Christian finished, and April Not In Paris But Idaho, Part VII

Today, Christian finished his million steps. Way to go, sport. And now back to Idaho:

After the graduates walked the stage, Henry Eyring stood to speak. He wasn’t on the program, and, even though it was only 10 to noon, it had been a long day already with way too many speakers. Eyring, who had been to way too many graduations that went on way too long, could feel our pain. He said that he hadn’t intended to speak, but felt impressed to do so. That said, he said that he, too, wanted to attend a graduation ceremony that lasted under an hour, and promised to keep his remarks short.

He told the graduates that he understood that they were leaving school at a time of great uncertainty. Yet, he promised them that Heavenly Father, in the midst of the turmoil of the world, knew where they were, and what they were seeking to achieve. Several years ago, he was reminded of this truth in a startling way. He graduated from business school and had worked for several years in New York City. He was a mover and shaker. As a result, he had flown a lot of miles and knew how to yell and scream and get his way when airlines were putting roadblocks in his way. He knew the ways of the world.

Then, one day, he was called to be a mission president in Japan. Shortly after arriving in Japan, he had to take some elders returning home to the airport. One of these elders was from Brazil. His plane was going to be taking him home through the United States. The poor elder did not have a visa to enter into the United States, something that was apparently required even though he was going to just be sitting in the airport. The elder’s mother and grandmother were traveling several days to meet the elder in Brazil, and there was no way to communicate with them that he might not be able to get home on time.

Eyring started using all his skills gained over the many years in the battleground with the airports. He called airlines. He yelled. He called the church travel department. He yelled. Nothing could be done. Finally, he reached into his wallet, and pulled out $150.00 and handed it to the Elder. Get home anyway you can, he said to the Elder. The money was to be used as bribe money. The elder looked at him and said, "I’ll be okay, President. Heavenly Father knows where I am." Eyring said that just as in the trying times for that Elder, Heavenly Father knew where those graduates were. The best speech of a day of speeches, and we moaned when he started.

Eyring did not say what happened to the Elder. A few days after returning home, I emailed Eyring to asked what happened. He emailed back to say that everyone was mistaken, that the Elder did not need the visa to merely switch planes in the U.S. A few days after the Elder returned home, Eyring received a letter from the Elder enclosing the unused $150 dollars.

A closing prayer, and the ceremonies, but not the trip to Idaho, were completed.

Now the stats: Yesterday, I walked 12,286 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 5:41 p.m. on Friday, July 31, I have walked 430,988 steps in 36 days.

April In Idaho Part Five--Very short

Christian’s college graduation was in the same place as the University Graduation. We moved down a few places, with Sharyn yet again crawling over the benches. It was cringe worthy. While we waited the half hour for the graduation to start, I went to the bathroom, and took a few candid shots of folks.

The graduation was conducted by Henry Eyring. He knew that we needed to move fast, and pushed things along nicely. Christian walked across the stage, picked up his diploma cover, and walked off. I am always amazed about these types of things. He worked five hard years to get his degree, and it took what--less than half a minute--to get the paper. You wait all this time to get married, and the ceremony lasts a few minutes, and its over. Makes you wonder if the build-up is worth it.

Anyway, the stats: Yesterday, I walked 14,234 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 5:34 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, 2009, I have walked 419,629 steps in 35 days.

April Not In Paris, But Idaho--Part IV

As we waited for the University convocation to start, we saw a couple of people whom we knew from our hometown, but who had recently moved to Austin, Texas. We sort of shouted acknowledgments to them, and wondered why they were at the graduation as they did not have any children old enough to attend pre-school, much less college. Her sister was graduating that day. We teased them about missing the old town, and asked if they were able to attend the South by Southwest festival. They had moved in the day it had closed. Now they would have to go through the long, hot Texas summer without a lot to look forward to.

Mercifully, the convocation ceremony started shortly thereafter. Kim Clark, the president of BYU-Idaho, conducted the ceremony and provided the opening words. He was mercifully short. A few years ago, when Dorey graduated from BYU, Clark was given an honorary degree. We were sitting in 100 degree heat in the Marriott Center on the BYU campus. Clark kept talking, talking talking. Not only was he boring, he was boring by telling us what a neat guy he was. The speech has become legend in the family about how not to speak. First, don’t talk in glowing terms about yourself. Second, don’t be boring. Third, if you are boring, shut up about it, especially when you are killing your audience because they are sitting in a hot box.

The speaker for today’s ceremony was Neil Andersen. On the Sunday before the graduation, Andersen had been called to be an Apostle. He said that he had only been set apart to his calling the day before. You could tell that he was a bit overwhelm at the moment. He tried to make the distinction between worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. Godly wisdom was more valuable than worldly wisdom, although worldly wisdom is useful. Heard it before, nothing too original. My father spent the night after the talk dissecting it, concluding that it sounder better than it stood up to the analysis. I said it was a graduation talk which in general don’t bear much analysis. It’s neither the point or purpose.

After a couple of student talks--yawn--the ceremony happily ended with the graduates wandering out. We still did not see Christian. But we were on to the next portion of the ceremony--the college graduation.

But first, the stats: Yesterday, I walked 13,020 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 6:43 p.m on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, I have walked 407,926 steps in 34 days.

Just the stats, ma'am, plus a skunk or two

A long day in deposition, so I only have the energy for the stats. Yesterday, I walked 11,168 steps. As of this moment, 7:29 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, I have walked 393,702 steps in 33 days.

