I copied and pasted this out of a response on Yahoo that a writer wrote. The response was to a op ed challenging in principal the value of Romney's record at Bain Capital.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN.
Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and
fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water
is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum
water-quality standards. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his
daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid
commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as
advertised.
All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his
employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their
employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares
his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat
because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat
packing industry.
In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle
is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total
contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what
he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks
outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because
some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries
from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his
government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in
parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought
for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the
opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day. He
has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid
holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and
died for these working standards. Joes employer pays these standards
because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.
If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker
compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't
think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some
bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some
godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers
who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.
Joe
has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market
federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and
the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more
money over his lifetime.
Joe is home from work. He plans to
visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets
in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world
because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He
arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the
house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't
want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some
big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and
demanded rural electrification.
He is happy to see his father,
who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union
pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he
could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.
Joe gets
back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The
radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are
good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought
against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.
Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our
lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take
care of themselves, just like I have."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
A super sports Saturday
There was plenty to watch on cinco de mayo day on TV if you were a sports fan.
Today was the running of the most prestigious two minutes in sports. The Kentucky Derby for this year hit the airwaves with the running of the 3 year old horses. I'll Take Another, a strange name for a horse, won the derby after winning the prestigious Santa Anita Derby by a nose to get in. I totally unexpected victory that will certainly shake up the monied teams in the sport. It was quite a finish as this horse really knew how to get to the finish line from the middle of the pack. He won going away by 5 furlongs. Its always nice to hear the crowd sing "My old Kentucky Home" and to suffer through 2 hours of space shuttle talk.... hummm background stories on the horses before the 2 minute race actually occurs.
The hometown bums er Giants were playing on TV this Saturday on the national broadcast. They had there Gigiantes jerserys on to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. They defeated the Milwaukee Brewers. There seems to be so much more color in the set when the game is played for the national audience. It also helped that San Francisco had one of its storybook weather days.
Not to be outdone for color on the screen, the Wells Fargo PGA tournament tune up was broadcasted from Charlotte, North Carolina. Quail Hallow is some kind of photogenic course.. even if Tiger Woods didn't make that cut at even par on Friday. The next week golf heads to one of its majors.. the Players championship. Golf is an interesting sport to watch on TV. Most active golfers want nothing to do with the televised tournaments. They don't want to admit that they have any connection with the feeling of success when the pros play. I think that this is in fact due to the dumming down of the professional course. A PGA course is in fact a pretty difficult place to play. In recent years the technology of golf has zoomed ahead of the course design. I think that it is obscene that the pros need a 14 under par score to come close to winning a tournament. A PGA course should have its holes reflective of the challenge. Par should be a respectable score on any hole that is properly measured. The difficulty now is that many of the classic courses are too short for the modern equipment. Except for the USOpen. The penalty for missing a fairway should be catastrophic in a major tournament. It has been in the past. It will be for this years US Open on the Olympic golf course in San Francisco in June. That is unless the course superintendent provides a short mowed down mid rough area to bolster the scores. It will be a difficult course like it always is because it is played on a very steep hill. Traditionally the putting greens are very fast and difficult. Tiger better have his swing in shape by the time this June tournament arrives. It is totally unforgiving with narrow platform fairways and miniscule greens. The US Open Tournament in 1998 was a total target shoot with irons with no drivers in sight. There is no water on this course. Three is a par three down at the foot of the hill beside the lake that has an extremely narrow fairway with steep nine foot sand bunkers lining it. There were a couple of hole in ones on this hole in the last US Open held there.
One should not forget that there was a serious NASCAR nationwide series being run at the fastest course of NASCAR, Teledega. Of all the NASCAR races this one is the one to watch if you are into drafting. The cars are hauling around the track thee wide and and about eight rows deep. The speed occurs when these cars form "trains" of twos and threes right up next to each other at incredible speeds, full well knowing that they cannot maintain this close proximity too long as the radiators over heat and the performance drops. This is really tight race and most cars remain of the lead lap. The course is just 2 miles long and the spectators have a wild view of the entire race. Danica Patrick was in this race and was often up in the second and third spots without support to shoot her through to the front. There were two massive accidents in this years race. The one at the end resulted in a race stoppage and a helicopter employed to airlift the injured driver to safety. Many times this race gets down to who can save the fuel and the tires to the end.
