Theophany and a birthday.

On Tuesday the 4th Kathleen and I went to Tea at Ten with Father Basil. It was fun. Other than his daughter and the Matushka we were the only ones there. It was a lot of fun. He made a tea cake, the tea was rose, the Archbishop sent a homemede fruitcake (lighter and sweeter than mine), there was some homemade Russian confections. The priest's daughter made orange chocolate liquer balls.

On Wednesday the 5th I went to the festal vigial for Theophany. This morning, Kathleen, Basil, and I were at the Divine Liturgy and filled up our jars and travel mugs with holy water. Basil brought the little holy water bottle I bought when he was a baby. I hadn't seen it in years. It warmed my heart to see him using it.

This afternoon I baked a cake for Kathleen's kids' birthday, which is the same date as Theophany. They requsted steak, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli, too.

Sunday, the 9th Day of Christmas.

Well, it has been a busy Autumn. Basil and I went bear hunting a couple of times (no bears), Kathleen and I went duck hunting a couple of times (no ducks), and there was teaching, and grading papers, and lots of church services.

The best thing or, probably, the most life impacting thing is that we have a kitchen again, for the first time since mid-June. I gained much weight from eating out. I am very disappointed in myself. Oh, well. Now that Christmas is just about over I am going back to no carbs and severe calorie restriction.

We got the kitchen built and the oven installed in just enough time to make fruitcakes in the first week of December. They didn't age as long as I would have liked but the people who received them seemed to enjoy them.

On December Kathleen and I attended church in San Francisco and I got to see my God children. They are so big!!! Tall, strong, and beautiful. I gave their dad the candy and letters from St. Nicholas to put in their shoes on that holy bishop's feast day.

I made a crown pork roast and a bunch of other stuff for Christmas dinner. in the days following we continued the feasting with chili verde, steaks, twice-cooked pork, cakes, pies, and fruitcake. On the 7th Day of Christmas we had some neighborhood kids over for Fr. Basil's flaming Christmas pudding and some games.

My son Anselm was given 10 days leave from the Navy. Oh he has graduated from submarine school and is awaiting orders to go to another school for something electrical before they put him on a boat. While he was here with me we went to church, went clay shooting, ate a lot, watched Christmas movies, played games, etc. He just flew back to the Navy today.

Christmas was pretty amazing, kind of a follow up to Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving, Athanasia, Kathleen, her children, Basil, and I spent Thanksgiving together at the Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca. It was so much fun that we all spent Christmas together. Yes, after Divine Liturgy on Christmas, we all opened presents and ate dinner. I put together a charades game where everyone had to guess the names of bizarre Christmas movies such as Santa Clause Conquers the Martians and Silent Night, Dealy Night. It was much fun. So far, I've been able to achive my goal of attending all the festal vigils for all the Great Feasts since the indiction. I am super happy about that, not because its some kind of great achievement but because the services are so beautiful and overflowering with pure theology. They are my favorite of all the services in the Orthodox Church.

Something very wonderful happened at church this morning. Kathleen, together with her son became a catachumens. She was surprized by the exorcisms. She said she met with the priest and he said he is going to "put her on the fast-track to baptism."

Bay Area Orthodox 2021 Christmas Services for Parishes Using the Revised Julian Calendar

I am posting this in early November and some parishes do not have the December calendars updated yet. Check back here as we get into December


Holy Trinity Cathedral (Green @ Van Ness, San Francisco)
-not updated yet

St. Nicholas (Saratoga)
-not updated yet

St. Demetrios (concord)
-not updated

St. Basil the Great (San Jose)
-not updated yet

Holy Trinity (Brotherhood Way, San Francisco)
12/23 9 a.m. Royal Hours
12/24 10 a.m. Vesperal Liturgy
12/24 9 p.m. Matins
12/24 10 p.m. Divine Liturgy

St. Christina (Fremont)
-not updated yet

St. Nicholas (San Jose)
12/24 9 a.m. Royal Hours (livestream only)
12/24 5 p.m. Vesperal Liturgy
12/25 8:30 a.m. Orthos and Divine Liturgy

Redeemer (Los Alto Hills)
-not updated yet

St. Stephen (Campbell)
12/24 8:30 a.m. Royal Hours
12/24 9:30 a.m. Vesperal Liturgy
12/24 9 p.m. Festal Orthros
12/24 10 p.m. Festal Liturgy

