Jerry Watson's Blog

There's Only One Place for "The Best Breakfast in Spokane, Washington"

2009-08-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

Harvard educated Howard Elliot, a man born of affluence, was used to getting what he wanted. The president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, naturally reserved, patient, and moderate in his approach, decided against building his own private railroad car, however, opting instead to purchase an observation car from the Barney-Smith company. This railroad observation car, number 1787, served as the presidential car until it was replaced in 1931. Purchased by Frank Knight in Seattle, Knight transformed number 1787 into a diner that occupied a place of prominence in Seattle for sixty years. Eventually, the diner found its new home in Spokane and now it occupies an equally impressive position in that eastern Washington community. It routinely wins accolades for serving Spokane’s best breakfasts.
We can testify to that boast having sampled the incredible food Frank’s Diner serves while on a recent road trip through the upper West. Remodeled to reflect the sumptuous richness of the early twentieth century when Elliot used it as his presidential car, the interior of the diner is beautifully finished with inlaid red-brown paneling. Period stained glass fixtures shed a diffused light over the ornate wooden trim, paneling, and matching bartop.
And then there’s the grill. Just on the other side of the bar, Greg, one of the diner cooks cracks eggs by the basket ful while keeping one eye on the puddles of bubbling pancake batter and the mountain of butter-frosted hashbrowns. Beneath the paneled bartop, bacon and sausage sizzle and the aroma acts as an effective appetizer. Our mouths watered as the waitress squeezed past Greg and took our order.
Before we knew it our waitress had placed our meals on the counter along with our drinks and dinnerware and we were off and running. We were able to order our hashbrowns and eggs cooked just the way we like them and Greg didn’t disappoint us. Brown and crispy, the huge helping of hashbrowns nearly overwhelmed the rest of the meal. The sausage—not the ordinary slim little wrinkled brown black fingers of overcooked spicy meat—were also immense, cooked to a turn, and flavorful.
Stuffed to the brim, we paid our bill, chatted ever so briefly with the busy congenial waitress, and made our way through the line of patrons filling the space between the bar and the outside wall of the railroad car to the back of the diner. Pausing on the platform that serves as the unique entrance, we gawked at the incredibly packed former observation and presidential railroad car and marveled at the amount of food and tastiness of the “best breakfast in Spokane”.
Unquestionably, it was one of the highlights of our trip and well worth your time to look up Frank’s Diner in downtown Spokane, Washington.

Repairing Cast Iron Soil Pipe

2009-05-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

Repair broken sewer pipe easily

Cast iron pipe rots. It will take a long time, but, eventually, cast iron pipe, the old bell and spigot type, will deteriorate to the point that it becomes punky and soft. You may discover that a section of the old pipe under your house is cracked and leaking. How do you remove and replace it?
Preparation – Choose The Right Tool
1. The first thing to do is rent a pair of soil pipe cutters. Most rental stores, and even some hardware stores, carry these specialized tools and rent them out to their customers. There are two types of soil pipe cutters. One operates with a ratchet handle. This type works especially well in tight places like crawl spaces and in between stud and joist spaces. You loosen or open up the cutter chain jaws with the knob, place the cutter chain around the soil pipe and engage the chain with the jaws, then tighten the knob. Once you have the chain in place and tight, you operate the ratchet handle until the cutter chain breaks the cast iron soil pipe. These tools require some experience to operate successfully. If you are unfamiliar with this tool, ask someone at the rental yard or hardware store to demonstrate it for you.
1. The second type is a large soil pipe cutter that looks somewhat like a pair of pliers with a cutter chain attached to the end of pliers. You need quite a bit of space to operate these cutters. They work great outside and in ditches. Once again, you loosen or open up the jaws with an adjustment handle near the jaws of the unit, place the cutter chain around the soil pipe where you want to cut it, tighten the adjustment handle which should open the handles of the soil pipe cutter far apart. Resting one handle on the ground or against yourself, press the other handle together toward the first one like closing a pair of pliers. If you have adjusted the soil pipe cutter properly the cast iron soil pipe will break cleanly.
The Problem
1. The problem comes in trying to cut that old deteriorated cast iron soil pipe. You have to keep cutting away at it until you find a section of the pipe that is solid enough to cut cleanly.
The Repair
Then clean the outside of the pipe well, slide your Fernco or Mission rubber coupling over both ends of the old cast iron pipe, cut a new section of ABS or PVC DWV (drain, waste, and vent) plastic soil pipe to fit and install the couplings.
Tips and Tricks
1. You can also use no-hub couplings of the proper size to make your connections.
2. The clamps on the couplings should be tightened with a special torque wrench or to 12-inch pounds. Do not over tighten the clamps or they will strip.
1. Note that DWV or drain, waste, and vent plastic pipe is the same or nearly the same outside dimension as cast iron soil pipe. But copper DWV pipe is a different outside diameter entirely and cannot be used in this instance.

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The Antiquarian Chronicles Book Trailer

2009-03-03T15:08:00.001-08:00

Finally! The long-awaited The Antiquarian Chronicles book trailer has arrived! Buy your pre-release copy through Tate Publishing's online bookstore or through me. Just email me at: JerryL_Watson@hotmail.com. Only $18.99 while supplies last!

The Antiquarian Chronicles

2009-01-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

My new novel, The Antiquarian Chronicles, is about to be released by Tate Publishing. It is finishing up the final review process and will then be sent to the printers. Be notified of the release date or to request your own autographed copy by sending an email to me at: Jerry.Watson09@gmail.com or JerryL_Watson@hotmail.com

Stay tuned in to find out when the sequel is coming out as well.