Actually, one story. This morning, I was out walking. As I passed my sister's place, I saw two skunks snacking right outside her fence. They were not big, so I guess that they were yearlings. I of course wanted nothing to do with them, and headed the other way. I talked to my sister later today. She had not had any skunk smells about, so they must have went their way in peace.

We had to be at Christian’s graduation at 8:00 a.m., so we had to be out of Idaho Falls at 7:00 p.m. There’s not a lot of campus parking. We arranged for Christian to go down early and park near the campus, and we would move into the space which he moved out of. It was a great plan, as Christian was able to pull out, and we were able to pull in.

We did not have four tickets to get into the main graduation, so Bob and Sharyn decided to see if they could get tickets at the extra ticket area. Dorey and I stood in line, waiting to get into the auditorium. It was a mad house in the line. I stood by the window and watched the folk enter the building. Lots were graduates in caps and gown, holding hands, etc. Many had babies. I sort of wished this was Christian with a wife and children. Alas...

We finally were able to get into the auditorium, but could not get the seats with backs. We sat at the end. Sharyn called on the cell phone. They were able to get tickets. They came and sat next to us. Sharyn could not walk up the rafters because of her hand, and had to crawl up them. It’s hell getting old.

Dorey sat next to a lady whose son likewise was graduating in Horticulture. Dorey discussed the Planet Competition with the lady. Both Christian and this other guy had participated, and Christian’s team won the competition. I didn’t know it was such a big deal, but apparently it is, the lady explained. We later discussed this mother’s kid with Christian. He said that the kid was universally disliked.

Shortly thereafter, rows and rows of professors walked into the graduation ceremony. Actually, it was rows and rows of the male professors walked into the graduation ceremony. Doesn’t this place hire women, I asked my mom. Then rows and rows of graduates walked into the building. I could not locate Christian in the flood.

Today's stats: Yesterday, I walked 11,828 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27, 2009, I have walked 380,779 steps in 32 days.

A stats day

It's a lovely Sunday here in Alameda, my current home. We spent a couple of hours this afternoon after church walking the island. Here, then, are the stats: Yesterday, I walked 12,478 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 3:26 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2009, I have walked 369,525 steps. in 31 days.

April Not In Paris But Idaho--Part Three

I never understood what a large state Idaho is across the panhandle until this trip. We left the Curtis’ home at 11:00 a.m., and did not arrive in Idaho Falls until 4:00 p.m. It was mostly a flat, ugly scenery. As we passed one valley after another, Dorey made a great suggestion. She proposed that we turn these valleys into solar farms. You could put huge solar panels out there, and catch the rays for at least half of the year.

Other than this brilliant suggestion, we did little. I sang, annoying everyone in the car. I played with my parent's gps system, with the same result. We did a crossword puzzle, which Sharyn could complete in about two minutes. Now I was annoyed. So I sang even louder.

We stopped for lunch at a Mexican place–Garabaldis–in Jerome. It was standard Mexican food, and caused me to fart across the rest of the panhandle. I was not as smelly as our friend, Steven Wood, on a memorable December trip back to Utah from California. We stopped at Taco Time in Elko, and by Wendover, Steven was lighting up the car. It was too cold to roll down the windows, so we suffered, trapped in a Chevy with a bad venting system. Dorey and I still compare bodily smells to Steven's gas. We have never reached that zenith (or nadir) in 25 years.

Jerome seems to be a real pit. We stopped for gas in American Falls, which is not much better. Other than that, we plowed on.

As we approach Idaho Falls, we called Christian and Kate, asking where they wanted to go to dinner. Christian suggested a Mexican restaurant, which after lunch was a no go. We decided finally on Wingers. It should have been a no go, as the food there is pretty bad. Not only that, the wait was about an hour. While we waited, I walked in the parking lot. I felt really stupid, walking up and down in front of Wingers like a sentitel. But I was able to get my 10,000 steps for the day in my military mode.

Christian drove up in his car. His car was packed for the move. It was more than packed. It had a ton of stuff. Embarrassing lot of stuff. I guess that is what you accumulate in fours years of school. When I graduated from BYU, we filled a U-Haul. But I was married with a child. We pulled that U-Haul to California. It was so slow that we had to stop in Reno to sleep.

Jacob was able to get away from work for a few minutes, and was able to join us for dinner. It was the second time Jacob had met my parents. The first time was in Fentons in Oakland, which was just as loud as this place. So they had never talked to Jacob. Oh, well, he's a nice guy. In fact, he knew our waiter from school--who must be one of about five Africans attending BYU-Idaho.

For years, I have been telling my parents that there was nothing in Rexburg. I think that they thought I was exaggerating. Nope. I finally was able to show them that there is nothing in Rexburg. I would have hated going to school there. But our kids seem to like it.

After dinner, we drove down to the Fairfield Inn in Idaho Falls. Anything for Marriott points.

Now the stats: Yesterday, I walked 14,162 steps. As of this moment, 7:46 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2009, I have walked in total 357,708 steps in 20 days.

April Not In Paris But Idaho Part Two

We headed off to the Curtis house to meet the parents and etc. Dorey was nervous. She could remember the name of the street, but not the exact address of the Curtis's. She thought that it was 1872 S. Retriever, but the address was in the trunk of the car. As we drove up to the house, she insisted that we get into the trunk to find out if this were in fact the right address. There was a big van parked in front of the house with advertising for an heating and air conditioning systems on it. Oh no, we thought. This is not going to be a good day for them. But the worker came out around the side yard. While Dorey flustered around in the truck trying to find the address, I went and asked the worker if this is where the Curtises lived. He confirmed that it was. So we went to the door.

