A Nation Mourns

"Let the record show, I took the blows, I did it my way."

-Frank Sinatra "My Way"

I will never forget where I was when I heard the sad news today about the passing of a true American original, Al Davis. I was on the beach when the calls, e-mails, and text messages started to pour in with condolences and remembrances of our visionary leader. The emperor is dead. Long Live Al Davis! And so it begins, in death, Al Davis will get the credit that he was denied in life. He is being remembered for his three Super Bowl championships, his commitment to civil rights, and his devotion to his "Rada" players and fans. He was a man who was bold enough to assert his will upon the world and shape the NFL in his image. He was the last of the breed who did things HIS WAY and had no time for the timid and weak souls who doubted his vision. Al was a living legend and a throwback to an era when men were men. Al was like a Shakespearian character who seemed to exist more as a myth than a real man. People believed that he called in the plays, made half-time adjustments, benched Marcus Allen (a guy by the name of Bo Jackson took his spot) screwed over Mike Shanahan, (the rat was fired for cause) and endlessly feuded with the NFL (well, the last part is true.) Al was a rebel, Al was a gangster, Al was a leader of men. But most importantly Al loved the Raiders with every fiber in his body and you never doubted his commitment to excellence. The Pride, The Poise, The Passion. Tonight I will raise a glass to my lips, pause to remember a great man, and utter a simple toast:

"Just Win Baby"

If there is a heaven, Al is up there diagraming plays with God and asking him what the heck happened with Jamarcus Russell. A nation weeps for its fallen leader......

A Nation Unites

Mark Sanchez was left bloody and dazed on the grass in Oakland. He was begging for mercy at the end of the game. He had broken his nose. He was sacked four times in the second half. He got punched in the face. He threw an interception. It was a far cry from two years ago when he munched a hotdog on the sidelines during a Jet 38-0 route of the Raiders. Hue Jackson repeatedly showed the Raiders that clip during the week of an arrogant Sanchez disrespecting the Raiders. The Raiders promised to make him pay, and boy did they! The Raider nation was on fire on Sunday as the fans united behind McFadden and his 177 rushing yards and two TDs. Three years ago I wrote about staying loyal to your team, one year ago I said the Raiders were a nation on the rise.......this year we are A NATION UNITED! We just destroyed a team that has been to the AFC championship twice in the past two years. We are going to finish the year 10-6, we are going to the playoffs and we will beat the Patriots next week. Believe it Son!

Kings Canyon

In Kings Canyon, in Kings Canyon you can:

-Play horseshoes with Kevin "the ringer" Riley

-Listen to Zach tell amazing add-on stories about Nachos and cheese around the campfire

-Tour boydens cave and look at the wedding cake, bacon, the lost city and experience total darkness

-read by the river

-build campfires and sing songs........"rock the boat"

-sleep in an open air tent and look at the stars at night

-backpack 13.5 miles to Paradise Valley with your Dad on Father's Day

-forget how to drive and get ice-cream before dinner

-leave your Iphone, Ipad, T.V. and movies at home

-sleep peacefully to the sound of a roaring river

- be on the lookout for a tall, well built, talkative Austrian man in his 60's

-discover the wonders of the JetBoil

-enjoy your family in God's country

Thank you to my Dad, Denise, Garrett, Tasha, Kevin and Zach for a great trip! Let's do in next year!

Les Guthrie 1926-2011

Les Guthrie died on Saturday night at the age of 84. He was a visionary developer and business man who pioneered the development of King Harbor Marina in Redondo Beach. I will always be grateful that he took the time to meet with me, in his home, to discuss the founding of my company. Les was ill at the time, but his mind was actively engaged, and he pushed and prodded me to define my company, and more importantly my goals for myself. I came to know Les as Nicole's grandfather, who stood as a towering presence and example in her life. My father knew Les when he was city manager of Redondo Beach and together they worked to bring the Super Bowl Sunday 10K to Redondo. I mostly knew Les from the stories and conversations that I had with my Dad and Nicole about him. He was a risk taker, a thinker, an innovator, a reader and a man excited by ideas. He was a wonderful Grandfather to Nicole and pushed himself to overcome his illness to repeatedly take trips with his family to Hawaii. I did not know this man well but I cried in my office when I heard the news that he had passed. It just seems that they do not make men like Les anymore. He was a man that was excited by life and had the will to go after what he wanted and make his dreams reality. I only wish I was able to spend more time with this man among men.

