Traveling Pics

We're on a fairly last minute trip to celebrate a birthday with family and friends.

We left a cloudy Anchorage a week or so ago, but the sun was there.

A change of planes in Seattle and a view of Rainier as we head east.  Our flight left Anchorage late and there was some question about whether we'd catch the next flight.  But it was late too.  

I'm guessing this was over Montana.  I'm always amazed at how much "empty" land there is when you fly over the US.  

As the Anchorage Assembly decries the lack of buildable land in town, we passed over miles and miles of such property.  How big do we want Anchorage to be?  Big enough that it is indistinguishable from cities in the Lower 48?

So this was in Chicago.  Oak Park to be precise.  Some of you will know why I took this picture, but I imagine most won't.  If you look closely, this bike has a generator to power the battery for the lights.  I had one of those on my very first bike.  When you want the light to work, you let the top of the generator lean against the tire, and as the tire turns, it generates electricity.

Here we are in Chicago  - picture from the transit train.

And we transferred to the subway downtown.

                                                           

 Which became the 'el' 9elevated) soon and we even passed practically through Wriggly Field during a Cubs game.

It took a bit to figure out the system, but by our second day we were getting around pretty well.  Until the second to the last station, where the train stopped but didn't start again.  There was an announcement that there was a person on the tracks ahead.  That was about a 30 minute delay.  

 And here's Lake Michigan.  I've been reading Halldór Laxness' Independent People.  This picture of Lake Michigan reminds of me of the passage when the girl Asta Sollilja is leaving her home in rural Iceland for the first time.  She marvels at the changing landscapes.  But then they reach a stretch that is more desolate and unchanging.  

"The chill isolation of the moorland plateau reigned over these two wayfarers and they were silent.  The dreary monotony of the landscape dulled their senses;  she  began to feel hungry and no longer looked for or delighted in the things that were strange to her. 

Again and again the girl waited for the next hilltop to refresh the eye with some variation, some new prospect, but always it was the same endless repetition except that the gleaming waters of the lake had long since been left in the rear.  She had lost all her anticipation and had long grown tired of expecting anything in particular when the road, turning suddenly, dipped downward along the side of a deep ravine with river at the bottom.  And when she looked eastward along the gap, expecting to see another hill in front of her, lo and behold, there was nothing to see; it was as if the world came to a sudden stop before her eyes and the depth of the skies took its place, though with a different shade of blue.  Or was it that the sky was supported out on the horizon there by a gleaming wall of blue-green glass?  This strange blue color seemed to embrace all the mysteries of distance, and she stood for a moment overwhelmed by the prospect of such infinity.  It was as if she had come to the edge of the world.

"Father," she said in a perplexed and hesitating voice, "where are we?"

"We've crossed the heath,"  he replied.  "That's the ocean."

Lake Michigan is not an ocean, but it does extend out into the horizon like an ocean.  Can you see the blue green glass supporting the sky?

Blood Thicker Than Money And Climate Change

We’re in Mauritius.   I’ve already written about my ethical concerns of flying to Türkiye.  And here I am in Mauritius.  If we weren’t already planning on a Turkish trip, I might not (was going to say probably not, but unsure) be in Mauritius.  But Turkey is a little more than half way to Mauritius.  

And my daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law are living in Mauritius for six months.  My kids don’t like my writing about them, so that’s all I’ll say.  But we’re here in this island in the Indian Ocean that is considered part of Africa, and is about as far away from Alaska as you can go.

I probably should be giving you some insights, like a brief history, but my head isn’t there.  Here’s what the government of Mauritius says.  Today there is a mix of Indians, Africans, Chinese, and Europeans. Mauritian Creole seems to be the language most Mauritians speak, but French and English are also spoken by many.  French is the default language after Creole.  People of Indian descent are the clear majority, their ancestors originally brought over as slaves to work the sugar cane fields.  

Our main goal is to be with our kin and they’re living in a very comfortable place with a great yard.  So I can sit there and watch the birds.     

