And all the science,
I don't understand.
It's just my job,
Five days a week.
--BT
I saw Edward Teller speak at Stanford. I had always thought he was a nut and was responsible for more outlays of federal money than any other single individual. He spoke about destroying life-threatening asteroids with nuclear weapons. Since even he had to admit that the former Soviet Union no longer posed a threat to the US, he had to concoct another enemy to serve as a target for the warheads he misled several Presidents into building. My perceptions of him were changed radically after seeing him in person. He may still be a nut, but he spoke for an hour without notes, without "Ums," and even managed to insert a few jokes along the way. And he is 87 years old! I should speak so well. In short, he seemed like less of a nut in person than he had from his writings, and I hope he felt the same about me.
California, prophet on the burning shore.
California, I'll be knocking on the golden door.
--JB
Eric came out for a visit to check out the West coast brewpub situation. I think his main motivation was to determine which beer went best with corn flakes, and he gave me a daily report of his adventures. One day he called me from Solitary at Alcatraz. I was honored he used his one dime to call me although I wasn't sure what I could do for him; I didn't know of any brewpubs on the island.
The next day, I took Eric to Costco. He was very excited because they had his favorite kind of food: Free food! We had a great time sampling salad dressings, pizza, and every type of Odwalla juice. We bought some chicken for a BBQ and then went home to play some tennis. I managed to conceal that I had to pay $100 so that we could leave the store; I didn't want to burst Eric's bubble regarding his image of free entertainment in California.
Rain, I don't mind.
Shine, the weather is fine.
--JWOL
That night, I took Eric to see the Allman Brothers at Shoreline Amphitheatre. I was struck by how many similarities there were to a Grateful Dead concert. First, both groups play forever. I think the Allmans are the only other group that has to start at 7 PM to beat the 11 PM curfew. Of course, they did have an opening act, which added to the duration, but they did not have a break between sets. Also, each band has one of my favorite guitarists, along with other great musicians, and both have been playing for close to 30 years.
Moreover, the Allmans had a drum solo, which I didn't remember from previous shows, leading me to wonder whether they would segue into Space as the Grateful Dead does. Here is where they bested the Dead. Instead of making bizarre, extraterrestrial noises on an oil drum, they arranged for the shuttle/Mir to fly overhead. I had seen them pass over separately on previous occasions, but never before in a docked configuration. I had my binoculars with me and I could almost make out an aura of vodka outgassing from the spacecraft!
I learned that Norm Thagard, the astronaut who performed the docking, had practiced the maneuver 100 times in simulators. I noted that I had had more practice than that in several simulators including the one in which he trained. I guess the powers that be figured I would be too busy at the concert to help them. Either that, or Grandma has been writing letters again!
If you get confused listen to the music play.
--RH
While I'm on the subject of the Grateful Dead, I am reminded of an interesting story Dad just told me of their last visit to Albany. Apparently, the fans there had taken up so many hotel rooms that the legislators did not have places to stay, so they closed the legislature a day early and sent everybody home. The hotels figured they could make more money with four people per room paying the rack rate, than with one individual paying the discount politician rate. (Ambiguity pun intended!) Dad has been talking very excitedly about the Dead's visits for many years and I started to wonder whether he has been mail ordering seats for the taper section. Then I realized he probably does not know how to work a tape deck. Maybe he just twirls in the parking lot!
Went to the Fortune Teller.
Had my fortune read.
Didn't know what to tell her.
Had a dizzy feeling in my head.
--NN
I recently received a fortune that declared that I am the Master of my surroundings. My Doctor colleagues were all in awe. This convinced them that they should be addressing me as Master Adam and I have gained new respect in their eyes. I love Chinese food!
Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie!
L'étendard sanglant est levé.
--RdL
Le soir du Quatorze Juillet, j'ai attendu un concert de <
(I'm not sure what I just said; my French is rather rusty. I either said "I just went to an Earth, Wind, and Fire concert," or "I want to bear your children." Choose whichever interpretation suits you better.)
Anyone for tennis,
Wouldn't that be nice?
--EC/MS
I just finished playing in a Men's doubles tournament. I was playing with new strings, new sneakers, new socks, and a new partner, so I was hoping for a new trophy. I was continually reminded of the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young performance at Woodstock where Stephen Stills said, "This is only our second gig, and we're scared sh*tless!" Fortunately, just like CSNY, we went on to steal the show.
It was hot as Hell all weekend, but fortunately I usually play my best tennis under the delirium of heat exhaustion. After winning our first match pretty readily, we were down 5-0 in our second match so I started encouraging my partner to "be the ball." We went on to win five out of the next six games and we took the next two sets.
For inspiration, and as an antidote to the heat, I watched the movie Cool Runnings midway through the tournament. It was very moving, and by the end I had to talk amongst myself--but unfortunately, I didn't have a topic! (Watching a movie for inspiration had helped in the past as well. Dr. C made me roll my ankle a few nights before a singles tournament a few months ago. That time, I watched all the Karate Kid movies to get motivated. Wax on, wax off. This technique helped me win my first match, however, my success was impeded when I met Dr. C in my second match. He hadn't seen the movies.)
We triumphed, beating both the first and second seeds. The award was a beer mug, which was appropriate since it was the first year I missed volunteering at the Small Brewer's Festival. Also, it fits in my dishwasher better than my trophies do.
No need to hesitate,
Have a party celebrate.
--BR
I saw Bonnie Raitt perform at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. PBS filmed it for a special and it was interesting watching the band restart a song several times to get a good one for the shoot. I had a great seat in the seventh row. Unfortunately, I was so close to the film crew, I may not have made it into the film. I'll be disappointed to not make the PBS special and it is small consolation that Bonnie is longing in her heart to be in one of my home movies as well.