My next novel is well under way. It is the story of four young Mexican men working on a ranch in central Arizona during the Spanish American War. They struggle with violence, racism, unemployment, and whether or not to join the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, Roosevelt's Rough Rider Regiment, to go fight in Cuba.

The Hunting Trip from Hades

2007-11-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

The air lately had felt crisp and cool and the primitive pall of hunting fever had overtaken me. I had been spending my waking hours thinking about hunting, and my sleeping hours dreaming about it. I had even gone so far as to purchase some cold weather gear and my hunting license.

I had also gone grouse hunting a couple of times to eastern Washington so I knew where I wanted to go deer hunting this year. The deer were thick in Okanagan county and the prospects never looked better so I made my plans for a third trip there for that once in a lifetime buck.

The time off finally arrived and my wife encouraged me to pack the pickup and take off for three days of hunting. I could hardly wait. My wife had even checked the weather for me and made motel reservations. She said the weather looked cloudy and wet but I had gear for that and knew that it rarely, if ever, snowed over there this time of year, at least in my experience.

So I left late on the first day, headed over the North Cascades Pass and arrived at my motel. My wife had made reservations there for two nights. It did look nasty out and the more I thought about it, the more certain I was that I should only stay for one night because I might get my deer and then I would have to head for home to arrange for a locker. Also, the weather just might possibly change and ruin any chances for me to bag some game. So, I asked the clerk if I could just pay for one night's stay. Of course, she was reluctant to allow that since my wife had made reservations for two nights and I hadn't given them forty eight hours notice. Well, we talked about it and she finally gave in.

I took my bags upstairs to my room, plopped them down on the floor, flipped on the tv, and laid across the bed to look at a book I had purchased about tree identification (another low key hobby of mine). I had taken off my glasses and was thumbing through the book while half listening to the tv when the bad aspects of the trip started in earnest. I rolled over on the bed and heard a crunching sound. I rolled back and found that I had rolled on my glasses. They were broken. The left temple hinge had pulled apart. I panicked. I had to have those glasses to see to drive, let alone see to shoot. I felt my temper rise as I tried to fix the glasses in the dim light. It was already seven o'clock and dark outside. I also needed the glasses in order to see to fix the glasses. It was one heck of a fix to be in. No spare glasses, and a long way from home. I was pretty sure I wouldn't find a place over there to get my glasses fixed so I puzzled over what to do. I finally remembered I had some fishing gear in the truck (in case I stumbled across a stream that looked promising and the deer hunting wasn't going too well) so I went uphill to the truck, dug around for a flashlight and realized I hadn't brought one. I felt through my gear until I found a spool of monofilament, took it back to the room, and spent the next four hours trying to bind the glasses back together. I finally got it about midnight but my spirits were getting gloomier by the hour. I went to bed and had the strangest dream. I dreamed that I had slid off the road up in the North Cascades Pass at a particularly precarious spot. I shook me pretty good and I couldn't get back to sleep so I flipped on the tube and watched tv off and on until daybreak.

I had gone to the store and purchased some fruit and stuff the night before so I had some oranges and snacks for breakfast and headed out to find a glass repair place. I had to drive to the next town and explore until I found one that didn't open until ten o'clock. So I had some time to kill. I stopped at a mini-mart type store for some coffee and a breakfast roll. When I took the stuff to the counter to pay, I offered the clerk my Visa card. She said it was three dollars and some cents and she couldn't take a Visa card for less than five dollars so I asked her to ring five dollars up and give me the change. She said they couldn't give change on debit transactions. It figured. So, I went without coffee or a breakfast roll.

Then I decided my glasses repair job were holding up very well and I would just go hunting and try to forget about all the inconveniences so far. I headed up into the hills where I had previously decided to hunt and it started snowing. Very lightly at first, almost a light rain with a little spitting snow here and there. I figured that might work to my advantage in that it might be snowing harder up higher in the hills and work to drive the deer down to lower elevations. But the longer I hunted that morning, the harder it snowed until I decided I had better bag the hunting and get back over the pass while I still could. It wasn't inconceivable that the DOT might close the pass if enough snow fell. So, I went back to town, checked out of the motel, and the new desk clerk scolded me for not giving forty eight hours notice of not using the second night's reservation. I apologized and left. I worked my way up into the pass and was about a half hour from town when my previous night's mare came true.

I was climbing a long grade in a regular snow storm, and wondering if my all season radials were enough to get me over the pass (I had totally forgotten to bring my snow chains and a shovel) when I was going around a curve in the road, and the pickup's rear end slid around to the left. I counter steered but just as rapidly the rear end whipped around to the right. There was a very deep steep canyon on the left side of the road and a mountain side rising up on the right. I was able to keep the pickup from spinning completely around but the rear end caught the shoulder of the road and the next thing I knew I was headed straight for the ditch. The front end of the pickup slammed into the mountainside, the pickup bounced, and spun, and the rear end hit the mountainside in the same place. I sat there for a minute taking stock. I was uninjured, I had survival gear in the back and lots of food in the front seat. The pickup was still running so I knew there had been no serious damage to the engine and I was grateful for that. I had actually been traveling about twenty five or thirty at the most when I hit the ditch. The snow was falling steadily now and there were just two tracks on the highway. It wasn't long before a vehicle came by. I was standing outside the truck as they passed and stared. In the next four hours I couldn't believe how many people passed me with the same response. No one stopped but an older man and his wife did slow down, she leaned out the window and asked if I was alright. I shouted I was and she asked if I wanted them to call for help. I shouted I did and thanked them. Then I got back in the truck and tried to keep warm and keep from worrying as I watched the snow fall harder and harder. Many more people passed me including a snow plow that veered slightly away from my vehicle but still managed to throw a lot of snow up over my truck. He not only didn't stop, as it turned out, he didn't even call in to the DOT to let them know someone was stranded in the pass.

