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Whack Those Little Buggers!
The year is 1974 and Richard Nixon is President of the United States and then not President of the United States. The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, CA. Robert Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter, and the “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Ali and Foreman takes place in Zaire. It’s also the year Bob and I moved to the Hemet Valley to run a juvenile facility out in Castile Canyon, behind the Soboba Indian Reservation.
High Winds and Heavy Seas
Almost any ol’ Sunday school kid worth their salt will remember the story of Peter walking on the water! It’s really an amazing narrative. I recently looked up some artists portrayals of this event and noticed something a bit “off” with many of the pictures. Peter was there all right, walking from the boat to Jesus in the middle of a storm, but the water was only slightly choppy - almost calm.
Fly People Fly!
If we could take a poll of everyone reading this article, I believe 99.9% of you would have to admit that, as a child, you wanted to fly. I distinctly recall as a youngster repeatedly climbing up on our green and white sofa - parents out of the house of course - and standing on the armrest, I would jump up as high as possible and try to fly! Please take into account here that a child’s brain is not yet fully developed at this tender age! At least it appears mine wasn’t or I would have at least climbed up on our tall block wall or the roof of the garage for a better jump-off platform.
Sea Serpents and Water Walls!
Have you ever done anything that was so terrifying, so petrifying, you thought you might die? I have and it was pretty miserable! Some of you out there may still remember POP (Pacific Ocean Park) - an amusement park in Santa Monica: it opened up in 1958 to compete with Disneyland. I was just a kid when our church group planned a trip there, so my sister Sally and I signed up.
The Journey
Our traveling wings may be clipped a bit this year but it’s hard to keep Americans down when they get the travel bug! Pretty much on cue, the holidays found families packing up the kids, the dog, delicious foods, clothes, and gifts, as they visited friends and family.
