Show #256

Hello Friends of the Garden!

In unincorporated Tarpey
Village there is no drainage!
The formation of "Lake Griffith"
after a rain of 0.05"!

I'm so thankful for the rain we've gotten here in the central valley this year! This cloudy gray morning  is such a nice thing to wake up to. Last night I slept with the bedroom windows open so I could hear the rain as I drifted off to sleep. While the rain limits the activities that you can do, it also redirects your prioritization of what your day will hold for you. For me it was to pull the covers back over and take an extra 30 minutes before I made my mental list of things to achieve for the day!

They really don't handle the heat well
there!

I've enjoyed visiting Portland Oregon several times. I feel fairly certain that the people of Portland have a totally different opinion about rain than those of us living in the central valley. To us rain is the life's blood of the health of the valley, both economically and environmentally. In Portland, since rain is in abundance, it is more of a nuisance than a precious commodity. I suppose that location always drives the way we determine what is important or not.

Battling Uber, Lyft and the Dept. of
Immigration, New York City taxi drivers
face worse things than traffic!

The way issues are influenced by location adds a local bias that creates confusion for outsiders. It's difficult to have sensitivity for things that are a minor problem in the area you reside in. Meanwhile in other places people are appalled by the indifference of the unaffected. Well, what do you expect? It's hard for me to care about the plight of taxi drivers in New York City. I imagine that this is not something the people of Cheyenne, Wyoming are concerned with, they have their own problems.

The dangerous Delta Smelt! Capable
of bringing an entire economy to it's
knees!

All you have to do is say the name, "Delta Smelt" and you have divided our populous in an instant! The reaction is distinct and specific, with each side characterizing the other as "wacko's". Why bother about caring for a fish? I'm sure the people of Cape Cod don't give a flying flip about our Delta Smelt!  I would guess if we show the same indifference toward the diminishing Cod fish in the Northeast, they would be aghast by our lack of knowledge. Truth is most people in the central valley don't know and don't care about the prevalence of Cod fish in the New England states.

That fish sandwich is gonna cost more!
In a "tail" of two fish, more people
will be affected by the Atlantic Cod
than the Delta Smelt!

Years from now can you imagine the conversation between a child and their parent, "Mom, why do they call it Cape Cod?" "I don't know sweetheart. Let's Google it and find out!", would be Mom's reply.

Yeah! When tigers fly!

My son, Jeff, when he was much younger, used to persistently ask, "Dad if a Grizzly Bear and Blue Whale got in a fight, who would win?" His preoccupation with ferocious animals was always a source of exasperation in regards to their hierarchy of danger. One time we were watching a show about tigers in India. At a point in the show the narrator mentioned that there were less than 500 Bengal Tigers living in the wild. My son said something that shocked me, "Dad, I can't imagine a world without tigers in it! Somebody should do something!" My heart was warmed by the fact that he even cared to think about it at that level!

Classic "Us vs Them"! I lay odds
on the house (the 1%)! 

It's easy to get filled with righteous indignation when the issue is proximal. Likewise, when the issue isn't as crucial to your day to day life it is dismissed just as simply! So, why should I care about taxi drivers in New York City or the LGBT community in Wyoming or Cod Fish in New England or Bengal Tigers in India? None of those things affect me! Their problem, not mine, it's their fault in the first place so let them figure it out! Better still, since they are so inept, I'll provide an all encompassing answer for them regardless of the fact that I'm completely uninformed on every topic, ridiculous but typical!

Well, I guess I shouldn't expect any help or sympathy for my dead lawn or money for programs to xeriscape my yard, it's my problem! I feel like we've gone from an "Us vs. Them" mentality to a "Me vs. Everybody" one. If it's not good for me, then it's not good for everybody! With this kind of thinking it's easy to identify the stagnant, stalemate that has gripped our government.

Pronoia is a term that has morphed from its initial religious origin to a more modern interpretation. Basically Pronoia is described as the opposite of Paranoia. So, in effect, Pronoia is the notion that everyone is in a conspiracy to benefit you! Imagine if the same pharmaceutical companies that make medicines for Paranoia could make a drug to induce Pronoia! Imagine an entire town medicated to believe everyone was out to do something good to you or for you! Imagine a Congress that was more Pronoid than Paranoid, hmm?

Here's Show #256! Right away and first off, Vintage Trouble, the only new band to the show gets us started. Bands/Performers that are coming to town, The Monophonics (another HSB band) and Neil Diamond went through my mind, so they're in there! The rest of the show is my attempt to make things flow naturally, at least naturally to me! I particularly like the start of the second hour with Neil Young, Tea Leaf Green and The Subdudes, a nice live set! All in all fun stuff!

Robin, have fun in San Francisco! See you soon! Jerry, hopefully you're done with your taxing taxes! I need to get you to come by to throw some cornhole if you're in town! Thanks you two!

Nothing would make me more proud than to know that some people that read this have donated to the station! I definitely feel the passion for this and look forward to getting better and better! It would be so cool if you can see it in your heart to give even a token amount as a gesture of the generosity in all of us! I feel Pronoia coming on!

Peace and love!

Mike