St. Nicholas (Diammond Heights, San Francisco)
-not updated yet

Holy Cross (Belmont)
-not updated yet

Annunciation (Valencia, San Francisco)
12/25 9 a.m. Orthros
12/25 10 a.m. Divine Liturgy

St. Nicholas (San Anselmo)
-not updated yet

Resurrection (Castro Valley)
-not updated yet

St. Michael (Concord)
-not updated yet

St. James (Milpitas)
-not updated

No Crabs on the 15th

As regular readers probably know, dungeness crabs are on the menu every November 15 for the start of the Nativity Fast. This year, though, the opening of commercial crab season has been delayed and the newspapers are saying there won't be any crabs in the markets on on the 15th. So, this year, for the first day of the fast I am thinking about oysters or maybe, since the 15th is fish day this year, I'll make grandfather's cioppino but substitute other fish and crusteaceans for the crab. That is, if I have a kitchen to work in.

Another Bear Hunt and Hallowe'en and the Garden

Late this afternoon Basil and I got back from another bear hunt up north. Except for a period of three hours it either rained or snowed the whole time. We did see one bear but it saw us first and dissapeared into the forest before we could take aim.

On the way home we stopped at a pumpkin patch and bought pumpkins. It was the first time since 2006 that we didn't go to Farmer Bob's over in Half Moon Bay. Sadly, there were no trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood.

The garden was in bad shape when I got home. Cats have ruined all the beds. Thankfully, the can't get into pts where eggplants and watermelons are growing.

Last Day at Bass Pro Shops

After 28 months at Bass Pro Shops today was my last day. It was a lot of fun and I took full advantage of the employee discount. It was nice to have three different managers come to me and ask what they could do to get me to stay but it was time to leave. I did everything there I set out to do. I'll sub for Gilroy Unified School District from now through Christmas. I don't know what I'll do after that. Something fun, I am sure.

In other news, we have a shower again. And the stove was delivered today, though it is not yet installed.

Duck Season and Remodel

Duck season stared on Saturday. Kathleen and I went out to The Delta and put the boat in at Holland River Marina. The sky was blue, the air was warm, and the wind was calm: all the wrong weather for waterfowl hunting. I got no ducks. Kathleen got one. It was the only one we saw. We saw two giant flocks of geese but they were flying way to high to shoot at. We met some other duck hunters at the marina when we were leaving; no ducks for them either. I saw more river otters and seals than ducks or geese. I'd really like to have a houseboat on The Delta. I should look into how much it would cost.

On Sunday we got up and went to church only to learn when we got there that the priest was sick. So we zoomed across town and visted Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church. It was our first time to visti them. Their priest is funny. They seemed to be having classes for children during the Divine Liturgy. I'd neve seen that before. I wonder if that is the usual Serbian practice.

Today (Monday) the stove that was ordered several months ago was supposed to be delivered. I missed work to be here and receive it but at 7 p.m. tonight the company called to say their truck broke down. This is the third time they attempted but failed to deliver the stove. The first time it was the wrong stove. The second time it was a damaged stove. I am not impressed.

The contractor who was supposed to have had the kitchen rebuilt by last Friday was a no-show again today. Thursday and Friday of last week they showed up and left after an hour. Today one guy showed up and left after 1/2 an hour. They don't speak English so I can't ask them what is going on. The contractor hasn't returned any phone calls since last Thursday. I am worried. The bathroom floor and the countertops are supposed to go in tomorrow but the kichen, including the moving of a gas pipe, isn't finished. All of these men are going to be in each others way all day, if they show up.

We do have the refrigerator in now. So that's good.

Basil came over Monday (It's 3 a.m. on Tuesday right now) and helped me clean the guns in anticipation of next weekend's bear hunt and to help me get the old stove out of the house. We tossed it off the second floor balcony because we didn't want to damage the walls in the stairway. We got pizza. He's asleep downstairs now.

I've Got You Under My Skin x 4 (Saturday Soundtrack)

There are a lot of versions of this song. The Four Seasons had a #1 hit with it, Etta James and Carly Simon recorded it. And I've always loved this song.

