(Book 1 / Chapter 7)                                                                                                                                    COGNITO, ERGO; SUM /  WHY ME?                                                                                                                      1:30                                                                       

                                                                                                       HIGH SKY                                                                                  

               Wow!  This is chapter seven already so the saying "Time goes fast when you're having fun" is true.  Mr. Steve's mom was amused when she heard, "Yard by yard life can be hard, inch by inch and life is a cinch."  Boy!  The clouds up there in the sky are so pretty right now.

              I'll bet Daisy's laying on her side on the driveway in front of our garage.  If she weren't being my lookout today she might be laying on her Barney the Dinosaur blanket in her area in front of the Utility Room door.  But so far today Mr. Steve hasn't even come outside at all.  

             As I mentioned earlier, before Daisy goes to lay down she'll spend time out in the Sun on the driveway; licking her paws because of her arthritis.  While doing it she listens and smells to what's going on.  Even though she's going blind Dais has good hearing and sense of smell.

     DAISY / MAGGIE CÓRDOVA      

          Boy!  It's unbelievable how people figured out how to make blankets and clothes.  I wonder if someone's ever thought about making clothes for us Dogs because I know I'd sure wear them. Oh!  If not, we could be the first ones to do it; and maybe even make some extra money.     

          I love my three blankets draped over this couch Elvira, and would sure hate to have to pick which one is my favorite.  Once a month Mr. Steve takes them into the utility room to wash and dry them in those two astounding machines.  Daffy's now quacking over there next door.

          Andy the Squirrel just came back in from the back field by using the right vertical slot on the side of the gate.  Now he's running over to the entrance of he and Helen's burrow, to take up position as guard.  Now Helen can go back down in there with their new Spring babies.  

                                                                    WATER SKIING SQUIRREL "TWIGGY"

PHOTO BY LOU ANN BEST

       Daisy and Millie heard Mr. Steve talking on the phone with one of his Parts Manager customers in Georgia.  That guy told him about a really talented girl Squirrel from Florida who  can "Water Ski."  He said his wife and three daughters really do think Twiggy is so cute.               

            The Parts Manager said Twiggy the Squirrel even has a little "Life Vest."  Boy!  It would be so great to be as skillful as her in doing such a scary thing.  Hey!  Maybe, I could even learn to either snow or water ski; so I could make some money by charging everyone to see me do it?        

                   Boy!  I'm "Getting the Hang" of holding and using pencils to write in all these notebooks, and can tell I'm getting pretty good at writing; because of how much work I've done in only five hours.  I'll go up front to again visit Dais after finishing this seventh chapter.  I can't wait!

ROBIN

                Oh!  I see a Robin, which Daisy says are often the first Birds you see at Winter's end so that's a good sign.  Robins sound so cheerful when they sing but Daisy says they're actually just warning other Birds to stay out of their area.  I haven't seen "Cleo" and "Leo" this year.

                Earlier I wrote about how my boss chooses to think of the Greek word "Rhêma," which is used in the New Testament to mean "The Living Word;" as being associated with music.  I kind of think of Bird's singing, or Heathcliff's crowing; as making me feel pretty good too. 

              Dais heard our boss tell Mr. Ralph on the phone some think of the word Rhêma as having to do with any "spiritual interaction through sound."  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel ran out into the back desert.  And He zoomed right through the right vertical slot on the side of the gate.

                                                           MR. RALPH / SON RORY

PHOTOS BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

                Hey God!  I guess my boss and Mr. Ralph talked about how some think Rhêma is any way, like through dreams or visions; that You use to reveal Your will.  Daisy one time heard Mr. Steve use the phrase "divine illumination."   That Robin just flew away and out into the desert. 

              Boy!  I'm so tempted to hide all of my materials and run up to the front yard to tell Daisy about seeing the Robin.  But, I'd better just wait and do it after I finish this chapter; or the end of Part Two of this first book.  Daisy would want me to be more disciplined and I will be.

               I've noticed Robins are often the last Birds you hear singing just before the Sun goes down at night during the Summer.  Seeing that first Robin of the year makes me wonder when I'll see Cleo and Leo.  Boy Robins like Leo have darker colored heads compared to the girl Robins.

                                                                ROBIN / BATMAN

              Someday, when I overcome my fear of enclosed places; I can see an amazing tv show about a man who has the powers of a Bat.  Daisy's seen it a few times and says that "Batman" is a good fighter against all of the different bad guys.  And so is his young Assistant named "Robin." 

         Daisy heard that lady Miss Susan tell our boss one time how she read Batman's "Sidekick" was named after Robin Hood, who I'll learn about when I write about the Christian "Crusades" of the Middle Ages.  I can't wait to see if Cleo and Leo made it through the cold Winter.

         I guess, in the same Magazine article Miss Susan read about Batman; it said other people say Robin's mom named him after Robin Birds because he was born on the first day of Spring. Miss Susan's so smart.  She sure does know a lot about Birds and other things like that.     

ROBIN'S NEST  

               Miss Susan said Robins often have three blue eggs, which I'd really like to see because blue is my time favorite color.  Miss Susan says some people say you can eat Robins.  I just glanced up and see Libby over there walking around very slowly near the north fence of her Corral.       

              Dais saw this boy Robin giving a girl Robin a worm right out of his mouth.  I guess, Robins are England's "National" Bird and is the "State" Bird of Connecticut; where Mr. Steve's sister Susan lives with her sons Dalton and Austin.  I can now really smell Libby over there.

          Last night, as we went over my outlines; Daisy and I saw the clear night sky and thought about what Dais heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Ralph on the phone one time.  He said some "Solar Systems" have more than just one Sun the ways we do.  Donald and Daisy are quacking.

THE "UNIVERSE" 

                Hey God!  Last night the sky seemed brighter than usual.  It made Daisy and me feel kind of like a tiny part of the huge giant world You created.  Dais heard Mr. Steve and Mr. Ralph talk about how it's thought the Universe is about fourteen billion years old.  I smell Mesquite.

           I just used my Encyclopedia to look up what are called "Binary Star Systems."  And that's when a Solar System has not just one, but two Stars; that "Revolve" or circle around each other.  Wow!  I'd sure like to see what that would look like on the morning and evening horizons.         

             Looking to the east at the desert behind Manny, Moe and Jack the Sheds makes me think of how weird it would be to see two Suns up there in the sky.  Boy!  I'll bet it would be a lot hotter which, in our area; wouldn't be good.  It already gets pretty hot up here during the Summer.

                                                         "BINARY" STAR SYSTEM

ARTWORK BY TOD STROHMAYER         

               Well,  Mr. Steve was right because this Encyclopedia says what he told Mr. Ralph.  There are a few different types of Binary Star Systems.  Sometimes, over millions of years; the two Suns even end up running right into each other.  Max the Hummingbird just now whizzed bye.

           It says here, when one of the two Sun's in a Binary System is "brighter" it's the "primary" Star; while the "dimmer" Sun is a "secondary" Star.  Hey!  That's kind of how uniform colors in sports are described too.  I smell that clump of Joshua trees over there near Libby's Corral.     

          We may be part of a Binary Star System but can't tell from down here on Earth.  If it were possible for Scientists to "view" the Solar System from far far away, a "detached perspective;" they'd know.  Some say that giant "Gas Planet" named "Jupiter" could've been a Star.   

                                                    GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642)

    PAINTING BY JUSTUS SUSTERMANS

               Throughout my three books I'll learn about science and things like that.  And, one person who's important was that Italian man from "Pisa," Italy named Galileo Galilei; or just "Galileo" for short.  He lived during the second half of the 16th century, and then the early 1600's too.

            My Encyclopedia calls Galileo the "Father" of "observable astronomy, modern physics" and the "scientific method."  His name is now "associated" with the "Laws of Motion."  Two of the Pigeons just flew over the top of the house and are now going out into the back desert.

            I guess that guy Galileo made "Telescopes," and in 1617; was the first person to actually see a Binary Star System.  Daisy says Mr. Steve and his father read a good book about Galileo, and I guess it's also about his daughter who was a Nun in a Convent.  She helped him a lot.

    "ORION"                             "GIZA" PLATEAU                      "ORION'S BELT"

                Wow!  My Encyclopedia says some Solar Systems have three Suns.  All of a sudden I just thought of how the Constellation "Orion" has three Stars it's "Belt." I've mentioned before how those three really huge pyramids in "Giza" Egypt were built in the pattern of Orion's belt.  

               It says here Galileo "laid the foundations" for Scientists who came later. With his telescope he could see, or "observe;" how all of the Planets in our Solar System "Revolve" around the Sun rather than the other way around.  A Train just whistled faintly over there to my left.

               Oh what the heck!  Even though I'm not really scheduled right now to write about a Star called "Nemesis" until later, I can mention it now too.  I guess some Scientists think, beyond even "Pluto" in our "Solar System;" there might be a second Sun way, way out there.
                  

          "BINARY" STAR SYSTEM                          MASS EXTINCTION (65 MILLION B.C.)

               Daisy heard Mr. Steve say some think that second, or "Companion" Star called Nemesis; might be out there.  And, the gravity of both Sun's pulling on each other may be effecting us on the Earth.  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel just zoomed bye right in front of the three Sheds.

           Mr. Steve read how some Scientists think, about every 27 million years or so; a big giant "Asteroid" or "Meteor" might fly in and hit Earth.  Daisy says a man on this tv show said there have been at least five "Extinction Events" in Earth's history.  Andy's guarding their hole.      

            I guess an Asteroid is kind of like a really small Planet that spins around our Sun here in this Solar System.  And a Meteor is an even smaller piece of rock.  65 million years ago a meteor flew down and slammed into "Chicxulub," located on the Mexican "Yucatán" peninsula.  

      "TUNGUSKA" ("SIBERIA," RUSSIA / 1908)      

       Wow!  A picture in my Encyclopedia shows how, in 1908; a meteor flew in and blew up over "Tunguska" in Siberia.  The caption says, even though it wasn't an extinction event; the gigantic explosion "flattened" about 80 million Russian trees.  A Crow cawed out in the desert.                  

      The meteor which hit the Earth 65 million years ago killed off most of the Dinosaurs except the Birds.  I guess, some think the Sun Nemesis may be what's called a "Secondary Dwarf Star."  I just picked up the scent of that new baby Cholla cactus growing over there in the dirt.                 

      What the heck!  Even though I'm not scheduled to write about "Quasars" right now, I just feel like learning about them now too.  My Encyclopedia says what my boss told Mr. Randy that  morning.  Quasars so far are the "brightest," most "luminous;" things in the whole Universe.      

                                                                        "QUASAR" 

                                                                                                                                         ARTWORK BY MARENFELD    

              It says here a Quasar is a "contraction" of "quasi-stellar."  Wow!  The caption below this painting of one says, they're "super massive black holes surrounded by gas;" some a "billion" times bigger than even our own Sun.  I'll learn about those "Black Holes" in my books.   

               The "Radio Sources" of Quasars are powerful, but were only discovered in 1963.  I guess, as gas "falls" into the Black Hole; "tremendous amounts of energy is released as radiation."  In the night sky a Star much closer to us down here looks equal in size to a far away Quasar.

          One time Daisy and that other Dog Millie were in Mr. Steve's bedroom, and saw a tv show about that man from England Stephen Hawking; who I've mentioned before.  According to that show he knows a lot about things like Quasars.  A flock of Birds is flying bye right now.

                                                   STEPEHN HAWKING WITH FAMILY

                                                                                                   PHOTO BY JONATHAN HORDLE

      I guess Stephen Hawking thinks people are really "destructive," and worries man might destroy itself through "Nuclear War," a "Genetically Engineered Virus;" or possibly a future      "Superhuman" able to "design its own evolution."  He also expects another Asteroid.                    

        Dais says Stephen Hawking, who has a unique voice because of his disease; also mentioned "Global Warming" and "Artificial Intelligence."  Like that Civil Rights leader Martin Luther      King, he doesn't trust "Capitalism" to help the poor.  Libby's unique scent just floated in.             

         Oh!  Libby's scent makes me think of Molly the Mule who died.  I guess a "Mule" is when a boy "Donkey" makes a baby with a girl Horse like Libby over there.   Miss Susan told my boss    that, when a girl Donkey has a new baby through a boy Horse; it's then called a "Hinney."                                               

"MOLLY" ("LIBBY" BEHIND)       

        Boy God, too bad we have to die like Molly did!  Mollie and Libby got along and were best friends like Daisy and I are.  The other night I had a dream about how, on really hot days; they    would often lay right next to each other in the shade to "Conserve" some of their energy.              

       Mollie and Libby, who at times "Groomed" each other with their teeth; laid totally still on their sides but occasionally an ear would twitch to shoo away a Fly.  I've mentioned before how I hate all Flies.  Looking to my right I can't see any Flies yet over there in Libby's Corral.                

           I just thought of when Molly kicked the Corral fence really hard when that one Mountain Lion went bye out there on Primavera Road.  It was a dark night.  Mr. Steve was told of a funny quote  "Supposedly" made by that one 19th century American Writer named Mark Twain.                                                                            

   MARK TWAIN (1835-1910)     

       That supposed quote is, "After much deep thought, contemplation and reflection on the matter, I have come to absolute, unequivocal and unalterable opinion that there is very little, if    any, knowledge, wisdom or educational value to be gained from the second kick of a Mule."          

         I agree with that saying and want to learn from all my mistakes.  Dais in her old age also believes making mistakes is normal, as long as you admit them; and then learning from then in changing things for the better.  Boy!  I sure wish I could smell Molly at least one more time.          

         Writing about Mark Twain makes me think of an American Writer who I heard Mr. Steve discuss with Mr. Randy.  His name is Charles Portis, and he's from the State of "Arkansas where Mr. Randy lived for a while.  Mr. Mark in Hawaii's parents are also from Arkansas too.                                            

     CHARLES PORTIS

         Daisy told me about a good movie based on a Charles Portis' book called "True Grit."  In that movie a girl wants to get revenge on a man who killed her father.  And, I guess the guy who    helps her wears one of those black "Eye Patch's."  Dawn's barking, and I smell Blinky.                  

      In my three, what I now know will be long books; I'll find out about "Western" themed things.  I noticed how Mr. Randy said, "as good as the True Grit movie was;" the Charles Portis book "was even better."  Boy!  Blinky has a really appealing way that he smells sometimes.           

        My boss told Mr. Randy his customer in "Little Rock" Arkansas told him Charles Portis, like his dad; was in the Marines too.  And, for a few years; Charles Portis lived in what they call  a "Fishing Shack."  The Parts Manager said he doesn't like to travel "out of state."                                           

            "TRUE GRIT"               

        Someday, when I get over my fear of enclosed areas; I really want to see that movie True Grit.  Dais says it's good, and the Actor who played the part of the man who helped the girl hunt down her dad's murderer was John Wayne.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny are flying bye.              

         Daisy says there was a second True Grit movie which she's never seen, but in a picture she saw the man who helps the girl kind of resembles how Mr. Steve looks now.  Except of course he  doesn't need to have a black eyepatch.  I could see Blackbeard's empty white eye socket.                

          Mr. Steve also has a gray goatee too, and his hair is currently about as long as the man in the movie Dais told me.  Mr. Steve joked with Mr. Randy about how, the way he's losing hair on top of his head; "pretty soon" he'll look like a Franciscan Monk.  Heathcliff just crowed.                                           

"HEATHCLIFF II"

        Oh!  What a coincidence that, just as I heard Heathcliff; I remember how Daisy said the man who helps the girl in True Grit is named "Rooster."  My left nostril just picked up the scent of Theodora's Creosote bush over there near Jack the big Shed.  I feel really good right now.        

          Mr. Steve's customer in Arkansas said Charles Portis is now "unknown."  My boss's mom thinks often an Artist; like that Painter Vincent van Gogh for example; isn't "appreciated" until after they're "dead and gone."  I'm still thinking about Donkeys, and Mules like Molly.                 

          I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's brother Sam, his wife Yolanda and their three kids; live in "Littlerock" which is about twenty seven miles to the west of us here in Piñon Hills.  I notice that their town is spelled as one word unlike the city in Arkansas which is two separate words.                                                               

      "THE OLD PROSPECTOR"

        PAINTING BY ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ

            One time this couple from "Barstow," who knew about Donkeys and Mules; came to our house.  The wife seemed really smart and used the word "resilience" to describe California's wild Donkey's.  Barstow used to be named "Jacob," just like Mr. Steve's Nephew back in Texas.           

        Thinking of Mark Twain's long quote makes me remember when Daisy told me to never ever go behind a Donkey or Mule.  Molly had a hard back kick.  She kicked the fence to warn the Mountain Lion on Primavera Road it better not even try to kill her and Libby for some food.       

         My Dictionary says a "nuisance" is, "An act, thing or person causing trouble" or "being annoying."  That's what some people call Donkeys and I call Flies.  Boy!  There's no way I could ever have been able to spell nuisance without this really helpful good English Dictionary.                                                

      GEORGE WASHINGTON (1732-1799)

         I guess George Washington, a General and the first American President; "Bred" Mules.  In 2008 Mr. Steve's family visited his "Virginia" Farm "Mount Vernon."  Daisy says a tv show said he had bad teeth.  I've mentioned how she chews lightly and doesn't bite down hard anymore.      

        According to my Encyclopedia, in 1784 King Charles III of Spain gave George Washington two boy Donkeys called "Jacks."  One died in the Ship on the way over here to America, but the  "survivor fathered" some baby Mules.  Mules can't have any babies from what Dais says.             

      Oh!  George Washington was born on February the 22nd, and my list of dates says that Mr. Steve's father's birthday is the 23rd.  Mr. Steve's Nephew Dalton and also his Niece Stephanie's    boyfriend Rich, who was in that band DRAGPIPE; were both also born in February too.                       

  GRANDPA / GRANDMA CÓRDOVA           STEPHANIE / RICH                     AUSTIN/ SUSAN /DALTON                   

         Hey God!  As You know, Mr. Steve's Grandma Córdova was born on February the 24th so people sometimes joked how You sent her a birthday present when she had my boss's father.  He was her first child of what would be five kids total.  I just picked up Libby's scent right now.         

          I guess Mr. Steve's ex-girlfriend Miss Harriet was born on February the 19th, and his sister Susan back in Connecticut's birthday is the 16th of March.  So that makes them and his dad and  Grandmother a "Pisces" in "Astrology."  Boy! I sure do wish I knew what "Sign" I am.                

       Mr. Steve saw the Mountain Lion's big tracks out there in the dirt on Primavera Road the next morning.  Molly kicking the fence worked because the Mountain Lion "Took the Hint" and kept on going.  Daisy one time told me about this good PANTERA song called "Walk."                                           

  MOUNTAIN LION

       You never see a Mountain Lion in daytime but Miss Susan thinks, because we're in a big drought; Coyotes and Mountain Lions "take chances."  The man and his wife from Barstow told my boss about "Fort Irwin," up there near where they live.  Dawn's barking over there.              

           Daisy heard how, every Spring this man from Fort Irwin comes down here to Phelan to do a "Presentation" about Insects, Reptiles and Birds who live in the Mohave Desert.  Mr. Steve and Mr. Randy have gone to some of them.  Cher the Cat just slinked bye and went under Moe.           

           The man from Fort Irwin brings with him actual Insects and things like that.  He even has a Hawk and an Owl who sit calmly on wooden perches.  He shows everyone Snakes who live in      our area, such as "Rattle" Snakes, "Garter" Snakes and "Gopher" Snakes just like Goliath.             

                OWL                                      SCORPION                                            HAWK            

          I heard my boss tell Miss Susan how the man from Fort Irwin says the Scorpions who live in our area are big, but "not as aggressive" as the ones who live near the "Colorado River."  I'm  sort of afraid of Scorpions.  I'm really glad that you hardly ever see them except at night.              

        The man from Barstow's wife said it was the Spanish, after Christopher Columbus's four "voyages of discovery;" who first brought Donkeys here to the "New World" in the late 1400's.    Cher came out from under Moe.  She's now jogging around the northeast corner of the house.      

         After doing all the hard work for about four centuries, Donkeys and Mules were replaced by Trucks and Cars in the 20th century.  So, many of them were just simply abandoned to "Fend for Themselves" like I was by my first owner too.  That's what the lady from Barstow said.                                         

2014 LINCOLN "NAVIGATOR"

         Mentioning Columbus makes me remember how that couple from Barstow came to our house in a Car called a "Navigator."  Later, Dais told me those Cars are called "Sports Utility      Vehicles;" or just "S.U.V." for short.  Of course, Daisy really liked its shiny red color.                   

           My Encyclopedia says those Navigators are made by "Lincoln," which is a "brand" of the "Ford Motor Corporation." The man from Barstow told my boss how Navigator's are at times    "converted into Limousines."  I notice how he used the word "stretch" to describe them.          

         Daisy says she and Millie one time saw a good tv show Mr. Steve likes, about a man in Las Vegas whose business "Customizes" Cars and Motorcycles.  On that episode his workers totally    rebuilt and repainted a Motorcycle.  She's not really sure why it was called a "Chopper."             

HENRY "THE NAVIGATOR" (1394-1460)

PHOTO BY C. ROZAY

          My Encyclopedia says, before he convinced Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to sponsor his idea of reaching the "Far East" by sailing west; Columbus proposed it to the country of Portugal.  But they said no.  So Spain really got the benefit from what Columbus did.                

         It says here a Portuguese man named Prince Henry "the Navigator," who lived just before Columbus; was the "main initiator" of the "Age of Discovery."  He was the "central figure" in      the "early days" of the Portuguese Empire's "maritime expansion."  I can small Mesquite.         

      Daisy and Millie overheard Mr. Steve talking on the phone with a customer who told him about this Race Horse named after that guy Prince Henry.  Ah!  What a coincidence that, just as  I'm mentioning that Race Horse; I can smell Libby.  Two of the Pigeons are flying bye.                                                      

     "BLACK PANTHER" (LEOPARD)       

        My boss told the couple from Barstow he and Mr. Randy went to an "Animal Sanctuary" near us called "Forever Wild."  They have an all black Leopard named "Zorro" there, and also  Tigers, Bears and even a Lion too Dais heard.  Donald and Daisy are quacking over there.             

          When I get over my fear of riding in Cars I'd like to go see Forever Wild.  Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell his mom "Black Panthers" are much bigger than a regular Cat like Cher.  Daisy told      me, except for being all black; she heard they're about the same size as a Mountain Lion.              

        The lady from Barstow said Panthers are three types of "Big Cat."   The "Cougar" is just another name for a Mountain Lion, and the other ones are "Jaguars" and "Leopards."  One of    the Trainers at Forever Wild said Zorro the Black Panther "can make leaps" of twenty feet.         

MR. RANDY  

          I've mentioned how Mr. Randy, like Mr. Mark in Hawaii's parents before moving up to Wisconsin; lived in the State of Arkansas.  Over the next three days I'll write about the States of  Arkansas, and "Oklahoma" too.  All four of the Pigeons are flying bye over Libby's Corral.          

          My boss Mr. Steve, and Miss Babette, Susan and Karin; have been selling things to Auto Dealerships for over ten years.  And, all have or have had some customers in Arkansas; and also  Oklahoma too.  But, since the recession started in 2009; everyone's lost a few customers.               

          Daisy told me Mr. Steve gives "Socks" to poor people like Mr. Mark, who I've mentioned lives homeless in the desert near Phelan with his little "Yorky" Dog "Karma."  I guess one time Mr. Mark told my boss his family used to live in Oklahoma.  A Train just whistled faintly.             

FRED, ED AND TED    

        Oh my God!  I just glanced up from doing my work over here on the patio and noticed our three Sparrows named "Fred," "Ed" and "Ted."   They're all sitting on one of the branch's of      the Mulberry tree.  Boy!  I'm so glad to see that they all made it through the cold Winter.              

        I can't wait to take my second big break of the day after I finish chapter eight, or Part One of this first book.  Then I can tell Daisy that I've seen Fred, Ed and Ted.  We've never figured out why Mr. Steve gave those Sparrows their name but, it seems to fit them for some reason.               

       Right now I can easily see Fred, Ed and Ted over there but there are times Sparrows blend right in with the background.  Sometimes, like Lizards; only their movements will "Give them      Away" as  that old saying goes.  I wrote earlier today about what they call "Camouflage."                  

"ZORRO"

         I just thought of how that "Bookkeeper "Eber" jokingly called my boss "Zorro."  Daisy says then, other people at work began to do it too; so for a while that was his nickname I guess.  I mentioned before how Daisy saw that tv show about Zorro, which in Spanish means "Fox." 

          Dais told me how the real Zorro wore black, rode a black Horse like the one Alexander the Great used to ride; and lived here in the early 19th century.  That was when "Alta" California      was a large in size part of Mexico.  Daisy thinks I would really like Zorro's all black mask.            

        That one man from Barstow said Donkeys were originally taken from North Africa up to Europe.  His wife thought the abandoned California Donkeys were not expected to survive but surprised everyone.  I still sometimes think about being dumped out in that awful field.                                     

CALIFORNIA WILD DONKEYS

      The lady from Barstow said Donkeys and Mules are "hardy" and "sure-footed" so, before Trucks they carried the heavy loads; even in bad or hot weather.  Later today I'll write about the  1850's, when the U.S. Army brought Camels here.  The scent of Mesquite just came in.                  

