Nobody 838

Sunday, October 31, 2010
Nobody # 838

Nobody Asked Me But:

As I write this I am thinking about a day of tricksters, unspeakable horrors, devils, witches, and scary stories. That’s right – Election Day is Tuesday.

And have you noticed that – although both sides lie in their election ads, the other side lies more than does mine?<<<

"Justice: What’s The Right thing To Do?” By Michael J. Sandel - I mentioned this book a few months ago, and I want to return to it now. As you know, I am fascinated by the closely related topics of justice and morality, and Sandel, the hugely popular Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, is one the leading thinkers in this field. If you are interested, and I most certainly am, (actually hugely excited is a better description for me) you can find 12 one-hour streaming videos of his class at http://www.justiceharvard.org/.<<<


Good teachers make something more out of something. This is true at every level, from Sandel at Harvard, to the first grade teacher at Mid-town Elementary – especially to the first grade teacher at Mid-town. Students at every age yearn to be more. Every good teacher, in ways small and large, lights the way for them.<<<

From justice to doughnuts – When Frittelli’s Doughnuts in Beverly Hills closed, Barbara and I suffered for months from doughnut withdrawal. No more mocha-latte caked wonders. But finally there is some relief, and it has always been right there, on Fairfax at Third, for the taking. Last Sunday, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market and “shopped at” Bob’s coffee and doughnuts. No, they are not as good as Frittelli’s, but they were PDW – pretty damned wonderful.<<<

I keep reading Republican remarks about the “liberal elite.” If the liberals are elite, then why do the conservatives have all the money?<<<

"We all have to forgive ourselves our youth.” - Spenser, in Robert B. Parker’s “Painted Ladies”. So much wisdom from the mouth of an ex-boxer turned private detective. I think the thing I most have to forgive myself for is paradoxically, the thing I am most thankful for - that my youth has lasted so long.<<<

Last week I wrote about the probability that Wisconsin’s excellent Democratic Senator, Russ Feingold will lose his seat Tuesday. Among the many reasons he deserves to be re-elected is that he is the only senator who had the courage to vote against one of the most shameful laws in our country’s history – The “Patriot” Act.<<<

And riddle me this – why is it that our country is so valiant on the battlefield and so cowardly at home where, whenever a threat appears, we refuse to defend the very thing that makes us special - our Bill of Rights?<<<

And on the same subject, this was the sad but accurate lead line to a NY Times editorial last week – “It can be hard to distinguish between the Bush administration and the Obama administration when it comes to detainee policy.”<<<

And yet, for all his failings, Barack Obama remains the classiest president since JFK. I will vote for him in 2012 in a heartbeat.<<<

Every childhood has its fears – nuclear war, terrorism. Mine, like the lead character in Phillip Roth’s new novel, “Nemesis,” was polio. But I wasn’t smart enough then to ask the question Roth’s character, Bucky, asks: "Doesn't God have a conscience?"

The moment, a few years later, when I did ask the question – and saw the obvious answer - was the moment I stopped believing.<<<

FYI: UCLA has more players in the NBA than any other school – 14, just under 1/3 of the PAC-10 total of 48.<<<

FYI – The U.S. spends 2% of its gross domestic product on infrastructure. That is half of what we spent in 1960. In comparison, Europe spends 5% and China 9%.<<<

Sir Winston Churchill is so justly famous for his WW II quotes, that some may forget his wisdom in other areas. For instance, this quote: “I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." I’m Jim Turner and I endorse this message.<<<

I am barely old, but I remember the MLB days of the playing manager. The last one was Lou Boudreau who managed the Cleveland Indians to the 1948 World Series victory and was also named the American League’s Most Valuable Player.<<<

From The Sporting News Daily: “Guillen (Ozzie) was the Marlin’s third base before becoming the White Sox manager.” The way I hear it, if he hadn’t taken the WS job, he would have been promoted to home plate<<<

