A differnt planet with music

Last night our little band of old foggies went to The Salt Cellar for dinner. The man said they had the best Pizza around, and he was right. As we ate musicians began to trickle in. Gary set up the equipment and played a couple songs. Then another guy played some nice music, and another, and then a half drunk guy with accompaniment, and on it went. One by one most of the musicians visited with us. It was all free and they were all very good. It was a wide mix of music from Johnny Cash to Jazz.

It would be so nice if Hazen had a place like that, where people came an played for free. The music wasn't so loud it drowned out conversation. Every day of the week they had some entertainment venue. Each entertainer performs for free.

Nothing goes as planned

The Commander made a find yesterday, but the whole search did not follow the original plan. Lord Kadizzle and The Commander hiked to the top of the rim. Almost at the top our band encountered a lost dog which was out on a mountain lion hunt. The dog collar had two phone numbers and we called both. No answer, but we did meet the rest of the mountain lion party latter and returned Babe to the gang.

Bush whacking we came down from the peak onto a plateau. Lord Kadizzle had suspected the last time we were in the area there might be a site on the top of the plateau, but he gave up trying to make it from the bottom of the canyon. This time The Commander came down from the top of the mountain. Lord Kadizzle split off and looked for artifacts above another ruin we had found in the valley.

The Commander found a site that had very little modern contact, and artifacts were scattered everywhere.

Todays expidition

If you click on the picture you can enlarge it. Today if all goes well we will try to get to where the little yellow pin is. A Google Earth fly over seems to show something there. In the Verde Valley there was a very large ancient population. More than likely they did most of their hunting up on the rim of the valley. Most of the access to the rim is not very good. The site we are going to investigate today is in an ideal location to access the rim. Nearby are a lot of very significant sites. Sacred Mountian, and Montazuma's well are not that far away. At the end of the day, it may turn out we just walked a long ways to a pile of natural rocks. Every site around here has an abundance of pottery shards. If this is a site there will surely be pot shards there.

Another expidition into Indian country.

Our little band headed up one of the canyons East of Rim Rock yesterday on another great exploration. One of the great things about these trips is we get to see Indian finds in a fairly raw state untouched by hordes of tourist. The Commander found one of the most amazing arrow heads ever discovered. The arrow head was about the size of a dime and the delicacy of the work will never be surpassed. Up the canyon we found a very strange ruin. Apparently dwellings had been built on a steep island precipice that jutted out into the canyon. The amount of rock on the sides of the embankment indicated that there must have been either a great tower on the precipice, or a large number of terraced rooms that spread out from the base and climbed upward. Lord Kadizzle favors the terraced theory. The expedition found several caves that had been occupied with some nice pictographs, and we also found some nice petroglyphs. Three distinct types of pottery were found, black on white, brown on white, and black on red. One unsolved puzzle was something that appeared to be an old orchard. It may have been an Indian orchard, or could have been more modern.

Great pottery finds today

The Commander, Lord Kadizzle, and Ned did the first exploration of the season. Was a terrific day for finding black on white potter. Found at least four good pieces today. This was the best. Noticed The Commander walked right by and did not see it.

Rain in the Desert

The Kadizzles have a magic ability to bring rain to the desert. Once in Baja we caused rain. It was the biggest rain in one hundred years. We could hardly drive down the road in Joshua Tree. It has been raining on and off for three days here. If we could just be somewhere that all this caused the flowers to bloom. Perhaps the moisture will stay in the ground long enough for it to happen. If you have never been in the desert when it is hit by water it is a must see.

Life in Rim Rock

Made a trip to Cottonwood to get the oil changed. Had a long discussion with the guy who changed the oil about his hydrogen injection system for his truck. The manager and about three employees all stood around for science class at the gas station. Lord Kadizzle is skeptical about the whole process, but it did make for some interesting conversation. According to the user, he gets thirty percent better millage.

