Barack Hussein Obama

In my humble opinion he is nothing more then an empty suit providing platitudes that he thinks people want to hear at the time. They are meaningless to him, nothing more then empty words used as a means to an end, to convince the gullible, the easily beguiled, the under educated minds full of mush to vote for him under the slogan of “change.”

I also find it odd and quite significant that people are not allowed or are, at least, encouraged not to use his middle name, Hussein, when referring to him, and if what he says is disagreed with then those in disagreement obviously have their judgment clouded by racism. Thus far I have not heard anyone bring up the fact that he is black, mulatto, pink, green or polka dot except him.

Barack Obama has proven from his days as an organizer, to his time in the Senate; what?????????????????? His claim to fame is a community organizer!!??? As a Senator he is a neophyte, a novice, tenderfoot, raw recruit, beginner, little more then a trainee with an ability to articulate, providing there is a prompter in front of him, a greenhorn, in any other category he would be considered an apprentice, he is an amateur by anyone’s standards.

Considering the above I am completely befuddled as to the blindness or just plain ignorance of anyone who would even consider voting for such an empty suit. Would such a man with Barack Hussein Obama’s credentials be placed in charge of a Fortune 500 Company? I think not, I doubt that he would even be considered for an interview, and yet this same individual, unprecedented by his lack of knowledge, is being seriously considered for President of the United States of America, the most powerful and influential country on the face of the earth. Wake up people!!!!!!!!

Look at his back ground, the so-called church he attended for twenty years, the pastor who baptized his baby, his bosom buddy, his best pal, his proverbial uncle and all the hateful rhetoric that he spewed forth and yet Obama has the unmitigated audacity to insult our intelligence by saying that he never heard it, what was he asleep for twenty years?

Ask anyone, who is simplistic enough to admit they are going to vote for him, what his major accomplishments are that bring him to this election and there is only a blank stare, utter confusion of thought as their brain struggles for an answer, an answer that isn’t there, they are like a car stuck in the mud and the drive wheel just spins gaining no traction. That’s Obama, no traction, no grip.

What does he want to do to get this country out of the fuel crisis we are in? Lets see, he is against drilling, at Anwar or off shore, he is against furthering our coal production, he is against building additional refineries, he is against building nuclear facilities throughout the country to supply our ever increasing energy needs, he is, however, in favor of a windfall tax on the oil companies. Now wouldn’t you think anyone that wants to be President would be aware that the oil industry and major companies do not pay taxes? They pass those on to the consumer in the form of higher costs, if you think $4.65 a gallon for regular is high now just wait. His socialistic idea’s do nothing to bring a single gallon of gas to the consumer, only to take more of our ever shrinking dollar.

He is against continuing the Bush Tax Cuts, by not continuing them that represents an enormous tax increase, are you ready for that?

He is for socialized medicine in the form of a nationalized health care system. Once our health care system is destroyed it will never be repaired. People who, otherwise, would be able to get the care they desperately need would be placed on a waiting list, the elderly, well to bad, their place in line would be taken by a younger, more then likely, illegal.

He and the democrats apparently believe China and Cuba are, by far, much more intelligent then we are in this country, because there is not a word said about their collaboration to drill and siphon off our oil reserves just sixty odd miles off the Florida coast.

All that Obama and the democrats ever say is that drilling will not bring down the cost at the pump, they are so damn ignorant that it is frightening. Ten years ago President Clinton would not give the go ahead to begin drilling at Anwar, we could have oil coming into our refineries today from Anwar, for our use. Remove the shackles from the oil industry, remove the tax encumbrances, get out of their way and let them do what they do best and that ten year period would be diminished. During this time we, as a country, would be researching other means of producing energy for our future.

Considering the above, which is by no means a secret, the other countries of this world must hold us up as a joke, our enemies must be rolling in laughter and anticipation while the vacant minded in this country shout for “CHANGE.”

2nd. Amendment

I am amazed that anyone would willingly give up one of their constitutional rights. The 2nd. Amendment is there for a reason, right behind the 1st.

Look at history and see how the people in Germany were systematically disarmed, they had no defense against the murderous regime taken over their lives.

