Business Class and First Class meals and was shocked at the difference.
and
and
I don't know what half of that stuff is, but it SURE looks better than the economy class food and significantly so. Plus, actual plates, silverware, even ice cold Stoly. The funny thing is, those first class twits rated their food the same (7-8 on average) as did economy class. This is definitive proof that people in first class truly are an insufferable bunch.
But hey, after learning the truth behind first class privelage, I'd be MORE than happy to be insufferable!
MOM REPORTS FROM VEGAS
Well, in an email, Mom reported that she got in to Vegas safe and sound and has since gotten a bunch of tiling finished. Good for her.
She also mentioned the strangest phenomenon on her way down. It seems she made a rest stop in Canyonville, Oregon, which is one hour between Roseburg and Medford.
When she got back into her car, she reportedly discovered that her wallet had $20 more in it than when she stopped! How on earth do you suppose that could have happened?! When we make a pit stop there, our wallet is usually $20 lighter.
Anyway, we're glad she got in alright and had a great trip all the way around.
JOHN AND JUDY ARRIVE IN HILLSBORO
Feeling stronger for the trip, John and Judy arrived in Hillsboro today. I don't know what they have planned now, but I do hope we get to go out for dinner tonight. They brought Gracie up and we are going to deliver her to Janet Hardison, who is visiting Portland from Illinois, this weekend. Gracie just didn't get along with Molly no matter how hard Judy tried. Gracie will make a wonderful pet for someone that doesn't have any other cats.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
A DARK DAY FOR GUATEMALA'S ORPHANS
We received an e-petition in the mail today from Les Hardison, Judy's uncle who lives in Illinois/Florida depending on the season and flying conditions. I'm not normally keen to read emails with petitions and pyramid schemes, but I can say that this e-petition is legitimate and addresses a very important issue.
UNICEF, the child welfare arm of the United Nations (yes, I know it's the U.N., but we don't just have to sit back and let more damage be done), has carried out a campaign to get as many nations to ratify the Hague Convention and Convention for the Rights of the Child. The effect has been elimination or severe cutbacks in the occurance of international adoptions of needy children from countries that ratify. Here is the body of the letter that Susan and Dan Black, Judy's cousins who recently adopted their son Jimmy from Guatemala, wrote to describe the effects of these Conventions on the adoption process of Guatemalan children:
One month before receiving Jimmy’s referral, the adoption process in Guatemala began to undergo radical and devastating changes largely due to pressure from UNICEF on Guatemala to ratify and implement the Hague Convention and the Convention for the Rights of the Child. These treaties basically take away the right of the birthmother to place a child for adoption internationally. The premise is that a child should never be deprived of their birth heritage and thus international adoption should be viewed as a last resort and only available after an exhaustive search has been made to prove that a child cannot be placed in country (a search which takes in practice longer than a year).
On July 1st, Guatemala announced new adoption procedures to conform to the Hague Convention. Adoptions have, de facto, been suspended as of March 5th of this year. The new procedures include a statement that only four orphanages are accredited to take children (up until this time children placed for adoption in Guatemala were largely in private foster care with a maximum of 2 children per home or in privately-funded children’s homes). So, under the auspices of acting in the best interest of the children, Guatemala is moving to a system wherein it appears that children will wait in under-funded, over-crowded orphanages if they are lucky enough to make it that far. Other alternatives available to birthmothers are infanticide, illegal abortion, raising the child alone (women who relinquish children for adoption to the US must be unmarried) in extreme poverty (45 children die every day in Guatemala of poverty-related causes) or anonymously abandoning the child. The current system in Guatemala conforms to Guatemalan law. The new system is unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Guatemala has violated their own constitution many times in the past so there is little hope that the constitutional challenges currently underway will have any effect. In addition, unfortunately, there is only one proposal before the Guatemalan Congress related to international adoption. This proposal includes a clause that says that any family that adopts a child internationally has to sign and notarize a statement indicating that they will never remove an organ from the child.
