Only in Sebastopol ~ July 4, 2015

Have a Safe and Sane Day

The Apple Blossom Parade in April marked the debut of the Sebastopol Slow Down Cat created by local artist Patrick Amiot. He's all about recycle, repurpose and reuse.

He felt the portable sculpture could enhance local traffic safety while building further goodwill between the community and the police department. You never know where our Safety Cat is going to show up, but he always brings awareness and a smile. Patrick's sculptures can be spotted all around town and there are a number of them on Florence Avenue, always a fun walk to share with visiting friends. 

For more about Patrick visit his new website at http://www.patrickamiot.com/

Into The Wild Blue Yonder, Part I ~ May 26-28, 2015

May 26th ~ Off we go into the wild blue yonder. If we don't have it with us we don't need it. First stop East West Cafe in downtown Sebastopol for breakfast. The house is clean and the refrigerator empty, what better excuse to do you need?

First stop is a visit with my aunt and her husband in Durham. Our favorite way to get there from here is north to Hopland, east around Clear Lake to Williams and from there to Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, a gorgeous drive with no traffic. We discovered a restaurant and little general store in Williams, called Granzella's. Great lunch and worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood. Once in Oroville, we checked into the hotel, let Betty and Bob know we had landed and called it a day.

May 27th ~ We spent all day Wednesday with them at their place. Rod did a ton of yard work and pruning and I got a little work done in the house while they napped. I found some more pieces of the puzzle about my grandfather's quest to expose "The Big Business Sons of Bitches" in the form of a couple of newspaper articles and letters, which Betty kindly let me bring home. We had a nice long visit. Early evening we headed back to Feather Falls for dinner at the Brew Pub. Nice touch is a TV at the table so we could watch the Giants. 

May 28th ~ When we checked out at Feather Falls we asked about a large photo of three rocks on wall behind the desk. She told us it was photographed at Big Bald Rock a short drive up Hwy 162 near Berry Creek, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. It's called a granite batholith which is a large body of igneous rock formed beneath the Earth’s surface by the solidification of magma and can have a surface exposure of up to 40 square miles. Many of them have a depth of 6 to 9 miles. 

Finding the spot was a challenge because you can't see anything from the road due to the dense forest. We retraced our steps a few miles and spotted the trail head. A short walk along a forest path and suddenly the landscape changes. It's a popular climbing and camping spot, but we didn't see another soul. 

My Old Mountain Goat

We threaded our way up the slope, figuring how to best traverse spaces between large rocks without hurting ourselves (these days there is no shame in sliding down a short, steep slope on your butt). The reward was a magnificent view of the entire Sacramento Valley. Imagine spending a night under the stars up there?

Next stop is Chester, about 80 miles north via Highways 99, 32 and 36. Got in later afternoon and checked into the Best Western. Discovered  great little place called the Kopper Kettle for dinner just a short walk down the road. Turned in early, tomorrow is another adventure. 

Happy Birthday Daddy ~ June 24th

Boys and their rides. This was Daddy's beloved 39 Lincoln Zephyr 2 door coupe. He and mom were on a week long camping trip at Silver Creek in the Sierras. Another note mentioned they didn't see another soul the whole time they were there ~ how perfect is that?

The comment below was typed on the back, no doubt by my mom after their return. The Edsel mentioned was of course Edsel Ford, brother to Henry and one of the designers. I don't know if they ever sent the letter but it would have been a hoot to find out. 

Mom and Dad, You are always in my heart, kindred souls who took the roads less traveled and taught me to be fearless. 

Father's Day and Dream Machines ~ June 21, 2015

Happy Father's Day to my favorite motor head, you taught me early to love the sound of a healthy V-8, will miss you always Daddy.

William Griffith Macdonald

So you think you had fun today? We spent most of the morning at the 21st Annual Show and Shine classic car show in Julliard Park in Santa Rosa. A perfect summer day to say the least.

