Don's Tuesday Column

THE WAY I SEE IT by Don Polson Red Bluff Daily News 8/13/2024

     New friends; buh-bye to lefty Dem party

If you enjoy some camaraderie while befriending fellow campers, and when pleasantries and casual inquiries are welcome, you can gather some interesting stories from unlikely sources.

A Harley-riding couple showed up next door; the dude was a little gnarly-looking and his pretty, young passenger had a lovely smile. I told Barbara that those guys on big Harleys attract unlikely females to ride with them. We said “Hi, how are you” and he returned the greeting in a gruff voice and set up their tent and camp chairs. How do they fit their camping needs into those compartments?

The next day, we chatted some more and I asked, “So, how did you two meet?” They laughed and said it was quite a story. You see, she is 36 and he is 60; 36 years ago he was “seeing” her mom but then got on with his life elsewhere. He married and had a combined family with another woman.

About a year ago, he was informed that he had a daughter from that time with her mom. He lives in New Mexico, near Farmington in the high country; she lives and works in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. He rode his motorcycle to see his daughter; they were traveling together and making up for lost time. From Waldport, Oregon, they were headed to California’s redwoods before she had to return to her work. What a father/daughter reunion.

It felt friendly enough to ask a favor. Our motorhome had leaked in the rain, from the front air conditioner. I might have cracked the cover taking the RV tarp off in May. Or, those loud crashes I heard in the tall trees of Honeyman State Park might have been pine cones falling at high velocity on the plastic AC unit cover.

“Larry” was younger by about 13 years; my personal health limits climbing onto the roof. I asked for his help, if he would feel ok to get on the roof to tell me about the cracks. He surprised me by saying “Why don’t I just take some photos and send them to your wife?”

He was taking pics of the back AC cover and I said it was the front one; he said “Just let me do my job.” Sure enough, those pine cones had knocked some holes in the back cover as well as cracking the front one. That night, we shared some of our wood and good cheer with them at their fire ring. Off they went the next day.

An older couple now have that spot; casual small talk turned into where they’re from and why they’re here. From Forest Grove, Oregon, they were here to watch their grandson in a swimming competition in Newport. I said “God bless the parents”; it’s a bit of a sacrifice to get their son to the pool for the laps needed to compete. He came in second in his race; congrats.

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No comments on local Tehama County doings beyond breathing a prayer of relief for the sparing of Manton, Mill Creek and Camp Tehama from the Park fire. I only hope the current 34 percent containment (as of Saturday) gets closer to 100 percent. Kudos for Liz Merry keeping readers informed.

As state issues and events are part of my columnist “beat,” there is, shall we say, a “target rich environment” that includes now-candidate Kamala Harris’ time in California. For now, setting that aside, it bears opining on the party switch, from Democrat to Republican, by State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil. A news piece covered it Saturday but it bears scrutinizing how far left the Democrat party has gone in California.

The Dems are, of course, in a huff over her party switch but the voters in her district gave more votes to Republicans. They were divided between several candidates, so the “jungle primary” left Alvarado-Gil the winner over a seriously left wing Democrat. She reportedly had conflicts with her party; it’s not unlike when Ronald Reagan said he didn’t leave the Democrat party, the Democrat party left him—or her, in this case. Our legislative friend, Jim Nielsen, retired after being the State Senator for that district, KCRA.com reported.

Among the issues which Ms. Alvarado-Gil holds serious disputes with her former party over, the “soft-on-crime” Prop 47, and attempts to restore traditional incarceration through its reform this fall, rank high. In typical title manipulation, Democrats gave that “get out of jail; don’t go to jail for crimes” measure the deceptive title, “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” Or, the “shoplifting less than $950 is not serious theft” Act.

Sacramento Dems are so obsessed with keeping the anti-incarceration aspects of Prop 47 in place that they rushed some half-measures through to try to dissuade voters from overturning Prop 47 and restoring hard time for hard crimes. Californians are sick of drug and theft crime, whether in Tehama County or cities to the south; we hope reform passes soundly.