We moved. Twice. The same week.
Nearly 90 % of what we own is in the new house in Prairie Village, Kansas. The two of us, most of our clothes, and the cat (as well as a new relatively small modern television that we gave in and bought today) are in a furnished, one room apartment a bit more than a mile north of our former house, whose sale closed Friday last. I would like to complain about not getting out of the house what we hoped for, but frankly, I keep seeing it pretty positively. We sold the house. The amount we had to cut our price is a much smaller percentage than our stock market investments have lost in the last year or so. We also got a great deal on the new house, for many of the same reasons. If real estate markets even recover modestly, our new house, because of its great address/neighborhood, it will appreciate more than satisfactorily.
Perhaps an even bigger trauma is the apparent death of my four and a half year old Emac, a computer so rare and unusual most of you have never even seen one, It survived a full month after crashing to the floor as we took its desk apart for the move. Losing all that's on your computer is traumatic at best, and a fair portion of the nearly 8000 songs I had on it will be difficult if not impossible to replace.
I am figuring my resume doesn't hold the importance it once did, and frankly, I have no idea what all was on there except for my music and a large number of photos, so I will probably get by just fine. A repairman has just told me the hard drive is probably fine and can be rescued.
We did live for a weekend with no cable tv, land line phone or internet at home. Actually it took over a week for phone and internet to get up. It is hard to believe any business entity could be worse than Time Warner Cable, but Windstream, our phone company did much worse than Time Warner.
More reports will follow. It will be interesting to see how we co-exist in a space less than a quarter the size of the last two houses. And how we approach the last days of full-time dedicated educational careers. Maybe that's an overstatement in that we have nearly five months left.
Stay posted.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year....
Happy New Year from kevinandjoe!
2009 will bring more ramblings, some will come from joe who will have moved south in retirement. I can't wait to spend some time at his retirement villa in the south, with it warm breezes and rebuilding pro football team. In fact, just about every pro team in his new location will be in a rebuilding mode.
So, our best to all our loyal reader(s). I think that there might be a book in our creative, yet personal comments. Probably well after we have moved to the next level and will make our heirs rich!
2009 will bring more ramblings, some will come from joe who will have moved south in retirement. I can't wait to spend some time at his retirement villa in the south, with it warm breezes and rebuilding pro football team. In fact, just about every pro team in his new location will be in a rebuilding mode.
So, our best to all our loyal reader(s). I think that there might be a book in our creative, yet personal comments. Probably well after we have moved to the next level and will make our heirs rich!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Favorite Baseball Team
Sometime back I recall some comments about changing favorite teams if you moved to a city that had a major league team. Chris sent me a note recently that I think addresses that question as it regards the SF Giants.
"A simple question with a great answer…
What's the point of being a Giants fan? Managing general partner Bill Neukom said on KNBR that he hopes the team will finish .500 next year ... then become a contending team two years after that. I appreciate his honesty, but man, after four losing seasons, all we get is three years from now. It's obvious why players like Mark Teixeira and Carlos Lee don't want to play for the Giants. So I ask, other than being interested in Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum, what is the point for a fan to root for a self-proclaimed hope-to-be-.500 club?
-- Billy R., San Jose, Calif.
You stick with the Giants because that's just what fans do. Otherwise, you're something else beginning with the letter "f" -- fickle. You stick with the Giants because you understand that baseball is a game of failure (remember, even the best hitters return to the dugout fruitlessly seven times every 10 at-bats) and only people who can't grasp what the game's about demand constant success. You stick with the Giants because hope is one of the biggest words in the English language, and because watching guys like Matt Cain, Fred Lewis, Randy Winn, Brian Wilson and Sandoval give you hope. You stick with the Giants because Lincecum pitches every five days, and there isn't a better show in baseball than that.