The red one is a Mauritius Fody, found, as I understand it, only here.  There are lots of them visiting the yard and generally around.  The bright red is easy to see.  (Which would seem to contradict t their endangered rating.)

I’m pretty sure this is a Village Weaver, an African bird that has found its way to Mauritius.  It was taking thread from the palm and flying away - presumably to do some weaving.  

This one, with the distinctive red-orange beak and the red eye shadow is a common waxbill.  Also an immigrant from Africa.

And a Malagasy Turtledove.  There’s a pink pigeon which is endangered and lives only in Mauritius and at first I thought this might be one.  But I think the turtledove id is the right one.  

A prominent landmark in Mauritius is Le Pouce (the thumb) and it’s not far from where we are.  Some books say it’s an easy 3.something km hike, others that it’s a difficult 6.something round trip hike.  Our daughter said it was extremely difficult - what with mud and steepness and sliding and we should definitely take the easier trail which winds around.  But that’s a much longer distance and still we would eventually get to the steep parts.  And my wife, who does her 10,000 steps a day, is not into steep uphill.  So we took a short bus ride and walked to the parking lot from the main road.  The picture to the left is a shot of Le Pouce on the walk to the trailhead.  

We followed my daughter’s advice and took the easy trail.  It was a nice walk - birds, butterflies, frogs, lots of flowers - but we never got near starting up the mountain.  And it wasn’t clear we were still on the right trail.  

Instead of hiking 4 or so kilometers up Le Pouce, we walked that distance back to our daughter’s place.  

We did have a spectacular Creole lunch nearby few days earlier.  And J and I took a one day tour of the sights in Southwest Mauritius, including a volcano crater, an Indian temple at a sacred lake, some waterfalls, a gorge.  A good trip, but not really my style - “Go up the path and take your picture, I’ll wait for you here.”  But it was a good way to

Grand Bassin

see a lot in a short time.  And apparently it's how many tourists here see the island.  We saw the same people at different stops with their drivers.  

I’m constantly reminded why my preferred way to travel is to have a long term stay some place where you have a purpose for being there (besides being a tourist) and a home base from which to wander out to see other places. You have time to slowly figure out how things work, where they are, and how to get around.  But I also get why people like package tours.  The figuring out can get uncomfortable and having someone who knows what they’re doing is much more efficient.  

Our guide Thursday knew all the shortcuts, and didn’t have to think about where things were or how to
squeeze in seven or eight sightseeing worthy stops.    

Subject shift:  When we try to forge an ethical path in life, we have to balance many values. As we toured the other day, we saw a number of signs like the one below, that highlighted things like conservation and maintaining environments that allow native species to survive. 

I know it’s hard to read so let me copy from the black box on the left of the tree:

“The Black River Gorges National Park is the core zone which is legally protected.  It is home to the last remnant of the Mauritian endemic flora and fauna species thus making it a unique ecosystem.  The main focus of this zone is the conservation and restoration of the native biodiversity.  It also promotes education, research and sustainable ecotourism activities.”

At the same time, tourism is a significant part of Mauritius’ economy.  

“Tourism industry in Mauritius

Mauritius tourism industry has experienced drastic growth in the last decade.

The Island of Mauritius had about 18,000 visitors in 1970 and in the last few years this number is almost reaching 1 million visitors to Mauritius annually.

The tourism sector is one of the main pillars of the local economy, and created 30,000 full time job equivalents in 2000 and the number today it is estimated that almost 40,000 has full direct employment in the tourism sector.

Tourists visiting Mauritius are primarily European, mainly French and British.

The amount of resorts and hotels along Mauritius coastline is increasing every year to accommodate the increasing number of tourists visiting the Island.” (From Mauritius Attractions)

It’s hard [for anyone] to lead an ethical life when most of the important measures of individual and national success are reported in dollars or Euros or RMB.  Those resorts and hotels the website above mentions, are, in some cases changing the economy, but also the culture of Mauritius, the second most densely populated country in Africa. 