"Are you ready," Dorey asked. I was. She rang the doorbell. A big man opened the door with white hair, buoyant eyes, and a wide grin opened the door. It was Jacob’s dad, Harold. He hugged Dorey and shook my hand. Then Cheryl came up and hugged us both.

I am not a hugger by nature. If I never hug another human beside Dorey in my life, it would be okay with me. I read in a book that the Danes do not hug. Go Danes. But other people are huggers, and they seem to have won the battle. So I hugged. And survived (barely).

We sat down. Dorey and Cheryl put the dress in the room where Kate stays when she visits. Harold, Bob, Sharyn and I sat in the living room. Sharyn had broken her right wrist a few weeks ago, and so we discussed that hand. Harold is currently staying home on workers comp with a shoulder problem. Both have to do physical therapy. So I told my pinkie physical therapy story. When I was on my mission, I dislocated my pinkie. I went to the doctor, who wanted to operate, but decided to try me first on physical therapy. I was in a huge class with people who were really hurting. Stroke and car accident victims, and me with my pinkie. I was able to get my pinkie back into position through my physical therapy. On the last class, my therapist stopped the group to tell them about how through hard work, I had been able to straighten my pinkie. They could improve if they worked as hard as I did, etc. My fellow patients gave me death darts. After I worked my way through this one, Dorey and Cheryl had returned.

Cheryl was having problems getting some pictures which had been taken by Valarie Porter printed at Walmart. She said that Walmart thought the pictures were too professional, and would not release them until we had obtained the photographer’s permission. Dorey and I went into the computer room, and I whipped out a little legalese releasing the copyright. We emailed it to Valerie Porter, who signed it and sent it back. It seemed to have worked, as we were able to view the pictures at the open house.


Bob and Harold started to talk about genealogical stuff. We had sat through my father's rants about the church genealogical department before. Now we could be here forever, I feared. Bob, we have got to go, I said. My mother must have joined in my fear. Bob, we have got to go, she said. We became more forceful. Don't start, Dad, I said.

Happily, for once, he took the hint. A few minutes later, and the meeting was over, and we were graciously released from the house. On to Rexburg. As we were walking out, I suggested that I be added to the car. My father said he could handle it. That suggestion–and in fact the plan for renting the car for the trip–went nowhere. We were now going to head across the state.

The stats: Yesterday, I walked 12,709 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 10:56 a.m. of Friday, July 24, 2009, I have walked 344,434 steps in 29 days.

Idaho In April, Part One

Ok, now I have started three travelogues, but haven't finished one of them. Good thing no one reads this junk, or they would be really ticked.

This travelogue actually accompanies the Kate and Jacob Wedding notes. In April, Dorey and I went to Idaho for a few days. We were attending Christian's graduation from Brigham Young University-Idaho, in Rexburg, Idaho. On the same weekend, we went to an open house put on by Jacob's parents in Meridian, Idaho. We crossed the state twice that week with my parents, Bob and Sharyn. So here's the travelogue.


I left work about 30 minutes early on Wednesday. We were finally going on our long awaited trip to Idaho to attend Christian’s college graduation and Kate and Jacob’s Open House in Meridian. By the time I left work, I was simply bored of the wait.

I arrived home at about 4:45 p.m., and sat around for a few minutes, eating pizza for dinner. Holly came to pick us up to drop us at the airport. The airport was not busy–more signs of the rescission, I guess. Dorey’s main concern was that she did not want to check Kate’s wedding dress, and she thought that it might be too bulky to carry on. Not a problem. We made it through security without incident, and walked up to our gate. We were in the new terminal, and we passed the Fenton’s Ice Cream place there. After we sat down, I went back and bought us each a sundae. So much for that diet. It was delicious, although it spilled all over my white pants. I felt like a two year old walking around the terminal with ice cream stains on my pants.

The plane was not crowded, and we could spread out. I think that I slept on the plane listening to my I-Pod. The plane landed in Boise on time, and Bob and Sharyn were there to pick us up.

The plan had been for Bob and Sharyn to rent the car, and then to add me as a driver. The wisdom of the plan became obvious as we drove from the airport to the motel. Bob was driving, and Sharyn was in the passenger seat. They had their GPS system on. That would be great, except Bob can’t hear the GPS voice. So the GPS voice would tell Bob to take some direction, and Sharyn would have to shout it at Bob. And Sharyn is not always that patient with Bob.

So we reached the off-ramp where our motel is. The GPS was telling us to turn left. Bob was in the righthand lane. Sharyn yelled at Bob to turn left. He kept going in the right hand turn lane. Turn left, Bob, Sharyn said. About 20 feet from the corner, Bob finally understood that he was supposed to turn left. Without looking, he jetted across three lanes of traffic. Not such a great move, Bob. I think that I should be driving.

Then we had the discussion about what time they would pick us up in the morning. Bob said 9:00 a.m. Sharyn said 10:00 a.m. (They were staying in a different motel). This is a worrisome sign. She used to get up and go. Now she is opting to fuss around in the morning doing nothing. We had to drop Kate’s dress off at the Curtis’s before driving to Rexburg. This would be the first time we would meet them. So I really wanted to get there and get out of town. As we were getting out of the car, Bob said that he would try to pick us up at 9:30 a.m.

So Bob can’t hear and Sharyn is running out of steam. Great!!! They are getting old.

