Of several things we used to depend on was Al Capp’s “Sadie Hawkins Day,” a takeoff from the Leap Year tradition (though Al held his annually each November) in which women proposed to men and Daisy Mae and Marryin’ Sam kept trying to capture Li’l Abner. Even Walt Kelly had the little bats comparing the Leap Year tradition to presidential elections, calling them like women chasing men a “popular sport.” But the fun Al had with his version of Leap Year has passed, and presidential elections are no longer the fun Walt had with them let alone being a popular sport since there is nothing sporting about them.

But the traditions of romance allied to Leap Year reminds me of having once owned a 1985 Maserati Bi-turbo, and I learned from experience why some wag said it was the car you wanted your ex-wife to have in the divorce settlement. Among several pronounced problems with these machines was the wiring, which some owners such as me believed was designed by Italian engineers during an extended wine-break. But during those rare times when everything was working properly, it was a sheer delight to drive and I’ve never owned a car that handled so marvelously and could straighten out curves so well at high speed.

Remember the scene in “Operation Petticoat” where the witch doctor is doing his routine for the submarine? Though I’m a well qualified mechanic several times I found myself wondering if something like this, an exorcism, might be required for this car. Being acquainted with Gremlins from WWII, the Maserati Bi-turbo had more than its share. But whether beautiful cars built to race or beautiful women, they both have their quirks and some being quite temperamental require higher maintenance and a higher degree of deftness in handling than others and few men have the right touch in either case. However, we men being kind of stupid when it comes to beautiful women especially will generally lose our mental faculties when we encounter one of these gorgeous creatures.

So it was between me and the Maserati; a true love/hate relationship. Beautiful and temperamental it was the expression of Porkypine pronouncing about the Deacon and Sis Boombah; the poor fellow trying “to figger which fracture is the worse… The broke heart of isn’t got her or the broke heart of is.” Either way, as Porkypine saw it the Deacon was bound to end up with a broke heart.

Well, Porkypine pretty well summed up most relationships between men and women and my experience with the Maserati had its parallel with a few beautiful women I have known, but few people are the demons they are often made out to be in either broken relationships or divorce, so; Happy Leap Year folks.

Rhett had his reasons for suggesting this to Scarlett in GWTW, but Alec Baldwin had his reasons for asking “Am I in hell?” in “The Shadow,” and I have my own reasons for wondering the same thing. Not everyone is mourning the passing of William F. Buckley and some are quite willing to consign him to the fiery pit. I have never owned a yacht, but his writing of the marvels of yachting and adventures in seafaring for the wealthy as though all good Americans should share his enthusiasm for the things money and privilege bestow on those favored of the gods was his stamp of approval among the favored few. Face it, that circle would seem to be the only one unbroken if anyone is really looking for an answer to the question raised in the hymn.

However, love him or hate him Buckley did speak for a certain class, most of whom are not going to make it through the Pearly Gates in the opinion of some despite their circle remaining unbroken in this world and perhaps remaining unbroken in hell. The wealthy and privileged are generally held to be in the category of Jesus’ admonition about how difficult it is for rich people to make it into heaven, and the parable about the rich man and Lazarus being one of great foreboding for those living sumptuously while fellow human beings are suffering. The Epistle of James waxes positively lyrical on this theme.

Heaven and Hell? No one has ever come back to tell me about either one, but perhaps Jesus had inside information and spoke knowledgeably on the subject. Still, anything concerning an afterlife remains only speculation and a matter of beliefs including those of Jesus. For me, life on earth is enough of a living hell without the prospect of being plunged into the eternal flames of the “lake of fire” when I die. And no one sensitive to the amount of human suffering throughout the world can fail to understand my thought on the subject. Sure, I can hope this is only purgatory rather than hell; that the evil I have done will be purged here rather than being consigned to the fiery pit and I may yet rejoin loved ones and friends in a heavenly hereafter. But as I said, no one has come back from the other side to either assure or condemn me, and I consider religious people of whatever belief system pontificating on the subject to be delusional at best. I have my hopes, but they remain only hopes despite faith being “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature, but in several ways he represented the assertion by Emerson about some admirable writers being a disappointment in person, and I’m sure many of the great writers I admire would fall into this category, Lewis no doubt among them. But then, like the legitimate criticism of Mozart there is no denying many a person of artistic genius has been lacking in the social graces, and the genuine lovers of ideas are not usually the best of company or people easy to like, and none would dispute Lewis and Buckley were thinkers, lovers of ideas despite their ideas being controversial and even hated by some. But few qualified to address the issue would dispute you come to the end of your life as a lover of ideas or not being able to count your real friends on the fingers of one hand, if you have any at all.

But Lewis endeared himself to me very early because he was so adept in pricking the balloons of pompous asses as well as admiring H. L. Mencken who was gifted in like manner. But in thinking about the death of Buckley and how Lewis might react, the first lines from “Elmer Gantry” came to mind: “Elmer Gantry was drunk. He was eloquently drunk, lovingly and pugnaciously drunk.”

Lewis was an alcoholic, he understood alcoholics, but he was also determined to mock those who mock alcoholics, much as Mencken mocked politicians. Buckley was not so adept as either Lewis or Mencken; he lacked the passion of either of them that would have removed him from his “celestial” world. I am not unaware of how easy it is to bite the hand that feeds you when you are born to a privileged class, much of such “biting” would not take place in the face of real want and ignorance. Still, a few do come from the privileged classes and are genuine in pronouncing on the venalities of the wealthy.

However, in his passion, his zeal to also mock religious hypocrites Lewis overreached into areas of belief where he lacked experience and in making Elmer too heroic, and in so doing his novel did not accomplish the avowed purpose despite it being reviled by many religious leaders of the time. But when the film came out in 1960 the hypocrisy of Hollywood was made palpable by the producers implying they were taking a risk in making the movie and hoping it wouldn’t offend anyone. I can well imagine how Lewis would have reacted to such hypocrisy. As an artist in his own right, the opinions of others did not dictate his art. The real artist is always their own harshest critic; which is one reason they are often poor company. But few people are as disgusting as the pretenders; those fancying themselves “artists” indulging in false modesty, false humility and disingenuous self-effacing hypocrisy.

It is not my place to pronounce either Buckley or Lewis approved or anathema, each hold a particular place unique to them as persons as we all do. If there is an afterlife they will be held accountable there; and if not, dead is dead. But so long as I remain among the living here on earth it is my place to say I don’t know if there is a heaven or hell and in my opinion neither does anyone else. While Billy Sunday could pronounce “Booze has its place, and its place is in hell!” I could easily say the same of politicians. The problem is that like Rhett’s attempt to comfort Scarlett I don’t know if there is a hell, and to tell God his business there is hell enough on earth for most of us to deal with, and in the end whether sinner or saint we all die.

My contentiousness on this subject is at several levels. It isn’t for anyone to tell anyone else whether they are going to heaven or hell. Dress it as you will, once the proposition wears clerical garb of any kind and pontificates on this subject they lose me as a listener. I believe myself to be a moral and honest person, and if that doesn’t cut it with God then so be it. I also believe I know the difference between good and evil, and will oppose evil wherever and whenever I can. Whether a heaven and hell or not, it is my belief those of us able to do so should fight the battle against the evil in this world rather than counting on some deity to fight the battle for us.

Emerson was quite clear on this point; that the hypocrisy of religion is an empty promise in the hereafter for beliefs that do not carry the weight of our actions in this life. Unlike those so quick to judge Buckley whether for good or ill, I frankly don’t know if there is a heaven or hell to which to consign him or anyone else. I know life is unjust, life is not fair, and for many life is a literal living hell on earth; and perhaps there is a need for deities to sort it out since there is no hope for justice or making sense of it otherwise. But for the most part, when it comes to professional religionists of any stripe I’m with Walt Kelly who said, “I don’t take off your god.”