It’s easy to just say, “screw it, my trip is just a blip in the climate change scenario.” But a million individual trips add up.  We can look at the impact on the climate of Russia’s war against Ukraine, of Trump’s frequent trips, or flying all the US generals from around the world to be lectured to by the defense secretary and the president. And, of course, a trip to Mauritius is something that financially comfortable people can do.  But our airfare was less than the average down payment on a new car or truck ($6,856)

Am I overthinking all this?  Compared to most people, I probably am.  But we should always be considering the ways we use our money affect the environment, other people, and power.  But our purpose on Mauritius is to visit with family who we otherwise wouldn’t see for a year, and I’m comfortable with that.  

Rewind - Grandkids Were In Town

 I've got six post started from the press club.  My SF grandkids and their parents were here last week.  The world social, political, legal, and economic foundations are being multiple times daily by the current US president.  

With the press club posts, I took notes here (on Blogspot), but it didn't seem right to just post notes, yet there were so many panels that I didn't really have time to do the panelists or my readers right, so they are just dangling there as 'drafts.'  

While most Anchorage bowl snow was gone when the grandkids arrived, we did find some puddles sealed in sheets of ice, which they had a great time breaking and then holding large pieces.  They also liked bouncing sticks off of a still mostly frozen Goose Lake on bike ride to Goose Lake. Then on along 

Northern Lights, the back of APU, and home.  I knew my grandson would be fine - because he and I did a long bike ride in SF last year.  But my granddaughter was also a champ.  I'd warned them there might be some snow still on the trail, but by it was all gone, which disappointed my grandson.  But he found dirt path that went off into the woods and still had some snow.  And off he went.  (He's 10 and she's 8.)

We also made it to the bead shop in the Golden Donut mall at Lake Otis and Tutor.  There are all kinds of beads and other string able objects like porcupine quills.

At the west end of the mall is the Stars of Alaska Rock Shop.  I'd put it on the list of places to take visitors to Anchorage.  

It's a crazy crowded shop full of, rocks, of course, but also fossils, and amazing things.  

How about a mosasaurus skull.  Actually, I don't think that was for sale.

Owner Martin Warfield was unpacking a new shipment of Amonites - 'an extinct cephalopod mollusk' - that lived 280 million years ago.

Here's a closer look at a half of one.  

  Another big hit was Bosco's, Anchorage's really good comic, games, sports cards, etc. shop.  As was Title Wave used book store.  

And Wild Scoops Ice Cream shop.  

  

And a hike at McHugh Creek.

We saw the eagle on our hike.  

So that's some of what's been going on.  Other silly problems, like not having a port in my newish (late last summer) MacBook Air for my SD card from my telephoto lens.  Which I corrected today.  But that's why I never got up a picture of the April 5 Anchorage demonstration against the Trump administration.  But now that I have the card reader, I may put some up.  It was crowded.  

And I'm still working with my 3rd grader every day as a volunteer at my local elementary school.  He's doing well.  And I've got 200 km on my bike since we got back in March.  So I'm keeping busy.  

AIFF2024: Opening Night, "Bob Trevino Likes It" Was A Crowd Pleaser

The Bear Tooth was packed.  The two new festival directors, Pat McGee and Adam Linkenhelt,  greeted the audience.  

Film maker Tracie Laymon was introduced, and then we saw Bob Trevino Likes It.

A 20 something woman whose mom was gone when she was young and whose dad, Bob Trevino, seems to be always disappointed with her.  

She looks up Bob Trevino on Facebook and befriends another one - not her dad.  The movie then focuses on their relationship.  He and his wife lost a baby years ago, and she needs a father.  He insists he is not her father, but they can be friends.  

On the one hand this was a small film - it looked closely at a few people and their struggles to connect with others and themselves.  But it was also a big film up on that screen.  Nothing pretentious, nothing glitzy.  Just a human story.  I didn't see any actors - the characters were real.  I heard more than one audience member say they would give it a ten out of five.  

Although the credits said it was purely a work of fiction, when Tracie got up on stage after the movie for Q&A, she let us know it was a fictionalized version of her own story.  Several of people said they 'knew' one character or another, that they were that character.  

