#91 - On Wanting Bear Pics
Also, a camping log with no bears involved.
Hello, my friends,
Phew! It seems like every week I’m thinking “What a week!” This time around I am on-boarding three new staff members. They’re great and I’m very pleased to have staff again, but training three people at once isn’t easy. Aside from all of the logistical challenges of guiding folks entering a large bureaucracy, my staff also all work at different locations each with their own procedures and office culture. And then it’s a lot of talking! Like, practically all day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a talker, I enjoy the activity, but by the end of each of these days my vocal chords have been tired. Doing so much talking lets me develop a new respect for radio DJs. These people talk for four or five (or more) hours a day, nearly every day. Quite a feat!
In other news, the Kyushu sumo tournament in Fukuoka, Japan started this past Sunday and is moving along nicely. Young marvel Oonosato, who has rapidly moved up to the second-highest Ozeki rank is doing so well that some are quietly predicting that we may see a new Yokozuna before too long. I’m going to avoid making any predictions, other than to say that clearly Oonosato has the innate size, quickness, and talent to do well at the highest levels, but time will tell whether he can develop his style even more and maintain the consistency required of top wrestlers. It’s highly improbable that a young man that only turned pro in May 2023 has come this far this fast. That said, achieving the Yokozuna rank is even more improbable; in order to become a Yokozuna, one must usually win two tournaments in a row which is very, very difficult. Notably, once a rikishi (wrestler) becomes a Yokozuna, they hold that rank for life regardless of their future performances. Oonosato won the September tournament, so if he wins this one…Well, we may see a new top man at the January tournament!
Pics or It Didn’t Happen
On Tuesday, the first day of my new staff, I didn’t have time to look at my phone all day. Then, when I got back to my car I saw multiple text messages and emails. Apparently, there was a bear outside of the local high school which is adjacent to Michael’s elementary school. The first message was pretty general: There’s a bear and we’re keeping the kids safe. I thought, “Photo of the bear?” No. The next message said that the kids were sheltering-in-place and had a picture of Michael’s class with a bunch of adorable smiling kids. “Whatever, I thought. I know what Michael looks like, give me a picture of the bear!” Nope. The next message was about being careful around dismissal time. My thought…”Video of bear, maybe?” Negative. There were other message, but no bear pics. What the heck?
I was a little disappointed, but I figured salvation was coming, and on Thursday it arrived with our excellent local paper, the Crescenta Valley Weekly. When I dropped Sophie off at her school, I picked up a free copy of the newspaper and right there on the front page (below the fold, booo!) was a PHOTO OF THE BEAR!!! Needless to say, I was elated. When I got to the West Covina Library to train my staff, I asked, “Did I tell you guys about the bear?” “Yeeesss” Then I triumphantly held up the paper (not unlike Truman in this famous photo). “Here he is!” They kindly put up with the my irrational excitement about Buddy the Bear. And you can, too, the article, “A Bear Becomes a Falcon” is here, along with a bear pic.
Michael was in the car when I picked up the paper and, of course, he was also exuberant about seeing the bear photo. I told him that I’d save reading the article until the evening, and he reminded me about it when I picked him up from school. Thus, before he went to bed on Thursday night, we read about the bear! It was everything I hoped it would be.
What Michael and Sophie Like
I haven’t done this in a while, so I think it is once again time to immortalize what 5-year-old Michael and 3-year-old Sophie like at this moment in time (so I can read about it in a year and become emotional about the past):
Sophie likes having her hair combed before bed. It relaxes her. Sometimes, she also combs my hair.
Michael likes drawing interesting little characters (and writing books — he has written (dictated) two in his after school program).
Sophie likes the movie Frozen and princess dresses. So many princess dresses!
Michael really likes Halloween.
Sophie enjoys cereal for breakfast. We typically by Trader Joe’s O’s and she is a fan.
Michael’s taste in shows hasn’t changed much lately. He still likes Power Rangers: Dino Fury, Sharkdog, and Ninjago. Mostly, though, we’ve been on Minions for a while now — both the movies and the shorts. I’m in support because the Minions are hilarious. King Bob!
Both kids like being picked up and tossed around, and playing monster (where I’m the monster). Every time we go to the park and play monster, other kids join the game. I guess I’m just the right amount of menacing.
Both kids like hugs.
And, last but not least, Michael likes animals (for example, bears!).