With NASCAR Teledaga, The Wells Fargo PGA golf tournament, The Kentucky Derby, The Giants playing the Brewers and rumors of a pay for view boxing extravaganza from Las Vegas, its no wonder not much was getting done in the yards of America..... : ) Pat
Today was the running of the most prestigious two minutes in sports. The Kentucky Derby for this year hit the airwaves with the running of the 3 year old horses. I'll Take Another, a strange name for a horse, won the derby after winning the prestigious Santa Anita Derby by a nose to get in. I totally unexpected victory that will certainly shake up the monied teams in the sport. It was quite a finish as this horse really knew how to get to the finish line from the middle of the pack. He won going away by 5 furlongs. Its always nice to hear the crowd sing "My old Kentucky Home" and to suffer through 2 hours of space shuttle talk.... hummm background stories on the horses before the 2 minute race actually occurs.
The hometown bums er Giants were playing on TV this Saturday on the national broadcast. They had there Gigiantes jerserys on to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. They defeated the Milwaukee Brewers. There seems to be so much more color in the set when the game is played for the national audience. It also helped that San Francisco had one of its storybook weather days.
Not to be outdone for color on the screen, the Wells Fargo PGA tournament tune up was broadcasted from Charlotte, North Carolina. Quail Hallow is some kind of photogenic course.. even if Tiger Woods didn't make that cut at even par on Friday. The next week golf heads to one of its majors.. the Players championship. Golf is an interesting sport to watch on TV. Most active golfers want nothing to do with the televised tournaments. They don't want to admit that they have any connection with the feeling of success when the pros play. I think that this is in fact due to the dumming down of the professional course. A PGA course is in fact a pretty difficult place to play. In recent years the technology of golf has zoomed ahead of the course design. I think that it is obscene that the pros need a 14 under par score to come close to winning a tournament. A PGA course should have its holes reflective of the challenge. Par should be a respectable score on any hole that is properly measured. The difficulty now is that many of the classic courses are too short for the modern equipment. Except for the USOpen. The penalty for missing a fairway should be catastrophic in a major tournament. It has been in the past. It will be for this years US Open on the Olympic golf course in San Francisco in June. That is unless the course superintendent provides a short mowed down mid rough area to bolster the scores. It will be a difficult course like it always is because it is played on a very steep hill. Traditionally the putting greens are very fast and difficult. Tiger better have his swing in shape by the time this June tournament arrives. It is totally unforgiving with narrow platform fairways and miniscule greens. The US Open Tournament in 1998 was a total target shoot with irons with no drivers in sight. There is no water on this course. Three is a par three down at the foot of the hill beside the lake that has an extremely narrow fairway with steep nine foot sand bunkers lining it. There were a couple of hole in ones on this hole in the last US Open held there.
One should not forget that there was a serious NASCAR nationwide series being run at the fastest course of NASCAR, Teledega. Of all the NASCAR races this one is the one to watch if you are into drafting. The cars are hauling around the track thee wide and and about eight rows deep. The speed occurs when these cars form "trains" of twos and threes right up next to each other at incredible speeds, full well knowing that they cannot maintain this close proximity too long as the radiators over heat and the performance drops. This is really tight race and most cars remain of the lead lap. The course is just 2 miles long and the spectators have a wild view of the entire race. Danica Patrick was in this race and was often up in the second and third spots without support to shoot her through to the front. There were two massive accidents in this years race. The one at the end resulted in a race stoppage and a helicopter employed to airlift the injured driver to safety. Many times this race gets down to who can save the fuel and the tires to the end.
With NASCAR Teledaga, The Wells Fargo PGA golf tournament, The Kentucky Derby, The Giants playing the Brewers and rumors of a pay for view boxing extravaganza from Las Vegas, its no wonder not much was getting done in the yards of America..... : ) Pat
Monday, April 23, 2012
Monday Morning, Merced Target
Optometry
Its Monday and I got a call back to the vision doctor to run the peripheral test and a close up exam with the computer mapping tool that examines the various layers of the inside of your eye. This is a new piece of equipment that my OD has. He also had a go at me with the dilation exam. Overall it looked pretty good. I have some low level macro degeneration as often occurs with 61 year old eyes but nothing he saw that requires a phrama solution. Its important to find a good OD that will take the time and be complete in his exam.
A couple of Hours in Target / Shopping Trip from the Retirement Home
As I left the office I didn't get the reversal drops. As a result, I ended up squinting and driving just a few blocks for a respite at the nearby Target store. This is one of my daughters favorites. She loves it for the mini pizza hut that most of these stores contain. Our Merced Target is no exception. A tall diet pepsi was the order of the day as my eyes had to have a chance to settle down. As I got my drink, three ladies from the nearby adult care facility arrived. All three were white haired/grey and two were in walkers and the third was in a power chair. They each arrived with a bag full of merchandise that they had bought and were examining. One had a bag full of almond joy bars tightly clutched to her hands. The other had a little bigger bag. She was happy to share the catalog of her bounty. She brought out of the bag a couple of sock lumps gathered in groups of three. They were white. Her friend wanted to know whether they were cotton. She gathered them up and closely examined the piles.She said of course, I would buy black ones if it was going to be winter. She was aghast that they cost 9 dollars. That seemed pretty high. She seem resigned when she added, everything is high now days.
