Sunday, September 30, 2007

If by some miracle, I ran for the presidency of the United States, I would need a platform. My platform is a guarantee that I would not be elected. In fact, it may be a guarantee that I would end up in a plane crash, "committing suicide", have lethal cancer, or "accidentally" drink a nuclear cocktail...be shot, car brakes fail on a steep incline..just disappear....All of these things have happened to people who promote justice and humanitarian causes.

The Gardenbug Platform

1. The IRS would be abolished. Instead, there would be an across the board 10% tax. No exceptions. The government would have to live within this constriction. This means that a lot of political cronies would have no jobs. We don't need the undersecretary to the undersecretary anyways.
2. Parts of the US government can be set up as a non-profit agency. What is the government doing in mortgages anyways?
3. There are some responsibilities that are best accomplished through local, regional or national government. The government is charged to meet these responsibilities and not foist them on individuals or on business. Health care works around the world. So does maternity leave.
4. Large chunks of land should be set aside and not used/exploited for any reason...even if oil and gas are known to exist there. 20 to 25 percent of the US should be unspoiled land. no logging. no mining. no dams. No tourists, either. Well, maybe tourist around the edge, so We can peek in. Critter cams and cameras in trees can broadcast to our TV stations so We can enjoy the view without polluting it.
5. The cleanest source of energy is solar. That should be our main source of energy. It is within our technology to use this energy. Remember the electric car. (Did you see the DVD, "who killed the electric car?") The oil and gas guys aren't going to like this. Don't care if they do or do not.
6. The United Nations should be strengthened to encourage dialog between nations. If We talk to each other, We can cooperate with each other. Imagine what We could do with the resources spent on war if they were redirected to social services, education, health, protecting the environment.
7. Social Security is not a tax. It is a mandated savings program. Our social security money, sent to Washington, must not be mixed with tax revenue to make our financial picture look better than it is. Social Security would not be in any trouble if the money were in a separate account and invested for growth. On the other hand, We would see the awful truth about the gigantic debt our government is handing down to our children. The Government should keep its hands off the social security account.
8. Administrative Housekeeping. It is a practice in business to call in a consultant to show how the business can operate more efficiently. There are study groups that have done this , addressing our bloated bureaucracy. Their recommendations should be implemented. To avoid firing people, jobs should be frozen as people retire or leave for another job. People can be shifted to fill important vacancies. Our government does not need to be as big as it is.
9. The president should have a line item veto. In this way, pork projects can be taken out of bills so the good parts can go forward.
10 . The election process should be cheaper and shorter in length. When We have presidential debates on TV, ALL the candidates should be allowed to speak, even candidates from splinter groups. Have you ever heard the platform from the Green Party? Libertarians?
11. Our founding fathers never intended that politics was a career. They served their time in office and went back to the farm. There should be no career politicians. Abolish the perks that they've voted for themselves.
12. The political process is in the hands of lawyers. It is supposed to be in the hands of the people. Laws are written that require the service of an attorney. What attorneys charge is beyond what most people can afford to pay. How shall this issue be addressed?
13. Media is now in the hands of a few very rich persons. This controls ideas and thoughts. Large media holdings should be broken up . No one person should own more than 1% of any media, so opposing points of view can be expressed.
14. The world now is three times more populated than it should be to have sustained resources. Population control is a key to a healthy world and to healthy people. Overcrowding leads to stress, fights for resources, exploitation of other countries and of individuals, the death of ecosystems. If We continue to allow people to have as many children as they want, the world will become a sterile desert. We bring on the four horsemen: famine, disease, pestilence and death. The key to population control is not a dictatorship, but through education and economic development.
15 . Our societies shall be judged on how well they meet the needs of the citizens of that society. Once people are born, they have a right to be here. This means everyone, not just males in their prime. This means women, children, old people, people of different colors and cultures, those who are handicapped. The resources of the country shall be used to support all of us, not just the wealthy minority.

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Sunday, September 16, 2007

That wonderful neighbor across the street has been dead for a few months. His family have sold the house to a family friend. All that is left is to have a tag sale and empty the house of items that no family member wants. The house is stuffed! Bob was a pack rat. He scoured the newspapers to see what was for sale. He bought stuff that was cheap because it didn't work well. No problem for Bob, because he was an experimental engineer. That man could fix any thing. If it needed a part that wasn't available, he could make it. His back yard and basement was stuffed with tools, lawn mowers, outboard motors, tractors, scaffolding, old cars...and boats. Many purchases were fixed and enjoyed. Over time, the line of projects awaiting attention, grew longer and longer. You might say, his back yard looked like a junk yard. It was his x-wife's job to clear all this out.
On the day of the sale, Chris and I wandered across the street. The family had advertised and drew a big crowd. My eyes fell on a little sailboat. I could handle that boat. It is a one person sailboat. I bought it for $75. The sail said it was a Sunfish, but the boat wasn't the right shape. I don't know what kind of boat I bought. It should be fun to play with. Any one living on the water, should have a boat, right? Chris and I walked the sailboat across the street to my house. We turned it over. Aha.....needs a repair. A lot of wear, but restorable.
Chris' eyes fell on a bigger boat. It was a wreck. Over time, plants have grown in the dirt inside the boat. The fiberglass shell was good, so it should float. The family said that Chris could have it. He couldn't believe his ears! A boat for free ? He always wanted a boat and now He has one to restore. Chris will be working on this boat for years. I bet He has it for a lifetime. He went on-line and learned that He just got a free Seasport, circa 1969. There was a picture of a restored Seasport posted. There is no reason preventing Chris' boat from looking exactly the same. Chris' boat will seat six when it is restored...and a motor installed.
We have to get the boat off the property, as the house has been sold. How to do that? Fortunately, I have a truck with a trailer hitch. Ergo: I bought one of the trailers in the yard. It needs repairs, don't you know. We got the trailer out of the yard, using my truck to haul her. Now I shall restore the trailer ...to haul the boat ...that needs restoration... for the grandson that lives with Grandma.....that lives in the house that Jack built.