       That one man from Barstow said boy Donkeys fight over girl Donkeys by trying to bite each other on their ears or necks.  If they do bite their rival they can swing around to rip out a hole or tear off an ear.  I hear a Crow clucking faintly out there in the eastern desert.                                 

      I guess Donkeys, who have big stomachs but can run fast; are smaller than Mules who may be four feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 400 pounds.  Daisy's smelled a Donkey and says their scent is way different from a Mule.  Boy!  I'd really like to smell a Donkey someday.                               

BUCK OWENS / JOHNNY CASH / ROY CLARK ("HEE HAW") 

      That couple from Barstow talked about a "Variety" country music tv show called "Hee Haw."  Mr. Steve joked he liked the music and, also looking at the pretty girls.  Daisy saw Hee      Haw one time and says it had a "Hall of Fame" guitar player named Buck Owens on it.                 

         The man from Barstow has this Buck Owens red, white and blue "Acoustic" guitar, and a "Banjo."  Daisy thinks hearing a banjo would make me happy howl and do my Irish jig dance.    Mr. Steve told the man he once bought and resold a Buck Owens red, white and blue guitar.         

         Buck Owens' style of "Western" country music is part of the "Bakersfield Sound" because he's from that city here in California Dais says.  My boss and his father have been to Bakersfield and Barstow.  Daisy told me about this other band from Bakersfield called KORN.                         

KORN

           I'm not scheduled to write about KORN right now, but I just feel like mentioning them.  I guess they're music is called "Nu Metal," and Daisy told me about their song called "Freak on a Leash;" which has some really good singing in it I guess.   Daffy's quacking over there.                  

      Freak on a Leash is the only KORN song he's heard, but Daisy says Mr. Steve likes the singing and musicianship.  He was impressed by the bass player's "Percussive" or "Slapping"      style.  The guitar playing and drums are also really good from what she's heard.                             

        Daisy says Mr. Steve and Mr. Dave talked on the phone about this one bass player whose nickname is "Flea," from the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.  I guess, he also sometimes uses a      slapping technique in a more "funky" way.  Oh!  I wonder if that guy looks like a Flea?                 

         KORN ("FREAK ON A LEASH")

            The Video cartoon KORN did for Freak on a Leash shows a Policeman's gun shooting by accident and the bullet might be the freak because it just keeps on going and going; but barely      misses everyone Daisy says.  My Dictionary says "freak" means "unusual" or "abnormal."          

          Dais says Freak on a Leash goes through a few "Tempo" changes, which Mr. Steve likes in songs.  Even though I haven't heard much music, I think I might like that in songs too.  In one of my all time favorite songs, "Musical Box;" GENESIS has a lot of soft and loud sections.                

         Mr. Dave says KORN have a song about "Clowns."  Daisy told me what they are and says she's really afraid of clowns.   One time she had a bad dream where her bad Angel Eddie was in it, and a friendly clown turned out to be Mr. Steve; with his face painted like a clown!                                                                  JOHN WAYNE GACY (1942-1994)        "TOYS R US"                       DEAD KENNEDYS                   

          Dais noticed how that band KORN spell their name with the "R" facing backwards.   A lady from Bakersfield told Mr. Steve some members of KORN worked at this store called "Toys   R Us."  The little Lizard ran down the wall and went behind the gray water bucket.                    

           One time Dais heard our boss talking on the phone with Mr. Doug about a 1970's "Punk" Rock band from Northern California called the DEAD KENNEDYS.  They did an album where  a big poster was inside.  Mr. Doug saw the DEAD KENNEDYS play in a concert one time.          

           In the "Collage" of black and white pictures on the DEAD KENNEDY poster was one that showed a clown named John Wayne Gacy who I guess killed some people.   Mr. Steve says to this  day he still kind of likes going to Toys R Us stores.  Daisy says our boss has made collages.             

     "MEGALODON"

           PAINTING BY ARNOLD DAWSON

       I'll come back to KORN and also write about "Kern" County later.  I guess millions of years ago that area of California was an Ocean where giant "Megalodon" Sharks lived.  We heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Randy one time Megalodon "looked" just like a much bigger White Shark.              

      Wow!  A painting in my Encyclopedia shows how big a Megalodon would have been next to a human being.  One time in the mid-1990's Mr. Steve did a "Job Walk" for Rick's company up in  Bakersfield.  Max the little Hummingbird just zoomed past and I heard him coming.                   

     Tomorrow I'll write about things that live in water like Sharks.  Someday, when I get over my fear of being trapped, I want to see the Shark jaw Dais told me our boss has in the dining room  near the kitchen.  Ah! I suddenly smell the Twin Joshua trees out there in the desert.                                                                           

  NIRVANA (KURT COBAINE / 1993 / "UNPLUGGED")   

 PHOTO BY FRANK MICELOTTA       

           In my books I'll write about 1990's "Grunge" Rock, and this band from Washington State called NIRVANA.  Mr. Steve, and that man from Barstow; discussed their "Unplugged" concert where one of their guitarists played a Buck Owens' guitar.  I smell a Lizard nearby.                     

         Daisy says NIRVANA is one of those three piece bands Mr. Steve likes and the main guitar player, like that guy Jimi Hendrix; was left-handed.  Also like Jimi Hendrix; Kurt Cobaine sang and wrote NIRVANA'S songs.  Jimi Hendrix was from Washington State too I guess.                     

         Mr. Steve thinks, on Unplugged; NIRVANA had a "funeral theme" and the songs were kind of "sad-sounding."  Kurt Cobaine killed himself later, and finished that Unplugged concert by      playing a Blues song by a man named LEAD BELLY.  Some Crows are cawing nearby.                                              

                                  JUDAS ISCARIOT                                         

          I guess, another song NIRVANA played on the Unplugged concert was "Man Who Sold The World" by David Bowie.  Hey Lord!  On Saturday, in book three; I'll learn about Your one  Apostle "Judas" who most people say betrayed You.  And I'll look up Benedict Arnold too.           

           Mr. Steve thinks David Bowie's song Man Who Sold The World "might" be about Judas.  Like Kurt Cobaine, Judas also ended up committing suicide but, instead of shooting himself like Kurt Cobaine did; hung himself.  A little Lizard is standing over there on the wall.                         

         According to what Daisy told me, NIRVANA have a really good album that shows a little baby swimming under the water of a pool.  She says it's mainly Hard Rock but noticed how Mr. Steve  used the word "mournful" to describe it.  The Lizard is now doing some pushups.                                      

               COURTNEY LOVE / KURT COBAINE (1967-1994)  

       Daisy says Kurt Cobaine, like the Writer Ernest Hemingway; committed suicide with a "Shotgun."  His wife, who was born on July the 9th just like my boss; is also in a band where she sings and plays guitar.  Daisy told me about how Mr. Steve has a shotgun in the house.                

          On Saturday I'll learn about the "27 Club," some Musicians who died at the age of twenty seven.  And I'll also write about people, like O.J. Simpson for instance; who were born on July the 9th like Mr. Steve.  Kurt Cobaine was also twenty seven when he died Daisy noticed.               

        Blackbeard and Anne the Crows flew bye.  I saw the hole where Blackbeard's eye used to be.  Mr. Steve almost named him after the Viking God "Odin" who only has one eye too but, in that he's so "Jet Black;" just named him after that guy Blackbeard the Pirate instead.                                                                           EDWARD TEACH (1680-1718)                                    ANNE BONNY( 1697?-1782?)

                I'll learn about "Pirates" in my books, from the ancient world to today.  Our girl Crow Anne was named for a girl Pirate named Anne Bonny, who was married to a "Buccaneer," which Daisy says is another name for a Pirate.  Mr. Steve jokingly calls Blackbeard "Blackbird."

            Blackbeard, or Edward Teach; in real life had both eyes.  Daisy says Mr. Steve's customer in North Carolina told him about "Ocracoke" Island, where Blackbeard was killed and; his head cut off.  Dais says he was thrown in the water but his headless body swam around the Ship.  

           Oh well, even though I'm not really scheduled to write about her right now, I suddenly just kind of feel like looking up this other Chinese girl Pirate "leader" named Ching Shih.  It says in my Encyclopedia she lived in the early 19th century.  The Lizard is gone from the wall.  

                                                         CHING SHIH (1775-1844)

            This is interesting.  According to what it says in the caption below the painting of that girl Ching Shih, at one time she led over twenty thousand men on three hundred Ships.  And she not only fought the Chinese, her men "raided" some British and Portuguese Ships too. 

           It says here, like Anne Bonny, Ching Shih married a Pirate; but "took over" when he was killed.  Ugh! I guess she cut off prisoner's ears, then threw them in the water with a cannonball attached; or cut them into four pieces.  Hey!  That's how William Wallace died too.    

          Ah!  A Cricket chirped.  That's a big surprise because you usually never  hear them during the day.  Dais thinks, the warmer the weather is; the more Crickets chirp.  So maybe me hearing this Cricket right now is a good sign that the next three days will be nice and warm.

           CRICKET           

                I've mentioned that older Shoshone Indian man Mr. Steve met over there at the Phelan Library.  He said you can eat Crickets and that they're actually good for you.  There were a few times, when I was living homeless out in that field; when I was tempted to eat some Bugs. 

            Later I'm scheduled to write about a friend of Mr. Steve's dad from New Mexico named Mr. Espinoza.  In World War II he was captured by the Japanese and then survived the "Baatan Death March." One thing he did to survive was force himself to eat all the Bugs.

           Mr. Steve told that Shoshone man at the Phelan Library about how a "Navajo" lady said in her language one type of Cricket is called "Wó ts' inii."  And that means "Skull Insect" I guess.  Miss Susan says around here in Piñon Hills people just call them "Potato" Bugs.     

                                    POTATOE BUG                                                                  "PREDATOR"         

             The man from Fort Irwin said Potato Bugs are harmless.  But they sure do look really scary that's for sure and the man used some "Slides" to show how the face of the monster in the movie "Predator" may have been modeled on them.  I can smell some older Mesquite. 

         I guess that man also told his audience how over in Asia Crickets in cages are kept and used like Watch Dogs and if someone comes to the front door they stop chirping.  Birds at times do the same thing if they sense danger.  Mr. Dave in New Mexico knows a lot about Bugs.  

            That Cricket just chirped again but it better be careful because Birds, Lizards or Cher the Cat might hear it and come over to eat it.  That one Navajo lady I just mentioned said you can eat Crickets.  When I was homeless in that field I once thought about eating Crickets.

                                                          NAVAJO "CODE TALKERS"     

PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

        During World War II, against the Japanese out in the Pacific Ocean; the U.S. military used Navajo Indians as "Radio Operators."  They spoke in their Navajo language which the Japanese couldn't understand.  My right nostril just picked up Libby's unique scent. 

        I guess Mr. Steve told that Navajo lady, who he met at the Sylmar Library; about a time his father helped organize an event where some of those Second World War Navajo "Code Talkers" were "Honored."  That was back in 1999 which was a bad year for my boss. 

        I'll write about that event for the Code Talkers later and will also learn about the history of the Navajo's and other "Pueblo" Indians too.  I can't wait!  From what I heard my boss tell Mr.  Cliff one time, the Navajo "Reservations" are located in Arizona and New Mexico.         

         BUDDY HOLLY (CRICKETS)                                                   THE BEATLES

             The Navajo lady knew that English band the BEATLES admired the 1950's music of Buddy Holly and his band the CRICKETS; who were from Texas.  I'll write more about those bands in all of my three books.  I guess the BEATLES were originally called the SILVER BEATLES.

         I'm not scheduled to write about "Beatniks" now, but feel like finding out about them.  I guess some think the BEATLES took the spelling of their name from them.  Both represented the "Zeitgeist," or "Spirit of the Times" of their two era's, the 1950's and 1960's my boss thinks. 

        According to what Daisy heard our boss tell Miss Susan on the phone, the Beatniks name comes from the phrase "Beat Generation."  And those were young American people in the 1950's who this one Encyclopedia calls "non-conformists."  Boy!  Libby has such a nice scent.

                                                                "BEATNIKS" (1950'S)

             From what Dais heard our boss discuss with Miss Susan, the "Stereotype" 1950's Beatnik male wore black clothes and sunglasses, had a goatee, and played "Bongo" drums.  And I guess the females wore hats called "Berets."  There's a picture of Beatniks in my Encyclopedia.  

         Mr. Steve has two berets in the living room, on top of a big "Entertainment Center" where the tv's in.  One is green, the other brown; and they're with his military hats.  I think I'd wear a beret, and sunglasses too; especially if it were royal blue which is my very favorite color.

         Dais says our boss has Bongo drums, and other "Hand" drums too.  One is African, another from Cuba and a third is like the ones some American Indians play in their ceremonial dances.  I guess he also an Irish drum which is played with a small wooden "Two-Sided" stick.

                                                    MR. STEVE / MAGGIE / DAISY

               Mr. Steve now has a goatee like the ones the Beatniks used to wear back in the 1950's.  But his is mostly gray and not all black like the guy in the Encyclopedia picture.  Daisy told me that, when he was young; at times Mr. Steve let his beard grow longer than it is now.  

            I've mentioned a few times already today how Mr. Steve, and his brother Rock who lives in Texas; were both born in the mid-1950's when those Beatniks were around.  I'm scheduled in my books to learn a lot more about both the 1950's and 1960's.  Heathcliff just crowed.     

            According to what it says in this Encyclopedia, many of the Beatniks were what they call "anti-materialists."  I guess in that way they were sort of like "Socialists."  Some people back in those days accused them of probably being "Anti-Capitalist Reds" or even "Communists.

                                                       JACK KÉROUAC (1922-1969)  

               The Beat Generation was "influenced" by a book called "On the Road," written by a guy from "Massachusetts" named Jack Kérouac."  I guess that's near Connecticut, where my boss's sister Susan lives with her son's Dalton and Austin.  Fred, Ed and Ted just flew bye.

           Daisy heard Mr. Steve say On the Road is about these two guys who travel all across the United States.  They go between New York City on the east coast, and San Francisco on the west coast.  The city of "Denver," where Mr. Steve's family lived for a year; is also in that book.    

                According to this one Encyclopedia, Jack Kérouac used what's called an "experimental and spontaneous" writing style in On the Road.  His book also influenced other "subcultures" too, like those "Hippies" from the 1960's for instance.  Some of the Ducks are quacking. 

                THE DOORS                            LED ZEPPELIN                       PATTI SMITH

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               PHOTO BY ANTON CORBIJN

               Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell Miss Susan how Jack Kérouac's book On the Road influenced not just later Writers but also some Musicians too.  That band the DOORS liked On the Road, and so did Jimmy Page; LED ZEPPELIN'S guitar player.  Now more Ducks are quacking.  

              Mr. Steve told Miss Susan about a Singer named Patti Smith, who's from New Jersey just like his Niece Stephanie's boyfriend Rich.  Patti Smith liked Jack Kérouac's writing.  Daisy one time was in our boss's bedroom and heard her really good song about the nighttime.

              A few years ago my boss was told Patti Smith first played her song "Because the Night" in December of 1977 at a New York City Nightclub called "CBGB's."  He and his brother Rock had visited New York City in August.  I'll write about that 1977 trip in all of my books.

                                         CHARLIE PARKER /"DIZZY" GILLESPIE

PHOTO BY TED WILLIIAMS      

                Those Beatniks listened to "Jazz" music, like "Be Bop" songs these guys named Charlie Parker and "Dizzy" Gillespie used to play.  It says here Charlie Parker played saxophone and Dizzy Gellespie was really good on the trumpet.  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel ran bye.

            Oh!  My Encyclopedia says Charlie Parker died in March of 1955, four months before Mr. Steve was born.  His nicknames were "Bird," and "Yardbird;" which is the name of a band I'll find out about.  Mr. Steve and Harriet saw a sad movie about Charlie Parker Dais says.  

                 Wow!  It says here the "Coroner" who performed the "autopsy" on Charlie Parker said he was "Sixty" years old even though he was only "Thirty Five" when he died.  I guess, just like Jack Kérouac; he "Drank" way too much.  Jack Kerouac died young from alcohol too.

CHARLIE COMPANY

             Oh!  Just when I happen to be writing about that guy Charlie Parker, who do I see out there in the eastern desert behind the fence?   It's Charlie Company of Quail scratching around in the dirt, to hopefully dig up some hidden food.  They don't have any new babies yet this year.

         I can tell it's Charlie Company because of the big boy Quail my boss named Chosin.  Hey!  I wonder if that saxaphone player Charlie Parker was named after a Quail because his nicknames were Bird and Yardbird.  Daisy thinks a Yardbird is what a Chicken might be called.

         It's interesting how, according to what it says in this one Encyclopedia; some people think the word "beat" in Beatnik refers to being "beaten down" or "tired."  Hey Lord!  Mr. Steve read that guy Jack Kérouac was Roman Catholic like us.  I can now smell Charlie Company.  

             "SERMON ON THE MOUNT"                                                                        "CRUCIFIXION"

                                PAINTING BY CARL BLOCH                                                                               

          Hey Lord!  Daisy heard Mr. Steve and Miss Susan talk about how Jack Kérouac told people his writing was influenced by the blessings You talked about, the "Beatitudes;" when You gave the "Sermon on the Mount."  Heathcliff just crowed.  I like how his voice sounds.  

            Boy Lord!  If I could borrow Mr. Peabody's time Machine I'd definitely go back to hear You talk to the people on that day You miraculously multiplied a few loaves of bread and some Fish to feed the big crowd.  Daisy would want go with me.  Then we could even smell You!

            Lord!  I guess, on that 1985 trip to Israel; one place the Tour Group from St. Ferdinand's went to was where You might've delivered Your famous sermon.  It still has a Church on it that was built way back in the time of Emperor Constantine the Great.  I smell a Joshua tree. 

MID DAY SKY

                  Hey God!  As You know, Daisy heard Jack Kerouac, like Emperor Constantine saw You Lord; said he "saw" You up in the sky.  Looking up at the sky right now gives me empathy with what he might've meant.  I sense You God in the Sun for the energy You're sending me. 

           Daisy heard Mr. Steve kind of chuckle when he and Miss Susan talked about how Beatniks created their own slang language.  They remembered a Beverly Hillbillies episode about Beatniks where a guy called people "Momio and Dadio."  And he played Bongo drums too Dais said.

           This Encyclopedia says Jack Kérouac's "stream of consciousness use of language," like in using "dashes" instead of periods to end sentences; gave it a "musical rhythm."  Mr. Steve read Jack Kérouac liked a book called "Ulysses."  It was written by a man named James Joyce.  

                                                         JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941)

               I'm tempted to write about James Joyce but, I'll do it when I write about Homer's book the "Odyssey;" about Ulysses trying to go home after that "Trojan" War.  I still have a little bit more to write about Buddy Holly.  I really like the hat James Joyce, who's Irish; wore. 

           Daisy says Mr. Ralph told Mr. Steve in some places Potato Bugs are called "Jerusalem" Crickets or "Niños de la Tierra."  And my Spanish Dictionary says how that means "Children of the Earth."  I can't wait to find out more about the city of Jerusalem in my three books. 

           Last Summer, when my boss doing yard work; we heard this song called "Buddy Holly" on his Boombox.  It's by a band called WEEZER and Dais told me they played that song on a tv show called "Happy Days."  A few of the Ducks are quacking over there right now.

                                                                      WEEZER

               I noticed on WEEZER'S song Buddy Holly they mention that Actress Mary Tyler Moore, who's tv character I've mentioned reminds my boss of his mom.  As a housewife but ran the house in the organized way the girl on the tv show ran an office.  I like how she smells.

          Besides the BEATLES, I guess other 1960's English bands were also influenced by Buddy Holly's music in the CRICKETS.   In fact, one is even called the HOLLIES.  I've never heard a    HOLLIES but Daisy has and says she heard how they have three really good singers.                    

      Daisy heard our boss tell that kid Jason who plays guitar many of the early 1960's bands from England, like the BEATLES and HOLLIES for instance; were influenced by this one style of music called "Skiffle."  I smell Sage.  Boy God!  This has been such a good day so far.                     

                                                                    THE HOLLIES

                Mr. Steve told Jason the HOLLIES may not be named for Buddy Holly.  They might have been named for a Christmas plant.  Daisy's told me abut how one of the HOLLIES was later in another really famous singing band called CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG.

               I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve and his brothers and sisters used to go visit all their relatives who live in New Mexico.  As kids, a few times their Aunt "Lydia" told my boss one of the ROLLING STONES was from Belén.  I can now smell some familiar  Mesquite.

            Mr. Steve knew for sure his Aunt wouldn't make up a story but thought it couldn't be true that one of the ROLLING STONES was from Belén.  Then, many years later; he heard about a saxophone player named Bobby Keys.  A flock of Birds flew bye up in the high blue sky. 

                                     ROLLING STONES (BOBBY KEYS / SAXOPHHONE)

                Mr. Steve says one morning in Sylmar, as he swept his patio while listening to that guy Bill Handel; it "dawned" on him who his Aunt Lydia had been talking about.   Bobby Keys, as did Buddy Holly; grew up in "Lubbock" Texas.  Dawn and Blinky are barking over there.

           Bobby Keys was not an "Official" member of the ROLLING STONES but, at times was called the "sixth" ROLLING  STONE.   I guess he played saxophone on many of their songs and "Toured" with them.  Dais told me about a ROLLING STONES' song about brown sugar.

          It turns out Bobby Keys' father got a job in Belén with the Santa Fe Railroad.  But Bobby Keys and his brother were left in Lubbock Texas to be "Raised" by their Grandparents.  I wrote earlier today how Grandpa Trujillo also worked for that Santa Fe Railroad company too.     

"NEW MEXICO"

            I guess Mr. Steve's Aunt Lydia was friends with a lady named "Lucy" Keys who was Bobby Keys mom.  She was later a State Politician in New Mexico.  Aunt Lydia is Mr. Steve's father's younger sister.  Her husband is named "Fernando" but people just call him "Fenny."

        Aunt Lydia and Uncle Fenny have four kids, girls named "Navora" and "Macrena;" and boys named "Michael" and "Fernando Jr."   Over the next three days I'll write more about Mr. Steve's relatives who were born in or still live in New Mexico.  I smell a Cholla cactus.  

       According to what I heard my boss tell Mr. Randy, when he was about sixteen; Bobby Keys played in Buddy Holly's band for a short time.  This morning I wrote about how, in 1959; Buddy Holly was killed in the same exact Plane crash as Ritchie Valens.  Heathcliff crowed.

                                                  BOBBY KEYS / KEITH RICHARDS

              Mr. Steve told Mr. Randy that, "before the recession;" he had a customer in "Clovis," New Mexico.  That Parts Manager told him how Bobby Keys met the ROLLING STONES in the mid-1960's and Buddy Holly's first recordings were made in Clovis.  I like hearing Heathcliff.

         It's interesting how that Parts Manager said Bobby Keys and the STONES Guitarist Keith Richards were born on exactly the same day, which made them good friends I guess.  Wow!  That is a big coincidence all right.  Boy God!  I sure wish I knew what my birthday was.

        I guess Bobby Keys not only played saxophone for the ROLLING STONES, he also played with John Lennon and that other guy Eric Clapton too.  So he must be good!  Alpha Company is right now using the two vertical slots on the side of the gate to go out into the eastern desert. 

"CLOVIS" INDIAN CULTURE

               Daisy says Mr. Steve and that Parts Manager talked about the "Clovis" Indian culture.  In about 10,000 B.C. the last Ice Age ended, and those Siberian people came across that land bridge up there in the Alaska region.  Then they migrated southward down into all our areas.

               My Encyclopedia says those first people are called "Clovis" because of "artifacts" found near Clovis in 1932.  Dais told me Mr. Dave in Taos knows a lot about the "fluted" arrowheads and spear points found near Clovis.  That Singer Buddy Holly spent a lot of time in Clovis.

               It says here those original "prehistoric" Clovis people are also known as "Paleo-Indian" cultures.  Back then they only had stone blades to kill those huge Animals like giant Elephants for food to survive.  Now we have steel, like the knives, swords and spears in my boss's office.   

                                           (1923)                                  "HOLLYWOOD" SIGN                   NOW

                All of a sudden I just thought of the "Hollywood" Sign which my boss and his brother and girlfriend Sandy one time hiked up to.  The town of Hollywood is named for a "Holly" plant that grows wild in that area.  The original sign in 1923 actually said, "Hollywoodland." 

                 My Encyclopedia says that "temporary" sign was advertising for land but I guess people liked it so just left it up.  It's near an area of Los Angeles called "Griffith Park."  Mr. Steve was told Aldous Huxley, who moved from Llano; died in a house below the Hollywood Sign. 

           Daisy heard that Mr. Steve's brother Rock, and his friends Dave and Armando; worked at "Boy's Summer Camp" at Griffith Park in the 1980's.  In my books I'll learn about that park.  I just saw Fred, Ed and Ted the Sparrows fly out into the back desert in triangle formation.   

                                                          MR. STEVE'S BROTHER ROCK ("GRIFFITH PARK")

                The Boy's Camp my boss's brother worked at, like the Hollywood Sign too; is located in a part of the "Santa Monica" mountains.  Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell his sister Susan on the phone how you aren't allowed to hike up to the Hollywood Sign anymore.  Daffy's quacking.          

