Monthly Archives: March 2023

local news

This is what POTUSes do!

Joe Biden wasted no time doing what presidents of the United States are supposed to do when disaster strikes the nation.

He issued a disaster declaration for Mississippi, which has been ravaged by tornadoes that killed more than 20 residents in that state and in neighboring Alabama. The federal government now has been ordered to expedite federal assistance to those who have lost property and loved ones.

Why is this worth mentioning? Let’s see. His immediate predecessor apparently based his decisions on matters such as this on whether the affected stated cast most of their votes for him in the previous presidential election.

Do you recall how POTUS 45 scolded California for its “forest management practices” while hedging on whether to issue a disaster declaration in the wake of the fires that ravaged thousands of acres of timberland? I don’t even remember whether he issued that declaration, but the point is that he made a big deal out of an issue because California didn’t support him in his first bid for office in 2016.

President Biden is not going to play that stupid game. Mississippi didn’t vote for him, either, but he stepped up and did what presidents are supposed to do: help all Americans in need.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

‘Brothers in grief’

LOS GATOS, Calif. — He was my best man when I got married more than 51 years ago and he is my best man at this very moment.

We met for lunch to talk about the old days and to share the pain we both feel at losing our brides … to cancer. Tim’s wife passed away about three years ago, four months after receiving her cancer diagnosis. My bride, Kathy Anne, passed away this past February, about six weeks after learning she had a tumor in her brain.

We talked to each other about our shared experiences and Tim, being the wise and erudite individual he is, shared with me some wisdom about I will carry with me farther along as I continue to cope with my own recovery.

It was this, boiled down to an essential message: Do not ever forget the life we had over the decades, but do not be fearful of finding a new life moving forward. He told me it will take a long before I cease crying at the thought of losing the love of my life; he says it still grips him hard. Tim and his wife were together for 42 years before they received the chilling news of her illness.

I get it. I intend to take it with me as I move on down the proverbial road of life. I am still sorting through where I want my life to lead me at this juncture. I told my friend that I feel “like the loneliest man on Earth.” He nodded in agreement and understanding. I also reminded him that I am buoyed by the knowledge that others, such as my best man, have gone through it, too.

They came out of it and, by God, so will I.

I needed to talk to my best man because you only have one of these individuals in your life and my “brother in grief” stepped up and delivered the wisdom I needed to hear.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

A downtown treasure

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Not even a monstrous earthquake could destroy this downtown, which I understand is making a remarkable comeback from the misery of nature’s wrath … as well as a worldwide pandemic.

Downtown Santa Cruz is “the place to be.” No kidding! It’s fantastic. My niece brought Toby and the Puppy and me to see the downtown district in this coastal city. Frankly — and this is no exaggeration — it blew my noggin!

A gentleman, about my age, was playing a musical saw. He saw my great-niece, Ayla, and asked if she wanted to see him perform a trick. He pulled out a banana and balanced it on his nose. Then he played “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on his saw for Ayla.

She was impressed.

I understand that the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake devastated several businesses in the downtown district. They had to rebuild after Mother Earth opened that day. You remember, right: ABC TV was broadcasting the World Series from San Fransisco that evening when the picture went black. I managed to come this way later that year and we went to near Ground Zero of the quake. The devastation was horrendous.

So it was in Santa Cruz. Downtown is back. It is full of retail activity. There remain a few empty store fronts, made so by the COVID pandemic of 2019-2020. I have noted many times that cities’ well-being more often than not is traced to the health of their downtown. Santa Cruz is on target.

What just boggles my mind is how a city of about 65,000 can invest what it has done in ensuring it has a vibrant city center. I now will doff my proverbial hat to the Santa Cruz power brokers for keeping its municipal identity alive.

Well done.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Continuing relief from the grind

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Believe this or not, but I am finding it harder each day to get back to the “grind” of commenting on matters dealing with politics and public policy.

This westward journey I have undertaken has allowed me a respite from all of that and encouraged me to comment on the sights Toby the Puppy and I are seeing as we tour the western half of this great nation.

That’s what I have concentrated my energies for the past week. It is where I likely will continue to zero in on as the journey continues.

I’ll be back home in North Texas eventually. I figure to put several thousand more miles on the pickup I am driving. There will be more natural splendor to absorb. It’s the kind of adventure I remain absolutely certain my bride, Kathy Anne, would want me to enjoy.

And so … I will.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Rain? What rain?

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — OK, gang. I came to this coastal community half expecting to be battling wind, rain, possible thunder and lightning … and all manner of difficulty associated with the well-chronicled “atmospheric river.”

Hah! Nothing of the sort greeted Toby the Puppy and me as we cruised into town after spending a lovely two days with my cousin and his wife in Sacramento,

To be certain, I saw plenty of remnants of the damage brought by the storms that have ravaged Santa Cruz and its surroundings. Tree limbs are down, the stream beds are way up past normal flows, plenty of standing water where I am certain there usually any such thing.

We got here just at the right moment. The weather app on my phone tells me it’ll be nice and sunny here for the next few days. Then on  Tuesday, when we shove off for points north, the rain is expected to return.

Niiiice!

I am visiting my sister and her husband and my niece and her husband and their daughter. I also intend to see one of my dearest friends on Earth. It will be a relaxing break from all the driving I’ve been doing … and will do in the days ahead.