She said that I also bought a new t shirt. She dragged out a turquoise shell. The other lady looked it over and gave it a feel. She said, thats a bit thick for you isn't it? The owner said, well maybe, but I just love the color.
The lady from the place arrived with her purchases. She sported a name badge and four plastic bags full of jello and pudding cups. She also had a couple of fruit cups. The ladies were interested in what she bought. She also bought an exotic jug of drink. The rest of the ladies had no experience with this juice and neither did the purchaser. She told them that she would try it at home. The ladies were getting a little impatient. The lady from the place said that everyone had one hour to shop. They were waiting for a couple of more to get through the line. No one joined this group. She also told them that they were going to Sizzler for lunch after. One lady said that she had no intentions of going to sizzler. The lady from the place said that they would drop her back to the care facility before they continued on. Another wanted to know the price of the lunch. The lady said, I think that it is 7.95. The one that was being dropped off said that when she went to another salad bar it was only five dollars. Her friend reminded her that it was just green lettuce at that one.
The lady from the place called up the driver and it was agreed that they would be picked up withing 10 minutes. Five minutes later, she told the group that she was walking out to the bus and that they were to meet her in five minutes by the door. She told the lady in the power chair to give the walker ladies a head start. The bus arrived and and they all got on.
It was really nice that this retirement home was going the extra mile to allow these ladies to shop. Many such places use their buses only for doctor visits. The ladies in this group have shopped all of their lives. To suddenly not do this is too much for many. They each had an incredible time even if they were sort of critical of each other at times and their patience was running thin. There was no response that was directed to themselves or their health condition. Language was pretty germane to event that they were participating in. I think that as long as they can do this it is important for them to get out and live their lives as much as they can away from the institutional setting. They will have plenty to talk about when they get home.
Love All : ) Pat
Its Monday and I got a call back to the vision doctor to run the peripheral test and a close up exam with the computer mapping tool that examines the various layers of the inside of your eye. This is a new piece of equipment that my OD has. He also had a go at me with the dilation exam. Overall it looked pretty good. I have some low level macro degeneration as often occurs with 61 year old eyes but nothing he saw that requires a phrama solution. Its important to find a good OD that will take the time and be complete in his exam.
A couple of Hours in Target / Shopping Trip from the Retirement Home
As I left the office I didn't get the reversal drops. As a result, I ended up squinting and driving just a few blocks for a respite at the nearby Target store. This is one of my daughters favorites. She loves it for the mini pizza hut that most of these stores contain. Our Merced Target is no exception. A tall diet pepsi was the order of the day as my eyes had to have a chance to settle down. As I got my drink, three ladies from the nearby adult care facility arrived. All three were white haired/grey and two were in walkers and the third was in a power chair. They each arrived with a bag full of merchandise that they had bought and were examining. One had a bag full of almond joy bars tightly clutched to her hands. The other had a little bigger bag. She was happy to share the catalog of her bounty. She brought out of the bag a couple of sock lumps gathered in groups of three. They were white. Her friend wanted to know whether they were cotton. She gathered them up and closely examined the piles.She said of course, I would buy black ones if it was going to be winter. She was aghast that they cost 9 dollars. That seemed pretty high. She seem resigned when she added, everything is high now days.
She said that I also bought a new t shirt. She dragged out a turquoise shell. The other lady looked it over and gave it a feel. She said, thats a bit thick for you isn't it? The owner said, well maybe, but I just love the color.
The lady from the place arrived with her purchases. She sported a name badge and four plastic bags full of jello and pudding cups. She also had a couple of fruit cups. The ladies were interested in what she bought. She also bought an exotic jug of drink. The rest of the ladies had no experience with this juice and neither did the purchaser. She told them that she would try it at home. The ladies were getting a little impatient. The lady from the place said that everyone had one hour to shop. They were waiting for a couple of more to get through the line. No one joined this group. She also told them that they were going to Sizzler for lunch after. One lady said that she had no intentions of going to sizzler. The lady from the place said that they would drop her back to the care facility before they continued on. Another wanted to know the price of the lunch. The lady said, I think that it is 7.95. The one that was being dropped off said that when she went to another salad bar it was only five dollars. Her friend reminded her that it was just green lettuce at that one.