How'd ya like to cruise Route 66 in this bad boy hauling a vintage Airstream Bambi?

When style ruled the road 

 The license plate says "Hemified"

A rag top with credentials

 We loved this puppy but are no longer of the age

where we can to get down into and climb up out of.

 Can you hear me now?

We asked the owner if he'd take a photo of us standing by the car and his response was "You want to get in?" Yeah Baby!

We had a great lunch under the trees at the park and decided on the way back home to hit the Farmers Market in Sebastopol (The peaches and blueberries are perfect right now) and go the the movies. If you haven't read the book or seen the film entitled "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" put it on your must do list. 

De-Liver Me Tour ~ Fashionista Update ~ June 15, 2015

O'Dark Thirty: We left home at 5:45 am to get to UCSF by 7:30. Time to take care of some unfinished business. There is a small residual hepatocellular carcinoma near one of my existing tumors, Audrey or Carmine that needs to be decommissioned with another TACE. 

Live Entertainment: After registering, you change into a fetching ensemble of mismatched pants, gown, robe and slipper socks and then get to park your butt in the waiting room until called. It's a chuckle for all patients, no matter how nervous they might be about what's ahead. This of course is my 7th rodeo so I'm leading the pack vamping it up for photos.

 

The Nerve Center: Next stop is the six bed nerve center where nurses are prepping patients for procedures or taking care of patients just returning from said procedures: resting up until they're released or moved to rooms. It's a fine tuned operation of controlled chaos with a team of nurses who keep the impossible moving smoothly. They all love what they do and it shows.

Chaos

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Stumping the Professionals: Sometimes things don't go as planned. I spent 3 hours in the procedure room with the resident intern, my doctor and then the head of the Interventional Radiology Department. They were a determined trio, but the location of the small tumor prevented them from reaching their destination to do the TACE. Time was called and I returned to the "nerve center" where I started out this morning. Standard protocol is that you have to spend 6 hours flat on your back to make sure the incision in in your groin doesn't bleed. Once given some pain medication for my shoulder (often a side effect of liver exploration) I could relax and take it all in. It was at times noisy, entertaining, poignant and uplifting. They finally let me up to dress around 5 pm so I could be released.

Rod's Story: For Rod the whole day was a waiting game. He did get a three mile walk in, treated himself to a good lunch, took a nap, did some reading and listened the Giants game. Trooper Boy. 

Lost in Translation: When he returned at 5:15 to pick me up he told the front desk that he knew where I was (he'd met with my doctor and seen me when I came back from the procedure). However, the reception desk's records said I'd been moved up to the new overnight accommodations on the sixth floor. They weren't about to let him wander down the hall until they'd confirmed my whereabouts. He said the supervisor was getting really frustrated because no one was answering upstairs and some of numbers on their call sheet were incorrect. Amused at the confusion he just kept quiet and watched it play out until one of the recovery room nurses came down the hall to fetch him. A small comedy of errors that I reckon has been set straight by now. 

Never leave the City during the Commute: We get on the road about 5:45 never the time to be heading north out of San Francisco. It was a freaking zoo, I cannot believe humans do this everyday. After almost getting caught up in a potential accident we got smart and stopped at the Wild Fox Restaurant near Novato for a bite to eat and watch the beginning of the NBA playoffs. By the time we hit the road again, there was no traffic and we were home in time for the second half of the game to watch the Warriors spank the Cavaliers. 

Plan B: Acronym of the Day: My docs decided that Plan B would be Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy or SBRT. There are two facilities that provide the service, Kaiser South San Francisco and UCSF. My docs at UCSF want me to continue to be treated there and are already working with my local Kaiser to get the approvals. We have plans for August in Canada and I want to get this party started.

I'm just learning about the treatment but it means that a specially designed coordinate-system is used for the detecting the exact location of the tumor in the liver and it's then treated with a limited but highly precise single dose of radiation. Non invasive, few side effects. More on this as I get better informed. 