While “Amadeus” was a beautiful Oscar winning film, and quite deservedly so academics do not credit Salieri actually hating and plotting against Mozart; some antipathy yes, but not hatred. However, the point is well taken, that those like Salieri have a real problem trying to understand why God would gift someone like Mozart with such genius, even causing some to hate those like Mozart who do not fit the mold of those that produce works of such sensitive, beautifully artistic greatness. And this kind of hatred for Mozart as an example portrayed by Shaffer is not overdrawn in some cases; but the fact it can even turn into hatred for God is something else.

In “The Apostle” Robert Duvall rails against God and Jesus, and he gave a pretty accurate performance of what some of us have done at times in our lives, especially in view of the ongoing wars and injustices, the monsters preying on women and children, the many things that are not a comforting view of God being in control of things and people, and raising the legitimate question of whether there is a God. For my part I’ve experienced enough of evil in the world to find no fault with atheists, and was it not easier for me to believe than not I could gladly join my atheist friends in their unbelief. As it is, I find the atheist position many times to be more comforting than my beliefs.

How can so many things go wrong if there is a God? Well, some years ago I began to entertain the heretical thought that God makes mistakes. The basis for my thinking this was my many failures as a parent. I find one of the most honest statements in the Bible concerning God is in Genesis where we read he was actually sorry for creating humankind, and decided to shuck the whole species; a fairly human response that some parents have experienced when cursed with a poster child in favor of abortion. Then there are the many disappointments God had in his selection of various people throughout the Bible, people like David and Solomon for example.

One of the most serious problems with many religions is expecting perfection of their deities, but at least those like the Greeks were not held in bondage to such gods. Greek mythology made room for Mozart, but Christian theology has a problem with him. The ways of the deities seem not always in accord with what many people expect, and it makes no sense why evil should always triumph over good, though this remains the rule rather than the exception throughout the history of our species.

Perhaps if I had a mind capable of analyzing some great cosmic purpose to all the suffering and misery of humankind I would be of a different opinion. But like poor Tevye I do not see such a “big picture;” I can only view things from the human perspective. And from my mortal perspective, God makes mistakes.

Dreams remain a mystery to me as do the Giza Pyramids, which to me are quite literally alien structures. It is a mystery how some of the ancients appear to have possessed knowledge and technology seemingly not possible for them. The Mayan Calendar, celestial maps made before the invention of the telescope and other such things are genuine mysteries at odds with what we know of ancient people and civilizations; which is one reason I credit the Bible as a source book for knowledge of some mysteries. Sometimes it does seem to me “The Mummy” film of 1999 makes more sense than the science of today, and I find myself almost wishing for things of the supernatural in attempts to make sense of our world. I want a solution as simple as “Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, and save the world,” a solution that has the Winston Havelock’s at the ready to do battle against impossible odds because they have heroic natures and will settle for nothing less than going down in flaming glory!

But in large part it is the mysteries that keep me going, that keep my mind active trying to find the various pieces of a puzzle that fit in hope the picture will finally begin to emerge and make sense. It is within this context it seems more probable to me God makes mistakes rather than being omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Perhaps God delegates authority to angels, and maybe these messengers don’t always perform according to instructions and expectations. Whatever the case may be, we do know there are mysteries a’ plenty to challenge the most agile minds, and many of them defy our present science to explain. And some like Mozart might even elicit anger if not downright hatred for God.

This, to my mind, is where the Devil might play a key role. It was the Devil telling God that if Job did not enjoy the favor of God he could cause Job to curse God. The Devil may not have won that round, but it might explain a world given over to evil, one where the Devil takes care of his own. And here is an attendant mystery; why is Barack Obama running for President? It was a given he would make himself a target, that some James Earl Ray would quite literally be gunning for him. Can such a bizarre thing make any sense apart from the supernatural? The man surely knew he would be hated and despised by many just for his campaigning for President; he surely knew he wasn’t bulletproof. Then why do it? Even now, who in their right mind would want to expose themselves to the wrath of the Clintons given the many dark acts they may well have perpetrated?

It doesn’t make any sense, and that is why I am more than willing to accept there are things of the supernatural at work in the world. On the face of it Obama might not survive the campaign, and if he does what are the odds he would last long as President if elected? Not good. And so, Obama remains a mystery. Adding not a little to the mystery is how those with money supporting his candidacy could ever be persuaded to back him? A possible answer for me is the Devil’s work. Obama’s candidacy provides ample opportunity for the Evil One to do all kinds of damage to America. If ever there was a candidate that could lose by winning, Barack Obama epitomizes such a one. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize what the assassination of Obama as either a candidate or the President would do to America. And who but the Devil (or Dr. Frankenstein) some might say would resurrect Ralph Nader?

Well, life and death remain the ultimate mysteries they have ever been. And sometimes even the lesser mysteries take center stage when brilliant people make stupid blunders, and God seems to gift an undeserving Mozart causing some to even entertain the notion of Job’s wife to “curse God, and die” being preferable to some of the suffering this poor old world has seen and continues to be subject to. I admit some of the evil I have experienced in my own life gives me not a little sympathy for the point of view of Job’s wife, and as I have said some appreciation for the point of view held by atheists.

But, so long as there remain mysteries so long will I continue to want to make some sense of them though oftentimes the search leads down some dark and threatening alleys of the mind including God not being the “perfect parent,” and like earthly parents perhaps needing the help and cooperation of the child if they are not to bring grief to both themselves and their parents. And I hope you understand my wondering at times if God isn’t asking for our cooperation because he not only wants but actually needs our cooperation. But I go a step further in my heterodoxy by asking God at times if he won’t please speak a little louder so I can hear him.

Dreams are fascinating, and from the most ancient of times it has been thought they are the way deities and departed loved ones and others communicate with us. While scientists continue in attempts to understand this function of the brain they are still at a loss to account for the many ways in which this “dream state” translates into our everyday lives, what the real significance of dreams might be.

The fact that so much credence is given dreams being significant was the basis of the classic SciFi thriller “Forbidden Planet.” As scientific as he thought himself Dr. Morbius realized slumber provided a pathway to the “mindless primitive,” the “monsters of the Id,” and dreams figure prominently in all ancient literature, especially that of the Bible. Even today the interest in dreams, their significance, their meaning and interpretation has not lessened. And while mechanical means, predominantly drugs, have been long used to induce trance-like states of mind, and the history of various shamans using such means to contact spirits and open themselves to visions it is the dreams that come to us unbidden in our sleep that pose the greatest fascination for us.

There are nightmares that cause to awaken in a panic drenched with perspiration, there are dreams that may actually presage some momentous or pleasant, even prosaic event; dreams that some recount as warnings, premonitions of impending disasters, but in most cases we seem not to remember our dreams. And quite often the ones we recall seem not to make any sense, and we do not know what that part of our mind is doing that does not slumber while we sleep apart from the tasks necessary for life. But we humans are spiritual beings, and it makes sense to many people that spiritual communication does occur while we sleep.

While dreams are shrouded in much mysticism, that some are called “dreamers” has its roots in this spiritual part of our lives and the dreamers among us are often those acting out their dreams, though not so often as Kevin Costner did in the film. The phrase “I have a dream” has become part of our culture, but MLK knew it would only remain a dream without written expression and practical action directed at its fulfillment. And since the invention of writing, this has been the means of conveying dreams to others. However, no one knows what part dreams, spiritual communion and communication, may play in writing, to what extent some writing may be an attempt to put dreams into comprehensible written expression.