Sadly, I can't find a video of Martin Short on the the David Letterman show in the early 1990s when during the interview segmaent he just took over the show with a crazy over the top parody of a 60s lounge singer. In a way it was a tribute to Frank Sinatra. It was brilliant. Nevertheless, here are the 3 I could find. .

This first one is, probably, the one with which most people are familiar. It's the first version I remember hearing. It's Frank Sinatra ( remember where I was when I heard the news that he had died.) singing Nelson Riddle's big band arragment. This concert wass in 1974 but as late as 1990 I heard Sinatra introduce the song by saying, "Here's a new arrangement by Nelson Riddle." Sometimes, while performing live Sinatra would change the words but from what I can tell, he was always spot on with the timing and phrasing. He never diviated from this arrangement. Oh, the trombone solo in this performance was played by Urbie Green. But I don't think he ever recorded with SInatra in the studio.



Around 1998 I was in Barnes And Noble bookstore sampling CD's (Remember those? I wish we could still buy them. I have no idea how to buy new music now. I guess, Apple wants me to do something with iTunes but I have no desire to learn new software.) and I came across a CD called "Love Scenes" by Diana Krall. WOW! At the time, I was living in a rehearsal room at at the Petite Trianon in San Jose (It has since been converted into a church where my brother-in-law is one of the pastors.) and would fall asleep to the CD every night. So when her 1999 "When I look In Your Eyes" came out I had to buy it, too. That CD had her recording of I've Got You Under My Skin. It totally changed the way I thought of the song. The guitar reminds me of a soft bossa nova and, as always, you can almost feel the piano keys on your finger tips. I understand she is married to Elvis Costello. I'm looking forward to getting to hear their kids sing when they grow up.



This final version of the song is by Storm Large, a singer I've seen around performing on her own and with various bands (I first heard her singing with Pink Martini) I thought she was a good singer of torch songs but not a jaw dropping amazing performer. But then I saw her audition for America's Got Talent. She wasn't just singing. She deserves acting credit too. Her reinterpretation of this song is a complete 180 from Krall's. It is astounding.

Covid-19

A few days ago I was exposed. Yesterday after subbing I was feeling pretty bad. Burning in my chest, chills, muscle aches, slight cough. So, I called in sick to Bass Pro Shops where I was going to work at night, and went by my doctor to get a Covid-19 test. The results aren't back so I didn't go to work at the school this morning or at Bass Pro Shops tonight. I hope the results come back soon and say I don't have covid. I don't want to miss any more work.

A 7th grade science and math teacher I subbed for last year wants to use me again next week. I talked with her today to go over the lesson plans and she asked me me to give my talk on Aristotle and the laws of identity and non-contradiction to her students. She said that last year her students really enjoyed it and that they used it for the rest of the year. Based on that, the things that are in her classroom, and the things that are not in her classroom I think she must be a Christian. But I don't feel anything so I don't want to ask her. Well, regardless of whether or not she is, it makes me happy that she wants me to give her students a tool to recognize Truth.

Update: I got the test results. They are inconclusive so I have to get another test on Monday. The said I have some Covid RNA in me but they don't know if I'm getting over it or just catching it. Until the resultd from the new test I have to act like I'm contageous.

Another update: I don't have covid. The rna in my blood was from the vaccine. I just had a cold.

A house remodel and a hunting trip

It has been pretty difficult here since June. I think I mentioned the water leak, the destruction of the kitchen, part of the living room, part of a bedroom, a bathroom, and the living room. I haven't mentioned fighting with insurance companies that don't want to pay what California conractors charge, (The smallest bid was more than double what the insurance companies were willing to pay, one contractor was kind enough to go line by line and explain this bid to the insurance companies - they only wanted to pay $2,000 for demolition when just the dumping fees would be more than $1,000), then the contractors were, except for one guy who did the demolition and another guy who did mold abatement all too busy to do the work until October. But last week they put in the sheetrock. And this week they are painting. And next week they are putting in the floors and cabinets. And finally, we will get a new oven: The oven I ordered in June. Kathleen has been relentless and amazing in this project. We don't know when the bathroom will be done.