You stick with the Giants because they're among baseball's crown jewel franchises and they play in a gem of a ballpark. You stick with the Giants because you cherish the link to legends like Mathewson, Mays, Marichal and Bonds (pick either one). You stick with the Giants because, if you're around 40 or older, you saw them almost move to Toronto and Denver and Tampa-St. Petersburg, so now you'll never let them go. You stick with the Giants because you feel like your scalp would break out in a rash if you put on a different team's cap. Go ahead and switch to the A's or Dodgers or Phillies; life is full of many more important choices. If it's that easy to jump ship, you never were a true fan anyway."
I was there when they almost moved to Toronto and I can tell you the fear and panic of losing the Giants to Canada or anywhere was significant. The City rallied around the Giant's and Bob Luire came to the rescue, along with Cattle guy, I think. Botton line, live in a city with a baseball team that isn't the Giants if you must, but I would find it very difficult not to continue as a Giants fan.
"A simple question with a great answer…
What's the point of being a Giants fan? Managing general partner Bill Neukom said on KNBR that he hopes the team will finish .500 next year ... then become a contending team two years after that. I appreciate his honesty, but man, after four losing seasons, all we get is three years from now. It's obvious why players like Mark Teixeira and Carlos Lee don't want to play for the Giants. So I ask, other than being interested in Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum, what is the point for a fan to root for a self-proclaimed hope-to-be-.500 club?
-- Billy R., San Jose, Calif.
You stick with the Giants because that's just what fans do. Otherwise, you're something else beginning with the letter "f" -- fickle. You stick with the Giants because you understand that baseball is a game of failure (remember, even the best hitters return to the dugout fruitlessly seven times every 10 at-bats) and only people who can't grasp what the game's about demand constant success. You stick with the Giants because hope is one of the biggest words in the English language, and because watching guys like Matt Cain, Fred Lewis, Randy Winn, Brian Wilson and Sandoval give you hope. You stick with the Giants because Lincecum pitches every five days, and there isn't a better show in baseball than that.
You stick with the Giants because they're among baseball's crown jewel franchises and they play in a gem of a ballpark. You stick with the Giants because you cherish the link to legends like Mathewson, Mays, Marichal and Bonds (pick either one). You stick with the Giants because, if you're around 40 or older, you saw them almost move to Toronto and Denver and Tampa-St. Petersburg, so now you'll never let them go. You stick with the Giants because you feel like your scalp would break out in a rash if you put on a different team's cap. Go ahead and switch to the A's or Dodgers or Phillies; life is full of many more important choices. If it's that easy to jump ship, you never were a true fan anyway."
I was there when they almost moved to Toronto and I can tell you the fear and panic of losing the Giants to Canada or anywhere was significant. The City rallied around the Giant's and Bob Luire came to the rescue, along with Cattle guy, I think. Botton line, live in a city with a baseball team that isn't the Giants if you must, but I would find it very difficult not to continue as a Giants fan.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Economy at Christmas
I, like many others in the world, have watched the economy sink slowly and marvel at the revelations that seem to come out each week. The specter of de-regualtion at its best as financial giants tumble into the abyss that is a government bailout. The market moves up and down like a hookers skirt and my retirement money along with it.
Doom and gloom is the order of the day and if that wasn't bad enough we have 1/2 inch of ice with 4 inches of snow and temps in the single digits. I think it easier to be depressed in warm weather.
Having said I heard someone, there so many people with advice these days, speak to spending and it made some sense. His point was that in spite of nearly 10% unemployment, there are a significant number of people who are no worse off (except for 401K's etc) now than they were last year. While managing your expenses is always important one the ways to move pass these economic hard time is to spend.
I am not suggesting that everyone run out and buy a 50 inch TV, but if we all quit spending at the same time the economy will never turn around. Frankly I need it to turn around soon as I can almost see my retirement. So, go ahead take a chance and spend a little at your local stores, try and do your part to get the economy moving again, don't just leave it to Washington or Wall Street.
Doom and gloom is the order of the day and if that wasn't bad enough we have 1/2 inch of ice with 4 inches of snow and temps in the single digits. I think it easier to be depressed in warm weather.
Having said I heard someone, there so many people with advice these days, speak to spending and it made some sense. His point was that in spite of nearly 10% unemployment, there are a significant number of people who are no worse off (except for 401K's etc) now than they were last year. While managing your expenses is always important one the ways to move pass these economic hard time is to spend.