If someone is breaking into your home and you and your family are at great risk who are you going to call, if you have time that is, the police or some friendly activists? With a gun, be it a hand gun, rifle or shotgun you can provide protection for yourself and family. What is there that is so blindingly hard about this that makes it so difficult to understand? There have been guns throughout the entire history of this country.

The only thing to fear with children is their ignorance and lack of knowledge about guns and gun safety. I grew up in a home, in another state, where guns were kept handy at all times. As children we were all taught about them, what they were capable of, how to handle, shoot and maintain them. We took our rifles to high school in the morning and left them in the basement for “NRA Class” after school; there was never a problem.

This is the USA, not Mexico or Canada, we have our rights as citizens, our country is unique and can not be compared with any other country, to do so serves only to diminish it.

It's A Great Day To Be An American

It's a great day to be an American. The first time, finally ratified, once and for all .

The decision was to damn close. The fact that four liberal Justices voted to take the 2nd. Amendment from us should be a gigantic wake up call to all of us.

Crime abounds in D.C. and New York because of their gun laws . Law abiding people were left defenseless. If they did have a gun and had to use it to defend themselves or their family they would be arrested; how damn stupid is that?

If this vote would have gone the other way there just might have been a revolution in this country, a whole lot of people would not just lay down and play dead, they would fight.

Light Brown Apple Moth

The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Thursday it would cease spraying synthetic sex pheromones designed to confuse male light brown apple moths and instead will release sterilized insects to interfere with the breeding cycle of the pest.

As a boy back east there was a mosquito abatement program set up to fight the mosquito population. Spray trucks, regularly sprayed a thick gray cloud of insecticide up into the trees. This chemical permeated everything, kids ran behind the truck playing. The marauding mosquitoes were gone with the residual odor of the spray. We looked forward to the spray truck coming around and life without being harassed by mosquitoes.

The difference then and now is a matter of appreciation. Now invert the situation, those bellyaching about the harmless spraying for the apple moth would be raising the roof about the spraying to control the mosquitoes. Unfortunately the city and county leaders of today have no spine, no strength of conviction, they are easily pushed around by which ever group of big mouths are spouting off at the time. It seems everything is governed by the bullying tactics of these disputatious few loud mouths who have nothing better to do then to see who and/or which group or office they can castigate.

Congressman Farr leads tourism roundtable in Washington, D. C.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A few facts. We have nearly $5. a gal. gas prices, Israel is about to attack Iran, we will be involved, the price of gas, as a consequence, will go much higher, our boarders are wide open and we are overrun by illegal’s costing tax payers a fortune. We liberated Iraq costing us several thousand lives plus those severely injured and costing us billions and yet we have leaders in government to cowardly to demand their oil. On the other hand we have Sam Farr being congratulated for his role as co-chair of the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus. Can anyone explain why a Congressman, fully knowledgeable of what’s going on in the world, isn’t tending to the Nation’s business in getting the ball rolling to remove the roadblocks hindering drilling for oil, building refineries, building oilrigs, and establishing the groundwork for more nuclear energy in this state and country and doing everything possible so we will not be subservient to the middle East?

Moving To Salinas

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

I was thinking back to when I came to Salinas back in 1969, my wife and I already had two sons and in the not to distant future we would have two more, you may remember the movie "My Three Son’s," well we had four.

We came to Salinas because Congressman Robert McNamara had been busy closing and/or reducing the size and scope of the Navy and other military bases around the country and I had been working for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Pink slips were floating around like confetti, lines at the unemployment office were around the block, people were selling their homes to get out from under house payments they could no longer afford and packing up their families and moving away, renters were leaving in droves, Portsmouth was becoming a ghost town. I was no exception, my little family and I sold what we could, left the rest and headed west to California where my wife’s family lived.

I remember the trip, we were short on cash but high on hope, the slogan "Go west young man, go west" is exactly what we were going to do. My wife and I went shopping and bought a Coleman Camping Stove, two cans of fuel, paper plates, plastic utensils and a variety of canned food, I remember canned potatoes for some reason. Thankfully gas was cheap back then, our only problem was making it over the Sierras before the snow started. We had a new 1969, Blue, Chevrolet, Impala, 4 Door Sedan, 283 four barrel, what a car, how I wish I still had it today.