Did you ever notice – that people who push against government take-over of healthcare have theirs and don’t seem to have any problem with others going without?<<<

A politico’s definition of an invalid poll - one that goes against them.<<<

For want of a nail --- A shoe was lost. And for want of a helicopter we got stuck with the Reagan presidency – at least according to Jimmy Carter who recently told a group of LA students: “With one more helicopter in 1979 the effort to rescue the Iran hostages would have succeeded and I would have been reelected.”<<<

Did you know – that donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes? So each of us better watch our ass.<<<

Lately I enjoy reading novels about other cultures, and I just finished one that takes place in Iceland - “Arctic Chill” by Arnaldur Indridason. I am not a “beat the confessions out of them” hard-liner on criminals but neither am I quite as permissive as Icelanders. It seems that one of their most frequent responses to police questioning is – “Is that any of your business?”

Also from the book, in Iceland they call substitute teachers "temporary supply teachers."<<<

Halloween special – scary movies:

As a child: (1) “The Ghost Breakers.” This Bob Hope film was actually a comedy but it scared the heck out of me. (2) “The Mummy.” Lon Cheney Jr. may have been slow with his foot dragging behind, but he just kept coming, and coming, and coming.

As an adult: “Alien.” Scary and ugly is a very bad combination.<<<

Now that he could get 100 years for conspiracy and money laundering, will Tom Delay go from Dancing With the Stars to aging behind bars?<<<

Time magazine recently posted a time-travel list of 10 historical events they would like to crash. It started me thinking about my own list, which, for now, begins and ends at one. My trip would be a short one to the recent past. I would choose to have a front row seat for Barack Obama’s inauguration, which I believe to be a watershed moment in our history.<<<

Here are two more in my series of life’s great philosophical questions:

Does a relationship break down before it breaks up?

Why does a 3-hour plane flight seem to take less than one-half the time of a 5-hour one?

(This picture was taken at a sculpture garden in Stowe.)

Nobody 837

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Nobody # 837

Nobody Asked Me But:

The picture above was taken at the Simon Pearce restaurant in Vermont where your author is about to turn water into wine.<<<

“Marijuana kills brain cells.” Police spokesman opposing Prop 19.

Ah, Mr. Policeman, perhaps you don’t know (or are avoiding the subject). Alcohol also kills brain cells. Why don’t I see you crusading for a new age of prohibition? In fact, I am willing to bet that you have lost a few brain cells by taking an occasional drink.

After much thought, I am going to vote yes on Prop 19, the measure to legalize marijuana in my state. Hypocrisy undermines a society’s values, and it is hypocritical to allow and promote the use of alcohol and tobacco, while creating criminals out of pot users. So I say, let us legalize, regulate and tax the stuff.

Personal note: I don’t use marijuana. I have used it fewer than a dozen times, all in my distant past. I never liked the process or the high.<<<

The Social Network

I haven’t seen a movie this good all year and I doubt that I will see a better one. The story of Mark Zukerberg, the man who started Facebook, and the country’s youngest billionaire, is told mostly in flashback, but its pace never slackens nor did my fascination ever fade. Zuckerberg is a brilliant egotist with a small ruthless streak, but I saw him as primarily an innocent – a young man who wants to be famous and popular and doesn’t quite know how to pull it off. That’s the great irony of his story. Zuckerberg is a social zephyr who creates the most widely used socialization tool of all time.<<<

When I see pictures of the Chrystal Cathedral, (picture) now bankrupt, in all its ostentatious grandeur, I remember fondly all the simple white, wooden churches of New England. If I were religious I would want to worship in a building like these. (picture)

If there were a God, I somehow think She would feel the same.<<<

I don’t care what the Vatican claims - Homer Simpson is no Catholic.<<<

It is a shame that in a D.C. filled with incompetents and political hacks, a senator who is neither, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, is going to lose. It is both surprising and sad, because the Dairy State has such a history of great Senators - Joe, “der Fuhrer” McCarthy being the obvious exception.<<<

And on the subject of Senator Joe, I knew he was an evil man, but listening to Hayes Johnson’s excellent book, “The Age of Anxiety,” makes me realize that an American demagogue can fool too many of the people for far too long.<<<

“Do not speak evil of the dead.” Dean Acheson, upon the death of Joe McCarthy, a man who had reviled him.

Sorry Dean, I don’t buy it. Any person who spent his life being evil, and Joe was just one of many, deserves to be remembered publically for his misdeeds.<<<

It was interesting to read last week that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared that the attempt at a multicultural society has “utterly failed” in her country. I admit that I wonder if the same result is going to happen in America. In a land of multi-language ballots and multi-national identities, is it pluribus unum becoming e pluribus pluribus?<<<

THE WALL OF SHAME

Shame on President Obama’s Justice Department - for its courtroom defense of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell.” Doing what’s right doesn’t need time and studies. Harry Truman didn’t need them to desegregate the military in 1947.

Shame on Nevada voters - for even giving Sharon Engle a shot at winning its Senate seat. The argument that she will only be one out of 100 and can’t do very much damage lowers the value of her seat to zero.

Shame on Virginia Thomas – for, after all these years, trying to pressure Anita Hill into an apology for telling the truth.

Shame on The Boy Scouts – for telling a gay leader to take a hike.

Shame on the U.S. for not exercising better control over its Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq and for not punishing their excesses.

Shame on National Public Radio for terminating the contract of one of its news analysts, Juan Williams, after he said on a Fox News show that he gets nervous when he sees people with Muslim garb on planes. Any of us can know that it was not Muslims but Muslim terrorists who acted on 9/11, but since terrorists do not wear a scarlet T, it is natural to worry a bit.<<<

BUT WORRY OR NOT, IT IS WRONG TO ACT WITHOUT JUST CAUSE!

I love it – Kim Severson, a four-time James Beard award-winning food writer, has an article entitled "An extensive collection of vinegars for all occasions.”<<<

Will someone please explain this? The NBA denies banning a new basketball shoe from Athletic Propulsion labs but says they will not be allowed on the court.<<<

Tom Bosley, number 9 on TV Guide’s list of 50 Greatest TV Dads, died this past week. He would be much higher than 9 on my list. After all, he not only fathered Richie and Joanie through their difficult teen years but also father-figured the Fonz, and that was no easy parenting. So I would place Howard Cunningham (Bosley) in the number 3 spot, trailing only the Yin, Archie Bunker (Carol O’Conner) and the Yang, Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby).<<<

Dumbing down in Delaware - "Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state?" - Christine O’Donnell. It is not just the Constitution that confuses Christine. She still maintains that there are 11 commandments in her bible – the 11^th being Thou shalt not masturbate unless you use a catcher’s mitt.

You know how much I loved “the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” but when the Barry Awards named it the Best Mystery/Crime Novel of a Decade in which one of the nominees was Dennis Lehane’s superb “Mystic River,” they messed up royally. And speaking of Lehane, my most anticipated novel of the Fall is “Moonlight Mile,” his sequel to “Gone, Baby Gone” due out on November 2.<<<

Conservatives love unregulated capitalism and hate anarchy, which, when you stop and think about it, is strange, because unregulated capitalism is economic anarchy.<<<

Most Americans still think that the bailouts of the banks, the auto companies and American International Group will wind up costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, when, in fact, the latest guess is that the government will come out even on the deal, and may even turn a profit.

Many Americans think that the economic stimulus package has been a failure, when, in fact, the estimates from a wide range of experts say the stimulus has saved or created more than 3 million jobs. – both by Steven Pearlstein business columnist for the Washington Post.

I think the mistake here is in the first three words of each paragraph – Most Americans think.<<<

Here’s another reason why Meg Whitman shouldn’t be elected governor. She went to the Black Bear Diner in Redding and did not order a blackberry malt.<<<

Another of life’s great philosophical questions:

Why do the readers of all my audio books that take place in Norway and Sweden use a British accent?