Matt the Aquatic Ape

"All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea-whether it is to sail or to watch it-we are going back from whence we came."

JFK 1962

"Only a Surfer knows the feeling"

-A popular slogan on Billabong's T-shirts

I have been reading recently that many biologists and anthropologists increasingly believe in something know as the aquatic-ape theory. They believe that our ancestors, unlike other primates, had to wade and swim in order to survive. The theory is that this is why we have hooded noses, which enables us to dive deep, and a lowered larynx, which allows us to hold our breath. We have nearly hairless bodies to reduce friction while swimming and we cannot live without a few key nutrients found in the oceans. I have often been fascinated as to why I always feel better (mentally and physically) after I immerse myself in the ocean. In fact surfers have a term they use for going out even if the waves are small: they say, "I just want to get wet." And everyone that surfs understands that feeling. People say that swimming is the perfect exercise for your body as it works all of your major muscles and does zero damage to your joints. Is there something inherent in our DNA that releases a feeling of peace and joy when we see the ocean? I would have to say yes. When I was in Nicaragua a local guy asked me why I like surfing so much that I would pay money to leave the U.S. (with McDonald's, electricity and Starbucks) to come to a poverty stricken area ( with pigs, blackouts and no coffee). I tried to tell him about the allure of the ocean and ridding empty waves but something was lost in translation. If you look at all of the major sports what do guys give up their entire life for? I only have three answers:

1. Surfing

2. Rock climbing/Mountaineering

3. Skiing/Snowboarding

I have never heard of a guy rearranging his entire life to play more basketball or shoot pool. So we have three major sports that have nature at its core and all get you outside and interacting with nature. When we face challenges in nature, say surfing a big wave or climbing a mountain, our primal DNA (our aquatic-ape) is cheering us on because we are showing survival skills and will thus continue the existence of the species. Americans are so obese because sitting in a cubicle and yakking on a cell phone, only to than come home for TV and computer games, does nothing but make our aquatic-ape very sad. I say embrace your inner ape, go surfing, go sailing, go body surf, go swim, go boogie board, go dive, go SUP, just go and make your inner aquatic-ape happy!

Nicaragua

"Man, you are living the life!"

-19 year-old kid at the Apple Store in Manhattan Beach

Nicagragua is:

Anticipation, surrender, ears slicing, blood flowing, tonas, flur de cana, two bucks for the rodeo, backside barrels, seabiscuit, el jefe, mexican bandit with two guns blazing, "pelicula star," snake pranks, the quiet assassin, the tilten hilton, the feral kingdom, the monkey broke loose, who won the sleeping contest? 5 am wake-up calls, off-shore winds everyday, Jimmy, Lance's parents, adios Mateo, Bin Laden is dead, dirt roads, tortugas, colorados, allicero, Travis, sunburns, hair getting blonde, "look at that chick," "we can butterfly the ear back on," just gaff that guy, Popoyo, chococinco, living a waking dream.........

Did all of this happen in a week? Or was it all just a dream?

Inside Job

A classic skit on the Dave Chappell show portrayed what would happen if white-collar financial crimes were treated in the same manner as street crimes. In this hilarious bit of satire Dave exposed a massive double standard that we all know exists, yet do nothing about. We cheer on the police and call them "heros" for writing traffic tickets or enforcing the no cell phone rule while we drive, yet we expect law enforcement to do nothing when the greedy men who run wall street literally steal billions out of their pension and retirement plans. After they have have traded, bundled and sold billions of dollars in "crap" (quoting a Merrill Lynch e-mail here) and paid themselves out massive bonus and cashed in their stock options they than turn to the government to bail them out because they are "too big to fail." I am writing this piece on Rileyrandr because both Bush and Obama deserve the blame for an incredible failure to regulate the financial industries.

I would encourage everyone to watch the documentary, Inside Job, to gain an understanding and an insight as to what happened to our financial solvency during the past eight years. As one congressman put it, "we put people in jail for robbing banks, but we do nothing when the people who are robbing the banks are the CEO's". This film will force you to take a hard look at the players of all the major financial institutions, the Fed, the SEC and yes, even Spitzer himself. The Wall Street players want to make things complicated with words like "credit default swaps," "sub-prime" etc but it is really nothing more than a classic ponzi scheme with the American worker playing the role of the sucker. Watch this documentary and take a look at what "deregulation" has done to America.