I got out of the truck again to try to assess the damage to my vehicle and see if I could extricate myself since it was apparent I wasn't going to get any help from anybody else. I saw that my right front tire was blown. I couldn't get to my spare because it was under the pickup and you had to get to it from the back but the backend of my truck was up against the mountainside. Then I noticed around the curve where I sat and about three hundred yards up the highway, three vehicles had stopped in the middle of the road. Not having anything better to do and wondering if they needed help, I walked up there. A woman was kneeling beside her car putting chains on and I asked her if she needed any help with them. She was nice and chatty and said no, she had put her chains on twice that day already. So, I went up to the next car where two men were struggling to put their chains on. I asked them if they needed help and since the driver couldn't speak english, I just went ahead and put the chains on for him. None of the three people asked where I had come from, if I was alright, or if I needed a ride. So, I just went back after they left and resumed sitting in my pickup in my now-snow soaked coveralls. I took to turning on the hazard lights every time I saw a vehicle but no one would stop for a couple of hours. I was beginning to sweat a little with worry and wonder if I was going to have to spend the night or longer trapped when a large heavily loaded suv went past. I flashed my lights at them but they went on. Then, much to my surprise, they returned and stopped. I jumped out and talked with them. They were two older hunters and they offered me a ride into town. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Greatly relieved, I climbed in beside them and found out they were having transmission troubles. But we finally got down off the mountain. As we approached Mazama, a small little road stop off highway twenty, they talked about dropping me off there. I encouraged them to go on into the next town where there was a garage. They finally agreed to. So we all wound up at the Chevron station in Winthrop. The garage owner had two wreckers. I asked his wife who ran the station if he could go get my truck. I got another shock when she said he was awful busy and wouldn't be able to. We talked for awhile and it sounded like she was softening a little. She was surprisingly reluctant to help. It took me awhile to get to talk to him. He was out picking up a vehicle with his wrecker. When he finally did get back, he also didn't want to go up in the pass. I talked and talked with them both, offering to pay whatever they charged. I had no other idea how to get my truck otherwise. Finally late in the afternoon, he agreed if he could bring my truck back to his garage and fix it. So, I grabbed a bowl of soup and off we went.

When we finally got up in the pass to where my truck was and got it pulled out, I found the only damage was to the front bumper and the right front tire. The bumper was no big deal, and the tow truck driver helped me change the tire. Then he left and I drove, VERY SLOWLY, back down the mountain to town.

While we were working on the truck, the WSP stopped by. The trooper never even got out of his car to inquire after my health, he just rolled the passenger window down and scolded the tow truck driver for coming out to get me without being dispatched by the state patrol. Well, it turned out that no one had even contacted the state patrol about my wreck. I shudder to think how long I could have been stranded in that pass before someone might have come along who disregarded the "rules" and offered assistance. I cannot thank those two older gentlemen enough for what they did. I offered to pay them for their service and they refused all offers. They are true AMERICANS in my book. By contrast, I feel nothing but pity for people who are so concerned about themselves that they cannot stop to offer assistance to someone else in need. Even the Washington State Patrol is more concerned with following stupid, arcane, rules than implementing their mission statement which is to protect and serve.

Needless to say, I stopped at another town and bought a set of tire chains, then proceeded south to Wenatchee and then west to leavenworth. It was late that night and raining when I pulled into Leavenworth. I immediately checked the Stevens pass report and my heart sank. They were forecasting snow of all things and a traction advisory was in effect.

Well, I couldn't face the possibility of another snow bound incident like the one I had just been through only worse in the darkness and falling temperatures so I got a motel room for the night in Leavenworth. After a good night's sleep and talking with my wife over the phone, I was ready to tackle Stevens Pass the next morning. Thankfully, the snow had melted and the roadway was just bare and wet. So, I made it all the way home in a damaged truck after a long drive.

Of all the most frustrating moments I experienced in that miserable forty eight hours, one of the worst was all the deer I saw in the back of pickups. I just knew that I stood a good chance of bagging a buck. I was so prepared for the hunt with all the right gear. I had thought of everything . . . except bad weather, accidents, and spare glasses.

If I was to offer anyone going on a trip advice, it would be this. Stop, think, prepare for any and every contingency. Don't rely on anyone coming to your aid. Chances of that happening are remote at best. Your survival is up to you.

Hobbies

2007-04-22T10:19:00.001-07:00

I took up two new hobbies last year: fly tying and orienteering.
Most everybody knows what fly tying is. One takes an assortment of hooks, feathers, thread and other assorted bits and pieces and assembles them in a certain fashion on a particular size hook for a particular species of fish. I started doing it in hopes of making some extra money but, as so often happens, it was a scam, or if not an outright scam, an unethical enterprise. So I kept the tools and made myself an assortment of Woolly buggers. It was fun, relaxing, interesting and I can't wait to take them out on the water. Need to find a boat trailer first.

