Wonder Where the Mellow Went?

So there we were, in heaven. Really!
Linda and I met our daughter Katie and her husband Doug at a new San Diego Gaslamp Quarter restaurant called the Cowboy Star. It was perfect.
Pictures of my childhood pals Gene Autry, Gabby Hayes, Roy Rogers, and Hoppy were everywhere. And while we were busy taking our cowboy utensils to a perfect steak, elk chop and delicious piece of bison the sweet sounds of Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, Roy, Gene and other famous sons of the saddle sung us into a cowboy coma of delight. Yee Haw!!! It was a perfect evening.

When it was time to head for the bunkhouse Linda and I said our "Happy Trails" to the kids and boarded a northbound Coaster train for the not so wide open spaces of northern San Diego county.
You know how it is on a train or a plane. It's impossible not to overhear the idle conversation of your neighbors and to try and guess a little something about them. One young guy just a few seats ahead of us was making small talk with some folks from Utah. Okay fine.
That is it was fine until I heard this: "Utah? That's right near Kansas City isn't it?"
WHAT???!!!
How could this be?? I looked up. The young man who uttered this imbecilic statement appeared to be in his early thirties. Was it possible that he could have attained those years without ever looking at a map of his own country? What a freaking moron!
I had to erase this from my melon or it would make me NUTS. At first I was successful.
Then, when I awoke this morning I heard another one of the brain dead radio commercials being foisted upon our ears by the California Teachers Union. They are all pretty much the same:

"The governor wants to cut spending for education. You can't let that happen! Blah blah blah."

For the union the solution, of course, is always one that involves spending ever more tax dollars on teacher salaries and making sure that classroom sizes are smaller. Well, I'm with them on teacher salaries. Teachers should make more money than anyone. GOOD teachers. Unfortunately the union wants no part of any kind of meaningful teacher evaluation and continues to protect incompetent and useless teachers at the expense of rewarding teachers who actually TEACH effectively. You know...making sure that students know where Utah and Kansas City are on the map.
As far as the smaller class size goes, Japan has proven that is a canard since, well...forever.

I turned off the radio, (something that grows increasingly easy), and headed downstairs. After a little juice and cereal, I grabbed some coffee and the morning paper and headed for the easy chair that has my groove. Things were going to be okay.

In the Currents section of the San Diego Union-Tribune my eyes fell upon a feature about Pamela Anderson and some new reality show that seems to revolve around her. As I skimmed through the latest on Pam's love life and how she and her ex, Tommy Lee, now live together as "good friends" in their Malibu mansion I noticed that she now has feelings for yet another man: Barack Obama.

"I love him," she said. "I think he's going to win. I like that he's opening up conversations all over the world. I think he's smart and charismatic. I think it's important to have a president that people actually like. I know my kids want to be like him. I think he has a great message. It will be nice when people like America again."




Just a guess, but I'm betting that long division was hard for her too.

Damn teachers!