The lady from the place called up the driver and it was agreed that they would be picked up withing 10 minutes. Five minutes later, she told the group that she was walking out to the bus and that they were to meet her in five minutes by the door. She told the lady in the power chair to give the walker ladies a head start. The bus arrived and and they all got on.
It was really nice that this retirement home was going the extra mile to allow these ladies to shop. Many such places use their buses only for doctor visits. The ladies in this group have shopped all of their lives. To suddenly not do this is too much for many. They each had an incredible time even if they were sort of critical of each other at times and their patience was running thin. There was no response that was directed to themselves or their health condition. Language was pretty germane to event that they were participating in. I think that as long as they can do this it is important for them to get out and live their lives as much as they can away from the institutional setting. They will have plenty to talk about when they get home.
Love All : ) Pat
Saturday, April 21, 2012
How do you know its Spring in Merced
Spring's arrival in Merced is a tricky date to guess. Sometimes the central valley in California has Spring significantly before Easter. The first year we moved out from Colorado we left a spot that had ice on the trees and snow on the road. This was the week after ash Wednesday. We arrived in the Central Valley where every day was a barbeque day outside and the evening temperatures continued to mirror the daytime highs in the 70s-90's. What a contrast.
I think the way that you know its Spring here is that you can open the window in the house and not have to remember to close them after noon. Yet, there is little need for an air conditioner during this time of the year. It one of our three free months from PGnE, our utility provider. The grass needs to be watered one time a week. The trees need to be watered deeply once every other week. The crafty gardener can have a blast outside for most of the day without worrying about the weather.. except wearing a hat... please and some liquid sun protection, internally and externally.
In my case, its time to lose the T shirts under until fall comes.
The heavy air around my house is full of smell of citrus blossoms and sweet alyssum flowers. Last weekend before the orange blossoms took center stage, a whiff of iris was swirling through the air. Heather, my eldest daughter had never smelled iris before. I told her that she had but that she did recognize it. Its often the base to very subtle aromas in perfumes. She picked it up. Her sister Linzi, who was also home, confirmed that this would be the last visit that we would have of Heather as she prefers not to be in the valley when it gets hot.
The front porch garden is in fantastic shape. The flats I planted on March 5th are in their peak form. They might get one more month before they need to be uprooted and replaced with the summer hot hot hot mix. We have climate that gave wilting petunias their reputation. I will take some shots of them and share them all on facebook.
Where ever you are enjoy the Spring! : ) Pat
Friday, April 13, 2012
Stardust, and Like Crazy, Movie Reviews
Stardust the movie came out in 2007. It stars Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Peter O'Toole, Mark Strong, Kate Magowan, Ian McKellen.
Its not my usual genre, its fantasy, with kings and witches and lightening powered craft but overall its very good. I was picking up performances by Claire Danes through Netflix and this one jumped up. I think that Clair Danes will be one of the most noted actresses of this era. This movie does not disappoint. She plays a star. Not just a movie star, but rather a celestial star that can make the difference in who will be chosen as king. This movie comes complete with a greek chorus of departed king wannabees. Its also has a romantic element that get redirected. An interesting part has Ricky Gervais, of Office fame, getting stabbed in the stomach and turned into a screech owl whenever he tries to talk. Robert DeNiro plays a credible part as captain of an airship powered by lightening. An absolute phenomenal make up job is done to Michelle Pfeiffer as she plays the wicked witch who uses supernatural powers to make herself "beautiful" and to capture the essence of the star, a diamond like stone that turns to ruby and allows the hero to become king of the fantasy kingdom.
Also on the docket this week was Like Crazy a movie from 2011.
Like Crazy is a romantic movie of love separated by the Atlantic Ocean and a visa. He is a art student, furniture designer. She is a writer and eventually a fashion editor in England. They met while going to school in LA. The classic student visa ran out and she still stayed in LA. When she wanted to return to LA from England, she was turned down because of her visa violation. The story is about their separation and their reunions. At different times in this movie, both of them are convinced that the other is the "one". Finally the girl's father has had enough of the cost of fighting the visa infraction and the transatlantic flights and suggests that they get married.
This movie has beautiful California, and British scenery. This movie has a beautiful couple and the movie works until the plot tries to interject some complications.
It won the grand prize for drama at the Sundance Film Festival.
The cast members include: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead, Finola Hughes, Chris Messina, Ben York Jones, Jamie Thomas King, Keeley Hazell, Natalie Blair, Edurne Ganem. It falls into the netflix genera of Emotional, Romantic, Understated.
Overall, both these movies were good ones to watch.
