We, the political bloggers, the opinionated Monday morning presidents and political wannabes who spend a good deal of our spare time wearing out our keyboards with our endless meanderings and rants and ridiculous vocabulary that would leave our peers in the real world pointing and laughing at us hysterically, are nothing more than a bunch of broken records. Well, scratched would be the more correct term, but I digress. And the further one leans to one side or the other the harder it is to get the needle into the next groove so the song can move on.

As I look back into the archived posts for the last few months here on Bakersfield.com, I am amazed at how little the arguments have changed over that time no matter the issue! The war, the economy, liars cheats, thieves, Anna Nicole, American Idol. To the left it's all a vast right wing conspiracy, to the right it's all another governmet controlled handout program. I am, of course, being facetious about the war and teh economy, but you get my point.

We seem to be as unoriginal in thought as the very people we expend so much energy decrying and/or supporting yet we never seem to tire of the fight or the cause. I could have just copied and pasted one reply to about ninety percent of of teh blogs and saved myself an incredible amount of time, anger and frustration, but I guess I sometimes like to argue as much as the next guy.

To be sure, there are those Bako bloggers who remain above the fray, talking only of whatever it is that interests them, and others like myself, who venture away from the political arena as life dictates or as I grow weary of the psychobabble, but most of the folks here just seem to like a good fight and that is good.

It is to know that not everyone is just lying down in frustration as both sides of "those in charge" fail to respond to anything other than tireless self promotion and party lines. As long as there is discourse and argument, America will be OK. It may take awhile and our ideals may not be represented now or in the immediate future, but eventually we will all get what we want, if only for a short time. That is the way of things in a democracy. We are so diverse and quirky that it will always be impossible to please everyone all the time, so I'm just holding out for MY time of perfect representation!

There is nothing quite as annoying as a broken recordor because it will not fix itself. It will not stop skipping or repeating on its own the way a car alarm wil stop if you just leave the car alone. No, we HAVE to get up and do something about it. We have to walk over to the turntable and correct the problem manually. We have to take action.

As to the analogy, we will push a representative into the right groove or we will replace them with a new album(to those born before 1990, those were big, round, black things that played music), or, in more modern terms, kick them to the curb as if we were ejecting a scratched CD, but rest assured, we WILL do something when we tire of the annoyance.

So I say to my fellow bloggers, right, left or in the middle..Keep it up! Headway is being made out there in the political arena because of what we have to say and it will come around to my/your way of looking at things at some point. America is listening and they are reading, our representatives had better start doing the same!

Awhile back I wrote a post called "Working with History" about my career with the railroad. One of the central characters of my career was mentioned in that and his name was Bill Stokoe. He was a great signalman, a patient mentor(as long as he liked you), a good boss and a good friend. On top of all that, he was a husband. He was married to his wife, Betty, for 40 or so years. They had a very interesting life together living in the old outfit cars as Bill worked wherever the work was. She has been writing a story about all of that for years and I hope that she someday ties it all up.

Bill passed away a few years ago and Betty moved to Arizona to be closer to her family. Until that time I didn't realize how close friends Betty and I had become. She was always there when I was around Bill at home and we always spent time talking, sometimes more time than I spent talking with Bill! When Bill was sick I no longer lived in Tehahapi, but made time to go by and see him. Betty would always let me know how things were really going and how he was doing. Sometimes she and I would spend awhile talking about things other than Bill's health and I could tell she enjoyed the distraction.

When she moved we kept in touch via e-mails and traded pix of our lives once in awhile. Anytime I travelled to Tehachapi and went down Main St past their old place with all the signals in the back yard, I would remember Bill and think fondly of Betty. Memories of Bill traipsing around piddling with his signals, Betty at her table in the house hammering away at her writing and always with a smile and something friendly and funny to say. Spending forty years with Bill demanded a good sense of humor and endless patience and she has both in spades.

