Back on the Streets of Bakersfield

Yes--we're on the road again. In spite of swearing NEVER, EVER to go to Death Valley during a spring break again, we're going to try it once more. Just us and ten thousand college students communing with nature. Harumph!


But the healing lure of the desert is stronger than any aversion to crowds. The hills beckon.

With the Minnie leading and me following in the Jeep--and getting 20 mpg--we headed south. I'm in high spirits having turned on every light inside and outside the house last night at 8:30pm. If any house were visible from space, ours was! So much for leaving a big carbon footprint--I hope ours was a whopper. As they say, take your empty symbolic gesture and something about a severe absence of global warming and a horse.

The drive down the I-5 was typical if not slightly less crowded than usual. I heard about the 'Twitchiker' and couldn't help thinking what his new bride of 4 days thought when he headed out for the farthest point from his home. But he did it and one does sympathize with a fellow blogger.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/5055496/The-Twitchiker-reaches-New-Zealand.html

There was a certain irony to hear Ol' Buck twangin' away "You don't know me but you don't like me" as we gassed up in Bakersfield. It's much the same. I did notice that many of the beautiful rose fields in Wasco have been scrapped and are now planted with grapes. That was sad--it was one of the few beautiful sights in the Bako area.

So now we spend the night once again at the great Orange Grove RV park and tomorrow head for the hills. Snakes are out so the dogs will be kenneled. Mr. T is even now out stocking up with tonic water and a few RV supplies. I will try to blog from the small internet room at Stovepipe Wells. In the meantime, ponder what it means that the current president, according to World Net Daily, is recruiting Moslems for positions in his administration. Would one have been allowed to recruit Baptists? We are doomed.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=93251

Jeep in a Ditch

Beautiful Sonoma County--what could be more natural than to pull off the road to take a photo of this picturesque barn? I thought it was shoulder next to the road--WRONG! It was a deep, muddy ditch that was camouflaged by wildflowers and high grass. Oops--the entire passenger side of the Jeep slid off the road and into the ditch. No problem, I thought. I'll just slip this puppy into the ol' reliable four-wheel drive and pull right out--WRONG! I only succeeded in sliding the Jeep deeper into the ditch and coming to rest against a fence at a 45o angle. The two driver side wheels lost contact with the ground.

My poor 86 year old mother was in a very uncomfortable position--the ground was up against her window. I was holding on to the shoulder harness to keep from rolling across the console into her lap.

Not to worry--trusty cell phone to the rescue. I called AAA and the first thing they wanted to know was if we had a "safety issue." Well, duh--we're about to roll over completely and no one dares move lest we shift the weight just enough to complete the roll! Question number 2: where are you?

Uh-oh. I didn't know. And guess what? When the cell phone is on and one is talking to the mirror(Blue tooth) one can't call up the map from the navigation system. If I can't see the map, I don't know where I am!

Fortunately, some bikers came by and they extracted a map from their cute little bike packs and they were able to tell the AAA person where we all were. Help was promised within 20 minutes and the tow truck arrived even sooner than that!

With the snap of a wench, the Jeep was slurped out of the muddy ditch. What a mess!!

By the time we got back home and cracked open the adult food group, the mud had hardened to the consistency of cement. Oops--brakes all messed up. Mr. T came to the rescue and after removing a field's worth of mud and weeds, he was able to take off the wheel and clean out the brakes. I owe him big time!

Not that it was any consolation but the tow truck driver said there wasn't any Jeep with enough four-wheel drive to have gotten out of our predicament. But in the back of my mind is that nagging doubt about the Faithful Jeep.

List of Possible Disasters

It seems the Crisis Mode is taking hold. Even assuming I could get an acre of food to grow it would not be any food I would choose. Face it--chard is only one step up from gathering leaves in the woods.

I've been scoping out the wildlife here in SeniorLand and it is

abundant. Of course spotting a turkey and actually catching a turkey are two different things, even if the labradoodle learns to hunt.

But in the midst of this Crisis Planning I discovered a list of possible catastrophes that could happen. Oy vey! I hadn't even thought about most of these!
http://www.survival-center.com/guide/disastrs.htm

Possible Disasters OR Think nothing can happen to you?
Well, Teflon man, take a look at these potential disasters and think again:

Natural Disasters Weather-related

Hurricanes--nope
Tornadoes--nope
Heavy thunder storms--not yet
Flash flooding --nope
Mud/rock slides--not here
High winds--nope
Hail --what's that?