                  I'm so tempted to write about that "Observatory" near the Hollywood Sign but will wait.  Oh! It says here in this Encyclopedia the Hollywood Sign is near the road named after William Mulholland who, as I've mentioned; in 1913 brought water to Los Angeles.  I smell Sage.      

                Wow!  I guess that Hollywood Sign is huge!   It says here each letter is about forty five feet tall and all nine letters, "End to End;" are three hundred and fifty feet long.  Speedy the Squirrel just zoomed through the left vertical slot on the side of the gate to go out into the desert. 

                                                             MARY TYLER MOORE

           For some reason I just thought of Mr. Steve's mom, who my boss thinks was sort of like the character played by Mary Tyler Moore. Mr. Steve told Mr. Mike, who's met his parents; his dad will be unable to drive soon.  Just like Dais, his eyesight is getting worse and worse.                 

             Back in chapter four, when I wrote about the city of "Solvang;" I mentioned that band from Minnesota called HÜSKER DÜ.  Daisy told me how they have a whole song about that girl Mary Tyler Moore.  Two of the Pigeons just flew in and landed up on the Patio roof.  

           Dais says our boss's customer in Minnesota, who I mentioned back in chapter four; liked HÜSKER DÜ.  He said people think WEEZER is from Wisconsin because of their Buddy Holly Video but they're actually from down there in Los Angeles.  I see the Pigeon's shadows.       

                                                                             TOTO

         On Saturday, in book three; Daisy has me scheduled to write about the subject of what they call "Session" Musicians.  I guess WEEZER did their version of a 1980's song called "Africa." It was written by a Los Angeles band called TOTO who had been good "Studio" Musicians.    

             Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Ralph on the phone one time about how Jimmy Page, before he played guitar in the YARDBIRDS and LED ZEPPELIN; was a Session Musician back there in England.  That was in the early 1960' I guess.  The Pigeons are cooing right above me.   

        According to what Dais says Mr. Steve told his friend Ralph, for years there was a "rumor" Jimmy Page played the "Lead" guitar solo on the KINKS' song "You Really Got Me." But even if he did my boss says, he saw the KINKS' Dave Davies do it in concert.  I smell Mesquite. 

    ULYSSES S. GRANT (1822-1885)      

                 My boss and Mr. Ralph talked about how that band TOTO went to "Grant" High School in Van Nuys, as did did Miss Harriet, and Mr. Steve's friends Mr. Doug and Mark Ritter.  In my books I'll find out a lot more about Ulysses S. Grant.  Pigeon voices make me feel calm.    

           I guess, the "Grant" campus is located right next door to "Valley" Junior College.  That's where Mr. Steve, his girlfriend Sandy; and their friends Chris and David went after graduating from Sylmar High.  Boy!  Thank You so much God up there for inventing the Pigeons.

          Daisy says Mr. Steve's Niece Samantha's boyfriend "Rick," who's a talented Carpenter; also went to Grant too.  Like Mr. Steve's Niece Stephanie's boyfriend Rich, he's a "Handyman." Mr. Steve, and his father; say they're very fortunate our family has both of them around.

"ULYSSES S. GRANT" HIGH SCHOOL (VAN NUYS)

               One morning, as my boss watered the front Mulberry tree; he and Mr. Mike talked about Grant High.  Daisy says the "Lancers" school Newspaper is called the "Odyssey" after the Greek story of that guy Ulysses.  Their primary color is brown I guess, the secondary color orange.

              When Mr. Steve's brother Sam played Baseball at Sylmar High, Grant was in their league.  Mr. Steve watched his brother play against them one time.  That big Dragonfly just zoomed bye the Sheds and I heard it coming from way over there to my right near Libby's Corral.  

          Tomorrow I'll write about how, in 1977; my boss's brother Sam's team played "Granada Hills" High.  The winner would play at Dodger Stadium for the city championship but Sylmar lost "by one run."  This guy named John Elway was a member of that Granada Hills team. 

                                 TOM SELLECK                                   GILBERT ARENAS

             I guess, from what I heard my boss say; some famous people have gone to Grant.  One is an Actor named Tom Selleck, who Dais and Millie saw in a movie about playing Baseball in Japan.  A few years ago Mr. Steve was told that Tom Selleck also went to "Valley College" too.

         This guy named Gilbert Arenas, who played Basketball in the N.B.A.; went to Grant.  I've mentioned how my boss and his friend Mark in Hawaii were Salesmen for the Lakers Basketball team.  I like abbreviations, like how N.BA. just stands for "National Basketball Association."

         One time my boss and Mr. Ralph walked around the campus' of Grant and Valley College. Mr. Steve said it brought back "fond memories" of times he and Sandy spent in Van Nuys, but he sure wishes he had "appreciated those times" more.  Both Donald and Daisy are quacking.   

                  MONKEES                               QUIET RIOT                      SYSTEM OF A DOWN

               My boss was told the Drummer's for the MONKEES and SYSTEM OF A DOWN went to Grant.  I'll learn about those two bands over the next three days.  I guess "S.O.D.'S" Singer also went to College over at "Cal State Northridge;" just like Mr. Steve and his family did too.   

            At Valley College my boss and Sandy met friends of a band called QUIET RIOT.  Their Singer, who died already; was also born in 1955 like my boss and went to Grant.  Mr. Steve and Sandy one time saw QUIET RIOT, with Randy Rhoads; play on the grass at Valley College.  

               On Saturday I'll write about Randy Rhoads and how, in the early 1980's; he became really famous but died young in a Plane crash.  Mr. Steve, Sandy and their friends saw him play a few times back in the 1970's.  Rudy the Roadrunner just jogged bye in front of the Sheds.

                                                      BENNY "THE JET" URQUIDEZ

             Dais told me about how, when our boss and Mr. Ralph walked around Grant High School; they talked about a guy named Benny Urquidez who went to Grant.  In the 1970's he was world famous in what's called the "Martial Arts."  Mr. Ralph knows a lot about that subject.

          Benny Urquidez's nickname was "The Jet" because of powerful "Spinning Round Kicks" he used to do in becoming a world champion "Kick Boxer."  He and Mr. Doug went to Grant in the same exact years I guess.  Mr. Steve and Sandy were at Sylmar High during that time. 

          I've mentioned before how Mr. Ralph knows a lot about the history of Boxing and my boss calls him a "walking encyclopedia."  Mr. Steve jokes about how he must have a "photographic" memory the way Daisy jokes about me.  Thank You God for giving me my good memory. 

                  GUNS N' ROSES                        VANHALEN                            MEGADETH

                Besides being a world champion fighter himself, Benny Urquidez also trained people too.  He's coached a few Musicians, like the bass player for that one band GUNS N' ROSES; and the Guitarist for MEGADETH.  Some of the Ducks are quacking over there next door.

               In 1984 Mr. Steve saw the band VAN HALEN, originally from Pasadena; do their pre-concert "Sound Check" at the Forum in Inglewood.  In the concert the Singer jumped and did spinning round kicks he learned from Benny Urquidez.  The song "Jump" is for Benny.

         That "Cul de Sac" named "Hagar" Street down there in Sylmar that has been so important to my boss's family.  Mr. Steve likes that Musician Sammy Hagar; who's from California.  Mr. Steve saw him play in MONTROSE and he was a member of VAN HALEN for a few years.  

                                                                    SAMMY HAGAR

           One time Daisy and Millie were in our boss's bedroom, and watched a tv show where that guy Sammy Hagar visited the home of "Duff" McKagan; who was GUNS N'ROSES bass player. They played and sang a song together.  Two of the Pigeons just flew bye right now.

               Dais noticed how, on the tv show; Sammy Hagar played a red, white and blue Buck Owens acoustic guitar like the one I mentioned earlier in this chapter.  As I just said, Duff McKagan was one of Benny Urquidez's students.  Those same Ducks are still quacking to my right.

              I guess my boss and his brothers took "Karate" lessons for a few years from this one man named Bill Parent.  They learned a system called "Tang Soo Do."  According to what I heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Mike on that one morning, Benny Uquidez's own style is called "Ukidokan." 

            LILLY / "BLINKY" RODRIQUEZ                      BLINKY / CHUCK NORRIS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

            Benny Urquidez was the "Brother in Law" of "Blinky" Rodriguez, who Mr. Steve took pictures for in the 1980's.  Blinky's married to Benny's sister "Lilly," they have five kids; and were both good Martial Artists too.  Oh!  I hear little Blinky barking over there next door.  

          Mr. Steve one time heard Mr. Benny tell someone he was part "Blackfoot" Indian, and his wife "Sara" was "Apache" related to "Geronimo."  Mr. Steve read Geronimo was "Mescalero" Apache.  I heard Mr. Randy say one time how there's a dirt road near us called Mescalero.   

           What a coincidence that, just as I happen to be mentioning Blinky Rodriguez; I hear little Blinky barking over there to my right.  Oh!  Speedy Gonzalez just run at full speed through the wider right vertical slot on the side of this back gate.  Boy!  It's amazing how he does that.

RIKI RACHTMAN

                 Dais says one time Mr. Steve did artwork for a guy who it turned out went to Grant High School.  He knew about Riki Rachtman who's from Van Nuys, also went to Grant; and in the late 1980's and early 1990's had a tv show called "Headbanger's Ball."  I smell a Joshua tree.

            According to what Dais heard, that guy told Mr. Steve Riki Rachtman has been on a few other tv shows and things like that since the mid-1990's.  I guess Headbanger's Ball was a show about the subject of Heavy Metal, especially here in Los Angeles.  Ah!  I feel good right now.   

           Oh what the heck!  Even though I'm not really scheduled to write about Studio Musicians right now, I just feel like mentioning the FUNK BROTHERS now too.  Daisy says Mr. Mark in Hawaii is familiar with the music they made.   Mr. Steve likes their 1960's songs the best. 

                                                                  THE FUNK BROTHERS

         This Encyclopedia says the city of "Detroit" is in the State of "Michigan."  A 1960's music company called "Motown" was there for a long time and the The FUNK BROTHERS were their really talented Session Musicians.  I guess Motown is just short for "Motor Town."                       

           I've mentioned Carol Kaye, who played guitar on that Ritchie Valens' song "La Bamba."  Back in the 1960's, as a member of the L.A. Studio Musicians called the WRECKING CREW; she played on many famous songs.  I think I'll wait and just look her up on Saturday.

            Writing about Session Musicians reminds of that 1980's song called "Funky Town." I really liked it when my boss played it on the Boombox.  Dais told me about how it's made in a "Disco" style and Mr. Steve at one time a few years ago used to try to play it on his drums.   

                                                                      LIPPS INC.

              I guess Funky Town was done by some "Minneapolis" Session Musicians under the name of LIPPS INC.  It has good girl singing and guitar but Dais says Mr. Steve likes to play it because of the bass.  Also, he told Mr. Dave; it gives him a chance to practice playing the High-Hat. 

            That band HÜSKER DÜ, from "St. Paul;" also came from the State of Minnesota too.  St. Paul and Minneapolis are called the "Twin Cities" Dais heard.  One time, as a kid; she says Mr. Steve did one of those line drawings he does of the Baseball Minnesota Twins "T/C" logo.   

          Ah!  What a coincidence!  Just exactly when I mention how Minneapolis and St. Paul are called the twin cities who do I smell?  This slight breeze coming in from the back field behind the Sheds just brought in the totally unique and blended scent of the Twin Joshua trees out there.  

                               PRINCE                                                                    MR. MARK

           Mr. Steve's friend Mark, who now lives over there in Hawaii with his wife Kim and their boys Taj and Dylan; was influenced in his music by that guy PRINCE Dais heard.  PRINCE is from "Minnesota," Mr. Mark grew up in nearby "Wisconsin."  Heathcliff just crowed.

          Daisy says that Parts Manager in St. Paul told our boss about this Minneapolis Recording Studio called "Sound 80."  That's where LIPPS INC. recorded that song Funky Town.  Mr. Steve danced with girls when he was young but doesn't really like dancing anymore Dais heard.  

          One time Mr. Steve told Mr. Mark about an old British "Guitar Tutorial" book he bought and sold years ago.  It was by this one man named Bert Weedon and English Guitarists, like Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Brian May; read it to learn guitar.  Ah!  The air is so clear.  

                               BERT WEEDON (1920-2012)                       "ORDER OT THE BRITISH EMPIRE"

            One time Mr. Steve mentioned that old tutorial book to Mr. Phillip because he's originally from back there in "Wales."   Daisy says Mr. Phillip had heard of that book even though he does not play guitar.  Looking out into the back desert behind the three Sheds makes me feel good.

          Daisy heard Bert Weeden not only wrote books, in 1959 he was the first British Guitarist have a hit in the "U.K. Singles Charts."  He was even made an official "Knight," so got a good medal from what Dais told me.  Boy!  If I have a medal I would wear it all of the time.     

         Below me up here on Elvira, a line of Grease Ants is marching bye down there on the Patio floor.  They're going from my right to left, or south to north; in front of Miss Emily's old Coffee Table.  Alpha Company of Quail are going underneath Moe the middle Shed right now. 

                                                "CAESAREA MARITIMA" (ISRAEL / 1985)

PHOTOS BY STEVE CÓRDOVA         

         Seeing those Ants down there walking across the patio makes me think of "Concrete."  I guess, according to Dais; Mr. Steve's father thinks its invention by the ancient Romans was one    of the most important things to ever happen.  It totally changed how things could be built.            

           In 1985 my boss visited ancient Roman "Caesarea," a coastal city in Israel.  King Herod built a "Man-Made" Harbor, an "Amphitheater" and a water "Aqueduct" made of "Cement" or "Mortar" hardened into concrete.  That guy St. Paul was in jail for a while in Caesarea.           

          Mr. Mike is good at using cement.  Mr. Steve told him how the ancient Romans invented cement but it wasn't until the early 20th century that it's use became "widespread."  Now almost every building or "Structure" is made of concrete, like our house behind me for example.           

                     KING HEROD (74-4 B.C.)                      

            I'll learn a lot about that guy King Herod over the next three days.  This one Encyclopedia says he's known for his "colossal" building projects, like Caesarea; and this other place I'll write about in a few minutes called "Masada."  Mr. Steve visited Masada too back in 1985.                     

           I guess King Herod, who was actually an "Edomite" who was raised as a Jew; had Roman Engineers build that Port city of Caesarea.  Hey Lord!  Back then when You were alive that area or region was called "Judea."  I can see Libby walking around over there in her Corral.                

       King Herod's "political rival" was that Egyptian Queen "Cleopatra."  They lived during the same period as those Romans Julius Caesar, Augustus and Mark Antony.  My Encyclopedia says King Herod built Caesarea "In honor Of" Augustus, who's original name was "Octavian."                              

   BATTLE OF "ACTIUM" (SEPTEMBER 2, 31 B.C.)      

          At the "Battle of Actium," after Julius Caesar was killed and civil war broke out between Octavian and Mark Antony; Cleopatra and "Antony" were beaten in a naval engagement.  Oh!  It took place on September 2.  That's Miss Maria from Mexico's birthday too I notice.                   

        It says here Cleopatra had a son with Julius Caesar but, after his death; she went over to Mark Antony.  King Herod "sided" with them but, after Octavian's victory; "switched sides."    Caesarea was built in part so "Emperor" Augustus wouldn't kill him too Dais heard.                     

       Over the next three days I'll find out about the Writers Will and Ariel Durant, who as a team wrote good books on history.  Daisy told me Mr. Steve and his father like them a lot, so I want to  learn about them too now.  They wrote about some of the famous ancient people Daisy says.                                       

  ARIEL (1898-1981) / WILL (1885-1981) DURANT

           Daisy saw a tv show that said Will and Ariel Durant died within a month of each other.  My Encyclopedia says they had been "collaborating" for over fifty years.  He might've "willed"  himself to death after she died, something Mr. Steve has seen happen a few times in his life.           

         It says here Will and Ariel Durant met when he was her school Teacher, he being from Canada.  She was an "Ashkenazi" Jew from the "Ukraine" area of Russia.  From 1935 through 1975 they wrote an "influential" twelve volume series called "The Story of Civilization."               

         Mr. Steve and his dad really like how Will and Ariel Durant write about history from an "Overall" perspective.  It says here they were "influenced" by the Philosopher Baruch Spinoza's   view of "Sub Specie Totius" or "From the perspective of the whole."  I smell some Sage.                       

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)             BARUCH SPINOZA (1632-1677)

PAINTING BY JOHN TAYLOR ("CHANDROS" PORTRAIT)                                                                                                                             

             Ariel Durant's real name was Chaya Kaufman but Will's nickname for her, "Ariel;" was a name taken from this character in that Shakespeare play "The Tempest."  I guess, because he    was mainly a "Philosopher;" that very often influenced their views.  Heathcliff just crowed.          

          I'm tempted to write about this Philosopher they call "Spinoza,"  but I'll wait until book two.  He, who was influenced by René Descartes; was a Portuguese "Sephardic" Jew who lived in the Netherlands.  Hey God!  That guy Einstein was very influenced by Spinoza's ideas.              

          If I had a Time Machine like Mr. Peabody Lord, I'd for sure go back and see You and Your family.  Hey Lord!  Is it really true that King Herod tried to kill You when You were just a baby  so Saint Joseph took Your family to Egypt?  And did he kill all of the other babies?                        

           MODEL OF "HEROD'S TEMPLE" (JERUSALEM)   

PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

           This one Encyclopedia says King Herod was called "The Great," just like Alexander from "Macedon;" and Constantine I.  In 1985 the Tour Guide Chaim said Augustus "installed" Herod in power as a "Client-King puppet."  Cleopatra was "Ptolemaic" Greek, not Egyptian.                 

           Hey Lord!  In 1985 Mr. Steve was so amazed at the miniature Temple modeled on the one King Herod, a "paranoid tyrant;" built and You went to.  You correctly predicted that second Temple would be destroyed.  I'll learn about the two ancient Jewish Temples in my books.           

       Mr. Steve says it's "plausible" Lord, because he was so afraid of assassination; King Herod killed all of the babies in Jerusalem.  The Historian Josephus said he killed members of his own    family.  Dais says that band BLACK SABBATH have a good song called "Paranoid."                        

"SWORD OF DAMOCLES"

ETCHING BY WENCESLAUS HOLLAR        

      What the heck!  Even though I'm not scheduled to write about a story called the "Sword of Damocles" now, thinking about King Herod makes me want to do it here instead.  It's an ancient Greek story about the fear many leaders live with.  A Crow is cawing out in the desert.                  

       Daisy and Millie heard Mr. Steve talk on the phone with Mr. Ralph about that Greek Story.  This one Encyclopedia says it's about a "Courtier" named "Damocles" who worked for a King    he "Envied."  So that King offered to "Trade Places" with him for a little while.                             

      Unfortunately for that guy Damocles, the King told him a "Condition" of letting him be King was that he had to have a sharp sword hang above him.  And it was held up only by a thin string. So, if "Gravity" pulled the sword loose; it would fall down and maybe kill Damocles.                              

   MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO (106-43 B.C.)

             It says here in this Encyclopedia how that Roman Writer "Cicero" wrote about the old Greek Damocles story, which was originally written in the 4th century B.C.  I mentioned before that Cicero ended up getting his head chopped off.  Heathcliff just crowed over there.                    

           I guess, since the time of Cicero; the Damocles story has symbolized the "never ending sense of fear and danger many people in power feel at all times."  And, it sure sounds to me like that guy King Herod was one of those rulers who must've had that exact bad feeling.                   

              It says here in "today's modern society" that Greek Damocles story now also represents, "a general sense of foreboding and dread experienced by anyone in a bad situation."  I smell a Sage bush.   And for some reason that reminds me of that one really hot day last Summer.             

          GEOFFREY CHAUCER (1340?-1400)             WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)  

                                                                                                                                                                     PAINTING BY JOHN TAYLOR

         It says here, the Sword of Damocles story has influenced other Writers; like those two guys from England named Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare.  "Chaucer" referred to it in  his "Canterbury Tales."  And Shakespeare put the idea in one of his Plays I guess.                          

         Oh wow!  I just now suddenly realized, it just now occurred to me; what that one old saying "Hanging by a Thread" means.  It's got to somehow be talking about that one old ancient Greek  story about that guy Damocles.  I hear Heathcliff is crowing over there next door.                           

        Mr. Steve read that there are about three hundred and twenty million Americans and about one quarter of those people are what they call, "Living paycheck to paycheck."  If that's true he  said, it's a "disaster waiting to happen."  It's like a sword hanging over your head he thinks.        

    JOHN F. KENNEDY (1917-1963)                     NIKITA KRUSHCHEV (1894-1971)

          Tomorrow in book two I'll find out about "Nuclear" weapons, which have been around since World War II.  To end that war, the U.S dropped two "Atomic" bombs on those Japanese cities of "Hiroshima" and "Nagasaki;" in August of 1945.  A Crow just cawed faintly.                   

         This Encyclopedia says, back in the early 1960's; President Kennedy called the threat of "Nuclear Annihilation" a "Sword of Damocles situation."  Since 1945, the U.S. and Soviet Union both have had the "Means" to totally destroy the entire planet Earth.  Wow!  That's bad!              

         When President Kennedy was in power his what they call "Counterpart" over in Russia was named Nikita Krushchev.   In 1961, his Soviet Union created a "Hydrogen" bomb; or most    powerful bomb ever.  Dais says it was even bigger than all of the other nuclear bombs.                   

"ATOMIC" BOMBS DESTRUCTION (JAPAN / AUGUST 1945)

            I'm tempted to write about nuclear energy but I'd better just wait and do it according to the outlines we made.  Boy!  It says here Hiroshima and Nagasaki were "reduced" to "heaps of rubble" and "twisted steel and concrete" by a "single" bomb.  That Crow just cawed again.         

         Wow!  No wonder the Japanese Emperor decided to surrender once he heard about what happened in those two cities.  Thousands and thousands of people were killed or injured.  Daisy    says Mr. Steve one time met a man who flew a B-29 like the ones used on those missions.                

          Even though I'll mainly learn about nuclear energy tomorrow, I just felt like looking up the dropping of those two atomic bombs on Japan back in 1945.  The three "Fundamental Forces" in the Universe are "Gravity," "Electro Magnetism" and "Nuclear."  I smell Mesquite.                      

         DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES   

          Looking down at the Patio floor makes me think about how so many things are made of concrete.  I guess most buildings are now made of it.  Boy!  How did the ancient Romans even think of how to invent something that is so soft, but then gets to be so hard when it dries?             

           I guess cement is made by mixing sand with gravel.  In the 1990's when my boss worked for Mr. Rick's "Mechanical Contracting" company many jobs, like the one they did inside of    Edwards Air Force Base for instance; used cement.  Ah!  The sky is so blue right now.                    

            Another job Mr. Rick's company did back then was replace pipes at a huge "Retirement Center in "Santa Fe Springs" called "El Encanto."  That job required cement.  According to my Spanish Dictionary the name El Encanto would be translated as being  "The Enchanted."                                                                                                                GRANDPA / GRANDMA TRUJILLO           

          Dais says Grandma Trujillo, who's mind was "Sound" but body got weak; was living at a Sylmar Retirement Center when she died.  The day before dying she ate chocolate, but couldn't      swallow it.  Mr. Steve, and his Niece Samantha too; went and cleaned out her room.                     

          Grandma Trujillo's "Wheel Chair" is in the garage and Mr. Steve has her book of "Cross Word Puzzles."  Grandma Córdova was living with his parents when she died but, her body was good yet; her mind was back to being just like a baby.  Heathcliff just now crowed.                         

         When cleaning out Grandma Trujillo's "Nursing Home" room her Nurse said, "Mr. Steve, you'll be happy to know your Grandma Lupe watched her favorite shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune the night before she died."  I smell old Sage.  That reminds me of last year.                        

     BERTHA BENZ WITH DAUGHTERS (IN FIRST "CAR")

           I wrote earlier about that 19th century German lady Bertha Benz whose husband invented the first Car.  In 1886 she and her sons "drove" the three-wheeled Car on the first "Road Trip." Like Mr. Steve's Grandma's, Bertha Benz was a good "Help Mate" to her husband.                      

        One time Mr. Steve got a Jeopardy question right when they asked, what "tool" did Bertha Benz use to "unclog" a "fuel line" on her famous first drive.  It was a "Hat Pin."  I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's mom still watches both Jeopardy and "Wheel of Fortune" on tv.                           

      I wonder if my boss knows this one quote in my Encyclopedia?  Karl Benz said of his wife, "Only one person remained with me in the small ship of life when it seemed destined to sink and  that was my wife."  I'll write about the "Mercedes-Benz" company in my books.                                                                                                "CAESAREA MARITIMA" (FIRST CENTURY A.D.)         

                PAINTING BY STEPHEN BORNSTEIN       

      I'm still thinking about concrete.  In 1985 the Tour Guide Chaim said the use of cement to build Caesarea's "artificial" Harbor was one of the "greatest" engineering accomplishments in    all of ancient history.  But these days only "Ruins" of Caesarea are left I guess.                               

       The eastern Mediterranean Sea has strong "currents" so the Roman Engineers created big walls or "Water Breaks."  In book two, I'll write about World War II's 1944 "D-Day" invasion    when a "Temporary" concrete harbor had to be created on France's west coast.                            