In some ways writing is like scratching on the wall of time, making our marks as though to say “I’m here, I’m alive, and when I am gone remember me.” In this sense some writing might not only be an expression of dreams, but also an expression of our attempts to call attention to ourselves, an attempt at immortality, something that may be conveyed to us in our dreams. It is only in this way we can make sense of some of the glyphs in stone, some of the pictographs, paintings, engravings, even monuments like the Giza pyramids and Stonehenge left by ancient people throughout the world. In many cases graffiti is an attempt by the person to call attention to themselves, an attempt to be recognized, often when they have no other means of expression that will be seen by others.

The publishing of books at one time was a hallmark of literary achievement, and a kind of immortality for those who were successful writers. With the advent of photography and films, these became increasingly popular methods of making scratches on the wall of time, and with TV the best people could hope for in making their scratches on the wall was to be remembered in re-runs. Even the empty suits and talking heads on TV are given to writing books as well as the many entertainment celebrities. There is just something about written expression that transcends all else.

Whether the fascinating Indian artifacts and pictures carved or painted on stone around the valley here that I would come across as a boy, or the marvels I would read about and see in the old National Geographic’s and elsewhere, the question often arising in my mind would be why ancient people felt it so important to do such things? No doubt these things were important to the people who carved or painted the pictures, who built the monuments, but what of the individual persons involved, what were they trying to express about themselves as individual persons? A carving or painting on some rock hundreds or even thousands of years ago may have been done by an equivalent Michelangelo, a Rembrandt or Matisse to those of their time. But most of them were probably the equivalent of writers, most of them ordinary people simply saying “I’m here, I’m alive, and when I am gone remember me.”

Experts in translating glyphs of the past have made sense of many of them, and we know some carvings, paintings and drawings were of a religious nature and attempts to prevail on various deities for one thing or another. And while fascinating I’m also interested in the equivalent “Kilroy Was Here” and those glyphs that were made by the ordinary people of the time, some person simply trying to express themselves as individuals, not just for their tribes or clans but for people in the future to see as well, a kind of groping for some meaningful expression of personal identity to others for both the present and the future.

The day-to-day struggles for existence of our ancient ancestors didn’t leave much time for them to engage in artistic endeavors. It takes a leisure class and wealthy patrons of the arts to produce things like a “David,” but such marvels don’t hold the fascination for me those cave paintings in France do, or even the crude and curious drawings on rocks I would discover as a boy made by the Indians that used to inhabit the Kern River Valley so long ago. While some artists of various civilizations have made great names for themselves, and though I appreciate great art as much as anyone, I find the rough pictographs and other drawings of ancient people far more interesting.

Most are familiar with the “John loves Mary” carved into the trunk of a tree, but did you as a boy ever do such a thing? I did, and I suppose this is why I am more interested in such things left by the ancients than any of their other works of art, than the monuments and inscriptions of ancient kings as important as these are.

The Japanese soldier in “Letters from Iwo Jima” was surprised to discover the letter to the American soldier from his mother read just like a letter from his own mother. The many icons representative of American culture, the monuments and works of art would not have made such an impression. Nor would anything the Japanese left behind on the island been as impressive as those letters.

There are many stories painted and carved in stone told by ordinary people of ancient times long before writing was invented, not to glorify some deity or ruler but simply done to express the thoughts and hopes of the person. And just like that Japanese soldier discovered I don’t doubt the stories would reveal they were people just like us, people with the same dreams and hopes of ordinary people today. Many of these ancient inscriptions have been translated and interpreted, but some experts I believe have missed the mark occasionally by not recognizing the work of some of these ancient people had more to do with their personal hopes and dreams than anything the experts find significant. The “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife” must have been there from the very beginning and found expression in some manner before the advent of writing.

And discounting those like politicians, media and entertainment celebrities that believe their every word should be graved in stone because of ego there is nothing so representative of the hopes and dreams of individuals than personal letters. While the writing of love letters is a lost art form in America, still the personal letters exchanged between loved ones and friends declare the dreams of the writers. But to what degree and in what manner do actual dreams influence our need to communicate with others, and what of our dreams may be conveyed in writing, even unconsciously? I love a mystery, and this certainly belongs with the many other mysteries that occupy my mind, and I don’t doubt while sleeping as well as awake.

One of the more curious questions arising from a very curious campaign for the presidency this time around is one that even the N. Y. Times has not addressed, which by itself is curious. Here is the question: If Obama does not get the nomination will he get the ACLU, the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam to support him in suing for race discrimination? If Ms. Clinton fails to get the nomination, being a Caucasian she is automatically prohibited from suing on the basis of race but will she sue for gender discrimination?

Well of course the questions are so farfetched as to be whimsically silly at the most charitable, but the basis of such questions is far from being so. Putting aside for the moment that all politicians are lying, cheating, conniving and corrupt scoundrels that would sell out their own mothers for political power and advantage; that as Emerson pointed out no one would choose to be a politician if they had the character and qualifications for any noble profession, that all politicians are no better than pickpockets, that in my opinion they are all on the Devil’s payroll, the fact remains that this campaign unlike those of the past is bringing up some curious questions, questions that include possible unintended consequences arising from the peculiar candidates being offered.

We know brilliant people are capable of making really stupid blunders; that the Darwin Award does not always go to those with an I.Q. of room temperature. But I ask myself how it came to pass that the money power driving the Democrats could possibly have made such blunders as to advance candidates like Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton? Neither is electable in my opinion, but clearly Obama has no qualifications for the presidency and his much-praised “oratory” is sophomoric at best appealing to those who are ruled by their emotions rather than common sense. But even if he were a gifted pulpit orator, such orations remain as Emerson pointed out nothing but meaningless, shallow rhetoric in the study. Alas for America, the distinction is not being made that while the universities and schools are so far gone one can be an English teacher though unable to read, but an algebra teacher must know mathematics. You simply can’t wing it in math as is commonly done in the social sciences. God knows America desperately needs a change from Caesar Bush and his ruinous rule, but America needs a great deal more than change simply for the sake of change. We need someone who is well qualified for the office, someone that is prepared to do more than wing it.

And what is to be done about Bill should his wife win? The potentially nightmarish Constitutional can of worms this presents should Ms. Clinton become president borders on lunacy! But why didn’t the power behind the Democrats realize both of these candidates posed a nightmarish scenario for their party?

The GOP is in little better case than the Democrat Party, but has the definite advantage of not having to deal with the seeming lunacy driving Democrats. While showing his age and wear, should McCain find a suitable running mate, but not one associated with the Cayman Islands, he clearly has the advantage of not having to wage a race or gender battle. And as far as any innuendoes over sexual peccadilloes, they remain in the realm of Walt Kelly’s “Vice Party.” As he pointed out, given a real choice wouldn’t you be for vice? I know that as a normal human being I’d sure be for it. It’s just a real shame we can’t be more openly honest about the subject.

While I also agree with Walt Kelly that writing for TV is a step below robbing graves for a living, it is a given the presidential candidates are politicians before anything else, meaning they will say anything to get elected, bottom feeders not qualified for any noble profession and are on the world screen for all to view and hear the ongoing lunacy of this spectacle. But like my suggestion the historic Padre Hotel in Bakersfield be turned into a world-class brothel, something that would definitely put the city on the cultural map and getting one over on San Francisco as a toney town, it is very unlikely we are going to have any of the presidential candidates showing any real class by openly advocating a Vice Party.