The weather is a little wet so we cannot do any exploring. Ned found a new Indian site we are anxious to see, but it may be a few days.

History, the real thing.

Lord Kadizzle never thought he would find himself somewhat of a history buff, but little by little he has become fascinated with what really happened. So much of American history has been fabricated for general consumption, that reality got pushed aside. Columbus was really a savage jerk and not above some whopping lies he used to further his own greed. The gilded version of how this country came into existence is not very interesting. What actually took place is interesting. It is very sad that young children are given in school a painted over placid view of what took place. It is no wonder they are bored and loose interest. If schools had children delve into real history and talk about how things came about, education would take place. The current system is more indoctrination than education. The motives of early Americans were not nearly as noble as one would believe from reading the typical American history book provided to most schools today. A dose of reality would serve our students so much better. The amazing thing about a lot of the early American heroes is that their real life was actually far more interesting than the fictionalized version presented for mass consumption. A classic case is Kit Carson. The book BLOOD AND THUNDER is an eye opener about how the southwest was actually settled. The portrayal of our country as a classes land of equality, is such a falsehood when one actually looks into it. The notion that people could come here for a better life needs to be examined. Most of the early settles had a very hared time of it, and often wrote back to the mother land to tell people not to come. Harmony was not a theme. Everyone was pitted against everyone. The rich whites deliberately pitted the poor whites against the blacks and the Indians. Sound familiar?

The early rich played the same game the Republicans of today use, divide and conquer. One major fear the haves always had was the "have nots" would ban together and throw them out. The early plantation owners wanted to make sure the Indians disliked the blacks, so their plan was to arm some blacks and have them fight the Indians. Poor whites were siding with black slaves, so the landowners did everything they could to stir racial hate. If today's students could see the origins of today's problems as portrayed in real history perhaps we would not have to repeat history so often. Most of the dirty tricks Karl Rove used were used in colonial times.

The Winds of Change are blowing

Yesterday was a day of hope, and we need a lot. As the Kadizzles travel the tales of economic woe are everywhere. In Evergreen we heard of the well to do losing their fancy mountain homes. On the road you don't see many people traveling. In Cottowood the stores up and down the street are shuttered and for lease. Homes are for sale everywhere with no buyers. Obama has been left a mess that Heracles could not clean up. The next year will be interesting. The economy is so fragile if it does not break it will be amazing. People have to cut back, and that is the worst scenario to get things going. It is a no win situation. However, the country is going to have a reality check like never before, and that may be a blessing in disguise. So perhaps we can thank Bush for knocking us senseless, we now have awoken to a new world where the old Republican lies don't work anymore. If that sorrowful man did one thing, he thoroughly broke the illusion. Bush has put us on the road to realization that we cannot have a functioning country where a very small percentage prosper at the cost of so many. If his legacy is that he shook us out of a stupor of ignorance and delusion, then let that be over the door of his presidential library, which I suggest should be a two holer with no other book than a Sears catalog.

Kadizzle Conquers the West

The Kadizzles stopped at Villanuava State Park in the usual spot and then headed on down to Cottonwood. It was a beautiful sunny day as we passed through Albuquerque, Flagstaff and on to Rimrock.

Bust Out of Evergreen Today?

I all goes well the Kadizzle wagon train will bust out of Evergreen and head to Villanuava Park in New Mexico. Tonight we will be camped beside the Pecos River in the very spot the Spanish went through in the 1500's.

Best outcome is duel turns out to be a tie

Cheney asked Bush to hunt with him, but Bush thought a duel would be more fair.

Look closely,

Fran gave me this weeks addition, but it did not register for awhile. I just thought it was a picture of Moe, but it is the other Moe. The one we don't have to deal with no Moe.

How Can I Keep from Singing

Lord Kadizzle woke up to a glorious day. The Snoocher Bear is feeling great. Snoocher and Lord Kadizzle belted out some John Prine songs and fired out a few Bruce Springsteens too. Springsteen has some songs that rip Bush and the Republicans to shreds, "How can I keep from singing". Seeing that worthless rat scurry out of the White House to Texas will be one of the best days in my life. "How can I keep from singing?".

