PRIVATE BEACH--LOOKING SOUTH, LOOKING NORTH

Had my anorak on for the 2nd time this season. Did not get rained on. That dark figure is the great runner, Frank H.

2 pictures--northbound and near collision with southbound--just got rear tire of the northbound

Soon the chopped off part of the ear will be covered

Cold wind from the North

Everybody else in coats, 70 promised to LA, and Spring coming even here

Spring WILL Come

Arriving tomorrow by 8 PM Dennov 8 GB Rechargeable Mini USB Voice Recorder & USB Flash Drive Sold by: Dennov $17.99

Oh happy day, oh happy day! Tomorrow! If this does what it says it does, I may not have to try to learn Dragon voice recognition.

So often all I want to do is speak the information about a newspaper--where published, title, date, a short precise quotation, then play it back as I type in the narrative. If this works, it will be wonderful.

Today in San Luis Obispo a little snow lasting long enough to be photographed, sort of

Once long ago, maybe 15 years ago, I was all alone on my private beach when it snowed and snowed to the point of almost coating the sand in white then within a minute or so it all dissolved. This was long before I carried an iPhone and long before I had toric interocular implants, but I would not lie about something like that. Now, I am ready for spring.

Puppy on leash after being loose in the NO DOGS area

The Runaway Scrape and Balm in Goliad

I was just trying to get the best text for Minerva Hunt McGehee's account of her flight from the Comanches and Santa Anna in 1836. In the mud, a few possessions in a cart, she was trying to protect her two year old daughter and the baby, George, born a month before the fall of the Alamo. This baby grew up to be the first Texan celebrated by J. Frank Dobie in OUT OF THE OLD ROCK. Anyhow, Webster Gregg's FROM A PRINCE TO A SLAVE reprints Minerva's account of a horse riding up through the mud and a "splendid specimen of young manhood" asking if she was Mr. Thomas Gilmer McGehee, and, when she said yes, identifying himself as a McGehee cousin and dividing his money with her before riding off to glory at San Jacinto. Gregg prints: "This meeting and his kind, encouraging words were as the balm of Goliad to my heart." Now, is that or is that not Texan? Remember Whitman's Song of Myself and the story of the slaughter of "four hundred and twelve" young men at Goliad. But Minerva was thinking of Jeremiah and the balm of Giliad, not revenge for Goliad. It turns out there are newspaper articles in the 1890s and 1900s about the same typo appearing in Texas papers. There was no balm for Goliad.

A 3 bandana Day to Deflect the Wind

Dark and cold and private

Sheldon Russell Stays on Top of Things

Trampoline vanished

Boys whose hot and cold regulators have not kicked in yet. This is for Peter in Chicago.

3 PHOTOS --2 Boys yesterday were shoveling on top of what's left of the slurry pile

Private beach to the North also

A mile north, looking at Private Beach to the south

BRUNO GANZ is dead at 77. I was talking about him 2 days ago.

I was doing floor exercises to a Dennis Hopper bio-pic when I learned that Bruno had slugged him for his contemptuous behavior in shooting the American Friend movie. And I was thinking about THE LAST DAYS OF CHEZ NOUS, which I loved and which Vincent Canby (I learn today) trashed so cruelly that it almost cut off Ganz's career.

Years ago walking on the beach at Morro Bay I said to Lisa Harrow that the scene I loved best about THE LAST DAYS OF CHEZ NOUS was her walk with Ganz at the end. She said something powerful--that her taking his hand was not in the script. Now, that's an actor.

Anyhow, he was on my mind a couple of days before he died, and I am sorry he is dead and I wish Canby and Richard Brodhead and Andrew Delbanco could all be together.

Younger athletes--photo taken with permission

Bathing Beauty

Rain in night. Surf high at 6 am.

Part Two--That I would get Rained On?

Part One--Who would have thought

Looking back at a great picture of Paul Seydor with his NU Press book on Peckinpah

Private looking south, too

Private beach--Looking North from near the Rock

Paul Ryan's Heartbreaking Discovery from DNA Test

The horror of discovering that he is part Jewish. He almost fell over, Skip Gates said. What does this do to Hating? Turn it into Self-Hating? It almost makes you pity this cowardly man.

Heavy sand whipping a foot and a half off the ground, bound for the water

Fierce Wind from an Unusual Direction--SE

Why the Bells and Knoxes are As They Are

At least we kept the blood lines pure.

Noon without rain

Looking North into Strong cold NE Wind

So what if Sir James Douglas of Lothian is my 19th Great Grandfather?

Oh, when Paul Murton is through describing James Douglas in his shows on the Scottish clans I rush down and find that he is my 19th Great Grandfather. I'm a foot taller but I probably look and act much like him? Oh, maybe not. Everyone has 1,048,576 great grandfathers.  Well, not really, if you are a Scot. Robert the Bruce is probably your 19th great grandfather 1000 times, and James Douglas at least 500 times. I'll bet the Scots have figured this out, and my 1000 is too low a figure by far.

Letters have contexts--I don't want to detach letters from their contexts

Storm just about to start

I seized my opportunity to go out before high tide when the rain had stopped. I got this far and turned around to face the hard north wind and water in the face that felt like sleet, the wind was driving so hard. 15 minutes of fierce wind and rain and hard going on mud and the over the two streams, no one else around then an easing up of the rain, though not the wind. Then a little later it cleared up for a few hours.

I knew there was benefit in having to leave school after the 11th grade!

Headline today:

How school yearbooks have the power to destroy lives

Glittering Day--long sleeved shirt, no gloves

Surfers at 830

1833 signature of Revolutionary Vet, GGGG Grandfather Robert Knox in settlement of his nephew's estate

This matches his signature on his pension application.

DEAD SEA HORSE STILL STUCK IN SAND

Death is not funny--but "I TOLD YOU SO!" years ago.

William Brown was at a vaporizer store in Keller when it happened. His grandmother, Alice Brown, says that he had just purchased the device that killed him. A 24-year-old Fort Worth man died last month after his vape pen exploded in his face, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner's office.21 hours ago

2 Photos--Absolutely empty beach except for an old man going on 84

otter and seal

Corpse and scavengers--3 photos

Sea Horse Washed Ashore to Die

Tide surging in--had to jump up

Flooded canyon

Always different, always beautiful