On Thursday morning, Dorey and I went on a walk in Meridian while waiting for Bob and Sharyn. It was obvious that Sharyn had won the duel, and that they would not pick us up until 10:00 a.m. So we went walking. I am currently trying to walk 1,000,000 steps in 100 days. This plan has resulted in sore and blistered feet. The plan for our walk was to find a Walmart or other such store where I could buy some moleskin for my feet. As with 7-11 stores, there is never a Walmart when you want one, and they are ubiquitous when you don’t want one. We walked about a mile down Overlook Drive passed the Harley Davidson store, and then turned around and walked back, never finding a Walmart.

Then we came back and check out and sat in the lobby waiting for Bob and Sharyn to stop fighting with each other and the GPS system. As we sat there, a buuch of Army guys in fatigues came through the lobby, and into a meeting room. I could not figure out what they were doing there. Later discussing it with Bob, we decided that they were planning the takeover of the United States. There are, after all, enough military bases surrounding Boise that they don’t need to be meeting in Meridian. They had a big projector. They closed the door when the meeting began. What else could they be talking about?

Bob and Sharyn arrived at 10:10 a.m. "So Sharyn won," I said to Bob. He disagreed with this assessment, saying that the plan was to leave their hotel at 10:00 a.m. Whatever.


Ok, the stats: On Tuesday, I walked 12,585 steps. On Wednesday, I walked 12,518 steps. As of this moment, 8:21 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2009, I have walked 331,143 steps in 28 days.

Just the stats, and then good night. Yesterday, I walked 11,580 steps. As of this moment, 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, 2009, I have walked 305,907 steps in 26 days.

Moonwalking

I was nine years old on that Sunday, July 20, 1969. We had watched the television all week leading up to that Sunday. One night that week, I went to Jolly Burgers with the Van Vliets for dinner. Kim Van Vliet reported on the astronauts' heart beats on lift off. That was the sort of detail we were fascinated by.

The moonwalk was scheduled for the late afternoon. The Sacrament Meeting of the Oak Grove Ward was scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m., meaning that we might be in church at the time of the moonwalk. A meeting was held as to whether Sacrament meeting should be cancelled. They decided that it would go forward. My father, however, decided that we would not be attending that Sunday.

I cheered my father's announcement, and started to change from my Sunday clothes into jeans. Oh, no, my mother said. You will be staying in church clothes, even if we aren't going to church. This is not a day to goof off.

We drove over to my Grandparent Larsen's home on Happy Valley Road in Lafayette to have dinner and watch the moonwalk on their black and white television. My uncle Ron and his then-wife Nancy were present. We ate on their patio on the warm summer day. The capsule had landed on the moon by the time we arrived. The two astronauts were supposed to be resting before the moonwalk, but I always thought that NASA was just playing up the drama. We all joked about how if we were Buzz Aldrin, we would knock Neil Armstrong on the head, and head out to be the first person to walk on the moon.

The walk actually took place about an hour ahead of its scheduled time. We all came into the house and watched. It was nearly impossible to see or hear what was being said by the astronauts. But we all sort of cheered, and felt proud to be Americans that day. Nothing like reflected glory.

By the way, I heard that the Sacrament Meeting in the Oak Grove Ward lasted all of thirty-five minutes that day. The two speakers spoke for five minutes each, and everyone was home in time to watch the moonwalk.

Now for a report on a few less important steps for mankind: Yesterday, I walked 11308 steps. As of this moment, 7:49 p.m. on July 20, 2009, I have walked 293,304 steps in 25 days.

Chinatown

Yesterday morning, Dorey and I woke up early and took BART to San Francisco to walk through Chinatown. The book we used as a guide, "Historic Walks In San Francisco" largely kept us off away from the shops on Grant Avenue. Rather, it led us to the spots of former cathouses and gambling parlors. Girls were often kidnapped in China and brought to San Francisco and sold into prostitution. After about five years, they were worn out. They were brought to an alley called The Hospital, where they would be left to die. A miserable existence.

One Christian organization tried to assist the girls leave the life. Its mission home was built using bricks which were scavenged from the built bricks from the post-Earthquake fire. Above is a picture of some of these bricks.

Yesterday, I walked 11,487 steps. As of this moment, 5:37 p.m. on July 19, 2009, I have walked in total 281,685 steps in 24 days.

New Phone

Last night, we finally cut Christian off the family cell phone bill. Actually, he was pretty good abot it all, wanting to get his own account set up. Because we have waiting for this for a couple of years now, we have not purchased new phones for a while. So last night, we went off and purcahsed a new cell phone. It's has GPS navigation--which is what I was going to get for myself anyway for my birthday. So now I have a new phone, and have spent the afternoon trying to learn how to use it.

But in the interim, I walked. Yesterday, I walked 11,518 steps. As of this moment, 5:24 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2009, I have walked a total of 270,391 steps in 23 days.

Kate and Jacob's Wedding Random Thoughts--Part Two

The Red Wing pottery. Small world type of thing. Harold Curtis, Kate's father-in-law, had a piece of Red Wing pottery in his home. Dorey’s home town is Red Wing, Minnesota, where the pottery is made. Before working in the tannery, Dorey’s dad worked at Red Wing Pottery.

Harold told the story as to how he came to possess that piece of pottery. He found it in his parents home when the family was closing up the home. His sisters and Harold drew lots as to which child would take possession of the pottery. Harold’s sisters insisted that they draw lots a second time after Harold won the pot in the first round. He won the second round and the third round as well. His sisters figured that perhaps there was a purpose in Harold winning the pot three times. There was, as Dorey felt right at home with a pot from her hometown in Kate’s new in-laws house.