Its not my usual genre, its fantasy, with kings and witches and lightening powered craft but overall its very good. I was picking up performances by Claire Danes through Netflix and this one jumped up. I think that Clair Danes will be one of the most noted actresses of this era. This movie does not disappoint. She plays a star. Not just a movie star, but rather a celestial star that can make the difference in who will be chosen as king. This movie comes complete with a greek chorus of departed king wannabees. Its also has a romantic element that get redirected. An interesting part has Ricky Gervais, of Office fame, getting stabbed in the stomach and turned into a screech owl whenever he tries to talk. Robert DeNiro plays a credible part as captain of an airship powered by lightening. An absolute phenomenal make up job is done to Michelle Pfeiffer as she plays the wicked witch who uses supernatural powers to make herself "beautiful" and to capture the essence of the star, a diamond like stone that turns to ruby and allows the hero to become king of the fantasy kingdom.
Also on the docket this week was Like Crazy a movie from 2011.
Like Crazy is a romantic movie of love separated by the Atlantic Ocean and a visa. He is a art student, furniture designer. She is a writer and eventually a fashion editor in England. They met while going to school in LA. The classic student visa ran out and she still stayed in LA. When she wanted to return to LA from England, she was turned down because of her visa violation. The story is about their separation and their reunions. At different times in this movie, both of them are convinced that the other is the "one". Finally the girl's father has had enough of the cost of fighting the visa infraction and the transatlantic flights and suggests that they get married.
This movie has beautiful California, and British scenery. This movie has a beautiful couple and the movie works until the plot tries to interject some complications.
It won the grand prize for drama at the Sundance Film Festival.
The cast members include: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead, Finola Hughes, Chris Messina, Ben York Jones, Jamie Thomas King, Keeley Hazell, Natalie Blair, Edurne Ganem. It falls into the netflix genera of Emotional, Romantic, Understated.
Overall, both these movies were good ones to watch.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Rhodies on the Rebound
The day before Easter we met with the bay area kids in Golden Gate Park. I have always remembered the huge rhododendrons planted in a hilly glen just east of the Academy of Science. It is a glen dedicated to the wonder planner, John Mc Claren who planned a gigantic green space where there once were miles and miles of sand dunes. Golden Gate Park is a major treasure of San Francisco. It is often missed by the tourists as they get captured by the bay front life of fisherman's wharf and the Embarcadero. Still the park is known for little treasures like the Rhododendron Glen. April is the key month to visit this showcase. The trees in the past were much taller than my height and often cascaded orchid like blossoms in exotic flows from their flat leaf sides to their torched centers. In full bloom these beauties were a site to behold. Many of the specimum came from exotic locations in Maylasia and indo china. They like the moist, protected climate of San Francisco. No frost ever. In the glen protection from winds allowed these plants to thrive. Wealthy patrons of the city tried to out do their neighbors in their donations of fabulous plant individuals. The start of this glen was 60 to 80 years ago. My memory of it was from 15 years ago. We took friends that came from Colorado out to Golden Gate Park for mother's day. The glen was in the last part of its botanical year. It was still spectacular. April is is really the best time so I was hoping for a major exhibition.
This year the display is not as fabulous. There were a few very striking plants, but for the most part the display is in regeneration. In the place of 12 to 14 foot specimens, 2 to 3 foot plants were planted. Very few of these plants had any flowers on them at all. So why has this grand glen seen better days. The internet and SF gate's archive on it provide some of the answers. This is a part of an article published in 2001 written by Carl Nolte on the glen and its reconstruction.
This year the display is not as fabulous. There were a few very striking plants, but for the most part the display is in regeneration. In the place of 12 to 14 foot specimens, 2 to 3 foot plants were planted. Very few of these plants had any flowers on them at all. So why has this grand glen seen better days. The internet and SF gate's archive on it provide some of the answers. This is a part of an article published in 2001 written by Carl Nolte on the glen and its reconstruction.
Sometimes the biggest pleasures in life are the smallest -- the smell of
bay leaves, a stroll in the park to see the rhododendrons in bloom.
April was when the rhododendrons bloomed in the McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell in Golden Gate Park -- a famous sight, "a fabulous display . . . a pageant," wrote Katherine Wilson in her guidebook about the park. "One of the great botanical treasures of the world," wrote Margot Patterson Doss in her book about walking in the park.
But this year, April is the cruelest month. The rhododendron dell is only a shadow this spring of what it was. The park's gardeners have scraped the dell nearly bare -- it looks like some kind of botanical redevelopment project. The gardeners say they had to do this because the dell was severely damaged by a storm.