We were in New York State and it was hot, I mean hot. The kids were sweaty and grumpy and my poor wife was wilting. I stopped and got everybody a cold drink, my wife and I wished that we could go back to Portsmouth but there was no work and no money to last while trying to find something and then it would be starvation wages, we had no choice, we had to continue west. We would stop for brief periods where I would set up the Coleman , my wife would get out a couple of pots, open a few cans of something to feed the kids and us. We would eat as quickly as possible and hit the road. My wife would often feed me while I was driving, we had to beat the snow that would be coming in the mountains.

While on the road we met a couple heading west as we were. The way we came to meet was because we each stopped at the same gas station at the same time as we headed west. I wish I still had their name, it would be fun to speak to them again.

On our way to Salinas there was a terrible storm, the rain was coming down in sheets, visibility was very limited and people were pulling over to the side of the road but this New Hampshire boy, being no stranger to bad weather, kept on going.

What else could happen? We came to a terrible wind storm, sand was so thick in the air it was getting hard to breathe. We came to a large motel and had no choice but to stop. I had to weigh my wife down with two pieces of luggage to keep her from blowing away. The funny part of this is that when we all got in the motel the kids, my wife and I were hungry so I called and requested, of all things, remember the wind is blowing up a hurricane, room service. Some poor guy had to bring a meal for the four of us. I sure hope I gave him a good tip.

When we finally arrived in Salinas what amazed me was the immense amount of farm land under cultivation.

I remembered that back in Portsmouth we use to buy lettuce grown in the Salinas Valley but never thought anything of it, now to see all this beautiful flat land of fantastically rich soil, well, it was just beyond belief. I remember stepping out of the car and grabbing a handful to feel and smell. There were sugar beets along the side of the roads that had fallen off the trucks as they headed to the Spreckels plant and elsewhere, I have never seen anything like them.

As I learned my way around the Salinas area I saw more and more of this rich beautiful land growing lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, chili peppers, radishes and the list goes on. No wonder this area is called "America's Salad Bowl," I finally understood. This was back in the late 60’s.

Spring forward a few years to the 80’s, the area has been growing, the city has been expanding, especially North and South Salinas and the Alisal area. Farm land has been used up to build roads, houses and condos. The Prunedale area also has experienced growth and many of the farmers have to take turns irrigating their fields because there just isn‘t enough water for everybody to do it all at once.

The 90’s are here and people are concerned about saltwater intrusion of their wells, but the land continues to disappear under more roads and countless homes and businesses and all the while we are being told that we must conserve on our water usage. There was talk of people with even numbered addresses watering during one period and the negative another.

Here we are in 2008. Salinas and surrounding areas have grown dramatically and all at the expense of our precious natural resources, our rich, fertile land and water. The immense but still finite amount of farm land that produced vegetables for the entire country is being consumed at an alarming rate while the surrounding hills have gone relatively untouched. Hungry builders and speculators have been allowed by city and county leaders to come in and desecrate our land and leave with dirty streets, houses and car lots occupying land that once produced vegetables. We have only a fraction of our farm land left and it‘s falling pray to encroachment constantly, precious top soil gone forever.

Water is being used up at an alarming rate, saltwater intrusion becoming an ever greater problem.

What have we got to show for all this? Drive up and down the valley and around Salinas and houses are everywhere, shopping areas, car lots, dirty streets, trash, filth, an expanded crime rate, people here illegally by the thousands and the city complaining that more schools are required, while never having the determination and character to do anything about the problem. We have more traffic then we can handle and more police are required. We are still being told that we must conserve water, there just isn’t enough to go around, then you drive downtown and see these immense condo type complexes going up, give me a brake.

Soon there will be little left of what once was. As Salinas and the surrounding cities and towns continue their unbridled growth they are actually going into decline. What a thing to see happen. Someday the question will be posed, by many more then just me, asking why this was allowed to happen, why such beautiful and precious natural resources were allowed to be squandered. What a legacy we are leaving to our children and grandchildren.