    My boss told Mr. Rick, to create the Water Breakers; the Romans floated gigantic wooden "Forms" into position.  Then,  like a "Mold;" filled and sank them using wet concrete.  I guess    Mr. Steve's parents were impressed, especially his mom who's made things with molds.                 

        "MONARCH" BUTTERFLY 

            That big Monarch Butterfly just flew bye.  Daisy's noticed how there are fewer and fewer Butterflies each year.  Miss Susan told my boss the most common type of Butterflies who live up here in in our area, which are different from Monarch's; are called  "Painted Ladies."                   

           Mr. Steve's dad, who thinks the world has too many people; read 65 million people move to cities each year.  One time, as my boss watered the Mulberry tree; Mr.  Mike said he thinks the "right kind" of sand needed to make cement may "run out" someday.  I smell Sage.                       

           Concrete isn't "permanent" like stone I heard Mr. Mike say.  I just thought of the concrete "Riverbed" built to hold the Los Angeles River.  Earlier I wrote about that river and saw a good  picture of a Car like one my boss's friend Gilbert used to have sitting in that riverbed.                      

                              CHEVY "IMPALA"                                             "LOS ANGELES" RIVER                                                             

   This other Encyclopedia has a good map of the L.A. River's "Route."  It starts near a place called "Simi Valley" and ends down near the Long Beach Harbor.  Before William Mulholland    built the Aqueduct that goes bye near us it supplied the water to Los Angeles.                                 

    I've mentioned how California's in a "Drought."  From what it says in my Encyclopedia, the Tongvan Indians lived near what is now the L.A. River.  I wrote earlier about that Tongvan lady  my boss met over there at the "Knights of  Columbus" Hall in San Fernando.                                 

    Back there in chapter four I mentioned Mr. Steve's friend Gilbert had a lowered Impala like the one pictured in the Encyclopedia.  He knew about how some people in New Mexico, just like    himself; also like "Lowrider" type Cars.  Heathcliff just crowed over there to my right.                                  

        "ESPAÑOLA," (NEW MEXICO)             

    When Mr. Steve talked to Gilbert on the phone Dais was laying on the floor of his office.  She heard him tell Gilbert he did art for a guy he met from "Española" New Mexico.  That guy said  some of the people in Española have also built low riding Cars over the years.                                 

    The guy from Española was "Santa Clara" Pueblo Indian.  He was surprised when Mr. Steve told him there's Santa Clara blood in our family.  He misses the Rio Grande River, cottonwood    trees, "Jemez" Mountains, red chile and oven bread from northern New Mexico.                            

I guess, when my boss Mr. Steve told him how his parents were from Belén; that guy knew exactly where that was.  My Encyclopedia says Española is seventy miles south of Albuquerque    and was called "San Juan de los Caballeros" as the first capital of "Nuevo Mexico" in 1598.         

                         AFRICAN IMPALA                                                      2014 CHEVROLET "IMPALA"          PHOTO BY CAMERON HANES                                                                                                                                               

        Daisy told me a tv show said "Impalas" are a type of these big Deer-like African animal called "Antelopes."  Wow!  Dais was right because, a picture in my Encyclopedia shows a Hunter near a dead Impala.  I guess those Impala Cars are made by the "Chevrolet" company.                

           Boy Impala's do have really big horns that they could use for stabbing you like a spear.  It would kill you if that happened!  Daisy told me boy Impala's also use their horns for fighting the other males, and if they win; they then "Have the Right" be with the other girl Impala's.              

          The tv show said African Impala's live in three groups, males, young males; and a "Herd" of females.  Daisy told me Mr. Steve and that guy Gilbert talked about how, over the years since way back in 1958; Impala Cars came in either "full" or "mid-size."  Heathcliff crowed.                 

        NEW MEXICO

          In the map of New Mexico I notice how the States of Arizona and Texas are on either side.  Española is located in el "Rio Arriba," while Belén is in el "Rio Abajo."  That means the river    "above" or the river "below."  And "Caballeros" is Spanish for "Cowboys."                                  

          I wrote about New Mexico earlier and, over the next three days; will learn a lot more about that area.  As I've mentioned, the Spanish first "Colonized" New Mexico at the very beginning of the 17th century.  Two Crows are fighting over something out there in the eastern desert.              

       California has Aqueduct's while New Mexico, since even before the Spanish arrived in the 1600's; dug these "Ditches" called "Acequias" to bring water.  Mr. Steve's family saw them when visiting New Mexico.  They're called "Venas de Oro," or "Veins of Gold" in English.                      

                     L.A. AQUEDUCT                                                   "ACEQUIA" DITCH                         (SYLMAR)                                                                                                (JARALES)         

           I'll mainly write about New Mexico's Ditch system tomorrow.  But, I will say now how in New Mexico ditches bring water from the "Rio Grande" River; which runs north, south in the    "Rio Grande Valley" where Belén and Jarales are located.  A Duck is quacking over there.            

           In my books Dais has me scheduled to learn about how water and salt have at times been so important that people fight and kill over them.  And Mr. Steve and his father suspect the day    may come where people kill for "water rights" again.  Boy!  I'm glad we have enough water.         

        Oh what the heck!  Even though Daisy and I decided that I'd mainly write about a "War Heroes Memorial" in New Mexico tomorrow, I kind of feel like mentioning it now too.  One time Daisy and Millie heard Mr. Steve talking on the phone with his mom about when it was built.       

"WAR HEROES" MEMORIAL ("JARALES," NEW MEXICO)

PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA      

           From what Dais heard, in 1988 Mr. Steve's parents helped in the organizing and building of that War Heroes Memorial.  It's in Jarales, and was "Dedicated" to twenty eight guys from      New Mexico I guess.  Fannie and Freddie, talking to each other, are now flapping bye.                   

         Many of those twenty eight guys from New Mexico died during World War II.   I'll write about it over the next three days.   Mr. Steve and his mom were remembering how much "time    and energy" went into the creation of that memorial.  Andy's sniffing the air over there.                

          Dais says Mr. Steve's mom picked the marble for the memorial from a "Quarry" in New Mexico.  Mr. Steve, who researched other memorials; helped her design how it would look when  it was finished.  Oh!  I just glanced up and notice a long white vapor trail up there in the sky.       

T-33 "SHOOTING STAR" 

          I just looked up in my Encyclopedia this "Jet" Plane called the "T-33," whose nickname I guess was "Shooting Star;" and also "T-Bird."   One of them was mounted on a "pedestal" and    is set up on the west side of that War Heroes Memorial in Jarales.   Ah!  The air is so clear.            

          It says here the T-33 was a "Trainer," and "first appeared" in 1948; or three years after the end of the Second World War.  That was also the same year "Israel" became a country, and the    year  before that guy Mao Zedong took over in China.   Thank You God for providing air.             

     Daisy heard how Mr. Steve's parents had a lot of help getting the memorial built, and will always be grateful for what others did.  They went to "Tucson" in Arizona, where Mr. Steve's      mom picked the old T-33 out of a Junkyard.  It was then "Restored" to how it looks now.                      

           CLARENCE "KELLY" JOHNSON (1910-1990)                

         Oh!  It says here how it was that man "Kelly" Johnson who "designed and oversaw" the creation of the T-33.  It was based on the "P-80" he himself had also worked on at that company  called "Lockheed" in "Burbank."  Boy!  Kelly Johnson sounds like he was really smart.               

        Daisy told me one time Mr. Steve and Mr. Doug remembered how Mark Ritter who died knew a lot about the subject of "Aviation."  He and Mr. Steve talked about the T-33 during that    time when the memorial was being done.  Alpha Company is coming in from the desert.                

       My Encyclopedia says the T-33 has had many "variants" over the years, and was used in "many capacities;" even in other nations like Germany and Japan.  That's so interesting how        both of those countries were our enemies during World War II.  Libby whinnied over there.                                                      

"VAPOR TRAIL"    

          It says in this Encyclopedia how, the T-33 was the first "U.S. Air Force" Jet to "exceed" five hundred "miles per hour" in "level flight;" and "used in combat."  I mentioned earlier how the German "Me-262" was the first "Operational" Jet aircraft.  It came out in 1944.              

         Before the economic recession Mr. Steve had a customer in the State of "Michigan" who said his father flew T-33's for the country of "Canada."  Mr. Steve told that Parts Manager about the War Heroes Memorial.  Alpha Company is going underneath Moe the middle Shed.                 

         I'm looking at my outline for tomorrow's book, but will talk now about a man from New Mexico named Leo Marquez.   He's the one who got the T-33 for use in the memorial.  Like Mr.    Steve's father, he was born in 1932; and also graduated from Belén High School in 1949 too.                        

LT. GENERAL LEO MARQUEZ (1932-2012)

       According to what Daisy and Millie heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Dave on the phone one time, that guy Leo Marquez became a "Lieutenant General" in the Air Force.  He and Mr. Steve's        father were friends.  It was a coincidence that both of their wives were named "Stella."                 

         I guess, General Marquez went to College at "New Mexico State," and studied "Zoology;" which my Dictionary says is, "The study of animal life."  Not only did he and Mr. Steve's father    have all of those other things in common; both had five kids too.   Wow! what a coincidence!         

   Mr. Steve told Mr. Dave in New Mexico how General Marquez's field was what they call "Maintenance and Logistics."  Logistics is getting the "Food and Equipment" to people in the      military.  So, it was really easy for him to get that old T-33 out of the Junkyard it was in.                                  

NAPOLÉON BONA PARTE (1769-1821) 

                                                                                                                                          PAINTING BY JEAN LOUIS ERNEST MEISSONIER                     

        Daisy and Millie one time heard Mr. Steve and his mom talk on the phone about a time when General Marquez and his wife visited Mr. Steve's parents, at their house down there in        Sylmar.  General Marquez's wife is really nice I guess.  Samson and Delilah flew bye.                     

         In my books I'll learn how armies, whether "In the Field" or not; "Sustains" itself.  Mr. Steve and General Marquez talked about how Napoléon Bonaparte supposedly said, "An army    marches on its stomach."  General Marquez said that's really a Frederick the Great quote.           

        Well, back to talking about things having to do with New Mexico.  After Columbus' 1492 first voyage to the New World, the Spanish explored North and South America for the next three centuries.  They "Colonized" what was called "Nuevo Mexico" in the early 17th century.             

NEW MEXICO "ZIA"       

      Even though I'm not scheduled to write about the "Zia" Sun logo until tomorrow, I feel like doing it now.  I guess it originated in New Mexico Zia Pueblo Indian artwork put on pottery and  it symbolizes "Father Sun."   Mr. Dave in Taos also talks about Father Sun too Dais says.             

       I guess when the guy from the Santa Clara Pueblo asked my boss how long the Zia has been the New Mexico logo he told him since 1925 which was thirteen years after New Mexico became a State.  My right nostril just picked up Libby the Horse's scent from over there.                               

    Dais heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Ralph on the phone he's drawn the Zia so many times he does it from memory now.  He puts it on the New Mexico sales orders he "Fax's" to the office.  Fax is short for "facsimile" or "exact duplicate copy."  There's no x in the word I notice.                                                                                      

     OAKLAND "ATHLETICS"        "FLEUR DE LIS"              ST. LOUIS "BLUES"                   

         I guess, besides logos like the Zia; Mr. Steve has drawn certain "Letters" so many times    he also does them from memory.  Some are "Old English" capital letters, like the "A" on the        Oakland A's uniforms.  He knows "S" and "C" because of his own first and last names.                

      Mr. Steve has drawn the French "Fleur de Lis" flower emblem, and the St. Louis "Blues" Hockey team musical note logo a lot.  Dais says, since he's been a kid; he's done line drawings of  many sports team logos.  Two of the Pigeons are flying together right over Libby's Corral.            

       Daisy thinks Mr. Steve inherited his ability to draw and do artwork from his mom. I guess  because she's old now, and can't paint or draw anymore; she colors pictures.  Mr. Steve then        makes them better by trimming, putting them on colored backgrounds; and framing them.           

ROCKY JR. / AMBER     

         I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve's Nephew Rocky Jr. back there in Texas is a really talented "Tattoo Artist."  And his girlfriend Amber is a good "Beautician."  According to what    Daisy and Millie heard one time, they share an office building in the city of "Arlington."              

         Daisy says she can tell Mr. Steve's brothers and sisters are really proud of all their kids.  One time on the phone Mr. Steve talked with his sister Susan about how her son Dalton, because his father has a Pilot's License; wants to become a Pilot someday.  A little Lizard ran bye.             

       Mr. Dave back there in Taos, when he worked as a Salesman for the company Mr. Steve, Babette, Susan and Karin work for; noticed Mr. Steve's neat handwriting.  Since living in New Mexico he's read about "Pueblo" Indian tribes like the "Zia's."  I smell some Creosote.                                                                                  

                   "ZIA" PUEBLO INDIANS                                

       My Encyclopedia says the Zia Pueblo Indians arrived in what is now New Mexico about 1200 A.D.  They settled in "Mesa Verde" about thirty miles northeast of modern "Albuquerque."  My Spanish Dictionary says that Mesa Verde would be translated as, "Green Table."                           

       I guess there are a lot of Mesa's in New Mexico.  Daisy heard Mr. Steve say one time how he's taken pictures of some of the tall "flat-topped" mountains.  Ah!  Two of the Pigeons just flew in from the eastern desert now and landed up there on the Patio roof right above me.                         

      Wow!  It says here at one time there were fifteen thousand Zia Indians living in New Mexico.  Now a thousand are left.  Before the Spanish arrived, in the 17th century; "inter-tribal" fighting  was taking place but the Spanish brought more warfare and European diseases too.                       

          "CORONADO" EXPEDITION (NEW MEXICO / 1540)          

      That guy Coronado explored New Mexico, looking for the "Seven Cities of Gold; fifty years after Columbus's first voyage in 1492.  And, 1542 was the year Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo came up here to Alta California too.  The Pigeons are walking around up there above me.                             

     According to my Encyclopedia, in the 1600's the Spanish had wars with the different Pueblo peoples in New Mexico; including the Zia's.  And, as they did in all the areas of the New World;    the Spanish brought in new diseases.  That killed a lot of the Zia Indians too.                                   

   Hey God!  As You know already, Mr. Steve read that the original Zia symbol had only three rays coming from the Sun circle in the middle.  And that circle represents the idea of something    that never begins or ends.  So that might be You, Father Sun; they're talking about.                       

     "3"            

       Zia's believe Father Sun greeted people when they emerged from the three lower levels of "Mother Earth."  Father Sun and Mother Earth help people survive, providing food, water and things to live.  I guess Mr. Dave in New Mexico believes in the importance of "3" too.                    

     My boss read the three rays of sun in that original Zia logo pointed in the four "Cardinal" directions to symbolize or carry "Life Lessons" on "tribal origins," a "family's strength" and the "interconnectedness" of all things down here on Earth.  Ah!  I can smell some Sage.                       

     Because the Sun has gone over the top of the house, and is moving toward the west; I see the Pigeon's shadows moving around on the dirt in front of the Patio.  And, I can hear the sound of    their voices up there.  Boy!  The sound of Pigeon's cooing always makes me feel calmer.                 

  "TAOS" (NEW MEXICO)   

                 PHOTO BY DAVE KOZIOL                     

             Earlier I wrote about how my boss's friend Mr. Dave, who plays the drums too; moved from California and now lives with his wife Julianne in Taos.  Just like here in Piñon Hills, it was a cold Winter back in New Mexico.  Mr. Dave even took a good picture of how it looked.                

     I mentioned this morning how Mr. Dave is a "Hupa" Indian from Northern California and one of he and Julianne's Dogs is named "Ling," or Hupa for "Dog."  The other day Daisy heard    Mr. Steve talking with Mr. Dave on the phone.  I can now smell some new Spring Sage.                

     Daisy heard Mr. Steve and Mr. Dave talk about how they're glad it's Spring because both of them think of this time of year as special.  Mr. Dave said he always looks forward to the "promise of Spring."  The Pigeons are flying away and I hear the fluttering of their wings.                             

                      MISS JULIANNE                                                              MR. DAVE                               

      Daisy heard our boss and Mr. Dave talking about Dave's girlfriend Julianne.  I guess she's a really good maker of "Ceramics" and things like that.   Mr. Steve says, from what he's seen on      Dave's "Facebook" website; he can tell that girl Julianne is a good partner.                                      

      This morning in chapter one I mentioned how Mr. Dave often says "Mitakuye Oyasin" which in Hupa can mean, "Blessings to All" or "All of our Relations."  Daisy thinks it might mean how all people down here on Earth are related.  But she admits that's just a guess.                                  

     As I've said, in my three books I'll learn about "Art History;" mainly because my boss's mom is interested in that subject.  I've mentioned before how, after raising five kids; she went back to College and got a "Bachelor's" Degree from C.S.U.N.  And it was in Art History.                            

                         GEORGIA O'KEEFE (1887-1986)               

          Georgia O'Keefe, who shares a birthday with Mr. Steve's Niece Samantha; is known for her New Mexico paintings.  But my boss says, after "going blind;" she switched over to making  clay "Pottery" things.  Boy!  I think I'd like to try to make some pottery someday.                         

            I've mentioned how Daisy, and Mr. Grant's girl Dog Miggie; are also going blind.  And so is Mr. Steve's father too I guess.  That's what Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell his friend Ralph on the    phone one time, when they were talking about the "Korean" and "Cold" wars.                               

        Mr. Steve's mom has made things from clay and we have a few of them inside the house.  Someday, I want to see her "Assyrian Winged Lion" bookend in my boss's office.  Daisy says it looks just like a miniature version of the big statue near the front entrance to our house.                                  

         "WINGED BULL" STATUE                                             ASSYRIAN STELAE     

h     

            I've mentioned before how there are some cement statues and stelaes on our fenced in two acres, which represent the four main areas on Earth where "Civilization" began.  And one of the areas was in "Mesopotamia."  I'll find out a lot more about all four areas in my books.                  

          Ah!  I just love breathing in fresh air through my nose.  Based on how this day has gone so far, I can tell the next three days might be pretty good.  But I promise God not to take anything    for granted and will totally accept it if things don't go as smoothly as Dais and I planned.              

        Someday I really want to see Daisy and I's "Facebook" page on the "Internet."  Mr. Steve has an empty one but Mr. Dave's wife Julianne's shows the "Ceramics" she's made Daisy says.  I guess Miss Julianne is a very talented person according to what my boss and Mr. Dave think.                                                         

ROCK / JUDY

     Daisy told me about Mr. Steve's brother Rock's Facebook "Web Site."  It shows some of the sports photography, and things like wedding; he's taken in Texas.  His girlfriend"Judy," who's    originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico; also has a Facebook page too I guess.                               

    Mr. Steve's brother has a lot of really good photography equipment according to what Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell his friend Randy on the phone.  He gave Mr. Steve a "Digital" camera.  Mr.  Steve has a lot of "Film" camera equipment "Stored" in the two Hallway closets.                           

      Boy!  Someday, when I get over my fear of being trapped in an enclosed area; I'll do like Dais and go all the way down the hallway.  I want to go in my boss's office to see our Facebook page. Unlike Daisy, who's seen herself in a mirror; I don't really know what my face looks like.              

SAM /YOLANDA

        I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve's brother Sam and his family live over there to the west of Piñon Hills in the town of "Littlerock."   That's about twenty seven miles away, which is just    over the distance of one of those "Marathon" races.  Fannie and Freddie are flying bye.                

    Earlier today I wrote about how Mr. Steve's brother Sam and his wife Yolanda have three kids.  Mathew is the oldest and then comes Sammy Jr. in age.  The youngest child is a girl named Raqquel who, like her mom too; also has her own personal Facebook website.                                 

      I just noticed this Lizard doing pushups while standing on the side of Moe the middle Shed.  Boy! The sunlight is making things so beautiful out in the eastern desert right now.  Ah!  Both of  my nostrils just picked up the scent of the clump of Joshua trees next to Manny the Shed.              

"APOLLO"

             The sunlight is lighting up the three Sheds.  Because my boss Mr. Steve is interested in the history of the ancient world, I'm planning on learning about Greek and Roman culture over the next three days.  The Greek God of the Sun, light and music was named "Apollo."                        

        The Pigeons just took off and are flying back out into the eastern desert beyond the three Sheds.  And I can see two Crows, I think it's Fannie and Freddie; winging bye from south toward the northeast.  Some of our neighbor's Ducks are now quacking over there next door.                     

          My Encyclopedia says the U.S. "Space Program" was named after that Greek God Apollo.  Back in the late 1960's, and early 1970's; that program used giant Rockets to shoot people all the way up to land the Moon.  Ah!  Theodora the Thrasher Bird just flew bye right now.                      

                   APOLLO ROCKET                    ABRAHAM SILVERSTEIN                 WERNHER VON BRAUN                                                                                         WERNHER VON BRAUN     "SATURN" S1-B  ROCKET MOTORS                                                   

       This morning I wrote a little bit about "Operation Paperclip" where the U.S. brought Nazi's over here to America to help beat Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union in the "Cold War."  The husband of the lady who built our house was one of them.  I can smell the Twin Joshua trees.                        

      One time my boss and Mr. Cliff talked about how "Ironic" it was that during the Cold War after World War II; Jewish Scientists like this man named Abraham Silverstein worked with ex-Nazi's like Wernher von Braun.  Dawn's barking.  And now so is little Blinky too.                           

       I guess those two guys "Abe" Silverstein and Wernher von Braun were really good "Rocket Engineers."  They cooperated even though the Nazi's, during the Second World War; had killed  six million Jews in the "Holocaust."  I hear two Crows fighting out there in the desert.                   

 VAPOR TRAIL    

       I just glanced up from working over here on my couch Elvira and see one of those long white vapor trails up there in the sky above the eastern desert behind the three Sheds.  There are a few Birds flying around out there.  Boy!  Looking at the sky makes me love the color blue.                   

       Mr. Steve thinks that those Jewish and ex-Nazi German Scientists brought here in Operation Paperclip could "cooperate" because of three main things; respect for each other's intelligence,    patriotism and a belief in redemption.  Heathcliff just crowed.  Boy!  I like his voice.                      

   I notice how Mr. Cliff said he thought another big reason why those Scientists would work together was because they both hated Communism.  In the late 1950's everyone was really afraid Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union would develop long range missiles with atomic warheads.                   

   MOON LANDING ("APOLLO 15" / JULY, 1971)

   According to what it says here in this Encyclopedia, from 1969 through 1972; six times the Astronauts in the Apollo program landed on the Moon.  I guess Apollo was the third American    "spaceflight" program.  organization.  I just noticed a vapor trail above the desert.                        

     Earlier today I mentioned how "N.A.S.A." is the overall organization that the United States created in order to go out into outer space.  And N.A.S.A. stands for the "National Aeronautics    Space Administration."  Andy and Helen just scooted bye in front of the Sheds.                              

       Oh my God!  A picture in my Encyclopedia shows this one Russian Dog named "Laika" who flew up into space.  The caption says, in 1957; Laika was the "first animal to orbit the Earth."      Boy!  That girl Dog Laika must've been really really brave to have done that.                                  

LAIKA (1954-1957)

     Oh!  Too bad that Dog Laika died in her one space flight in what my Encyclopedia says was called the Soviet Union's "Sputnik 2" space program.  Boy!  Wait until Dais sees this picture of    Laika.  I'll bet she'd be willing to go up into space, but I'd be too scared to do it.                              

      Wow!  According to what it says in my Encyclopedia, not just one but two "Monuments" or statues were put up in Laika's "honor."  I guess they were both "erected" in that Russian city of  "Moscow."  I'd definitely like that part of being a famous Space Dog that's for sure.                       

     In looking at my book one outline I see how I still have more to write about California and Los Angeles.  And I'm also going to learn more about the subject of building materials like stone, bricks and cement too.  One of those black Cow Birds just flew bye right now.                                

JUAN RODRÍGUEZ CABRILLO (1497-1543)

     Córtez "Colonized" Mexico in the 1520's.  Then, as I've written; for three centuries Spanish Ships explored "Alta" California but didn't think anything valuable was here.  I wrote about the 1542 voyage by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo.  Dawn's barking over there to my right.                          

       I've mentioned alta means "upper."  When Mr. Steve and his parents were "Tour Guides" at the San Fernando Mission they learned that, in the 18th century; the final area "Settled" by the  Spanish was Alta California.  That's when the twenty one Missions were established.                      

      Ah!  I smell Rosemary which makes me think of You Blessed Mother.  My Encyclopedia says, because they "feared" the Russians or British getting Alta California; the Spanish came up here. The "Portolà Expedition" came in 1769 to "colonize" and block them like in Chess.                       

GASPAR DE PORTOLÀ ( 1716-1786)               FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA (1713-1784)

       Hey Blessed Mother!  In 1769 the "Portolá Land Expedition" sent from Baja, or down there in Mexico; "Linked Up" with this "Naval" sea expedition sent at the same time.  Many in both      groups died.  But Father Serra, who was with Gaspar de Portolà; survived I guess.                       

       After setting up a "Primitive" colony in the area now called "San Diego," the Spanish looked up to the north.  "Portolà's" main job was to set up a series of settlements which would block the Russians and British from taking California from them.  I smell the twin Joshua trees.                  