On Wednesday, I walked 11,528 steps. On Thursday, I walked 12,239 steps. As of this moment, 12:14 p.m. on Firday, July 17, 2009, I have walked in total 258,236 steps in 22 days.

Random Thoughts From Kate and Jacob's Wedding, Part One

Our daughter, Kate, was married on April 18, 2009, to Jacob Curtis. I have put together some notes about that weed of her wedding. I will set these out here from time to time. I will intermix the end of the New York City trip and other stuff that I want to add. So here goes:


Random Thoughts From Kate and Jacob’s Wedding

Dorey and I always bring a notebook with us when we travel. At the end of each day, we will put down in no particular order our thoughts about the day. Here’s our list for Kate and Jacob’s wedding week, with explanations when needed.

1) Tired feet from the Idaho Open House. For the past few weeks, I have been walking, trying to get in at least 10,000 steps per day. Such a program makes my doctor happy, makes Dorey happy, and makes the dog happy. It only mildly annoys me, so I measure their happiness vs. my annoyance, and their happiness wins. Because of all the walking I have been doing lately, I thought that I was ready to stand for the open house in Idaho. Nope!!! My feet were tired. My legs were tired. My upper body was tired.

As I sat there being tired, I thought about Franklin Roosevelt. Stu Grow, my political science professor, told about attending the ingraugal reception in 1936. He wondered how Roosevelt with his polio could stand there greeting folks for three hours. Stu walked around the back of the curtain which Roosevelt was standing in front of (can you imagine the secret service allowing some young unknown flunkie wander around the back of the president today), and saw that Roosevelt was leaning on a stool that was hidden between the curtain. After about the first fifteen minutes of the Idaho reception, I was wishing for a stool behind a curtain.


Today's stat: Yesterday, I walked 11,515 steps. As of this moment, 7:13 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, 2009, I have walked 235,051 steps in 20 days.

My First Baseball Game

I went out this morning and walked. Well, actually, I woke up and debated with myself about whether I would walk this morning. After a half an hour, I decided that I would be happier if I walked so I would not have to walk at night after work. So I walked, and completed more than half my steps by 6:30 a.m. I finished the rest of the steps during the day. So tonight, I was able to come home, put up my feet, and watch the All Star Game and read with my feet on the coffee table not feeling the least bit guilty. Plus, it is hot out tonight, but I am sitting under the fan.

I became a baseball fan at age 7. My father took me to my first professional game that year. It was a Friday night game where the Giants played the Astros at Candlestick Park. My sister Holly came with me. A big man with his family sat next to us. The man was smoking a big cigar. The Astros pitcher hit a couple of Giants with pitches. The man yelled, Throw the bum pitcher out. My sister made me move to sit next to the cigar smoking, loud yelling man. I didn't mind; I was in heaven. Plus the Giants won, 6-1.

I have now found the box score of that game. It happened on May 12, 1967. Juan Marichal pitched a complete game. Willie Mays hit a home run. Joe Morgan and Rusty Staub played for the Astros. Here's the complete box score of one of the great nights in my life:


Candlestick Park, Attendance: 13,992
Friday, May 12, 1967
Time of Game: 2:27
Astros
1
8-18
Lost 2
10th, 10 GB
Grady Hatton 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Astros 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 7 3
Giants 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 0 X 6 7 1

W: Juan Marichal (5-3), L: Chris Zachary (0-3) Giants
6
11-14
Won 1
7th, 6½ GB
Herman Franks

Batting Stats
Houston Astros AB R H RBI BB SO BA OPS Pit Str PO A Details
J Morgan 2B 4 1 1 0 0 1 .190 .661 4 1
S Jackson SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 .226 .547 3 3
J Wynn CF 4 0 3 1 0 0 .277 .795 2 0
E Mathews 1B 4 0 0 0 0 3 .258 .777 8 1
R Staub RF 4 0 2 0 0 0 .352 .935 1 0 CS
N Miller LF 3 0 0 0 0 2 .125 .513 1 0
R Davis LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 .289 .825 0 0 GDP
B Aspromonte 3B 2 0 0 0 1 0 .215 .587 2 1
R Brand C 3 0 0 0 0 0 .120 .361 3 1
C Zachary P 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 0 3
C Raymond P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0
J Owens P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
J Landis PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273 .747 0 0
D Schneider P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 32 1 7 0 1 9 24 11

Batting Events
TB: J Wynn 3; R Staub 2; J Morgan; S Jackson.
GIDP: R Davis (1).
RBI: J Wynn (10).
2-out RBI: J Wynn.
Team LOB: 5.
With RISP: 1 for 4.
Fielding Events
E: S Jackson 2 (9); C Zachary (1).
Baserunning Events
CS: R Staub (1, 2nd base by J Marichal/T Haller).

