All very confusing....

However what is "Not" confusing is the terrifying nightmare the children of Sudan are being put through. This is where I get very upset, no child should have to live in fear of their lives, wheter they live in some far away country or if they live right next door. ? Why couldn't our military had been put to good use in Sudan rather than messing up other people's lives in Iraq? Then this leads me to the ? which is more valuable , oil or children? I have always believed that children are our most precious resource. They are our future.We have really screwed things up for them. I have got to get going to the rally for Sudan .

Sunday,

Sunday I'm going to a rally at Crissy Field to protest the genicide going on in Sudan. I don't know enough about it to make a decent post except that we have to put a "STOP" to it right now.

Happy Friday!

Everyone have a "GRREAT WEEKEND".!!!!

Hello? Is anyone there?

Just want to say "Hi" and I'm alright. going thru some changes right now, not to worry everything is alright. When it's where I have more time I'll get back to my funny side of life. I'm a true sag. when the chips are down I raise the anty. I push that envlope all the way. Oh, even though I'm a little on the sick side of life right now, emotionally and physically, I want to say Congrats. to Miss Kentuckty, and all the other beautiful ladies in the Miss USA show on Friday. That's pretty much it for now, I will always love you, no wait that's not what I wanted to say, erase that, I have to go now and have my 19th. nervous breakdown. Well since you been gone, I've bought a red convertabile. Oh don't I wish!!!!

Slightly Used Ark For Sale

33.8 or 160 percent of normal to date (21.29 inches) Source: National Weather Service. What a downpour yesterday was, in fact it was coming down so heavily that Easter Services that are held at Mt. Davidson had to be moved inside. This is not normal. Usually by now some of us have a good start on our tans.
So, now I have this ark and it looks like I won't be needing it after all, and I now have to return all the animals to the zoo, (both pairs of each) what a day. Of course I could take it to the Delta and use it for a houseboat I suppose. By the way I'm just kidding, when do I have time to build and ark much less understand instructions!

The Beginnings Of A Beautiful Day

Peeps!

So far I've eaten down to the last row of my Peeps. I'm just about all Peeped out.

"Doctor Smith, Warning-Warning"

Warning- Warning, both arms waving in the air. What you are about to see may shock and alarm you, so here's your chance to git outta here!!!********************Need a west?
______________ Try a WestingHouse.____________

What A Wonderful Way To Spend A Rainey Afternoon

Yesterday Maria and I went to the very first "Senior Showcase Talent Show" held in the beautiful Castro Theather. The ceiling is all brass and copper with hand engraved markings on each piece. Along the walls were colums of cherbus, comedy and drama. A spectacluar chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling. The seats are loudres, they are from the 40's (I think) red cordoroy. We decided to sit in the balcony . Ya know from the balcony of a theather you get a thrown at you persective. I personally liked it when we were on the main floor , but that's just me. The house was packed , truly standing room only. The event was put on by all the different senior clubs in the city, anyone wanting to do a number could get up and perform. There were a lot of sponsors that helped pull this event off. The progam began with a group of people singing "76 Trombones", then a Lady and her "Other Half"(but she was both halfves came up and sang a duet, "My Endless Love", pretty funny. Then a Magican, a comedian, tap dancer, a tribute to China town, A Japanese Red Latern Song and Dance, oh it just went on for two hours, my favorite was the Japanese Lady with the red ribbon flags swirling then all around while the young girl did a sword dance. Durring the intermission there was a Jazz Band made up of famous musicians that had played with the Big Bands of Swing. Then A Chinese couple came out and did a Chinese Tango. It was too much fun. When it was over and we all exited the theather the rain had stopped and it was a beautiful day.

