Getting Loose

Two More Giants

On the trip to Californi-ay I got to see a couple of other icons.: The Crystal Cathedral, and the Saddleback Church.

I did not know what to expect at the Crystal Cathedral. It was a big place, and I know that Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power is preached from there. Nice campus.

Rick Warren’s Saddleback had much more of a campus and acreage than I would have ever guessed. There was a big conference of some high powered preachers there, some of whom I read their blogs. Even got to see Rick Warren sitting down talking candidly to many of the colleagues. They have incredible facilities and are upgrading to even better ones. Quite impressive.

San Diego

Yeah, I know the hype, the press.  I have heard for years about how great and wonderful the San Diego weather was, etc. etc. etc.

Well you know what?  It's all true.  I was astonished.  There is the hugest contrast in weather between Los Angeles and SD, and there is even a greater contrast between SD and Houston.  On the days in SD that we were having trouble getting to 70, Houston was sweltering in the 90's.  In some ways it seemed like heaven on earth.  Plants were full bloom and had a luxuriant look to them.  Ate at a couple of excellent restaurants--Donovan's and Molly's.  Molly's is probably the only 4 diamond restaurant in which I have ever eaten.  It truly was superior.  But Donovan's was good, too.

As I had stated earlier we were in SD for the National Boy Scout meeting of the upper echelon people.  They really know how to put on a show.  The highest award that can be given for volunteer recognition is the Silver Buffalo.  It is given by a National Court of Honor.  It is so impressive to see what these people have done.  They truly have benefited young people through myriads of activities.

The Boy Scouts is an organization that helps to develop leadership in young men primarily, and girls after the age of 13, and to help them make ethical choices.  It is the largest such group in the United States, and they have poured a tremendous amount of energy into grasping that the real difference is what occurs at the local level--the Cubmaster, the Scoutmaster, the Advisor, etc. --in mentoring young people.

Disneyland

For 50 years I wanted to go. I was one of the Baby Boomers who was mesmerized with Annette Funicello, Cubby, Karen, Darlene, Tommy, et al. Religiously I would watch the black and white TV and wonder what it would be like to have been a Mousketeer. I so much wanted to go to Disneyland. But that far away dream was beyond my family’s grasp, or so I thought.

But this year, on the trip to Californi-ay I actually got to go to Disneyland. The thing I wanted to see the very most was the Sleeping Beauty Castle. That was the focus of the dreams, the wonders, the possibilities that I imagined as a kid. Of course I was influenced by the Disneyland tv show that would come on Sunday nights as well (but it debuted on Wednesday).

The park was well maintained, clean, and looks remarkably much like it did back in the 1950's. Fairy tales can come true.

L.A. Cont.

Another thing we got to see in L.A. was Beverly Hills. I thought the homes would be bigger and more spaced apart, but I was wrong. 

Also got to see the front of the house where they filmed the front exterior to the old Brady Bunch TV series.

We got to see the Grauman Chinese Theater and went to see Redbelt in a genuine THX theater. Unfortunately, Houston has none that I know of. The sound in a THX theater is incredible, and most other chains, looking at the bottom line install a bunch of woofers to blow you out of your seat during intense parts, but THX has a lot more of the discrete sound and separation that is amazing.

We saw Hollywood & Vine, and ate at Aroma's for a tasty lunch. However, the conversation of neighboring tables sent my eyes a rolling. I suppose there was someone quasi famous sitting next to us, but I am so clueless nowadays with who is on the inside or outside of the movie business that I heard one effete snob opine, "When Obama is elected . . ." I wanted to stand up and puke at his audacity. Of course he was wearing his Foster Grant's with his mobile out taking a call about every 8 minutes or so. It was amusing and disgusting to me. Those people are so out of touch with the rest of the world.

Now, don't get me wrong. Obama might indeed be elected, that is not the issue, it was his "moral certainty" tone in which he expressed it.

Contrast that scenario with another one I had in San Diego a couple of days later. I attended a National Boy Scout meeting for the muckety mucks of the movement. I was attending a lunch at the Hyatt Regency there and in walks this guy, thinner and taller than me, and asks if a particular seat next to me was taken (I had wrestled with sitting next to a federal judge, but fought that temptation and sat at another table).  I said, "No, come join us."

Well we got into a conversation and he wanted to know what I did with the Boy Scouts, and I humbly replied that I was on the Board of Directors for the Sam Houston Area Council.

I asked where did he live, and found out it was in San Antonio.  So I posited that perhaps he was on the local council's board?

Well, as a matter of fact , no . . . he was on the National Council.

The National Council? Are you kidding me? How did you rate that?

Well, he said he was on a plane ride and happened to be seated next to the former president of the Boy Scouts. The got into a conversation, and lo and behold, much to his surprise, the President called him a couple of weeks later and invited him to come join the national board. And he mentioned AT&T a couple of times.

I said, "Wow . . . that's quite a deal. You keep saying AT&T . . . do you work for them?

Well, as a matter of fact he did.

I asked him what he did.

He said that he was the chairman of the board.

I said, "You are the chairman of the Board of AT & T?" hardly believing my ears.

And replied that he was the very man.

I found out the next day that he was heading up the national celebration of the BSA for the year of 2010. I sought him out that day as well, and congratulated him on incredible service he was giving to the Boy Scouts. Now to me there is all the difference in the world between the humility of Randall Stephenson and the sycophants that populate so much of the Burbank/Hollywood area.

Hollywoodland

We came back a few days ago from Californi-ay.  It was my fourth visit to that state.  I was not really very sure what to expect.  What I did not expect was the realization that if it were not for water being pumped in, Los Angeles would practically be a desert. 

We visited with our middle son.  Saw a lot of sights.  We saw the "HOLLYWOOD" sign on the Hollywood Hills.  Those things are like 3-4 stories high.