The Cows of Burlington, VT

Nobody 836

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Nobody # 836

Nobody Asked Me But:

The long “voyage” home: I took a quick trip to Austin last week to visit my brother. My return flight took 2 hours and 55 minutes. I walked out of the airport and onto a Fly-Away bus for my trip to Van Nuys where Barbara was to pick me up. The drive from LAX took 1 hour and 55 minutes. Unbelievable!

AND NOW – PART III OF OUR NEW ENGLAND TRIP

Remember the song “Three Little Words?” Two young for that? Oh well. I love you are certainly three magic words, but during our trip we discovered six others that also speak of love - Lake Champlain Chocolate Company ice cream. The company, which we visited on our first Vermont trip many years ago, makes superb chocolates, but their ice cream is even better. We were tired after much walking on a day trip from Stowe to Burlington and my wife wanted a hot chocolate fix, so we wandered into the LCC store on the Church Street pedestrian mall. She didn’t even know that they made ice cream, but one look changed her mind. She ordered a Belgium chocolate mocha chip, but I passed – until I tasted hers. If there is a superior commercial ice cream in the United States, I would love to find it. It is not far behind my all-time favorite, which is from a shop in Oxford often seen on PBS mysteries.

End of story? No way. There is a second LCC store in Waterbury, which is about 12 miles south of Stowe, where we stayed. It is practically next-door to the Ben & Jerry’s home store/factory. Goodbye Ben. So long Jerry. We went to the LCC three times, to B&J no times. The first time we shared the best hot fudge sundae I have ever eaten. The second time we didn’t share. (Jim the oinxster) the third time we went specifically for the hot chocolate. It was delicious, but next time, if I am thirsty, they can just melt the HF sundae and serve it to me in liquid form.

This is how they make it:

It all starts with the incredible ice cream. Add the superb hot fudge. This is LC chocolate, could their fudge sauce be anything less than a chocolate-lover's dream? Then they top it with real whipped cream, thick and just short of sweet. Add pecan pieces to complete perfection. That's amore.

Seattle had its pigs, Saratoga Springs its horses, Indianapolis its tennis shoes. For Burlington it is creatively painted cows lining both sides of Church Street. As you can see from the picture, they are way cool. And isn’t it about time for us to do something like this in LA? Hollywood could have painted statues of entertainment icons. It would be better than the boring stars on the sidewalks. Downtown Los Angeles could do mini-cars and Orange County, rich, SC graduate Republicans. (I will post a group of cow pictures later.)

But I digress. Back to Burlington, with its very nice University of Vermont right in the center. What is a trip without great french fries? Al’s is supposed to have the best in the state, so naturally we had to try. They were excellent, very much like the Boardwalk fries they used to sell in local food courts. Same great gravy too.

In Stowe, which is New England’s primary ski resort, we stayed at the Green Mountain Inn, which was built in 1833, and turned into an inn in 1850. Once again we had a mini-suite, which I love because it gives me a retreat to read, write and enjoy my morning beverage while Barbara sleeps.

Stowe is totally cool with good (and simple) restaurants. Actually Frida’s was not so simple. It is a mildly up-scale Mexican tapas restaurant, complete with prints of paintings by the great Mexican artist. My carne asada taco was excellent, better than Barbara’s quesadilla. It was fun watching the waiter make our guacamole table-side, but Barbara’s is much better. When we finished we wandered outside to take in the British Invasion.

The BI is Stowe’s annual British car show and, cool and sporty, they were lined up on both sides of the main street while a mock- Beatles band played the group’s classics. Afterwards we sampled excellent maple creamee, an especially good soft ice cream. We never had regular size because our timing was bad – we were always full. I know, I know. That is no excuse.

Another night we ate at our hotel’s casual restaurant where I had a very good turkey dinner and Barb had a turkey sandwich on a honey oatmeal bread from their bakery that would finish high up on her best foods list.