The danger of group think

"You want to be the trend, don't follow the trend."

-Matt Riley

Jack Nicholson once said that sports fascinated him because it allows us to indulge in our own private theories about competition and mankind. Public opinions and marketing ideas are formed based on the collective interest and collusion of the owners, the leagues top executive and the handpicked media stars. Often times the public forms an opinion on a certain player or an owner just because they have heard it repeated so many times that they accept what they hear as a fact. (ex. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player ever) (Mark Cuban is a wild eyed maniac) The sports world is full of media shills who consistently laud a few handpicked players or praise certain franchises knowing they will be rewarded and given further access and thus profitability in their careers. So what happens when a visionary owner takes on an entire league and engages in a blood feud with the commissioner of the NFL? You have a sustained ongoing retaliation campaign that has smeared a brilliant man, Al Davis.

Al Davis is a gangster. Al Davis is a genius. Al Davis is a winner. Al Davis is a visionary.

It has become laughable at how many people simply parrot the conventional wisdom that the Raiders will never win unless Al Davis dies. ( I guess they forgot the three Super Bowls he won) When I was a youngster roaming the Coliseum you would hear Raider fans moan after every loss about how terrible Al Davis is and they would blame the recent loss on the owner. I was always confused about why some Raider fans, and non-Raider fans everywhere, would express some much vitriol against a teams owner. Why do so many people seem to dismiss a brilliant, tough, open-minded winner? Because they are all victims of an affliction called group think.

Let us look at the facts:

The Raiders have an all time winning percentage of 0.599. By comparison, the Yankees have an all time winning percentage of 0.566 and are considered the golden standard of all sports teams. Al Davis is a brilliant and groundbreaking figure in the NFL and is the reason the game has evolved into what we have today. It was his innovative, pass first, throw it deep style that has resulted in the "vertical" game. He adopted the swaggering style of marauders and actively courted an outlaw image. Only a true gangster could bring together the diverse cultures of Oakland and seamlessly mesh the black panthers with the Hells Angels. Both groups could be seen roaming the sidelines during Raider games in the 70's. He coined the phrase "just win baby" and "speed kills." Al has served as a head coach, general manager, league commissioner, and owner. He served as the youngest head coach in league history in 1963, and was named AFL coach of the year. He was named commissioner of the AFL in 1966 and began to recruit top talent away from the NFL. This made the AFL highly competitive and forced a merger with the NFL. (kinda of like what happened to the Detroit Tropics in Semi-pro) Al Davis was the first ever to draft a black QB in the first round, the first to hire a black head coach (Art Shell) and the first to hire a Latino head coach (Tom Flores). He also employes the highest ranking female executive (Amy Trask) in the NFL who now serves as the CEO of the Raiders. But Al will never get credit for his groundbreaking stance on civil rights because it does not fit with the popular narrative of our time.

Every team in sports goes through highs and lows. You just hope that you can extend your time and the top and only spend a few years at the bottom. So last look at the last seven years, following the AFC championship season and see what Al Davis did to right the ship:

The Raiders made it to the Super Bowl in 2002 due to the veteran leadership of Rich Gannon (the years MVP) and were the oldest team in the league in terms of average player age. Thus, the inevitable decline due to age as Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Rod Woodson, Romo, Lincoln Kennedy etc all retired or moved on. The Raiders attempted to rebuild by drafting JaMarcus with the first pick in a move that at the time was seen as a brilliant pick. I challenge you to find any one public comment that predicted the utter disaster of JaFat. During the JaFat years Al Davis drafted Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Ford, McClain etc. From 2007 to today the Raiders have drafted 13 starters out of their 22 picks in the first three rounds. This is the highest success ratio of any team in the league. The Raiders are on the rise and the silver and black will regain prominence in the NFL.