Post Script: We got home to find a small bag hanging on the front door. In it was ceramic spirit bear made by my neighbor Khysie. There are no words for the circle of friends who surround and support us. He resides in a special place to watch over us.

De-Liver Me Tour ~ A Little Magic ~ June 15, 2015

We just returned from a couple of weeks of free range exploration in Northern California and Oregon, a well deserved time out before we head to UCSF tomorrow for my 7th TACE treatment. Journals and photos to come in the next couple of weeks. For now I'm taking you on a little side trip.

On the way home, June 9th, we headed south from Bandon to McKinleyville to spend the night with friends Tom and Linda. One of the prettiest sections of the journey on Highway 101 is from Crescent City to Eureka through the redwoods. As we started down the ridge towards Eureka we spotted a juvenile Black Bear at the treeline. In the many decades we've traveled this road this was our first sighting. This had to be some sort of sign. When we got home I looked up Bear Medicine. Clear as a bell. 

California Black Bear

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When you invoke the power of the bear totem, reflect on the qualities of inner strength, fearlessness, and confidence in yourself and how you can project them in your world. Since the bear is often associated with shamans in many traditions, this spirit animal can symbolize healing abilities and stepping into the role of the healer. Standing against adversity; taking action and leadership.The essence of Bear teaches us how to dream what is desired into physical reality. 

Post Script: The doctor doing my procedure tomorrow called this morning to introduce himself and remind me when to be there, to fast after midnight, and that I would, as before, be there overnight. I told him I had a very important question and he "sure anything". What I wanted to know was if the televisions in the recovery section (at each bedside with headphones) got the local station that will be televising the NBA finals (I am not normally a basketball fan, but we all have the fever this time around). He said "I think so, but as a back up plan bring your iPad. They have WiFi and you can probably stream the game". How's that for patient support and customer service? Off to San Francisco at o'dark thirty. 

Tombstone Series ~ Those Big Business Sons of Bitches ~ Letter to Donovan Richardson ~ November 10, 1949

The following is a letter written by my grandfather, John Sherman Bagg, to Donovan Richardson, Chief Editorial Writer of the Christian Science Monitor. The original is typed on onion skin paper, both sides, and would have been unreadable if scanned. The few letters I have tell only part of the story, but I find them fascinating none the less. 

As a miner and mining engineer, grandfather had a unique perspective and intimate knowledge the conditions miners were forced to work under. During his time in Washington, DC he also took on Standard Oil, Land Grant Railroads, Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department to expose the "thefting and framing" of the American public out of billions of dollars of mineral rights. He felt it was his mission to bring the heat to the feet of those "Big Business Sons of Bitches". 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

La Salle Hotel

Washington 6, DC

November 10th, 1949

Donovan Richardson, Esq. 
Editor, Christian Science Monitor
1 Norway Street, Boston, 15, Mass

My Dear Donovan Richardson:

I am impelled, by the almost unanimous attitudes of the press, in their condemnation of John L. Lewis, to inquire into the situation a bit. 

I can understand and in a measure sympathize with the reporters and editors of newspapers whose news and editorials must temper their reporting and comment, with one eye and or ear on the income from advertising. But in the case of the Monitor, this is not deterrent to free reporting and honest comment. 

Throughout the recent battle between Mr. Lewis and the coal mine owners, Mr. Lewis appears to be the sole and only villain, who is starving his miners, boosting the price of Coal, so that General Motors cannot pay its top brass hundreds of thousands in salaries and bonuses, and fill the news columns full of boast and bombast, that they have just declared the greatest dividend to stockholders in their history. 

Did you ever stop to realize that the $26,000,000,000 (26 billion) in Kentucky is really stored labor? Labor which the labored DIDN'T get paid for? Did you ever stop to realize that coal in the ground is stored sunlight?  And that without labor, IT COULD NOT BE UTILIZED again? 