The hills weren’t alive with the sound of music, and Julie Andrews was nowhere in sight, but it was still a nice drive to the Von Trapp Lodge and their small deli across the road. Later that same day we drove up to the Mansfield Ski Resort where my wife bought a super new scarf, and I added, to my great/excessive/fun/indulgent (you pick the best adjective), tee shirt collection.

We had what turned out to be a small medical problem our second evening. Barbara had a splinter in her finger from work at home, and it looked to becoming infected. She called Kaiser about 10 pm and was on hold for over an hour. However, when she did get through, an excellent nurse told her to see a doctor the next day and bill it to our Senior Advantage plan. Even though the next day was Saturday, she found a good doctor who told her it was probably not infected (she was correct) but prescribed an antibiotic and gave her a tetanus shot.

Other great discoveries:

(1) Farmer’s markets in Waitsfield and Stowe.

(2) Excellent pizza at Pie-casso in Stowe.

(3) A cool bookstore/coffee shop in St. Johnsbury, VT - this was on our small-roads drive from Vermont to Maine.

(4) A neat new Starbucks in North Conway, NH – same drive. (I only managed 4 new Starbucks on the trip, bringing my number up to 375.)

More about our Pie-casso experience - I wanted to order a glass of red, but the menu did not name of the winery. So I asked my waitress --- “Que syrah, syrah,” I repeated.

Her answer was music to my ears – “Whatever will be, will be/The label's not mine to see.”

All together now - Que syrah, syrah.

(This picture shows where I once again proved myself a champion of the table - ping pong, that is.)

A few words about our flights: We left from and returned to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The short security lines and easy parking made this a pleasure. Our eastward flight was interesting because of the lightning show over Kansas, luckily at some distance away. On the other hand distance was no comfort with the number of other planes I saw zipping by about 5 or 10 feet away. Well, perhaps they were a little farther, but they seemed pretty damn close.

Our flight home was long but uneventful until we landed in Burbank to be greeted by an up close and personal electric storm.

HERE ARE MY BEST LISTS

BEST FOOD

(1) Hot fudge sundae at Lake Champlain Chocolate

(2) Sausage pizza at Flatbread Baking Company

(3) Brisket and coleslaw sandwich at Thorndike Company

(3) Cork, the chocolate dessert from Standard Baking

(4) Macaroon from Hidden Pond

BEST ICE CREAM

(1) Lake Champlain Chocolate Company

(2) John’s of Maine

(3) Giffords

(3) Shaw’s Ridge

BEST LODGING

Hidden Pond – Although Green Mountain Inn and Samoset, after we changed rooms, were also terrific.<<<

And finally, from former Notre Dame and long-time NFL quarterback Joe Theisman - “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is someone like Norman Einstein.”

Nobody 835

Sunday, October 10, 2010
Nobody 835

Nobody Asked Me But:

"Love alters not when it alteration finds." Shakespeare – Sonnet 116 (Slightly changed by Robert B. Parker)

More on Parker and Spenser below - In the meantime, on with Part II of The Turner’s Great New England Adventure.

Whenever a hotel offers you an upgrade over the room you reserved, check it out before saying yes. Sometimes they are doing you a favor, but often they are taking care of themselves. It was the latter when we checked into Samoset, a Central Maine resort in Rockport, near Camden one of my favorite small cities. That’s why I call the middle part of our three stop New England journey a tale of two rooms.

Part 1: The “upgrade” – Instead of a room in the main (or is it spelled Maine) building, we were checked into one of the condos. The golf course/ocean view from the balcony was beautiful; the two rooms with tiny bath were not. They weren’t terrible, just mediocre. They looked and smelled kind of lived in. Barbara complained mildly, and the clerk on duty offered to move us the next day, but we decided moving would be a pain in the ass, so we stayed. (I am sure my wife did it mostly to please me with my bad habit of choosing too often the easy way.)