The glory of the past is gone, and the future has not yet flowered.
Visitors are upset. One even wrote the newspaper complaining about "this destruction."
But spring is a time for hope, and the bedraggled rhododendron dell has not been completely destroyed, only damaged and replanted. Now, they say, is a time for waiting.
"It is going to be slow," said Joan Vellutini, a park gardener who was working on the rhododendron dell the other morning. "By next year it ought to look great," said Kevin Shea, who spent 38 years in the park as a gardener and supervisor. He retired on St. Patrick's Day and thinks of the park every day.
Many people who stroll through the park and along the paths that line the dell think Golden Gate Park is a natural thing, a gift from nature to city people. They are surprised, sometimes, to hear the park is really an artificial creation, built by the city on acres of blowing sand and brush in the 19th century.
The dell was carefully nurtured and shaded by big trees, cypress and Monterey pine. Then, rhododendrons from all over the world were planted 60 to 70 years ago. The park created a microclimate, shady and damp, and the flow thrived. It was dedicated to the memory of John McLaren, the father of Golden Gate Park.
"Nature didn't make this," said Vellutini, "gardeners did, and if you don't take care of it, it will revert to what it was."
"It was a specialty garden," said Doug Martino, who spent 18 years with the rhododendrons. "You could come in and work, and you could do real horticulture here." Like most gardeners, he and Vellutini call the plants "rhodies," as if they were small animals or children, needing constant attention.
Five winters ago, nature turned on the park with a fierce sustained windstorm that blew over perhaps 1,000 trees, smashed up the glass Conservatory of Flowers and wrecked the rhododendron dell.
Most of the big old pines and cypress trees that had sheltered the plants from the sun were knocked down, and so were some of the plants.
The rhododendrons, which were middle-aged, had lost some of the vigor of youth anyway. When the canopy of protection and shade was knocked away, they were burned by the sun. "It was quite a shock to them," said Martino.
In addition, the plants developed armillagria, a fungus in the soil. This brought a crisis: The famous rhododendrons were sick and dying.
People in the city know how it is: There is always a crisis in San Francisco -- the Muni needs fixing, there is a homeless problem, a housing crisis, gentrification, parking, assorted political bombshells, and on and on. The crisis in the dell seemed to the politicians pretty small potatoes.
The political problems pain the gardeners; they don't want to talk about it.
But there are fewer gardeners now than there used to be, and even in good economic times, the budget is tighter than it was.
But this spring, slowly and carefully, the rhododendron dell is getting new trees to provide shade, redwoods this time, not pines. Redwoods last for centuries, but they grow slowly, and the canopy of trees will not spring up this month.
The dell will come back, but later, not sooner. "But at least, it shows we care and are trying to do something," Vellutini said.
A couple, a man named David and a woman named Jade, stopped to talk to the gardeners the other day.
They were dismayed by the bare patch where flowers bloomed. Jade and David live in the Richmond District, next to the park, and come by often. "This is everybody's backyard," said Jade. "This is the backyard for city people, who may live on the fourth floor of an apartment building and be a long way from plants and flowers."
To these people, the small pleasure of a walk in the park was a big pleasure indeed. They walked through the dell, past where the flowers had bloomed, bright like the colors of sherbet. Maybe next year.
April was when the rhododendrons bloomed in the McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell in Golden Gate Park -- a famous sight, "a fabulous display . . . a pageant," wrote Katherine Wilson in her guidebook about the park. "One of the great botanical treasures of the world," wrote Margot Patterson Doss in her book about walking in the park.
But this year, April is the cruelest month. The rhododendron dell is only a shadow this spring of what it was. The park's gardeners have scraped the dell nearly bare -- it looks like some kind of botanical redevelopment project. The gardeners say they had to do this because the dell was severely damaged by a storm.
The glory of the past is gone, and the future has not yet flowered.
Visitors are upset. One even wrote the newspaper complaining about "this destruction."
But spring is a time for hope, and the bedraggled rhododendron dell has not been completely destroyed, only damaged and replanted. Now, they say, is a time for waiting.
"It is going to be slow," said Joan Vellutini, a park gardener who was working on the rhododendron dell the other morning. "By next year it ought to look great," said Kevin Shea, who spent 38 years in the park as a gardener and supervisor. He retired on St. Patrick's Day and thinks of the park every day.
Many people who stroll through the park and along the paths that line the dell think Golden Gate Park is a natural thing, a gift from nature to city people. They are surprised, sometimes, to hear the park is really an artificial creation, built by the city on acres of blowing sand and brush in the 19th century.