This is the type of film that film festivals are for.  It was Tracie's first feature length film.  Below, she's talking with audience members after the Q&A was over. 

And here she's talking with three young film makers.  On the right is AIFF Board Chair, Rich Curtner.

I did an overview of the Saturday films schedule here.  

I'll try to get up something on Sunday tomorrow, but I'll also be watching more films.  

Subbing In San Francisco- USS Pampanito

The grandkids had contradictory ideas about  where they wanted to go yesterday.  She was more willing, but he adamantly didn't want to go to the Children's Creativity Museum.  

I googled 'San Francisco for kids' and pointed out that we could go visit a submarine.  Immediate mood change.  

So we got the 28 bus and rode it to Fisherman's Wharf.  

The USS Pampanito SS-383 is a WWII Balao Class Fleet Submarine.

There were something like 80 men aboard, and a sign outside said they were gone for long periods of time without a shower.  But on the tour we saw two showers.  One for the crew and one for the officers.  My granddaughter asked about that after the tour.  The lady said that the men who worked in the engine room and got oily and the cooks got to take showers, as well as the officers.  But water had to be rationed.  

Q:  Couldn't they use saltwater?

A:  When they surfaced, and it was safe, the men could just jump into the water.

Sleeping quarters for the crew.  There was one bed for three crew members since two were always on duty.  

This was the kitchen for the crew!

I saved this image below at higher resolution, but I still don't think you can read it.  So here's a link to a site on How Submarines Work.  It has a better animated version of how it takes on water to dive.

From the lower part of the sign below: 

"The United States submarines and the men who served on them represented less than 1.6% of America's al naval force during WWII, yet was responsible for sinking 55% of Japanese naval and merchant marine flees.  This extraordinary record was nt without cost.  Almost 23% of the submarine force was lost, comprising more than 3.500 men and 52 submarines."

Two subs were lost on October 24, 1944 and another on October 25.  The last one was lost on August 6, 1945 - the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, three days before the Japanese surrendered.  

The kids enjoyed the visit to the sub a lot.  And we kept them occupied on and around Fisherman's Wharf for several hours before getting the bus back home.  

A benefit of the 28 bus is that it stops, along the way, at the Golden Gate Bridge visitor center. 

$229 Million Settlement Is More Than 1/3 Of Santa Monica's Budget For Sex Offenses

The Richard Winton in the LA Times writes this week: (the link should be accessible) 

"This week, Santa Monica settled more lawsuits, bringing its total payout to $229.285 million — the most costly single-perpetrator sexual abuse disbursement for any municipality in the state."

Imagine what Santa Monica could have done for poor families, for the homeless, for schools, for health care, for $229 million.  That's more than 1/3 of the total Santa Monica budget for 2022-2023!

From the City of Santa Monica, 2022:

"The total adopted budget for the City for FY 2022-23 is $665.4 million."

There's a lot to untangle in this story.  I've got other posts in draft form lined up, but this one tugs at a number of issues I've been mulling over.  With good administration, this shouldn't happen. With good accountability mechanisms this shouldn't have happened for so long.  There are ways to, if not totally prevent such things, certainly to minimize their impact.   But there are also other societal issues that need to be addressed, particularly how we deal with pedophiles.  So let's look at some of the issues here.

1.  The Cost of poor oversight

One study said it was $3 billion over the last ten years.  That's just police!  That's an average of $300 million per year.  But I'm guessing with this single, one quarter of a billion dollar settlement, almost the average annual cost reported in this study, either that $3 billion figure is low, or awards are getting higher.  

But the cost isn't just in money.  The costs include:

• impacts on the lives of people who were harmed by the police and others.  In the Santa Monica case over 200 kids have reported the employee abused them.  Eighty were part of the settlement
• impacts on public safety since police were were spending time abusing citizens instead of protecting them, when people are wrongly convicted, the actual perpetrator isn't apprehended
• impacts on trust in government - among those abused and their families and among the general public when these crimes and settlements are publicized
• opportunity costs - the costs of things this money could have done (though one of the reports says most of this comes from insurance companies, which means all other organizations pay higher insurance rates, and I'd guess it spills over to the rest of us paying car, health, and other insurance

Here's another NPR piece looking at these issues.