After our drive, we were tired and decided to eat at the resort’s casual restaurant. I would like to say the food was as bad as the service but it wasn’t – it too was just mediocre.

Nights one and two were restless ones for my light sleeping wife. The people lodged above had the colossal nerve to walk across the floor. Strike two.

Day two brought another disappointment. Barbara had loved the infinity pool on the resort’s website, only to be told, contrary to information she had received earlier, that it had just closed for the season. She was not a happy camper until that evening. I was in the office center trying to fix an e-mail problem on our computer at home, and she started talking to the young woman on duty. When the two finished their conversation, we were upgraded and moved to our choice of rooms in the main building and told that, yes, the sitting area around the pool was most certainly open.

Her apology was followed by the delivery next evening of a creative dessert tray and the home-coming surprise of a message left on out phone apologizing again and informing us that Samoset was paying for one night of our four-night stay. The new room was terrific, as was setting by the pool. What did Shakespeare say? “Always leave them laughing.” Or was that Donald O’Conner?

I just checked my e-mail and noticed an incoming from Lake Champlain Chocolate. How could they be so cruel?

Our four days in the area and two good nights at the hotel were excellent.

We trice went to Camden and, of course, headed for Camden Cone, which, naturally was closed until the last afternoon when I had a black raspberry cone. It was very good but no better than fifth on my rating list. We had a couple of good but not great meals in Camden, walked the streets and checked out their wonderful library, which looks out over the small harbor and even allows a member to check out Kindles for two weeks. We misread a sign on the door of one of our favorite bookstores, The Owl And Turtle, and showed up for a signing after it was over.

Rockland and Rockport are small and next to one another. Rockport is a yawn of a town, but Rockland had a nice one-street business district with surprisingly good food. Samoset is listed as being in Rockport but seems closer to Rockland. Confused? We too.

In Rockland, we had good Mexican food at a small family restaurant and very good baked goods at Atlantic Baking Company. However, it was something we couldn’t get at the latter that led us to a terrific food discovery. While having breakfast our second morning, we noticed that Atlantic had a great sounding soup, so we decided to return for a bowl along with fresh bread for dinner. However, when we returned they were sold out, so we wandered into what looked like a pizza place (Thorndike Company) where Barb had ice cream earlier. We were not expecting much. Surprise! My brisket-dipped-in-its own-juices sandwich with a layer of coleslaw added was one of the best I have ever had. My wife’s chicken salad sandwich was also excellent. And our ice cream was some of the trip’s best – rankings later. It was Giffords, a well-known Maine ice cream but without a home store. Barbara’s coconut with little flecks of chocolate covered coconut mixed in was her co-favorite ice cream on the trip, and mine was the best black raspberry.

We spent a large part of one day exploring Belfast, a small town about 30 miles north of Camden. We wandered the streets parked and read by the water and, you guessed it, found some great, new ice cream. Neither of us had heard of John’s of Maine, but their mocha chip finished high in our rankings.

Four add-ons:

(1) One morning, on the way to Camden we stopped at a doughnut shop in a house. Willow Bake Shop has been making very good doughnuts there since 1949.

(2) On the way from Rockland to Kennebunkport we finally stopped at Red’s, the famous walk-up in Wiscasset. The first thing one sees after crossing the long bridge on Highway 1 into Wiscasset is a rain or shine line waiting to eat one of Red’s lobster rolls, rated by many as the best in Maine – or the world, take your choice. We have meant to stop many times and finally did. Our wait was an hour but my lobster roll was very good, although, as I confessed last week, I am more a like it than love it fan of Maine lobster. Still we had fun talking to other people in line, Barb’s hamburger was very good and her onion rings among the best she has had. (I sampled them and agreed.)

(3) Confession – Much to my wife’s chagrin, one evening after dinner we stopped at a Coldstone where I had a French vanilla with raspberry mix-in. It was not the best ice cream treat I had on the trip, but neither was it too far behind.