Orienteering is a not-so-new twist on a old hobby: Hiking. Only in orienteering you use a compass to find your way as opposed to following a well marked trail. One of the intriquing aspects to orienteering is you don't have to stick to trails anymore. After learning how to use a compass and a map, you can strike out across country, over hills, mountains, deserts, whatever terrain, comfortable in the knowledge that you can find your way home again.
After pouring through a couple of books, I bought myself a good compass and purchased a USGS map of a particular area in which I was interested in exploring for the purpose of hunting. I had passed this particular place not far from the Mt. Baker National Forest and always wondered what lay up in those hills. I was curious especially if there were any deer up there. It looked like prime deer hunting.
I took a backpack well stocked with emergency supplies and struck out through the woods on a weekend. I studied the map I had taken, picked a landmark and a corresponding compass heading and took off. At first it was fairly flat going but after half an hour or so, the ground became increasingly thick with brush and sloped uphill. The map I had indicated this so it was no surprise. After I had made my way upward for about an hour, I came across some unbelievably thick ferns, and I found that deer had been bedding down in them. It looked like a veritable deer park, they had been so thick in there.
I kept checking my map and compass and had to stop more and more often to rest. At one point, as I rested waist deep in the wet ferns, I looked around and discovered that I no longer had a point of reference in relation to where I had started from. I felt a wave of panic rise in my gut for just an instant, and then I remembered my compass and map. I took them out, reoriented myself according to my initial compass heading and felt immeasureable reassurance. After getting my wind back, I struck out again, left the thick fern beds, and made the top of a ridge where the underbrush was not quite so thick. I hadn't gone much further, however, before I came to an area that had been logged off many years ago. The loggers had taken the bigger timber and left the smaller stuff lay on the forest floor creating a false forest floor that was easy to step through. It was the worst to manuever through because it seemed like I was forever stepping off a log or branch and falling. It took lots of time to move around logs and brush piles I couldn't climb over but I used my compass to plot those diversions and it was a pleasure to me to discover that I could return to my original compass heading.
As I crested the final ridge I could see my destination far ahead. I didn't realize, however, and the map I had didn't show very well, that I had to cross a large flat meadow that was, in reality, a swampy area thickly covered with wild rose bushes and other prickly plants like that. That area took me longer to traverse than the whole rest of the trip but the whole time I could see my destination so it was no big deal to wander back and forth trying to find an easier route through it. Eventually I made my way up to a logging road which marked the top of my route. Everything from there on out would be downhill.
The whole trip was one big thrill. I learned that I no longer had to be afraid to be out in the deep woods as long as I had a map and compass and a backpack stocked with the proper emergency supplies and first aid. I can't wait for the weather to clear and the work to allow for me to get back out there again this year. I have one trip planned already and hope to get to go orienteering in Eastern Washington as well.
For those of you who find yourself bored with the routine of following well traveled and well marked trails, invest some time in the sport of orienteering and discover anew the thrills of self sufficiency and adventure in moving over unmarked and untraveled terrain.

Weekend whispers

2007-04-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

My son came home today for awhile and we had a cowboy dinner and watched a movie (True Grit) together. It was so nice to see him! My wife made a great dish of barbecued spare ribs and baked beans. My insides objected strenuously but that didn't diminish the pleasure I derived from seeing my boy and eating well. The only thing I like to do better is watch John Wayne movies while wearing my cowboy hat and holding one of my guns. Sounds corny I know, but it adds a lot to the entertainment value. (And yes, I do have a Bowie knife I like to play with while watching the old Jim Bowie tv series.)
My wife is at the tail end of a severe cold virus and I hope I am too, or rather that I am just experiencing some more allergy symptoms. Both she and I have been to the doctor already this year. I came away with a prescription I can't use because of adverse side effects; she came away with three prescriptions she could use and a good scolding.
A couple came to the house this evening with their real estate agent and asked to look at our home. They came in and looked at each room with the expected amount of interest. Apparently they are interested enough to seek financing. Unfortunately, we have been down this road before.
I am hoping to make some progress with writing next week. I've been thinking about trying to get up earlier than I normally would and try to do research and preliminary work on some magazine articles, get out some query letters, and find an agent to send my book submission to.
I've also been thinking a lot about the opening where I work for a marketing writer and communications coordinator. I don't have any formal training doing that but I'm confident given a chance I could do it, at least after an initial break-in period and some on-the-job training.
I already approached my supervisor about shadowing someone in marketing and she said she'd look into it but I haven't heard anything since.
I also have given some thought to just going up to marketing, introducing myself to the manager of that department and asking if I could do an internship (paid or unpaid) there like maybe one day a week.
Might be a great experience for me. I wondered, too, if it might not be better to try to do the shadowing first to get an idea if it's really even anything I want to pursue or not. I like the creative aspect to it. I'm not sure if I could cope with the deadlines and pressure there any better than I can at my present position but the idea behind all this is to try and prepare myself to go back to work for myself eventually. I'd feel more confident if I could only get something published in paper, even locally.