Did you ever work underground in a mine 11 1/2 hours per day, portal to portal, for $2.50 per day, less board and lodging, and come off shift so tired that you had to bomb your guts with 3 cups of black coffee before you could coax them into excepting what passed for food?

I worked under those conditions, in the mine that the Miners Union blew up in Idaho two years before I went there (The Dynamite Express, Bunker Hill Mine, Coeur d'Alene Mining District, April 29, 1899). It was the Big Bill Haywoods and Gompers and Greens and John L Lewises, that corrected those "Free enterprise" abuses. Today, that same mine is building homes for its men, offering them every inducement to bring their families and get a minimum of $10 per day for eight hours portal to portal. They are no longer animals to be worked to death and thrown over the dump, but reclaimed, self respecting Americans, supporting and fighting for their birthright. 

It was the Big Bill Haywoods, Gompers, Greens and John L Lewises, that brought that about. I wonder if you ever thought of making a trip to the coal fields and seeing just what the conditions are in those spots. Have you ever seriously tried to look at this problem through the eyes of the men who spend their sunlight hours in the damp dark? These are what we are trying to build a democracy with. A Christian democracy.

You know, Lincoln and Douglas met and debated the issues. Dulles asked Lehman to do the same thing but he ducked issue. I wonder if the Monitor would start a debate column using the present reporters, and news sources, and give me the free use of the other side of the debate? I can assure you that I could paint a very different picture than the one that is being vended as honest news.

Just so you won't think that I am trying to help the John L Lewis HOLD WHAT HE HAS HIJACKED out of poverty stricken "free enterprise", I will add that I think that he should stick to the battlefield until he has doubled the take his men are now getting, and then he would still be on the short end of the ledger. 

Have you ever studied how the farmers have and are licking the "Free Enterprise Profit System" through their co-operatives. That according to the 1936 (not 1946) U.S. Government reports, refunded over $40,000,000 in profits to their members? 

Do you know, that at a recent meeting of the Coal, Oil, Miners Union, that the free enterprise boys had the BIG JITTERS for fear that John L. Lewis was going to announce that the UMW was going into co-operative COAL? 

Do you know that the Farmer's Co-ops have licked the fertilizer trust, and have the big oil tycoons on the run with their Co-op ownership of over 100,000 BBLS daily capacity oil refineries, marketing facilities, and producing oil wells? 

Have you ever read Kipling's "Sons of Martha"? I commend it to your reading very soon.

I know what you face, I fully sympathize with your inhibitions in getting a clear, unbiased slant at the factual picture when so much is arrayed against you. Hence this loving, pointed, thoroughly brotherly unadorned screed. 

Via con Dios and Good Hunting 
Sincerely, 
John Sherman Bagg   

Here is the he response received from Donovan Richardson                           

De-Liver Me Tour ~ The Fog is Lifting ~ May 17, 2015

The State of Kerfuffle has started to sort itself out. I will be able to have my next TACE done at Interventional Radiology at UCSF. It appears one of my hepatocellular carcinomas, Audrey or Carmine, has attempted a breakout and we need to shut down the escape route. This will be TACE number seven, which also happens to be my favorite number. I've never really looked up its attributes but decided to do a little research.

Morning Fog

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In numerology the #7 is the seeker and not just a lucky number: spiritual, intelligent, focused, intuitive, persevering, contemplative and gracious. In other disciplines #7 represents a natural healer, psychic abilities, inner peace, endurance, wisdom, ability to bear hardships, independent, quick-wit, non-conformist, and writer. I may know her. The number seven is lucky for Cancer and Pisces. Couldn't help but see the irony in this one: I'm a Pisces.

Healing Dream

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Time Out ~ Before the return trip to UCSF we're taking one of our infamous "Do We Turn Right or Left" road trips. We're taking off May 26th, the 34th (3+4=7) anniversary of our meeting at the Fort Ross Volunteer Fire Department Picnic in Cazadero, and will return around June 12th. The only promises to keep are a visit to my 96 year old Aunt in Durham May 26-27 and to be in Canby, OR by June 5-6 to visit family and celebrate our grand niece's graduation.