The dell was carefully nurtured and shaded by big trees, cypress and Monterey pine. Then, rhododendrons from all over the world were planted 60 to 70 years ago. The park created a microclimate, shady and damp, and the flow thrived. It was dedicated to the memory of John McLaren, the father of Golden Gate Park.
"Nature didn't make this," said Vellutini, "gardeners did, and if you don't take care of it, it will revert to what it was."
"It was a specialty garden," said Doug Martino, who spent 18 years with the rhododendrons. "You could come in and work, and you could do real horticulture here." Like most gardeners, he and Vellutini call the plants "rhodies," as if they were small animals or children, needing constant attention.
Five winters ago, nature turned on the park with a fierce sustained windstorm that blew over perhaps 1,000 trees, smashed up the glass Conservatory of Flowers and wrecked the rhododendron dell.
Most of the big old pines and cypress trees that had sheltered the plants from the sun were knocked down, and so were some of the plants.
The rhododendrons, which were middle-aged, had lost some of the vigor of youth anyway. When the canopy of protection and shade was knocked away, they were burned by the sun. "It was quite a shock to them," said Martino.
In addition, the plants developed armillagria, a fungus in the soil. This brought a crisis: The famous rhododendrons were sick and dying.
People in the city know how it is: There is always a crisis in San Francisco -- the Muni needs fixing, there is a homeless problem, a housing crisis, gentrification, parking, assorted political bombshells, and on and on. The crisis in the dell seemed to the politicians pretty small potatoes.
The political problems pain the gardeners; they don't want to talk about it.
But there are fewer gardeners now than there used to be, and even in good economic times, the budget is tighter than it was.
But this spring, slowly and carefully, the rhododendron dell is getting new trees to provide shade, redwoods this time, not pines. Redwoods last for centuries, but they grow slowly, and the canopy of trees will not spring up this month.
The dell will come back, but later, not sooner. "But at least, it shows we care and are trying to do something," Vellutini said.
A couple, a man named David and a woman named Jade, stopped to talk to the gardeners the other day.
They were dismayed by the bare patch where flowers bloomed. Jade and David live in the Richmond District, next to the park, and come by often. "This is everybody's backyard," said Jade. "This is the backyard for city people, who may live on the fourth floor of an apartment building and be a long way from plants and flowers."
To these people, the small pleasure of a walk in the park was a big pleasure indeed. They walked through the dell, past where the flowers had bloomed, bright like the colors of sherbet. Maybe next year.
E-mail Carl Nolte at cnolte@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 19 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, April 2, 2012
Pharmacy Search
A group of subscribers including us were cut from the tether of our pharmacy roots. Like many subscribers with express scripts and medco and some groups within Anthem Blue Cross prescription service, were were denied our pharmacy of choice... Walgreens. A new agreement between the pharmacy and the plan was not accomplished. So... a new pharmacy had to be found.
Similar situations have occurred in the past as individual hospitals and their subsidiaries have not made their negotiated contract deadlines. We are denied in contract service. The buying power of the plan eventually brings them to their knees and we are once again allowed to use the facilities in Turlock or Stockton or Stanford. It doesn't effect most of the plan users as these facilities are only needed by a few of use in dire need at any given time. For pharmacy, this is a different story.
Our pharmacy plan does not look like it will get resolved anytime soon. Why? . Walgreens lost only 12 percent of its base in this snafoo as I have researched from internet articles. This could be a way they work their scale. Sometimes in business, doing too much business in a small spot can cost you more in the long run since you do not have the abilty to scale up. This 12 percent drop could equal the 12 gain in business that this company cannot maintain.
Our group insurance group, Medco was in the middle of a gigantic buyout from Express Scripts which didn't see it in their interest to complete a contract with Walgreens. Their suggestion was to take our business to a grocery store or Walmart.
Our Walmart became our pharmacy in this move since January. Its been a pretty rough journey. There have been missed communications on Walmart's part and more partial refills than I dare recount. This means multiple trips back to the store. The people working behind the counter are the next closest thing to heartless. Rough and tough, because of the reaction to the clientel, these clerks have to deal with all kinds of people and all the rigor of their company.. Its just a tough situation to sell pharmacy out of our nation's dime store.
So that brings us up to last Friday when I went to get a medication that my wife has been taking for a couple of years. Its one of those tough ones that the state requires you to get a paper order from the doctor, who has to have a copy put into your records. The paper document is made on special paper and the pharmacy must record your getting it with your ID. Walmart as of last week has decided that it would not carry this medication. Usually if a pharmacy is going to make such a bold move, it informs its people with a note, or an email or something. I got a complete no go because our pharmacy manager will not carry this medication any more when I put in for the meds. I asked about some notification... no response. The clerk suggested Costco.