    In 1769 Portolà had the maps Sebastian Vizcaino made in 1601 when he sailed up here from Mexico.  The problem was I guess, those old maps weren't exactly very "Accurate."  I heard my  boss tell Mr. Randy about it and that's what is says here in this one Encyclopedia too.                    

"DISCOVERY" OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY (NOV. 4, 1769)

  PAINTING BY A.B. DODGE            

       The caption under a painting in my Encyclopedia says, after leaving San Diego; Portolà led some of his men northward by land.  They then explored Alta California.  For the remainder of    the year 1769 they mapped areas that had never been seen by Europeans before.                             

        In the painting Portolà is "discovering" the San Francisco Bay.  The Franciscan Priests have those unique haircuts I notice, and a soldier is holding one of those "Arquebus" guns that I wrote about earlier.  I guess "Ohlone" Indians were living in the "Bay Area" in 1769.                              

      When that one guy Portolà first looked down on the San Francisco Bay he thought, based on Vizcaino's maps; he was seeing what is now called the "Monterey" Bay.  I wonder if he thought  about when Córtez looked down on the Aztec city of  Tenochtitlan back in 1519?                                                 

    FATHER JUAN CRESPI (1721-1782)

       A Priest traveling with Portolà in 1769 was named Father Crespi.  As Tour Guides at the San Fernando Mission Mr. Steve, and his parents; read things from his "Diary."  In this painting of    him I notice he's not wearing a Franciscan haircut.  Speedy Gonzalez just ran bye.                         

     My boss, as they loaded our Truck Rex with things for the dump; told Mr. Mike he's known people who went to "Crespi" High School which is located in the San Fernando Valley.  It's in the city of "Encino" where his father had his school for Stock Brokers.   I smell Speedy.                      

      Blessed Mother!  In 1769, when "camping" on the "banks" of  the L.A. River; Father Crespi named it "El Rio de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles de Porciúncula."  And that means,  "The River of Our Lady Queen of the Angels from Porciúncula."  Dawn's barking.                       

"ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT"                                     "GREASE"                        

     This is interesting.  My Encyclopedia says the L.A. River riverbed was used to film movie's like "Grease," and a World War I movie "All Quiet On the Western Front."  I want to see that    DEVO Video Dais told me about which uses parts of All Quiet on the Western Front.                     

      I guess when the L.A. River was dry and empty, a Drag Race from that movie Grease; and Arnold Schwarzenegger's  Motorcycle ride in "Terminator" were filmed there.  I've mentioned    how Mr. Steve took "Arnold's" picture.  He was with California Governor Pete Wilson.                

       Dais told me you can make houses out of rocks.  Tomorrow I'll write about "Llano del Rio," that failed early 20th century "Socialist Utopian" community I mentioned earlier.  It's ruins are near where that British writer Aldous Huxley, who wrote "Brave New World;" later lived.                          

       RUINS OF "LLANO DEL RIO"                                         THE "PANTHEON"                        PHOTOS BY STEVE CÓRDOVA          

      In Italy in 1985, Mr. Steve visited a concrete Roman building called the "Pantheon;" which means "Temple of the  Gods."  It's now a really huge Catholic Church.  In 2008 my boss and his family visited the "Rotunda" in Washington D.C. which is modeled on the Pantheon.                    

       Hey Blessed Mother!  It says here that Pantheon Church in Rome is "dedicated" to You now and has the world's "largest unreinforced concrete dome."  I mentioned earlier how on that 1985 trip Mr. Steve's Tour Group also went to see Saint Peter's gigantic "Basilica."                                

      Daisy and I decided I'd write about Frank Lloyd Wright, who used concrete to build houses; in book three when I learn about "Architecture."  But I can mention him now too.  I said earlier how Mr. Steve's sister Susan studied what they call "Interior Design" in College.                           

   FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1867-1959) WITH WIFE

         This Encyclopedia says Frank Lloyd Wright was from Wisconsin but is "associated" with Los Angeles.  Oh!  He died on April the 9th and in looking at my list of dates I see how that's Mr. Steve's old girlfriend Emily's birthday.  Mr. Steve's parents first met on April 8, 1950.                    

         My boss's friend Mark in Hawaii is also originally from Wisconsin too.  The caption under a picture of Frank Lloyd Wright says his wife "Olgivanna" was a "counter balance" to his often  "chaotic temperament."  I'd wear a crown like the one she's wearing in the photo.                         

         As I've mentioned, tomorrow in book two I'm going to learn a lot about the American Civil War and World War II.  And one subject Dais has me scheduled to find out about is the subject of "Fortifications," and the use of cement in what are called "Bunkers."  Dawn's barking.                           

   "MAGINOT" LINE     

        After World War I, between France and Germany; the French built a "series" of "Fortified Bunkers" called the "Maginot Line."  The Germans became known for their steel and concrete    World War II bunkers.  Wow!  A picture shows the big cannons in the Maginot Line.                      

      The problem was I guess, when Germany did invade France in 1940; they went around the Maginot Line.  Their army, or "Wehrmacht;" used "Blitzkrieg" tactics to "Route" the Allied      forces.  Tomorrow I'll look up this big, tall concrete Belgian Fort called "Eben-Emael."                 

     In both World Wars the Germans built the biggest cannons.  In 1940 they "Bypassed" the French Maginot Line but if they had attacked it they were going to use a giant cannon called the  "Schwerer Gustav."  It was designed to destroy concrete bunkers and things like that.                   

"SCHWERER GUSTAV" ("DORA")   

       Wow!  A picture in this Encyclopedia shows that gigantic German cannon I just mentioned and it's so huge!  The caption says it's nickname was "Dora" and was later used to bomb the city of  Sevastopol "into submission."  Cher the Cat is slinking out into the back desert.                        

   In book three I'll learn about World War I.  In 1918, from sixty miles away; the Germans "shelled" Paris with this gigantic "Howitzer" the French called "Big Bertha."  It says here they  had to "compensate" or "adjust" the "trajectory" by "figuring in" the Earth's rotation.              

     Littlerock, where Mr. Steve's brother Sam lives with his family; is about twenty six miles to the west of us.  So, the German Cannons could easily hit Littlerock from way over here in Piñon  Hills!  I just now picked up the scent of the Twin Joshua trees behind the three Sheds.                                

"ARTILLERY"

         There are three types of "Artillery" used in warfare, the "Gun," the "Howitzer" and the "Mortar."  A diagram in this Encyclopedia shows how the difference is the "Trajectories" each    sends or shoots the bigger bullet-like shells towards a target.  A Sparrow is chirping.                      

          The sky is beautiful with puffy white clouds hanging over the eastern desert, and Birds are darting darting about.  Alpha Company of Quail came in from the back field, and are now going    under Moe the middle Shed.  Boy!  It's sure a good thing they just missed Cher the Cat.               

          Thank You God for this turning out be a really good day.  Because so many things are dual in nature, I just thought of how cement and concrete can be used for bad purposes too.  In book two tomorrow I'm scheduled to learn a lot about what they call the American "Mafia."                                        

"DUTCH" SCHULTZ (1901-1935)     

            People think the Mafia is all Italian but some "Gangsters" were Irish and Jewish too.  In my three books I'll learn about "Dutch" Schultz, Meyer Lansky and "Bugsy" Siegel; who were    all Jewish Mafia-era gangsters who lived in New York City.  I can smell a Cholla cactus.                

           I guess Dutch Schultz drowned a guy by putting his feet in concrete and throwing him in the water.  He wore "cement shoes," and in the movie "The Godfather;" they called it "Sleeping  with  the Fishes."  Hey!  That girl Pirate Ching Shih used to do things like that too.                        

           In my books I'll learn about things like those three pyramids in Egypt; which were made out of giant "Stone Blocks."  I guess, since ancient times; smaller "Bricks" have also been used to build big "Structures."  And the Old Testament "Tower of Babel" was one of them.                                         

     TOWER OF "BABEL"         

            Hey God!  As You know already, if I could use Mr. Peabody's time traveling machine; one time I'd go back to is when the events in the Book of Genesis happened.  Boy!  I'd really like to    see and smell that Tower of Babel.  Was it You God who caused it to be destroyed?                          

            I guess the ancient Jews, after "Noah's Flood;" tried to build a brick tower all the way to You up there God.  Mr. Steve read, in ancient "Mesopotamia;" there's a similar story.  Daisy says for a while one on the renters in Sylmar was also named Noah too like in the Bible.                         

   Mr. Steve told Miss Susan the Historian Josephus, who I mentioned this morning; said the Tower of Babel was built as an "act of defiance" to You God.  So did You cause them to all speak different languages so they got too mixed up to finish?  I'll bet it was You alright.                           

         "ADOBE" (SAN FERNANDO MISSION)       

            PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA          

      I've mentioned how my boss Mr. Steve and his parents were Tour Guides over there at the San Fernando Mission.  In the 18th century Spanish Franciscan Priests, like Father Serra; built  the twenty one Alta Californian Missions using "Adobe" bricks.  I smell some old Sage.                 

      I guess adobe bricks are made by mixing mud with straw.  That straw is what they call the "Binding Agent" that holds the bricks together so they won't just dry up and then fall apart.  In  New Mexico Mr. Steve's Grandparents lived in houses made from adobe bricks.                             

     From what Mr. Steve told Miss Susan, after the dried adobe bricks are used to build walls; they're covered with mud "Plaster" that's later painted white.  "Whitewashed" is the word I'm  pretty sure I heard him use.  A long white vapor trail is up there in the sky.                                                          

        "PHOENIX" TOWER (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND)        

               PHOTO BY KIM HAIRSTON                     

         Mr. Steve's customer in the city of "Baltimore," in "Maryland;" told him about this tall brick building called the "Phoenix Tower."   It made "Round Shot" bullets by dropping hot lead from  up high into cool water.  During the Civil War it was the tallest building in America.           

          This Encyclopedia picture shows how nowadays the Phoenix Tower is totally surrounded by the modern city of Baltimore.  The Parts Manager said it's in downtown near "Little Italy."    The Baltimore "Bullets" Basketball team were named for the Phoenix Tower Daisy heard.            

          It says here, in 1828; a "Planter" named Charles Carroll "laid the cornerstone" for the Phoenix Tower.  At the time he was the "richest man in America" and the only surviving "signer of the Declaration of Independence."  Oh!  And he was Roman Catholic just like us I guess.                                                   

  CHARLES CARROLL (1737-1832)         

         PAINTING BU JOHN WOLLASTON                                         

         I really like the wigs people used to wear back in the late 18th century.  I'd wear one like what that man Charles Carroll is wearing in this one painting of him in my Encyclopedia.  I  think Dais would probably look pretty good in a wig if Mr. Steve were ever to buy us some.           

         A few years ago my boss did some artwork for a black lady who was originally from back there in Maryland.  Daisy told me they talked about American history and Mr. Steve explained    the difference between "De Jure" and "De Facto" segregation.  A Duck is quacking.                      

          My Latin Dictionary says that "de jure" means "by law" while "de facto" is "by fact."  In American "Segregation," de jure is when the government "Sanctioned" prejudice.  For years, it  was illegal to marry a black person.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny the Crows flew bye.                                         

        CIVIL WAR UNITED STATES (1861)         

           I guess "de facto" segregation, which still exists a lot; is when individual people's attitudes toward black people creates separateness.  This map shows how, four American "Slave" States,    Maryland, Delaware, Missouri and Kentucky; never left the "Union."  Dawn's barking.                

       Mr. Steve, and his customer in Maryland; talked about how that State's flag uses designs representing slave owners and the people against Slavery.  Mr. Steve told him his mom, back in    College; once painted the Maryland State flag.  Two of the Pigeons just flew bye.                             

        No!  I can smell a "Coyote."   They seldom come out during the day unless they're hungry so it's probably just left over scent from last night.  Miss Susan called Coyotes "omnivores" and that means they'll eat almost anything so I guess that definition would also apply to me.                 

        COYOTE     

      Coyotes, clever as Crows; sometimes trot bye at night out there on Primavera Road so Mr. Steve sees their "Tracks" in the dirt.   I've noticed Coyotes are often a boy and girl who hunt as a good team.  Ah!  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel is running bye right now.                                          

    Mr. Steve's friend Dave, who moved to New Mexico; says Coyotes are admired by many of the Native tribes in North America.  This Dictionary says "Avatar" can mean; "A substitute for  human beings in the imagination."  Heathcliff just crowed again over there.                                   

      One time my boss and Mr. Dave discussed how, about 10,000 B.C. when people first arrived in what later Europeans would call the New World; they noticed Coyotes.  Mr. Steve met a smart girl one time who told him "Jackals" are Coyote's "African Cousins."  I smell Sage.                      

MIGRATION ROUTES INTO NORTH AMERICA (c. 10,000 B.C.)   

      I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's friend Mark Ritter who died knew a lot about the different "Ice Ages" and how people came to North America from Siberia at the end of the last Ice Age.  I like the map that shows that famous "Migration."  Dawn's barking over there.                              

      Earlier I wrote about how most Scientists think the original inhabitants of North and South America came from Siberia by land and went past "Ice Glaciers" that, for a long time; blocked  the way south.  Oh!  Now little Blinky's barking.  I'm starting to like his voice.                                

     Mr. Dave in New Mexico thinks the original people from Siberia might've come by sea, way before the ones who came down by land later.  They might've sailed down the coast in Boats or    Canoes he believes.  My boss and his girlfriend Sandy rowed around in Canoes.                              

LAST "ICE AGE" PERIOD

   Another map in this Encyclopedia shows, in white; how much of the Earth was covered by those huge Glaciers, or Ice Sheets; during the final Ice Age.  But then, in about 10,000 B.C.; the    weather warmed up a lot.  So the Glaciers melted and "Receded" to the north.                               

     In book three on Saturday I'll write about the "Great Lakes."   Those five Great Lakes were carved out of the ground when the giant Glaciers first moved southward during the last Ice Age, and then moved  back to the north at the end of it.  A little Wren just flew bye.                               

    Mr. Steve had a customer in Wyoming from the Canadian "Province" of "Alberta."  He was a "Blackfoot" or "Siska" Indian just like that guy Benny Urquidez.  I guess, one time that Parts Manager told my boss about this thing in Alberta called the "Badlands Guardian."                                                         

"BADLANDS GUARDIAN" (ALBERTA, CANADA)

  Wow!  I just looked up the Badlands Guardian, which is the "natural feature" that Parts Manager told my boss about.  A picture of it from way up high in the air shows how it looks like a "profile" of an Indian's head.  Heathcliff is crowing over there next door.                                     

       From up in the sky the badlands Guardian looks like it was created by people and it can only be seen from really high because it's so huge in size.  I guess, after the last Ice Age ended; it was  created over thousands of years by rain and "wind erosion."  I smell Sage.                                      

      Dais says our boss's customer told him, because this road was built out to an "Oil Well" near the Indian's ear; it looks like he's wearing "Head Phones."  That Parts Manager and Mr. Steve    also discussed a thing called the "Face of Mars."  A black Cow Bird ran bye.                                  

"FACE OF MARS" ("CYDONIA" REGION ON MARS)     

      Oh my God!  A photograph in this Encyclopedia shows the Face of Mars.  It does look just like a person's face with two eyes, a nose and even a mouth too.  But Mr. Steve says, just like the Badlands Guardian; it's nothing more than what's called an "Optical Illusion."                             

      I've mentioned how my boss is interested in "Astronomy" and that's why I want to learn a lot about it.  He told the guy in Wyoming about the "Jet Propulsion Laboratory" near Sylmar.    And they discussed the "Viking 1" and "Viking 2" Spacecraft sent to Mars.                                    

       The caption below the picture says the Face of Mars is located in an area called "Cydonia."  And that region was named after an ancient Greek city on the island of "Crete."   According to    what it says in my Greek Dictionary, the word "Polis" is translated to be a "City."                         

"NAZCA LINES" (NAZCA DESERT, PERU)     

          Oh well!  Even though I'm not supposed to learn about the "Nazca Lines" until tomorrow, I can mention them now too seeing as how I'm thinking about the Badlands Guardian and Face of Mars.  They're in what is now the country of "Peru."  Mark Ritter knew about them.                

      A good picture in this Encyclopedia shows one of the "Geoglyphs" Indians down there in South America "scraped" or dug out of the dirt.  From way up high in the sky you can tell they    made it in the shape of a huge Spider.  Two Pigeons just landed on the patio roof.                            

        It says in my Encyclopedia the giant-sized geoglyphs were "created" by the "Nazca" people between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D.  The Spanish first saw them in the mid-16th century and Planes    flew over them in the late-1920's.  There are a lot more of them besides that big Spider.                                                        

   CONSTELLATION "ORION"        

     This is interesting and I wonder if my boss knows this?  I guess some people think the Nazca Spider was meant to represent "Orion," which I wrote about this morning.  I mentioned before    how I'll write about that "Constellation" throughout my three long books.                                      

    It says here the biggest geoglyph at Nazca is about twelve hundred feet long.  And the lines dug into the ground, to draw the many giant geoglyphs; are anywhere from six inches to six feet  across.  Wow!  There are about eight hundred miles worth of drawings at Nazca.                            

    Hey God!  I've mentioned that one book called "Chariot of the Gods" where they say some "Aliens" from Outer Space came down to Earth in ancient times.  The book says those geoglyphs at Nazca might have been meant for them to see.  But I'll bet it was so You could see them!                     

"STONEHENGE" (SALISBURY PLAIN, ENGLAND)

      Earlier I wrote about "Stonehenge" in England.  It's a "Prehistoric Monument" built over a period of a thousand years, from about 3,000 B.C to 2,000 B.C.  Each giant carved stone weighs  about twenty five tons!  Dawn's barking at something over there next door.                                    

   I've mentioned before how, what's called "Civilization;" began about 4,000 B.C. in China, India, Mesopotamia and Egypt.  That's approximately when some nomadic "Hunter-Gatherer"  people decided to settle in one area instead of following the seasonal food sources.                          

      Some people think that Stonehenge was used as what's called an "Astrological Observatory" for "Marking" where the Sun, Stars or Moon rise and set on the horizon.  That told the people    when to plant, harvest and other things like that.  Now little Blinky's barking too.                          

"NAZCA LINES" (HUMMINGBIRD)

      Oh my God!  Who do I see just exactly when I'm looking at a picture of a Nazca geoglyph in the shape of a Hummingbird?  Max just whizzed bye and is zooming out into the eastern desert    behind the three Sheds.  I wonder why his girlfriend 99 still isn't with him?                                     

    Mr. Steve's friend Mark Ritter who died knew a lot about geoglyphs and these other type of drawings called "Petroglyphs."  He thought that both were "most likely" connected to religious  ceremonies somehow.  I'll learn and write more about petroglyphs in my books.                              

      Boy!  Seeing all of the "Bird's Eye" view photographs in my Encyclopedia's makes me realize why Daisy wouldn't be afraid to fly like Underdog does.  But, even so; I think I'd still be way too scared to leave the ground.  Well, it's back to writing about Coyote's for me.                                                              

COYOTE     

      Mr. Steve's friend Ralph told him Spanish explorers first wrote about Coyotes in the mid-17th century.  I guess, Coyotes original "Nahautl" Aztec name was "Coyotl." In New Mexico  it  got "Hispanicized" into three syllables; by pronouncing it as "Coh-Yoh-Tay."                                

        I've mentioned that one older Shoshone man my boss met at the Phelan Library.   I guess he knows a lot about Coyotes.  He chuckled when Mr. Steve said it's amazing how, even if you see a Coyote; they seem to "magically vanish" and "disappear" in the "Blink of an Eye."                      

      Tomorrow I'll look up and write about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  I mentioned it this morning when I wrote about that Shoshone Indian girl named Sacagawea.  Mr. Ralph said Lewis and Clark thought Coyotes might be "Fox's" or maybe even "Prairie Wolves."                              

"LEWIS AND CLARK" EXPEDITION  

                                                                                                                                                                PAINTING BY N.C. WYETH

          In my three long books I'm going to write about females who helped male explorers.  That girl Sacagawea translated for Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition and carried a baby on her back while traveling with them too.  Max the Hummingbird just zoomed past.                         

          Way back in 1519 that other Indian girl named Doña Marina translated for Hernán Cortéz when he and his Spanish Conquistadores conquered the Aztec Empire.  I guess many Mexicans    don't like her.  They call her "La Malinche" and "mal" means "bad" in Spanish.                           

       All of a sudden, writing about those South American Nazca lines; makes me think about a big, giant eighty ton boulder in New Mexico.  I'm supposed to write about it on Saturday in book three but can mention it now too.  Dawn and Blinky are barking at something over there.              

80 TON BOULDER ("LOS LUNAS," NEW MEXICO)

                       PHOTO BY DAN RABER              

         I've mentioned a few times how Mr. Steve's parents are from New Mexico.  And near the towns of "Belen" and "Jarales" where they grew up is a huge boulder where someone scratched out the "Ten Commandments" on it.  I guess it's located in an area called "Los Lunas."               

          Hey God!  As You know, people wonder how a rock here in America could have a carving written in ancient Hebrew and Greek on it.  It's a mystery how it got there because it's in such a  "Remote" area.  My Spanish Dictionary says that Los Lunas means "The Moons."                        

          Dais says Mark Ritter, who died; knew about that big boulder in New Mexico.  He'd read about Frank Hibben, an Archaeologist; who saw those "Engravings" in 1933.  Mr. Steve's father was one year old in that year and, as a teenager; hiked up the mountain to see the rock.                

FRAY TOMÁS DE TORQUEMADA (1420-1498)

          Oh what the heck!  I just feel like writing about that big, huge boulder in New Mexico even though it's ahead of schedule.  I can also write about it on Saturday too.  Mr. Steve's father has at times wondered if it was created way back in the 17th century, or maybe even earlier.                    

          I've mentioned how, in the 8th century A.D.; Muslims from North Africa "Conquered" the "Iberian" Peninsula.  It took the Spanish and Portuguese seven centuries to take it back.  When  they did, it became "Law" that Muslims and Jews had to "Convert" to Christianity.                     

         At the end of the 15th century, in Spain; they had this thing called the "Inquisition" and it was led by Tomás de Torquemada.  He was a Catholic Priest and, Daisy told me; one of his jobs    was to make sure Muslims and Jews really did become Christians.  Heathcliff crowed.                   

         ALBERT ANASTASIA(1902-1957)                                OCTOBER 25, 1957                   

          My Encyclopedia says that guy "Torquemada" was called the "Grand Inquisitor."  In book two tomorrow I'll write about this Italian-American gangster named Albert Anastasia who, just  like Torquemada, "eliminated" people.  That's a nice way of saying they killed them.                     

         I guess Albert Anastasia, for the Mafia "Gambino" crime family; ran "Murder Inc."  His nickname, like Torquemada; was "Lord High Executioner."   But, when my boss's brother Rock was only eight days old; he himself was killed in a Barber Shop "Getting a Shave."                        

          Mr. Steve's dad thinks whoever chiseled the rock in Los Lunas might've been "Converso" Jew who, after Columbus' first 1492 voyage; came to the "New World."  A Converso was a Jew who became Christian.  It says here that a "Morrisco" is a Muslim who converts.                           

                 ANCIENT ISRAEL (PRE-"ASSYRIAN" CONQUEST)                 

          One time Daisy heard Mr. Steve talking on the phone with Mr. Ralph when they discussed that boulder over in New Mexico.  I guess Mr. Ralph mentioned the ten "Lost Tribes" of ancient  Israel.  I know I'll be learning a lot more about that subject over the next three days.                      

       In my books I'll learn about "Judaism" so, one of the things under that category are the different Jewish "Diasporas."  This Greek Dictionary says "diaspora" means, "to scatter."  And in English it would be, "Forcible dispersion of a population from one area to another."                  

           In the 8th century B.C. Mesopotamian "Assyrians" conquered Israel and took the survivors  into "Exile."  Later, only two Jewish tribes were left and it's a mystery where the other ten were taken to.  Mr. Steve read about Jews in "Ethiopia" which is down in Africa.                     

"PURITANS" ("MASSACHUSETTS BAY" COLONY / JUNE, 1630)

          Mr. Steve, and his parents too; think it's possible their family is partly Jewish or Moorish Northern African.   Some Christians, like Mormons or those "Puritans" who came to America in the 17th century; thought the Indians were the ten lost Jewish tribes.  I smell old Sage.                  

         Ah!  I suddenly smell the Twin Joshua trees and it's just when I'm looking at a painting in this Encyclopedia that shows some of those Puritans.  Hey God!  In this painting I notice how the caption says a man is raising up his arms thanking You.  Heathcliff just crowed over there.           

           I mentioned this morning how Joshua trees were named by 19th century Mormons.  They thought some looked like Moses' Assistant Joshua, who I guess would reach up to Heaven when    he prayed to You God.  I looked up in time to see Samson and Delilah the Ravens flying bye.         

                                  JOSHUA                                                                                       THE  "TWINS"                                                                                                                  

          For some reason God, smelling the Twins again right now, in both nostrils; makes me feel so good and want to pray.  Dais is so right when she says praying is relaxing, which I definitely need to do but; I'm getting better about now worrying as much.  Thank You God!                          