One stop we want to make on the way north is Oregon Caves National Monument near Cave Junction. The last time we were there in 1998 Rod couldn't explore the caves because he was using a cane. We did however spend an eventful night in the haunted suite on the 3rd floor of the Chateau. Looking forward to another experience and a hike in the caverns. 

Vintage Travel Poster 

Found on Pinterest

Otherwise we are playing it pretty much by ear. Rod wants to do some fishing so that may include the Trinity, Klammath and Smith Rivers.  We have friends to see in Hillsboro and time to toddle south down the Oregon and California coast on the way home. If it's warm enough in Gold Beach we'll do Jerry's Jet Boat trip up the Rogue River to Agnes for the day. An adventure not to be missed.

Hillsboro Heaven

Back to Reality ~ My TACE appointment at UCSF is June 16-17. Our friends Alice and John have graciously offered to let Rod stay in their guest room while I enjoy another overnight at the infamous UCSF Recovery Spa: bad food, a slamming door, alarms and a cranky ice machine. However, the doctors, nurses and staff are the best. A couple of weeks recovery and I should be ready for the Annual 4th of July Pancake Breakfast That Lasts All Day gathering at our place. More from the road once we return.

The De-Liver Me Tour ~ State of Kerfuffle ~ April 28, 2015

Heavens to Murgatroyd, my last De-Liver Me Tour update, The Game Changer, was on February 5th. My apologies for the delay, but by the time you finish this you'll totally get why. 

Reclaimed wood sign

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First off I'm totally recovered from the early January surgery to remove my spleen and the tumor on the tail of my pancreas. We're back walking 1-4 miles a day, gardening, spending time with friends and neighbors and planning road trips for summer and fall. Now, on with the chapter at hand.

Can you spell Kerfuffle? How appropriate that this descriptive word originated with my Scottish ancestors: 

• Confusion, disorder, chaos, or fuss
• A minor disturbance
• Smaller than a contretemps, larger than a snag
• Involving more people than a SNAFU or a stink
• A social imbroglio or brouhaha

01/06/15 ~ Received notice from UCSF that I had been removed from the liver transplant list, no mention that the authorization for continuing care was cancelled by Kaiser. 

02/02/15 ~ Received Letter of Authorization from Kaiser extending coverage of medical care at UCSF Liver Transplant Department through 02/27/16. Say What?

02/10/15 ~ Appointment with my doctors at UCSF, at request of Kaiser to review continuation of Hep C medication. Original order was to treat only until transplant, not through full cycle of 24 weeks. Kaiser was questioning whether treatments should continue. UCSF told Kaiser it was in my best interests to continue the regimen for full 24 weeks (through April). It won't change any outcomes with the cancer, but will take some of the burden off my compromised liver. UCSF received approval to finish Hep C regimen. 

03/10/15 ~ Quarterly MRI done at Kaiser, verbally requested by my doctors at UCSF and Kaiser. We're talking stem to stern, top to bottom, the organ parade. 

03/18/15 ~ Received a summary of MRI assessment from my gastroenterologist at Kaiser. All the news was good except for an undecipherable comment about my liver. My first response was WTF does this mean? 

"Vague, nebulous enhancement is detected immediately caudal to treated lesion in the posterior aspect of right hepatic dome as demonstrated on image 19 of series 8. No discrete, early arterially enhancing lesion with rapid washout is seen within liver." 

Daily walks around Sebastopol: perfect Kerfuffle antidote. 

Ragle Park

03/19/15 ~ Contacted my Kaiser gastroenterologist and requested a translation to plain English, but even she didn't know what to make of it. 