(4) I know this is hard to believe, but according to the SB locator app on my iphone, the closest Starbucks to Samoset is 37 miles. Hell, if I’m standing at the South Pole, there is one closer than 37 miles.<<<

Next week – Part III I finished my last Spenser novel while sitting in our back yard and sipping on an Illy’s iced coffee with the warm but not hot sun gently toasting my legs. It seemed somehow an appropriate way to say goodbye to one of my all-time favorite writers, Robert B. Parker, who died last January. His last book, “Painted Ladies,” was a very good entry in the series, although I missed Hawk who was doing some secret work in Central Asia.

The quote that led off this Nobody was one Parker had used before and a favorite of mine, so it was exciting to find it is his last book. It reminds me that the best love is centered more on acceptance than demand, on what we give more than what we receive.

I have long thought that I had something important in common with Spenser. Good looking, rough and tough – but sensitive, no those aren’t it. I know, we both have Aeron desk chairs.<<<

Unbelievable but true – In 1965 the average CEO earned 24 times the pay of the average worker. Today the ratio is 411 to 1.<<<

And finally, for my continuing list of life’s greatest moral questions:

Where can I find a decent parking place?
Will there be an open bar?
Who gives the call to order in an anarchist society meeting?

Pictured here is a sign atop an art museum in Rockland.

Nobody 834

Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010

Nobody # 834

Nobody Asked Me But:

Travel by jt

If life is but a thousand deaths

A thousand born agains

I leave behind a piece of me

Whenever travel ends

Still light of hope shines brightly as

Towards west and home I flee

Another journey lies ahead

Another mystery

Three destinations. All of them terrific. My trip review will begin with the end and end with the beginning. Our last stop, first among equals was not on Golden Pond, in New Hampshire, but at Hidden Pond near Kennebunkport, Maine. And, no, we didn’t see Bush, 41 up close and personal, but we did see his fishing boat speeding across the water (according to our tour trolley driver, he likes to frustrate his secret service watchers by outrunning their trail boat) and then anchored not far from shore. But back to Hidden Pond. Our cottage, Thank You, (that’s its name, not me being overly polite) perhaps our all-time best all-around lodging was in a forest. It had a large living, dining, kitchen area with a cathedral ceiling and a fireplace. There were two bedrooms one with king bed and the other with twin beds – in case Barbara sent me into exile for snoring. Each had its own bath. There was a small back porch leading into the trees and, finally, to my immense pleasure, a screened porch running the length of the living-dining- kitchen area. It had two couches, a chair, a redwood picnic table and a swing – where I spent as much time as weather permitted. (Happiness is reading the NY Times and drinking coffee while swinging there.)

Another fun thing in was that in addition to the two indoor showers, it had an outdoor one in a wooden enclosure just outside the main bathroom. Of course I tried it and of course Barb snuck a couple of pictures of me and of course I am not going to post one here. Eighth amendment, you know.

Every morning at 8, a basket was delivered and placed on a hook just inside the porch door. It contained, a thermos of coffee, a pitcher of orange juice, a fresh, warm baguette, two muffins, 2 slices of breakfast bread – fruit or chocolate – and a New York Times.

Other amenities which the weather and/or our schedule prevented us from taking advantage of were a nice pool with cabanas, a sandy area with a fire pit for evening gatherings and, for an afternoon treat, some of the best macaroons I have ever tasted. There was also a flower and vegetable gardens where guest could pick at their pleasure.

Hidden Pond is an easy 10 minute-drive from Kennebunkport, which is a bit too touristy for me, but fun. Several other attractions are 30-60 minutes close such as:

Sanford - the home of Shaw’s Ridge ice cream (I wrote about this wonder after our visit two years ago) where the hot fudge sundae with fresh coffee ice cream is still incredible, but only second best on this trip.