Such honesty while refreshing simply isn’t going to happen, though we all know every one of the candidates would find their proper role in such a party. But wouldn’t that be something, a presidential candidate that would come right out and say they were for vice? Sad, but they invariably turn out to be the kind of people that publicly believe in all the gods in order to get and stay elected but privately believe in none of them.

While the abysmally low level of education in Kern County is embarrassing to say the least, given the reasons for this prevailing ignorance and illiteracy there really isn’t anything to be done to improve a situation in the schools that will only continue to deteriorate. There really is a reason for cities like Bakersfield and Oildale being the butt of so many jokes, and for the consensus among the literati of Kern County in general being a cultural wasteland. It was considered to be so when I first arrived on the scene in Weedpatch back in 1935; and over the decades since little has been done to persuade anyone of a different opinion than the prevailing one back when people were often comparing communities throughout the county with Al Capp’s portrayal of “Dogpatch.” And, truth be told, in many cases the comparison was a valid one; both back then and now.

To fully appreciate the situation imagine you are among the beautiful people at an upscale cocktail party after attending an opera in San Francisco. During conversation someone learns I am an author and we begin discussing literature. The person learns I’m not only an author, but I have a Ph. D. Then they ask where I was born and I reply: “Weedpatch.” Talk about a conversation stopper! The gamut of facial expressions is marvelous to behold, generally settling on an embarrassingly obvious attempt to control and overcome various emotions struggling to find a civilized reaction to such a reply and retain decorum. One thing I learned over time, the response no matter the setting would never be, “Oh, so you were born in Weedpatch,” as though the name equated with some place like, say, Boston.

Years ago the thought did cross my mind that like Gatsby I could fabricate a persona more in keeping with my intellectual academic and literary accomplishments. But I dismissed such a thought for two reasons; there was no green light holding me in thrall like a beckoning beacon, and what I had accomplished was done honestly. And having no reason to be either embarrassed nor ashamed of my birthplace, I reconciled myself to the fact that among those considering themselves educated many would act as though my being born in Weedpatch and having a Ph. D. and writing books was a personal affront to academia and the field of literature. Silly, isn’t it; that anyone believing themselves to be educated should react in such a manner to the name Weedpatch. And yet, such is the case.

Now, about Bakersfield, which I consider more my hometown; while the attitude isn’t as pronounced as it would be with Weedpatch, yet no one can deny mentioning the city provokes a negative reaction among the “better classes.” But unlike the mention of Weedpatch at a cocktail party in San Francisco, the mention of Bakersfield would more likely provoke a definite sneer. People from Bakersfield do not attend or mix with the beautiful people at a cocktail party following an opera in San Francisco. It simply isn’t done. People in Bakersfield attend Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, a place where such people “properly belong” being entertained by singers with adenoidal voices accompanied by twanging guitars.

Such is the perception, and perception is everything folks; as with politics so with the names Weedpatch and Bakersfield. And the general perception of Kern County is a bunch of redneck hicks, provoking a like response of disdain as that of Nathanael to Philip concerning Nazareth. To make matters worse, while I vividly recall the folks of the Dust Bowl migration, my being born and raised among them, despite the work of Steinbeck, in part because of it, Okies and Arkies remained Okies and Arkies. But Kern County was agriculture and oil, and this together with the Dust Bowl migration determined the culture.

However, English was the glue as all languages are that held us together. And despite the lack of education and literacy we were all Americans, we all had a common heritage as Americans before anything else; despite Okies and Arkies there was no problem of assimilation, there were no “hyphenated Americans” back in those days and schools were not required to accommodate themselves to Mexico for the sake of slave labor benefitting the wealthy. The failing educational system of Kern County has its basis in being demanded to perform the impossible. And no amount of laws or money will make this impossibility possible. Now as then, when education is not a priority for children in the home it is fruitless expecting it to be a priority for them at school.

With its world-class air pollution, the problems with drugs, gangs, and illegal aliens established in colonies throughout Kern County, with welfare and prisons being the “growth industries” the perception is not going to change, and will only worsen because of the declining attention being given education in homes where English isn’t the native language, and there isn’t even the assimilation that was common in the days of the Dust Bowl migration. While education was emphasized in many of the homes back then, this is no longer the case. And in the “old days” teachers had real authority in the classroom, and this too has passed away.

Little Oklahoma in southeast Bakersfield when I was a boy was a pretty rough place. There was a fair amount of cuttin’ ‘n’ shootin’ back then I remember all too well, a place where you learned to handle a knife and your fists very early in life. But Buck Owens knew the truth about “The Streets of Bakersfield,” and the schools can’t win against what have become “The Mean Streets of Bakersfield,” the escalating gang violence only making an already bad situation a worsening one where people are afraid to walk the mean streets of Bakersfield, and because of shootings, carjackings, uninsured, unlicensed, and drunk drivers even driving them becomes increasingly hazardous.

The perception of Kern County in general and Bakersfield in particular is not good. But there is little that can be done about such perception given the odds against us. We retain the stigma of being a cultural wasteland, a place where people do not read good books and engage in literary discussions, a place where book signings can be lonely vigils as I know personally, and attempts to persuade of culture in Kern County are viewed by outsiders as “pretentious.” If you are a native like me with a few decades of experience living here you won’t take offense at my remarks, like me you will more likely have a melancholy reaction to them, wishing like me such remarks were not a stating of the facts.

It takes a while to sort out our disappointment about some things, and the film “Letters from Iwo Jima” is one of those things for me, though admittedly an uneasy one. Even after the Oscar ceremonies and reading the various critiques of the film, the wide acclaim it received and continues to receive it continued to be disappointing to me. While watching it again on TV the other night I decided to write about some of the reasons for this.

“They Were Expendable” was praised for its verisimilitude, but it came out after the war was over. Had it been shown in theaters during the war the propaganda value of the film would have been enormous. As it is, the film continues to tug at the heartstrings of those of us who lived the era of WWII, but we know how much more it would have meant had it played in theaters during the war years and cannot help wishing this had been the case. It doesn’t matter so much to me that some say it was one of John Wayne’s finest performances, what matters is the timing of the film, wishing it had come out in 1942 or 1943.

Not that we were lacking in some really good and very successful propaganda films during the war, even some really good films that did not propagandize. But if ever a film missed its proper place due to timing, TWE is definitely one of those films. And it is one source of disappointment for me about LFIJ. In my opinion, the film missed its timing. Whether possible or not it should have been made at least ten years or more earlier, a time when memory would have served better in making such a film.

I very well recall V-E Day, but it was V-J Day in August of 1945 that stands out in my mind most vividly. People were running out in the street shouting, bells and horns were sounding, and shortly after LIFE would have the cover photo taken August 14 of that sailor kissing a nurse “The Smack Seen Round the World.”

It’s a well known phrase, “Timing is everything.” And this is especially true of films. Since my mother was in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack by the Japanese, a shell exploding in her kitchen and wounding her, Remember Pearl Harbor has a special significance for me; significance not expected of those who did not lose someone or have a loved one injured in the attack. For those of us who lived the years of WWII the era has a significance we would not expect it to have for those that did not share this experience.

The making of LFIJ was a tremendous effort, enhanced by some few remaining who lived the events and the memoirs of those that had died. But part of my disappointment in the film was that in spite of the heroic effort to make it real, it did not pass the test for me. Over-acted in many parts, and too contrived in some others it seemed to me the praise heaped upon the film was only what one would expect of Hollywood about such a film, not a genuine reflection of its merit. And to watch those precious letters at the end being dumped unceremoniously onto the dirt floor of a cave was totally out of synch with what the film purported to be. After all, the very title of the film enshrined such letters and demanded they be treated reverently, as a pearl of great price. A bad score can ruin an otherwise good film, and so can a bad ending. The ending of LFIJ reminded me of Humphrey Bogart’s disastrous glance straight into the camera at the very end of “Key Largo,” only much more so in the case of watching those letters fall to the dirt in a cave.