Severe winter weather

Avalanche--in Sonoma County? Doesn't that need mountains + snow?
Extreme high heat--nope
Drought --got one, thank you
Wildfire--YES! BINGO!

Non Weather-related

Earthquake--every Californian lives with this possibility and also ignores/jokes about it--this is probably not a good idea to face our most likely crisis.
Volcano eruption--not lately
Tidal wave/Tsunami --say what????

Man-made Disasters

War (conventional, biological, chemical or nuclear)--who wants to survive these? Drink the Kool-Aid
Toxic material emission/spill (from a train or nearby plant)--It would be hard to tell since the majority of people here think that if someone spits on the sidewalk it's the equivalent of a toxic spill. I simply think it's an egregious lapse in good manners.

Riot or other civil disorder--too mellow here for that--might have to put down glass of wine
Nuclear plant melt down or other nuclear disaster--can't happen. I have seen the "Nuclear Free Zone" signs posted on every corner.

Terrorism--now this is likely--especially if the terrorism of the local Hall Monitors increases
Fire--again, this one is the most likely

Government action against you --now we're getting into the really good stuff! Will they try and tax my Survival Acre of chard???

Stock market crash --got that now
Sever depression--this one puzzled me. Do they mean "severe" depression? A depressed person seldom wants to plant an acre of crops. Or do they mean "server" depression? This I can understand! AOL can drive one to the very brink of despair!

Other Plague or disease outbreak--this could happen. We have enough plague-bearing squirrels and raccoons running around here but since I already have my very own personal disease outbreak I think I won't spend valuable worry time on this one.

Comet strike or giant meteor--never thought of it--it would certainly take out the Survival Garden
Alien invasion--now we're talking! I don't listen to Coast To Coast for nothing! Most callers think this happens nightly. I'll brush up my Reptilian list on Facebook.

I will be glad to take up my post as Worry Warden for the upcoming Crisis Days we surely have ahead of us.

Planting the Survival Acre

I don't think I'm the only one to notice the country is going to hell in a handbasket and doing it at warp speed.


I was raised to worry about the proper order of glasses and silverware when one sets the table--not to worry about a collapsing civilization. Along that line of thought, I perked up when I heard about the "Survival Seeds for a Crisis" being advertised on "Coast To Coast." Finally, there was something I could do!

















The seeds are not hybridized which sounded good to me. I took an instant dislike to hybrid cars so this was a strong selling point for the seeds. There are enough seeds to plant an acre and the seeds from your growing plants can be used the following year for the next crop. So--at 1:00am I was up ordering my survival packet.


http://www.survivalseedbank.com/

The seeds have arrived and I must say it's quite a small box for so many seeds. I also realized I'd have to be starving to eat most of the food it will grow--I haven't touched a salad or fruit for a few years now. (A major exception, of course, is wine which does involve grapes)


















I suppose the next step will be to try and teach the labradoodle and the useless poodle to keep critters out of my Survival Acre. It's about time those pooches started earning their keep. I can see it now--they get the venison and I'll be stuck with the chard.

Time to End Universal Suffrage

There is not necessarily a link between "smarts" and intelligence. I can remember seeing grad students at Cal Tech walk into walls, trees, etc. while reading a book. Of course because they were intelligent they would remember what they'd read after they'd picked themselves up, found their glasses and book and gone on their way!

http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2008/feb/21/founding-fathers-and-dumb-voters-no-street-address/

We don't want to go back to the days of denying the vote to citizens based on their gender or race. However, I do think it's time to restrict voting to those citizens who have skin in the game.

If you don't pay any income taxes, you don't get to vote. Very simple. It is patently illogical to let someone who doesn't pay into the pot have a say in how that pot gets distributed. Right now about 40% of workers pay no income tax. The way things are going in our free fall into socialism that percentage will soon reach 50% if not higher.

Face it--the politicians have had a form of this for a long time--they call it 'pay to play.' It's about time the same logic is applied to voting. I'm not talking about social security tax or cell phone tax or Budweiser bottles/cans tax or property taxes. I'm talking INCOME tax. You pay or you don't play.

I'd end by saying the Founding Fathers would approve but I'm sure they're still spinning in their hallowed graves since the concept of income tax was adopted. Meanwhile, I have to finish sorting my Survival Seeds.