Just Like The Phoenix Consumed By Fire Later To Rise Renewed From It's Ashess

It was May 7th. before the gas was turned back on, Uncle Jack said that they had restored the gas lines nine days later but because their wasn't any water in the mains the city officals felt it was better to wait until all the air could be purged from the lines. The telephones were soon in operation, the long distance lines had survived and the local lines were being repaired as the need was apparent. On July 5th. the saloons were reopened, draft beer was a nickle. Pappa and Uncle Jack took Daniel to have his first beer afterall the things he'd been through he had transformed into a man. Mamma wasn't happy about it , she did give Daniel a nickle to have a beer on her. Chistopher came by to see if we wanted to go downtown and have a look see. Sissy and I got to go and walk about all three of us brought back some food for the house. It looked so different from the day we made our way safely out of there. Chistopher said not to worry the work never stops people are at work on this city day and night. Soon it will be all back together and more beautiful than before. Time went by and yes he was right, a year had passed and things and buildings were in place. The work stills continues. This morning at 4:30 A.M. we gathered at Lotta's Fountain to remember the Firefighters and all the others who gave unselfishly and untirely to protect this City .
This is just one of the reasons why San Francisco is know as the "The City That Knows How". I really had a wonderful time doing this story, there were so many aspects of things that I couldn't cover . If any of you are interested and get Channel 7 KGO San Francisco they are doing a special, 1906 A City Remembers, on Sunday April 16th at 4 p.m. Also National Geographic will be having a special on The Great Quake Sunday at 8p.m. Tuesday morning April 18th Maria and I are going to go to the 100th Celebration at the same time as they did 100 years ago 4:30 in the morning. Opening Day of Baseball the Giants vs. the Braves the remaining suviours threw out the opening pitch. The Lady that inspired me to do this story was four when it happened, Layla has left us but her memory lives on in the stories she would tell Maria and I.

Something In The Air (Part IX)

Uncle Jack and Pappa were already up and talking about finding work. "Well, said Uncle Jack, "the United Railroad already has some of it's cars up and running." Pappa replied, "Hmmm, that might be where to start if we get this City up and running then the rest will fall into place. " "Yeah, we can help'em clean up the debris, better get Lil Daniel if he stays busy maybe his nightmares will go away." Pappa told Lil Daniel to get dressed and to hurry it up they had work to do and it would proably be a very long day. When they came back home that night they told us how they'd been loading bricks from off of Market street and cleanning that up. Lil Daniel had gone with a crew from the United Rairoad and they were delivering food to the people. Uncle Jack had been replacing power poles along with other strong men. Ten days later the rail system was up and running in the City. Our guardian angel Christopher came by and brought us some real food, he said we needed to go and sign up for the cottages that the City was going to bring and house people. He'd come by tomorrow and take us there. It wasn't long after that that we moved into the little shack in the Presideo. To me it was a manison, no more wind blowing thru that canvas tent durring the night. People began to make contact with their relatives or friends and slowly began moving out of the refuge tents. A new occurance had come up with the fire and the cleanup of the City. Rats! They were everywhere, mainly because they too had been displaced. There were people who would pay for the capture and killing of the Rats! At night Pappa and Uncle Jack would tell us how the City was changing everyday. Sissy and I wanted so badly to go see. Pappa had found a picture of the City from 1905 and he showed it to us.

Sunday At The Beach

My brother is named Lil Daniel because Pappa is Daniel, sometimes he hates it when Sissy and I call him Lil Daniel in front of some girl he is trying so hard to impress. My brother is sixteen, but to hear him tell it he is seventeen, although he won't have a birthday until May. On Sunday all of us walked down to the beach, it wasn't far from the windmill. It was like all of our worries and concerns vanished for a couple of hours. The people in the tent next to us joined us at the beach. On arrival back to our temporary home Mamma was getting our dinner together, dinner was mostly bread, Mamma could make anything taste good. Pappa and Uncle Jack and the men from the next tent talked of the current events .The Mayor was very strict about what would happen to looters, anyone caught taking advantage of this horrible situation would be dealt with in an unkindly manner. Then Mamma called me,"Annabel, you and Sissy need to get ready for bed". I hugged Pappa and gave him a kiss and said my goodnights to everyone and dissappeared into the tent. It was to be a rest less night for all of us. My brother hadn't slept since Wednesday he'd been fighting the Great Fire shoulder to shoulder with the other men. Now he was back with his family and the dreams began to haunt him, he kept us all awake, while he put out more fires in his sleep. Sissy had had enough and she went to pop him in his sleep but she missed and got Pappa which started a big fuss. Our tent sounded like a pack of wild chauawaas, Lil Daniel sleep right thru it, then just as quickly as it started it ended. Silence.