So off I went to Costco. The pharm tech said that he would check to see if they had it.. a usual procedure in pharmacies because the pharmacist has to unlock the case that these are held and then verify the number and fill the prescription themselves. The response I got from Costco was that the they had the meds but could not release the meds until the other pharmacist who was on lunch break was back on duty and could tell if they were being held for another member. So we have what looks to me like a savie situation. You know that stuff that happens with older folks on a cruise ship. The advance group goes ahead and gets a seat in the showroom and then tries to save a number of seats in a row for a small group of people that may or may not show up. Its a crazy human phenomenon. Costco was playing savies with the drugs.
The next move was to a CVS pharmacy in the mall. We used to know it as Longs. The clerk that was running that one never came to the handicapped desk area to pick up the new drop offs.. so Sue in her power chair had to communicate for a four and a half foot barrier because this clerk did not want to leave her computer station to talk. When the same procedure was followed, catch the pharmacist eye, ask if he could see if we have these... the result was that no they were out. This was Sunday... when would they get some new in? Wednesday night. It was getting close to 5 o'clock on Sunday... where should we try next. I thought.. what about the CVS that was by Golden Valley High School.
Although it is about 4.5 miles away we decided to give it a try. Finally we got the paper in the meds were filled and it was before they closed down at 6 pm.
What a mess.
Similar situations have occurred in the past as individual hospitals and their subsidiaries have not made their negotiated contract deadlines. We are denied in contract service. The buying power of the plan eventually brings them to their knees and we are once again allowed to use the facilities in Turlock or Stockton or Stanford. It doesn't effect most of the plan users as these facilities are only needed by a few of use in dire need at any given time. For pharmacy, this is a different story.
Our pharmacy plan does not look like it will get resolved anytime soon. Why? . Walgreens lost only 12 percent of its base in this snafoo as I have researched from internet articles. This could be a way they work their scale. Sometimes in business, doing too much business in a small spot can cost you more in the long run since you do not have the abilty to scale up. This 12 percent drop could equal the 12 gain in business that this company cannot maintain.
Our group insurance group, Medco was in the middle of a gigantic buyout from Express Scripts which didn't see it in their interest to complete a contract with Walgreens. Their suggestion was to take our business to a grocery store or Walmart.
Our Walmart became our pharmacy in this move since January. Its been a pretty rough journey. There have been missed communications on Walmart's part and more partial refills than I dare recount. This means multiple trips back to the store. The people working behind the counter are the next closest thing to heartless. Rough and tough, because of the reaction to the clientel, these clerks have to deal with all kinds of people and all the rigor of their company.. Its just a tough situation to sell pharmacy out of our nation's dime store.
So that brings us up to last Friday when I went to get a medication that my wife has been taking for a couple of years. Its one of those tough ones that the state requires you to get a paper order from the doctor, who has to have a copy put into your records. The paper document is made on special paper and the pharmacy must record your getting it with your ID. Walmart as of last week has decided that it would not carry this medication. Usually if a pharmacy is going to make such a bold move, it informs its people with a note, or an email or something. I got a complete no go because our pharmacy manager will not carry this medication any more when I put in for the meds. I asked about some notification... no response. The clerk suggested Costco.
So off I went to Costco. The pharm tech said that he would check to see if they had it.. a usual procedure in pharmacies because the pharmacist has to unlock the case that these are held and then verify the number and fill the prescription themselves. The response I got from Costco was that the they had the meds but could not release the meds until the other pharmacist who was on lunch break was back on duty and could tell if they were being held for another member. So we have what looks to me like a savie situation. You know that stuff that happens with older folks on a cruise ship. The advance group goes ahead and gets a seat in the showroom and then tries to save a number of seats in a row for a small group of people that may or may not show up. Its a crazy human phenomenon. Costco was playing savies with the drugs.
The next move was to a CVS pharmacy in the mall. We used to know it as Longs. The clerk that was running that one never came to the handicapped desk area to pick up the new drop offs.. so Sue in her power chair had to communicate for a four and a half foot barrier because this clerk did not want to leave her computer station to talk. When the same procedure was followed, catch the pharmacist eye, ask if he could see if we have these... the result was that no they were out. This was Sunday... when would they get some new in? Wednesday night. It was getting close to 5 o'clock on Sunday... where should we try next. I thought.. what about the CVS that was by Golden Valley High School.
Although it is about 4.5 miles away we decided to give it a try. Finally we got the paper in the meds were filled and it was before they closed down at 6 pm.
What a mess.
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