I am not suggesting that everyone run out and buy a 50 inch TV, but if we all quit spending at the same time the economy will never turn around. Frankly I need it to turn around soon as I can almost see my retirement. So, go ahead take a chance and spend a little at your local stores, try and do your part to get the economy moving again, don't just leave it to Washington or Wall Street.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
First color TV
Someone mentioned the "great Sony TV Joe bought" on a previous comment. I laughed, figuring the statute of limitations had clearly run out on something that happened over 34 years ago.
Little did I relize I am still in the marital doghouse, with room, it appears for Kevin, strictly as a bad influence. When I mentioned it, all of the anger quickly was brought back.
Here's the honest story. In 1974, when we moved to San Francisco, we lived with Sally and Kevin for about five weeks, just long enough for us to find an apartment, get the lease signed, and move in on July 1.
To be all too honest, we weren't at all worried about cash flow. We were still being paid on twelve month teaching contracts, so we were going to receive, both of us, our full monthly check, close to the end of June, July, and August. Actuallly, it is germane to the story that Suzanne was paid on the 20th of each month, Joe on the
25th.
So about June 23, Suzanne's paycheck arrived in the mail. Now we were going to need a television in the next couple weeks, Suzanne already had a job, and Joe was starting one on July 15, so cash was next to no concern. Therefore, Kevin and I shot down to Eber Electronics, which by the way, remained in business in the same location until just a couple years ago. I also bought my first cd player there, in the early 1980s.
Well, it did not take us long to pick out a brand new Sony 17 inch color television. It was a KV-1722, and it was beyond wonderful. Here's a link, cut and paste to see picture: http://store.vintagepaperads.com/servlet/-strse-18163/1975-Sony-Trinitron-KV-dsh-1722/Detail
The decision to purchase might very well have been affected by an upcoming three game televised series the Giants were playing in Los Angeles.
Now, I am sure I discussed this at length, and no one shoulsd have been surprised, or upset 34 years later. The fact that it took one whole monthly paycheck, almost exactly, for a 17 inch TV seems a little steep now, particularly as you see what you can buy for about the same amount of money, but we could afford it easily enough and the television gave us years of faithful service.
Of course, after remote controls became common, it was easy to decide not to fix it when it malfuntioned about twenty years later, after we had moved back to Nebraska.
I certainly can't say it did not serve us very well, even if it cost a month's salary.
But I sure think I should not still be in trouble for the purchase.
Little did I relize I am still in the marital doghouse, with room, it appears for Kevin, strictly as a bad influence. When I mentioned it, all of the anger quickly was brought back.
Here's the honest story. In 1974, when we moved to San Francisco, we lived with Sally and Kevin for about five weeks, just long enough for us to find an apartment, get the lease signed, and move in on July 1.
To be all too honest, we weren't at all worried about cash flow. We were still being paid on twelve month teaching contracts, so we were going to receive, both of us, our full monthly check, close to the end of June, July, and August. Actuallly, it is germane to the story that Suzanne was paid on the 20th of each month, Joe on the
25th.
So about June 23, Suzanne's paycheck arrived in the mail. Now we were going to need a television in the next couple weeks, Suzanne already had a job, and Joe was starting one on July 15, so cash was next to no concern. Therefore, Kevin and I shot down to Eber Electronics, which by the way, remained in business in the same location until just a couple years ago. I also bought my first cd player there, in the early 1980s.
Well, it did not take us long to pick out a brand new Sony 17 inch color television. It was a KV-1722, and it was beyond wonderful. Here's a link, cut and paste to see picture: http://store.vintagepaperads.com/servlet/-strse-18163/1975-Sony-Trinitron-KV-dsh-1722/Detail
The decision to purchase might very well have been affected by an upcoming three game televised series the Giants were playing in Los Angeles.