San Francisco Giants AB R H RBI BB SO BA OPS Pit Str PO A Details
K Henderson LF-RF 4 1 1 0 1 0 .227 .683 2 0 2B
J Davenport SS 4 1 0 0 0 0 .279 .889 2 7 HBP
W Mays CF 5 2 2 3 0 0 .284 .876 1 0 HR
W McCovey 1B 3 0 2 0 0 0 .188 .684 8 0 2B
N Siebern PH-1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .200 2 0
J Hart 3B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .223 .656 1 0 HBP
T Haller C 2 1 1 1 2 0 .324 .939 10 1 HR
O Brown RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 .271 .652 0 0 HBP
J Alou PR-LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247 .612 0 0
H Lanier 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 .188 .447 1 4
J Marichal P 3 1 1 0 1 0 .250 .724 0 0 2B
Totals 32 6 7 0 4 2 27 12

Batting Events
2B: J Marichal (4, off C Zachary); W McCovey (2, off C Zachary); K Henderson (2, off C Zachary).
HR: W Mays (3, off C Raymond; 7th inn, 2 on, 0 outs to RF); T Haller (1, off C Zachary; 4th inn, 0 on, 2 outs to RF).
HBP: O Brown (2, by C Raymond); J Davenport (1, by D Schneider); J Hart (2, by C Raymond).
TB: W Mays 5; T Haller 4; W McCovey 3; J Marichal 2; K Henderson 2.
RBI: W Mays 3 (13); T Haller (9).
2-out RBI: T Haller.
Team LOB: 9.
With RISP: 1 for 7.
Fielding Events
DP: 2. T Haller-J Davenport; J Davenport-H Lanier-N Siebern.
E: J Hart (5).
Baserunning Events
Pickoffs: W McCovey (1st base by C Zachary).
Pitching Stats
Houston Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF Pit-Str Ct·Sw·Lk GB·FB·LD· ? GmSc IR-IS LevI WPA
C Zachary, L (0-3) 6 6 4 3 4 2 1 4.76 28 - · · 7· 9· 0· 6 44 - 1.04 -0.17
C Raymond 0.2 1 2 1 0 0 1 2.41 6 - · · 1· 2· 0· 1 2-2 0.29 -0.08
J Owens 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 1 - · · 0· 1· 0· 0 2-0 0.12 0.00
D Schneider 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.12 4 - · · 3· 0· 0· 0 0-0 0.02 0.00
Totals 8 7 6 4 4 2 2 39 - · · 11·12· 0· 7 4-2
C Zachary faced 2 batters in the 7th inning.
San Francisco Giants IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF Pit-Str Ct·Sw·Lk GB·FB·LD· ? GmSc IR-IS LevI WPA
J Marichal, W (5-3) 9 7 1 1 1 9 0 2.42 33 - · · 10· 6· 0· 7 77 - 0.94 0.26
Totals 9 7 1 1 1 9 0 33 - · · 10· 6· 0· 7 -
Balks: None.
WP: None.
HBP: D Schneider (1; J Davenport); C Raymond 2 (2; J Hart, O Brown).
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: C Zachary (1; W McCovey, 1st base).


So the guilt free stats: Yesterday, I walked 11,388 steps. As of this moment, 7:32 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, I have walked a total of 223,514 steps in 19 days.

Park Bench

My father submitted a photograph to a contest being sponsored by "The Saturday Review. His picture was of a church in Mexico. The winning shot was of a park bench someplace. He was pretty ticked at not winning, especially when he saw the winning shot. But I, then 17, replied that "The Saturday Review" probably received numerous pictures of churches, but very few of park benches. He was not happy with my criticism. I snuck away from the dinner table, saying I thought his picture was nice. I did not gain many points that night.

Anyway, here's the stats: Yesterday, I walked 10,868 steps. As of this moment, 7:05p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2009, I have walked in total 212,060 steps in 18 days.

Shore walkding

We live on an island overlooking San Francisco. We can walk along the Bay Trail looking on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. Some days, there is no one out there. Not this morning, though. Runners, bikers, walkers, tricycles, dogs, squirrels, strollers, and probably a skunk or two inhabited the trail. The trail was busier than rush hour traffic.

Yesterday, I walked 14,434 steps. As of this moment, 10:54 a.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2009, I have walked 200,504 steps in 17 days.

Near Perfection

In 2003, when we were in Wales and England, we became interested in a television program called "The Big Read." The UK was identifying its 200 most beloved books, and would select the top beloved books. We were in town for the penultimate and ultimate night of the television program. On returning home, I decided that I would read all 200 books on The Big Read list. This was a nice change in my reading habit because in the 20 years prior to undertaking this project, I had read mostly non-fiction.

My enthusiasm for this project and waned in and out--but I am still plowing ahead. I have read some good stuff that I would not have read--"Trainspotting," Thomas Hardy, and "A Fine Balance." I have read some awful stuff--Flowers in The Attic comes to mind. And I have read some stupid stuff--mediocre kids books.

Last night, Dorey had a female male bashing group in our house, so I was relegated to the upstairs bedroom. (Actually, it was a book reading group, but every time I listened, they were bashing males. I had read the book they were discussing, "The Woman In White", and didn't think that it lent itself to so much hating on those who produce the small gametes. I pulled out one of the mediocre kid's books--"Bad Girls" by Jacqueline Wilson. I put the Giant's game on the tube, and sat down and read the book, keeping half an eye on the game.

I sort of knew that the Giants' pitcher, Jonathan Sanchez, was pitching well. I did not realize how well. At the end of the seventh inning, I looked at the line. It said that the Padres had no hits to that point. I figured that I better not jink Mr. Sanchez, so I kept reading. I finished "Bad Girls" by the end of the top of the Eighth Inning. Still Mr. Sanchez had not given up a hit.

The Giants scored a couple runs in the bottom of the eighth, and Mr. Sanchez took the mound for the ninth. At this point, I incurred the wrath of Dorey's group by calling downstairs to Christian, who was watching tv downstairs. "Are you watching the game?" I yelled. Yeah. I returned to my post.

Sanchez stuck the first batter out. The second hitter smashed the ball. I thought for certain that it was a home run. But PacBell Park, or whatever it is called these days, has a deep center field. Aaron Rowland went back and caught the ball, smashing into the fence.