I understand why some would argue the point with me and I can certainly appreciate their point of view. I believe Clint Eastwood as a superb director wanted this very kind of ending and I can appreciate it, but I can only describe my own reaction to such an ending of the film as I have stated it along with my other disappointments in the film. A book is published and too late the author wishes they hadn’t used some word or phrase, perhaps they discover some egregious error and it is too late to correct it. Just so with films, and few look at their finished work declaring it entirely satisfactory; but some authors find they have written better than they knew, and some films have been successful thought to be of no account. However, I don’t think the artist ever lived believing they had done their best work, the creative soul and mind of the real artist is like the Hound of Heaven, refusing to stop snapping at the heels of those driven to do better, and better, never satisfied because they know they can do better. Such a thing can become a relentless taskmaster.

But it isn’t easy at times to understand our disappointments about many things, whether artists or not; and even more difficult to sort out such things and make the attempt to give them written expression or even express them verbally. Perhaps we may be disappointed by a loved one forgetting something we felt was important, but how to express such disappointment can be very difficult. And we know words spoken in anger may be softened, even forgiven by a sincere apology. But how dreadful for a loved one to pass away without ever hearing the things we wish had been said, and how often such things are within the realm of our inability at times to properly express our disappointments about someone we love. And then suddenly, they are gone and we may find all the proper words coming to mind too late.

Some will doubtless disagree with my disappointment in LFIJ, feeling it unjustified. But there will be some who agree, and perhaps some of these will be artists. Though like many disappointments of life some of which we are only dimly aware and cannot give expression they may remain in the shadows of our mind where they find their only uneasy place.

Apart from the mechanically robotic movements and sound of her voice grating like fingernails screeching on a blackboard, for a great many people simply watching Ms. Clinton trying to make speeches cannot but remind of C. H. Spurgeon’s opinion of women preachers, which he compared to a dog taught to walk upright on its hind legs. He said he was not surprised the dog taught to perform in such an unnatural manner did this badly; he was surprised the dog would do so at all.

Well, it’s not like Ms. Clinton is auditioning for some important role in a Hollywood film. Were that the case she wouldn’t stand a chance. No, she is auditioning for the most important role in our government, something that seems to set the bar considerably lower than the standard required for a part in a Hollywood film.

But in all fairness, few if any politicians could meet the standards of Hollywood when it comes to acting a part, Fred Thompson being an aberration. But even he proved a better actor than a politician. We know they are all actors, hypocrites in the worst sense of the word, but I can’t help wishing they had to meet Hollywood standards for their performances. There is not one single politician that is Oscar material for their performance onstage. And the worst performances are those in which some politician having been caught out for malfeasance protests their innocence! “I did not have sex with that woman.” A real classic. But how about “Read my lips. No new taxes.” In both cases, the performance failed to meet Hollywood standards. However, when it comes to just plain bad performances, the present occupant of the Oval Office and Ms. Clinton are in a class of their own plumbing new depths of badness as actors. “The play is the thing.” But politicians in general are woefully deficient of talent performing their parts in the play, and not a few of us wish they would literally break a leg when they come onstage to perform.

That showbiz phrase always calls to mind my mother’s brief stint as a chorus girl. She fell off the stage while performing a routine and did break a leg; and that seemed to have damped her enthusiasm to continue trying to make it to Radio City Music Hall as a Rockette, though she never lost her love for stage and screen. It must have been in the genes I suppose, since my maternal grandparents had worked in a circus and grandad played the role of a gambler in a silent film made in Bakersfield. He had the talent, the presence and charisma to really make it big in Hollywood, but as he explained it he felt God had called him to be a preacher instead. God’s gain was Hollywood’s loss I suppose, but there are times when I wonder?

I do find belief much easier than unbelief though I do not believe in prayer, the divinity of Jesus or the resurrection; I do not believe the Bible to be the literal word of God or any deity is demanding worship of me any more than the parent demands worship from their child. Demanding obedience for the sake of the child’s welfare yes; worship; no. However, each night I do commune with God and departed loved ones and friends and find this comforting as I fall asleep. But this communing with my heart upon my bed as the Psalmist phrased it, though realizing it may be no more than talking to myself does comfort me and I settle for this.

There are, however, the stubborn facts that get in the way of unbelief. Unlike UFOs for example where we don’t have the real thing parking on the lawn in D.C. to silence naysayers, there are the facts of the paranormal that must be taken into consideration when it comes to matters of various beliefs of a supernatural nature. If there are deities of whatever description, I assume the ancient mythologies are attempts to make the thoughts of such deities known to us. I credit the early chapters of Genesis as such an attempt to make known what would otherwise be unknown to us. I also credit some prophets of the Bible, since Psi has been in abundant evidence throughout human history, those things totally inexplicable otherwise. And for me faith remains the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Tragically for humankind, too often are beliefs forced on others by those that would pervert their beliefs into “knowledge.” I remain of the opinion God is quite capable of speaking to me without any intermediary, that God by whatever description does not have to rely on any human instrumentality though there may be some few as with all children who better fulfill his expectations than others, children that can be relied on for their obedience rather than willful disobedience. And some are better listeners to their parents than others.

As a classroom teacher, I knew my lesson wasn’t getting through if students were not responding with questions, the right kinds of questions that would tell me I had the attention of my students; that they were really listening and thinking about what I was trying to teach them. And, I suppose, God has the same thing in mind while trying to teach any of us, hoping we will ask the right questions; that we are really paying attention and thinking about what is being taught.

However, unlike those performing on the stage of America, and performing very badly like Ms. Clinton, you can’t substitute a lack of talent for the real thing, and hypocrites that try to fool God that they are paying attention just aren’t going to make the “final cut” in my opinion.

Quite naturally as soon as I learned of Pope Benedict’s decision concerning “exorcism squads” the first thought that occurred to me was he should begin by exorcising the pervert priests preying on children within the ranks of the Roman Church. But, I don’t really expect that to happen. A “tradition” of centuries is difficult to circumvent, and I would expect women to be ordained to the priesthood before the child molesters be exorcised by whatever means.

But in regard to evil far from being lollipops and rainbows life is ghastly and utterly without significance for billions of people, a literal purgatory or even a living hell on earth in many parts of the world, even here in America, and the need of a world dictator to end the suffering and bring healing and order out of the chaos is making itself urgently known. And whether from heaven or hell, many are saying “Let him come forth!”

Christian fundamentalists have it such a leader will appear in the “End Times,” the “Man of Sin” chosen of Satan who will come forth promising peace and safety to the nations of the world only to turn out to be the very personification of evil incarnate, and once given power his reign will be given over to unparalleled death and destruction worldwide. But the harbingers of this Man of Sin, this world ruler, are already being seen throughout the world, and even in the cities throughout America.

Here in America it takes a little getting used to, the idea that once gangs take over neighborhoods they offer law, order, and protection to the residents. Most of the major cities of America, even including cities like Bakersfield here locally, have such “protected” neighborhoods where the gangs rule and the police are the common enemy. You see, organized crime in America has never gone away; but with drugs taking the place of alcohol during prohibition the Al Capone’s continue to do business as usual. And neighborhoods where the various gangs are in control come under the protection of these gangs. It’s all about “business,” and the honest citizens know the police are unable to protect them wherever the gangs do business; so even the honest and law-abiding citizens as portrayed in “The Godfather” must look to gangs and their leaders for protection and justice.

