Palm Springs Air Museum

Missy and Andy joined us at Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort, in Palm Desert, for a few days. Andy and I left the ladies at the Resort yesterday and went to the Palm Springs Air Museum. Kathie and I had been there on a previous visit. We left the girls home, because I knew that they would be bored, but I was pretty sure that Andy would love it. He did! He wished that his friend Wallace, from Australia, could have been there. In fact, he said that the museum was a "must see" stop for Wallace one day.

The museum is privately owned and self supporting. They had a sponsor who died a couple of years ago. Half of the planes are owned by his estate, but on permanent display at the museum. There are six paid employees and about 350 volunteers...who talk to visitors, restore planes and fly planes. Most of the planes are operational; they used to fly one every Saturday. Recently they have only flown one monthly due to the high cost of insurance.

The museum has two separate indoor sections: 1. WWII in the Pacific. 2. WWII in Europe. Outdoors they have static displays of modern jets, and a few other planes yet to be restored in a yard. While we were there, about 30 privately owned WWII T-34 trainers arrived. That plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza without the V tail. They were a club making a weekend visit to the museum.

Most of the museum exhibits were immaculate...and they were all beautiful...not the least of which were the P-51, Spitfire and bent-wing Corsair. We even crawled through a B-47 "Flying Fortress" and marvelled at the primitive conditions which flight crews endured. 12000+ of these planes were built. 4,000+ were lost. 47,000 young men were lost in bombing raids over Europe. My dad once told me that 35% of the Australian pilots trained for WWII were killed in action. It was apparently about the same percentage for all Allied pilots and flight crews.

Andy and I agreed that the best part of the museum experience was the volunteers. They were WWII Air Force/Navy/Marine Corps veterans...mainly pilots. They are a dying breed, so it was a privilege to talk with them. We got to spend private time with about five of them. They were extremely knowledgeable, and they all had something special in common...they were all really humble men...with great pride in their country...and a profound respect for their comrades who did not come home. It was obvious that they had a message to leave with people.

The first volunteer we met was not a pilot. He proudly showed us his belt buckle, which had sea serpents around a submarine. He was in the Submarine Service. That gave me goose-bumps. I asked if he served in the Pacific. Turned out that he served his entire duty in the Pacific, out of a submarine base located in Fremantle, Western Australia. He did not know Commander Henry Sipple...because he was an "ordinary seaman" and did not associate with the "brass". But he said he loved Fremantle and Perth; everyone treated him and has fellow seamen wonderfully.

It was a great experience, but it will not be long before the best part of that experience will all be gone.

You Have Got to Be Kidding!

Here we are in Palm Springs. Well...we are actually in Palm Desert. We flew into Ontario and drove to Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort, in Palm Desert...which is next to Palm Springs. We settled in...went to dinner...then did a little shopping at Albertsons. Even though we pretty much plan to eat out every meal...one would not want to get hungry between meals.

Shopping is one of those activities which I simply endure. Kathie seems to enjoy every minute and she enjoys talking to people...complete strangers. She can strike up a comfortable converstation over the simplest detail. That is one of those very special attributes which she inherited from her mother Floris.

So Kathie was looking at cottage cheese, carefully evaluating every detail trying to find the right sized curd at the right price. She did not immediately notice the Albertsons worker standing behind her who appeared to be patiently waiting for Kathie to move so that she could stock shelves. Kathie turned and began an easy conversation about "cottage cheese"...and the high price of stuff in Palm Desert. I walked away to find more essential stuff, such as diet Coke, thinking that the Alberstons worker was probably more anxious to get on with her job than listening to an out-going, out-of-town customer.

Pretty soon I heard Kathie call my name, so I obediently wandered back. Kathie said "You'll never guess who this is...but this is Pete Coleman's daughter...Susan...we're related". All I could do was stare stupidly and say..."You have got to be kidding!" Seriously...what were the odds?

For those in the family who do not know your genealogy that well...Pete Coleman, was the son of Guy Coleman, who was the brother of Lethe, Henry and Dale Coleman. Their mother Emily was Jeremiah Robey Springer's sister. Jeremiah is Kathie's grandpa. That makes Susan the same generation as our children.