I don't intend to go into a very well-meaning dissertation about all of the history of problems for Guatemala, most self-inflicted, but some exacerbated by U.S. policy. But I will say that the accords being pushed by the U.N. do not appear to have any provision for a minimum standard of child welfare infrastructure that must be provided by a government that ratifies these Conventions. In effect, no matter how poor, corrupt and destitute Guatemala is, if it ratifies these Conventions, welfare of Guatemalan orphans will in every circumstance be worsened. I can attest to these facts personally given our first-hand observations both times we have visited the country.
What the Blacks do not either understand or get into, is that in many countries, poor mothers give up their children, who are then in turn likely to be forced into child labor elsewhere. Indeed, the welfare of these children is advanced by some provisions of these Conventions. However, the majority of children that these measures affect would benefit significantly by the ability to be adopted by parents from the U.S. or many other countries who have loving homes welcoming them.
Oddly enough, in the case of Guatemala, awful rumors get repeated and perpetuated in the rural areas to the effect that white people (gringos) and other non-Guatemalans adopt Guatemalan children to harvest their organs for medical purposes. There is no substantiating this rumor, it is not clear where it started, but it has cast a very real shadow of fear over many villages in rural Guatemala where many of the children needing adoption come from. It sounds odd to us, and I don't know for sure the origin, bit I strongly believe it has been one of the disinformation campaigns spread during Guatemala's 30-year Civil War that ended in December of 1996, right after Jill's and my first visit.
The barbarism of the government-sponsored death squads in rural Guatemala got so bad that the only way to find any safety as a common Guatemalan peasant was to be lucky enough to have a gringo in your village for whatever reason. That did not guarantee your safety, nor the safety of the white person, but by the early 80s, thousands of murders were committed by the government making very little news, but any time a white person was murdered by accident or whatever, it made big news. Thus, the government avoided gringos if at all possible. Peace organizations like Witness for Peace and other religious organizations caught on and sent volunteers to live with villages and document incidents as well as be somewhat visible so that the village wouldn't be attacked.
It's not too difficult to see that the credibility of the white person must then be destroyed if they cannot be outright murdered due to the publicity. So, in all likelihood, the rumor of child organ harvesting was born and has appeared to have damaged the level of comfort some rural villages have with perfectly well-meaning non-Guatemalans. As recently as 2000, a Japanese tourist was trapped in his tour van and burned alive inside simply for trying to photograph a Guatemalan child in Todos Santos, a village Jill and I visited later that year. That link gives more information about other attacks related to fears over abduction of Guatemalan children, but with more of a satanic cult angle on the explanation. I won't even get into Guatemalan superstitions...
Anyway, here is a link to the e-petition that if you care to sign, won't take but a minute or two. I don't know what good it will do, but it really is an important issue.
Petition to Unicef
Thanks a bunch; a lot of distraught adoptive parents-to-be would thank you, as would thousands of Guatemalan children, some of whom I've seen firsthand, thank you also. In a way, Jill and I thank you because, though we hadn't formally planned it, we have often discussed that we'd like to adopt a Guatemalan baby as a second or third child depending on our ability to have our own.
RUMOR HAS IT MOM HAS GOTTEN BACK HOME
Although I haven't heard verification personally, rumor has it Mom has indeed returned to Las Vegas. She arrived in Sacramento at 8:15 pm (bonus points for being within 15 minutes of my guess?) on Sunday. Tom reported that on Monday, she visited the nut farmers (Diamond?) to get various flavored almonds, but was distraught when she learned that they were out of cashews. I would be, too. She left by 12:15pm Monday and apparently got back into Vegas later that day via Reno. You'd think the telephone hadn't been invented yet, wouldn't you?
FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR DOING OKAY
Jill and I have a friendly, elderly neighbor lady that walks her yellow lab twice a day, or did regularly until a month or two ago. That's when we saw an ambulance out in front of her house for an extended period, and then we just didn't see her. Yesterday, on the way to dropping me off at the MAX Station on my way to work, we saw her and stopped to talk. We learned the sad news that her husband, who had been physically disabled for some time, had passed away when we saw the ambulance and had been with family since (I think she said that..). She's now trying to return to a normal schedule and seems healthy and brave about it. We were sorry for her loss, but she's a strong lady and we look forward to chatting with her again regularly while we're out digging our holes.