We are banning books in Beulah

Beulah is the little town west of Kadizzleville. Over there they are doing their best to keep the future from falling all over them. Today the Bismarck Tribune has an article about the school banning books. Sometimes it is hopeless to go forward in North Dakota after all the state voted for McCain.

Fox Number Three

A quick glimpse of something running through the woods at the Bear Den made me run to the back window. Looking out the back window I saw a red fox running towards the national forest to the East. Erin has pictures of the black fox, and the little fox that sits on her deck, but this appears to be another guy. Lord Kadizzle has not been able to see the elk close up. It would be great if they would come through the yard.

Today at the Bear Den

Cissie on the deck

Up on the mountain Erin feels pretty good, The Commander is reading in the warm sun, and Lord Kadizzle is up to no good. Drove up to the top of the mountain today. Amazing number of houses hidden in the pines. People have scratched out homes everywhere. How they get up there in heavy snow is a mystery. Drove by the Sanford and Son hideout. There actually are two guys that pick up trash around here. They call themselves Sanford and Son. We once hired them to haul junk. What it cost to get trash removed here is beyond reason. A pickup load is sixty dollars if you haul it yourself. Sanford and Son are rumored to just take the junk up to their hideout and dump it, which would be very lucrative since they would not have to pay the steep dump fees. Up near their compound signs are everywhere warning people to stay away. A lot of the junk they have lined the road with and are calling it folk art. Most of the people around here fear them, so they get away with the scam. (Please note pictures of Lord Kadizzle's belly have been digitally enhanced to make it appear larger)

Birthday Girl

Birthday Girl

The Comander's Birthday adventure. Click on the picture, then click on slide show

Tropical Denver

Commander gets wonderful Birthday present

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know in the morning Lord Kadizzle becomes Hoppy. Hoppy gets coffee for The Commander while she sits in bed reading. For The Commanders birthday Lord Kadizzle hired a full time servant for The Commander. Jeeves is the new household help.

Erin Opens Office in Hospital

The old Snoocher Bear is in the Hospital so much lately she has just moved her office there. Currently she is in phase two of testing the digestive system. Liquids seem to be making it through the maze. Right now we just fired some solid food down the tubes and will have to wait several hours to see if this experiment is a success. Fran as usual is traveling the country. The Commander turned 59 today, so any suggestions for a perfect gift for the commander will be welcome. The Commander insist on staying with Erin 24 hours a day when Erin is in the repair shop, so she is on call to fill in for the CEO at Presbyterian St. Lukes Hospital.

Health Care? We need big Change.

This month Lord Kadizzle has been in the hospital three times. Not for himself, but for his poor daughter. Since the original day Erin lost a kidney in a basketball accident until today, her total medical cost for the accident are approaching two hundred thousand dollars. Thank god for medical insurance. What would this have done to a family with no insurance. A good friend of our daughter Megan from Hazen had no insurance. She is now bankrupt, and in desperate need of surgery. She has a colostomy that should be removed, however she cannot have it removed because she has no insurance. Don't get me wrong, we have excellent doctors in this country. Erin would be up the creek without the fine doctors who are treating her. What about the person who has no medical insurance? In the United States you are virtually assured of being broke the rest of your life if you have a major medical problem and no insurance. This country desperately needs national health care. Study the issue for yourself, and you will see why virtually every advanced country in the world provides health care for its citizens. As more people become unemployed more families will become destitute because of medical problems. One reason the auto industry in this country is broke is because of the high cost of insurance. Ignore what I say, but if you or your child gets in a medical fix, you will remember what I am writing here. It pains me to think of Megan's young friend whose life has been ruined by the American Medical system. She is a bright young girl with an economic burden and a condition that will plague her for her whole life because Americans have bought into the great lie.

