Dorothy and I recently returned from a 3 week tour of the state of California.  I had been once before when a young lad but it was so long ago that not much was remembered.  I, like many people, are not sure what to make of the state.  I think I have come across a way to describe what California really is.  It is GOD”S button box.  Remember that our mothers and grandmothers had a box that contained buttons of every shape, color, and kind that could ever be needed for anything.  California is that and more.  It has everything and one of every type of person.

We saw most of the state and I have a favorite place.  It is Sequoia National Park.  Yep, the big trees.  Redwoods are the tallest trees on earth, Sequoia are the largest.  The park was not as crowded as Yosemite but still had a number of people looking around.  However, even with all the visitors there was a quiet, serene atmosphere in the park that was palpable.  Sequoia can have bark that exceeds 2′ in thickness.  This is a fire-retardant as well as some type of sound suppression, I guess.  I sat on a bench at the edge of a small clearing where one of the giants grew and it was every bit as quiet as being alone  in a cathedral.  Even when other people walked up there was not much talking or other noises. I assume everyone was as awestruck as I was.  Many who know me well understand how much I like nature and the things that God surely made.  I am moving the giant trees to the top of the list and would certainly recommend that should you have the chance , you should not miss it .  Go see the big trees.  Sit quietly and listen to them breathe.  Then wonder, as I surely did, how anyone ever harvested one of these magnificent wonders and turned it into picnic tables.  Shame on our ancestors for such a waste of such a miracle of growth.  3500 years old?

Gary

We have had another instance of school shooting.  As before, it is devastating for the community and the nation.  We grieve and we write newspaper articles as well as blogs about how sad it is.  Some folks immediately call for tighter gun control.  Availability of guns has nothing to do with the actual killing of our fellow human beings.  Samson killed legions with the jaw bone of an ass.  No, it’s not the weapon, its something else.  Something much more basic.  I believe it is the basic fabric of our society.  It probably has a great deal to do with the feeling of despair than much of our population has because of the lack of jobs, lack of family guidance, lack of caring about each other.  Does anyone have an answer?  I have some ideas and have expounded on those many times.  Maybe they are too simplistic, maybe they are not as complicated as those governing us seem to think solutions ought to be.  I know the governing body of the city I live in can not vacuum feces from a plugged up sewer without hiring a consultant to tell them which way the wind is blowing in order to keep the smell away from city hall.

Maybe we need to appoint a Czar to be in charge of correcting society’s ills.  We had one for the drug problem and look what happened there.  I am pretty sure that a visit to Oregon by the Prez is not going to accomplish much besides making him feel like he did something.

Gary