UPDATE: MORE BAD NEWS FOR TOM'S GRAY DAVIS RECALL CAMPAIGN
It was just a few days ago that I posted a link to a lawyer who correctly predicted the success of those gathering signatures for the Gray Davis recall bid. On her website, she then predicted that some group, with whom Davis would swear no affiliation, would file a lawsuit to challenge the process. That prediction has come to pass as this article attests in the New York Times. You might have to enter a free log-in name and password to read things at that website if you don't regularly.
Sorry, Tom. Your only hope now is that some Democrat with a spine will challenge Davis because I think the said prediction that Arnold wouldn't join the race is a prudent forecast. But then again, I'm an economist and I'm used to being wrong!
MORE UPDATES SOON.. things should be a little less busy for me, so hopefully I can finally get around to the oft promised airline food update as well as some surprising information about Bill and Jill out there on the internet...
We received an e-petition in the mail today from Les Hardison, Judy's uncle who lives in Illinois/Florida depending on the season and flying conditions. I'm not normally keen to read emails with petitions and pyramid schemes, but I can say that this e-petition is legitimate and addresses a very important issue.
UNICEF, the child welfare arm of the United Nations (yes, I know it's the U.N., but we don't just have to sit back and let more damage be done), has carried out a campaign to get as many nations to ratify the Hague Convention and Convention for the Rights of the Child. The effect has been elimination or severe cutbacks in the occurance of international adoptions of needy children from countries that ratify. Here is the body of the letter that Susan and Dan Black, Judy's cousins who recently adopted their son Jimmy from Guatemala, wrote to describe the effects of these Conventions on the adoption process of Guatemalan children:
One month before receiving Jimmy’s referral, the adoption process in Guatemala began to undergo radical and devastating changes largely due to pressure from UNICEF on Guatemala to ratify and implement the Hague Convention and the Convention for the Rights of the Child. These treaties basically take away the right of the birthmother to place a child for adoption internationally. The premise is that a child should never be deprived of their birth heritage and thus international adoption should be viewed as a last resort and only available after an exhaustive search has been made to prove that a child cannot be placed in country (a search which takes in practice longer than a year).
On July 1st, Guatemala announced new adoption procedures to conform to the Hague Convention. Adoptions have, de facto, been suspended as of March 5th of this year. The new procedures include a statement that only four orphanages are accredited to take children (up until this time children placed for adoption in Guatemala were largely in private foster care with a maximum of 2 children per home or in privately-funded children’s homes). So, under the auspices of acting in the best interest of the children, Guatemala is moving to a system wherein it appears that children will wait in under-funded, over-crowded orphanages if they are lucky enough to make it that far. Other alternatives available to birthmothers are infanticide, illegal abortion, raising the child alone (women who relinquish children for adoption to the US must be unmarried) in extreme poverty (45 children die every day in Guatemala of poverty-related causes) or anonymously abandoning the child. The current system in Guatemala conforms to Guatemalan law. The new system is unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Guatemala has violated their own constitution many times in the past so there is little hope that the constitutional challenges currently underway will have any effect. In addition, unfortunately, there is only one proposal before the Guatemalan Congress related to international adoption. This proposal includes a clause that says that any family that adopts a child internationally has to sign and notarize a statement indicating that they will never remove an organ from the child.
I don't intend to go into a very well-meaning dissertation about all of the history of problems for Guatemala, most self-inflicted, but some exacerbated by U.S. policy. But I will say that the accords being pushed by the U.N. do not appear to have any provision for a minimum standard of child welfare infrastructure that must be provided by a government that ratifies these Conventions. In effect, no matter how poor, corrupt and destitute Guatemala is, if it ratifies these Conventions, welfare of Guatemalan orphans will in every circumstance be worsened. I can attest to these facts personally given our first-hand observations both times we have visited the country.
What the Blacks do not either understand or get into, is that in many countries, poor mothers give up their children, who are then in turn likely to be forced into child labor elsewhere. Indeed, the welfare of these children is advanced by some provisions of these Conventions. However, the majority of children that these measures affect would benefit significantly by the ability to be adopted by parents from the U.S. or many other countries who have loving homes welcoming them.
