Where Did October Go?

Good Morning Folks,

In many respects it is a good morning. Flagstaff got its first snow of the season this morning. That makes me happy but am sure that is not the case for many here. I do not know why those folks live here if they are so disturbed when we get the white stuff.

As you can see by the picture to your right, I missed getting any shots of the fall colors here in Flag. However, I did drive up to the peaks the other day to get a stark view of the Aspens (my favorite tree) in their naked prelude to winter. You can just see Mt. Humphrey (highest peak in AZ) through the trees.

Somehow, with all my activities in that month, I did miss blogging in October. Isn't it funny how these months get away from you. I did get to southern California, i.e., San Diego County, to see most members of my family who still reside there. One reason for going was to see my grandson Zac play freshman football but alas, he was injured while I was in transit so did not get to watch him play. We did go to his team's game and it was interesting to be on a high school campus after several decades of absence from

same. Boy do the kids look younger at that age than I remember.

I did get to see my youngest grandson, Torin, play Pop Warner football, very interesting!

In the ongoing saga of the silent war with my downstairs neighbors, I finally had to call the police as suggested by the property management company. When I saw the age of the policeman who responded I was sure that they would side with the young males below me. Even though the officers looked very young, I could not have been more wrong. In fact, they were very deferential and understanding. Officer Sandoval even went so far as to say that most of their problems, outside of major crimes, are with college age males. He said that he did not want to be misunderstood. He was not indicting all of them only those in these situations. He said that they had no sense of decorum and lacked simple courtesy. Does this sound familiar? They told me to call if there were continuing problems.

I hated to call in the law. I held out for a couple of weeks but felt somewhat vindicated with the result. The neighbors seem to have taken this particular warning to heart to a degree. By degree I mean their music has not been at offending levels but I can now hear their TV a bit louder. For now, I am letting these things pass. But, I do have Officer Sandoval's card and can call if need be. As I told him, I do not want to be "that guy," the one who is always bothering them. His response was that I was not "that guy," and that I had a right to peace in my own home.

Andy Rooney died last night and it bothers me greatly. Daughter Natasha says that all I talk about is death and the "60s." In this case I do have to mention the passing of another of "my time's" icons. He was the "great curmudgeon," not to mention a wonderful writer, journalist, and astute observer of the 20th and 21st (at least the first decade, or so) century. He was WWII veteran and they are going by the wayside rapidly. I loved his essays on important issues and everyday life on 60 Minutes. He retired from that program only 3 weeks ago at the age of 92. He will be missed.

Many times in these "pages" I have written about memory and its foibles. I recently read a very good novella by Julian Barnes that deals with this matter through the eyes of his protagonist, a what he calls middle-aged man (I say he is older than that). The story centers around his memories of incidents of his younger life with friends and a lover. He comes to find out his reinterpretation of it in his mind throughout the years is very skewed. Again, this was another reminder to me that the way we look at our past is severely edited. The book is The Sense of an Ending.

As for films . . . Yesterday I viewed the revisionist historical conspiracy film Anonymous. It is a well acted (Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave) period piece presenting one of the theories that William Shakespeare did not write the plays attributed to him. Although the story is absurd the presentation of the period, the political conspiracies of the time, and the recreation of London in Elizabethan era is excellent. It is a film for those who love that period. The movie In Time was not that good even though it had an interesting premise.

Probably the best movies that I have seen recently were while I was in San Diego. The Way is a journey of discovery while trekking the mountains of Spain by Martin Sheen's character. Blackthorn is the story of Butch Cassidy in his later years had he and the Sundance Kid escaped their reported deaths. He is an elderly horse rancher in Bolivia who decides to go back to America in 1927 but becomes embroiled in the pursuit of a Spaniard who has stolen from mines in that country. I liked it a lot and that was probably because the title role was played by Sam Sheppard. The Big Year was a moderately funny movie about "birders" starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson. Since I have had numerous contacts with these kind of folks in my role as a ranger I found it interesting.

Another very good film is 50-50. Although I am not a big Seth Rogen fan, he does a good job in this film where his character is not the focus. Gordon-Levit (whose first name escapes me) is the

main character who discovers he has back cancer. It is his exploration of this illness and his responses to it that make this film a good one. Of all the movies I mentioned so far, this is the one I recommend you see.

That's it for now. Hope everyone is doing well and is, at least moderately happy.

Adios