If you only listen to the soundbites or see just a glimpse of Al Davis on televison with his projector at a press conference you can be made to believe that he is an unhinged lunatic who behaves like a modern day Godzilla breathing fire and destroying the city of Oakland. But if you take the time to watch the entire press conference (as I did on youtube) or listen to him speak in an extended interview you come to see a man that has always had the courage to do it his way. You begin to admire a man that shaped events around him and has always done it his way. Al Davis is a maverick who has built a team his way, sued the NFL multiple times and won, hoisted up the Super Bowl trophy three times, and (dare I say it after the McCourt disaster) is a misunderstood genius. Long live Al Davis!

A nation is on the rise......

"It is here, in this organization, that the will to win burns brighter." "We will get it back."

Al Davis- speaking about hiring Tom Cable

After seven years in the football wilderness a fearsome band of warriors have emerged to strike fear in the hearts of the AFC West. The Raiders sacked Mrs Elizabeth Hasselback eight times yesterday and I was left wondering when Pete Carroll would just give up and put in Whoopi Goldberg at left guard. I guess its too hard for "uncle" pete to "always compete" when he can't gain an unfair advantage in the NFL by buying his players houses and cars. The most overrated coach in history was shown what a fraud he has always been by "coaching" an offense that was only able to generate three points against the Raiders. I guess Pete was too busy counting the millions that he conned the Seahawks into giving him. The Raiders are a team on the rise and after putting together two impressive victories the nation will host the Chiefs this Sunday. If Oakland can beat KC, (dare I say it) we have a realistic shot at going to the playoffs for the first time since 2003. This is why you stay loyal, this is why you NEVER bandwagon (cough, cough, not seeing a lot of SC gear these days) this is why win, lose or tie, I am a Raider fan till I die. On a side note, after the beating the Raiders gave Denver last week I was wearing my Raider hat and some clown said, "oh did you just dust that off because they won?" Before I had a chance to answer this guy Kensey said, "no he wears it every Sunday, no matter what." Thats the kind of girl that I like, one who understands loyalty. In the words of the great Al Davis, "thats what I'm telling ya."

Mucho take it easy

"Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement."

-Alfred Adler

El Salvador is like a beautiful but crazy girl that you just keep thinking about. You know how messed up she is but you overlook all of that because she is just so damn exciting. That is how surfers view El Salvador: As a dangerous country but one that entices you because t is full of empty waves. So, you buy the ticket and take the ride.

As I waved goodbye to my Dad at LAX and lugged my boardbag (with my 6.4 and 6.6) I was greeted by an AA agent who said, "you are going surfing in El Salvador? Boy, are you brave." I just smiled and moved on. I was flying on the red eye out of L.A. and was the only white guy on the flight to San Salvador. The stew came up to me and said, "surfer?" I said yep and she said that the only Americans who came down to El Salvador were surfers. I landed at about 5:30 am in San Salvador and got a text from Adam saying that his flight on TACA ( Take a chance airlines) was delayed until 4:00 that afternoon. The plan was for me to wait about an hour at the airport for these guys to arrive since I was the only one flying on American. So here I was, all alone, getting swarmed by people outside of the San Salvador airport. I had to use my boardbag as a buffer to keep taxi drivers etc away from me and tried to call the hotel for the pick-up. But this is central America and things don't really work like they do in the U.S. Nobody was picking up, I called my travel agent and got no answer. Ladies of the night were coming up to me and asking if I wanted a girlfriend for the week, people were trying to sell me all kinds of crap and I kept on reading the travel advisory printed out in big bold letters:

Do Not Get In A Cab Alone!

Finally a guy pulled up in a van and said he was from Las Flores and he would drive me on the two hour plus trip to the hotel. I said a silent pray and got in the bus with him and was able to converse in a Spanish/English hybird. We talked about the waves (olas) and I asked him if he was in the civil war. He showed me a picture of himself in full uniform holding a machine gun. The drive was insane as we passed all sorts of pigs, chickens, cows and goats just running free all over the road. I was able to see miles of just empty beachbreak with decent waves that reminded me of El Porto back home.

I got to the hotel, took a deep breath, and sat down on the deck overlooking a right pointbreak. It had a little bit of morning wind on it but it looked like a fun head high wave. Las Flores is really a surfers dream with a wave out front and boats that leave four times a day to take you to punta mango or to the other beachbreaks. Life quickly gets very simple. You wake up early, surf, have breakfast, surf, nap, have lunch, get an afternoon surf, grab a beer, surf the evening glass, have dinner, watch the sunset and go to bed early. It is incredible to be consumed by the swell, tide and wind for days on end. You really have nothing else to worry about other than trying to decide where you want to go surfing.

