I've been listening to this Audio Retreat every few days. The speaker is a Jesuit priest named Larry Gillick. He has a nice voice. It's relaxing to listen to him.
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I've been planning my 100th birthday party this morning.
Thinking about a pinata full of pharmaceuticals for the birthday boy and his guests. Maybe some real U.S. drugs instead of the discount Canadian stuff.
The pinata is still under consideration. I'm not sure if I'll be able to swing a stick when I'm a 100. Maybe we'll make the pinata out of toilet paper so it falls apart easy or let the nurse break it for us. We don't want someone to put their eye out or have some old codger whacking a guest that he mistakes for a pinata.
My 100th birthday party budget depends on how the old retirement portfolio works out. The way things have been going I may be able to afford some street stuff, with some homemade and homegrown that people bring as gifts.
I'm doing a little ciphering and with my current return on investment, I should have about 600 dollars by the time I'm a 100 years old. Maybe a homemade cake (with some pharmaceuticals baked in) will be more in order.
I'm a little concerned that Bush and Clinton's plan to allow people to get out of social security and control their own destiny by investing in the stock market is going to cut into my balloon budget. We might have to blow up our own balloon(s). Maybe we will have some spare oxygen tanks to use, if the old lungs aren't up to it.
That's going to be a hell of a party. Or maybe a party in hell at the rate I'm going. I try and I try and I still do the wrong things. Good thing God still loves me. He'll keep me in a good spot.
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What else is going on?
Big farmers market/street fair tomorrow in Marysville. They are celebrating the reopening of main street. Party on dude!
Marysville is a fairly good example of spontaneous development or an "unplanned community". What is an unplanned community you say?
A few years back I got to go to the Garlic Festival held by the Love Israel family up around Arlington. It was a really nice location. Nice people. Country Joe MacDonald (of Country Joe and the Fish) was singing there. The literature for the Love Israel people says they live in a "planned community". They had some plans to live in Yurts and other non-traditional housing until the Country "planning" board got wind of it. The Love family had a nice spot, in the mountains, a lake, central meeting area and houses around the perimeter.
Anyway a friend of mine and I were discussing what a "planned community" meant. He suggested it would be the opposite of a place like Lynnwood Washington. Not to say Lynnwood doesn't have it's good points but it's a sprawled out suburb of Seattle with no downtown. Mostly malls and strip malls.
I got a brochure somewhere that says, "discover Lynnwood". That would be an interesting trip. I've often tried to "discover Lynnwood", meaning figure out where the place called Lynnwood is.
Lynnwood is kind of no-place in some ways if you just drive around it or shop there. It doesn't have a downtown, a mainstreet, a core where you would find a court house, churchs, stores, library. I'm sure for people who grew up or live there it may be just the right place. A lot of times your interior sense of place is probably more key than the exterior surroundings.
I like to think about being on a vacation on a sunny beach...and then think about sitting on that beach wishing I was back home with my laptop in my recliner. Then I think "hey I'm at home on my laptop in my recliner." Good deal. I'm right where I want to be.
Ran into this Sprawl Guide: Solutions (Creating a Sense of Place)
It links to PCJ Article: "How to Mess Up a Town," by James Howard Kunstler
I read the Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler a few years back. He has some points. I think the reviewer comments on Amazon about that book are interesting to think about Geography Of Nowhere: The Rise And Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape.
I like the idea of creating quality living space in the city, small towns and countryside. Not sure if it has to be overly complicated. Maybe a backyard garden and a little more walking/biking and less driving if possible.
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I can't be a purist. I like 7-11 and Arco. I like some little old stores too. Small bookstores, coffee shops, cafes, music stores....bars, surplus stores, shoe repair places, hardware stores, that kind of thing.
I was thinking about something one of my sisters told me after she had been on a trip to Paris. She said, "Jack you know what they could use over there in France?". I said, "No, what?"
She said "Safeway".
The point being that Safeway, even with it's evil Corporate empire side I like to bring up, is really a nice place to buy a huge variety of cheap good food. There are certainly more upscale grocery stores (like Larry's Markets where we live) but overall in a World-view sense being able to truck down to Safeway and buy fresh produce, fish, meat, a bazillion types of over the counter medicine etc. is quite a deal.
Maybe no one is a purist. At least recognizing that may keep one off the high horse. That high horse could hurt if you land on it wrong or get bucked off.
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Looking forward to a good summer weekend. Watching some Olympics on TV, eating, cooking, seeing my family...chewing tobacco, drinking coffee, looking for pictures of naked people on the web - the usual.
Don't tell my wife. It's just a joke. No really it's just a joke. If I see any pictures of nekkid people I always cover my eyes. In fact I don't even look at myself naked. I always dress in the dark. I've never been skinny dipping or skinny fishing.
I'm okay with seeing animals unclothed except for certain monkeys with no manners.
People that put their dogs in pants or little sweaters just bug me...and I feel sorry for the dog. They probably feel really goofy when other dogs see them. Baily used to get a bandana from the lady who gave him a haircut. But it looked pretty sporty so I think he liked it.
When it comes to protecting us from gazing on the unadorned human form, I just thank God for John Ashcroft.
BBC News | AMERICAS | Curtains for semi-nude justice statue
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Hope you had a great week and a weekend. Looking forward to some R&R or some better stuff if you can afford it. Take care of your self so you can take care of others...
Peace
