Happy Earth Day!

Times are tough with everything that’s going on in the world but I still have a simple belief that we are on this planet for more of a reason then just destroying the planet and each other. I think one of our best hopes for a united Earth effort begins with the astronaut's vision of the Overview Effect. Once the movie “Continuum” comes out the general public will get their first look at an overview, our history and everything they didn’t know about our little blue planet.

“On the outside, in-between all of us and everything else.” Chris Hadfield

I wanted to do something different for Wonderland so I wrote this poem beforehand and now I want to share it with you. It encapsulates my feelings about this day and the Earth. I hope you like it.

Believe

Believe that things can get better
Believe that the earth can be clean
Believe that no person goes hungry
The future remains to be seen.

Believe there's an end to extinction
Believe that the forests stay green
Believe that the garbage gets picked up
The future remains to be seen.

Believe there's a better tomorrow
Believe that the earth is pristine
Believe there's no war in all counties
The future remains to be seen.

The future is ours so let's grab it
Let's clean up this world that we trash
We need to quit wasting resources
The future remains and must last.

© Bekkie Sanchez 2013

Take care and may your view today on Earth Day be an Overview.

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Some Of My Favorite Things

The old lighthouse on Lake Michigan in my hometown. That is the city of Chicago sticking up across the lake. On a clear day, you can see Gary and Chicago.

Michigan City is a small town that borders on Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes. We have our own zoo and didn’t have a Mall until one was built. It was wonderful growing up there and I think about doing so with great fondness.

When I think about those days there are so many, one of a kind memories I got to experience while growing up Hoosier. I thought I’d share some of them with you.

1. Eating breakfast at Brownies Restaurant after church, filled with people who had been at Sunday services.

2. The view from our largest sand dune, Mount Baldy.

3. Summer concerts at the old band shell.

4. Going to the Moose Lodge for parties and functions with my family.

5. Riding the South Shore (electric train) to Chicago and back.

6. Franklin Street, (our main drag) filled with honking cars after the 1966 state basketball championship.

7. Seeing Santa at his little house that would magically appear at Christmas on the corner of 7th and Franklin street.

8. Watching men make railroad cars at Pullman Steel.

9. Going fishing at the crack of dawn on the pier by the lighthouse.

10. Walking along Lake Michigan searching for beautiful pieces of driftwood and other treasures that washed up on the shore.

11. Riding with my friends up and down the main drag after we all got our drivers license.

12. Going to the bakery for fresh Bear Claws.

13. Driving along the lake on Lakeshore Drive looking at all the beautiful homes and mansions on the lake.

14. Going to ‘sock hops’ at school and the YMCA.

15. Watching my dad wrestle at the Armory, state fairs, and Ames Field.

16. Ice skating and bobsledding in the Winter.

17. Going to Scholl’s Dairy for the best ice cream ever.

18. Horseback riding at the stables in Beverly Shores.

19. Ordering cherry cokes and fries at Woolworth's fountain.

20. Buying 45 records at Harvey’s Dime Store.

21. Going to the beach and swimming in Lake Michigan.

22. Going to the A & W on the way to the beach for hot dogs and root beer.

23. Penny candy and I have the fillings to prove it.

24. Standing outside at McDonald’s and buying 25 cent hamburgers.

25. Christmas decorations on Franklin Street.

26. The balcony at the Tivoli Theater.

27. The smell of the Smith Brothers cough drop factory.

28. Fish fries with fresh water perch (the best food ever) at M&M’s restaurant.

29. Three feet of snow in 1958.

30. Walking out to the lighthouse.

31. Climbing all the way up to the top of the observation tower by the zoo.

32. Going to the Washington Park Zoo to see Monkey Island.

33. Riding the bumper cars at Washington Park.

34. Going to the old amusement park on the beach by Lake Michigan.

35. Going to the lake to get a free truck full of sand for our sandbox.

36. Walking to school and back home every day all by ourselves.

37. Going to movies at the 212 outdoor theater.

38. Catching lightning bugs on warm summer nights.

37. Sunrises and sunsets on Lake Michigan.

Just a few of my favorite things about my home town.

Mount Baldy the biggest sand dune now a park.

The Armory where my father wrestled.

Carlson's Drive-in, the only one left now.

The lighthouse in winter.

Our Mall (we only had one) where we hung out and my mom taught me to drive in the parking lot when it was closed on Sundays.

I enjoyed growing up here and if I could make time stand still I would have done it before all the little changes that forever make our lives different. This place as I remember it is just a memory.

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Break In At My Buiding

Black Hole, my artwork.

Just as I thought things were starting to calm down in life, Murphy's law went into action and showed me this was not to be. My apartment building had a break in on Tuesday before noon and the place that got broken into was only 3 doors down from mine. In broad daylight too! I wasn't home like I usually am either so it freaked out.

For those of you who don't know what Murphy's Law is, here is the definition: Murphy's Law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." It's a true set of rules that have been around for decades that I learned about when I went to school for electronics.

Between 11 and 11:30am I left to go pick up my monthly medications. As I walked out to my car I looked at the other apartment doors (just a habit I have) and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, not that I expected to. I got to my car and noticed a strange car parked next to mine.