All of the other surfers staying at the hotel were from SB, Newport, the South Bay or San Diego. All of the guys got along and took turns in the lineup and just really seemed to enjoy being away from the crowds of Southern California. The best session that we had was an evening surf on the second to last day at punta mango. The boat pulls up and the lineup is empty. I am surfing with only three other people as we watch the sun set from the water. The shoreline of punta mango is undeveloped and you a single horse was grazing on the land. The green mountains were shrowded in mist, the right was overhead and pumping, the water was 74 degrees and I was in heaven. Thank God I am a surfer!

A couple of boys going to the Kings game

One of the reasons that I love living in the city of angels is the constant variety of options that are presented to you on any given night. Last night, I left the beach and drove 23 miles to celebrate Big Goot's birthday with a steak dinner and a hockey game. I had a hour free before I met with Garrett so I visited the Bradberry building and the new Catholic church in downtown L.A. Garrett and I had dinner at Flemings steak house and than watched the Kings defeat Carolina 4-3. I have started to really enjoy Kings hockey and even purchased my first Kings hat since 1993 (the year they went to the finals). Go Kings!

Would you buy real estate from this man?

The scene:

Opening Day Dodger Stadium 2008

A young man runs out of Dodger stadium and begins a furious late afternoon drive to UCLA to attend a real estate principles class. His real estate career at UCLA is just starting. He is still teaching at Torrance High School. Over the next two and a half years he returns to Westwood, sometimes making the 1.5 hour commute twice a week, to pursue his real estate dreams and acquire a brokers license. Fast forward to late summer 2010. He has completed all of his course work, he has studied hard, he owns his own company. This same young man now sits in his office, hands nervously logging in to look at his name and see the magic words next to it: Passed

I am a real estate broker!

So, who wants to buy some real estate?

The duality of man

"What I admire is a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity and the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."

-Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy

Some people look upon Mt. Whitney and see:

sleep deprivation, altitude sickness, a 50% failure rate, nausea, defecating in a bag and carrying it out with you, 22 trail miles of an aching back and sore knees, three miles of brutal switchbacks, gasping for breath, a massive headache, bone-chilling wind, and a day full of pain and boredom.

Other people look upon Mt. Whitney and see:

Boundless beauty, a test of will, sweeping vistas, an adventure, "a day they will never forget," abundant wildlife, roaring rivers, peaceful meadows, crystal blue lakes, God's country, lush streams, 50% success rate, camaraderie, a fun all day hike, a chance to eat gummy snakes, blue skies, pride in standing on top the highest peak in the lower 48.

On August 3, I stood with five other people who decided to look at things from the second point of view. This was my third trip up Mt. Whitney and I enjoyed myself in experiencing all that the mountain has to offer. This time our group had perfect weather, not a cloud in the sky, and temperatures that allowed me to nap on top of the mountain in my boardshorts. We spent a few days getting acclimated in Mammoth and took a nice day hike down in Red's meadow to look at Devils post pile and Rainbow Falls. The following is a brief recap of my fellow hikers.

1) Tasha aka "sweaty" aka "jabbermouth"

This trail veteran was the only one who seemed immune to the lack of oxygen and just kept on climbing. I would stop to take a breather and Tasha would just calmly wait as Mark and I caught our breath and took a rest. Once again Tasha brought the candy, never complained, always had a smile, and just serenely moved along and seemed to be in her element at all times. A trusted companion on the trail and always up to buy me a sandwich but not down to buy me a McFlurry. (also can throw a wicked snowball at you when you least expect it)

2) Tina aka "blackbear"

I was able to get to know Tina a lot better on this trip as we had more time to spend together in Mammoth and on the trail. She dedicated this hike to her Grandmother and carried a picture of her up to the top of Whitney. Tina is a very strong hiker who showed true grit and determination to reach the summit.

3) Mark aka "lucky bear"

Mark did a fantastic job on this hike and was a constant source of positive energy. He would stop frequently to take pictures, marvel at the scenery and was in awe at the beauty of the hike. I really hope that lucky bear comes with us next year because he brought the perfect weather and sunshine with him.