          Mentioning Puritans reminds me of how the first "Permanent" American British Colony "Jamestown;" was established in 1607 in what is now "Virginia." It was named for King James  I.  I guess Virginia refers to that one last "Tudor" monarch Queen Elizabeth I.                                

          In 1630 the Puritans, "Protestant" Christians; started their colony near where Mr. Steve's sister now Susan lives with her son's Dalton and Austin.  I've mentioned before how they live in    "Connecticut."  I guess the State of "Massachusetts" is to the east of Connecticut."                        

   ELIZABETH I (1558-1603)                                                                  JAMES I (1566-1625)           THE "DARNLEY" PORTRAIT  (1575)                                                                                                                                                          PAINTING BY PAUL VAN SOMER  (1620)        

   Wow!  My Encyclopedia has paintings of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.  I'll bet Dais would like the one of Queen Elizabeth because her favorite color is red.  I'd definitely wear shoes with bows on them like the one that guy King James is wearing in his picture.                                 

      I mentioned before how, even though they'd been here in the "New World" for a century; the early 1600's is when the Spanish also established colonies in New Mexico and also in what is now  the State of Florida.  I'll write a lot about the city of "Saint Augustine" later.                                   

    Boy!  It's a good thing I have all of these Encyclopedias because there's no way I'd be able to spell many names.   It says here Jamestown was created in an area of the east coast then home to the "Powahatan" Native Indians.  I guess they called their region "Tsenacommacah."                   

                                                                                         POCAHONTAS (1595-1617)                   

       I feel like writing about an Indian girl named "Pocahontas" but I'll wait until tomorrow and write about her according to my outline.  Mr. Steve read she lived a "short and sad" life.  He told Miss Susan in some pictures Pocahontas looks kind of like his dead sister Celina.                            

Mr. Steve told that Shoshone man about the Tongva lady at the San Fernando Knights of Columbus.  She said Coyotes were "tricksters" and that's why in the 1950's "Beatniks" admired them.  They're like Crows she said, smart and able to adapt to almost anything.                             

   In Tongvan "Iitar" is Coyote.  That lady said Native "portrayals" of Coyotes resemble the Viking God "Loki" or  the ancient Greek "Titan" Prometheus.  The Spanish came to California  in the 18th century and called the Tongvans either "Fernandeños" or "Gabrieleños."                                

                                                                                                                                                                                         CALIFORNIA INDIAN VILLAGE                                                                                                                                                                            PAINTING BY MARY LEIGHTON THOMSON

      I've mentioned how, in my three books; I'll write about some of the people who lived here before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.  That Tongvan lady thought the way many people now pronounce Coyote is from a 19th century Mark Twain book.  I smell Juniper.                          

        Mark Twain "Anglicized" Coyote to be "Ki-YOH-Tee."  That's how Mr. Steve's customer in "Missouri" pronounces it.  Wilt, the Auto mechanic from Texas who I wrote about earlier; used  to say "Ki-Yote."  Rudy the Roadrunner just whizzed bye fast right now.                                         

      Mr. Mike said Coyotes and these things called "Badgers" help each other. The Badger digs up the prey from the hole, the Coyote runs it down and kills it, then they share.  In Spanish the    name "Tejón" means Badger just like that place called "Fort Tejón" near Bakersfield.                                             COOPERATION             

          Badgers and Coyotes have a "Mutually Beneficial" or "Symbiotic" relationship like Bees and Flowers.  Coyotes, like Crows and Ravens; can adapt to almost any environment.   Mr. Steve was told once that QUEEN'S Guitarist Brian May protects Badgers over there in England.           

      Coyotes prefer to eat Mice, Rabbits and things like that but, if hungry; will eat Bugs and Lizards too.  Miss Susan says they'll even eat berries and plants if necessary.  Daisy says at times Coyotes seem to talk to each other and will come in to kill and eat us Dogs if the can.                      

         Boy!  It would be so terrible to be eaten by something like a Coyote or Mountain Lion.  Ah!  A nice cool breeze just blew in Rudy the Roadrunner's scent from the eastern desert behind the Sheds and that reminds me of last Summer.  Boy God!  I sure hope it's not as hot this year.                                                                BONNIE FEEDING HER BABIES                 

          Up in the nest Bonnie the Bird is throwing up food in her stomach to feed the babies.  Those baby Birds sound really hungry and now that I think of it I'm getting kind of hungry too.  Boy!  I wonder why Mr. Steve hasn't come out to give us not even one snack so far today?                          

        Daisy was right.  She thought it would be a warmer than usual Spring when we saw Bonnie and Clyde building their nest way earlier than usual this year.  Hey God!  Thank You for such a  nice day for me to learn how to read and write and find out so many new things.                            

         Thank You God for sending me here to live.  Oh!  Andy and Helen the Squirrels are playing over near the rocks Mr. Steve piled in front of the back fence.  It was a cold Winter.  I notice how Squirrels have feet that seem to endure the cold even when walking on snow or ice.                                                          

  ANDY AND HELEN PLAYING

        Andy and Helen are now wrestling and playing over there near the back fence.  They're in a  good mood, and I'll bet part of the reason why is because of their new babies already being here; and how it's the very first day of Spring too.  But they're alert for Cher and Goliath too.  

        I wonder what Daisy's doing right now?  I'll bet she's laying down and resting, either out on the cement slab driveway or inside of the garage sleeping on her Barney the Dinosaur blanket.   Seeing Andy and Helen jostling around makes me feel good for some reason.

        Oh!  Speedy Gonzalez just used the right vertical slot on the side of the back gate to come in from being out in the eastern desert.  I've noticed how most Squirrels move in short spurts.  But not Speedy who runs a lot more and is usually in "Constant Motion" so to speak.  

SPEEDY GONZALEZ

        As I've mentioned, Mr. Steve not only spreads Bird Seed and Chicken Scratch on the ground below his office window; he also puts out Pellets for Rabbits and Squirrels too.  And Speedy just zoomed around the northeast corner of the house to go up there to the front yard.    

       Boy!  I've already learned new things today and I'm getting better and better at reading and writing and practicing both things.  I'm surprised Mr. Steve hasn't given Daisy and I any snacks yet today.  I can't wait to go visit Dais after this seventh chapter is finished. 

      Mr. Steve says Squirrels are so smart.  He used to get mad when they stole Bird seed from the two Bird Feeders hanging from the tree branches but now he just puts out extra food and sees it as the "Price to Pay" for enjoying watching them.  Squirrels, like Crows; hide food.

ANDY AND HELEN SINGING 

        Dais told me Squirrels trick or fool Crows by pretending to bury "Nuts" but drop rocks in the hole instead while keeping the nuts in their mouths.  Andy and Helen are over there near the back fence chattering away.  I'll bet they're celebrating because they know it's Springtime. 

        I know one thing.  Momma Squirrels will get mean and try to bite you if you get too close to their babies.  Helen had three babies last year but none are around here anymore.  Daisy thinks that they either died somehow or found their own territories to start their own families.

        Sitting back here on Elvira and looking to my front I see a few Birds zipping about out there in the eastern desert behind the three Sheds.  I hear a few of them chirping too.  Andy and Helen just ran back to the burrow, Helen going down inside; Andy taking up his position as guard.  

"CREATION"      

"SISTINE" CHAPEL (MICHAELANGELO BUONAROTTI)

       Hey God!  My boss met a lady who thought there was sacredness in how You made it so two parents are needed to make a third life.   When I see Andy and Helen it kind of makes me want to have some babies of my own to raise and teach.  Boy! That would be so great I think!  

       Daisy, who's had babies; thinks I'd be a good mother.  All of her babies were given away but if I had some babies I'd want to keep all of them.  Hey God!  As You know already, I sort of want to believe that You at times reach down here and cause some things good to happen.  

      As You know God, besides feeling You in the Sun; I've come to see You in the form of all the flowers.  Mr. Steve's mom thinks of flowers that way too.  I sure do hope that You send us a lot of flowers this coming year, like some of those big pretty yellow "Sun" flowers for instance.

      "SUNFLOWERS"       

          Dais and I were remembering how, last Summer; three Sun Flowers grew up near the back fence.  That Tongvan lady Mr. Steve met at the San Fernando Knights of Columbus Hall said in her language "Paaxar" is the word for Sun Flower.  Heathcliff crowed over there to my right.

         I love to smell and look at flowers; whether the wild flowers that grow around here or the "Roses" and "Oleanders" our neighbors grow.  I can't wait to smell our neighbors flowers when they come out for the first time this new year.  And hopefully God, that will be pretty soon. 

        Mr. Steve jokes sometimes that, in a way; flowers are kind of like the world's first ever form of "advertising."  Because most flowers can't move, they attract Animals or Insects to come and drink their "Nectar;" which gives them more energy.  Heathcliff's voice makes me feel good. 

                                                                         "ORCHIDS"

               In return for giving Bugs and things like that energy; colorful flowers have their "Pollen" carried to other areas when it attaches to those Bugs.  I guess flower pollen makes baby flowers.  Mr. Steve's mom's Girl Scout troops used to make some good-smelling soap with flowers. 

          Mr. Steve thinks flowers evolved to advertise to people too because they looked pretty and smelled good which made people want to plant gardens.  He jokes you can tell which flowers use the wind to carry pollen because they don't "bother to look as good."  I smell Juniper.  

            A long white vapor trail up there in the sky right now is making me of an Airplane Pilot named Cal Rodgers.  I'm scheduled to write about him in my third book on Saturday but I sort of feel like looking him up now too.  A Train whistled faintly out there in the northern desert.  

                    WRIGHT BROTHERS                                               CAL RODGERS (1879-1912)   

           When Mark Ritter died Mr. Steve got his books on the history of early Aviation.  Mr. Cliff borrowed it one time and, as my boss watered the Mulberry tree up there in the front yard; they talked about Cal Rodgers.  Ah!  I'm pretty sure I smell a Lizard somewhere around here.

       Mr. Cliff said Cal Rodgers is a "Trivia" question.  Many know about Charles Lindbergh or Amelia Earhart he joked, but no one knows of Cal Rodgers.  In 1911, eight years after those two Wright Brothers flew their first Airplane; he flew from "Coast-to Coast" in America.

       This one Encyclopedia says that, as a kid; Cal Rodgers got "Scarlet Feaver" and went deaf like that girl Helen Keller.  So, he was not allowed to go into the Military but instead became an Airplane Pilot.  That kind of reminds me of that little hunchback guy Homer Lea. 

                                                           COMMODORE MATHEW PERRY (1794-1858)

       Wow!  It says here Cal Rodgers' Great Grandfather was Commodore Perry, who fought in the Mexican War and I'll write about later today.  In 1853 Commodore Perry opened up Japan to U.S. trade.  A Lizard is standing over there on the wall near the sliding glass door.

      I guess that guy Cal Rodgers was originally from the city of Pittsburgh, just like my boss's friend Rick's family were.  Mark Ritter thought what Cal Rodgers did was impressive because he used a "primitive" Plane and there were no Airports in 1911.  Dawn's barking.

     It says in my Encyclopedia that Cal Rodgers was "injured" a few times on that first coast-to-coast flight in 1911.  Oh!  Too bad Cal Rodgers died in a Plane crash the very next year.  I looked up just in time to see a flock of Birds flying bye way up there in the light blue sky.  

                                            "BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS" (WAR OF 1812)

        In my books I'll write about the wars the U.S. has been in.  One, about thirty years after the American Revolution; was the "War of 1812" which Cal Rodgers' relative fought in.  The British burned the President's "White House" in Washington D.C. during that war.                               

      Andrew Jackson, who I'll learn about over the next three days; won a 1815 battle near New Orleans in the War of 1812 and the Indian Chief Tecumseh also fought against America in that    war too.   Mr. Steve likes a song called the "Battle of New Orleans."  I can smell Libby.                 

   Mentioning that guy Commodore Perry Daisy makes me feel like writing about Japan.  For much of Mr. Steve's life the family Doctor's were Japanese-Americans.  They were a brother and a sister who's Office was in the city of San Fernando.  I really like how Libby smells.                                         

                                                                      "SAMURAI"

           Someday, when I overcome my fear of being enclosed; I'll see my boss's "Samurai" swords. I want to be brave like a Samurai Warrior.  On Saturday, day after tomorrow in book three; I'll learn a lot more about these other Japanese guys Daisy told me about called "Yakuza." 

       This Encyclopedia has a painting of a Samurai Warrior, sitting on a Horse and; I'd definitely wear a helmet like the one he's wearing.  I notice how his Horse looks very mean too, and is also wearing "Armor."  Glancing to my right, I can see Libby over there standing in her Corral. 

       This Encyclopedia says, from 1185 through 1868; Samurai Warrior "Shoguns" ruled Japan.  Samurai were an "elite warrior class" who'd rather "Die than Lose."  In the 20th century that idea influenced World War II Japanese and German Soldiers.  A Shogun is a "military dictator."

2014 SUZUKI "JIMMY / "SAMURAI"

        Dais and Millie one time were in Mr. Steve's office on a hot Summer day when they heard him talking to one of Honda customers.  They discussed this other Japanese Car maker called      "Suzuki, " who made a vehicle called "Samurai" I guess.  Andy's over there sniffing the air.         

     The Parts Manager told our boss the Samurai is one of the names over the years it's been called.  Before it was Samurai Suzuki called it "Jimmy," and it was renamed Jimmy a few years  later.  Fannie and Freddie, talking to each other; are flying together toward the northeast.            

       Samurai Cars were a "series of four-wheel drive off road mini S.U.V's" the Parts Manager said.  They were the first Car that Suzuki sold in the United States, and down in Australia were    called "Sierra."   A Train just whistled faintly over there to my left at the end of the Patio.             

                                               DR. MARY ODA (PACOIMA / 2011)       

          Oh what the heck!  Even though I'm not really scheduled to write about them until the day after tomorrow in book three, I just kind of feel like writing about Mr. Steve's two family Doctors in this first book too.  They were a brother and sister Japanese-American "Nisei." 

         A picture shows Dr. Mary Oda in front of a "Mural" in Pacoima.  Behind her the images of she and her older brother Dr. Sakaguchi are painted on the wall.  My boss had a dream where he thanked both doctors for all of the things they did for his family over the many years.  

        That man Dr. Sakaguchi "Set" Mr. Steve's broken bones and "stitched him up" a few times I guess.  In the early 1960's Dr. Oda "Delivered" his brother Sam and then his sisters Celina and Susan too.  Some of the Ducks are quacking about something over there next door.

   THE "WONDER YEARS"

          Someday, when I get over my fear of enclosed spaces; I'd like to see that one tv show called the Wonder Years.   This morning I wrote how it's about kids in 1968 who live in this American suburb.  The "Main" character is that one thirteen year old boy named "Kevin."

        As I wrote earlier, Dais told me about that episode of the Wonder Years where Kevin tries to "Show Off" for a girl he likes named "Winnie."  But, he ends up being really "Embarrassed" by a dropped Football thrown by his mean older brother.  I smell some new Mesquite.   

          When my boss tried to show off for that girl "Sheri" when he was thirteen he cut his face.  I wrote about it this morning.  And it was Dr. Sakaguchi who sewed up the long cut that went from the corner of Mr. Steve's mouth almost all of the way over to the bottom of his left ear. 

                                                      DR. SAKAGUSHI WITH WIFE KAY

       Daisy heard Mr. Steve and Mr. Ralph talking on the phone about Dr.'s Oda and Sakaguchi.  They were both married and had kids, some of which Mr. Steve met.  Dr. Sakaguchi was always    very "Involved" in things to do with the northeast San Fernando Valley community.                      

            Dr.'s Oda and Sakaguchi opened an office in San Fernando in 1955 which was the year my boss was born.  As I've mentioned before, Mr. Steve's parents moved from New Mexico out here to California in 1960.  A flock of Birds are flying bye way up there in the blue sky.

        In 1960 Mr. Steve's parents bought that first house on Hagar Street in Sylmar.  And I guess soon after that they began going to go see Dr. Oda and Sakaguchi when "Medical Attention" was needed.  In 1960 my boss was five years old and his brother Rock was only three. 

                                               "TUNA"                                                            "SWORDFISH"                                                  

           Over the years my boss, and his brothers and sisters; got to know Dr. Oda and Sakaguchi's offices.  Mr. Steve has had dreams where he sees the photos on Dr. Sakaguchi's office wall of big Fish he caught.  One was of a "Tuna" and another one showed a "Swordfish."  

         As I've said before, in my books I hope to describe people and animals who have influenced my boss and his family's lives so Dr.'s Oda and Sakaguchi will be a part.  I wish I could go back in time to smell Dr. Oda and her older brother.  Thinking of Tuna makes me hungry.

      Mr. Steve, and his brothers and sisters; mainly went to Catholic schools like St. Ferdinands. And for 9th and 10th Grades my boss went to "Alemany" High School where for many years Dr. Sakaguchi was what they call the "Team Doctor" for sports.  Two of the Pigeons flew bye.             

                             MISS EMILY                                                    U.C.L.A. CAMPUS

              Miss Emily, my boss's ex-girlfriend; works for U.C.L.A.  I guess both Dr.'s Sakaguchi and Oda; and that lady Miss Helen too; went to College there so are what they call "Alumnus."  Mr. Steve, his brother Rock, sister Susan, and their mom; are all alumnus of C.S.U.N.  

             As I've said before, over the next three days I'm going to learn about College campus's and cemeteries because my boss is interested in them.  At least that's what Daisy has told me and she  would know because she goes in the house a lot.  Someday I'll go in there too. 

           Later this afternoon I'm scheduled to write about the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics which Mr. Steve's family was involved in.  And so was Dr. Sakaguchi as a "Medical Advisor."  Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell his friend Ralph on the phone Dr. Sakaguchi was good at "Judo." 

BENJAMIN

                Benjamin the Bronze Cow Bird just ran underneath Moe the middle Shed.  It's so weird how Cow Birds, and Thrasher Birds like Theodora; run so much on the ground even though they can fly any time they really want to.  I wonder why they're not called Black Cow Birds?

              One time our boss met a nice Japanese-American lady Dais says.  Before World War II her family lived in West Los Angeles near where Miss Emily lives.  In 1942, the U.S. Government thought her father might be a "Spy "so beat him up to make him confess; but he didn't.

              That lady said Nisei are children of Japanese immigrants, her parents were "Issei;" and together they're "Nikkei."  Mr. Grant and his wife Laurie, besides the house in Rosamond; have a "Condo" in an area of L.A. called "Little Tokyo."  Condo is short for "Condominium."   

                   FORMER "SERRA MEMORIAL" HOSPITAL ("LAKE VIEW TERRACE") 

               I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve's first girlfriend was named Sandy and her mom was a Nurse.  The Hospital Sandy's mom worked at was called "Serra Memorial" and was in an area near Pacoima called "Lake View Terrace."   I smell a Sage bush out in the desert. 

          Mr. Steve and his girlfriend Sandy's first jobs were working at a "Pharmacy" in the Serra Memorial Hospital.  Sandy wore a white uniform and worked "Behind the Counter" while he was the "Delivery Boy."  It was Sandy's mom who got them those jobs I guess. 

            Earlier I wrote about how, in the 1980's; my boss and his friends Mark and Helen worked as salespeople for the different L.A. sports teams.  Mark, who grew up in Milwaukee and now lives over there in Hawaii with his family; lived in Lake View Terrace for a few years. 

                                                             "BEVERLY HILLS 90210"

             I guess some tv shows and movies have been filmed over there at Serra Memorial Hospital.  One tv show was called "Beverly Hills 90210" and, in the late 1980's; Mr. Steve watched it with his girlfriend Harriet a few times.  Scenes from the Terminator movie were shot there.

         From what I heard my boss Mr. Steve tell that lady Miss Susan one time, Serra Memorial Hospital was closed a few years ago.  It's now a place where people addicted to drugs go to try to get better.  That Monarch Butterfly is going bye right now in front of the Sheds.

        Serra Memorial Hospital, where Mr. Steve had his tonsils taken out by Dr. Sakaguchi; was named after that 18th century Franciscan Priest Father Serra.  As I wrote about earlier today, he established the first nine Alta California Missions.  I smell a Creosote bush.  

                                                          RODNEY KING BEATING (1991)

          The day after tomorrow in book three I'll write about the two trials of that Football player O.J. Simpson.  His trials happened a few years after a black guy named Rodney King was beaten in Lake View Terrace by the Police.  O.J. Simpson, like my boss; was born on July 9th.

      When the Police Officers who beat Rodney King were what they call "Acquitted," or found to be not guilty; some big riots broke out in Los Angeles.  For about a week angry black people burned and destroyed things.  Some people were even killed I guess.

      Also in my third book on Saturday I plan on writing about this one Actor from Texas named Patrick Swayze.  He died a few years ago and Daisy heard Mr. Steve visited him at his Arabian Horse Ranch in Lake View Terrace.  Daisy says there's a dirt road called "Rancho" near us.   

  BOBBY CHACON / "BAZOOKA" LIMON               BOZA EDWARDS / BOBBY CHACON                                                                                                                                                   

      Earlier today, when I mentioned that Boxer Bobby Chacon; I wrote about how he was from Pacoima.  But actually, his parents brought he and his brothers up in Lake View Terrace which some people almost consider a part of Pacoima.  Donald and Daisy are quacking next door.

       Bobby Chacon was a friend of Blinky Rodriguez who I wrote a little bit about earlier in this chapter.  He and Blinky both went to San Fernando High School.  Daisy heard our boss say that, as good a Boxer as Mr. Bobby was; in High School he was just as good at playing Baseball. 

        Mr. Steve can tell how much you've played Baseball just by playing "Catch" with you.  So he knew within a few throws that Bobby and his brother Danny were good.  I've mentioned how my boss can throw and catch a Baseball with either hand, but is mainly right-handed.

                              MR. RALPH (IN FRONT OF SAN FERNANDO MISSION)

PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA         

          My boss's friend Mr. Ralph also went to San Fernando High School and that's where he met Bobby Chacon.  At one time he was what they call a "Sparring Partner" for other Boxers.  But, he quit because he was smart enough to realize he wasn't a good Boxer; so could get hurt.

       I feel like writing about Bobby Chacon right now but I'll just wait and do it according to the outlines Dais and I put together.  I will say that, first in the 1970's and later in the 1980's; Bobby was champion of the whole world.  He had two "Step" brothers, "Johnny" and "Danny." 

      Mr. Steve wrote that book about Bobby Chacon.  As I said earlier, when he described Bobby's face being "sewn up like a piece of torn upholstery" Bobby said to him in surprise, "How did you know?"  He knew was because Dr. Sakaguchi sewed up his face in a very similar way. 

                                        "MANZANAR" INTERNMENT CAMP (1943)

                                                                                                                                     PHOTO BY ANSEL ADAMS 

         In the next chapter I'll write about how, at the beginning of World War II in 1942; over one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese-Americans were put in jail.  Dr. Sakaguchi and Dr. Oda at that time were teenagers.  Fannie and Freddie, talking to each other; are flying bye.

      The "Relocation" or "Internment" camp Dr. Sakaguchi and his sister were sent to with their family was here in California and was called "Manzanar."  A photograph by that one guy Ansel Adams, who I'll write about in my three books; is in this Encyclopedia.  Dawn's barking.

      In Manzanar Dr. Oda and her brother's father and brother died.  Mr. Steve's dad is grateful that, when he was low on money; Dr. Sakaguchi and Dr. Oda let him pay them by what they call "Installments."  Mr. Steve sometimes loans people money and does the same thing.  

                            PRESIDENT KENNEDY KILLED (NOVEMBER 22, 1963)

               Earlier I wrote about how, in 1963 when my boss was eight; President Kennedy was shot and killed in  Dallas, Texas near to where his brother Rock and sons Rocky Jr. and Jacob live.  And, as I mentioned; that guy Aldous Huxley also died on that day.  A Raven is clucking.

            On the Saturday morning that President Kennedy was shot to death Mr. Steve's mom had an appointment with Dr. Oda.  Mr. Steve was in the "Waiting Room" reading a Magazine when he heard a Nurse named Mary say "The President's been shot."  I smell Mesquite.

            Mr. Steve, and his father too; think the Mafia might've had "something to do" with what happened back in 1963.  They had all three things you look for in a crime, "Motive," "Means" and  "Opportunity;" too.  As they ask in Latin, "Cui Bono?;" or "Who Benefits?"   

        "CHERRY BLOSSOM" FESTIVAL       

            I'm still thinking of Japan  and my Encyclopedia shows Japanese people under "Cherry Blossom" trees.  Mr. Steve's family visited Washington D.C.  Tomorrow in book two I'm going to write about a British band called the MOVE who had a song about Cherry Blossoms.

           Japan gave Cherry Blossom trees to Washington D.C.  Samurai warriors "identified" with Cherry Blossom flowers that don't "wither" before falling off, but die in their "prime;" as they hoped to do in battle.  Hey!  Those Viking warriors thought kind of like that too.

                Oh!  I glanced up in time to see Cher the Cat, behind the Sheds; streak across from behind Moe over to Manny.  Mr. Steve sometimes jokingly calls her the "Ninja" Cat, because there are times when you don't even know she's around.  Heathcliff the Rooster is crowing.

                                                            "NINJA" WARRIORS

       I'm not scheduled to write about those Ninja Warriors until tomorrow but kind of just feel like learning about them now too.  This Encyclopedia says they're soldiers trained in the use of "unorthodox" and "non-conventional" methods.  I just picked up Cher's scent.