Now, I am sure I discussed this at length, and no one shoulsd have been surprised, or upset 34 years later. The fact that it took one whole monthly paycheck, almost exactly, for a 17 inch TV seems a little steep now, particularly as you see what you can buy for about the same amount of money, but we could afford it easily enough and the television gave us years of faithful service.
Of course, after remote controls became common, it was easy to decide not to fix it when it malfuntioned about twenty years later, after we had moved back to Nebraska.
I certainly can't say it did not serve us very well, even if it cost a month's salary.
But I sure think I should not still be in trouble for the purchase.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Harvey Milk
Everyone meets or sees someone who is famous or near famous in their lifetime. In my lifetime I have seen a lot of the near famous or locally famous, but have run into a few who were more nationally known. For example, Taj Mahal (blues musician), once used the phone in our flat on Liberty street in San Francisco. Sally asked him to leave a few bucks for the call. So much for our interaction with famous.
In about 1973 Sally and I moved into our first apartment in San Francisco. We had been sharing quarters with Dick and Cherrill since 1970 so this was a big jump. The apartment was located on upper 17th St and was about 4 or so blocks from Castro Street.
The Castro valley was in a great location. West of the mission district, Southeast of the Haight and at the foot of Twin Peaks. Our place was just off Market Street and a great place to catch transportation to our jobs downtown.
It was in those early days that we meet Harvey Milk. I wouldn't pretend that we had a personal relationship with him, but we did shop at his camera store so we felt we knew him. We certainly did talk to him and made purchases so we were like family :-)
We moved off of 17th just before Chris was born in 1975 and moved out to the avenues. The Castro area continued to change as the gay culture moved into the area in full force. Prior to that I thought that Polk street was the primary area for the gay culture. Whatever the case the Castro was the quite the place.
All of this leads me the new movie about Harvey and the actions of Dan White on 11/27/78. I am excited to see the movie, not because of the violence, but because we were there. I mean, in the City and in my case a few blocks from City Hall when the shootings took place. The streets filled with police as I tried to make my way down Polk street and on with my day. It was until I had left the area did I hear of the shootings.
So much for my famous contacts, how about your famous encounters? How many can you remember and how many did you actually interact with? For example, I wish I could say I talked to Nixon when he walked by us at Kearney State College, but alas I didn't. How about you?
This is not a hijack, but your blogger just changed identities. I sent an email to Kevin and asked if I could add on to this draft. OK, when I set this blog up I had no intention of using it to tag-team the unsuspecting readers.
However, as I was checking up on the draft that showed up, I realized why I thought in terms of blogging with someone else. The perspectives Kevin and bring to the first approximately fifteen years of adulthood is remarkably the same. So, here is how Kevin responded when I asked permission to add on to this entry, instead of commenting or writing my own view:
"Be my guest. I was just rambling (30 years and all) a bit about HM and was actually thinking about the way the Castro area was in the mid 70s and how lives are intertwined in a city so big, yet so small.
Go ahead and edit the piece also, I have no pride of authorship. I thought of you guys, the break-in of the VW, the place we got our hair cuts (next to the theater) and our small, but fun little flat."
I think he is unreasonably modest, because he really got me thinking long and hard about not just the mid to late 70s, but all of those times our lives intersected. We not only saw Richard Nixon, up close. but he gave us a little sneer, as we manned a table passing out information for a rival.
But the Castro era, about 1974 until 1977 for us, was great times. From haircuts at the March Hair, to Aquarius Records, to frozen yogurt at the Double Rainbow to good old 4301 17th St., it was grand times. We lived with Kevin and Sally for a long month before we got our first place, just up the side of Twin Peaks, apartments designed for people moving from the midwest to the big city.
When the Jonestown incident happened on November 19, 1978, it was beyond belief. Over 900 dead, most of whom were Bay Area people. We drove by the People's Temple, feeling a morbid curiosity. We had no idea something with a far bigger impact was just over a week away.