The Godfather’s problems would have been minimized had there been a TV in every living room when he started out. But by the time his son Michael Corleone took over following WWII there was enough known about the corruption in our government for him to be able to tell Kay she was naïve to think the Mafia operated any differently. And now with TV being the medium portraying how evil and corrupt our own government is, the point is made indelibly clear that honesty and attempts to be law-abiding really is for chumps and losers, that if people really want protection and justice, to live peaceably with one another they had best look to The Godfather and his representatives and enforcers, not politicians and their lackeys. And so it is going throughout the major cities of America as various gangs fill the vacuum created by a corrupt government at all levels, while TV beamed into every living room in America declares the truth of this.

It’s an interesting conundrum TV presents to all of us as we view the human misery of the homeless and mentally ill dumped into the streets of America, the mounting problems of crime and poverty while at the same time wealthy politicians that have never known want, have never known the misery of poverty or their children raped or murdered parade across the screen uttering inanities totally irrelevant to the mounting crises here in our nation. And no one in the entire world can miss the “let them eat cake” mentality of these politicians since we all know none of them intend to do the things necessary to put the needs and interests of We the People ahead of their own personal interests born of their lust for power, their greed and corruption. Nothing will be done to secure our borders and expel illegal aliens, nothing will be done to stop the theft of ID’s and Social Security numbers of legitimate American citizens. The only thing we can anticipate is politicians will feather their own nests heedless of what happens to the Great Unwashed of America while further enslaving us by laws politicians and their corporate bosses will continue to flaunt and ignore with impunity.

There might come a time as the Bible records that Satan may become desperate knowing his time is short. Revelation 12:12: Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. But in the book of Job, Satan says he only walks up and down in the earth, and in I Peter he is described as a roaring lion, but only walking about seeking whom he may devour, which would explain the remark in Job “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward,” and it would appear Satan is used to a leisurely stroll going about doing his evil work rather than running around in a furious and desperate hurry throughout the earth.

It makes sense when you think about it. As the best of good works require time and planning for success, just so with evil. And it seems the Devil is a good planner, taking his time and choosing his servants carefully. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Evil One originated the phrase “Haste makes waste.”

December 7, 1941 galvanized America and we came together as one people to meet the Axis foes. 9/11 did not do this because America had already become a divided nation too fragmented to come together, a nation fragmented by entitlements of all descriptions demanding unearned bread of our Federal Caesar, and we did not have leaders that were even willing to name our Muslim enemies. It seems to me this is going to be America’s undoing; we fit too well the description of Babylon in Revelation and our real enemies are those that have the rule over us, politicians and their corporate bosses none of whom are interested in America’s future, only their own.

Well, that future politicians and their corporate bosses envision is globalization, a global empire if you will, which means there is no intention whatsoever on the part of politicians to secure the borders of America, but quite the contrary. It is here where, in my opinion, the Devil proves his patience and careful planning. But if not the work of the Devil, certainly the work of those wealthy and powerful who believe they should be ruling an empire, not just America: “Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven” very well describes demonic thinking demons or no; but “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

As a friend and I were recently discussing this scenario, we both understood every Caesar, every tyrant and despot must have their “Praetorian Guard,” those they can trust to secure their lives. This is the weakness of all tyrants and despots, that they must eventually trust someone with their lives; and it is this weakness the book of Revelation says will lead to Satan’s downfall. But in the meantime it explains why so many live that really need killing, those like Stalin, Hitler et al. that cause so much suffering of humanity without any remorse for their actions. The servants of Satan enjoy his protection, he takes care of his own; but even his own turn on each other when the threat is great enough. And when Satan himself is threatened and realizes his time is short, well, you can read all about it in the last book of the Bible.

Thankfully it all turns out well in the end, but it’s going to be a literal hell on earth in the meantime whether of Satan or men. And it does seem a world dictator is on the horizon whether the Biblical Man of Sin or enthroned by force of worsening world circumstances demanding such a man to take control, and the UN may presage such a man coming to power.

In the end, personally for all of us it is a matter of beliefs. I continue to have my own personal beliefs included in which is reliance on the Bible as a source for many things when it comes to matters of beliefs, some of which are unorthodox in the extreme. However, whatever system of belief you rely on and find comfort in there is still evil to confront, and whenever in our power to do so to overcome. But the fact that gangs throughout America and elsewhere in the world seem to have become a necessary evil should be a sign to prepare for worse yet to come, especially when I consider the “candidates” presently running for the Oval Office making it easy for me to believe the winner will be Satan’s choice.

Today is Valentine’s Day, that time of year Charles Schulz always had Charlie Brown checking the mailbox in vain hoping for a Valentine. Schulz certainly understood romance, and for me this was one of the things that made “Peanuts” such an endearing strip and Schulz such an admirable human being. He so very well understood human nature with all its faults and weaknesses as well as strengths, and nothing so well demonstrated this as Charlie Brown’s unrequited love for the little red-haired girl, hoping for that Valentine that never comes.

While attending Mt. Vernon Elementary in Bakersfield how well I recall the making of Valentine’s in class, the cutting of red construction paper into the shape of hearts and pasting white lace paper around them; and there were those small, heart-shaped candies with the motto “Will you be my Valentine” some really courageous boy might give to one of the girls. Sadly, such a thing now would probably get the boy in trouble, accused of sexual harassment.

P. G. Wodehouse pointed out the great Musicals were the last time poets worked in America, and there are very few even my age who can name the two great musicals that were such superbly successful artistic works of real romance the lovers never even kiss. The audiences are so drawn into the very poetry of the unfolding drama of romance there is never any need for the lovers to kiss, and such a thing would have been so misplaced poetically as to jar the sensibilities.

But the poets who gave us the great Musicals were products of my generation raised to the great literature of our past, a literature filled with the romance of possibilities and filled with hope for a future; and this was the inspiration for such great poetic works of art brought to the stages and screens of America. However, like the welfare offices throughout America where hope goes to die, just so with other writers that were not poets, those determined to kill the inspiration and hopes of poets. And now it would seem these haters of beauty and romance in America have been enormously successful in their perversion of beauty and romance, promoting promiscuous sex, screaming noise and violence in their place.

My generation is quickly passing away now, and the haters of the beauty and romance so well portrayed by the great Musicals are saying “good riddance,” applauding themselves for their success in promoting “reality” rather than the “nonsense” of romantic poets. But, gentle reader, what will be the real loss to America when there is no longer any place for the dreamers and poets who in their hopes for a better America continue to express their longings for such things like beauty and romance in our lives?

Sadly for our nation there is proof abundant all around for the loss of beauty and romance, we see such proof of this loss in the barbarism of forsaking civilized good manners and speech, we are drowning in obscenities, vulgar behavior and speech on TV and elsewhere, the hammering sounds assaulting our ears and senses, some of this insane noise purporting to be “music,” but rather sounding like the screeching, drum-pounding demons of hell loosed against us!

While love might well be considered the cruelest of human emotions, knowing it will inevitably be betrayed by either death or infidelity, nevertheless selfless, unconditional and sacrificial love with no sense of sacrifice is the motive force and cause for the best and most noble works and behavior throughout the history of humankind; so much so that the Bible emphasizes love above all the other characteristics with which we are endowed, and the poetry of love is nowhere so well expressed as we find it in the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians where it is properly crowned to reign supreme as the finest expression and proof of our very divinity.

I’m gratified to learn the Danish press will not submit to Muslim threats against freedom of the press in that civilized nation. But where is such freedom of the press to be found here in America? Thanks to political correctness, such freedom of the press is only a memory of those my age. And now, even freedom of speech is a thing of the past with pandering politicians and lawyers salivating over any misstep of political correctness. But what is this alien phrase I keep hearing, “The Latino Vote” here in America?

