A GOWN IS A GOWN IS A GOWN: CHURCH OF THE GREEN WOLF, TWO!

I had the notion it would be cool if I could wear my gown and cap to my son's graduation but I could find no information on the University of Nevada's web site; nor could I find any information on the protocol of that anywhere on Google. That privilege may be only for alumni, etc. It is just neat that Stone is receiving his BS at the age of forty-ish and I received my MA at the age of sixty seven-ish. It just seems to take we Jone's awhile to get rollin'.

THE CHURCH OF THE GREEN WOLF, ONE.

I received an Email a couple of weeks ago from my adult son, Stone G. Jones. It was a total surprise. The last time I saw him was in 2004. And, I haven't heard from Stone for probably five years. His news was that he and Mrs. Stone G. Jones were fine and that on May 8, he would receive his Bachelors Degree in Public Administration from the University of Nevada and that he would like for me to attend and if I was willing to come, he would send me an airplane ticket. I let him know that I would probably come but not by airplane. I hardly fly at all anymore. Taking public transportation to SF Airport is too hard work nowadays and there is no way I am going to leave my pretty Audi station wagon with its custom Muirsville-forest-green paint job in airport parking while I am gone. Were I willing to fly bookoo hours, I would have taken Barney up on his offer to visit him in Thailand a long time ago. There actually is no wolf in this post but my feeling is that this title matches very well with my feelings, of which come to my mind, when I falteringly write about my only child, Stone G. Jones.

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THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARROWHEAD

I am working on a power point presentation for a talk I have been encouraged to give on the formation of the National Parks Service and as I worked on it decided I surely should include the National Park Service logo Arrowhead in the presentation; and, then I thought, Why not--because it is so cool and because searching for arrow heads, agates, and petrified wood on the Nebraska Plains was part of my boyhood--include the Park Service Arrowhead in my blog!

NATIONAL PARKS

I found this copy of a cool old National Parks poster--in fact of our first national park and thought to include it in my blog.

GERIATRIC HERO: THOMAS ALEXANDER BRUSO--well, maybe, almost, ...at least!

(Please check out my forward posting: WEDNESDAY MARCH 7, 2012 GETTING OLD WITHOUT GRACE: THE BRUSSO MENTALITY)

Folks have been talking about the "old white guy" who gave a pounding to another (but younger) passenger who punched him in the facewhile riding an AC Transit bus in Oakland, CA on Feb. 20, 2010. Repeatedly hearing about the incident from people my age has me to believing that what Bruso did, as we as we senior folk collectively view it, what went down on that bus, what actually happened , we are just fine with."Too bad we all can't be strong!" However, given what research I have completed on Mr. Bruso--except for the fact that he has done what was necessary to maintain his strength and that he also served in Vietnam--his resume doesn't sound that good to me: he is no saint, he reportedly has been in prison, is a very tough pug, who is profoundly street social, and who has periods of irrationality; who, in their attempt to remove him, buzzed & high, from an Oakland A's game this year, reportedly was brought to terms himself with a Taser by security officers on August 4, 2009. Although he is a large and hearty rogue, he obviously is not your stock heroic figure. ...You know, folks, I'm thinking that the complete incident is like, "Let the posturing of the loud mouths on this bus commence and may the best thug win!" ...However I, with the addition probably of many other senior men, am in agreement with Bruso's action. The identification exists because of the commonality in grayness: there is a resistance by graying and older men to being profiled as being so frail and so vulnerable that one's ability to potently live an adult male's life has been put out to pasture. Which means in other words, gray can't cut the mustard anymore--I say verb that!...From my observation of this newsey bus scenario, I have the path to the heroic worked out in this way: In the movies is the only place you have a choice of heroes, but in the real world a chance of heroic randomness prevails: You don't always get to choose your best horse, your best wife, your biggest fish, or your best game of golf--control gets lost, life just happens, and the surprisingly unqualified do occasionally gain your great favor which, as I consider it right now, is probably another thesis to add to this blog--Sometimes the irrational happens which is to your best interest, randomly!). Anyhow, although he won't ever make my personal hero list--maybe just a small contribution to the Thomas Bruso Party Fund--my thanks to Mr. Bruso for hopefully making we gray beards look a little more sexy, and to him also for providing fresh material for T-shirts:" Caution! I'm a Strong Old White Guy Whose Mom Just Died!

SAN FRANCISCO CHINESE NEW YEARS PARADE 2010

COLIN POWELL: MY AMERICAN JOURNEY

I had been thinking for a long time about how I wish I knew more about Colin Powel as I have always had a positive mindset about the gentleman. Well, last Saturday I stopped by Thrift Village in order to donate a bag of Barney's sweaters that he had left for me to dispose of as he would have no need of them in Thailand. As I was on my way out of the store, I saw this book on the shelf and it was just $3.00 and I quickly bought it. I find it very interesting thus far: I did not know his family was from Jamaica. He was also, as was Kamaroh, a Geology major in College. And, he speaks of a remarkable circle of support from his relatives that I am envious of. I have a lot of the book to read yet and so will make very little additional comment for now. Except too say that I am proud of him for coming out as a car guy. If you
will notice in my profile, I have decided to follow his example and come out also.

HERO ENCHILADAS

I am celebrating my 70TH & 2 months birthday by making for the first time ever, enchiladas. Johnny Flowers led me through it. First I got a deal on some chicken leg quarters at Upscale Mart and boiled them soft in chicken broth and green chili and a pierced jalapeno ; then I flaked of the meat, chilled the broth & skimmed off the grease and put the meat and juice back together again. Well I got a whole big bag of white corn tortillas at Swifty's Better Deal Market along with some shredded Mexican Style cheese.

Why I found I like about using the leg quarters is that the meat is somewhat more tenuous like crab and isn't mushy when you bite into it. What Johnny Flowers had me do next was sit myself up a station near the stove where I could heat the tortilla a little big so as it would fold without breaking; plug some chicken slivers and a little cheese on the tortilla and then fold it and place it in the pan. We had lubricated the pan with some of the enchilada sauce. Okay, when the pan was full of enchiladas, we poured the rest of the green sauce on top of them; sliced some green onions and put them and some black olives on top as a garnish. The black stuff you see is diced black olive; the reason I used diced black olive instead of sliced black olive is because it was cheaper.

Then, after the first 14 minutes in the oven, we covered the pan with foil in order that it would steam up and heat the enchiladas through. Given another 15 minutes or so in the oven we took them out and I ate three and Johnny Flowers ate two while watching American Idol. The moral to this story is that if cooking green enchiladas is beyond your comfort zone, hey!, what the heck, that's the kind of stuff that heroes do.

DRAGONS & ROSES: BARNIE'S NEW THAI- HOUSE!

Today I received an Email and pictures from Barnie and he informed me that his house has been completed in Thailand and that he will return in March for a few months in order to collect money to furnish it with. It looks very nice and not as austere as I thought for less than $25,000.