The Long Journey ( Part Two)

My sister , my Mamma and I were on foot like all the rest of the people joining us. At first you could see the other side of the street and then suddenly there were so many people coming out of their houses and apartments and they were dressed all sorts of ways, some still in their night garments and some dressed for the day. I guess we were lucky that Mamma has us get up early and do our chores or we would have been dressed in our bed clothes. It seemed like we had walked for days but it was only 11 A.M. The air was thick and full of black smoke the sun had been blocked out from all the smoke. When we reached Van Ness we where directed to go up Haight as Hayes Valley was going up in flames. Someone said it was the ham and eggs fire. Mamma set down her bucket of eggs, and cried. Then in that same moment she picked up those eggs and she made us sing, with a quivering voice my sister and I began to join her singing "We're marching to Zion, beautiful beautiful Zion". The people close to us began to sing along with us and soon there where voices joinning in from every street meeting up with us and not missing a beat. By the time we reached Scharder street we were able to view our beloved city , looking down the hill from where we had just climbed all we could see was fires burning and suddenly there would be new burst of flames . When we arrived at Stanyan and Golden Gate Park the sounds of fire engines ringing and clanging their bells could be heard all the way from downtown . The heat from the City burning was beginning to reach the park. Hot ashes fell from the sky, every once in awhile we'd have to move quickly or a large page from some one's book would float down and set their clothes on fire or land in a pile of leaves. Every where you looked there was children and Mothers. I didn't see very many men except the soldiers. Mamma said the men where helping put out the fires and Pappa, Uncle Jack and Lil Daniel would come for us as soon as it was possible. Mamma gave her bucket of eggs to a lady who had a huge pot and boiling water. They were trying to get food lines going and the lady thanked Mamma for the eggs. We finally made our way down to the windmill and a soldier from the Vancouver Barracks l ead us to our tent. This was to be our first night of many spent outside. The next day that same soldier came by and told us that he was going to put our name on our tent. Sissy found out his name was Christopher, he would check on us from time to time. On Friday the 21st. of April Christopher came by our tent with a newspaper , he wanted to know if we wanted to read it? Mamma, Sissy and I gathered around as Christopher read to us the stories in the paper. This was the first time we had realized the scope of the situation. We felt certain that our house that was in the Mission District had been lost. Christopher joined us as we prayed for Pappa, Uncle Jack and Lil Daniel. Saturday afternoon, the sky was still filled with smoke and a sea breeze had kicked in and gave us all some fresh air to breathe. I saw Christopher approaching our tent there seemed to be someone with him, I called to Mamma. Just as she came out of the tent Pappa began running towards her. Lil Daniel hugged me and Sissy. Uncle Jack was just happy to sit down. Pappa asked Christopher to join us for dinner. Uncle Jack told us at dinner how 3000 volunteers with knapsacks and brooms and a few firemen and one operating hydrant at 20th and Church stopped the fire in the Mission. It was an end to an era for San Francisco and a beginning to a new way of life for all of us. Tomorrow we rebuild this City.

All Before DayLight(the story below is from out of my head but I guess it could have happened something like this, I suppose.)