Well, two weeks ago I got an E-mail from Betty saying she would be in Tehachapi for a couple of weeks and wanted to get together, then I got a call from her when she got to town. There was no doubt that time would be taken from my schedule to see her. Finally, last Saturday I was able to get up to see her. We hed the usual talk that comes with not having seen someone in awhile. How's everyone, ect..You know. Then she came and sat next to me and we talked of life. When she says "So, Mark, how are you doing"? she means it. It's not idle chat to be blown off. She want's to know how I am. I very rarely discuss my personal problems outside a close few friends, and she is one. I am going through some very tough times right now and she knew it. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew something was wrong and she was there to listen and offer good advice. Not the unsolicited cliche advice so many people seem to feel the need to pour on you in times of trouble, but heart felt stuff aimed at making my heart, mind and soul feel better. She is one of the people in my life who cares for me and you can never have too many friends like that.

She told me that she was thinking of moving back to Tehachapi and we talked about her reasons for that for awhile. She had some properties she wanted to see and wanted my opinion about them. "Get a man's perspective" she said. It made me feel so good to be able to give her a hand. A little repayment for all the advice and understanding over the years, and I was only too happy to help. As we looked at one of the places she talked of not wanting to intrude on her friends to give her a hand should she need it. I told her that's what friends are for and I was just down in Bakerfield should she need me. She just walked over and hugged me and it was at that point I truly realized how long we had been friends. After looking at the homes we went to lunch and spent an hour there talking of things.

As we sat and chatted, Betty handed me a little bag. Inside was some of Bill's Southern Pacific jewerly. This is not stuff you can buy. It is all made from the emblems on the old Southern Pacific dinnerware. Bill would get his hands on some of the stuff and have a jeweler cut the emblems out and mount them in various settings. In this batch was a bolo tie, watchband, a couple of pins..it was very cool. She wanted me to have it. I just sat there and looked it for awhile. She had told me on the phone she had some stuff she wanted to give me, but knowing she knew my love of books, I figured it would have been something along those lines. I had no idea her gift, and by extension, Bill's gift, would be something so personal and rare. I was nearly overcome as I sat there looking these pieces I had seen Bill wearing so many times.

I may..MAY..put one of my gold watches on the band, but the rest of it will be put away in a safe place. A place of honor. I will get it out and tell my jewelery and railroad fan frineds.."See! Look what I got"..and "No, you can't have it and I won't sell it". No, these pieces will become family heirlooms, and hopefully, my kids will pass them down to future generations and not put them on e-bay when I pass on.

I know Betty will read this, so I will say it here. Thanx Betty, this is one of the coolest most heartfelt gifts anyone has ever given me. I will cherish and care for them till I die. As a selfish man, I hope you do come home so I can see you more than just once every three or four years! Thanx again and I love you!

Well, I am going to have to ask your forgiveness for my dated post, but it's been hard to make time to do much lately..AGAIN! I actually wrote this blog in my book the day it was making such a splash,a nd whilr the news itself may be out of time, the point I am going to make has legs.

Once again I am NOT amazed at the attention given by the left to most trivial of incidents involving the president. His watch disappeared during a photo op meet n greet deal in Albainia as he shook hands with te crowd. So what? Where did it go? Who cares? Was it another act of deception by the administration? Give me a freakin' break!

These are the kinds of distractions to the left that I wrote about awhile back(see "Shiny Objects"). It is the type of indident that exemplifies the lefts lack of focus on real issues. They grouse about evey decision Bush makes but provide no answers to any questions or solution to any problems so they hone in on events such as this. It is so typically predictable and it is why I am not amazed or even mildly surprised. I will not defend many decisions Bush has made lately, but neither will I concern myself with where his watch went. If I want to be entertained I'll go to a concert or watch the Simpsons.

The bloggers on the left have lampooned the Albanians by calling them names deriding them for even wanting to have Bush in their country. Which brings me to another thing that has stopped surprising me where the left is concerned and that is the immaturity of the left. I mean please, name calling is SO high school! On top of that, not everyone in the world feels the same way aboyt Bush and America as the boisterous left would have you think.