Camping Log
I got to go on a solo overnight camping trip to the Applewhite campground this past weekend and had a nice, relaxing time. Applewhite is a basic, unassuming campground about an hour away from where we live, located in the San Bernardino Forest at the very eastern end of the San Gabriel Mountains. It’s right across a small, two-lane highway from Lytle Creek (which is also the name of the local town). Though the campsites are not very big and fairly close to each other, there weren’t too many people camping when I was there so both of my neighbor sites were empty.
The campsite has well-maintained flush toilets and tap water. Usually, this latter resource is safe to drink but there was a harmful bacteria (Salmonella?) found in the local water recently so there was a sign recommending that campers boil the water before using it. I had a jug of water that went unused from a former trip so I just used that.
I arrived there at around 4p, before it started getting dark, and unpacked and pitched my tent. I was very slightly anxious that I would have difficulty getting it up by myself but I needn’t have worried, I easily got my tent up in a few minutes. Then I went in search of the camp host to purchase firewood only to find out that they weren’t selling any there. “I have a friend coming up later this evening that’s bringing wood and I’ll hook you up when she arrives,” the camp host’s sister said, “in the meantime, I cleared some branches earlier and you can have it.” Then we got in to her Jeep and she drove me a minute back to my site and dropped of a bunch of branches. “How much do I owe you?” I asked. “Don’t worry about it!” she said. I felt so grateful to have some wood to build a little fire.
As the sky darkened I warmed up dinner: Vegetable soup that Ashley had made last week, some sausages, and ciabatta bread with vegan cheese and Spinach. Pretty good with a tall can of Sapporo. Sitting by the quiet fire eating dinner was lovely. A few campsites away was a loud group playing board games. A little annoying, but also nice to hear friends having fun. As my fire was dying, the camp host’s sister pulled up with some more firewood. Whatever else is happening in the world, kindness like this keeps me going.
The rest of the evening was pretty quiet. I watched the fire for a while then got into my tent and sat on a beach chair, watched a little sumo, and read. It was pretty cold and I was one sweater down so I was pleased to have my sleeping back to drape over myself. When I went to sleep I was ready to doze. Just one note to self: Bring a fatter pillow next time. My regular pillow was too low next to the sleeping mat so I had to fold it and that was not very comfortable.
The next day, I got up in a leisurely way, watched that day’s sumo (reception was perfect at the campsite, fortunately or unfortunately), made breakfast (cream of wheat), and packed up. Then I drove five or so minute down the highway to the head of the Bonita Falls Trail. The easy-moderate hike went through a very rocky dry creek bed following the South Fork of Lytle Creek before turning into a mountain path that led to an attractive waterfall.
Along the hike, I passed a family with parents and two kids hiking. They parents seemed nice and the kids were charming as I went by. Both of us went in the slightly wrong direction and as we stood there looking around, it dawned on us that the lady of the family was one of my former staff members! What a coincidence! Interestingly, when she was on my team, she had been pregnant with one of the kids scampering up the rocks alongside us. Time is fun.
Leaving them, I began climbing a steep hill in hopes of reaching the actual waterfalls and made it there before long. Jennifer and her family found the easier, proper route, so we were reunited only moments later. It was us, another family, and some mountain goats in the hills above us. All enjoying the waterfall (to be fair, the goats were enjoying the vegetation a lot more).
One notable thing about the Bonita Falls Trail was the insane proliferation of graffiti along literally the entire path to the waterfalls and on nearly every surface surrounding the falls. The tagging was ugly and weird when juxtaposed with the natural surroundings.
After I hiked out, it was lunch time so I had a pastrami sandwich at a down-home diner, “Melody’s Place” along Lytle Creek Rd. It was an unassuming place with a mix of dining room table sets and booths on one side of the room and a bar on the other. The entire place was about the size of a Denny’s side room. The waitress was friendly and the vibe was pleasant. Then I went home. Camping is fun.
Time Machine
Here’s what I wrote in HMF a year ago (in issue #38):
The Crib-Jumper of Doom: The parenting challenge of babies getting to the age of being able to escape their crib.
Shoots and Ladders: When Michael incredulously said, “Adults use ladders, too?”
Junkers and Clunkers: A humorous essay on identifying old cars.
"I know what Michael looks like, give me a picture of the bear!" 😂
Rife with spelling errors, but at least you found my sex rock.