We too knew Harvey Milk, both from shopping at his camera store. and by his incessant campaigning. He would meet each 8 Market bus that let its passengers off at the intersection of Castro, 17th, and Divisadero. The city had just switched from an at large manner of electing supervisors, the San Francisco equivalent of city councilpersons, to geographical areas each having its own supervisor. This allowed Harvey to get elected, but it also allowed a virtually unknown young man, who had quit being both a cop and a fireman, to be elected to the board of supes. Harvey was always willing to talk politics and current events as I would wait for the next bus I needed to get to my Twin Peaks apartment. I remember one afternoon, telling him I lived in the next district to the west, and asking him for a recommendation. He thoughtfully, carefully named several people running that he thought he could work with, and that I could support. I forget details, but he included one person he described as much more conservative than he, but that I could consider. I'm guessing he was pegging me as a straight man from say, Nebraska, who might not be as liberal as the typical San Franciscan. Little did he know.
Now about the most famous person I have ever talked to: I know I cannot compare to my eldest, who has talked to Bill Clinton and Warren Buffett. I suppose the single most famous person that I personally knew was Sandy Dennis, Oscar and Tony award winning actress, who used to baby-sit me in Hastings, Nebraska. She charmingly told Suzanne about getting in trouble for letting me go to bed while chewing gum, which ended up in my hair. I have absolutely no recollection of this.
We did once sit in a theatre in San Francisco in the same row as Bobby Riggs, shortly after Billie Jean King kicked him in tennis.
So, as Kevin wants to know, who have you met/talked to/seen up close?
In about 1973 Sally and I moved into our first apartment in San Francisco. We had been sharing quarters with Dick and Cherrill since 1970 so this was a big jump. The apartment was located on upper 17th St and was about 4 or so blocks from Castro Street.
The Castro valley was in a great location. West of the mission district, Southeast of the Haight and at the foot of Twin Peaks. Our place was just off Market Street and a great place to catch transportation to our jobs downtown.
It was in those early days that we meet Harvey Milk. I wouldn't pretend that we had a personal relationship with him, but we did shop at his camera store so we felt we knew him. We certainly did talk to him and made purchases so we were like family :-)
We moved off of 17th just before Chris was born in 1975 and moved out to the avenues. The Castro area continued to change as the gay culture moved into the area in full force. Prior to that I thought that Polk street was the primary area for the gay culture. Whatever the case the Castro was the quite the place.
All of this leads me the new movie about Harvey and the actions of Dan White on 11/27/78. I am excited to see the movie, not because of the violence, but because we were there. I mean, in the City and in my case a few blocks from City Hall when the shootings took place. The streets filled with police as I tried to make my way down Polk street and on with my day. It was until I had left the area did I hear of the shootings.
So much for my famous contacts, how about your famous encounters? How many can you remember and how many did you actually interact with? For example, I wish I could say I talked to Nixon when he walked by us at Kearney State College, but alas I didn't. How about you?
This is not a hijack, but your blogger just changed identities. I sent an email to Kevin and asked if I could add on to this draft. OK, when I set this blog up I had no intention of using it to tag-team the unsuspecting readers.
However, as I was checking up on the draft that showed up, I realized why I thought in terms of blogging with someone else. The perspectives Kevin and bring to the first approximately fifteen years of adulthood is remarkably the same. So, here is how Kevin responded when I asked permission to add on to this entry, instead of commenting or writing my own view:
"Be my guest. I was just rambling (30 years and all) a bit about HM and was actually thinking about the way the Castro area was in the mid 70s and how lives are intertwined in a city so big, yet so small.
Go ahead and edit the piece also, I have no pride of authorship. I thought of you guys, the break-in of the VW, the place we got our hair cuts (next to the theater) and our small, but fun little flat."
I think he is unreasonably modest, because he really got me thinking long and hard about not just the mid to late 70s, but all of those times our lives intersected. We not only saw Richard Nixon, up close. but he gave us a little sneer, as we manned a table passing out information for a rival.
But the Castro era, about 1974 until 1977 for us, was great times. From haircuts at the March Hair, to Aquarius Records, to frozen yogurt at the Double Rainbow to good old 4301 17th St., it was grand times. We lived with Kevin and Sally for a long month before we got our first place, just up the side of Twin Peaks, apartments designed for people moving from the midwest to the big city.