Bush wanted Obama to win

No matter how cold hearted Lord Kadizzle is to old Dubbya, he did have a pang of sympathy for the man today. Watching George at his last news conference one could almost think he finnally got it. Bush was touched by the black people with tears in their eyes election night. Secretly I think Bush was glad Obama got elected. It is hard for me to say, but I think he does have a heart, a mind is all he lacks.

It was the best of times, It was the worst of times

The prospect of being grandparents certianly is the best of times, but poor old Erin has been going through hell with this pregnancy. Last night we came to the hospital for the third time this month. After her emergency surgery early in the month we have made two more trips back to what has become our home away from home. At this point they cannot determine if she has a gall bladder problem, or some kind of bowel obstruction. Adhesions may be the culprit in the background. When she eats it makes her very sick and puts her in great pain. Hopefully we will get through this one more time. Our annual trip south has been put on hold until we get this resolved.

Lord Kadizzle Pees Pants Laughing

One luxury at the mountain retreat is a good supply of reading material. Rolling Stone Magazine is a favorite. If anyone has more disdain for the Decider than Lord Kadizzle it would be Matt Tiabbi. In the new issue he writes a fictional account of an interview with The Decider titled "Bush Apologizes". You can read the first couple of pages online, but it you can get your hands on the whole article it is a good laugh. One favorite scene is Bush, Cheney, and Rummy trying to decide if water boarding is really torture. They ask the houseboy at the White House to let them try it on him. Rummy gets carried away and holds a cigarette lighter to the guys ear while Cheney is drowning him with ice water. They have to explain to Rummy that is not part of it.

Baby Gilbert

Out of the clear blue sky Megan named Erin's pumpkin Baby Gilbert. Becoming a Granpa has been like climbing a mountain. Baby Gilbert is in his part of the house, while the rest of the house is in turmoil. We are about six months into the pregnancy and just completed the second emergency run to the hospital. When Baby Gilbert comes of age I am sure he or she ( Fran is insisting on surprise, Snoocher desperately wants to know) will be told of the travails of their incubation.

Now we are up in the mountains waiting to blast off for AZ. Presumably the Snoocher Bear is at least temporarily cured. The Commander will insist on being on hot standby in case Erin burps, so we will always have to camp with a phone signal. Hazen just got hit by another winter blast. The prospect of springs floods increases every day. In North Dakota the worst scenario is melting snow on top of frozen ground. Add some rain and you have a disaster. Our house may sit about two feet above the flood plain, so being away is a bit dicy.

The Bar and The Church

Good funny article in NYT about the similarities between churches and bars

Snoocher Bear back home

No definitive diagnosis, but it looks like the bear had a gal bladder attack. She seems to be doing fine, and just needs to watch what she eats. The doctor said sometimes this happens during pregnancy.

Seems Impossible

Last night we rolled into Erin's driveway. This morning Lord Kadizzle and The Commander are back at the hospital with Erin. For the last three days Erin has been in pain, and last night it got worse. So at about six in the morning we headed down to the hospital with Erin. At this point it looks like a gal bladder problem, which is basically good news. The doctor just visited Erin and his suspicion is galbladder. Erin may have provoked it by eating the wrong foods. They may be doing an ultrasound right now. Hopefully she can just watch her diet and it will subside. The doctor indicated pregnancy sometimes brings on these problems. At this point hopes are high she can return home today. With some good fortune the Kadizzlator can be hooked to the back of the truck and we can head south in a couple of days.

Lord Kadizzle needs medication

Unfortunately his lordship is obsessed with the delusional that defend Bush at any price. The latest issue of Vanity Fair was laying by the bed so his lordship picked it up for a perusal. An article that was a series of quotes from people connected with the Bush administration caught his eye. The bungling incompetency was unbelievable, no matter how much you already knew. Steam escaped from the Kadizzle's ears when he read that Rumsfield said on the night of 9/11 "We need to attack Iraq, there are not enough targets in Afghanistan". He went on to say we needed to show the world "we are strong". Richard Clarke was in the room when he said it, and it was Clarke who quoted him. Colin Powell also was in the room. Powell told Rumsfield, "Iraq had noting to do with it".

