Jay Leno at his best!

I haven't checked to make sure that Leno said these things but they sure hit home with me!


ATTRIBUTED TO Jay Leno :
As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark
'
The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J... You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats he world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful Heart every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your birdcage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?' Jay Leno

Wild Abandon

So, I've decided that this is my favorite photo from our most recent Yosemite trip. I didn't take the picture but I call it, "Shane praying to the Yosemite water gods". You can add your own caption! It's just a great expression of what's right in Yosemite and Shane's enjoying it with wild abandon - especially after the grueling hike to get to the falls!

quotes

Leadership is doing what is right when no one is watching.
-George Van Valkenburg

No man was ever wise by chance.
-Seneca

Growth in wisdom may be exactly measured by decrease in bitterness.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Don't solve your problems, dissolve your problems--so that they should not recur again.
-Yogi Bhajan

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
-John F. Kennedy

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
-Albert Schweitzer

One must care about a world one will never see.
-Bertrand Russell

That they may have a little peace, even the best dogs are compelled to snarl occasionally.
-William Feather

Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.
-Confucius

When the student is ready, the needed scripture will come.

--By Myke Weber

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
-Tao saying

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
-William Jennings Bryan

believe in yourself

Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.
-Buddha

If you don't run your own life, someone else will.
-John Atkinson

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"Fat" Feet

When I was a child, I felt insecure and embarrassed by my "fat feet". I always wanted to go barefoot and my mom would tell me that my feet would get wider if I was constantly barefoot. I was adopted at birth so she didn't share my characteristics. It has always been a challenge to find shoes that fit! And, with my mom's admonitions that I was making my feet wide, I felt responsible for my funny feet. I had one friend suggest that if I lost weight, that I'd have narrower feet as well. (sigh) Fast forward several years and I find out that my feet are typical of Native Americans/American Indians/Amer-Indians (use whatever term best suits your way of thinking). This is from a documented and often cited research paper about American Indians entitled, "Physical Characteristics" by Laurie Beth Duffy:

Many people are surprised to find the physical characteristics running in their family, indicate they are descendents of Native Americans. At this point I usually have someone who accuses me of perpetuating stereotypes of Native Americans. Well, the characteristics I will mention are all based on medical studies. A little research is all that is needed if someone is interested in the facts behind them.

• High cheekbones where glasses set high on the face and get all smeary on the bottom of the lens. *
• Almond shaped almost oriental looking eyes?
• Lazy eyes in children.
• Heavy "fat" eyelids where the eyelid appears to have an extra fold.
• A melanin (pigmentation) in the back of the eye on the retina peculiar to Native Americans.
  
• "Shovel" teeth, the teeth have a ledge on the backside. Run your tongue across them, they feel almost like a shovel shape. *
• Large front teeth with a slight or more than slight gap. (I have large front teeth, but no gap)
• Lack of the Carrabelli cusp on the maxillary first molars, which is missing in Native Americans. (not sure I have this one)
  
• Large heavy earlobes. *
• Crooked fingers particularly the little finger or pinky. *
• An inverted breastbone. Often called a Chicken Breast. The bone actually makes an indentation in the chest. (not sure I have this one)
  
• Little toes that lie under the next one. *
• A second toe longer than the big toe. *
• A wider space between the big toe and second one. *
• An extra ridge of bone along the outside of the foot. *

(For each characteristic that I personally have, I've marked the list with an asterisk. * )

Other similar articles mention the presence of a dark melanin spot on the base of the spine of newborns, which disappears in time. My second son had this mark!

And back to the story about feet - Nike has come out with a shoe designed specifically for Native American feet!

From the New York Post:

NATIVE AMERICANS TAKE A WALK IN NIKE'S SHOES
By PAUL THARP

September 28, 2007 -- Nike has invented a new sneaker designed for especially for the feet of Native Americans - no joke.

The company said it fielded a few crank queries over its new Air Native N7 from individuals asking if shoes also are being introduced for other ethnic groups.

"We've had a few questions about that regarding other groups, but this is a very serious product," said Nike spokesman Kejuan Wilkins.

He said the Native American sneaker was developed over the past two years at the request of Native American health advocates, because Native Americans have been unable to find sneaker sizes suitable for their much wider feet.

Scientific tests and scans done on 70 tribes by Nike and Native American medical researchers showed that 86 percent of males have a shoe size width of "E" or larger. Among females, 97 percent had a width of "C" or larger, compared to average of "B" widths for non-Native American women.