• Emailed my Kaiser/UCSF Coordinator (based in Oakland) and ask her to make sure MRI and assessment got to my UCSF doctors since they had been treating me since 2013. 
• She explained I no longer had a coordinator since I was off the transplant list and she couldn't help me. She said my Kaiser doctor would have to request an authorization, but not how to do it. Argh!

03/24/15 ~ Emailed my backup doctor at UCSF (primary doc on maternity leave) about MRI. She said she'd request further information from Kaiser and would get back to me.

04/01/15 ~ Hello anyone home? Still no word from Kaiser or UCSF. I emailed my Kaiser gastroenterologist again. She had been able to reach UCSF doctor who said she'd ask for MRI images and that a verbal authorization is enough for them for now. Not sure that would fly, she placed a written request for authorization as well. 

04/02/15 ~ Received a written authorization for medical care through 09/30/15 and it requested I make an appointment with my UCSF doctor. I set it up for May 11th. The same day I received a call from UCSF that the authorization hadn't been received, even though it had been faxed twice by Kaiser to number given by UCSF. Really?

04/09/15 ~ Received call from scheduling at UCSF who wanted clarification on Authorization and what it was for and ask that I fax her a copy. Seriously, she's asking me? She also said authorizations are usually only for one visit, not multiple visits through end date. My guess is that the authorization only covered review of my MRI. 

04/17/15 ~ Got word that the UCSF Tumor Board had met and recommended another TACE on an area previously treated, there may be a small residual tumor there. Sounds like one of my pet hepatocarcinomas, Audrey or Carmine, has busted a seam and stepped out of bounds. Since I'm no longer on transplant list the TACE requested may be performed at Kaiser San Rafael, but even that isn't clear at the moment. Still haven't heard from them. 

UCSF has not been at all clear on this transition and hasn't communicated what they need from Kaiser departments, doctors or me for that matter. On the other side of the coin, UCSF says Kaiser is not very cooperative about protocol and picky about what they'll approve.

"So what we have here is failure to communicate"

Strother Martin ~ Cool Hand Luke

"The single biggest problem in communication 
is the illusion that it has taken place."

George Bernard Shaw

Oxymoron of the week

"Sounds like Congress in Action"

I said that

My primary doctor at Kaiser is prepared to start rattling cages by the end of the week if this isn't resolved. I found out last night that my primary doc at UCSF returns on May 5th. She sent me a message to give her a call. Perhaps we can finally get this train out of the station.

Train

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Tombstone Series ~ Those Big Business Sons of Bitches Part II

Sorry for the delay in publication of Those Big Business Sons of Bitches Part II. Life just sometimes gets in the way of plans. Part I was published on March 17th. The "Tombstone Series" tag will take you right there. 

And now Part II of the "reduced history" of John Sherman Bagg by John Sherman Bagg.

"And now we take up the career of Lt. John Blake on General Washington's staff. He was mustered out as a Major General and took script and with Brewer they went to Holden, Maine near Bangor and took up homesteads. General Blake (married Marie Dupree) and his daughter married a Kidder, whose daughter (Sarah Blake Kidder) married a Hayes, whose daughter (Sarah Blake Kidder Hayes) married a (Uriah) Winchester and had three children: Sarah Augusta, Charlotte Maria, my mother Charlotte, and Robert Fulton Winchester. When Robert graduated from Bowdoin as a doctor, he went on a wind jammer as ship's doctor around the horn. Arriving in San Francisco he heard of the disastrous Scourge of Small Pox in San Jose and he jumped ship, peeled off his coat and tied into it.

One of the victims was Colonel (William Welles) Hollister of Santa Barbara. After the epidemic was whipped or died out, Colonel Hollister sent for him (Robert Winchester) and sponsored him. He opened a practice in Santa Barbara and a hospital and clinic on Las Armitas. Here we came upon Robert's sister Charlotte Maria and Stanley Chipman Bagg, taking horse back rides at the ranch and eventually marrying with a daughter, Katherine. A scourge of grasshoppers cleaned them out. 

