Holidays

Philip and Lael visited for a few days. It was great to see them. We took walks, ate together, and played Scrabble.

Wedding Photos

What fun! I'm ordering photos from Philip and Lael's July wedding from Shutterfly.

It was a wonderful three days of celebration.

Obama

We voters judged him by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me!

How fortunate I have been in the joys, relationships and careers I have experienced. My down moods seem absurd, except, of course, when I'm in them.

I expect improved health and new interests.

Tide Pool

I used to enjoy visiting the tide pool on the ocean side of Point Loma, near the end of the landmark peninsula. I waded in the shallow cove, took lots of photos, looked out to sea. The incoming tide splashed dramatically against the rocks, sending up geysers of whitewater and bubbles. The outgoing tide uncovered mossy rocks, and once in a while a small abalone. Kids found great adventure negotiating the rocks, windmilling their arms for balance. In the shallow puddles on shore, there was the occasional tiny crab scuttling, or a small starfish. Sea slugs are big and purple and kind of disturbing, the way they blob and slide along.

People aren't supposed to take anything away from the tide pool, but they've been doing so for many years. It's sad that there are so few life forms, compared to the tide pools film shown in Cabrillo National Park. There are some anemones, seaweeds, lichens, and lots of limpets. Limpets cling to the rock so hard that it is scarred all over with round pits. It makes an interesting texture.

A ranger explained one day that when abalone thrive, the otter population explodes. The otters eat the abalone. When there are no longer enough abalone to feed all the otters, the otter population shrinks. Then the abalone increase, until the cycle starts again. Harvesting abalone is forbidden now along the US coast. It used to be a good cash crop. I had some years ago and liked it very much. It's still legal in Mexico, but the shells I've seen are a lot smaller than the old shells I've seen used to burn sage in Lakota ceremonies.

The sea is still there. We no longer think of it as inexhaustible. But it sure is big. And the salt wind is refreshing.

Cut Cards

Strange Campaign Choice

Sarah Palin seems a strange choice as a running mate for McCain. I think it was David Brooks on the Lehrer report who said McCain wanted Joe Lieberman or a governor whose name I forget. Supposedly McCain was told (by his party?) that he couldn't have a running mate who wasn't strongly against reproductive choice. Palin fits that bill. But surely there aren't that many voters whose religious/ethical opinion on that subject completely overrides common sense. A Veep can become a President. What about ability in Congressional politics, which has to involve compromise and mediation? What about a sense of the big picture, nationally and globally? What about careful decision-making process? Palin's performance has shown she has often been so sure she was right that she didn't need to gather information and support, relying instead on her gut instincts. She's flamboyant and interesting. In a televised interview with Charlie Gibson, she also showed a disconcertingly smug affect, impervious to ideas and needs that didn't fit the campaign agenda. She's in way over her head. She appears to be having a wonderful time with all the attention. I guess she could be a figurehead, managed by party bigwigs and civil servants. Or so they may think. She looks pretty unmanageable to me.