Last weekend we went on a hunting trip to Mendocino County. It is 30,000 acre forest that is part of the Golden Ram Sportmans Club system, and we had it all to ourselves. It was amazingly beautiful. We were looking for black bear and wild pigs. We sawo no signof pigs but we found a big blackberry patch near a stream with much bear sign. I think we would have come home with a bear but the dog did not know how to be quiet. So we are going back on Friday without the dog. We saw lots of elk, white tail deer, and very fun for Kathleen, a flock of wild turkies crossed a road infront of us. It was her first time to see a turkey fly. I think Kathleen wants to move to Hopland or Laytonville now. I saw here looking for teaching jobs up there on EdJoin.

Goose hunting and a birthday

On Sunday Kathleen and Basil and I went Canada goose hunting. The drought has had a severe impact on the ponds. We didn't see one Canada goose. There were a few pintails flying over the ponnds but it isn't legal to shoot those until the 26th of October. We had fun, regardless.

Yesterday we celbrated Basil's birthday (a few days early because he won't be with me on his birthday) at the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Jose. I think the last time I was there my mom was there with me.

I gave Basil a leather game strap to hold his ducks and geese (The law requires every gun to have his own game strap. We aren't allowed to just pile all the birds in the bottom of the boat.), Canada goose and mallard calls by Buck Gardner, a pintail call from Duck Commander, and a seven call woven lanyard to hold his calls. He seemed pleased.

Here is some very good news, the very powerful and scary medications he's been taking for the last few years have been reduced by more than half with no adverse changes. I thank God every day for his slow and steady recovery.

The Autumn Garden

Last week we took out all the tomato plants, and most of the other plants, too. What we have left from the spring garden are a couple of cucumber vines that are still producing, one zuchini, two eggplants that have flowered all summer, and are flowring now but have not produced any fruit, and four Beni Kodama watermelon vines.
Also, last week we planted turnips, kale, beets, chard, radishes, and purple kholrabi. We planted kholrabi back in the spring but nothing came of it. Maybe, it will do better in the autumn.

He's off to School!

Anselm called me today. He just got orders to report to Submarine Base New London in two days to traning as a submarine navigator. It turns out he was kind of liking not doing anything in Chicago. He said he went out to fabulous resaurants 2 or three times a week and is going to miss doing that in New London. What's kind of funny is that that among the 26 men whith whom he is traveling from the Naval training center in Chicago to the Sub school in New London, he is the only one to have already slept on a submarine.

Hunting, School, Church, and Oher Stuff

Kathleen, Basil, and I went hunting down in San Luis Obispo County back on the 9th, 10h, and 11th of this month. The location was a big cattle ranch a couple of miles east of Shandon, where my two oldest sons used to live. We got in just a sunset on the Friday the 9th and made camp. THat night we heard pigs so we were pretty confident about getting one in the morning. The next day, before dawn, we were up and looking for pigs. wWe did indeed see a pig Eurasion boar. We were a the top of a canyon, it was at the bottom. We chased it into a thick growth of junipers and waited a long time for it to come out but we got to thinking, "How are we going to get a 300 pound boar out of that canyon?" So we didn't get a pig that morning.

At noon, we went into the town of Paso Robles where we rented a Swimply pool. It was a lot of fun and a good way to avoid the heat of the middle of the day. The host has his back yard designed like a polynesian resort. We grilled italian sausages, swam, and napped. It was needed after the rigours of the mornning hunt.

In the evening we tried a different place on the ranch but didn't see any pigs. The same was true the next morniing, Sunday. We hunted until 10 a.m. then broke camp and headed to the cemetary to pray for Billy. While we were there something amazing happened. Just as we finished praying I saw a woman walking quickly towards us from the other side of the cemtary. She came up to us and said, "Did you know Billy?" So, I have finally met the person who has been puting flowers on his grave for the past ten years. She did not know him but read his obituary in the newspaper and decided to make sure there would always be flowers on his grave. On the way home we stopped in King City for dinner, there are a lot of good Mexican places here so I thought chile verde would be nice. But there was a place right along the highway so we went there instead. I was not expecting the Wildhorse Cafe to be anything special, but WOW! The California Tri-Tip Melt was amazing!

We have many more hunting trips planned, to Mendocino county for bear, to Sierra County for deer and turkey, to Fresno County and San Luis Obispo County for pigs, and to San Francisco Bay for ducks and geese.

