Flag Day is a good time to change over to our patriotic Stars and Stripes theme for the blog. The new theme will also be appropriate for the Fourth of July and the summer season, so it will probably be here until Labor Day or so. Enjoy the new look.
Incidentally, the flag image in the background was taken aboard the SS Lane Victory, a WWII Merchant Marine Vessel, still in operation out of San Pedro, Los Angeles Harbor.
One of the more charming landmarks along El Camino Real in California is the La Purisima Mission near Lompoc. The ambience in the mission is set by docents dressed in the attire and playing roles as though the original occupants were still there. On our last visit, we snapped this picture of a squirrel on a low tree limb in the picnic ground. We liked the composition and lighting of this picture very much. Click the image for a larger view.
More about the mission itself:
Misión La PurÃsima Concepción De MarÃa SantÃsima (Mission of the Immaculate Conception of Most Holy Mary) was founded by Father Presidente Fermin de Lasuén on December 8, 1787 and was the 11th of 21 Franciscan Missions in California. During the Mission’s early years, several thousand Chumash Indians were baptized into the Catholic Church; over 100 large and small adobe buildings were built; a water system developed; crops and livestock raised and La Purisima grew and prospered.
Taking to the skies to help celebrate Memorial Day, these beautiful vintage airplanes were just returning to home base at Zamperini Field in Torrance, CA (named for Louis Zamperini, living legend and WWII veteran — but that’s another blog post).
My aviator husband tells me that the aircraft were a mix of Stearman and Waco bi-planes — six alltogether — doing a pass over a local celebration, where they flew the “missing man” formation in honor of fallen military aviators. Even though we did not attend the celebration, we saw a parachute team circling down with a giant American Flag to open the ceremonies earlier in the day.
Damsel and I often speak of our visit to Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On this day we recall the memories of that visit and the overwhelming sanctity of the tomb and the solemness of the soldiers guarding it. May the spirit of our fallen soldiers be remembered on this day.
She’s getting pretty damn good with that thing.
Check out her grin when she nails the bull’s-eye in this video:
I was awakened this morning by one of the neighbor’s “kids” starting up his souped-up hot rod. Now it wouldn’t be a problem if he would get in it and drive away, but he leaves it curbside for about 15 minutes while it “warms up” making a terrible racket the whole time. I can’t get back to sleep, so I get up and go downstairs to wake up and try and get in a good mood.
Now this “kid” isn’t a kid at all — not any more. He’s about 22 or 23 years old and still lives at home with Mom. He and his friends used to throw wild parties and carry on when Mom was out of town until the Cap’n and I hauled Mom into mediation and threatened litigation. I still don’t understand why she hasn’t kicked his butt out.
I can see that I’m not the only person who is disturbed by an apparent trend for young adults to remain at home with parents rather than getting out on their own. This great article by Betsy Hart roots out the problem nicely:
Kick the Kids Out of the Nest, for their Own Sake
Ah, the season of college graduations is upon us. Many newly minted graduates have donned their caps and gowns, marched to “Pomp and Circumstance” and now they are headed back home.
That’s the problem. Too many of them just won’t leave.
In a hilarious episode of “Seinfeld” (and weren’t they all), Jerry is doing his stand-up routine. He asks the audience to imagine a grown fellow saying, “Boy, my life is great. I just got a promotion at work, my bowling score is going up and next month I might even be moving back in with my parents!” The audience laughs uproariously, because even back in the 1990s, such a move was for losers.
But today, fully 20 percent of “adults” between the ages of 22 and 26 live with Mom and Dad. That percent has doubled since 1970. Now let’s be clear. These kids typically have money and jobs. They are buying cool cars, flat-screen TVs and going out several nights a week. Often, they pay no rent. They are having a great time. Only, they are not growing up.
[ . . . ]
Here’s a suggestion: This college graduation season, go ahead Mom and Dad, and give the kids a party. A few good meals. A lot of guidance. But please, sometime between now and the end of summer — do yourself, your children and all of us a favor: Kick the kids out of the family nest.
Betsy Hart, author of It Takes a Parent: How the Culture of Pushover Parenting is Hurting Our Kids — and What to Do About It. She can be reached through www.betsyhart.net or betsysblog.com.