       In College at C.S.U.N. in the late 1970's I guess Mr. Steve took a class on Japanese history. His teacher, who was from Japan; used the words "irregular" and "guerrilla" to describe how Ninja's are supposed to fight.  He said "Shinobi" means "Those who act in stealth."  

       It says here the main job of a Ninja is to "infiltrate" behind enemy lines to "sabotage" and "assassinate" people.  They wear all black at night.  Daisy says she and that Dog Millie watched our boss play drums to this good BLACK SABBATH song called "Sabotage."

                SUN TZU (544-496 B.C?)                           CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ (1780-1831)   

     Mr. Steve's College Professor said that Ninja's studied the book "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, who was Chinese.  I'll refer to Sun Tzu's book and a 19th century book called "Vom Krieg" in my three long books.  Mr. Steve has copies of both of those books Daisy says.                              

      In my German Dictionary it says vom krieg means "On War."  That book was written by a "Prussian" General who fought against Napoleon Bonaperte and many soldiers have read it and The Art of War.  I can smell the old Sage bush right behind the three Sheds.                                    

     That College Professor told his class about another book the Ninja read.  This Encyclopedia calls it "Bansenshukai" and it's a "Training Manuel."  That teacher at C.S.U.N. said it was sort  of like their "Bible" for "learning how to make war against a stronger opponent."                                

  "SAMURAI" WEAPONS

           Mr. Steve has some interesting things on the living room Coffee Table, like a "Kunai" knife and these "Throwing Stars" Ninja's used to kill people.  Those "Caltrops" I mentioned back in chapter four are on the Coffee Table.  Cher the Cat is slinking out into the desert.

       According to what it says in this Encyclopedia, the Japanese name for those throwing stars is "Shuriken;" or "hidden hand blade."  Daisy says our boss, throwing forehand or backhand;  is pretty accurate most of the time.  He occasionally uses a bale of hay as a target. 

          What the heck!  Even though it's not on my outline to write about her right now, I feel like looking up Tomoe Gozen; who was a brave 12th century A.D. girl Samurai warrior who fought in the war where the very first ever Shogun came to power.  Heathcliff just crowed. 

                                                        TOMOE GOZEN (1157-1247)

         A picture shows a girl playing the part of "Tomoe" riding a Horse and the caption says she's carrying a "Naginata" like the one in our boss's office.  In Japan she's called "onna-bugeisha."  I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve has a collection of blades inside of  the house.   

       I guess Samurai "lived" for three things; to "serve," to "slaughter" and "die well."  They took opponents heads as "trophies" and committed "ritual suicide," or "Seppuku;" rather than "Die in Dishonor."  It's also called "Harakiri," which means "cutting of the belly." 

       I'll write more about Japan but now I'll write about wildflowers.  Some are white but other wildflowers are yellow or even purple.  To the northwest of Littlerock, where Mr. Steve's brother Sam lives with his family; orange flowers called "Poppys" grow at this time of year.

  "POPPEYS"       

       PHOTO BY MIRIAM MONTES                 

        Mr. Steve and his mother drove up from Sylmar a few times to see those Poppy fields, which are in a city called "Lancaster."   I guess Poppy fields only come out in certain years and then go away quickly.  A Lizard is doing pushups over there on the wall to my right.

       I'll mainly write about World War II in books two and three, but I felt like looking up the British "Lancaster" Bomber now.  It had four "Rolls Royce" engines and .30 caliber machine guns.  It made over 150,000 "sorties" over Europe from 1942 through 1945.

      Wow!  155,000 men "manned" those Lancaster Bombers in the Second World War and over 55,000 were killed by the Germans.  3,700 Lancaster's were "lost" but "delivered" 600,000 tons of bombs, some of which weighed 12,000 pounds each.  A Crow is cawing faintly.    

                                                       "LANCASTER" BOMBER    

           Daisy says Mr. Steve built a model of a Lancaster Bomber as a kid but it, like most of his models; was destroyed in the 1971 earthquake.  I'll write more about Bombers in my books.  Mr. Steve, before the economic recession; had a customer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

          Oh what the heck!  I'll mention this man named Arthur "Bomber" Harris right now even if Daisy and I actually put him on my book two outline.  During the Second World War he was the guy in charge of bombing Germany.  That one Lizard just ran down the wall.

          According to what it says here in this one Encyclopedia, that guy Arthur Harris grew up in England's African colony of "Rhodesia."   During World War I he fought there but then went to England when he realized the war was going to be a long one.  I smell some Sage.

                                        ARTHUR "BOMBER" HARRIS (1892-1984)  

         I remember that one morning when my boss was watering the Mulberry tree up there in the front yard.  He and Mr. Mike talked about that guy "Bomber" Harris.  It says here some people think he was a "War Criminal" for what he did and even called him a "Butcher."

       The Lancaster Bombers Arthur Harris sent to bomb Germany killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.  In early 1945 the Allies bombed the city of "Dresden" and burned up over twenty five thousand people in the "Firestorm" it caused.  A Crow is cawing faintly.

       Mr. Steve read a book called "Slaughterhouse Five," which was written in the late 1960's by an American writer named Kurt Vonnegut.  He was a prisoner of war and was in Dresden when the city was bombed.  He thought it was unnecessary "indiscriminate" bombing. 

                     PINK FLOYD                                                                   IRON MAIDEN

          My boss told Mr. Cliff the British bands PINK FLOYD and IRON MAIDEN both had songs where the bombing of Dresden was mentioned.  Anyway, I'll come back to the subject of World War II tomorrow in book two.  I'm still thinking about our wildflowers right now.

      Boy! Dais is so right!  Until I get over my fear of riding in a Car our boss can't take us to see and smell those Poppy fields in Lancaster, so I've just got to force myself to be brave and ride in our vehicles the way she does.  Dawn's barking about something over there to my right. 

      Someday I'll go into Mr. Steve's bedroom and watch a tv show Dais likes where a guy named Huell Howser visits places in California.  He did a "Segment" in Bakersfield to see the teeth of that giant "Megaladon" Shark I guess.  And he visited the "Hollywood Sign" Daisy told me.

                                                        HUELL HOWSER (1945-2013)

           Daisy says Huell Howser was from "Tennessee," was a Marine like our boss's dad and; was born on October the 18th.  Mr. Steve's brother Rock's birthday is October 17.  Mr. Steve's      parents really like watching Huell Howser's travel show and so did that other Dog Millie.              

         In 1993 Mr. Steve and his mom almost gave Huell Howser a tour of the San Fernando Mission for one of his "Segments," but it got canceled.  But, at least Huell Howser was nice to      call and tell Mr. Steve he was sorry but something else "came up."  I can smell old Sage.                

          Mr. Steve's mom was kind of disappointed that they had been what's called "Bumped" from Huell Howser's show.  But, she soon "Got over it" as they say.  Mr. Steve told our Worker Mike one time how his parents are not ones to dwell on life's "normal disappointments."                                   

JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791)

PAINTING BY GEORGE ROMNEY  

            Mr. Steve was told Huell Howser was a Protestant Christian "Methodist" like that band the CARPENTERS who I wrote about earlier.  This Encyclopedia says a man from England named John Wesley started the Methodists way back in the 18th century.  Dawn's now barking.

        Hey Lord!  I guess Methodists began as part of the Church of England but don't believe in the idea of the "preordained salvation" the way some other Protestants do.  As I mentioned this morning, Mr. Steve believes more in "Free Will" so I want to as well.  I can still smell Sage.

         From what it says in my Encyclopedia Lord, Methodists do what You said to do in helping the poor.  If I were ever to have some money I would share it with other Dogs who are really poor and need the help.  And I know for sure Daisy would definitely agree with me on that too.

                                                              MR. MARK / KARMA

          Hey God!  As You know, besides socks and money, Mr. Steve gave that homeless man Mr. Mark a hat with the "Peace Symbol" on it.  Mark was raised a Methodist.   Ah!  We should sell socks for us Dogs and Cats because we could maybe make money because we have four feet.   

        You know, even though I'm not scheduled to talk about him right now, I suddenly just kind of feel like looking up a 19th century "Outlaw" named John Wesley Hardin.  Dais saw a tv show on him and says he sounded kind of mean.   He might've killed a guy for "Snoring."                      

         My Encyclopedia says John Wesley Hardin, who's father was a Methodist "Preacher;" was named after that man who started the Methodist's in the 18th century.  Wow!  In Texas he killed  his first man at age fifteen.   Fannie and Freddie the Crows flew over the house.                                    

JOHN WESLEY HARDIN (1853-1895) 

           Oh!  It's interesting how John Wesley Hardin, who at nine volunteered to fight for the South in the Civil War; was born on May 26th and ended up getting shot to death on August the 19th.  Max the Hummingbird zoomed bye and I heard him coming.  Heathcliff just crowed.          

             According to my list of dates Mr. Steve's Nephew Jacob in Texas was born on the 26th of May too and his mom's birthday is August 20.  The caption below John Wesley Hardin's picture calls him a "Gunfighter."  And it says he "may have killed as many as thirty people."                    

          Dais says Mr. Steve has a vinyl record by that guy Bob Dylan and it's named after John Wesley Hardin.  But they accidentally misspelled his last name on that album I guess.  Mr. Steve  told his friend Mr. Ralph on the phone one time how it's more of an "acoustic Folk" album.         

                                             (1971)                        JUDAS PRIEST         K.K. DOWNING / GLENN TIPTON                          

          Daisy's "Theme" song is that English Heavy Metal band JUDAS PRIEST'S "You've Got Another Thing Coming."  I guess, they started in 1969, but the four guys "associated" with the    band's name "inherited" it from the original group.  I really like how Heathcliff sounds.               

         JUDAS PRIEST, like BLACK SABBATH; grew up in the "Steel Town" of "Birmingham. Dais heard how they took their band name from the title of a song on Bob Dylan's John Wesley    Hardin album.  Heathcliff's Hens are cackling and they sound happy today is now Spring.            

     I've mentioned how Mr. Rick's Italian immigrant family moved out here from the city of "Pittsburgh" when my boss was six years old and Mr. Rick was seven.  "Sheffield," where that    other British band DEF LEPPARD are from; is also an "Industrial" town.  I feel so good!             

                                                "WILD" BILL HICKOCK (1837-1876)

          Daisy says on the tv show about John Wesley Hardin it said he killed someone and then got a job as a Cowboy to hide from "The Law" as they say.  On the way taking this herd of Cows from Texas up north to Kansas he killed some Indians too I guess.  A Crow is cawing faintly.

          On the tv show, when they got those Cows to "Abilene" in Kansas, someone there asked John Wesley Hardin to kill the town's "Sheriff" named "Wild" Bill Hickock.  But he didn't want to do it and used to say, "I never killed anyone who didn't need killing."  I smell some older Sage.       

          I guess, Abilene's law said no one could carry a gun, which almost everyone did then.  Wild Bill Hickock tried to "Confiscate" John Wesley Hardin's "Revolvers."  Daisy heard "Wild Bill" carried two guns under a waist sash in a way that let him get them out fast with either hand. 

                                                              TEXAS "LONGHORN"

             Wow!  A picture in my Encyclopedia shows how huge the horns are on the Cows like ones John Wesley Hardin "Drove" up to Kansas.  I wrote earlier about Bullfighting in Spain and, just like I've never smelled a Bull; I've never smelled a Cow either.  Daisy's smelled Cows. 

              Daisy says on the tv show Wild Bill Hickock tried to take John Wesley Hardin's guns.  But, just as John Wesley Hardin was about to hand them over "Butt End" first; he suddenly flipped them around to aim at Wild Bill.  The butt is the "Handle" or back of the gun I guess.  

         John Wesley Hardin spun his two handguns around so fast he caught Wild Bill, who was surprised to suddenly see two guns pointed at him; "Off Guard."  Mr. Steve, when young; was pretty good at "Gun Twirling" or "Rolling."  Wild Bill let John Wesley Hardin keep his guns. 

                                                       "THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES"

           PAINTING BY DALE LEWIS         

             Two of my boss's favorite Actors are Charlton Heston and Clint Eastwood.  Daisy saw this Clint Eastwood movie called the "Outlaw Josey Wales" about an ex-Confederate soldier who can shoot a gun so fast he's called "Greased Lightning."  Boy! I'd like to see that movie.

              Dais says in the movie Clint Eastwood does what John Wesley Hardin did.  As he hands his guns over backwards, he spins them around lightning fast to "Get the Drop" on two guys who he shoots and kills.  Mr. Steve says that "technique" is called a "Road Agent Spin."

           A few years ago Mr. Steve was allowed to hold a real 19th century "Colt Walker Revolver" just like the ones Clint Eastwood used in that movie Josey Wales.  Daisy told me about this really good song called "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."  The singing is so unique she says. 

                                      BOBBY CHACON / "BAZOOKA" LIMON (1982)

          Daisy says Mr. Steve's friend Bobby Chacon the Boxer was known in part for the courage he showed in his famous 1980's fights.  By then he'd lost the "Foot Speed" he'd had in the 1970's when he was described as a "Boxer/Puncher."  Heathcliff crowed over there to my right.               

      Because he was older in the 1980's Mr. Bobby said he had to adapt to being what's call a "Counter-Punching Brawler."  But, this meant he fought more "Flat-Footed;" so took a lot more punishment.  Boy!  Mr. Bobby was "World Champion" in the 1970's and 1980's too.                      

        That tv show on John Wesley Hardin said, because he was so famous for gunfighting; a lot of guys wanted to beat Wild Bill Hickock.  I guess sometimes Mr. Bobby, after he wasn't a Boxer anymore; also had that exact problem.  So he always used "Humor" to avoid dumb fights.                     

                                                                "DEAD MAN'S HAND"

          I guess Mr. Bobby gets out of "Street Fighting" by laughing a lot to "Diffuse" the situation.   Daisy says Wild Bill Hickock never turned his back on a door.   But he was addicted to gambling so, in a "Fatal" mistake; sat down to play cards at an "Open Chair" in a "Poker" game. 

       The chair Wild Bill sat at faced away from the door and this guy came in, saw him; and then came up behind to shoot and kill him.  The cards Wild Bill was "Holding" when he died, "Aces" and "Eights;" has come to be called the "Dead Man's Hand."  A Crow is cawing.  

     I've mentioned a few times how, because they were "Involved" in the "Gaming" industry for a few years in the early 1990's; Mr. Steve and his father never, ever gamble.  Both advise against  it unless you can "Afford" to lose the money.  They "Know the Numbers" as it's said.                        

MOTÖRHEAD

      One time Daisy and Millie were in Mr. Steve's bedroom at night and saw this good Video by that band from England called MOTÖRHEAD.  The song was called "Ace of Spades," and; was probably about Wild Bill Hickock's last poker hand.  Dawn is barking next door.                            

      Mr. Steve, over the years; has "Tried" to play the drums "Along to" MOTÖRHEAD'S  Ace of Spades.  It's so hard to do I guess.  One time, at the "Rainbow Club" in Hollywood; Mr. Steve met and shook hands with "Lemmy."   He's MOTÖRHEAD'S singer and bass player.                   

      I've mentioned how my boss likes what are called "Three-Piece" bands of bass, drums and guitar.  That's what MOTÖRHEAD is and their drummer is really good at using his feet to play fast on two bass drums.  Dais says MOTÖRHEAD has a good song called "Overkill."                    

                                                       JOHN BONHAM (1948-1980)    

              Oh!  My Encyclopedia says John Wesley Hardin was from "Bonham," Texas.  That band LED ZEPPELIN had a good drummer named John Bonham, and he had a fast bass foot too; but died back in 1980.  Mr. Steve was twenty five in 1980, and started Law School then.

           Mr. Steve used to have a customer in this one city called "McKinney" which is about forty miles from Bonham where John Wesley Hardin was born.  That Auto Dealership sold "Honda" Cars.  Before the "Recession" of 2008 my boss had a lot more Honda Dealerships.   

          I've mentioned Mr. Steve's other customer in New York State named "Phillip," who's from Wales and is the "Parts Manager" at another Honda Dealership.  Daisy says the Parts Manager at the Dealership in McKinney had a famous Grandfather who fought in World War II.   

             P-40 "WARHAWK"                                CLAIRE CHENNAULT (1893-1958)

         I'm tempted to write about that Honda Parts Manager in McKinney's Grandfather Claire Chennault.  He was a Pilot who, in the Second World War; led American "Mercenary" Pilots in fighting for China against Japan.  That was before the U.S. entered the war.   

         Mr. Cliff knows a lot about Airplanes I can tell.  Mr. Steve lent him a book about what were called the "Flying Tigers" that Claire Chennault led.  A good painting in my Encyclopedia shows one of their Planes fighting a Japanese Plane.  I like how that Plane looks.

      That book Mr. Cliff borrowed was Mark Ritter's before he died and is about the "Curtiss" P-40 "War Hawk" Fighter Plane, which my boss built a model of as a kid.  That's the Plane that the Flying Tigers used.  Anyway, I'll come back to Claire Chennault on Saturday.  

                                                  SPRING IN TAOS, NEW MEXICO

PHOTO BY DAVE KOZIOL                

           Just as Mr. Mark in Hawaii sends my boss pictures he takes, so does Mr. Dave from Taos.  Daisy says he took a picture of a Bee on purple flowers.  I've mentioned before how Daisy and I have a "Facebook" web site on the "Internet" and I want to see it someday. 

       Fannie and Freddie the Crows just came in from being out in the eastern desert behind the Sheds and are now flying over the top of the house above me down here on my couch Elvira.  As they often do, they're talking to each other.  I feel so good right now.   

       I've mentioned before how Mr.'s Mark and Dave are good musicians.   Already today, and in all of my three long books too; I'm scheduled to write a lot about music and things like that.  For some reason I just suddenly thought about those bands the BEATLES and EAGLES.  

      RINGO STARR / SANTA CRUZ                        JOE WALSH / S.F. MISSION CHAPEL

        "Monsignor" Weber "Runs" the San Fernando Mission, and Mr. Steve jokes he's "kind of like a King."  Monsignor Weber is an "Archivist" or historian for the Catholic "Archdiocese." Up on Moe's roof Cher is licking her paws and then rubbing the top of her head.     

        Earlier this morning I wrote about the Channel Islands, like Catalina Island; which are off of the California coast.  Mr. Steve told Mr. Mike how, for years; Monsignor Weber has worked to "preserve" the "Santa Cruz" Island from "Development."  Cher's looking at me.     

      My Encyclopedia has pictures of  Monsignor Weber with the BEATLES drummer "Ringo"  and Joe Walsh of the EAGLES.  I guess they help him with his work on Santa Cruz Island.  That Tonvan lady who knew about Coyotes also knew about the California Channel Islands.  

               "WHALE" SHARK                                                         "BASKING" SHARK

            The Tongvan lady told Mr. Steve "Basking" Sharks swim near Channel Islands like Santa Cruz.  Only "Whale" Sharks, which can be forty feet long; are bigger than a Basking Shark.  In the Tongvan language "Kyoot" means Whale and "Kavuukar" is how you'd say "Island." 

         Tomorrow I'll write about Sharks but I'll mention now how Basking Sharks are harmless because, like Whale Sharks; they swim with their mouth's open to eat "Krill" or "Plankton."  I can't believe that ancient Megalodon Shark was bigger than a Whale Shark.  Cher yawned.

       Mr. Steve says little is known about Basking Sharks except that they "Follow the Currents," either up near the surface of the water or down deep at the bottom of the Ocean.  I've mentioned how my boss has a fear of being eaten by a Shark.  Ugh! I wouldn't really like that either!      

                                                       SAN FERNANDO MISSION

                                    DRAWING BY STELLA CÓRDOVA                                                                                                                            PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

         In 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage; Monsignor Weber let Mr. Steve and his mom have an Art Exhibit at the S.F. Mission.  That was a year before the same  artwork  was shown at the L.A. Natural History Museum.  Cher's going to sleep.                                            

     Huell Howser, in the late 1990's; visited all twenty one "Alta" California Missions.  It was Monsignor Weber who gave him a tour of the S.F. Mission.  Huell Howser saw Mr. Steve and his  mom's artwork down there at the Natural History Museum and said he really liked it.                                       

       I've mentioned how, in the 1980's; Mr. Steve and his friends Mark and Helen worked for the different professional sports teams.  At the King's Hockey games a machine called a "Zamboni"  is driven around to "Resurface" the ice between the three periods.  Dawn's barking.                        

               FRANK ZAMBONI(1901-1988)                                       "ZAMBONI"                                         

      Daisy says Huell Howser went to "Paramount" to visit the company that makes Zamboni's.  In 1949 this man named Frank Zamboni built the first one, which is shown in my Encyclopedia;  and now his son runs the business.  Cher is sleeping up there on top of Moe.                                    

      Mr. Steve and his brothers and friends have been going to Kings games since the late 1960's. So they've watched when the Zamboni machine is driven around to pick up the "shaved" ice and "redeposit" a new smooth layer of clean ice.  A Duck is quacking next door.                                    

As a kid, Mr. Steve thought it would be "coolest" job in the world to be the "Ball Boy" at Dodger Stadium who got to "Play Catch" or "Warm Up" the visiting team's Right Fielder.  And the second best job would be to drive a Zamboni.  I smell the baby Cholla cactus.                                        

 MURRAY BANNERMAN  (CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS)

 PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA             

    This is interesting.  It says here in my Encyclopedia that one of the first Zamboni machines ever sold was to the Chicago "Black Hawks," who were one of the six original National Hockey    League teams.  Max the Hummingbird just whizzed out into the eastern desert.                              

      I've mentioned how my boss Mr. Steve likes to draw and do artwork.  In this way he "Takes After" his mom as they say.  Dais told me he's drawn many sports team logos over the years and  one of the most difficult for him to get right was the Black Hawks Indian head.                               

      Mr. Steve, Mark and Helen first worked for the sports teams in Santa Monica at an office on "Wilshire" Boulevard.  Then they moved to this building across the street from the Forum.  Mr. Steve and Harriet covered bands at a Nightclub called "My Place" in Santa Monica.                     

GEAR DADDIES     

     This morning I wrote about when Mr. Steve and that girl from Minnesota named "Denise" drove up to the town of "Solvang."  She liked those two Minnesota bands HÜSKER DÜ and the REPLACEMENTS.  Another Minnesota band is called the GEAR DADDIES.                                

       Mr. Steve likes a GEAR DADDY'S song about wanting to drive a Zamboni machine.  Before it was invented by Frank Zamboni in 1949, it took four or five guys over an hour to; "scrape,"    "wash" and "squeege" to resurface an ice "Rink."  Mr. Steve's been in a few Rinks.                      

      Oh!  A Bee flew bye.  Miss Susan says that when Bees, Hummingbirds or Butterflies land on flowers "Pollen" sticks to them and then gets on the next flower they go to.  So, in what they call a "Symbiotic" or "mututally beneficial" relationship; that helps make baby flowers.                                                

TULIPS            

             On Saturday I'll learn about the "Dutch" country of the "Netherlands, so will find out about the 17th century when "Tulip" flowers were treated like money.  Mr. Steve's mom likes "Flower Gardens" like one in Santa Barbara called "Lotusland."  I love to smell flowers.      

      On Saturday I'll write about how my boss and his mom have visited the "Descanso Gardens" and "Huntington Library," which both have gardens.  I guess the Huntington Library also has a good Museum too.  Cher woke up a few minutes ago, and is now going out to the desert.  

       That lady Miss Susan, who ran the local Newspaper; lent Mr. Steve a book about desert wild flowers.  Mr. Steve and Miss Susan at times cut out Newspaper or Magazine "Articles" for each to read.  And our boss sometimes gives other people he knows things to read Daisy told me.  

                                                           "DESCANSO GARDENS"

       Oh what the heck!  Even though I'm mainly going to write about that place called Descanso Gardens on Saturday in my third book, I can mention Japanese Gardens now too.  Dais says our boss has taken pictures at Descanso Gardens a few times over the years.

      I am writing a lot about Japan in this seventh chapter, so it will be okay to mention how Mr. Steve and his mom really like walking around Japanese gardens.  And Descanso Gardens is one of their favorites.  Even Cher's gone I just picked up her lingering scent.

      A few years ago Mr. Steve met this one guy who was a "Carpenter" from the State of North Carolina.  He made really good custom chairs and tables out of wood.  Hey God!  As You know, he said he saw sacredness in nature so my boss told him about Japanese Gardens.             

                                                                "STONEHENGE"

        I've already mentioned that thing called Stonehenge a few times in this first book.  As I wrote this morning, these people called "Neo-Druids" sometimes have religious ceremonies there; even though it probably wasn't built by the ancient Celts.  Heathcliff just crowed.

      My Encyclopedia says "Druids" comes from the Latin word "Druidês" which is what Julius Caesar called the ones he killed in "Gaul."  As I wrote earlier, Gaul is where France is.  I heard that lady Miss Susan say she read Druids are "Associated" with "Oak" trees. 

      It says here the real Druids were the Celtic Doctors, Judges and Religious leaders.  Mr. Steve told that carpenter from North Carolina how ancient Druids also had "reverence" for the spirit in trees like the carpenter did.  They saw "harmony and connection" in nature. 