I am taking two pretty intense classes this semester. One is on pumps and electric motors. It is a deep dive into hydraulics and the physics of electro-magnetism. The other class is on water treamant plant legal compliance procedures. Neither is very fun, though I am learning a lot. I have sent in my test application packet (Water Treatment Plant Operator I) to the California Water Resources Board.

Work at Bass Pro Shops is still going along fine. I have gotten much use out of the employee discount. And, of course, I am still working as a substitute teacher; Gilrory more than other school districts. It's my favorite district.

A crazy thing happened with my child support. The county sent me a letter saying that I was behind on my payments. I wasn't behind but figured I should pay them anyway so sent them a bunch of money. Then they sent me another letter saying they were suspending my drivers license. Then a couple of days later they sent me six different checks in the mail aproximating the amount I had overpaid. Then they sent me a letter saying they were suspending my teachers credentiaal for non-payment of child support. So, I called them on the phone and they said it would take a while to correct the error and they would contact me as soon as it was fixed. A week later I called them again and they said it wasn't fixed yet but they said they would fix it. It has been a week since that conversation and I still don't know if it has been fixed. This is the third time since my divorce from Athanasia that they have done this to me. It is astounding to me that anyone wants the government to run anything. Elected officials have, at least, a need to please most of the voters happy but bureaucrats are insulated from that pressure. It is astounding to me that the people want the government to run so much of our lives.

Basil and I have sarted reading Genesis together. We are through Chapter 11. It is much fun.

I am making a great effort to attend the Festal Vigils for all the Great Feasts this year. It isn't easy, as I have to schedule my hours at Bass Pro shops a month in advance and they give no time off from Nov 1 through January 10. But I think I've got most of the the Great Feasts between now and Theophany taken care of. So far, I have made it to the Vigils for Nativity of the Theotokos and Exaltation of the Cross. Presentation is up next and I don't have to work that night. Christmas and Theophany will be the difficult ones.

Anselm has been delayed in Chicago by the Navy. Apparently, Covid-19 has slowed down the sub school in Groton, Connecticut so they have no room for anymore trainees until sometime in late November. They keep him busy cleaning things in the mornings but he has the rest of the day free. So, with nothing to do he is, in the main, trying to not be bored as he waits to go to sub school. He is going to church at one of the many parishes in Chicago. Who knows, maybe, this delay is happening so that he meets a wife at church? God knows.

We still do not have a kitchen. It has been since June. And since last week we haven't had water. The pipe that took water to the balcony where we had been cooking was removed during the demolition. And the living room is full of consturction materials. And the floors are torn up. And the second floor balcony where we had been cooking on a camping stove is now full of furniture we had to move out of the kitchen and living room. And the third floor bathroom is still demolished and unuseable. But we have a microwave oven, a toaster, and a freezer. We do not know when anything is going to be done. Two insurance companies are fighting about who is going to pay for what.

I finished Dashiell Hammet's The Thin Man last week. I have seen and enjoyed the film adaptation of his The Malteese Falcon so I figured I'd read a book by him. I very much liked it. I shall, I think, read his Red Harvest next.

A Christmas List

Kathleen saw me Christmas shopping for my sons, and asked me for my Christmas list. In no particular order (BUT I REALLY NEED A NEW PRAYER BOOK), and please don't buy more than one thing, here it is.

1. An inexspensive holster that I won't mind getting scratched and torn and dirty when I am out in the wilderness.

2. Any Wegewood Christmas tree ornament.

3. Go to Nativity Royal Hours with me at Holy Trinity Cathedral.

4. The Lamp

5. A ferry ride to Larkspur where we can get pannetone at Emporio Rulli.

6. I've broken a couple of my pipes. I could use one in a waterfowl or gamebird theme.

7.A pig theme tie to wear when hunting pigs. But don't buy new. The prices are crazy high. Look on eBay.

8. A new Prayer Book.

Hunting

Kathleen and I have had such a difficult time finding turkeys, pigs, and geese on public land that we decided to join a hunting club. We looked at a few of them but decided on a family membership in Golden Ram Sportsman' Club. The people who run it are super nice. Also, they set up their club so that there is a wide variety of fish and game. The other clubs seemed to be focuse on just one or two animals. We have our first boar hunt scheduled for September 10-12. I'm going to be using the Mauser, yes it is over a hundred years old but it is still accurate. Kathleen was going to use her shotgun but there are no copper or steel slugs available anywhere, and lead is illegal in California. So, I looked at the shelves in the ammo aisle at work to see what non-lead hunting ammo was in supply. We had more .243 WInchester than anything else, so I bought a Savage Axsis chambered for that cartridge for her to use.

