From our weekly issue dated August 6, 2008

Finally, the final comments on my now not-so-recent trip to coastal San Diego County. First, 5-year-old granddaughter Natalie’s joke: “Why did Tigger look in the toilet? He was trying to find Pooh.”

Oh, and as for reaching the new home that daughter Vicki and Matt are buying in Carlsbad. She knows about my male sense of finding places and so provided directions. Seems to me that all the street names to reach the place belong to authors of one sort or other: Cannon, Faraday, Whitman, Tolkien, Dickenson, Delaney.

And about those beeping-bleeping carts at the
Seattle airport (SEA or Sea-Tac if you prefer) on our return trip. The darn carts were darting about like minnows in a small pond while we waited for our flight to Medford. It appeared that elderly persons and those with various physical handicaps were being transported hither and yon as a service. But wow, it became annoying with nearly nonstop high-pitched back-up warnings even though the carts were moving forward.

If memory serves, we bought some fancy to-go Wolfgang Puck salads at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana (SNA) prior to boarding the flight to Seattle. As we had been up since 5 a.m., we wanted to eat, and the in-flight snacks provided wouldn’t be enough. My salad was good, and the dressing made an attractive complement to the front of my shirt. Not the fault of turbulence; just my sloppiness.

And here’s an admission: I didn’t have to rouse Jan and Kim so early to drive to SNA. It was a Saturday morning; traffic was light; and the trip I thought would take at least 90 minutes only took 45 minutes. Additionally, I thought it would take more than a little time to surrender the car we rented: It took approximately 10 seconds. So we had lots of time to kill. I think that Kim and Jan have forgiven me by now for unnecessarily getting them up too early.

While we awaited our flight from SNA to SEA I purchased a copy of the Oregon County Register newspaper. And while in Carlsbad I regularly purchased copies of two daily newspapers, the San Diego Union~Tribune and North County Times. Humm, actually I worked for both (the former Evening Tribune before the staffs of it and the Union were combined; and the NC Times when it was the Escondido Times-Advocate.) Anyway, my point is that crime is rampant in the Big Cities, based on what I read. We in Illinois Valley think we have problems? Not compared to other locales.

I mean, there was even a story about perceived gang problems in Avalon on Catalina Island. Some claim that gangs have moved in, but others state that people are over-reacting to some graffiti and guys with shaved heads.

One more anecdote. We thought it would be fun to take Amtrak from Santa Ana to Oceanside, as it’s next to Carlsbad, and daughter Vicki could pick us up. But we wanted to check on the distance and the cost of the fare from SNA to the railroad station. Could not find out. Tried Amtrak. Tried the Santa Ana Fire Dept. Tried the Santa Ana Visitor Center. Tried the Santa Ana city clerk’s office. Even tried two cab companies. No one could provide the information. Strange and unhelpful.

Next week’s Corner: Who knows? You just never know what topic will float to the top of the editor’s head.