America still represents the best the world has to offer and Bush represents us, no matter how he is perceived by his detractors at home.

I saw it again today. I see it all the time, everywhere...Bicyclists ignoring the laws the rest of us have to obey. I'm not talking about the ones who ride bikes because they lost their licenses over a DUI or people who ride because they won't work and can't afford a car. I expect nothing from them. No, I am talking about high end cyclists, the clean air commuters, the ones wearing a "share the road" shirt or a club jersey.

Today it was one of the morning commuters who probably brags to his friends about how he is helping the world to be a better place. He ran two red lights on 21st st., one at L and the other at M. He never stopped pedaling. Oh, he looked both ways, but that doesn't make it legal or safe and you can always fail to see a car coming and I'll bet he'd be pissed at the driver who had the right of way should that car get too close or if a car ran a red light in his path.

I have no problem sharing the road with cyclists as long as they are thoughtful, observe the laws and rules of the road and show some common courtesy as well as common sense, as many so often fail to do.

I once got behind a group of club riders(well, they were all wearing matching jerseys), about ten or so of them, on Hiway 41 near Atascadero. They were spread out across the entire lane and refused to move over into single file so I(on my Harley)and a few cars could pass. They looked back and saw us and there was no way they couldn't hear the Hog, but they still lollygagged along taking up the raod. When I finally got to place where I could gas it around them two of them actually flipped me off! And THESE are the people who demand our respect when we see them on the road?

These are, as with nasty, inconsiderate Harley riders, the exception to the rule and I realize that, but these are the members of the cycling world by which the vast majority of cyclists will be judged, because these are the one you notice. They stick out because they are rude and inconsiderate. Their arrogance in simply running red lights and ignoring laws by which drivers have to abide makes them stand out in your memory the next time you see a group of riders or see a "Share The Road" sign.

So, I will wrap my rant by saying that I think people should ride bikes more often. It IS good for the air and the environment and it's good for the riders. I just think they should be hollering at their compatriots who are pissing drivers off instead of hollering at the pissed off drivers.

I have been very busy with life the last few weeks and have not had a chance to share much of anything with anyone, so forgive me if my rant seems dated. Two weeks ago I read about another of Hugo Chavez' policy decisions. It was in the second section on the third page and was only a short blurb. There was no story about why this decision was made or if there was any dissent in Venezuela concerning it.

Last September I wrote a post about his ranting and raving at the UN. I predicted his slow but certain moves to make Venezuela a landlocked Cuba with him standing firmly at the helm as his country and the voices of it's people slid down the greased slope of socialism into the pit of dictatorship. I was assailed by the American communists and Castro sympathizers(not necessarily the American left). I was told what a savior he would be and how I was wrong and understood nothing about him or Venezuela. Well, I don't need to understand anything but history because it was repeating itself for the umpteenth time.

In January of this year I posted about Boss Hugo having nationalized the Venezuelan telecommunication industry and moving to eliminate term limits so as to ensure his place at the head of the dictatorial snake whos venom will destroy his country. Again I was assailed by the same people. Well, in fairness, some of my earlier detractors sat that one out. Nationalization of industry has historically been the first step in a dictators absolute control when he wants the world to see him as a savior instead of the monster he is. Hitler looked great the first few years he was in charge!

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. Boss Hugo has refused to renew the broadcasting license of the opposing party's radio and television network thus eliminating any way for the people to hear the other side of the story. I know there are conspiracy theorists who think that has happened here, but all logical, intelligent people know in their hearts it is simply untrue. There is a HUGE difference between disagreeing with what one hears broadcast and simply NOT having the option of hearing anything at all. The press has field days with Bush regularly(and rightly so over the last couple of years)and not ONE network has been shut down by this administration.