4) Laurent aka Frenchy

We did not see much of Laurent on this trip as he went ahead and hiked with his faster buddy up the trail. We would see him at trail camp and the summit and he experienced some altitude sickness but was overall in good spirits and was a great addition to the group.

Another summer, another summit in the books and I look forward to next year with the Nespors and the crazed red billy goat joining us in 2011!

The Epic of Half Dome

"There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."

-Bruce Lee

After my Dad and I said goodbye to the Mammoth fishing crew we got ready for the next part of our vacation: Climbing Half Dome!

Monday: We slept in a little bit, grabbed coffe at the Looney Bean, and took the beautiful drive up the 395 and turned west onto the Tioga Pass Road. We made our first stop of the day at the Whoa Nelly Deli and had breakfast overlooking Mono Lake. I decided to have smoked trout for breakfast because I got skunked on the fishing trip. We drove on up and over the pass, into Tuolumne meadows and finally down into Yosemite Valley. We checked in at our tent cabin at Curry Village and spent the day looking at waterfalls, meadows, deer and riding the free shuttle bus around the valley. We had dinner at the Camp Curry buffet and turned in early in anticipation of climbing half dome.

Tuesday:

I was up at 4:00 am and eager to begin our climb. I waited until 5:00 am to get my Dad up and we began our hike at 5:30 am by walking out of camp curry and adding an extra mile to get to the Happy Isles trailhead. As we began our walk we noticed that many other hikers of all ages and sizes were up with us and on the way to hike half dome. It is interesting that people complain about "crowds" on the trail when in reality it is an amazing thing that so many people are up early pushing their bodies to the limit. The hike goes along a paved road for about one mile until you reach a spectacular view of the falls and than we veered off on to the John Muir trail for another 1.5 miles. We reached the top of the trail and saw our Aussie friend form the night before, Shane. He was doing the hike solo and in true Aussie fashion he was in excellent spirits. Along we walked through little Yosemite valley, up the swithcbacks and than on to the subdome. After a brief rest we were ready to tackle the cables and this is where Bob used his patented death grip himself to the top. We enjoyed our time up on top of the world, took a rest, and than began our descent back down. The return trip is always long and hard as you have used up so much energy to get to the top of the dome. We took our time and stopped along the river to rest and get water. Our day ended at 7:30 pm when we got off the trail and were able to get the shuttle bus (thank God) back to camp curry. I got my Dad a couple of gatorades, some ice-cream and got myself some beer. It was an epic day that we will never forget! My Dad has set the bar very high for me by summiting half dome at 62!

Wednesday:

After a great night of sleep we woke up and headed over to the Ahwahnee hotel for breakfast. We drove up to glacier point to look at the spectacular view of the valley and than drove on home. It was a fantastic trip!

Fishing Trip

We had a great trip up to Mammoth for the first "guy's fishing trip." I can't tell you that we caught a lot of fish but we sure had a lot of laughs. The crew was Jeff, Mike, Dennis, Joe, Kevin, Zach, Bob, Garrett and Matt. All of us stayed in the Riley house so it made things real cozy. Kevin really enjoyed his time fishing and learning all about the bait and how to cast. A couple of highlights from the trip:

1) If you are eager or in a hurry to go fishing, stop by Brocks in Bishop. They are world famous for their speedy service.

2) Dennis and Mike going off-trail to summit Mammoth rock and look at the old mine.

3) Fishing at Lake Mary on Saturday in a beautiful alpine setting.

4) Walking a mile to the gorge in what has been described as a "post nuclear" setting.

5) Telling Kevin and Zach that I am the King of the Raft.

6) Playing Mike's new favorite Sinatra tune, Chicago.

A moment of Zen

"The hardest thing to do in life is to simplify, it is so easy to make things complex."

-yvon chouinard

photo: Mattsel Adams

The best chicken tacos this side of the border

This post is dedicated to the captain and cook of the S.S. Serenity Now:

A few weeks ago I planted a cilantro plant on my patio and it has grown to be a giant. (picture 1) So, this past weekend I wanted to use my fresh herbs and my b.b.q. to make dinner for a nice young lady. I went to whole foods, got two chicken breasts and marinated them overnight. (picture 2) As you can see (picture 3) my b.b.q. skills are second only to the captain. After getting the bird off the grill I chopped up the chicken for fresh chicken soft tacos. I put the chicken in jalapeno flavored tortillas, added shredded cheese, salsa, diced onions, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, guacamole and bango: you got yourself the best chicken soft tacos this side of the border. After dinner we took a sunset stroll along the beach. Life is good.......