The next batter was the 28th batter that Sanchez faced. Only one batter had reached base, on an error by the third baseman. The 28th batter of the evening showed bunt on the first pitch--a ball. Pretty cheap, the crowd said to the batter by booing. Pretty cheap, said I to the tv. Even the ump must have thought, "Pretty cheap," as the batter did not get any calls in the at bat. The next pitch was a borderline at best strike. Strike the ump called. The hitter fouled off the next pitch. The next pitch was a slider. I think it was a ball, but that it ran back over the strikezone area by the time it hit the catcher's glove. The catcher held the pitch giving the ump a long time to make his call. The ump, knowing it was a moment to shine, step back and called it a strike. The batter jumped in disbelief. The fans went crazy.

I left my place of hiding and wandered through the gals and met Christian. We cheered. I went and told the women that Jonathan Sanchez had thrown a no-hitter. I kissed Dorey. After all, Mr. Sanchez could not have done it without me. I was thrown back upstairs.

Anyway, the stats: Yesterday, I walked 11,160 steps. As of this moment, 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, 2009, I have walked 187,011 steps in 16 days.

Fryday

I had a great-great grandfather who in his journal would write "Friday" as "Fryday." We don't know if this was an anti-Cathlolic sentiment, or simply that he didn't know how to spell "Friday."

I would not have made a good Catholic (especially pre-Vatican II). I hate fish, and never eat it. Never, Never, Never. I like crabcakes and lobster, though. I will have a tuna fish sandwich if we can kill the taste of the tuna with enough salad dressing and pickle relish. But that's it.

In fairness, I would be a bad Jew or Muslim, because I love ham. (I could skip bacon, though). What food group is banned for Buddists?

Anyway, today's stats: Yesterday, I walked 12,648 steps. In total, as of this moment, 1.45 p.m. on Friday (or Fryday, if you will), July 10, 2009, I have walked 174,981 steps in 15 days.

Dorey Joins The 1,000,000 Step Club

Tonight, Dorey joined the 1,000,000 step club. One million steps in 93 days. She is pretty charged. Great job!!!

Yesterday, I walked 11,425 steps. Overall, as of this moment, 6:24 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, 2009, I have walked 164,025 steps in 14 days.

New York City, Part 8

I had a wonderful night of sleep, a rare event in my life. Even rarer, we slept until 8:00 a.m. I have never been a person who sleeps in. I can count on one hand the number of times I have slept passed 7:00 a.m., and I would still have several fingers left over. So sleeping until 8:00 a.m.–even though on my clock it was only 5:00 a.m.–a much more normal time for me to arise–was a treat. After the toiletries, we left our room. We tried to get on a computer to print our boarding passes, but unfortunately were unable to get on one of the hotel computers. Normally, this would have put me in a bad mood. I hate to fly when I can’t sit next to Dorey. On Southwest, it pays to be first. But this time, I did not care as we were on Virgin and had reserved seats and could pick up the boarding passes at the airport.

So we headed out. Really, the whole purpose of the trip was today. We love to take walking tours when we travel. Michelle and James Nevius, who had taken us on walking tours of New York before, had just published a walking tour book of New York City. I had to try one of their walks as soon as I learned that their book would be published. And today, we would take one of these tours.

But not before having the subway fun on Sunday morning. I was going to buy an all day pass. I put my card into the machine, but it would not read it. I tried several times, all without luck. As I kept trying, the locals kept trying to get me to provide them with a few quarters. Living near San Francisco, we are not strangers to panhandling. I engaged the guy in conversation, about what, I don’t know. All the while, I could not get a ticket from the machine. We finally broke a $20.00, and paid cash for our tickets.

We rode the A train down to about 53rd street, where we hopped out to grab some breakfast. We were going of course to the Stage Door Deli, sort of a New York tradition with me. On our first trip to New York City, we watched Hairspray. Afterward, we purchased some cheesecake from the Stage Door Deli and ate it in our room. It was a great night. The next time, we took Kate there on a Friday night. A German man near us in the restaurant collapsed, and the ambulance came for him. It was a great introduction to the drama of New York City for Kate. So, even though the food is not great, I have affection for the Stage Door Deli. And that is where we ate that Sunday morning. I had a terrible omelette, but the bagel was out of this world.

Today's stats: Yesterday, I walked 11,012 steps. As of this moment, 5:30 p.m. on July 8, 2009, I have walked 151,373 steps in 13 days.

Walking Through The Neighborhood

You miss a lot driving through the neighborhood. You miss the new plants. You miss stuff about who lives where. You never stop to talk.

Nearly everytime I am out walking, though, I see something new. Tonight, I saw a garage door painted in Happy Birthday colors for a neighborhood kid. The other day, I saw a bird cut into a swing set. It's looking forward to this stuff that makes these silly walks worth it.

So the stats: Yesterday, I walked 10,637 steps. As of this moment, 7:04 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7, 2009, I have walked 140,187 steps in 12 days.

New York City, Part Seven

We are finally back to this narrative.

When I was a kid, the other folk in the neighborhood and I used to sit on a neighbor’s lawn on the summer and eat watermelon around a tree. We would spit our seeds at each other and into the rock ring surrounding the tree.