Oddly enough, in the case of Guatemala, awful rumors get repeated and perpetuated in the rural areas to the effect that white people (gringos) and other non-Guatemalans adopt Guatemalan children to harvest their organs for medical purposes. There is no substantiating this rumor, it is not clear where it started, but it has cast a very real shadow of fear over many villages in rural Guatemala where many of the children needing adoption come from. It sounds odd to us, and I don't know for sure the origin, bit I strongly believe it has been one of the disinformation campaigns spread during Guatemala's 30-year Civil War that ended in December of 1996, right after Jill's and my first visit.
The barbarism of the government-sponsored death squads in rural Guatemala got so bad that the only way to find any safety as a common Guatemalan peasant was to be lucky enough to have a gringo in your village for whatever reason. That did not guarantee your safety, nor the safety of the white person, but by the early 80s, thousands of murders were committed by the government making very little news, but any time a white person was murdered by accident or whatever, it made big news. Thus, the government avoided gringos if at all possible. Peace organizations like Witness for Peace and other religious organizations caught on and sent volunteers to live with villages and document incidents as well as be somewhat visible so that the village wouldn't be attacked.
It's not too difficult to see that the credibility of the white person must then be destroyed if they cannot be outright murdered due to the publicity. So, in all likelihood, the rumor of child organ harvesting was born and has appeared to have damaged the level of comfort some rural villages have with perfectly well-meaning non-Guatemalans. As recently as 2000, a Japanese tourist was trapped in his tour van and burned alive inside simply for trying to photograph a Guatemalan child in Todos Santos, a village Jill and I visited later that year. That link gives more information about other attacks related to fears over abduction of Guatemalan children, but with more of a satanic cult angle on the explanation. I won't even get into Guatemalan superstitions...
Anyway, here is a link to the e-petition that if you care to sign, won't take but a minute or two. I don't know what good it will do, but it really is an important issue.
Petition to Unicef
Thanks a bunch; a lot of distraught adoptive parents-to-be would thank you, as would thousands of Guatemalan children, some of whom I've seen firsthand, thank you also. In a way, Jill and I thank you because, though we hadn't formally planned it, we have often discussed that we'd like to adopt a Guatemalan baby as a second or third child depending on our ability to have our own.
RUMOR HAS IT MOM HAS GOTTEN BACK HOME
Although I haven't heard verification personally, rumor has it Mom has indeed returned to Las Vegas. She arrived in Sacramento at 8:15 pm (bonus points for being within 15 minutes of my guess?) on Sunday. Tom reported that on Monday, she visited the nut farmers (Diamond?) to get various flavored almonds, but was distraught when she learned that they were out of cashews. I would be, too. She left by 12:15pm Monday and apparently got back into Vegas later that day via Reno. You'd think the telephone hadn't been invented yet, wouldn't you?
FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR DOING OKAY
Jill and I have a friendly, elderly neighbor lady that walks her yellow lab twice a day, or did regularly until a month or two ago. That's when we saw an ambulance out in front of her house for an extended period, and then we just didn't see her. Yesterday, on the way to dropping me off at the MAX Station on my way to work, we saw her and stopped to talk. We learned the sad news that her husband, who had been physically disabled for some time, had passed away when we saw the ambulance and had been with family since (I think she said that..). She's now trying to return to a normal schedule and seems healthy and brave about it. We were sorry for her loss, but she's a strong lady and we look forward to chatting with her again regularly while we're out digging our holes.
UPDATE: MORE BAD NEWS FOR TOM'S GRAY DAVIS RECALL CAMPAIGN
It was just a few days ago that I posted a link to a lawyer who correctly predicted the success of those gathering signatures for the Gray Davis recall bid. On her website, she then predicted that some group, with whom Davis would swear no affiliation, would file a lawsuit to challenge the process. That prediction has come to pass as this article attests in the New York Times. You might have to enter a free log-in name and password to read things at that website if you don't regularly.
Sorry, Tom. Your only hope now is that some Democrat with a spine will challenge Davis because I think the said prediction that Arnold wouldn't join the race is a prudent forecast. But then again, I'm an economist and I'm used to being wrong!
MORE UPDATES SOON.. things should be a little less busy for me, so hopefully I can finally get around to the oft promised airline food update as well as some surprising information about Bill and Jill out there on the internet...
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