This meal just might outrank the "deluxe" on the b.b.q. scale.

Math with Tasha: 6=15

I had a great time hiking the ENTIRE Zuma Ridge Trailhead with Tasha, Susan and Laurent. Just like Gilligan I set out for a three hour tour of thinking we were going to do an easy six mile hike. But no, Tasha had other plans as she relentlessly marched us up the ridge, down the hill, up the hill, back down and back up again. I am kidding but we did end up hiking almost 15 miles in over six hours. It was a much longer day than I anticipated but I learned a few things along the way:

1) Trail Names- You don't pick your trail name your trail name picks you

Susan aka "Thrifty"

Dennis aka "Elmer Fudd" aka "Rattler"

2) If you go hike with Tasha bring enough food, water, clothes and shelter to feed a small Ethiopian village. As a rule of thumb, whatever mileage she tells you that you will hike, just triple it and than add a few more miles.

3) Laurent will be a great addition to the hike. He is a very cool native of France and he has really got me re-thinking my position on "Freedom Fries."

4) Susan is tan, rested and ready for Mt. Whitney. She did an excellent job today on Tasha's death march and will have no problem on Whitney.

5) I like to look at Snakes ( saw 3 today and got a good photo)

The man in the gray flannel suit

Lately I have been reading an eclectic mix of books on business, religion, politics, sports and the Hell's Angeles. I have drifted away from reading the "serious" literature that I have studied and taught in school for so many years. So, it was with great pleasure that I started reading The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. This novel was so good that it made me nostalgic for my days as an English major at UCSB. I had a palpable desire to discuss and debate this book with any willing participant. During this mornings surf session with John I was actively encouraging him to read this novel and see it as an extension of his own interior monologue. So many of our talks in the water focus on the unspoken fears we all have. Sloan Wilson is a gifted writer how put those fears on paper.

What makes this novel so interesting is that the main character, Tom Rath, is a decent and likable man. His motto is, "go along to get along." He simultaneously finds comfort in conformity and loathes what his life has become. He is married with three children, but finds himself stuck on the treadmill of consumerism. He has spent his life "making love without passion" and going through life "without any real emotion except worry." He is the embodiment of what Thoreau said when he stated, "most men lead lives of quiet desperation."

But Tom Rath is not written as a stock character. He is not presented to the audience as a bland symbol of conformity or a vision of meek existence. No, Sloan Wilson has written something far more sinister. He has held a mirror up to society to reveal that we are all the man in the gray flannel suit: hurrying to make a buck, trying not to offend anyone, eager to please and blend in and praying that we do not loose our jobs, our home, or our life.

One More Season in the Sun

There is joy today in Dodgerland, as the mighty Manny did not strike out. The score was tied at one to one when a dreadlocked slugger began his duel in the sun. For Dodger stadium stood hushed and still as the mighty Manny stared down the pitcher with intent to kill. Oh, somewhere in chavez ravine the sun is shining bright, somewhere in Echo Park a band is playing till the morning light.

Manny dug in and took his practice at bats, while men clutched their hearts and kept a firm grip upon their Dodger blue hats.

A lumbering swing was meant with strike one, could the great Manny really be done?

Despair filled the crowd as the umpire shouted out, strike two! But the faithful remained and the small grin revealed what they knew.

For Manny is at his best when his back is to the wall, one only has to remember how he preformed at Fenway in the Fall.

As the count drew full and the crowd rose to it's feet, the crisp white uniform bearing 99 shimmered in the heat

With one giant swing the mighty Manny did go deep, creating memories for me and my father to keep.

The crowd rose in unison to chant and cheer and Manny tipped his hat and raised an ovation for all to hear.

As children danced and strangers slapped fives, I took a moment to be thankful for this blessing in our lives.

To be a season ticket holder and share a season in the sun with my brother, a truly sublime dream has come true that is unlike any other.

For there is joy tonight in Dodgertown for those of us who bleed Dodger blue, we could of told you all along that the great Manny is not through.

So tonight say your prayers to the great Dodger in the sky, for the season is just beginning and Manny will make that ball fly.