When “The Wizard of Oz” first came out in 1939 I was too young to fully comprehend Dorothy’s comment about not being in Kansas anymore, but the spectacular colors and characters of the magical, enchanting film with the amazing special effects held me spellbound throughout. But shortly after the film’s debut, we were plunged into WWII and that magical film gave way to the realities of death and destruction worldwide, and much of childhood innocence was lost along the way. Those my age back then came to realize we weren’t in Kansas anymore; and now, those my age have cause to wonder whether we are even in America anymore?

Many of you are familiar with the 1951 film “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” For whatever reason it has been shown repeatedly on TV here of late. But for those of us who recall the film when it first came out and compare it with the realities of today, we can only wonder at such a time of seeming naiveté about so many things scientific. But the larger wonder, and one that causes me to wonder whether I’m in America anymore is those parts of the film in which a stranger shows up and is offered a room without question, and a mother entrusts her son to this stranger without question. And people who do not recall that kind of America, the kind of America represented by such trust of a stranger and places like Mayberry, have every reason to wonder if such an America ever existed in fact?

Folks, though I realize I’m still in America geographically such scenes of naive trust from that 1951 SciFi film clearly portray we are not only not in Kansas anymore, Normal Rockwell’s America of the “Greatest Generation” or that of 1951, but have reason to wonder whether we really are in America anymore? And when I hear this strange phrase “the Latino vote,” and how that is so significant here in my native land I have even more reason to doubt I really live in America, a land I recall being populated only by Americans and it was only the American vote that counted. Perhaps it is a trick of my imagination, this America I used to know; maybe like Oz it never really existed?

But no, I tell myself, there really was an America such as I recall in decades past; it isn’t a trick of my imagination or some false memory; such an America really did exist at one time in the past, a past where children believed in the magic of the wonderful land of Oz, we believed in a Norman Rockwell America, and even in 1951 there was a mother that would trust a stranger with her little boy believing he would be safe because we lived in a civilized nation of civilized people. We were a generation raised to the admonitions “Crime Does Not Pay!” and “Honesty is the Best Policy.”

Were we really that seemingly naïve a people even such a relatively short time ago? Yes, we were. And now, I realize such an America seems so very long ago and far away; though it really wasn’t and I have actually witnessed the passing away of such an America within my own lifetime. The question of what kind of America will now be the heritage of this generation leaves me with a melancholy longing for the America I used to know, an America that literally saved the world from the Axis Powers and now seems unable to save itself, especially if America’s salvation depends upon “the Latino vote.” But then, such an alien phrase to this American’s ear is the product of politicians and the media, of a system of evil that has sold out and betrayed the America those my age recall with such melancholy.

My generation can be justly accused of many wrongs, of much naiveté, but it was a generation of hope for a future, one in which a single paycheck took care of a family and good jobs with chance for advancement was the norm. We were doing something right despite our shortcomings, something that cannot be said for the present generation, the present or even prospective leadership of America.

It won’t do to try personifying nature despite the many mythologies directed at doing so, but as Harper Lee describes the scene in TKM the first time little Scout sees snow falling she wonders if it means the end of the world since she had never seen such a thing before? During WWII travelling from Bakersfield to Cleveland, Ohio by train we arrived in blizzard conditions. While Bakersfield winters were often bitterly cold my brother Ronnie and I had never seen such a sight in our young lives, and I could later understand Scout’s concern faced with such a phenomenon when you have never before experienced such a fantastic thing.

In the early 40s while living in Little Oklahoma, southeast Bakersfield, I recall a meteor shower one night that had everyone running out of their houses to witness the event, some people shouting it was the end of the world! The sky seemed ablaze with shooting stars everywhere and Ronnie and I stood outside transfixed by the awesome, spectacular fireworks display in the heavens above.

Having been at the epicenter of three major earthquakes I can readily understand anyone believing it’s the end of the world when the ground is heaving under your feet so mightily you can’t stand up and you can see the earth actually shaking and tossing dirt and gravel into the air to a thunderous sound like that of a freight train bearing right down on top of you! There is nothing like being at the epicenter of a major earthquake to shake your confidence in everything you once thought stable in the world; that leaves you feeling so utterly helpless in the grip of such a dreadful force that has you so completely at its mercy.

Then there are the fires and floods, my home here having been flooded and wildfires burning right up to the edge of my house twice now. Even as I write the threats of fires, floods, earthquakes continue undiminished. It isn’t even a question of if, but when the next one of these will happen. And there is the very real possibility of the Isabella dam nearby giving way with the very next earthquake releasing a deluge that will destroy everything in its path.

The California coast being on the “Ring of Fire” with the San Andreas Fault a prominent and very visible fixture of our geography it is quite understandable I would be concerned about the recent earthquakes around the Baja peninsula, and quite justifiably wondering if these may be the harbinger of the “Big One” that will make deserts beachfront property as some surmise. Whether or not, this much I do know: There isn’t anything anyone can do about it. Disasters of such magnitude are completely beyond any human instrumentality to contravene. Our species really is at the mercy of nature, and while global warming continues to be debated we will continue to be subject to the forces of nature no matter what.

Right now I am enjoying the sunshine streaming through my windows here at the desk where I write, the resident cat is soaking up the rays by my open door and all seems well, but folks in the rest of the country are suffering extreme cold, blizzards floods, drought, tornadoes, wildfires, and I can’t help but wonder what nature has in store for folks next? And the only thing that comes readily to mind as I enjoy the mild weather and sunshine here in the balmy Kern River Valley is whether the earth beneath me is getting ready to cut loose with that expected Big One! What with everything the rest of the country is suffering from nature’s wrath, isn’t our turn here out west?

Charles Shultz had Snoopy saying in reaction to some threat by Lucy, “My life is filled with un-suffered consequences.” My, wouldn’t that be great if our lives were lived with un-suffered consequences for our actions. But alas, in all too many cases we pay the piper. However, when it comes to the forces of nature there is little to be done about this. Nature will have its way despite all our efforts to bend it to our whims. But what of the horrors brought about by the monsters in the guise of human beings? It seems there is little to be done about this either, since they continue as they have throughout history. We seem unable to deal with the Caligula’s, the Stalin’s and Hitler’s, the monsters preying on women and children.

You would at least think we could do something about the dirty business of politics and corrupt politicians. But here again it seems our species will continue to reward the most base of all and even exalt them to positions of power and eminence rather than disavow the scoundrels. It just seems to me that good people who only want to live their lives honestly and in peace have never had a chance against determined evil.

Even now as America is facing such dire threats because of unscrupulous politicians and their corporate bosses it is business as usual with evil ones that have the power and authority to rule our lives. The problem I have with “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is the Pollyanna message that such a person could ever be elected on the basis of telling the truth to begin with. An evil system so bred to corruption would never allow such a person to be elected. Perhaps this says something about our species when we allow those the rule over us who are so obviously corrupt and self-seeking. And it makes me entertain the notion at times that perhaps our species is a kind of space virus. And if not, there are times when I feel like shouting: “There is no God!”

But no, I haven’t given up on God yet. However, it is very difficult to make sense of what appears to be the lunacy of a species that we will continue to exalt the most vile while no good deed goes unpunished, and the best of our species has never yet been able to circumvent those like the present occupant of the Oval Office and those no less corrupt seeking to take his place. And considering those being touted if the Devil does not own the MSM and TV programming in general, the end result would seem to be the same whether or not.