The Green, Green Grass Of Home

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I was sitting here thinking of all the twists and turns there are in life and how far I have come from that little boy growing up in New Hampshire. In my mind I still see that little boy playing with the animals my Dad had and a beautiful horse in particular. In reality I see a man, with a beautiful, loving wife, children and grandchildren, living in a beautiful home in a beautiful area, but passed his prime with a wealth of knowledge attained from the experiences of life and no way to use it and now that I’m retired it seems there is no one who remembers I ever existed. Thirty days retired from the county and no one remembers your name, I guess it is like that everywhere. It does hurt a mans pride to be so easily placed on the back shelf, to take his place in the dustbin of history, never to be looked upon again for guidance from all the knowledge, wisdom and common sense stored up in all those pages of life.

I remember back in the beginning how I had to recreate the job I was hired to do as a Public Works Investigator. There wasn’t even an Ordinance. I had to write the Ordinance to enforce law over the entire county in a way that was fair and just for all, get it passed through the Board of Supervisors, the D.A. and the State High Way Patrol Department, then I had to have it published in all the local and surrounding newspapers throughout the county for thirty days.

I remember back at all the places I had to go and thank God I am still here, God was with me at all times. I remember when I was encircled by a gang in Castroville and all the people in the surrounding homes did was look out their windows, not one cared enough to call the Sheriff or the Highway Patrol to come to my aid. Thanks to God I was able to walk away from that, head held high as I resumed my duties.

I remember when working in south county I was approached by some big o’l boys who worked at some of the local ranches and I was asked just what I would do if they brought out a large front loader and dug a very deep hole and placed me in my car and pushed it into the hole and buried it. They asked how long I thought it would take for someone to actually find me way out in the middle of nowhere. God was with me that day, big time.

There was a man who walked around the hills of Cachagua brandishing a machete; he threatened my life if I ever stepped foot in his area again. Naturally when that happens it is absolutely necessary to return forthwith. Then there are the labor camps throughout the county that I had to check out.

I tried in everything I did to be as fair and just as humanly possible, not treating one person better then the other but each fairly, with common sense and sound judgment. I used the law as the foundation from which I started each case, but as each person is different with different circumstances I approached the ultimate goal of compliance a little differently based on those circumstances with the end result always being the same, compliance.

I guess I may have made a few enemies in my career as an Investigator but I also made a lot of friends as well. I remember the case that involved a man and his family that lived in a small trailer with boarded up windows in Moss Landing. The first time I went on this property I couldn’t find anyone about, I didn’t believe there was anyone in the trailer as all the windows were boarded but to my surprise out comes this man, a little wild looking, wanting to know just what I thought I was doing on his property. The county vehicle caused him to brace his back because, as I found out, he had had encounters with other county officials in the past and it wasn’t pleasant. I introduced myself and explained what I was doing there but instead of barging forward I chose to spend time getting to know the man and visited with him for awhile. We must have spent forty minutes just conversing, me listening mostly. A big mistake a lot of officials make is they allow their authority to go to their head and they develop an overblown opinion of themselves and they become little Hitler’s, having no regard for the person they are speaking with or respect for his property. After our visit the man was OK with me following through with the reason I came there. As years went by I often had to return to this mans property for one thing or another and was always warmly welcomed and never interfered with. One day I received a call on my radio that the County Sheriff, Planning and Environmental Health Departments were out to this mans property and he wouldn’t allow entrance to anyone but me and I had to be present while they were there. I have no idea whatever happened to that man and his family, I’ll have to make a trip out to find out and maybe bring a couple of cold beers for us to enjoy while we are talking.

There are a lot of occurrences like that, each handled in a different, special and sometimes delicate way. Now that I am on the back shelf gathering dust as I become part of the dustbin of history I still wonder if at sometime someone with a desire to learn might, just might mind you, drag me down from that back shelf, open the covers and take a look.

As a little boy in the back hills of New Hampshire I could never have imagined doing the kind of things I did. I remember hating school, for the life of me I couldn’t see any use for it, it constantly interfered with me digging worms and going fishing. I was, after all, helping Dad put food on the table and those brook trout sure did taste good. The fact that our home was situated near a pond and river on one side and a brook on the other kept my mind pretty much occupied with catching that big, shinny rainbow trout that liked to jump out of the water in front of my hook, as though teasing me, I never did catch that fish.