Among Kathie's most special childhood memories is walking to the Midway store owned by Guy Coleman, holding hands with her grandpa Jerry...and listening to the old boys solving the problems of Midway... and the world. And she remembers seeing Pete Coleman's baby in a stroller in the store. According to Susan that baby had to be her, because she was the only surviving child in her family. One sibling was still born, the other died shortly after birth. Susan was raised in Midway and knows all the people Kathie remembers fondly.

I felt an immediate bond. It was strange...we had found a long lost cousin and it felt as if we ought to take her home with us. But she did not want to go...she seemed quite comfortable staying in Palm Desert...strange how that works.

So there is a lesson here. Always talk to strangers...you may be related. But still..."you have got to be kidding!"

I always used to tease Kathie that "You are related to everyone in Utah". That was because she would meet people and after a few minutes find a family connection...and I was directly related to no-one in Utah. But now she has extended her range of seemingly serendipitous encounters with relatives, to California.

Federal Climate Bill in Congress

Herald Journal: Page A2, April 19, 2009.

Read this incredible language from one of this nation's brilliant, non-partisan journalists:

"The fallout from global warming, while subtle right now, could eventually be more dire".

Now read it again. That ought to make even Kathie and her Self-Sufficient-Sisters tremble. Maybe you should read it again.

I don't know where this journalist went to school, but I think "subtle" means...hardly noticable. And the words "could" and "eventually" are linked in an incipid threat that global warming "could be"..."more dire" than "hardly noticable". What would something "more dire" than "hardly noticable" actually look like? And when should we expect "more dire"?... well... "eventually".

Let's put this in perspective. After more than thirty years of preaching environmental doom and gloom like "acid rain destroying lakes and forests, polluted rivers being on fire and smog choking people in some cities", global warming activists admit today that "the fallout from global warming is only subtle right now".

But apparently that most unscientific position "has Democrats pushing legistlation that rivals in scope the nations land-mark anti-pollution laws."

And..."If Congress balks, the Obama administration has signalled its willingness to use decades old clean air laws to impose tough new regulations for motor vehicles and many industrial plants to limit their release of climate-changing pollution." (and put a lot more people out of work)

"The EPA said that rising sea levels, increased flooding and more intense heatwaves and storms that come with climate change are a threat to public health and safety."

Having stated that pollution is causing climate change, the EPA "predicted that warming will worsen other pollution problems such as smog"...."our health and our planet are in danger."

So are you paying attention folks?

Global warming is now climate change...and ...
Pollution causes climate change...and
Global warming causes pollution.

It's hard to argue with that circumlocution.

TEA PARTY

On April 15, 2009, Andy and I attended the Tea Party held in front of the Old Logan Courthouse. It was organized by a USU student who first heard about planned Tea Parties from a friend in the east. He and some friends had agreed to carpool to Salt Lake on April 15...but he decided to post a note on his web to see if there was interest in organizing a Tea Party in Logan. He was overwhelmed with responses.

So...200-300 brave souls met at 4:00 PM...in the snow. It was wet and cold but the spirit of the event kept us warm. There were lots of speakers, including Scott Bradley the Constitution scholar, but the highlight was a bunch of school girls, and one boy, reciting the Declaration of Independence. It was not possible to get an accurate count because people were arriving even as we were leaving at 5:30 PM.

The Tea Party was orderly and interesting...but it was an eerie experience. One could not help but wonder if we were feeling the same feelings as the first groups of protestors felt in Boston. We conservatives are not protestors...it makes us uncomfortable. Were we being foolish? Might we be forced to take a stand at some point? Would it do any good? But it actually felt good...like it was time...time to join with like-minded people who are angered that the Constitution is being trampled upon, that the federal government is usurping powers granted only to the states, and that our country and our future is being stolen from us. And for me it was an opportunity to begin the process of letting the Republican Party know that they have lost me...or rather, they left me behind...and if they want me back they will have to earn the privilege by returning to the positions and principals which good men before me have defended with their lives.