The Peace Democrats and the current conflict

2007-04-15T17:33:00.001-07:00

During the American Civil War, some Democrats opposed the war and were willing to go to any lengths to reach a settlement over State's Rights and slavery up to and including disunion. These people were labeled Peace Democrats and were, history has shown, incorrect in their assumptions and posturing. Had they gotten their way, America might well not exist.
Maybe it's just as simple a matter as a lack of proper education about our Nation's history. May be it's historical revisionists making an impact, an unfavorable impact, on our people and our government.
Like trapping mercury, it seems increasingly difficult to corral the reasons for such rabid dissension on public display and in the media today. Is it an immigration issue? Are we allowing so many people in from nations whose core values differ so greatly from our own that our own values suffer corruption? This is a Biblical principle and one many of us have taught our children: Be careful who you hang around with. They may drag you down with them. Remember: Birds of a feather flock together.
I wonder if we wouldn't have a stronger, safer country if we did close our borders.
Why is it so strange that we should find ourselves, once again, in a struggle with Muslim forces? Doesn't anyone know about the battles America fought with the Barbary pirates on the southern coast of the Mediterranean sea shortly after we had won our independence from Great Britain?
Is this no longer taught in our schools? A short study of that brief conflict (still memorialized, by the way, in the Marine Hymn) would show the similarities between that one and the one we are currently in. The Muslim world hasn't changed. Neither have their doctrines. They still believe, as they did then, that all people who are not islam are infidels and are to be killed if they refuse to convert to Islam.
Here we are again in a position of defending our country after a foreign government sanctioned attack that cost the lives of more people than were lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II and there is such an amazing hue and cry against our government and our officials it is hard to grasp. World War I started over the assassination of one head of state; the Archduke Ferdinand was killed by a serbian anarchist. In that war alone, Germany lost over 1,000,000 men. The allies lost almost as many. During World War II, America lost over 440,000 men. The battle of Okinawa alone cost America's mother's and father's more than 50,000 of their sons in as little as a couple of months. We hear on a daily basis of the casualties from Iraq and it is sad. My heart breaks for those families who lost loved ones just as it did for the casualties I flew home with from Southeast Asia so long ago. Yet little more than a brief notice in the local paper is made of the casualties coating our nation's highways in blood. And our Federal, state, and local governments are to blame. They are more interested in the money to be made from liquor sales than the lives of our sons and daughters. Seldom do victims of crime make national headlines and bring about a national outcry unless it is a sensationalized one against children or women. So what is it that caused our forebears to suffer silently the outrageous casualties of America's past conflicts and causes us to so loudly decry the relatively few casualties that we have suffered in the current one? Was it their lifestyle? Were they so confident of better times they were willing to strive for it to the point of blood? If so, are we so jealous of our prosperity we are willing to sacrifice everything including our liberty and that of other people to keep it? It certainly seems so.
The world revolves on the demand for money whether it is government or the people. So it should be no surprise that we fight for it, whether in this country or any other. Yet there are those vocal ones that insist we refuse to fight; as long as they can maintain their own current lifestyle of excesses they are willing to turn the other cheek, even on National calamity. They use a number of excuses to lend credibility to their selfish posturing: The environment, diversity, tolerance, peace, etc.
We need more advocates of peace but not at the cost of everything. Just as everything else in life, peace has its price.

Email, the Media, and the Democrats.

2007-04-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

I don't usually expound on issues involving the government but I find myself more and more puzzled and irritated by the direction of the media and the Democratic party in relation to people and events not only worldwide but here at home as well.
Take, for example, the current flap in Congress and the media regarding the emails sent (or received) by an aide in the Attorney General's office about the firing of some attorneys general.
There may or may not have been some wrong doing here but it seems to me the people would be best served by letting the investigation proceed in order. As far as the emails themselves, I'm confident whoever in the Attorney General's office composed and sent them, he or she sat back and weighed the consequences knowing full well the public nature of the email format. If that person had been bent on some destructive or subversive behavior, surely there would have been some monitoring of email communications in an organization as large as the Department of Justice and this would have been found out before the fact.
Even in private corporations (like the one where I work) it is a matter of policy that we don't write, copy, or forward anything that we don't want somebody else to read, no matter who that person may be. I can't feature the government having a more liberal policy regarding emails, especially in an office like that of the Attorney General.
I can only surmise, therefore, that the emails have to be a matter of no consequence, yet the political party in power and the media seem to have addressed the issue as though it were one of national security, making them seem all the more petty in my eyes.

Real Practical Advise For Real Estate Buyers

2007-04-13T20:40:00.001-07:00

Buying a new home
by Jerry Watson

Buying a new home, whether your first, a second home, vacation cabin or condo, can seem complicated, even intimidating. Take things one step at a time and before you know it, you'll be unlocking your own front door.

The government Department of Housing and Urban Development has a list of nine steps that pose a good starting place for a new home purchase.

Decide how much new home you can afford

This may seem simple, even trite advice. Many people embark on a new home purchase without any idea of the costs involved, especially first time home buyers. This comes about, in part, because the government encourages first time home buyers with a number of innovative programs designed to encourage them to make a purchase. It is wise to consider some of the following before starting your search.
• What kind of job do you have? Is it steady? How long have you been employed there? What are your future employment prospects?
• Are you married? Single? Do you have children? What are your housing needs now?
• If you are married, does your spouse work? If so, is his/her job steady? What are his/her future employment prospects?
• Are you looking for a starter home? A second home? A vacation home? A cottage? A condo? A rental?
• How much money do you have set aside for a down payment?

Know your rights

• There are many aspects to new home purchases that are obscure, confusing, even intentionally glossed over in the effort to force a sale.
• Take the time to educate yourself. It is time well spent. Following are some information resources you should take advantage of to learn as much as possible about your prospective purchase. These can be found on the Department of Housing and Urban Development website.
o Fair Housing: Equal Opportunity for All
o Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
o Borrower's rights
o Predatory lending
• In addition, learn all you can about two real estate principles in detail. These two principles alone can transform your dream home into a living nightmare.
o Adverse possession.
o Prescriptive rights.

Shop for a loan

• You should take the time to approach a home loan vendor and get pre-qualified. You do this by filling out an application for a home loan. This will tell you how much a prospective lender is willing to loan you for your new home purchase.
• It's best to approach more than one lender, if possible.
• Above all, be honest in filling out your application. It will, almost certainly, be checked for accuracy.
• Remember, the more money you have set aside for a down payment, the better terms you can get for your loan.

Learn about home buying programs

• Each one of the fifty United States has a number of home buying programs.
• Take advantage of this vast reservoir of information. There are programs available for first time home buyers, veterans, seniors, low income, disabled, and any number of agencies and counseling services available to help.
• The one place you should approach with a certain amount of trepidation when searching for information about home buying programs is any real estate office. Remember, they are professionals whose main goal is to sell real estate. That is how they make their living. In most cases, they are not concerned about the sale after the fact, although there are reputable real estate agents whose concern for their clients runs well past the initial sale. Ask around for references.