I remember when the rain clouds came and the thunder sounded like bowling pins being knocked down and lightening lit up the sky I would hurry out back with my shovel and dig up a bunch of worms that I placed in some dirt in a can that I placed next to my fishing pole, on the front porch. After it rained I would grab my pole and that can of worms and head out down to the falls, being careful for that big snapping turtle, and ever so carefully placing my line in just the right spot to catch that trophy fish.

My brother’s liked to tease that old snapper; one day they took Mom’s broom and commenced to poke at him with the wooden handle, that old turtle lunged at that handle, grabbed it in his mouth and snapped the end clean off. That was enough for my brothers who had to take the broom back to Mom and try to explain how it had been so badly damaged. They say turtles live a long life, I wonder if he is still there. There have been two hundred year floods back to back, 06 & 07, so he’s probably long gone if he even lived that long.

We had a large farm house for a home, it was painted white with green trim, a usual color scheme for back then. Instead of a two car garage as people have attached to their homes we had a large barn with a hay loft. The barn and the house were separated by a summer kitchen, as it was called back then. It was a place of storage of all the canning that was done through the summer so the family would have things to eat during the cold, harsh winters. We had chickens, ducks, pigs, farm critters like that. It was my job to collect the eggs every morning for Mom, clean out the barn area and fill the kerosene bottle for the kitchen stove. Across the road from our home was a very large field that was full of wild strawberries, the river banks thrived with blackberry, raspberry and blueberry bushes. We often went berry picking for Mom to make one of her delicious pies, I always managed to eat more then what went into the bucket, they were so sweet. There was one problem, we weren’t the only ones that enjoyed those berries, so did the bears, we had to be very watchful, you might say they had jurisdiction.

The winters were often bitterly cold but equally beautiful. To wake up to a field of untouched snow glistening is breathtaking. To walk out on the porch and yank off an icicle and eat it like it was a frozen desert was really something, try doing that today and you might get sick. The lake would freeze over and when the ice was thick enough people would take their cars out and race over it, crazy, but fun.

During the summer there was always swimming, with all the ponds and lakes finding a place to go was not a problem. One particular place had a Tarzan rope tied to one of the overhanging limbs and everyone would use that to swing out into deep water. It was not unusual to see cars going down the road with swimming trunks over the radio antenna.

Growing up there you quickly learned to tell from the scent of the air and the clouds if bad weather was approaching. It was a great place to live, it remains clear and pristine in my mind. I often return by closing my eyes and letting my mind drift slowly back over the pages of time till I see that little boy fishing under the falls, collecting eggs for Mom or cleaning the barn for Dad or, as happened on occasion, chasing after an elusive chicken to perform that ancient of all acts in order for Mom to have something for the supper table when Dad returned home from work. What a thrill to see Mom and Dad again and Grandpa, Grandma and two of my brothers who have passed away. The visits are short and sometimes bring tears to my eyes. As I slowly open my eyes I see that little boy looking back at me as he drifts away with the pages of time.

My Wife Has Developed A Problem

My wife has enjoyed relatively good health throughout her life but now her stomach is often upset, she has little or no appetite and even on warm days she will sometimes feel cold. We made an appointment with our doctor who in turn told us to see a specialist as my wife seems to have a gallbladder problem as well as a hernia.

We went to see this doctor, naturally I will not provide any names for obvious reasons, and my wife had to have another cat-scan. Sure enough she has a gallbladder problem, there are gallstones, she also has a hernia. The doctor said that he would remove the gallstones and we thought that was it, neither of us being medically savvy, however the doctor, being shot on conversation and long on patients, did not reveal how this was to be done. We were also concerned about the mesh that would be used to correct the hernia problem but the doctor just whisked away. From the beginning it was obvious the doctor had not even glanced at the information provided in my wife’s file, much less read any part of it, that he held in his hand. To prove this when he first came in to see us he sent my wife away and wanted to speak with me, thinking I was the patient; he hadn’t even looked at the name much less the contents of the file.

My wife and I talked at length about all this on our way home and became increasingly disturbed over the shortness of the doctor and our having to leave his office with so many unanswered questions. The doctor never mentioned the number of stones or the size, all that was said was that he would remove the stones. There was no mention of the amount of discomfort to expect, time required to heal, restrictions, nothing. Then there was the hernia, again, no information.