I don't know what the Hugo's next step toward absolute power will be, but I assure you that there will be a next step. Venezuela is done for if the people there do not rise up against this tyrant. I would call him a wolf in sheep's clothing, but it would seem that he has shorn most of that disguise already. Venezuela could be a very influential country in South America and on the world stage, but I fear that internal conflict and the supression of the people there will damage their chances for that, at least in the forseeable future.

This is one of those instances in which I really hate being right because it means that people will truly suffer without a voice. I hate that. This country is not perfect and we do a lot of arguing about who is right and what should be done to rectify a given situation, but we DO, at least have that option, Venezuala will not, and that stinks. The fact that the media had so little to say about it stinks even worse because it will not be long until we, the USA, are called upon to render aid to a people under the thumb of such a lunatic. As a major oil producing nation there will be calls for strict sanctions and yada-yada..The same crap we have seen ten times in the last century, but instead of paying real attention to a burgeoning problem, we will turn our heads and pretend all is well.

I really don't know what we can do at this point, but if Boss Hugo were to hear the world rallying against his policies over at his flop house in NYC(better known as the UN)perhaps he would alter his path. Perhaps not. Megolomaniacs learn their lessons the hard way, but at least the world could say that, this time, it tried.

Tuesday Night it was Camilla..Friday night it was Ryan's turn. My grandson graduated from West High looking all the world like a man ready to take on the rest of his life. As I watched him walk by during the procession I saw the big smile on his face. He had made it and was as proud of himself as the rest of the family. Ryan is actually my step-grandson. I started dationg his grandmother when he was nine. Just a little kid who spent most afternoons hanging with his gramma(he actually lived next door)which gave me the opportunity to get to know him better.

As he made his way to the stage and was seated with the rest of his class I drifted back to those days in the late 90's when I would go watch him play youth football. He was an amazing athlete even then. There wasn't a player in the league who could catch and take him down alone and it was apparent back then that he could go a long way should he decide to do so. I was amazed at his prowess, but I was getting to know "Buggie", as the family called him, the kid with the big smile and bright eyes. One thing that endeared us to each other was our love for dirtbikes and Motocross and over the years we got to explore that commonality.

I always say that my most fond memory with Ryan was at his first motocross race at LACR in Palmdale. I think he was about twelve. He took off out of teh gate, crashed in teh first turn and broke off his clutch lever. He Turned around and came back down to the line where I was still standing and said "Pa! My clutch is broken"! I told him "Screw your clutch..GO"! He showed his famous ability to overcome adversity that day and charged back to fifth place after having been WAY behind. He had his share of adversity at West too. He has overcome many struggles there, some brought on by the normal teenaged inattention, some from other directions, but as he walked across that stage I felt a great sense of relief that the struggles of this phase of his life were at an end.

After the ceremony we did all the requisite family photo stuff. It was obvious that Ryan was toked. He is a very upbeat kid, but is still relatively quiet and unemotional in most situations. You don't have conversations with him the way you do with most people. He is more a listener than a talker. A grunt in 'G' signifies an affirmative response, a grunt in 'C' flat a negative..A raise of one eyebrow is a query and both eyebrows a sign of general agreement or understanding, but at the end, there is always the "I Love You, Pa" and "Thanx". I couldn't help but smile at all the talking and running around he was doing outside the Civic. It was the best!

He will now head off to Fresno State to fulfill his scholarship there and enter the next big phase of his life. I could not be more proud! The family are all excited to see him off to his new life, but there is that part of me that will miss "Buggie". I would like to think that I have been a guiding influence in his life as I have always been there in times of confusion and confidence and moral issues. All I have ever wanted was for him to be happy at whatever he was doing and give whatever he was doing everything he had. So far he has listened to at least some of my advice!

This new place in his life will not be an easy one. It will be filled with challenges such as he has never known before, but I think he is up to it. There is no stronger support group in the world than his family and close friends. There are no bandwagon riders in that group. We all want the best for him, nomatter where that leads. Good luck, Son and chin up! I love you..Pa!