Shop for a home

• Here's where things get really fun! Now is the time to gather everybody in the car and cruise for castles. What are your desires? What things is your spouse interested in? A view? Landscaping? A school, a church, a store nearby? Lots of wide open spaces?
• Don't take your friendly, neighborhood real estate agent with you at first. Take the time, if possible, to see what's out there. Cruise the neighborhoods. Talk to people. Years ago my father took the time to chat and by doing so, avoided a part of the county notorious for heavy winter storms and bought a beautiful small farm in a small area that was a noted banana belt.
• Be sure to talk to the neighbors. You may be surprised at their response. Better to find out now than after you've signed the papers. Maybe they will welcome you to the neighborhood with open arms. Then again, you may discover your prospective neighbor is also the local grouch, crazy person, town character, etc.

Found the place you just can't live without?

Well, now's the time to make the home owner or their real estate agent an offer. Before you do, take some time to talk with your spouse and children.
• Get some outside advice. Others may see things you missed.
• Don't be in a hurry to make an offer just yet. If someone, like a real estate agent, is pressuring you to do so, take that as a bad sign and back away. The bullet you dodge may have had your name on it.

Hire a home inspector

Here an important word about home inspections may be called for. Usually the lender will require the property to be inspected by a home inspector and they may require you to hire them. Be aware that even if you pay for the home inspector, they are working for the lender. Their purpose is to protect the lender's investment. No matter what they tell you, their concern is not for your welfare. That is a ploy to get you to pay their bill. They are there to make sure the property is up to current codes and standards. In the main, that is to your benefit, but never forget it's all a money game. And the lender holds the money you want. They will insist that their investment be protected. Shop around before agreeing to any particular home inspector. Make sure they are members of ASHI, The American Society of Home Inspectors. As with any important purchase, ask around, talk to friends, family, acquaintances, get referrals.

Shop for homeowner's insurance

The lender will require you to have homeowner's insurance. Shop around for the best value.

Sign the papers at closing

If you've never done this before, it can be a lengthy process. Be sure to set aside enough time to do it. You must read all the documents before signing them. If you don't understand them, consider hiring an attorney or another real estate broker or agent to explain them to you before you sign. Don't rely on the seller's agent to do that for you. Relying on your own agent may also be a little bit of a negative. Remember, your agent is hoping to make the sale. That's his or her paycheck. At this point money will change hands. The larger down payment you can make the better. If you have at least twenty percent of the sale price for a down payment, the lender may allow you to make your own property tax and insurance payment. If you don't, the lender will require that you put enough in escrow to cover these costs annually. That can add up to a lot of money. In the long run, it will serve you better to save patiently until you have that twenty percent down payment.

Saving money in the long run

Education is the key. The more you know, the more you stand to save on a prospective home purchase.
• Don't buy more than you need for the present and the foreseeable future.
• Don't buy more than you can afford to maintain.
• Consider your skills. Can you do some or all of the work yourself? If so, you may be able to pocket even more of the costs of maintenance and repairs.
• Don't overlook the opportunities to negotiate directly with the homeowner. If they, or you, have already signed a real estate contract, that may not be possible.

Hybrid Cars. Are They Here To Stay?

2007-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hybrids -- pros and cons
by Jerry Watson

$3.00 a gallon for gasoline! Help! With fuel prices mounting daily, we are all giving more attention to hybrid cars. What are hybrid cars? How do hybrid cars work? Are hybrid cars really worth the cost? Are hybrid cars convenient?

Hybrid cars first came into being in Japan before the turn of the century. Honda with their Insight , then Toyota and their popular Prius, followed rapidly by a number of other car manufacturers who began focusing their energy and resources on hybrids for the consumer car market.

There are basically three different types of hybrid automobiles: Hev or hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles or fcv's.

How Do HEVS Work?

Hevs or hybrid electric vehicles utilize an electric motor and batteries with an ICE or internal combustion engine. These vehicles are made in two basic drivetrain configurations: Parallel design and series design. Each mode has its own advantages and drawbacks.

Parallel design vehicles use the ICE for primary power and the electric system as a backup for use during increased power demands like going up hill, or needing sudden acceleration.

Series design vehicles use the ICE or gas engine to turn a generator providing electricity to the electric motor and powering the wheels in turn. Some HEVs can also use the series and parallel designs to work together, one powering the vehicle at low speeds and the other kicking in at highway speeds.

Plug-in vehicles. These are electric hybrids. They operate with a battery pack and electric motor. There are a number of exciting innovations on the horizon for these particular vehicles. But for all practical purposes right now, their use is pretty much limited to use in towns and cities where driving is short term and light.

Fuel cell vehicles. Also known as FCVs, these are also an innovative technology that stands on the national horizon. Fuel cell technology is being used not just in the consumer car market, but also being applied to public transportation, heavy buses and trucks. For the present, the infrastructure needed to support this type of hybrid is, for the most part, not in place.

What are the Advantages of HEVs?

Lower emissions. One of the most notable advantages of hybrids is their contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Favorable legislation. California is leading the way in legislation to promote the use of hybrid cars. They have passed laws allowing hybrid cars with a mileage rating of at least 45 mpg to enter car pool lanes with only one occupant. They also will allow hybrids with transponders to pass through toll booths free of charge.

Lower fuel costs. Higher fuel ratings translate into dollar savings at the pump. The EPA green vehicles guide shows the fuel economy rating for the top five hybrids for 2006 as well as their air pollution score, greenhouse gas score, and EPA Smartway rating.
They range from a low of 29 mpg highway to 60 mpg city for the Toyota Prius.

Size. Hybrid cars are lighter and roomier than standard automobiles. They have smaller, lighter engines and are built with lighter, stronger high technology materials.