Because of all the contractors, insurance adjusters, and delivery men commming into the house to deal with the destroyed bathroom and kitchen we decided to by a gun safe. The last thing we need is for a gun to be stolen and used in a crime. Becaue of my job I got a 45% discount on price of the safe. Basil helped me get it up the stairs. It was heavy but he is strong.

Basil finished taking the California Hunter Education course last week so I bought him field pants, suspenders, shirts, and a hunting vest. I still have to buy him boots and a hat.

The goal for this autumn is 12 boar, 6 turkeys (Two per person is the states limit for the autumn. We can take more in the spring.), and 3 bears. We might be able to get some ducks and geese, too but there is a drought. The state says if hunters dont shoot the ducks and geese too many of them will congregate in the little water that is left and die of disease. I am kind of torn about that. If they are under so much pressure from the drought I kind of want to give ever duck a chance to migrate through. But at the same time i don't want them to die of disease. I'm sure we won't go after them in the Delta or the central valley but we might take the boat out along the deges of San Francisco Bay. There is a similar problem with bears. The state wants hunters to kill lots of bears because the population has grown so large during the last 20 years that the biologists are worried about disease. We could legally take many more bears than three but we've never tasted bear so we don't know if we will like it. But we are sure we can use three bear skin rugs. We aren't going to go after elk or deer: They are too pretty. Neither are we going to stalk big horn sheep: Horses and mules are needed to get to them and carry them off the mountains.

Work I don't remember

Yesterday Kathleem told me something. It seems that several years ago I wrote a guide to writing history papers for her students. I guess, one of her students gave it to the librarian at the college, the librarian made copies, and now it is used in their turotial center. It seems that what I wrote was good but the sad thing is that I wrote it back when I was a drunk and have no idea what it says and have no memory of writing it.

Viva Las Vegas

Kathleen and I got home yesterday from three nights and four days in Las Vegas. Here is my evaluation of the trip.

Rating the various parts of my Las Vegas adventure on a scale of 1 to 10

A. San Francisco International Airport. Easy parking, fun conveyor belt rides. Really neat museum quality exhibit on the history of flight attendant uniforms. Loses points for the Harvey Milk exhibit. SCORE: 6

B. Southwest Airlines. On time. No fee for luggage!!!! SCORE: 10

C. Uber. Always there when you need them. One driver was on crank. All the others were great. I think one lady is converting to Orthodoxy. SCORE: 9.5

D. Staying at a Blue-Green Vacations resort for 3 nights for free. No daily maid service because of covid wasn't as big a bummer as I thought it would be. Comfortable beds, full kitchen including place settings and cookware. All the C-Span channels and the Weather Channel!!! Upgraded to the deluxe sweet because of my job. They would score higher if they had a better pool. SCORE: 9

E. Church of St. Paul the Apostle. They had a fill in priest because their regular priest was on vacation and there was a medical emergency during the service (a teenage girl passed out at the start of the Gospel reading) but the subdeacon was on the ball! Even paramedics coming into the church to help the girl didn't throw him off his stride. I don't know his name is but every parish should have a subdeacon or deacon like him. He was managing the acolytes, relying instructions to the choir director, and anticipating the needs of the priest so that the priest and people could do their jobs smoothly. It is always enjoyable to watch someone working who is really good at his job. This church gets bonus points because every word chanted, spoken, or sung was annunciated clearly, loudly, and at a speed a normal person can interpret as human language. I am no fan of the speed reading style of liturgizing so I loved this service. (I can't assign a number rating to The Orthodox Church)

F. The Casinos at Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio. What is up with all the loud pop music? I wouldn't listen to that dreck at sensible volume but when it is so loud you have to speak at an unusual decibel level to be heard by the person standing beside you it is too loud. Even if I had wanted to gamble I wouldn't have because of the noise level. At least, they were clean and didn't smell like smoke. SCORE: 3