2.  Why we don't see  

Most people see what they want to see.  

"The confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that causes people to search for, favor, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms their preexisting beliefs. For example, if someone is presented with a lot of information on a certain topic, the confirmation bias can cause them to only remember the bits of information that confirm what they already thought."

We also have a truth bias.  Certainly honest people have a tendency to assume others are honest as well. (And there is evidence that most people are basically honest.)

So adding these two tendencies together, we tend to discount indicators of trouble and hold on to more positive interpretations of the behavior we see.  Especially of a person we've known and respected over the years.  "Nah, he couldn't have done that." 

And the people whose behavior is problematic are often (I'm guessing here) quite capable of giving us believable stories to explain away the problems.  This is why it's often a good idea to have outsiders, people who don't know the people involved,  come in to investigate problems.  

But we also have negative biases.  People who complain might be part of an out group - many of the kids in the Santa Monica case were from poor, immigrant families whose parents might fear deportation if they report and are less likely to be believed if they report.  

Most people, I would argue, take a long time before they realize that something is seriously wrong.  And then it takes a long time to report it.  How long did it take you to acknowledge that your (car, toilet, spouse) had a problem.   Then once you accepted it, how long to take action to fix it.

"But his biggest claim to fame was his work as a volunteer in the Police Activities League, where, beginning in the late 1980s, he worked with boys and girls in the nonprofit’s after-school program.

Uller was a familiar face at the PAL center that served Santa Monica’s Latino neighborhoods, often traveling in a police vehicle and befriending generations of youths.

It took decades to uncover that Uller was a sexual predator, the center of a stunning series of crimes that destroyed the lives of children and exposed grave questions as to why it took so long for authorities to uncover what he was doing."

3.  Why why don't act when we do see

Humans seem to have a basic loyalty built in to one's 'group.'  Betraying family, friends, and community (church, work group, etc.) are seen as moral violations and we have lots of negative names for people who do that - snitch, tattletale, traitor, stool-pigeon, etc.  Among law enforcement agencies, this is often known as "the blue wall of silence."

Competing against that loyalty, we have the Rule of Law - a set of moral expectations for people living in a community, in a society.  

When group loyalty comes in conflict with rule of law, individuals face a moral quandary.  Which set of rules should one follow?  We recognize this in the law with rules that allow spouses to not testify against each other, that ban nepotism and other forms of conflict of interest.  I'd argue that the group loyalty is built into our genes, our emotional make up.  The rule of law is something we learn logically.  And strong emotion generally beats out logic.  

“You have to understand in this liberal city, this is a Black and brown part of the city, and no one in the government was watching out for our kids. The Pico neighborhood was marginalized in that era,” said De la Torre, noting that Uller’s abuse occurred “under the shield of law enforcement” and “not one person lost a job” in response to the oversight.

Reporting people in our in-group for breaches of the rule of law  has real, immediate consequences on our families, our social circle, and even on our employment.  

This conflict keeps many from speaking up, even when they see wrong doing.  If you've ever lied to protect a friend, a family member, or someone else you have a close bond with, you understand what I'm talking about.  

3.  When Good Employees Also Do Bad

Seeing wrongdoing becomes particularly difficult when

• the employee is otherwise exemplary in their job performance

"In nearly three decades as a civilian employee with the Santa Monica Police Department and the city, Eric Uller was considered a standout public servant who won awards for his technological innovations."

• has work activities where they work independently, where supervision is not close - such as working with youth after school. (I should mention I was an after school playground director at an elementary school to help pay for college, and I was usually alone with the kids, without supervision. No, I didn't abuse that independence, and I suspect most people don't.)

4.  How the US deals with 'wrong' sex

 Right now in the US, there probably aren't many people considered lower than pedophiles. Gay sex used to have a similar stigma (which, given all the anti-trans laws were seeing introduced across the US now), isn't completely gone either.  Sex and marriage between people of different races was also illegal.  Despite a US Supreme Court ruling banning such laws, 

"As of February 3, 2021, seven states still required couples to declare their racial background when applying for a marriage license, without which they cannot marry. The states are Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota (since 1977),[42] New Hampshire, and Alabama."