Disadvantages. Hybrid cars contain high voltage that could pose an electrocution hazard to backyard mechanics, automotive workers, and emergency personnel after a crash.

Silence. While their quiet operation definitely contributes to a lessening of noise pollution, it can also be a hazard in certain situations when they can't be heard approaching or when the engine can't be heard running.

High purchase price. At present, hybrid cars may cost anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000 more than conventional automobiles, depending on the model comparison and purchase location. But those costs are coming down as more automobile manufacturers get on the bandwagon and technology advances.

High maintenance costs. A hybrid battery's typical life span is 6 to 10 years. Replacing it may cost several thousand dollars. Once again, this cost may come down considerably as battery technology advances.

Convenience? Maybe. Maybe not. Carefully weigh your own circumstances, finances and outlook. Hybrids may be the solution to your current concerns. Also hybrids may be inappropriate for your current financial picture, location, or physical needs. Take a look at their exciting new technologies and decide for yourself.

Another funny story

2007-04-01T15:52:00.002-07:00

I hadn't ridden a bicycle in many years but when my wife got a nice-looking used one I was struck with the urge to try it out. It was a tall, green job with lots of levers and gears and it looked like a lot of fun to ride.
One Sunday morning we all got up and dressed for church. It was a bright sunny day out and while I waited for everyone else to get ready, I asked my wife if she minded if I tried out her bike.
"In your Sunday clothes?" she asked.
"Sure, I'll just ride it down the driveway and down the road a little ways and be right back." I stated matter-of-fact, filled with unwarranted confidence. Well, sir, our driveway sloped down hill just enough to coast all the way to the country road where we lived. I hopped on that Japanese hari kari machine and, without using the pedals, coasted all the way down to Hickox road where I intended to make a left turn on to the highway.
It was then I discovered my legs were too short for my feet to reach the spinning pedals, and I hadn't taken the time to familiarize myself with the braking mechanism. As I approached the road traveling at the speed of light, I stood on the right pedal with one foot, like you used to the old bicycles to apply the brake, and nothing happened--except I shot across that road and down a very steep ditch that stopped the bike, but not me.
I flew over the handle bars and made a hole with my nose through the top two boards of a neighbor's wooden fence. I didn't know which was more embarrassing: the dirty looks I got from the horse in the neighbor's pasture, my wife's horse laugh and scolding when she saw my buggered up nose and torn and soiled Sunday clothes, or my kids exploding in gales of laughter as I got a hammer out of the shop and told them all I would be right back; I had to repair the neighbor's fence! True Story! I swear!

A couple fun poems

2007-04-01T15:52:00.001-07:00

Leaves

For many years I've watched you leave,
You come anew each spring,
I must admit, for ten years now
Spirit fades; my hands I wring.

I love your shelter,
Your green cool shade,
Your dappled daylight
So carefully laid.

Autumn comes blowing in
then your grip you lose.
As you fall and daylight fades,
my spirit grows heavy, my mood turns blue.

Still, I grasp the future,
Bright with hope,
Spring is coming,
I can cope.

A HOUSEHUSBAND’S ODE

I had a nervous breakdown t’other day
‘cause of a fitted sheet
that had its own way.

I folded and molded
And bunched it
And all with a smile

‘til continued failure
Made me take a break,
For awhile.

When I returned to the task
With gritted teeth,
I determined to fold that thing
If it took me all week!

Now at night I recover
From feeling so ill,
And glare at that sheet
Feeling scolded.

It lays there still,
On the floor
Where I left it
Proud victor, unconquered
And UNFOLDED!

Anonymity

2007-03-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

With a sigh of frustration, exasperation, and one of relief, I discover that my online anonymity is complete. Do other bloggers experience this same sort of thing? Maybe it's a matter of publishing my blog in the right places. I hate to think of having to post on writers forums but that may be the only way to accomplish it.

a favorite short story

2007-03-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a favorite short story I wrote a few years ago. It came about as a result of a conversation I had with a former customer, an elderly lady who went to the local senior center once a week to play cards with a bunch of other senior ladies who were, to say the least--well, cards.