G. The staff members at Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio. Very helpful. Very friendly. Very efficient. If I were doing a case study for a degree in hospitality management I would use these people as examples of what to do right. SCORE 10

H. Fremont Street (aka The Old Strip). Clouds of Marijuana smoke and crowds of drunk people. Street performers with carefully placed electrical tape engaged in simulated sex acts. Again, overly loud music. On the plus side, there are zip lines and a street long over-head electronic art thing. SCORE: 2

I. The Miracle Mile. It's just a shopping mall but the interior architecture fools you into thinking you are outside in old Algiers or Casablanca It is very convincing. Score: 7

J. Oscar's in the dome of the Plaza Hotel. WOW WHAT A STEAK!!!! I thought I had had food before but I was wrong. I'm going to say something I never thought I would say, but the steaks here are better than the steaks at Harris's Restaurant in San Francisco. SCORE: 10

K. Leather Throwers exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. The quality of the exhibit was very good. Works by Andy Warhol, Louis Vuitton, and Jeffry Gibson shown together with promotional posters, boxing gloves, and other items from Las Vegas' history with boxing shine light and love on the Sweet Science. The only complaint: It was excellent quality that made me wish for more quantity. The exhibit was too small. You can see the whole thing in an hour. Score: 7

L. Montecristo cigar bar at Caesar's Palace. Wide selection. Knowledgeable staff. Comfortable chairs. Quiet. They didn't have Punch Robustos but they found a cigar for me with a similar flavor profile. SCORE: 9

M. The Cabanas at the Bellagio Pools. Absolutely marvelous. Water. Sun. Quiet. Pleasant people. Friendly helpful staff. Excellent food. Very good place to spend a day and take a nap. We got our cabana away from the big main pools but near one of the side pools that more resembbles a Roman fountain. Beautiful and peaceful. SCORE: 10

N. The Absinthe show at Caesar's Palace. The acrobatic and arial acts were amazing, and I say that without an ounce of hyperbole. I had never seen people so physically strong before. Sadly, their performances were undermined by less than salubrious adolescent humour that wasn't funny and left me feeling polluted. Score: 5

O. The Rat Pack is Back show at the Tuscany Casino. Singers impersonating Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. doing their act from the Sands in the 1960. The guy doing Sinatra was very good. The guy doing Martin was spot on when it came to voice but engaged in some vulgarisms Dean Martin wouldn't have. During That's Amore he stopped singing and let the audience sing. We all knew the words. It was a fun moment. Sadly, the singer who impersonated Sammy Davis Jr was all personality but had very little of Davis' singing ability. Or, maybe, he was over-acting. It is as though he let Davis' cool cat persona overtake and distort Davis' very great musicianship. The orchestra was very good. Score: 8

P. McCarran Airport. I liked the exhibits on the history of the Airport (Who remembers Bonanza Airline?) The gift shops had a wide variety of merchandise to choose from. The seating at the gate could have been better. Getting though security was a breeze. The biggest drawback was the quality of the food at the PGA cafe in the terminal. Starbuck's on the other side of the hall would have been better. Score: 8

Independence Day

The first Independence Day I remember is 1973. I was four years old. We were in Yellowstone National Park and it snowed. I remember everyone talking about how unusual it was that snow was falling in July. That's all I remember.

The next Independence Day I remember is the Bicentennial in 1976. All the fire hydrants hand been painted red, white and blue. There were banners and flags everywhere. The money was changed. I gathered a small collection of bicentennial quarters, half-dollars, and even a dollar with the big Liberty Bell on the reverse side. (That was back when dollars were a lot of money, when a dollar was worth about 1/150 oz of gold. Now a dollar is only worth 1/1785 oz of gold.) I'm sure it was no more than a dozen coins. I kept them in a sock. I remember my mother and brother talking about his cnaces of living to see our countries 300th birthday. That was the first time I heard anyone say that God had limited our lifespans to 120 years.

The next Independence Day I remember was when I was 9 years old. My Mom, my Dad, my Uncle Harry and Aunt Carolyn, and my cousin Bryan were at Sonora. We went to see the fireworks at the Motherload Fair Grounds. I remember eating water mellon, too.