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When Chris decided to return to Melba Street, our agreement was that He would work and go to school. He could live in the house, but he would be responsible for all utilities and upkeep of the house.
It didn't turn out that way. See previous blog relating that Chris' car broke down. Now He is up here with no wheels and no job. Because He can't afford even the utilities, my grandson is living in my house. I pay the utilities, feed him and drive him around. Gee, that sounds awful. Chris isn't a leach. He is doing what he can to get a job. He does whatever I ask him to do. He cuts the grass, helps move things around. He fixes my computer and gets my audio system up and running. I think this is a fair exchange.
Never the less, Chris needs money and a job. He is making a career leap...from the type of employment a young man has in high school and college into his professional career. My grandson has a love of music. He taught himself computer generated music. He composes. He plays in clubs. He scratches records for dancing. It is a lot of fun for him, but it is also a good way to starve to death.
Hense, the career move. Enough already with selling stuff in malls.
He spent hours going over his resume, fine tuning it from an accurate list of all those awful mall jobs, to an emphasis on his technical training. We printed it out on good rag paper. The resume looks very good.
Next was a trip to Gentlemen's Wearhouse. It was decided that He needed a light weight jacket and a short sleeve white shirt. It is too hot for his winter jackets. The salesmen at the store were excellent at selling. We exited the store $600 poorer, but with two jackets, two shirts and two ties. "You're going to like the way He looks."
Later that week, Chris went for an interview. He looked so professional in his new clothes, with a neat resume in a folder. After the interview, He said that he did well on the tests. They tested him for computer skills.
I think the young ladies that interviewed my grandson were impressed with his appearance , personality and competency. Now, let's see if they can place him in a good position.

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Friday, September 14, 2007

There are weeds in my hair. My knees creak. My back is stiff. I've been back in the back yard, trying to catch up on gardening. It was so hot and humid in the middle of summer, that I let the garden go. Now I am paying the price. I grew lots and lots of weeds. Some of my favorite flowers are completely gone. A few specimens have encroached into spaces I didn't want encroached upon.. I make mental notes to replace some flowers. On the other hand, having spaces between some of the bigger plants sets them off. Perhaps I shall put down a red cedar mulch and let it go at that. Chris helps bring in bags of red cedar mulch and bags of pine bark nuggets. It will take a while to spread it all out...after I've cleaned up the garden some more. Perhaps I am wasting my time. Every time I pull a weed, weed seeds are distributed. It can't be helped.
How is it that the three rose buses I planted last fall, are all in different states of health? The pink rose bush is lovely. There are no black spots on the leaves. The bush put on growth and the flowers look good enough to eat. The white rose bush has less vigor. It is dropping its leaves...heading into dormancy a little early. Pity the yellow rose. It tried. It died.
I've learned to add silicone to my soil. It is very sandy. Water runs through it. Silicone holds water and makes it available to the plants during times of drought. I added silicone in the holes where I planted a pear tree, a viburnum and two hydrangeas. It was work digging a hole and working the soil, but it made a difference. These plants came through the heat and humidity looking good...no wilting...and with very little extra watering.
The space under the maple tree is a mess. I know I will be fighting maple tree roots. How can I use this space ? Shall I plant in pots? A raised bed? Shall I put a patio there, paving over the roots? No decision yet. I've planted in this area for several years. Nothing seems to grow vigorously in this area. It is hard work to dig a cleared area in the middle of maple tree roots. If I amend the soil there, the tree will eat it all up and ask for more. The tree is old and gracious. The fall coloring is beautiful to look at from my window. True, I have to rake leaves and pull maple tree seedlings out of my flower bed. The tree stays, beautiful sentinel.
Vegetable report: I feel rich when I harvest something to eat. Parsley came up where I did not plant it. Where I planted parsley, is no parsley this year. I cut parsley in its new location. If it likes it there, it can stay there. Chives have been cut, sorted for grass and other things I don't want . The Chives are in the freezer. Peaches, as previously reported, were small, but good tasting. We ate peaches through the season and froze the extras. No pears on the pear tree. It was just planted. My neighbor has a pear tree, necessary for cross pollination of my pear tree. I hope he doesn't cut his down. Four tomato plants yielded all the tomatoes I can eat. There is nothing like a vine ripened tomatoe, picked from the garden and eaten out of hand, warm from the sun. Such flavor. Strawberry plants and rhubarb were so-so this year. The weather was not kind to these small plants. and...I forgot to water them. They are there, but smaller than last year. My fault. My sour cherry tree is on Melba Street. Both the cherry tree and the peach tree had to be sprayed for fungus this year. The humidity was awful. Even the trees didn't like it. Still, I got enough cherries for several pies. I try hard to avoid using chemicals, but sometimes there is no other option. New plants: blueberries on Melba Street. Two reasons for blueberries: To get blueberries and to give some visual privacy . The bushes can grow to eye level. If I sell this house, I will loose my cherry tree and blueberry bushes. Shall I plant replacements now at the current address? Hmmmm. Time to come in and have a cup of tea.

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