As we sat there, we used to talk about the world. The Empire State Building often came up in those discussions. Two points were routinely made. First point–if you jumped off the Empire State building, you would die before you hit the ground. I am uncertain as to the logic behind our thinking on that one, but I can recall discussing it with my father. He said that it was probably true, mostly because you would be repeatedly slammed into the building on the way down. Second point–if you threw a penny off the Empire State building, it would build up such force that it would kill someone if it hit them on the ground. Actually, I think we decided that it would more than kill them–it would slice the person in two–head to foot. In later discussions my father, he said this would never happen, as the penny would be slowed by aerodynamics.

The Empire State Building has always been part of my personal mythology. I had to take a pilgrimage to the shine of the watermelon charged bull sessions on the neighbor’s lawn.

I did not, however, make it to New York City until 2004–some thirty years later. On that trip, we tried to go up the Empire State Building, but the line just to get into the building was an hour and a half. So we skipped it, and went to ride the wooden escalator at Macy’s instead. It was too cold to bother with it on the next trip to New York City in February 2006. So I had not been to Mecca.

This trip proved to be the one in which all was accomplished. After checking in and taking care of business, we hit the streets. We had recently purchased a book about walks in New York City, and decided to take a walk around Times Square with the book. On the way to the starting point, we passed the building. I observed that there was no line–no line. It was too good to be true. So I did not believe it.

We then went arrived at the starting point, and headed out on our walk. We shortly came to the Empire State Building. Again, no line outside the building. We walked into the building. No line all the way up to the ticket place. We purchased our tickets. Short line–less than five minutes–at the elevators. We took the bizarre twists and turns at the top of the elevator, but again, there was no line. Finally, we were at the top. I had reached Mecca.

The place was very windy–very, very windy–on the 86th floor observatory. How in the world they thought to make this a Zeppelin landing spot is beyond me. We put on the headphones, and walked around the building, looking at the sites. It was one of those rare times in my life when I was not going to be moved, even if it meant I was being impolite by overstaying my time at a spot. We had purchased an audio tour, and went through the seven stations there. I stood at each station listening to the audio guide for as long as the guide went on. I did not care that others wanted to look. I figured that I am going up here only once in my life, and I was not going to be moved for anyone or anything.

Strangely, though, nothing really stands out about that stroll around the observation deck other than it was a long ways down. The sun was setting over Brooklyn. A sax guy was playing. I resisted the urge either to jump or to throw a penny off the roof.

We were up there for probably an hour and a half. When we came down, it was closed to eight o’clock, and I was dead tired. We walked back toward our hotel, bought a bad deli dinner, and ate it in our room. We sat there watching Andy Griffith. Aunt Bea was learning to fly or something. Zombies ate my brain. I was soon asleep. I had walked over 17,000 steps that day.

Today’s stats–Yesterday, I walked 11,006 steps. As of this moment, 7:15 p.m. on July 6, 2009, I have walked 129,237 steps in 11 days.

The Holiday Hangover

We walked, ate, went to the church breakfast, ate, walked, fell asleep, walked, ate, drove to my sister's house, ate, and ate some more, came home, and ate. I woke up with the post-Holiday blues, so I ate.

Yesterday, I walked 11,322 steps. As of this moment, 4:35 p.m. on July 5, 2009, I have walked 118,211 steps in 10 days.

Our city has a 4th of July parade every year. People look forward to it every year. Some people get out there and line the street with chairs as early as 5:00 a.m.

Despite living in this city for the last 20 years, up to last year, I had never attended the parade. It's a really rinky-dink affair, the great mixing of commerce--especially real estate--and patriotism. Our church has a potluck pre-parade potluck breakfast, and I attend that, but I sneak off shortly after it is over to get out of watching the parade. Even when our son was in the parade, I did not watch.

Then last year came. The church powers-that-be decided that our church needed to be more visible in the community. They asked Dorey to head up the church's Fourth of July Parade float committee. For several months, Dorey and her committee worked to put together a float. After all of her work, it would have been a tad crass of me not to show up and watch her float go by. So I went to the parade. It was as horrible as I suspected. But the church's float was great. We live on an island with several drawbridges. The float had a drawbridge that went up and down. It was the highlight of the parade, even if the float did not win a prize. This year, the church did not have a float, and Dorey and I went to the breakfast, and snuck away from the parade, and went on a walk in the neighborhood.

So the stats: Yesterday, I walked 11,286 steps. As of this moment, 12:46 p.m. on July 4, 2009, I have walked 106,967 steps in nine days.

America Stopped Because I Missed A Day Of Blogging

Yes, it's true. Two days before the celebration of America's birth, it died, all because I missed a day of blogging on July 2. I am sorry, America, but it was a good ride while it lasted.

I may have missed a day, but I still walked. On Wednesday, July 1, I walked 11,070 steps. Yesterday, I walked 12,831 steps. As of this moment, 6:32 p.m. on July 3, 2009, I have in total walked 96,230 steps in 8 days.

To remember what we left behind when we kicked the British out of our little country 233 years ago, today's picture is of folks in Hyde Park on a Sunday Sunday afternoon in October a couple of years ago. Dang, this is what we left behind.

Dorey is fine. She went to work, and other than her dignity, all was well.

I returned to the law library to finish my project this morning. It was not open, so I walked the lovely streets of Oakland for 45 minutes. I thought about a vacation that I am going to take in the fall that has to be put off so that I can get ready for a trial. I am not happy about this change of events at all!!!!

Today's stats: Yesterday, I walked 10,911 steps. As of this moment, 8:34 p.m. on July 1, 2009, I have walked 72,130 steps in six days.

Note: The picture is of Tower Bridge in London, where I had hoped to be going in October, but now am not going.