The next Independence Day I remember is 1986, when I was a seventeen year old private at Ft Dix, New Jersey. Our comapny commander gave us the afternoon off so we could attend an orchestra concert on the parade field (It was called Doughboy Field. It was the same parade field my grandfather marched across during the First World War.) Our company was kind or rowdy and the conductor of the orchestra, a chief warrant officer, stopped the concert, walked over to us and, gently for a Chief Warrant Officer, ordered us to be silent for the duration of the concert.

The next Independence Day I remember is 1989 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It was the biggest fireworks show I have ever seen. I will never forget it. We were sitting on the hood of our car, a Dodge 600 ES, in a big gras field.

The next Independence Day I remember is 1990. THere were no fireworks but my mother and her six sisters organized a family renunion near Yosemite. It was fun to be with all my uncles and aunts, my cousins, and siblings, and nephews and nieces.

The next Independence Day I remember is 1993. My two oldest sons, my parents, and my Uncle Fred and Aunt Nettie all met at Pismo Beach. We had a picnic on the beach and watched people setting of fire works next to the ocean late into the night. The next Independence Day I remember has already been written about on this blog.

The next Indepencence Day I remember is 1997. I, my two oldest sons, my friend Jeff and a few other friends, went to visit my parents and Uncle Fred and Aunt Nettie where they were living in Visalia. We spent a few days there but on the 3rd of July we went to a minor league baseball game. On 4th of July we went out to the little town of Exeter to see the Lions Club's fireworks show. I remember my friend Zack being amazed at the tri-tip my Uncle Fred cooked. Zack was from Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations so he had never tasted tri-tip.

The next Independence Day I remember is 2002. Son #3 had just been born in March and his mother and I took him to see the fireworks over San Francisco Bay. We were on the hill behind the Officer's Club at Ft Mason but there was so much fog on the Bay that the fireworks show was just clouds changing colors. Then we took the bus back to out neighborhood in the Mission District. It took almost an hour and was super crowded with other people trying to get home after the fireworks show.

There were four Independence Days at Fort Ross. I don't remember the exact years. Bisop Tikhon was there for the first one. I remember it because of a thing that happened regarding confession and a young boy. I thought I wrote about it on this blog but I guess not. The next time Cyndi did not go and I rode with the former Treasuerer of the diocese and Anselm's godfather. I learned that God confounded the tasteful by making a postcard icon of the Theotokos weep. The next one was Bishop Benjamin's first time to go. He was the bisop of Berkely then when the park ranger asked him to fire the canon he said, "WOW! NEAT!" The last time I was with Kathleen. I barely remember it because I was a drunk then. I remember there were not many people there that year and we were able to squeeze into the little chapel.

The next Independence Day I remember is 2003. My two oldest sons were with me. We watched the fireworks over the Bay from the top of the hill at Doloros Park whil Cyndi stayed home with son #3.

The next Independence Day I remember is 2004. That was the year we saw the fire works in Cupertino and the little boy got so excited.

The Next Independence Day I remember is in 2008 but I already wrote about it on theis blog.

The next Independence Day I remember is 2014. The boys and I parked outside the the baseball park and watched the fireworks.

The next Independence Day I remember is 2015. I was living in my truck. Anselm was at summer camp. I was working at the YMCA but the YMCA was closed that day. So I picked up Basil and we had BBQ under a redwood tree on the YMCA grounds. We used the little sportmans grill I bought from Williams Sonoma back in 1993 or 1994. All my kids have eaten meat cooked on that grill. To this day, Basil says it was the best Independence Day ever.

The next Independence Day I remeember is 2016. Kathleen and the boys and I went and stayed at the Marriot Hotel in Santa Clara. We were on the side of the hotel facing the Great America park. We watched the fireworks from the balcony.

And now is today. Kathleen, Basil and I are going to the Marriot again. We'll swim in the pool, watch the fireworks from our balcony, and play board games all night long.

Anselm And Basil

I received a postcard from Anselm on Saturday the 19th. He said he is doing well and is allowed to send and recieve mail now. He said Basic Training is easier than he expected. He said it reminds him of Boy Scout camp but with more PT.

Basil and his mother have been sick for most of June. The doctors thought it was covid but the tests came back negative. They don't know that the disease is. She is better now but Basil is still pretty sick. I had planned on taking Basil fishing, crabbing, or shooting almost every day this month while Kathleen has been out of town but it hasn't been possible.