ELSPETH THE GOSSIP
Even with the window closed, you could still hear the bees buzzing around the hydrangeas and the jonquils. The noise wasn't enough to drown out Elspeth Higginbotham though. Everyone at the Senior Center agreed Elspeth used up more than her fair share of oxygen. I put an eight of spades on the table and Elspeth dropped the Queen of spades right on top of it. "Elspeth...!" I said. But she was still talking.
"You should have seen Marjorie Jean! I can't believe she would wear something like that at the flower show! I have a dress like that but I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it at the flower show. But that Marjorie Jean thinks she can wear anything!" Elspeth took a sip of coffee and said, "I can't stand the coffee here! You ladies know what I bet?"
Elspeth lowered her voice and leaned forward over the table. I wish she would stop leaning forward over the table like that. Every time she does Dorothy drops her cards and stares and it's embarrassing. I know Elspeth is well endowed but I wish Dorothy would stop staring like that. Well, anyway, Elspeth lowered her voice and said in a whisper loud enough so everyone at the tables on either side of us could hear, "I bet they are letting Louise make the coffee again."
Elspeth laid her cards down on the table and crossed her arms. I noticed Dorothy staring again! I do wish she would stop staring! That Elspeth went on saying how everyone knows Louise is married to a South American and how she bet Louise's husband grew coffee beans down there.
"I bet that's why they let Louise make the coffee," Elspeth was saying. It was my turn again so I laid the Ace of spades on the table and gave Elspeth my most intense hinting look. She ignored me and threw down the three of clubs!
"Elspeth...!" I said. And she kept right on talking about Mrs. Brunamaker's son Richland.
"Everyone knows they call that boy 'Richie' but I'll never understand why!" Elspeth said. "Why, I don't know of a person alive who doesn't know that 'Richie' is short for Richard and Mrs. Brunamaker's son's name is not Richard, it's Richland!"
It was Elspeth's turn to deal and she pulled the pile of cards over and began to shuffle them. All the other ladies at our table began to smirk at Elspeth because they didn't think she was going to be able to shuffle and deal the cards and keep on talking; they haven't known Elspeth Higginbotham as long as I have. Elspeth dealt the cards and we all counted ours because Elspeth was talking about the sermon at the Presbyterian church and we were sure she had misdealt.
"That new pastor they got is way too young to preach in a church that size," she said, "but those Presbyterians think they're so up and coming! Why, I heard from Matilda Watson over at the grocery store that they are even starting a young people's mission trip to South America! Can you imagine that? I bet they'll probably get Louise's husband to act as their chaperone! Maybe they won't even have a chaperone," Elspeth said, "Hmmmph! Those Presbyterians think they're so up and coming!"
"Don't you go to that Presbyterian church, Elspeth?" I asked.
"Well, I used to. But my Bert says that pastor they have over there is too young to be preaching in a church that size. He says he thinks those Presbyterians are getting a little uppity. He says if they have the time and money to send those young people to South America, they don't need our time and money anymore. By the way, did you know that Matilda Watson was to the doctor the other day? She told me they told her to eat more roughage. She told me that right in the vegetable aisle at the grocery store but do you know what I saw she had in her cart? Well! I can tell you for sure it wasn't roughage!"
There Elspeth went again! Leaning forward over the table and lowering her voice so everyone in the room could hear her. And that darn Dorothy! I do wish she would stop staring!
Elspeth and the bees kept droning on and on and I put the Ace of hearts on the table. There! I thought. Let's see that gabby Elspeth Higginbotham take that trick!

Weekend update

2007-03-11T15:23:00.001-07:00

I find myself at work this afternoon (Sunday) watching Home Improvement on my laptop while my wife works at her desk catching up on some of her duties as a training Coordinator--a new job for her at the same time I am starting this new job as a customer service rep. Medicare issues, policies, and regulations are very complex and I don't have any tools or machinery I can get my hands on to fix, build, or otherwise work on. I just have a desk full of papers, cheat sheets, and books about all the medical insurance info this job requires.

On a brighter note, I hope to put some of my short stories and other works on this blog. I'd rather put them on my own website but I don't have one yet. I hope to have one later this year if all goes well.

This job has some impressive requirements to fullfill and there is some questions in my mind as to whether or not I can do it but I am determined to follow my wife's advice and give myself a chance. Who knows? I might actually be good at it and enjoy it.

Gather.com experience

2007-03-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

As I stated earlier, I recently signed on the Gather.com website at the advice of a writer friend to gain more exposure, and a chance to win a writing contest, for my completed novel, The Antiquarian Chronicles. It was certainly an interesting, if not deflating, experience. My work was rated very low by the few people (4) who read it and bothered to comment. I read the guidelines, the contest rules, and the FAQ's and decided to give it a go. After the novel's first chapter was posted, I read the readers' comments and was surprised at the caustic posts. One opined that my use of a southern vernacular was "God-awful". I thought this was funny because I was raised for period of time in the deep South. The same person was indignant that I had, he said, compared a black servant to a black dog. I said in the novel, they both had black hair, both had brown eyes that twinkled when mischief was afoot, etc. It was a comparison, a literary device like a simile, a metaphor, a hyperbole, a pun, a fundamental image device to establish the fact that a rich man's servant/friend and the rich man's pet had certain characteristics in common. How many times have we all noticed the similarity between a pet owner and his or her pet? Have we then made disparaging remarks about it? Hopefully not, but some people have the distinct inability to distinguish between an insult and a literary device in a written work.

I also noted how the same few people seemed to read and comment on the first chapters posted by others. These noteworthy scribes (noteworthy for what I was never able to decipher) took exception to most everything. Amazingly, they cut down to one degree or another most every work posted and the few they had good things to say about were terrible in my own opinion, but I thought these unfortunate authors' efforts were worthy of positive comment if nothing else. It is a difficult thing to put one's thoughts into words, especially cogent words, and place them in the public arena for comment and criticism. Having done so, it is only polite and courteous to find something good to say about a written work before making comments about needed improvements, and even then there is a right way and a wrong way to make suggestions.

After taking all I could from a couple of these salacious coxcombs, I decided to remove my novel so I could submit it elsewhere in the more traditional or contemporary route: through an agent or publisher. I couldn't find where or how to accomplish this so I took the only route I could: I posted a caustic comment of my own about one of these pseudo-erudite commentators. Sure enough it accomplished my purpose. My novel was removed from the site forthwith. Without, I might add, so much as a warning or email notice from the management. They never contacted me or responded to my communications at all in any form whatsoever.

Well, there is no lack of unprofessional behavior on anybodies part. I even felt bad about giving in to my more primitive urges and reacting to their disgusting behavior in like fashion. Oh well, my purposes were accomplished and I did try to be a source of encouragement to all those who posted their work for comment on that site. If someone's work was so bad I couldn't read all of it, I just refrained from commenting on it at all.

Wasn't that what Mother said? If I don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all.

I've been away for awhile

2007-03-02T20:04:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile, a long while, since I visited my blog. And I finally have something to say. I'm about to take my son and his equipment to a gig at a facility in town. He is playing in a rock band now and is THRILLED!
Some side notes:
I have experienced a brief but educational stay at Gather.com. I will have to expound on it at another time.
I also am working on a draft of an article about the Washington State Liquor Control board. I hope it will find a home as an essay or op/ed piece.