First I thought to myself; "Oh no, I hope they didn't ding my car door." So I proceeded to check my car to make sure (just in case I could get the license number) that there were no new dents. I wasn't seeing any and when I stood up all of a sudden there was a black teen in the passenger's seat of the car. He had been slumped down talking on a cell phone so I didn't see him at first and we both startled each other. I told him what I was doing and we laughed because we had scared each other.

I walked around to get into my car and saw a larger older black man going through our garbage bin. He was even opening bags and he looked like he had lost something the way he was going through them but he didn't live here. I didn't know him.

So many people go through our garbage bin anymore that it's not unusual to see strangers doing this, especially for cans. I just took note of him, figured the boy was waiting for him and went on my way.

I got back around 12:30PM and my roommate James was home for lunch. He was parked in my spot and when I ran in and asked him why he said just park on the street for now because something was going on. So I did and when I was walking back to my place I saw both our building managers and some neighbors outside and they were talking in a group. Something had to be up!

When I got inside my place James told me when he got home from lunch he saw the door to #5 had been kicked in and the kitchen window was even pried open. He couldn't get the managers to answer him so he called the police. I told him about the strange guys and that the door was fine when I left so we decided it must of happened between those hours. I told him the managers were out there now and James said the police were coming soon.

I went outside and told the managers about the strangers and a couple of other people said they had seen the older black man also and some said they had seen two young black men on another day. I told them when the police came if they wanted to speak to me I would be here.

The police eventually knocked on my door and asked me all kinds of questions. I could certainly ID the younger man if they caught him and they were glad to hear that. Otherwise, I told them all I could and they left to question other residents.

I spied some of my neighbors still talking outdoors so I went to ask them if I missed out on anything. As we chatted I came to the conclusion that since it was rent time (and the apartment wasn't really tossed) it seemed like they knew what they wanted and it may have been someone they knew. They only took the money and a few other items and seemed to know where to look. Of course, that's up to the police to figure out. We're all hoping they don't come back for more.

I was so blessed it wasn't me because if someone broke in here they would have had a field day finding things to take. Still, it was awfully close, too close for comfort as I had cash hidden then.

When I was still living in San Francisco I had a white female crack addict cat burglar (say that 3 times quickly) break into my apartment and I was home. She was on the fire escape coming in my kitchen window and we came face to face. I fought with her until she got away from me out of my front door. I picked her out of a lineup and they got her but the courts (even though this was her 3rd strike for cat burglary) gave her a month in jail with no drug rehab. (They had promised she'd get rehab but that's the way things go these days.)

Still, you only have yourself to blame if you're not careful about your place. Always keep your eyes peeled when you are around your home or property. Most people do not because at home is where we feel the safest and most comfortable. If anything happens out of the ordinary or you find some strangers on your property or at your door be vigilant! They may be dressed up and have the Watch Tower with them but that doesn't mean they aren't faking it to have a look around. Don't tell anyone where you keep your valuables or even if you have them. Use your common sense, these are hard times with even more hard up people.

Keep your eyes opened these days. Stay safe and stay blessed my friends!

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Today's My Birthday And I'm Leaving San Francisco

This is a really old photo from when I was in Junior High School and you could still get a nice Raccoon Coat from Good Will for only 10 dollars. I was still living in Michigan City, Indiana where I was born. I got put in the newspaper quite a bit back then. I young wasn't I?

Yes, today's my B-Day and on a Tuesday, the day I was born on! Some of you know how old I am and others don't. I don't want to talk about my age much less think about how old I'm turning today, (OMG!) I just want to have a good day and enjoy my life! At least I'm looking really good for my age, I work hard at it and am proud of it!

Yesterday it was dark and drizzling outside but today it's sunny and beautiful...just in time for my B-Day of course. Whoo hoo! I've been out once already and I'm going to go out again today and enjoy San Francisco because if things keep going well I'll be leaving this great city and moving down to San Mateo this very week! Can't wait although I hate moving.

Today I'm waiting to see if I got my new apartment so I'm hoping I hear soon it will be an awesome B-Day present!

My roommate gave me an AIW T-shirt (made by Disney from their new movie) and it's so cool! It's all black and has the black Cheshire Cat's smile on it.

I also got a bobble-head White Rabbit and he's sitting on my desk. He's so cute and I really like it! He's holding his watch which reminds me to watch the time. I guess my friends know what I like that's for sure.

Another gift I received was a Sony PSP which I enjoy playing very much!

I've gotten so many nice Happy Birthday messages and I thank you all! What's strange is that so many people in my network (folks I really like and get along with really well) are also Taurus's just like me. Of course, I have many great friends who aren't but there's a lot to Astrology which is why I believe in it like I do.

I just got a call telling me I got my apartment and can move in tomorrow! So I got everything I wanted for my B-Day and am so stoked! As cool as living in SF is, I'm looking forward to getting out of the city because everything is cheaper! Even car insurance as I'll be getting my car out and running tomorrow. No more taxies for me! I get to drive my little sports car again, I have a nice place to park it now and I'm so happy!

This means I won't be online for a week and I'll be changing my ISP to another address so don't know how fast I'll be hooked up at my new place but I’ll be back as soon as possible.

Well, I have things to do because I need to move out of here starting tomorrow so I need to go. I'm really happy things turned out the way they did! See you soon!

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