My dad gathered four mules and a wagon and two tons of beans and drove to Hardyville on the Colorado River above Needles to the ferry, thence to Dos Cabesas below Fort Bowie, where they discovered and located the Detroit mine. It didn't pan out. Tombstone was beginning to boom so they moved there and dad mined. He finally formed the mercantile firm of Bagg and Barrow."

(John Sherman was supposed to arrive March 17, 1881, but mother Charlotte was not about to have him born in this wild west frontier town so she hopped a stage, then a train, finally a wagon to the Hollister Ranch so her brother, Dr. Robert Winchester, could deliver her son on March 18, 1881. They arrived back in Tombstone the day after the Gunfight at the OK Corral October 27, 1881).

"The Tombstone Epitaph was the only paper and was Republican. The Democrats bunch bought a newspaper plant and started the Daily Prospector to compete. The editor was soused beyond usefulness two thirds of the time, so the son of the founder of the Detroit Free Press (my father) was drafted to fill in. After the battle was over and the Republicans were ousted they had no more use for the Prospector so they gave it to Dad to pay for is, as, and when. Later he bought the whipped Epitaph and ran it as a weekly. 

Here is where I enter the picture as a printer's devil feeding the Country Campbell cylinder press, being turned by hand by that big handsome Mr. Jim who chased the bad man, Buckskin Frank Leslie, back to his job as bartender for Wyatt Earp and his brothers in the Crystal Palace Saloon, when he tried to jump Jim's mining claim. Here for three years I was mail boy, delivered the outside route on burro, set and distributed long primer type on Saturday's, ran the press and fed the big Campbell." 

The following was partially excerpted for my blog of December 24, 2012 but in context here it completes the prelude to my Grandfather's quest, he was a man on a mission. 

"When I was 11 my paternal grandmother paid us a visit from Detroit. She wasn't going to have her grandson become a bandit, cow rustler, dirty shirt miner or mule skinner, so she shipped me off and financed my five years in the finest Military Academy in the US, St. Matthews School for Boys. It was rugged and rigid but we had the best professors money could buy in English, Latin, Math, History and overall a West Point Major. Really a fulsome education from 11 to 16, and in uniform all that time with the same routine they had at West Point as far as military was considered.

Out of that to Los Angeles where Dad and Mother had moved after selling out in Tombstone. A year at Los Angeles High School (1897), a year a Pomona College (1898), and a year, eight hours a day in the private lab of Professor Laird J. Stabler where I was grounded in Chemistry, Assaying Cyanide Practice and Mineralogy (1899).

On July 7, 1900 my dad, friend John Vanderburg and I trekked across the desert on a prospecting trip with a two mule team, wagon and assay equipment (each chipped in $150). In September I found the Katherine Mine (named for his sister) in Mojave County. Katherine Landing and trailer camp on Lake Mojave above Davis Dam is named for her. We filed the claim September 16th. Sold out to Charles Sutro of San Francisco (Arizona-Pyramid Gold Mining Company in 1904) and went through Hearst Mining School at UC Berkeley. From there to Nevada where begins my contacts with mooching sons of bitches of big business."

Willing Hearted Work Days at Emandal Farm ~ March 27-29, 2015

Since 2011 we've been attending "Not Just Cowboy Poetry" at Emandal Farm, about 17 miles east of Willits, a fundraiser for the Willits Public Library and Willits Daily Bread. This year's event, September 26th, will feature Dave Stamey, one of our favorite singer/songwriters and Western Entertainer of the Year. Experience great food, live music and the infamous Apple Pie Throw Down. To find out more about Dave go to his website at http://www.davestamey.com/. 

Emandal Farm has something for everyone: family camps, art weekends, Not Just Cowboy Poetry, workshops, and more. You should check out their website and http://emandal.com/ and take a look for yourself. A family camp weekend, a class or a concert may be in your future. 

Fall is beautiful, but Spring we discovered, has magic of it's own. We went up to Emandal for a weekend to volunteer and help Tam ready the farm for visitors: cutting new trails, building stairs, helping with the garden chores, planting, burning slash from the winter storms and editing her new cookbook. 

We arrived late Friday afternoon and got settled in. Next stop was Tam's country kitchen to await other guests and watch the magic happen. Meals are served buffet style on the wrap around counter. There are two large tables in the great room to sit down, share meals and get to know the other volunteers. 

Dinner prep with Tam. 

All food and stock are grown on the farm.  

After a hearty breakfast we scatter with our work crews. I joined up with dirt patrol to help Malanyon move a large amount of compost into various sized containers, transplant seedlings and get them set up in the large greenhouse.

Rod was assigned to help build the Stairway to Heaven (working title) up to one of the cabins. The project was started Saturday and finished Sunday. A couple of days of digging, leveling, pounding pipes and setting boards for 44 steps made for some exhausted, proud and happy campers.

Awaiting the dinner bell

After dinner a walk on the Eel River 

Part of Sunday's Breakfast

Rod fixed pancakes for Lyndon and the rest of the crew

Sunday morning we took on collecting and burning the remaining brush that came down in a winter storm. There was a double Hummer size pile when we started and it was down to a few small piles by the time we finished. Buffalo chainsawed all firewood size branches into logs and this bodacious trio stacked all the fire wood.

Sharon, Margaret and Me

White Lilac

When worked stopped about 1 pm Sunday, we cleaned up and then enjoyed a hearty brunch of left overs out under the apple tree with the crew. We made new friends and experienced a different side of Emandal. It was hard to leave, but we said our goodbyes and left for home about 3 pm. The weather was sunny and warm, night skies brilliant away from civilization. 

Thoughts on Turning Seventy ~ March 17, 2015

As we start crossing thresholds like 30, parents seem to morph into "senior citizens" from our point of view. Wrong assumption! Little do we know about aging and such things until we get here. Mom and Dad retired at 52 and 61 in 1971. They sold the family compound and hit the road for a decade to explore the US and Canada before settling in Arizona. They reinvented themselves, followed their artistic muses, fished, rode trains and made friends around the country. 

As Mark Twain said "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind it doesn't matter." Hell, at 70 I've reached wise woman status and consider myself a true broad, following in the footsteps of the irreverent and forward thinking women of my family.

To celebrate this milestone of a birthday we gathered friends and neighbors for a day filled with great food, stories, laughter and decadent desserts. A BBQ in March you ask? Yup, perfect winter weather, California style. 

Birthday Girl

Special request
Lemon cake with dark chocolate frosting
from neighbor Carol

Green Goddess Lilies from Susi's garden

Before guests arrive

The afternoon: relax, chat and eat dessert

Secret to success in life and aging

Enjoy life, take care of yourself and follow your dreams.  
Question authority, be your own advocate and never stop learning. 
Always trust your gut and keep negative people out of your life.
Give back, pay it forward and take care of your own little corner of the world.
Never take anything for granted and find the humor in all situations. 
Most important is to be who you are and not give a rat's ass about what other people think.  

Some words from a few well known elders:

George Will

After 70: One has the pleasure of playing, as it were, with house money and to have escaped the disagreeable fate of dying young.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.

Helen Hayes
The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.

Maurice Chevalier
The French are true romantics. They feel the only difference between a man of forty and one of seventy is thirty years of experience.

Mark Twain's Recipe for Long Life. 
The New York Times, December 6, 1905

I have achieved my seventy years in the usual way: by sticking strictly to a scheme of life which would kill anybody else. It sounds like an exaggeration, but that is really the common rule for attaining old age. When we examine the programme of any of these garrulous old people we always find that the habits which have preserved them would have decayed us. I will offer here, as a sound maxim this: that we can't reach old age by another man's road.