There are good reasons for our laws against adults having sex with children, though the lines get blurry as the age of the child gets higher and the age of the adult gets lower.  There's no question about why a 30 year old shouldn't have sex with a nine year old.  Yet according to NBC news in 2019:

"Idaho and California are not alone in not having a minimum marriage age. A majority of states, which issue marriage licenses, allow 16- and 17-year-olds to marry, a few allow 14-year-olds, and 13 states have no minimum marriage age as of September. Before 2016 — when Virginia became the first state to put its marriage age into law — more than half of the states had no minimum marriage age fixed by statute."

While it appears there are requirements for parental or court approval, it does appear that there are no minimum ages in these states.  I would guess that the proponents for allowing  young marriage often argue that pregnant girls should be allowed to marry the fathers - but I didn't look that up and could be wrong.  

My point in all this is that some sexual preferences are seen as evil while others are perfectly ok. (Though for many, still, sex outside of marriage is frowned on.)  

People don't choose at some point in their lives to be sexually stimulated by one type of sexual encounter or another.  Some argue some attractions are genetic.  Some argue that sexual preferences are based on early sexual encounters.  

People with heterosexual preferences would appear to be the luckiest.  These are what our society condones.  While some people frown on any sex out of marriage, heterosexual sex among the consenting, unmarried seems to be alive and well.   The kinkier the sex and the more people will disapprove.  As people's preferences stray from heterosexual, single partner sex, there is more disapproval.  

But imagine if a person were forbidden from having unmarried heterosexual sex and punished if they did.  Buzzweed lists a number of ways women have been punished in the US, some of which involved sexual acts.

For many people the sexual urge is very powerful, even irresistible.  I suspect that is probably the case of people who view child pornography and who engage in sex with children.  I would only request that people who have been in situations where they could not resist their sexual urges with another person, consider what it would have been like if that other person were legally a child.  Or for people who couldn't resist opening a porn site and watching porn that turned them on.  

I'm not defending pedophiles.  But simply labeling them monsters and locking them up forever is not a good way to reduce pedophilia.  I'm only suggesting that such urges can be hard to control.  And many such relationships that are considered taboo today, have in different periods of time been acceptable.  And sexual practices condoned today were in past times seen as evil.  

But we've evolved in our beliefs that sex should be consensual.  We've evolved in our beliefs that people in positions of authority have a power in the sexual relationship that makes consent, at best, a morally difficult determination.  

And we believe that adults having sex with young children is, without question, non consensual and also an example of an unbalanced power relationship.  

Child pornography is a problem because children have been exploited to produce the images.  Is viewing drawings of child sex as viewing photos and videos?

If AI could produce child pornography (I suspect it already can and does) without any actual children being involved, would that be ok?  Some will argue that such pornography would lead to actual sexual encounters.  But we really don't know how many viewers of child pornography actually go out and find victims.  

My goal here is to raise the question of whether there are ways to recognize some people's sexual attraction to children, even let them indulge in pornography that didn't exploit actual children, and also figure out ways to protect children from sexual predators?  

The person in this article excelled in some aspects of his job.  But he had a taboo sexual attraction to children.  What do you think his options were to seek help from a counselor?  In many situations people who professionally learn about child abuse are mandated to report that to the authorities.  

If this were not such a reviled and taboo attraction, would this employee have been able to seek and get counseling and treatment that would have helped him deal with his inappropriate attractions?  Psych Central says:

"Pedophilic disorder treatment options include medication, hormone, and psychosocial therapies. “Stigma often discourages people from seeking help, but resources are available."

Most mental health problems are stigmatized making it difficult for people to seek help.  Pedophilia  is probably one of the most stigmatized.  

That leads me to offer a few options for reducing sex between adults and children.