When the Jonestown incident happened on November 19, 1978, it was beyond belief. Over 900 dead, most of whom were Bay Area people. We drove by the People's Temple, feeling a morbid curiosity. We had no idea something with a far bigger impact was just over a week away.
We too knew Harvey Milk, both from shopping at his camera store. and by his incessant campaigning. He would meet each 8 Market bus that let its passengers off at the intersection of Castro, 17th, and Divisadero. The city had just switched from an at large manner of electing supervisors, the San Francisco equivalent of city councilpersons, to geographical areas each having its own supervisor. This allowed Harvey to get elected, but it also allowed a virtually unknown young man, who had quit being both a cop and a fireman, to be elected to the board of supes. Harvey was always willing to talk politics and current events as I would wait for the next bus I needed to get to my Twin Peaks apartment. I remember one afternoon, telling him I lived in the next district to the west, and asking him for a recommendation. He thoughtfully, carefully named several people running that he thought he could work with, and that I could support. I forget details, but he included one person he described as much more conservative than he, but that I could consider. I'm guessing he was pegging me as a straight man from say, Nebraska, who might not be as liberal as the typical San Franciscan. Little did he know.
Now about the most famous person I have ever talked to: I know I cannot compare to my eldest, who has talked to Bill Clinton and Warren Buffett. I suppose the single most famous person that I personally knew was Sandy Dennis, Oscar and Tony award winning actress, who used to baby-sit me in Hastings, Nebraska. She charmingly told Suzanne about getting in trouble for letting me go to bed while chewing gum, which ended up in my hair. I have absolutely no recollection of this.
We did once sit in a theatre in San Francisco in the same row as Bobby Riggs, shortly after Billie Jean King kicked him in tennis.
So, as Kevin wants to know, who have you met/talked to/seen up close?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
November Musings
I had dental work today, three quadrants needed to be numbed in order to complete a few things that were topped off by a crown prep. Worse than the colonoscopy. If you have ever had a crown you will recognize the part where the dentist asks you to confirm that your bite is correct. My mouth was so numb I wasn't sure I had teeth.
When you go for an eye exam they ask you a similar question, "which is better"? Frankly I am surprised anyone gets fitted correctly. You never have these issues with a colonoscopy, no questions at all...just count backwards.
Jimmy Carl Black, the acerbic drummer of Frank Zappa’s mischievous and innovative rock band the Mothers of Invention, died recently and on Wednesday Mitch Mitchell, lone surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience died. Mitch was just in Omaha...I never go to the right concerts. Interesting that two rock drummers just died, isn't this done in threes?
However on a sadder note, Herb Score former member of the Cleveland Indians passed away. Score was the American League rookie of the year in 1955, when he had a 16-10 record, 2.85 earned run average and 245 strikeouts, tops in the major leagues and a record for a rookie that stood for 29 years. He went 20-9 in 1956 with a 2.53 E.R.A. and was again the strikeout leader with 263. I won't speak to his baseball tragedy, but I will always remember his brief, but promising career. He also played a key role on my dice baseball team.
When you go for an eye exam they ask you a similar question, "which is better"? Frankly I am surprised anyone gets fitted correctly. You never have these issues with a colonoscopy, no questions at all...just count backwards.
Jimmy Carl Black, the acerbic drummer of Frank Zappa’s mischievous and innovative rock band the Mothers of Invention, died recently and on Wednesday Mitch Mitchell, lone surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience died. Mitch was just in Omaha...I never go to the right concerts. Interesting that two rock drummers just died, isn't this done in threes?
However on a sadder note, Herb Score former member of the Cleveland Indians passed away. Score was the American League rookie of the year in 1955, when he had a 16-10 record, 2.85 earned run average and 245 strikeouts, tops in the major leagues and a record for a rookie that stood for 29 years. He went 20-9 in 1956 with a 2.53 E.R.A. and was again the strikeout leader with 263. I won't speak to his baseball tragedy, but I will always remember his brief, but promising career. He also played a key role on my dice baseball team.
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