Burbank Didn't See the Same Vision as Disney

Fearing traffic and crowds, "Beautiful Downtown Burbank, CA," wanted nothing to do with Walt Disney's dream.

One Burbank lawmaker proclaimed, "We don't want the carny atmosphere in Burbank! We don't want people falling in the river, or merry-go-rounds squawking all day long."

The protest proved to be in favor of Walt because his dream expanded beyond the few acres he originally wanted.

Walt Disney paid the Stanford Research Group a quarter a million dollars to research the best place on which he could construct, on his natural stage, storybook versions of lakes, rivers, and mountains. They recommended a then little-known town of Anaheim.

A known fact: Disneyland is the only place that bears Walt's footprint.

Experiencing Red Moon

I, like many of you experienced a phenomenon last night. I had to walk across the street in order to see the eclipsed moon. I videoed a little of it then went to my son's room, on the third floor and watched the eclipse even more.

What I enjoyed was watching the moon from around the world via Periscope. I saw the eclipse from England, Holland, East and West Coast and many places in between. I viewed it through telescopes and the naked eye, all while interacting with the operator. It made the world seem less small.

Buffalo Roundup and Funny Story

In Custer South Dakota, a crowd watched a herd of about 1,300 bison thunder across the prairie during the 50th annual Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park.

"The spectacle of it, to see this huge, majestic things in the meadows by themselves, or to see them charging, it just makes you go, 'Wow,'' Fred Kush, a Lacrosse former history teacher said.

One couple went via jeep to get a close-up look at the animals. " They're huge, but calm, majestic animals," Harow said.

We've visited Custer State Park and have great memories. When my older kids were toddlers, we had a funny thing happen. With the window down a donkey leaned into the car and sneezed. I don't need to describe what we had to clean up

Reconnection with Brother Sparks Memories of Foster Care

An article in the Argus leader by Rusty Brevik caught my attention: 

Here is one line I especially love:

“Feelings were replaced by a gradual acceptance that nothing I could do would change my outcome and realization that I would never be going home. Those feelings grew into inner strength, determination and quiet confidence.” (It happened because of the people around him.)

Rusty describes a time when he was in foster care. The shock of being taken out of his home and placed into another home, all while being led to believe it would be a couple days, versus a lifetime.

We have had many foster children into our home. Many have no immediate crisis of emotion, some have. The ones who come into our house and feel at home, concern me. Why? Because it could be because of lack of attachment. The few that have grieved over been in a strange home have returned quickly to their own home.

We have loved foster care. In fact, we’ve adopted 8 children, our youngest now is 2-years-old.

Son Makes Perilous Trek Through War-torn South Sudan

Ruey & Michaela Dei spent 11 days traveling in Africa--by plane, bus, car, boat and on foot. They trekked many miles through the savanna wilderness of South Sudan, a country embroiled in intertribal war. Feet were bleeding, the temperature was triple-digit hot and their muddy water they had to drink was running out.

 He knew he would have to do it alone, without the support of the government. But when things became desperate, and death loomed, Michaela called the American Embassy. "No, we're not sending a helicopter to swoop you up." The couple felt alone.

But Ruey, who felt pulled to rescue his mother, pressed on. When he was five he was separated from his mother in 1992.  Rescue came in another form. A cousin had heard the couple was out of water, walked to them and brought them something to drink.

They eventually made it to Motot, where Ruey's mother had come to meet them. His mother screamed when she saw him. For many years, she didn't know the fate of her son. The time Ruey spent with his mother had to be shortened to a week, instead of a couple of months as they originally planned. (War)

Michaela says, "You can't unsee what you've seen."
Tuey says, "You can't unknow what you know."

2nd Debate - The Comedy Side

I'm looking forward to seeing Jimmy Kimmel's take on the debates. If I was his writer, I would suggest he do the many sides of Donald Trump. The Donald can sure make some funny faces. Speaking of Trump, he in an awkward conciliatory way, I think he apologized.

We saw a few jokes. Jeb's Secret Service name is "Everlasting" because he has energy. (Saying this while looking at Donald.)

CNN tried to set each candidate against each other. Carson did a wonderful job, not allowing the media giant to do that.

Journey to the North Pole

"This is fantastic," says Donelly as the 318-passenger ship he's on smashes into a car-length ice chunk along a few hundred miles from the North Pole. A shudder goes through the vessel. "In all my dreams, I never thought I would make it to the edge of the North Pole."

Just outside Ny-Alsund, they come across polar bears. The ship circles clockwise around an island looking for other wildlife. Equipped with rubber boats the passenger disembark the ship, exploring more of the frozen island.

This far up in the Arctic, the sun stays up for nearly the entire summer, one day even brings a 2 a.m. passing of a blue whale.

Would you travel to the North Pole, given the opportunity?

Robots on a Small Dairy Farm

We lived at a dairy farm many years ago. We enjoyed it. (Except for when the cows got out and went into our garden.)

In Graniteville VT, Robots operate on a dairy farm. The farmer says it makes for happy cows. Jennifer Lamberts says the automated milkers gives time for other farm duties and collects vital data about the animals. It also boosts the amount of milk being produced because the cow gets milked when it wants to.

I can hear a collected, "WHAT?"

I reread the article and the cows get milked when and as often as the animals wants. It didn't go into detail as to how, but I'd sure like to know.

Beautify America First

I remember a speech by Paul Harvey, the radio commentator, that ended all his broadcasts with: "Good Day." Paul made the case that the first duty to Americans is to make America great. He spoke of a time that the monies used were spent to make America strong and an example to the world. "People wanted to follow America," he said.

But today it seems like we have to give a lot away in order to gain any influence upon countries. Our leaders call evil, okay and good, evil.

I'd say let's get back to building up America, making our borders secure, our country an example. Then we can take refugees and help them become our citizens.

Cheetah Escapes

Sunday afternoon, Indianapolis Zoo was on a locked down.  A code red was issued which meant all the visitors to the zoo were to remain inside. All the visitors were moved to safe areas. A cheetah escaped. It remains a mystery as to how the animal was able to leave its cage.

The cheetah was located, and the zoo safety team used a tranquilizer dart to subdue it. (Zoo officials said the animal was behind barriers and was unable to get to public areas.) The cat ran back to its exhibit.

Around 11 a.m. a statement was released, announcing that all zoo guests and staff were safe and that Pounce, the cheetah was safe.

Americans Drawn to the West Bank

Mordechai Reich moved to the West Bank, 7 miles south of Jerusalem in 1994. "For me, Israel is a young country where individual contributions add up to create significant change, he says, a psychologist who immigrated from New York. "In that sense it is a land of opportunity, just as America is. We integrate Israeli culture and American culture, and the result is a strong culture."

There are approximately 15% U.S., Jewish citizens in the West Bank. Many have said it was their upbringing in the U.S. that brought them to Israel. Once they are there, many of them, help the new arrivals.

Roaming Buffalo

South Dakota, my home state, stays on top in the U.S. for bison production. A slogan known in the Midwest but not across the country is: "Bison, it's what's for dinner." I've eaten a buffalo burger. It's not as tender as ground beef but tastes good. 

There are 33,637 bisons in the U.S.A. Of that amount, 20.7 percent is found in South Dakota. The number two spot is our Dakota neighbor to the north. I've seen buffalo at different times while traveling across South Dakota. It makes me think about the early days of the wild west.

A farmer of bison, Mahoney says, "Cattle is much different from bison. The fences have to be much stronger. The animal is wild and has to be respected as such."