While nature seems to have little regard for human life, we seem in no better case when it comes to those that have the rule over us. Go figure. I’m still trying to find pieces that will fit the puzzle. While I don’t believe in any personification of nature, human nature is quite something else. And when our borders remain unsecured inviting in millions from Mexico for slave labor, when people on the dole abetted by unscrupulous politicians can vote themselves the money others earn, the end of this ugly side of human nature unlike the weather is easily predicted.

The question raised here locally whether there should be a designated “homeless park” in Bakersfield addresses some of the desperate problems being faced by cities across America. Years ago I was writing about the potential crisis facing America when it became obvious welfare and prisons were “growth industries,” and not since the Great Depression has the prospect of soup kitchens and bread lines become such a specter rising from the past, even the despicable Caesar Bush finally acknowledging the country is facing economic uncertainties. Of course, he will find no fault with him and his administration for such “uncertainties.” As with university professors, God is on his throne and all is well upon the earth when you are Caesar or one of his dogs with their snouts in the public tax trough and don’t have to be personally accountable to anyone for your rice bowl.

Kern County is being hard-pressed facing expanding our county prison “infill” beds in order to alleviate overall state prison overcrowding. But the fact that California is further stressed because of the multitudes of illegal aliens receives little media attention, especially here in California, and the federal government as with California’s legislature is more interested in promoting slave labor than caring for the needs and safety of legitimate American citizens.

For those of you who have watched the History Channel presentation “Little Ice Age: Big Chill” it brings to mind Henry Thoreau’s thought on the subject of climate change, how slender is the thread of human life on earth and how easily it might be cut by just a slightly colder winter or slightly warmer summer. Though the cause or causes of the little ice age continue to be debated and the arguments over the causes of present climate change go on, no one is arguing the dramatic and potentially life-threatening impact of such change, no one argues the kinds of changes that have occurred in the past should they happen again with such intensity still hold the potential of wiping out entire nations, even being an E.L.E.

But it is patently obvious the nations of the world are not going to come to agreement and cooperate fully on eliminating greenhouse gases even should the human causes of these be proven beyond any doubt. There are far too many billions of people on this planet living in poverty demanding and consuming diminishing natural resources to entertain any Utopian notions of such cooperation on a global scale. And virtually nowhere in the world do we find the essential need of birth control among those unable to provide for the resulting children being made a national priority.

One example of the failure to teach and practice birth control here in America, if you have been following the reports of the homeless and the mentally ill forced onto the streets around America to make their own way best they can it’s enough to make you sick, and it isn’t difficult to believe the Devil is at work in this dreadful situation, and some would say among his servants are those corporations profiting from the causes of so much misery and suffering. This isn’t to say much of the suffering is not of human causes such as the failure to practice birth control among those that have babies with no thought to their future; far too much of it is. But in my opinion corporate greed with the cooperation of betraying politicians have created Plantation America which is devoted to promoting a slave population without the benefit of the old plantations where the slaves were properly cared for since they were considered “property” of value. This was the reason Henry expressed his opinion it was better to suffer under a southern overseer than a northern one, the plight of workers in the factory workhouses of the north being pitiable in the extreme.

Now, thanks to our Federal Caesar illegal aliens take the jobs in which an excess of unskilled American workers might find work and increasingly even skilled workers cannot find employment, and the once golden goose that had promised the American Dream is on life support, one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.

Whether you believe there is a Devil or not, even as a metaphor it seems appropriate to describe world conditions in the words of Scripture the Devil “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” And the Devil or not with so many doomsday scenarios abounding it isn’t any wonder people are searching for something to give them hope. But I hear nothing from the present contenders for the Oval Office or elsewhere to offer us hope; I hear none of them offering specific and pragmatic answers to the questions arising from the desperate circumstances America is facing.

Whatever a person’s thoughts about claims those like Stalin and Hitler were demon possessed many of us at times have been tempted to take a hammer or baseball bat to our computers, but wouldn’t an exorcism be preferable? It’s really not all that humorous when someone suggests exorcists may be needed to cast the demons out of computers, but I recall a running joke in a cartoon strip where a magician is called in to fix a fellow’s computer every time something went wrong with it, and having worked with the things from the time you had to load DOS before you could do anything else it isn’t difficult to understand why early pc’s were thought to be more like magic boxes requiring prayers and incantations to fix them and keep them running properly, though most of us were more likely to use our more profane vocabulary on them while visions of hammers and baseball bats danced in our heads.

Some fifteen years ago I actually did keep a hard drive going with a hammer. When the thing locked up on me I removed the pc cover and using a hobbyist’s hammer, a very small one, gave the drive a gentle tap and it booted quite nicely. But unlike some people, I had a good working knowledge of computers and understood the problem with the drive. My using the small hammer rather than some other tool was more for the purpose of my being able to actually tell people truthfully, as I am doing right now, that I really did take a hammer to a computer to get it working. So there you have it: True story.

What got me to thinking about this was the Daily Mail report of Pope Benedict unveiling plans to set up specialist exorcism squads: “The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism. Vatican chiefs are concerned at what they see as an increased interest in the occult. They have introduced courses for priests to combat what they call the most extreme form of ‘Godlessness’…” The article goes on to say the church is being “bombarded by requests for exorcisms,” but what really caught my eye was this statement: “The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through rock music and the Internet.”

Well, I’ve already written about what I consider to be demon possession of TV, the increased level of violence and horrid noise that has pervaded so much programming and can best be described as nothing less than evil. So yes, I believe it to be in fact a “Demon Haunted World,” I do believe Satan has dominion over the kingdoms of the earth, a boast of the Evil One that Jesus did not challenge in the “Temptation.” But can we really open our minds to invite demons to take possession of us?

Many are the stories about demon possession and unclean spirits, but where are the stories of angel possession? The story of the Day of Pentecost in Acts is familiar to many, and in the first chapter of Revelation John writes “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Many Christians equate “being in the Spirit” or “filled with the Spirit” with a kind of angel possession; some ascribe the hysteria of glossolalia to angel possession and claim the gibberish is speaking in the tongues of angels. My opinion has always been the nonsense is as stated; gibberish.

However, I do believe there are angels and demons, I do believe there are such things as demon influence, even demon possession. But I also believe there are facts leading to the story in Genesis about the sons of God commingling with the daughters of men resulting in another species, monsters in human form preying on women and children especially, that these monsters in human guise are those responsible for the most heinous crimes and acts of cruelty against women and children in particular. How often are we faced with some such monstrous thing done to a child and asked ourselves the question how any human being could do such a thing to a child! For me the answer is such things are done to children by monsters, not human beings.

I’ll make it quite clear that I do not believe in the Roman Church’s power to exorcise demons by whatever means. But I will be equally clear in my belief there are such beings as demons. And more to the point, I believe we can invite such demons into our minds by engaging in what might well be called “unhealthy” ways of thinking. My extensive background in psychology enables me to consider what are offered by way of explanation for many things considered to be unhealthy for our minds; but I’m also acutely aware that most of psychology is nothing short of being described as per Tom Cruise; modern day witchcraft and the practitioners our contemporary witch doctors; though Dr. Phil is more representative of Nesferatu.

It is fortunate for me that I don’t have to depend on any of my peers or colleagues in academia or even our government for my “rice bowl.” I’m in the fortunate situation of no longer being under any thumb for a paycheck. For this reason I can express my views on a number of subjects without concern for the opinions of others, and this is a freedom and liberty I cherish. So when I write of things like angels and demons I’m not looking for approval of my views, but rather am only expressing an opinion of such things attempting to separate what I believe from what I know.

I know, for example, there is much evil in the world and there always has been. And it is easy for me to believe there