The Glass Castle

Lord Kadizzle is usually overtaken by attention deficit disorder, so it takes a pretty good writer to get him through a complete book. However, when the book is good, it goes quickly. THE GLASS CASTLE is centered around Welch, West Virginia. At one time Lord Kadizzle worked in that coal mining area teaching miners the basics of coal mine safety. The story is about a dysfunctional family that lived a very hard scrabble life in a hopeless shack. Food for the kids often came from garbage cans. The story is true, and the author went on to be a very successful writer. Her brother slept under an inflatable raft because the rain came right through the roof where he slept. In West Virgina Lord Kadizzle saw first hand a lot of people who grew up the hard scrabble way. This morning when his lordship got out of bed he thought back to the family of the Robinsons. They could have been the people in this book. Twila, Henry, and Author, were three kids I went to school with. They were busted flat, and poor old Twila had some mental problems. Beside the poor kids I went to school with we had the home dingers from the children's orphanage. In my own life we had some taste of the hard scrabble life, but only for seasoning. Most amazing are the kids who fight their way out of the mess and flourish. In our current little town of Hazen there was a family of twelve kids. Their father was a nut case Baptist preacher, who occasionally beat them. Lord Kadizzle felt sorry for the bunch an tried to do what he could to help. The kids were home schooled which was a curse. Home schooling enabled the parents to just inflict more suffering on the kids. Home schooling is a sign of mental illness in most circumstances. The local bunch of kids fended for themselves and gradually most of them became successful adults. It was a lot like the story in THE GLASS CASTLE the first kid escaped and pulled the rest out. Lord Kadizzle grew up in a disfunctional family, and it had its pros and cons. It was a sink or swim life. You either went nuts, or got smarter. Many would say I chose the nuts route.

NYT Bombs the Decider again

Read "A President gone, but not forgotten". For some reason the NYT is paying tribute to the loser by having an editorial almost every day about this dud " Bush is like a salesman whose company has forgotten to tell him the product he sells has been discontinued". It is a good read with some good laughs.

Cold, blustery Dakota Day

Winky, A.K.A. The Comander is sitting in bed reading. Part of her story evolves around Welch W.Va., a place were Lord Kadizzle was involved in the underground coal industry many moons ago. Southern West Virginia is a completely different planet.

The big mission today may be a trip to Bismarck to listen to some live jazz and pee money away. Just helping the economy.

Both The Commander and Lord Kadizzle are getting the itch to get out of here. May bust out Monday or Tuesday if the Lord is willing and the roads are clear. Will go to the Snoocher Bear den, pick up the camper and head for Rimrock AZ.

Today's homework assignment (easy)

If you don't want to be a dinger, you must read Paul Krugman in the New York Times today. Lord Kadizzle being the flaming liberal he is loves Tom Friedman, but Paul Krugman is probably the favorite. They did not give him the Nobel Prize because they had noting better to do. His article today succinctly hits the nail on the head about how the Republican party is the racist party. Even the hard cores will have a difficult time refuting what he says. If anyone can get a hard core to read it, let me know what it is like when the steam comes out their ears.

"He’s got his Top Gallant Sails out”

The NYT has an article about different terms for being drunk. As a sailor, I really like this one.

Throw out the soiled underwear

Someone used that phrase in Bismarck Tribune today about getting rid of the Bush administration. Lord Kadizzle thinks there should be some sort of national holiday for getting rid of his bunch. When Obama is sworn in everyone should symbolically throw old underwear away in some kind of ceremony, or throw some shoes and yell "You Dog". Ridding ourselves of the president voted in a poll by 98% of historians as the worst in history is something we need to celebrate.