Some ways to lessen the incidence of work related pedophilia:

1. General education to let people know that there are treatments for people sexually attracted to children and reducing the stigma connected to it so people are more likely to seek such treatment  (I realize that this is a long term solution, since people with more common, more visible mental health problems also avoid getting help because of the stigma involved.)
2. Education in schools that teaches children how to recognize inappropriate touch, acts of grooming, and steps to take when they encounter such behavior.  Erin Merrin came to Alaska in 2015 and got such a program (Erin's Law) adopted, despite the obstacles set by then Senator Dunleavy, under the guise of 'parental rights.'  Now Governor Dunleavy is still using 'parents rights' as a cover for trying to weaken Erin's Law.  Erin's Law has been adopted in a number of states and seems like one of the more promising ways to reduce pedophilia, by educating the potential victims. 
3. Increased vigilance for situations where children are vulnerable to predatory adults - situations where adults work with children such as playgrounds, social services that care for children, recreational activities such as sports and Boy Scouts.  
4. Changing the laws that give public employees immunity for lapses at work.  There do need to be protections against lawsuits or people wouldn't become public servants.  I think the bulk of monetary punishment still needs to be born by the agency.  But individuals who make serious mistakes, who don't report abuse they know about (not just sex related) should also have some monetary consequences.  

That's a start.  I'm sure others can think of other ways to do this sort of work.  

Bearings And Sunshine - And Some Oak Park Houses

We're in Chicago/Oak Park, Illinois visiting a long time friend (we were roommates in Peace Corps training over 50 years ago) and J's brother who we haven't seen since well before the pandemic.  We arrived Wednesday evening, on a cloudy night.  My internal compass wasn't working.  The next day the clouds were low and leaking.  I just couldn't sense north or south, east or west.  

Then this morning I pulled up the shades.  

Blue sky and sunshine!  When we went out I was able to figure out directions much easier knowing my shadow was generally toward the north.  

We went off for a walk which gave me a chance to take some pictures of a few houses and other objects that caught my eye.  I'd note, for people who don't know anything about Oak Park, it's the town where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and had his studio.  There are a number of his houses and other structures in Oak Park.  

This is a WW I monument in the park next to the public library.  Monuments like this one glorify war by suggesting all who fought in the war were heroes.  They give young boys and men the idea that fighting for your country is noble and makes you a hero.  There are times when that is true.  I think those fighting in Ukraine now to keep Ukraine free from Russian conquest are noble.  

But far too many wars are fought to protect business interests or access to raw materials in other countries.  The only people who always benefit from war are arms dealers - whether guns, tanks, planes, and the people who supply all the needs of soldiers.  Those folks don't worry about the people - civilians and soldiers - killed or wounded or psychologically damaged.  They don't even care about the destruction that war causes.  In fact, they may even get contracts to reconstruct the cities their products destroyed.  

Kids around the United States and other parts of the world tend to see a lot more statues honoring the military and war than statues that treat doctors, teachers, artists, or scientists as role models whose paths are worthy of following.  

The sun was nice today, but the temperature never got more than mid-30s, The wind today was not much more than a breeze.   Also got to do some surrogate cramping today as we picked up my friends' granddaughter from pre-school and wandered around through parks and neighborhoods until her mom got home.  She decided she was going to eat my knee and so I said I'd eat her ear.  Five yer old ears are the tastiest I said.  And she responded without a pause - I'm four.  (She's five.) We did have fun.  

Still Alive - Grandkids Keeping Me Busy

 I've got several posts to put up, but no time.  We drove up from LA along the coast to SF.  The big highlight was Elephant Seals at a beach just north of Cambria.  Lots of pictures coming eventually.  San Francisco is a great place to spend time with the kids.  Doing lots of walking.  There are Alcatraz pics to post - interesting but Elephant Seals so much better for the soul.  There was time with the kids at the Botanical Garden.  Went to Knife Shop Sharpening today, a garden shop, playground.  Tomorrow we're taking food offerings to monks at a Thai Buddhist temple nearby and then to the Cal Academy Science Center.  Here's one pic from driving around today.  Well two, to give it some context.

18th and Mission, San Francisco.