So...from a purely historical perspective...we were there! Let's see where we go from here.

Oh yes! Marshall Thompson, the liberal "veteran" (journalist) was there too...with a flag tucked under his arm. Of course he was the focus of the Herald Journal coverage...such as it was.

DISTRACTIONS

Well...how rude!...Andy and I attended the Priesthood Session of General Conference tonight...and I'm offended! Well...I'm trying to act as if I'm offended, even though one of the speakers said that true believers in the Restored Gospel should NOT be offended by anything.

But President Uchtdorf said something that made me think anyway.

He gave one of his great aviation stories, about a flight crew who were so distracted by an indicator light which did not come on when it was supposed to during a landing approach, that they forgot the main mission...which was to land the plane safely...and they crashed into the Florida swamps killing all aboard...over 100 people.

He was making a good point: It was good for the flight crew to be concerned about an indicator light...but not good in the big picture to become so discracted that the plane went down. He said likewise, it is a good thing for a Priesthood holder...a father or grandfather... to be involved in FAMILY HISTORY, BLOGGING or GARDENING...but not if he becomes distracted and loses sight of his primary mission... which is to provide for and bless his family.

It was interesting that President Uchtdorf chose to highlight those three otherwise positive activities...as potential distractions. Who do we know who is involved in all three? When President Uchtdorf made that statement, Andy just turned...looked at me... and smiled his best "Oh-my-gosh" smile.

Of course Kathie was really sympathetic when I gave her my report of the Priesthood Session. She knows how to sooth her man's damaged ego. She offered a thoughtful observation about President Uchtdorf..."He probably looked really good while he was offending you though." That's true....but I think I'll read DESIDERATA again.

DESIDERATA (Things to be desired) by Max Ehrmann

Design West is working on a proposed School for the Arts. The client (Ruthanne Christensen) would like the poem DESIDERATA mounted on a high wall in the main entry. I did a google search and found a great deal of interesting controversy regarding the origin of the poem. But Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana (1872-1945) was the author. He obtained a federal copyright in 1927. It is beautiful language... Ehrmann's "humble gift... a bit of chaste prose." It is wonderful advice for young and old alike... especially in these uncertain times.
__________________________________________________________

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Retrieved from "http://wikilivres.info/wiki/Desiderata"
Check also "The Confused History of Desiderata" at http://www.fleurdelis.com/desiderata.htm

A Far Country by Allen Powell

Missy and Andy gave me this book. I finished reading it during airline travel and airport waiting on our trip to Pittsburgh. It is "a short history of the Northern Territory" in Australia. It was a great read, but being a history book...a little more info than one needs.

The NT has been Federal Government property since 1911. The city of Darwin was settled by intrepid pioneers primarily due to fear that some foreign power would claim it. The state of South Australia claimed it first, then gradually tried to get out of the deal. The Federal Government's attempts to govern are a classic collection of mistakes.

Private enterprise in the form of huge foreign companies, which had the capital to outlast unpredictable weather, was encouraged. One English company called Vesty's bought up cattle stations and built a huge meat packing plant in Darwin. They created markets for NT beef in Indonesia...and then they were gone. Why? They would never say and no-one has ever been able to access their records. But the historians speculate that the company simply could not trust government. The federal governments changed every four years...agreements were made...agreements were broken. That unpredictability on top of an unpredictable climate caused Vesty's and other major investors to up and leave.

One classic episode in the history of the NT was the government take-over of Darwin Hotels (pubs). Who would believe it? Who would stand for it? But the government quickly lost money and returned the pubs to private ownership. There is a lesson here. Anyone who can't make money on a pub, among some of the greatest beer drinkers in the world...in a place like Darwin that would drive anyone to drink...is obviously incapable of running anything efficiently.

Why would clear thinking people trust government to run anything efficiently? But the same people who can't run a pub in Australia efficiently, are attempting to run health care, airlines, aboriginal affairs...you name it.

And in the USA people chose a President and a Congress who are hell-bent to give us government run National Health Care...and government run banks. Heaven help us!