"It's been a serious problem for Native Americans to find suitable and proper sizes for exercise or sports shoes," said Wilkins, noting that Nike pioneered the oversized sneakers of size 20 and larger for pro basketball players.

One of the Native American researchers who helped develop the sneaker, Dr. Rodney Stapp of the Urban Inter-Tribal Center Dallas, said Native Americans need "the antidote of movement and sport." He said they suffer some of the highest rates of diabetes due in large part to being overweight and inactive.

The sneakers will be sold only through Native American marketing channels, and will be retailed at a steep discount, costing around $40 a pair. Nike said proceeds will go directly to Native American groups.

Two Wolves - A Cherokee Tale

An elder cherokee was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."

The children thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old cherokee simply replied,"The one you feed."

Image and story from: http://www.aaanativearts.com/article658.html

Our Latest Yosemite Trip

In May of 2008, Stan made a passing comment, “When are we going to Yosemite again?” That’s all the encouragement Katie and I needed to search for campsite reservations! We managed to find what appeared to be a cancellation for three short weeks in the future. Most sites book 5 months in advance, so we felt lucky. We grabbed the reservation and invited Ryan and Shane to join us.

On Monday, June 2nd, we left Tehachapi at about 5:30 a.m. We had to stop for our traditional McDonald’s junk food breakfast! It’s only a short 3-hour drive from Tehachapi to Oakhurst, which is just outside the Park. After gassing up (at $5.09 per gallon – yikes!), we made it to the Park entrance to use our “Park Pass” that Katie and I had bought back in March. Erik had work to do here at home and Ryan had college work to turn in, so they weren't able to join us. And, Scott couldn't really get here from Texas for this trip.

We got to the campground about 10 a.m. and had about two hours to spare before we could occupy our campsite. We drove to the Village and had hamburgers for lunch and just enjoyed the cool morning air. Even though June is considered summertime in Yosemite, it still felt like Spring. The deciduous trees were green again and all around was the sound of robins and rushing water. For this year, the peak time for waterflow was about a month ago, but many of the falls were still flowing at a high rate. We hadn't been to Yosemite at this time of year before - we'd either go earlier in the Spring or later in Summer or Fall. This was the PERFECT time to see Yosemite at it's best!

After setting up our camp (site #207 in North Pines Campground in the Valley), we decided to go check out lower Yosemite Falls. We hiked to the base of the Falls where we met two LDS families from Spanish Fork, Utah. We'd brought snacks with us, so we stayed for awhile to enjoy the scenery near the falls. Back at camp, we had chicken fajitas for dinner and a quiet evening of reading and sitting around the campfire.

The next morning (Tuesday, June 3rd), we drove up to the Glacier Point road to locate the trailhead for Taft Point. This was a trail I'd taken as a teenager and then introduced it to Stan last summer. The reason for the large gap between the two visits was that I didn't feel safe taking young children on the hike! Each of the fissures and most of the Taft Point area had serious dropoffs with no guard rails. I thought it best to not worry about children falling off the edge!

This is the view from the Taft Point and Sentinnel Dome trailhead.

There was still some snow on the trail. We had to find a safe way to cross some of the sloshy areas. Katie and I had brought walking sticks so that helped with crossing the snowy areas as well as the stream crossing we had to make.

Getting to Taft Point and the Fissures isn't too bad of a hike - coming back is another story! It's quite a hike back up, especially the first 150 feet of climbing. But the hike is so worth the effort!

This is the view UP the trail on the way back.

Notice the people at the railing at Taft Point.

One of the five fissures.

While we were waiting for Shane and his friend, Daniel, to join us at Glacier Point we took several pictures of Half Dome and Nevada and Vernal Falls. We had a few squirrels and chipmunks to entertain us while we waited.

On Wednesday, Stan, Shane and Daniel were wanting to take a hike. We encouraged them to hike to the bridge where you can see Vernal Falls. They decided to go to the top of the falls, which is a tough, misty hike. These are their pictures!

The view of the falls (and the surrounding mist) paints a beautiful picture and it's what Yosemite is all about.

Daniel standing on the tough steps that lead up to Vernal Falls. The guys were TIRED after this hike!

We went to Curry Village that night for the buffet dinner and then Katie, Shane, & Daniel played Phase 10 (a card game), while I sketched in my sketchbook and Stan warmed himself by the fire he'd built. We stayed up late talking about old times and the good memories we have of the baseball/softball years - and other camping trips. I wish Scott, Ryan and Erik could have been there! The next morning, Shane & Daniel had to leave earlier than us to avoid LA traffic. Breaking camp is always a tough thing to do. The place that had been home for a few days became empty again.