That damn storm, though, can stay at bay for as long as I am here, thank you very much.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Therapy is taking hold

Every journey is an adventure of discovery, or at least one can hope the discovery occurs,

So it is with the trek I have taken with Toby the Puppy. We have ventured to California. We’re heading farther west to the Pacific Ocean in just a little while. I declared my intention for this trip to “clear my head and mend my heart.”

My noggin is clearing a little bit each day. The heart? It remains shattered by the loss of my bride, Kathy Anne. However, I am detecting a bit of mending is starting to close — just a tiny bit — some of the wounds that were inflicted on my ticker.

I spoke with one of my closest friends on Earth today; indeed, I intend to see him very soon. He lost his bride to cancer not many years ago, so he knows the nature of my suffering.

He said that “it’s good always to keep looking forward as you move on, but you’ll always glance at the rearview mirror as you keep moving.” Yes. I am doing a good bit of rearward glancing these days.

But I also am finding out that writing about this journey, as I am doing at this moment, does provide some relief from the pain — in the moment. Once I stop typing, well, then it comes back.

But it’s not hurting as much as it did in the immediate aftermath of the worst day of my life.

I only can conclude that the therapeutic nature of his trek is producing the desired effect. I will count that as a success.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Heading into the ‘belly of the beast’?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This therapeutic journey I’ve been on for the past several days is going to take a fascinating turn in the morning.

But I hope it isn’t too fascinating.

My sister and her family await Toby the Puppy and me on the California coast, in Santa Cruz, which, if you’ve been following the news lately, has been at sort of “ground zero” of this thing they have labeled an “atmospheric river.”

This so-called “river” has dumped a lot of rain on the gorgeous community. Sis has been keeping me apprised of the situation as I have trekked my way westward from Texas on a journey that began March 15. It’s been “pouring,” then the sky has cleared, then it has poured again.

On and off it has been.

Toby the Puppy and I have had a marvelous time so far. We believe more fun is in store as we prepare to head for the coast. I just hope it will be a “dry” fun.

The adventure continues.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

This guy wants to control our nukes?

Take a good look at this item posted today on social media. It is a statement attributed to the dipsh** who served as POTUS for a single term that ended on Jan. 20, 2021.

He is about to be indicted — apparently — by the Manhattan, N.Y., grand jury, which has examined evidence relating to a 130 grand hush money payment that the former POTUS made to a porn star with whom he took a tumble.

What is so remarkable about the rant is its tone. It is full of vile venom and absolute lies. It is defamatory on its face, casting the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, as some sort of demonic character. He calls Bragg a “Soros backed animal.”

This individual wants to return to the White House. He wants to resume control of the world’s most powerful military operation. He wants to be restored as our head of state.

Think about that for just a moment — that’s all the time you will need — about whether you want this individual to return to the world’s most powerful public office.

This idiot cannot control himself. He has no business being anywhere near the White House.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

City honors its history

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Every city in America ought to emulate what I discovered about the capital city of the nation’s most populous state.

There’s a district here called Old Sacramento — or Old Sac, as the locals refer to it. It sits on the rain-swollen Sacramento River adjacent to downtown Sacramento.

It contains a seemingly endless array of shopping opportunities. The district also offers train rides aboard Sacramento Southern trains that take tourists on rides through the city.

Oh, and then they have museums. I toured one of them, the Sacramento History Museum, which chronicles the development of the city on a floodplain, which narrators told me was a rare task to complete in the mid-19th century.

The city, of course, sits in the middle of the Gold Rush country of 1849, when Americans flocked here in search of their fortunes. Some of them succeeded; most didn’t.

There’s also a railroad museum at the end of Old Sac. I didn’t have time to walk through it. Maybe next time.

What astounds me is the level of development that has enlivened this district, with its old storefronts that have been rehabilitated and renovated. They sell lots of sweets, coffee, trinkets, souvenirs. The streets in Old Sac are lined with shops and plenty of good eating and drinking establishments.

It’s done to honor the city’s rich history. Man, oh man. I need to return here and take in more of what Old Sac has to offer.

Back to my initial point, which is that each American community has a history. We ought to cherish the events that built our communities. Sacramento has done that with its Old Sac district.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

How does he carry on?

I have been avoiding the use of the name of the immediate past president of the United States simply because I am sick of seeing it in print or hearing it stated on the air.

For the purpose of this post, I will forgo my boycott of his name and ask: How in the world does Donald J. Trump carry on as a former president?

He is more than likely going to be indicted for alleged criminal activity, although I am writing the word “alleged” only to be fair; I believe he is as guilty as they come.

It could come from the Manhattan, N.Y. district attorney, who has empaneled a grand jury to look into the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, the porn star with whom he had a one-night fling. The indictment could come from Fulton County, Ga., DA Fani Willis, who has seated a grand jury to determine whether Trump committed a crime when he demanded that the Georgia secretary of state “find” enough votes to help him win the state’s electoral votes in 2020.

Or … the indictment could come from special counsel Jack Smith, who is probing Trump’s incitement of the insurrection on 1/6 as well as the squirreling away of classified documents he took illegally from the White House upon leaving office.

Presidents usually spend their post-presidential time planning for their libraries. They take up good causes, you know … pursuing world peace, helping women find their way, being role models for our youth, working with our wounded veterans.

Trump is doing none of that. Zero. He is spending his waking hours fending off these prosecutors while seeking to run for POTUS a third time.

There won’t be an unveiling at the White House of an official portrait of Trump and his wife. There will be no official White House ceremony marking his tenure as POTUS.

Indeed, the first line of his obituary will mention either his two impeachments or his indictments … or both incidents!

The man’s legacy is shot to hell! Period!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com