Portland - one of my favorite small cities has a great bakery and equally great pizza. Standard Baking Company produces English muffin bread, which was a breakfast staple, supplementing the goodies provided by Hidden Pond. Barbara wanted to bring some home, but alas, we returned to find out that they only bake in on weekends. On our last trip, my wife fell in love with what they call a financier – fluted cookie with ground pecans and chocolate chunks – and found them as good as before. This time it was my turn to develop a food crush on something they call a cork, by whatever name, simply chocolate heaven – doused with espresso.

On the docks, across the street from the bakery, is a restaurant that is becoming our Portland standby. This was our fourth or fifth visit to American Flatbread Co. Most of you know what a fan I am of the pizza at Casa Bianca in Eagle Rock, with Barbara’s favorite, Larchmont Pizza, a close second. IMHO, the pizza at Flatbread is their equal.

Nubble Light House – really cool to see, and Brown’s ice Cream stand close by was not too shabby either. My black raspberry was chewy good and my wife’s mocha chip was delicious – even if we had to eat them in the car on a cool evening.

Back to Kennebunkport - On our trolley ride we not only saw the Bush compound and fishing boat but the houses of two other famous past residents – authors Booth Tarkington and Kenneth Roberts. (Incidentally, one of Robert’s well-known novels, Arundel, was named after an adjoining town.)

Road Food – I am no longer a huge fan of New England lobster. I find the taste rather mediocre.

Next week, Part II – A Tale of Two Rooms<<<

Glen Beck knows history – One day, he rhetorically asked his Fox News viewers: "Why did we buy Alaska in the 1950s?" (Uh, Glen, actually we bought Alaska in 1867.)

Action: LaBron and his manager use the race card, saying that the intense criticism aimed toward James is racist.

Reaction: I assume this means that his biggest critic, Sir Charles Barkley, is “white, clear white, inside?”

Traffic cameras at red lights – in LA rather than placing their 32 cameras where they are most needed, at the most dangerous intersections, the 15 city council members insisted that at least one be located in their district.

The Immaculate blood-letting

I did a dumb thing - my first one ever. While we were back East, I left my car parked in an airport lot under a tree. Returning home, we disembarked to a dirt and leaf covered vehicle almost too dirty to drive home. The next day I washed the worst off wearing a Henley shirt I bought in London. Big mistake. When I finished the job there was a large spot of fresh blood right in the center. I completely checked my body, and I was not bleeding nor had I recently bled. Strange! Perhaps I will make a scary movie about it.<<<

Action: survey shows that men are most attracted to women with great arms.

Reaction: sure they are.<<<

News Item – We have are 52,681 contract personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reaction – Between these mercenaries and the CIA with their drone warfare, perhaps we should just bring the regular army home and leave the fighting to them.<<<

A man in Polk County Florida who was pulled over in a routine traffic stop ended up 'executing' the deputy who stopped him by shooting him eight times, including once behind his right ear at close range. Another deputy was wounded and a police dog killed. A state-wide manhunt ensued.

The murderer was found hiding in a wooded area and as soon as he took a shot at the SWAT team, officers opened fire on him. They hit the guy 68 times.

Naturally, the media went nuts and asked why they had to shoot the guy 68 times.

Sheriff Grady Judd told the Orlando Sentinel: “Because that's all the ammunition we had.”

Right on Sheriff Judd!<<<

Yesterday we had our once a year press box seats at the Rose Bowl and watched the Bruins, rather unimpressively, defeat the hapless Washington State Cougars 42 to 28. Here are my post-game grades:

Passing offense – C+ (not enough yards gained but a few key completions.

Rushing offense – A (Franklin And Coleman together gained 396 yards. Enough said.)

Rushing defense – C+ (Some big stops, but also some big gains allowed.)

Pass defense – F (Would have been worse but there is nothing worse.)

Pre-game free food - C-

Press box free food - B

Too funny. I am listening to a terrific history book, Haynes Johnson’s The Age of Anxiety. I will have more about it later, but I want to pass this along now.

During the McCarthy witch-hunting era, many states passed anti-communist laws. One of the best was Pennsylvania, which denied state aid to communists – with the exception of blind communists.<<<