Mamma woke my sister and I up before the crack of dawn . I can still hear her voice,"You girls get up now and get started with your chores before you go to school." We got dressed in our clothes that we do our chores in and made our way thru the house and down the steep steps out to the hen house . I wasn't really awake yet , it wasn't daylight and the hens were making an awful fuss I thought. " Hey Sissy, that's what I called my sister,, "Sissy what is wrong with the chickens"? "You , your scarring them like always". "No I'm not I haven't even gotten near them yet and look Mamma Cat keeps hiding her babies. Why is she acting so funny?" My sister was getting a little cranky with me I could hear it in her tone. Your the one who is acting funny now get those eggs and let's get back inside, I'm cold. I don't see how you can be cold when there is no wind blowing why it's so quite out here you could hear a pin drop. I can't remember it ever being this calm." C'mon now , I've gotten my basket full of eggs what's taking you so long? I'm going back in slow poke, see ya inside". My sister left me, I got a strange feeling and decided to turn and go in also. I had made it from the backyard where the hen house was and I was on the first landing of the steps when I heard this deep rumbling sound. I looked around but there was nothing there making the noise so I continued on up the steps. I looked over where Papa kept the mule he seemed really restless. I tighten my grip on my egg basket, Mamma would make a big fuss if we broke even one egg. As I took a couple of more steps I felt the stairs trembling, then without any warning the boards began to creak and made a terrible moan. I was scared now , then suddenly the back steps began to sway my sister hollered at me to get inside, the house began to pull away from the steps, my sister reached out her hand and shouted at me to grab her hand. Just as she clasped my hand and pulled me toward her, the steps twisted and collasped into a pile of lumber on the ground below. Mamma shoved us both under the wooden table and put both baskets of eggs in the pantry. I looked up at the dishes on the shelves , Mamma's dishes from England were crashing down onto the floor all around us. We were surrounded by broken glass . My sister was crying, Mamma had the mattress over her . I wasn't sure where Pappa and Uncle Jack and Lil Daniel were durring all of this upheval. Suddenly it stopped. Mamma told us to stay put for a minute, just in case it started up again. Pappa came running into the kitchen and told all of us to get outside right now. Mamma said ,"Grab something"!! My sister ran to our room and snatched up her hair brush and mirror set from Italy. Mamma grabbed the eggs and a quilt and some photographs of our grandparents and the deed to the house. Pappa told us to go to the Windmill out by Ocean Beach he and Uncle Jack and Lil Daniel would meet us there in a day or two. We carefully went out the front door, the steps were still attached but wobbly. Just as we all got out of the house it , the house as if it were alive breathed and exhaled a loud moan and slid down the hill.

This Thing Is Empty!!!

This is "Tennessee" he is doing his body building routine. He has that 12 pack in his mouth. For someone who biggest exericse is laying in the sun, he's pretty strong. He refuses to weed the back yard. Picky, oh let me tell you just how picky . If the grass is wet he'll turn around and want back in his hutch. There has got to be two carrots and don't waste his time with rabbit food. Phooey! Give me fresh vegatables! Thump foot...

We Broke The 1904 Record! Open Up Your Umbrealles!!!

RAIN . Rain and more rain. 25 days of rain we broke our record from 1904. Last look we were at 140% and now we are saturated to the point of hit it boys, "Slip sliding away, the closer to your destination the more your slip sliding away". On our route last night there were some hill sides giving away, but it's early still. Here's a picture of the tree that fell over in the park, barely hanging on by the branch of the other tree. My boots can't handle any more rain soaked nights the soles are cracking and beginning to shred. I better head to Payless in the next day or so cause they say there is "No end in sight". Isn't that lovely, where is my sandy beach? In other news ,they , here is that word again, they, mentioned that the animal rights groups weren't allowed to close to the seal hunt. Today is openning day of salmon season and the dungeous crabs are awful crabby. Everything here has to do with water. hmm. My brain must be drenched, beautiful sunrise but it's diffcult to see with the buckets of rain falling. I wish Mother Nature would start to shut off the faucet. I was thinking, (scary thought) if the sea level rises by 20 feet, then I guess I'll never get my sandy beach, well it won't be where I left it. I'll proably have to wait for time and erosion to crave me a new path down to the next sandy beach. Oh well more pretty glass to collect, I mean clean up off the beach. Ahhh, it's rainning again, what else is new!!!!