When we arrived home I called his office and explained how we were put off by the doctor when we were there and that we have several questions. I spoke of the gallbladder and the gallstones and asked how difficult the process was to operate and remove the stones. I was told that the stones are not removed from the gallbladder, the gallbladder itself has to be removed. I was stunned, for a moment I didn’t know what to say except, after a period of silence, to ask why in hell didn’t the doctor have the common courtesy to explain that was his intent. The only response was that this is the procedure when gallstones are present. There has to be an alternative to surgery. I was told that both procedures, gallbladder removal and hernia repair would be done while she was under.

My wife got on the computer and found information stating that there was another way but of course you had to send money up front to get this information. I asked my Chiropractor if he was aware of anything, he at least said he would look into it for us. The Internet site spoke of an increased risk of bowel cancer if the gallbladder is removed, naturally this sent up warning signs, flashing lights and sirens throughout our very being. We also found out on this Internet site that without your gallbladder, bile will drip continuously into your digestive system! This constant dripping also causes diarrhea in some people and removing the gallbladder may lead to higher blood cholesterol levels.

I made an appointment for us to see our doctor concerning this and was surprised to hear him say that he was unaware of any potential added risk of cancer associated with the removal of the gallbladder and that we should go back and speak with the specialist further on this matter. The resulting problem is that now there is no degree of trust. If you cannot trust your doctor there is no faith in him. The hernia part of the problem could be rectified but the overriding fear of the doctor touching the gallbladder would always be there, there would be no sense of peace and assurance that is so necessary going into any operation.

So there you have it, we are now searching for a specialist in another city, someone who will take the time to sit down with us and explain the situation, the options available and provide the peace and assurance that we need.

Showing Compassion

Submitted by a friend.

I have no idea why, after all these last few years, this should come to mind but the following situation developed and the follow through was so unique that it impressed me greatly.

The story begins around 1998 in the rural area of the northern part of Monterey County. It was a beautiful day and I was enjoying it to the fullest, no one could ask for a more pleasant day, the trees were rustling in the breeze, the birds were singing, the scent of flowers and the steady, sleepy drone of bees, damn it was nice. I knew a lot of people in that area and I was up visiting them when out of nowhere there arrives this county car on this particular property where this darling elderly lady lived with her granddaughter. There were several of us there at the time.

The driver of the car was a little slow at getting out of the car, he seemed to be looking around as though gathering information, needless to say everyone was a little apprehensive and wondering what in the world could this man, in the County vehicle, want. After a while the man finally opened the car door and got out, he was a pleasant looking man, about 5 ft.10 with a broad smile on his face, that put us all at ease, he obviously wasn’t there to do us harm so we went over to meet him as he was coming from his car. He introduced himself as a Monterey County Vehicle Abatement Investigator; I just happen to still have his card, funny how you hold on to things. He said he was there because of the various derelict vehicles scattered about as seen from the county road. He asked who the property owner was and the little elderly lady spoke up and introduced herself, her granddaughter at her side. Everyone had gathered around to here the conversation .

He told her that she had a very nice piece of property but unfortunately it was littered with wrecked and dismantled derelict vehicles that were easily seen from the road. As a result he had to stop because the property was in violation of the County Ordinance concerning wrecked and abandoned , derelict vehicles. Everyone tried to explain to him that they are on private property and not abandoned and how dare he come onto the property and say they were and scare the lady property owner. Everyone wanted to know just what he intended to do. The first thing he did was apologize to her and said for her not to be afraid, that he would help her work through this problem and to bring her property back into compliance, but all non running, wrecked, derelict vehicles must be written up and tagged. He explained that she must either enclose, repair or remove them from the property to a wrecking yard.

This lovely little lady that had seen so much heart ache in her live began to cry; she took hold of the mans arm and walked him to an old Ford, Thunderbird parked under a tree. The Investigator said this is the sort of thing I am talking about, all such derelict vehicles must be tagged. It is true, the car was a mess, it was covered with cobwebs and heavy dust and the local field mice had set up housekeeping in it. The Investigator was an unusual man and gentle having such authority. He saw in the lady’s eyes, through her tears that she saw something entirely different. She explained to him, as everyone stood nearby, that she and her late husband had that car when they got married; they promised each other that no mater what this car would always be with them. The car broke down and she couldn't afford the repairs so it was parked under the tree.

