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

environmental news

Water, water everywhere

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The hours-long drive along California Highway 99 opened my eyes to the ravages that Mother Nature has brought to this wonderful part of the country.

They have water here. Too much water!

The playas are full; some of them are overflowing. I ventured across several bridges spanning rivers. I glanced at the rivers as I sped by. Lete me be clear: I don’t know what the “normal” streamflow looks like for the San Joaquin River, but what I saw as I glanced at the river was far from what I am certain is normal.

I got a text message from my sister in Santa Cruz, telling me it was “pouring” once more. I’ll be heading that direction in a couple of days. She did tell me the other day that if her neighborhood is underwater that “the entire city is gone,” which is her way of telling me they’re fairly safe from the deluge. I do hope so.

The weather forecasters apparently are in love with the term “atmospheric river,” which sounds like a cool term to use to describe the torrents that have fallen for the past several weeks. I’ll say, though, that the current term du jour is more appealing than “bomb cyclone,” which has been used to describe previous events of this magnitude.

There well could be more of this madness awaiting me as I continue my travel north from the Bay Area in a few days. I plan to see my niece in Eureka, which is on the coast just south of the Oregon border.

A respite from The Flood would be so nice. Indeed, I believe the good folks here have enough water to last them a while.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Puppy Intuition: It’s real!

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — I have boasted for many years about the intelligence of my pooch, Toby the Puppy.

Well, today he outdid himself.

We pulled into California’s capital city to stay with my cousin and his wife for a couple of nights before we head to the rainy coast. We have been to this city before; we came here a year ago while my bride and I were pulling our RV.

But we did not venture into my cousin’s neighborhood on that earlier visit; we parked our RV in a park several miles from my cousin’s home. Today, we did.

What is so remarkable about Toby the Puppy is that we were about five minutes away from arriving at my cousin’s home when Toby awoke from his snooze, stood up and began peering out the window, looking for all the world as if he wanted to get out and explore wherever we were going. His tail was wagging. He was prancing around the front seat where he had been sleeping.

He does this very thing when we approach our own neighborhood in Princeton, Texas, or when we’re a couple of turns from driving up to my son’s home in Allen, Texas. He’s ready to get out and dash into his own backyard or is ready to play with my son’s two pooches, Madden and Ryder and, of course, to see our granddaughter, Emma.

Today was a different deal altogether. He seemed to recognize several streets away from my cousin’s home that — by golly! — this is where we are going.

Amazing. I’m tellin’ ya. Simply amazing.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Nature gets in the way

VISALIA, Calif. – You’ve heard it said that “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”

Well, my westward journey delivered that truism to me squarely as I drove into what the weathermen and women around the nation keep referring to as the “atmospheric river.”

To be clear, I haven’t slowed or changed my route to the latest stop on Toby the Puppy’s and my trek. However, I had intended while in this central California community to visit one of nature’s grand exhibits, the sentinels that tower above the forest floor in Sequoia National Park.

No … can … do!

The torrents of rain that have fallen on California for the past several weeks have closed Sequoia and nearby Kings Canyon national parks. I called the Sequoia park office today and learned that Kings Canyon would be closed for the remainder of this month and Sequoia will close until mid-April … but that it remain closed long after that.

Dang it!

We were able to visit the Grand Canyon the other day. That was a wonderful period of exploration for Toby the Puppy and me. And after we visit with family in Sacramento and then Santa Cruz, we’ll venture north toward Eureka, Calif., to see more family.

And along the way we hope to see towering redwood timber, providing of course that Mother Nature will enable us to gaze at those trees.

Still, the adventure continues. More to see and enjoy.

Johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience