Posted inMarijuana

What happened to the Oregon legal marijuana horror show?

The title of this blog post came to mind while driving around this afternoon listening to Classic Vinyl on satellite radio when I heard one of the greatest rock songs of all time, Cream's Sunshine of Your Love from 1967. If you're too young to recollect the brilliance of Cream, here's a video of a 2005 performance.  I smoked a lot of marijuana during my days at San Jose State College, 1966-71. Cream was one of our go-to groups to listen to while high. So listening to the song got me thinking both about how us pot heads used marijuana back…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Wildfire good deeds need to become Covid good deeds

People here in Oregon, as elsewhere on the West Coast, have been wonderfully generous with their time, money, and effort in helping others affected by the massive wildfires burning in our forests. The nightly local news is filled with stories about meals being prepared for firefighters, livestock being cared for after homes were destroyed, donations of clothes and other household goods being used to aid the newly homeless, and other acts of kindness.  Such isn't surprising. Most people are generous. They feel empathy and concern for those in need. They want to make things better when suffering is rampant.  I've…
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Posted inEntertainment

Ricky Gervais’ Humanity show is wonderful dark humor

If you're looking for something to take your mind off of the West Coast wildfires, COVID-19 crisis, systemic racism, global warming, Trump vs. Biden, and other serious things that leave you less than smiley-faced, my wife and I have a suggestion. Fire up Netflix and watch Ricky Gervais' Humanity show, a 78-minute stand-up routine that dates from 2017. Now, if you watch it and blame us for recommending this piece of tasteless trash, keep in mind that Laurel and I enjoy dark humor. And Gervais is so dark in Humanity he easily beats out a black cat in a completely…
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Posted inNeighborhood

Troy and Lori Anderson land use applications to Marion County

Because neighbors here in rural south Salem, Oregon are interested in the plans by Troy and Lori Anderson to build a farm dwelling on 80 acres of their 217 acre property just north of our Spring Lake Estates neighborhood, here are the documents related to their land use application to Marion County. (1) Below is a PDF file of the application submitted to Marion County by Lori Anderson in March 2020 for a primary farm dwelling on 80 acres north of Spring Lake Estates. Download Application (2) Below is a PDF file of the April 2020 Marion County decision on the…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Wild is what we’re wishing will end

For most of us, wild has generally positive connotations. We like to be out of civilization and trekking into a wilderness. Being called a "wild thing" made for a popular song. We're more excited to see an animal in the wild than in captivity.  But while a bit of wild is a good thing, too much leaves us exhausted, scared, anxious, uncertain. That's where the West Coast of the United States is at the moment. Sure, other parts of the country also are suffering from an excess of wild. Oregon (where I live), Washington, and California just have wild to an…
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Posted inUncategorized

Troy & Lori Anderson applications to Marion County

(1) Below is a PDF file of the application submitted to Marion County by Lori Anderson in March 2020 for a primary farm dwelling on 80 acres north of Spring Lake Estates. Download Application (2) Below is a PDF file of the April 2020 Marion County decision on the application. It was denied because the applicant didn't prove that the required farm income came from the 80 acre property. Download AR20-009 Decision (3) Below is a PDF file of the March 2020 Marion County request for comments on the application. Download RFC-1 (4) Below is a a PDF file of the…
Posted inHome life Neighborhood

Evacuation checklist a good way to relieve wildfire anxiety

Right now Oregon is suffering though a wildfire perfect storm of longstanding drought, high winds, and many fires burning across our state.  My wife and I lost electricity in the early evening yesterday, along with about thirty of our neighbors. Apparently the windy conditions caused a utility pole to catch fire, with electrical lines lying in the road.  I fired up our generator, so we had a fairly normal night -- aside from the fact that because of the smoke from wildfires in the area we didn't want to open any windows, and our air conditioning wasn't working because of…
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Posted inFamily

Current photos of my childhood home in Three Rivers stir memories

Aside from college and my baby years, I've lived in six houses during my lifetime. They all have meaning for me, but the house in Three Rivers, California that was my home from about age eight to eighteen holds the most intense memories. I think it's because those ten years marked my transition from a child to an adult. Everything was fresh and new. Changes -- physical, mental, social -- were happening rapidly. So it was a delight to get an email from the couple who had recently purchased the Three Rivers, California house where I grew up. Finding me…
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