What I heard him say next really stood out with me. He told her that an item as valuable as this will not leave this property and he told her what she would have to do to satisfy the law concerning this particular vehicle. He had told her and her granddaughter earlier that all vehicles he tagged had to be either repaired, removed or enclosed inside of a building, but in this particular and very unique case and seeing there was no building of any kind available, the law will allow her to cover the vehicle but it must be completely covered showing no sign of what is beneath the cover. He said he had to write it up and tag it but if she followed what he said that on his return trip it would be considered as gone as long as it could not be seen in any way, not even the tires, it had to be completely covered by a tarp so that if anyone were to look at it there would be no way to discern if it was hay piled and covered or a wood pile. He asked if she understood what he had just told her and with a bright smile that would have put the sun to shame she said she did.

The Investigator went about his work tagging, writing things down on paper for each vehicle and taking pictures, he must have been on the property for about three hours. When he was finished and heading back to his car he stopped to see the lady and her granddaughter again and asked if they had thought of any questions while he was writing up the vehicles. They had, or at least the granddaughter did; that man stood there and answered every question that was put to him. The property owner grabbed his arm and thanked him for his concern.

We all had different feelings about this but we all agreed that the most important thing was to take care of the problem. The property owner and a few others went to Costco the next week because they were selling this big portable garage, basically a tarp covered frame. The one thing that everyone remembered was the part of a building to enclose a vehicle in, everyone forgot about the cover which would have been easier and much less expensive. The portable garage was purchased, taken back to the property and put up. The tarp came all the way to the ground, there was no way to see anything beneath it and the entrance was shut tight, a perfect solution and one that would make the Investigator very pleased, everyone was sure of that.

The next day she called the Investigator at his office at the Monterey County Department of Public Works and told him what had been done. She said he informed her that by law the portable garage was not considered a building and that when he went back to re-inspect the property there could be no evidence of any part of the vehicle that would be in any way visible or discernable. He also cautioned her that we were not allowed to just push the vehicles into the trees to hide them; that was no problem as a towing company was going to take them.

A total of about three weeks went by as I recall and the gentleman returned. Everyone knew he was coming this time. Everyone was excited, some were wondering why the vehicles had to have been removed at all but the Investigator, along with his explanation to the family had also provided a copy of the County Ordinance and said to call if there were any further questions, so most of us understood and looked forward to bringing this inspection to a successful closing.

He arrived in the afternoon which was nice as it provided time for those who wanted to be there. He got out of his car with a large file and showing that big smile he said hello to everyone; he asked the property owner how she was doing and if she was ready to bring everything to a close. She very happily said yes. He opened up his file and walked about the property, when he returned he said everything was in order, then he took out a paper with information concerning the Ford, Thunderbird. He looked at where the car had been then back to the property owner, then to the portable garage. He remarked that the Thunderbird obviously is gone, there is absolutely no sign of it and then half way laughing remarked what a nice portable structure she had and how useful it would be for storing things. He said the case is officially closed and the property owner gave him a hug and expressed her gratitude for his help. He told her it was a pleasure and thanked her for bringing the property into compliance, got in his car and left.

We never saw him again but what he did and the way he did it was a testament to the kind of man he was, the property owner never forgot him and the kindness he showed.

I guess the reason this all comes to mind is because of all the negative things I have been hearing about cars and trucks being taken, and also reading in the Monterey County Weekly about the Cachagua Store and Jensen Camp and the way people are being treated. The previous Investigator that everyone respected had retired and in his position was placed a storm trooping idiot. I say in his position because the previous man, in my and many others opinion, could never be replaced, he was unique in his approach and follow through, amiable in his dealings with people and apparently from what I have been reading about, a very unusual man indeed, wheeling such authority but doing so in a careful, considerate and understanding way.

I won’t give this Investigators name as I don’t have permission but he retired nearly ten years ago and nothing has been the same sense. Sir, if you should happen to read this be secure in the knowledge that you are remembered and missed, and again our thanks go out to you again for the kindness shown to a little lady a decade ago.

It was once said that there are only two kinds of power, power over people and power with people by serving them in a loving way.