                                                          "TAIKO" DRUMMING

                                                                                                                                    PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

       Even though I'll mainly write about that place Descanso Gardens the day after tomorrow in book three, I suddenly feel like mentioning quickly one time Mr. Steve and his mom went there.  They saw these traditional Japanese "Taiko" drummers perform.   I smell Sage.

       Daisy says when those Taiko drummers played they let people in the audience, like our boss for instance; come up there and take part.  Mr. Steve got to play one of the horizontal drums.  I guess a lot of those different Taiko drums are really big in size according to Dais. 

       I wonder when I'll first start smelling our neighbor's flowers and all the wild flowers that grow around here.  When I was living homeless out in that field the one good thing was smelling flowers.  Mr. Steve's mom really loves the sight and smell of flowers and so do I too.  

                                           ROSES ("SAN FERNANDO" MISSION / "EAST" GARDEN)       

                                                                                                                                  PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA   

          Daisy told me, for he and his mom's 1990's Art Exhibits; our boss took pictures of Roses at the San Fernando Mission.  I've mentioned how their paintings, drawings and photographs were shown around Southern California.  I can almost imagine smelling flowers right now.   

          Last year Dais took the arrival of three "Sun" Flowers as a "Good Luck Sign" so I wanted to as well.  My Spanish Dictionary says "Girasol" and "Tornasol" are words for Sun Flowers. In Spanish "Sol" is Sun, "gira" means turning; and "torna" is the word for changing.      

          I remember last Summer when Dais pointed out to me how young Sunflowers will move to face the Sun.  Young Sunflowers start the day facing east but by the end of the day will be facing westward.  I just noticed some really pretty puffy white clouds up there in the sky.

"SUN" FLOWERS    

      Hey God!  You know how Daisy thinks Sunflowers "Track" the Sun's movement because of wanting to face and absorb You?  I now want to think that too.  I mentioned earlier this morning how that one Tongan lady Mr. Steve met told him "Paaxar" is their word for Sunflower.  

      Sunflowers seem smart Holy Spirit because by the next morning they face east again.  Daisy's noticed how old Sunflowers always face east.  And she thinks it's You Holy Spirit who's the "Life Force" that makes Sunflowers want to face what some Indians call the "Creator Spirit." 

      I just noticed a Lizard standing on the wall over there near the sliding glass door going into the dining room.  It's so amazing how, even when they're vertical instead of horizontal; Lizards can still do those pushups they do.  Dawn and Blinky are barking over there next door.    

VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890)   

 SELF PORTRAIT           

          On Saturday I'll write about that Dutch Painter Vincent van Gogh.  My Encyclopedia has a "Self-Portrait" he did of himself.  Mr. Steve's mom studied "Van Gogh" in College and thinks he led kind of a sad and lonely life.  If I could go back in time I'd definitely be his friend.  

          Van Gogh is more "associated" with France than the Netherlands.  At C.S.U.N. Mr. Steve's mom met a French girl who also knew about "Impressionism" and "Post Impressionism." They both ended up learning a lot from each other over the coarse of that semester.

          I guess "Holland" is a "Province" of the Netherlands in the same way that California is an American State.  It says here the Netherlands was "founded" in 1579 because its people did not want to be ruled by the Spanish "Hapsburg" Empire.  That Lizard is gone now. 

"TULIPS"

           Oh my God!  The color picture here in this one Encyclopedia shows the "Tulip" flowers that grow over there in the Netherlands.  They're so beautiful and I like how the different colors are in nice, neat rows.  Samson and Delilah the Ravens are flying bye right now. 

           The caption underneath the picture of the Netherlands says the buildings behind the field of flowers are called "Windmills."  I notice how they have what look to me kind of like big Airplane propellers on them.  Daisy says they can spin around when the wind blows hard. 

        I guess, before there was such a thing as electricity to power the different things like the two tv's in our house; people used flowing water or the wind to move things.  Big heavy carved stone wheels were used to grind wheat to make bread.  Bonny the Bunny hopped bye.    

   MODERN EUROPE

       I guess much of the Netherlands is "Below Sea Level" because it was "taken from the sea" as they say.  "Dikes," or big walls like the ones in Israel at Caesarea; block the water from flooding back in from the huge Ocean.  Two of the Pigeons are flying bye right now.

       It says here in this Encyclopedia the Dutch call their country "Koninkrijk der Nederlanden" which means "Kingdom of the Netherlands."  Daisy and Millie were in our boss's Bedroom one night and saw a Rick Steve's travel segment on the Netherlands.  I smell Creosote.

      Oh!  It's interesting how one use for a Dutch Windmill is to "pump out" water from land.  In book three on Saturday I'll write about an ancient Greek Scientist and Mathematician named "Archimedes."  Heathcliff just crowed and now Dawn and Blinky are barking.  

             ARCHIMEDES (287-212 B.C.)                           ARCHIMEDES "SCREW"

              Even I'll mainly write about Archimedes on Saturday, in book three; I just kind of feel like mentioning him now too.  I guess, some people think he invented that "Screw" device Windmills use to "drain" or "move" water from one place to another.  I smell some new Sage!

          According to what it says in this Encyclopedia, those big propellers on Windmills are called "blades" or "sails" and are connected to a "screw."  When the wind makes them "rotate," that energy turns an Archimedes Screw inside the Windmill.  Dawn's barking over there.

          The power "Generated" from a spinning Windmill has been used to do other things too.  In the ancient world the Chinese, Persians and Romans had them "saw" and "grind" things down.  A tv show Daisy saw said California is using wind more and more to create the energy.  

                                                GRANDPA AND GRANDMA TRUJILLO  

         As a kid Mr. Steve went with his Grandpa Trujillo to the Belen junkyard for parts to make little Weather "Vanes."  They were used in Grandpa Trujillo's vegetable garden to tell the wind's direction.  Two of the Pigeons are flying bye out into the eastern desert. 

          I wish I could go back in time to meet Mr. Steve's four Grandparents.  I guess his Grandpa Trujillo was really "Handy" like Mr. Mike.  He repaired things and, like Grandma Trujillo in cooking; knew how to get the "Maximum" out of the "Minimum" as they say.

      Mr. Steve's Niece Stephanie's boyfriend Rich, who was in that band DRAGPIPE; is also very "Good with his Hands" as they say.  And so is his Niece Samantha's boyfriend Rick who knows a lot about how to work with wood.  Max the Hummingbird just zoomed bye.

                                                             TAOS, NEW MEXICO

                                                                                                                                       PHOTO BY DAVE KOZIOL

          For some reason I just thought about that Dutch Painter Vincent van Gogh again.  Dais says a while back Mr. Dave in New Mexico took a picture of the sky and described it as looking like a van Gogh painting.  I smell the new baby Cholla cactus over there in the dirt.

       Looking at the eastern horizon behind the Sheds I see some Primavera Road dust floating up in the air and I know it's from a Motorcycle that just zoomed bye out there.  I heard clearly that Motorcycle coming from the south and can still hear it moving to the north.  

          Seeing the dust still lingering in the air out there in the desert suddenly makes me remember how Mr. Steve's Nephew Mathew, Sam and Yolanda's oldest son; used to be a Motocross rider.  I guess he was pretty good at it too according to what Daisy heard.  I smell Sage.

                               MR. STEVE'S PARENTS WITH GRANDMA CÓRDOVA

              Writing about Grandma and Grandpa Trujillo makes me suddenly think about Grandma Córdova for some reason.  My boss Mr. Steve one time took a picture of her and his parents over at the San Fernando Mission.  They stood in front of the "Córdova" fountain. 

               One time as a kid Dais says Mr. Steve heard a man in Belén describe Grandma Córdova as "driving a hard bargain."  Another man said she didn't seem like a person who "suffered fools easily" and they both kind of chuckled.  Fred, Ed and Ted the Sparrows just flew bye.        

              Oh!  This is interesting.  My Encyclopedia says Archimedes, before being stabbed to death said, "Do not disturb my circles;" which I guess was something he was working on.  I mentioned earlier today how my boss is kind of interested in the last words people say before dying.

"ANTIKYTHERA" MECHANISM     

            I've mentioned how Mr. Steve has a "Computer" in his Office.  Another "Device" that guy Archimedes may have invented is the "Antikythera Mechanism."  It was an ancient "Analog" computer used to predict the "Astronomical" patterns and positions in the sky. 

        In 1901 that mechanism was found in a sunken Roman Ship by Greek divers near the island of Antikythera, which is near the bigger island of Crete.  For years no one knew what the thirty "Gears" did.  When it was figured out people were "Blown Away" as they say.

       Mr. Steve read in a book about ancient Israel that, for a few thousand years; Jews have liked and used blue in a lot of things.  Their flag is primarily white but the secondary color is sky blue.  Mr. Steve bought one in 1985 in Jericho and it's hanging in the Hallway Dais told me.  

FLOCK OF BIRDS

      An older Jewish lady from Israel once told Mr. Steve the Bible mentions blue forty nine times and the ancient Jews likely got "Dye" to make blue cloth from Sea Snail's ink.  In Hebrew the word "tekhelet" means blue I guess.  A flock of Birds is flying bye up there in the sky.

      I'm supposed to write about blue tomorrow but feel like doing it now too.  That one lady said since ancient times blue was "associated" with "sacred divinity" and "worldly nobility;" and not just for Jews.  Blue makes me think of You God, and You too Blessed Mother.  

      That Jewish lady said in parts of the world blue is "considered" to be "lucky."  Daisy noticed how ancient Egyptians like King Tut combined blue and gold.  Mr. Steve told the lady in 1985 he and his sister Celina noticed royal blue rooftops and shutters on houses in Israel.

                                                        MOSES BEN MAIMONIDES (1135?-1204)

        In my three books I'll learn about that Spanish city of Córdoba which I wrote a little about this morning.  A famous person born in Córdoba was a Jewish man named Moses ben Maimon, or just "Maimonides."  Two Pigeons just flew in and landed on the Patio roof.

     That Jewish lady said Maimonides wrote tekhelet was the color of the "clear noonday sky."  She told my boss that "historically" what they call "Textile Dyeing" was a "Jewish job."  So, for centuries; Jewish merchants sold a purple-blue plant called "Indigo."  

     I guess the "Prayer Shawls" Mr. Steve's Tour Group saw people wearing in 1985 are called "Tallit."  His mom noticed the blue stripes on them and the national flag too.  As I wrote earlier, Israel became a country in 1949 which was four years after the "Holocaust." 

                                                                   "UNITED NATIONS" TROOPS                                                                                

         After World War II, the "U.N."  and "N.A.T.O. were created, while in the early 1990's the "E.U." was formed; hoping to "end wars."  Mr. Steve thinks that day will never happen.  U.N.    stands for "United Nations," N.A.T.O means "North Atlantic Treaty Organization."                     

    E.U. is short for European Union" I guess.  My boss's mom noticed how the U.N. and E.U. both use blue as their primary color, the U.N. sky blue and the E.U. royal.  A picture here in my  Encyclopedia shows U.N. "peace-keeping" soldiers wearing light blue helmets.                               

       Mr. Steve, with his other military helmets; has a blue U.N. helmet near the Fireplace in the Living Room I notice.  During 1968's Vietnam War "Tet Offensive" Mr. Cliff called his helmet, which saved him; a "St. Joseph lid."  The Pigeons are cooing up on the roof above me. 

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GOD'S ISIS, OSIRIS, HORUS

       Blessed Mother!  Are You also the ancient Egyptian Goddess "Isis?"   My Encyclopedia says she was the "divine" mother of the Pharaoh and "guide" to mothers and wives.  The Pigeons up on the patio roof just took off and are now flying out into the eastern desert.                                   

      Hey Saint Joseph!  I guess in Egypt "Horus" was the "guardian."  Daisy and I think of You, and our Guardian Angels Stanley and Ramona too; as our protectors.  Some early Christians in Egypt likely "Venerated" You and the Blessed Virgin in the way they had Horus and Isis.              

      I'm still thinking of blue.  Daisy says that Israeli lady told our boss about blue and red "Gem Stones" called "Sapphires" and "Ruby's."  Sapphires are usually blue she said, but can be other colors too.  And some Sapphires, depending on the light; are even two colors at once.                     

"SAPHIRE"

      I might as well write about Sapphires now instead of tomorrow.  That Jewish lady said in Italy they're believed to "ward off" sadness and protect from "eye problems."  According to her the earliest known "synthetic" blue "pigment" was used in ancient Egyptian paint. 

   This is interesting.  My Encyclopedia says, because they're so hard, Sapphires are used for other things besides "decoration."  That Israeli lady told Mr. Steve how, in India; they're worn for good luck and associated with the Planet Saturn.  A Finch is chirping nearby.   

        Oh!  Sapphires are the "birthstones" of September.  Mr. Steve's parent's worker Maria was born on September 2.  Mr. Steve's brother Sam and wife Yolanda's Wedding Anniversary is on the 3rd and the 45th and 65th Wedding Anniversaries are symbolized with Sapphire.    

THE "ILIAD"    

            I've mentioned those two ancient Greek stories, the Iliad and Odyssey.  I'll write a lot more about them in my three long books.  The "Trojan War" started after that "Spartan" Greek girl "Helen," who had a big Sapphire; was kidnapped by "Paris" and taken to "Troy." 

         Mr. Steve told the Jewish lady how Catholic Bishops wear gold rings with Sapphires.  She said the ancient Persians also considered Sapphires to represent "holy" and "sacredness" too.  I just noticed Theodora the Thrasher Bird sitting over there in her favorite Creosote bush.

         Hey God!  As You know already of course, I guess some people say the "Tablets" You gave to Moses, with the "Ten Commandments" on them; were made out of Sapphire.  But Mr. Steve and that lady don't believe it because no Sapphire could be that big.  I smell new Sage.  

   MOSES 

                                                                                                                                            PAINTING BY GUSTAV DORÉ

       Dais told me Mr. Steve has two miniature tablets with the Ten Commandments on them.  I guess they're in the bathroom at the far end of the hallway.  Hey God!  I do want to believe in  those ten rules and would never, ever steal something for instance.  No way!  Uh! Uh!                  

     That Jewish lady said some people think it brings good luck if a girl wears something blue when she gets married.  That "ward's off" what they call the "Evil Eye" which might cause her  not to have babies.  My bad Angel Lilith also has two evil eyes when she tries to tempt me.            

        Mr. Steve took pictures at the Forum of Ronnie James Dio.   I guess a few years before that, as BLACK SABBATH'S second singer; he "Popularized" the "Devil's Horns" hand gesture now  associated with Heavy Metal music.  BLACK SABBATH'S bass player did it in 1971.                    

RONNIE JAMES DIO (1942-2010)  

       Mr. Steve told his friend Randy "Dio" said he got his hand gesture from his Grandmother.  In Italian it's called a "Malocchio" and is intended to keep the evil eye away or give it out to the other person.  Theodora the Thrasher Bird just streaked bye on the ground right now.                  

       From what my boss says, BLACK SABBATH'S first singer Ozzie Osbourne at times made the "Peace" hand sign to the audience.  I guess some people call it the "Victory" sign because in World War II that man Winston Churchill did it.  I'll write a lot about him tomorrow.                   

        According to what Mr. Steve told Mr. Randy, some sports teams like the Texas "Longhorns" for example; use the malocchio sign to symbolize their team.  And other Musicians, like the bass  player from KISS; made that sign.  And so did this girl named Britney Spears Dais heard.                                                         

RONNIE JAMES DIO 

PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

      Mr. Steve told his friend Randy how that guy Ronnie James Dio died four years ago.  He was not a trained singer but used the "Breathing Techniques" he learned as a kid when he played the Trumpet.  In that thing called "Wicca" the malocchio is called the "Horned God."                         

     I guess Dio was born on July the 10th and died of stomach cancer in the month of May.  I've mentioned a few times already how my boss's birthday is July 9 and there are many important    May dates in our family.  Mr. Steve's parents wedding anniversary is May the 24th.                        

   Right now I have to go pee so I think I'll hide my materials and then "Stretch my Legs" and also take a short break.  Then I'll start chapter eight.   I still have more to write about the color    blue which is my favorite color, even though I'm kind of starting to like green too.                          

(Chapter 8)        

COGNITO, ERGO; SUM / WHY ME?        

2:30          

"SAN GABRIEL" MOUNTAINS       

       I went pee this time over there in the southeast corner of our fenced in two acres right near that clump of Joshua trees next to Libby's Corral.  As I went to the bathroom I looked at the San Gabriel Mountains to the south.   This first day of Spring has turned out to be so great.                 

     Blinky, Dawn and Rosie watched me from the other side of the fence and I'll bet they're all wondering why they've hardly seen me today.  I can't wait to go and visit Daisy on my second big break after I finish this eighth chapter, or part two.   But now I'll write about Israel.                      

       Back in 1985 Mr. Steve's Tour Group visited that mountain in Israel called "Masada," which I've mentioned before.  That Israeli lady said Archaeologists found blue cloth up there.  Masada  means "fortress" in Hebrew and King Herod built it way up on top of that mountain.                    

"MASADA" (ISRAEL)        

             Wow!  Wait until Daisy sees this picture of Masada taken from an Airplane.  I've mentioned how, because she likes Underdog she'd want to fly; but I get nervous looking at this picture.  The Tour Guide named Chaim called Masada "a natural stronghold" back in 1985.

          Hey Lord!  The caption below the photo describes Masada as a "remote and isolated rock cliff in the Judean Desert."  King Herod had the fort built on Masada just like he built Caesarea and the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem too.  Boy! King Herod must've been so rich!  

          As I wrote earlier today, in 73 A.D. Roman soldiers under a General named "Titus" were, amazingly; able to actually "Besiege" and then "Take" Masada.  Titus wanted to show the Jews hiding inside Masada they couldn't escape.  Heathcliff just crowed over there next door.

                                                                 TITUS FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS (37-100 A.D.)

            I just looked up that writer Josephus.  I've mentioned him before.  He was Jewish but also a "Citizen" of ancient Rome.  Mr. Steve and his father have read some of the things he wrote. He wrote about the "Siege of Masada" that happened way back there in the year 73 A.D.

           This Encyclopedia says Josephus' original Jewish name was "Yosef ben Matityahu."  In 1985 the Tour Guide Haim told the Tour Group King Herod picked the "remote" location for his fortress "just in case" some of his Jewish subjects tried to kill him.  A Crow is cawing faintly.

           I guess that Jewish lady from Israel has been up to the top of Masada too.  It says here, in 66 A.D.; the Jews revolted against their Roman "overlords."  At first they killed a lot of Romans but then the Romans, "in retaliation;" killed even more of them.  Dawn's barking over there.

   PETER O'TOOLE (1932-2013)   

          My boss likes those Actor's Charlton Heston and Clint Eastwood.  And he also likes movies like "Lawrence of Arabia" with that other guy Peter O'Toole in them.  Daisy and Millie one time heard our boss tell his father how Peter O'Toole was also born in 1932 just like he was too.

          Daisy says in a movie Peter O'Toole's played the part of Roman General "Lucius Flavius Silva.  He "crushed" the "Jerusalem Revolt;" and then attacked some Jews who "took refuge" up there on top of Masada.  Daisy thinks crushed just means that he killed a lot of people.  

         I guess Titus gave that guy Lucius Flavius Silva the job of "mopping up" the revolution by defeating about one thousand Jewish "holdouts" on Masada.  First, he built a wall all around the bottom of Masada so the "surrounded" Jews up there knew there was no escape.     

"MIDDLE" EAST

               This map of Israel in my Encyclopedia doesn't show Masada but I know it's to the west of Jerusalem near the Dead Sea.  I mentioned the Dead Sea earlier when I wrote about the Great Salt Lake in Utah.  Speedy Gonzalez the Ground Squirrel just ran bye right now.  

          To get at the people up on Masada General Silva used captured Jewish prisoners to build a gigantic dirt "ramp" on the west side of the mountain.  In 1985 Mr. Steve's father was amazed at what it must've taken to construct such a huge, giant ramp.  I smell Sage.

           A good painting in my Encyclopedia shows the "Siege of Masada."  The caption says one of those Roman "Siege Engines" with a "Battering Ram" has been rolled all the way up the dirt ramp and is "assaulting" the walls.  I wrote earlier about those Roman "Catapults."         

                                                        SIEGE OF MASADA (73 A.D.)

PAINTING BY REBECCA CRONE      

          Daisy says our boss used to have a miniature Roman Siege Engine.  But it was destroyed, like many of his other models; in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.  The painting in the Encyclopedia shows Romans "assaulting" Masada's fortress walls while Jews try to fight them off.

        It took months for the Romans to build that giant ramp at Masada so the Jews inside the fort saw it being built and knew the "Jig was Up" as they say.  But instead of being killed by the Romans, nine hundred Jews decided to commit suicide.  A Crow cawed.

       That guy Josephus said two surviving women told him what happened inside Masada.  But in 1985 that Tour Guide named Chaim told Mr. Steve's Tour Group that only about thirty bodies have ever been found up there on the mountain.  I see Libby over there in her Corral.

                  BILL HANDEL AND FAMILY               SAMANTHA / MISS PEGGY

               I mentioned that Radio host Bill Handel, whose mother worked at Sylmar's "Olive View" Hospital in Sylmar.  I guess his twin daughters, at age thirteen; had their "B' not Mitzvah" over in Israel at Masada.  Mr. Steve thinks one of them sort of looks like his Niece Samantha.

             My Encyclopedia says, in "Hebrew;" B'not Mitzvah is the "plural" form of "Bat Mitzvah" which means "daughter of commandment."  Dais heard, before that the parents are responsible for the girl's conduct; but after that she's responsible for her own good or bad behavior.   

          Sometimes, as he does yardwork; my boss listens to that guy Bill Handel.  Daisy heard Bill Handel joke about how, because he was born in Brazil but then his parents came to the U.S.; he should be considered a "Latino Jew."  Two of the Pigeons flew out into the desert. 

                                                       KING LOUIS IX (1214-1270)

             I don't know why but I suddenly just feel like mentioning this guy named King Louis IX of France.  Throughout my three long books I'll be referring to him.  Mr. Steve's father says he's an example of a "good but imperfect" ruler.  He was even later made a Saint too!

        The lady from Israel said Louis IX's color was "violet," or dark blue; and in my books I'll write about purple.  Hey Lord!  I guess King Louis IX believed in You and the city of St. Louis in Missouri, which my boss visited; was named for him.  The singer PRINCE wears purple.  

        Even though I'm not scheduled to write about the color purple today, for some reason I just kind of feel like mentioning these trees called "Jacaranda's" now.  Jacaranda trees were planted on some of the streets down there in Sylmar.  Just once a year they grow purple flowers.

                                                       "JACARANDA" TREES          

           Mr. Steve one time talked about those Jacaranda trees with Mr. Mike.  I heard him say a lot of people in Sylmar didn't like them because when the purple flowers fell off they became kind of "sticky."  When they fell on Cars they were hard to clean off, and could "stain the paint."

        To my boss seeing, and smelling; the purple Jacaranda trees in Spring was worth putting up with the bad things about them.  He just made sure to right away sweep, or clean up; the flowers when they fell off.  But some of his neighbors didn't do that so really hated those purple trees. 

        I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's customer Bob in Missouri, where St; Louis is located; went to the same High School as Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart.  Mr. Bob is a Parts Manager at a "Ford" dealership and royal blue is Ford's main color.  Boy!  The sky is so blue right now. 

"JACARANDA"

         Thinking about purple makes me wonder when I'll smell this year's other wild flowers that grow around here.  This is only the first day of Spring, but already there new babies, like Bonnie and Clyde's chicks up there near the Patio roof.  Ah!  I smell the new baby Cholla cactus.

        Lilac wildflowers are light purple or what I heard Miss Susan call "Lavender."  Daisy says our boss sells some "Low Profile" or what they call "Unconstructed" girl's Baseball caps made of cotton and one of the colors is lavender.  I can't wait to smell the new Spring Lilacs.       

       I wonder when the first Spring rain will happen this year?  After it rains you can really smell all of the different things like the plants that live around here.  I've mentioned how Daisy is going slowly blind but, her sense's of smell and hearing really seem to be getting much better.

                                                         AL CAPONE (1899-1947)

   Writing about colors makes me suddenly think about that one 1920's Italian gangster from Chicago named Al Capone.  I guess sometimes he wore bright blue or even purple suits.  Boy! I'd definitely wear a hat like the one he's wearing in the Encyclopedia picture.                                      

     From what I heard my boss Mr. Steve tell Mr. Randy, most gangsters didn't want to "Draw Attention" to themselves; especially if they're the leader of a gang.   It's much safer to stay "Low Key" as they say.  I hear some of our neighbor's Ducks quacking over there.                                   

     Daisy and Millie heard our boss tell Miss Susan who used to run the local Newspaper about how, before the economic recession we're in; he had a customer in the town of "Cicero" where    Al Capone lived.  That's a suburb of Chicago.  I can smell the Twin Joshua trees.                                                        

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO (106-43 B.C.)

            The city of Cicero was named after that man Cicero.  My Encyclopedia says his real full name was Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Daisy and Millie saw this good tv show about Julius Caesar,  which mentioned how he lived during that same period, before he was killed too.                         

           This one Encyclopedia says Cicero was a Writer, Politician and Philosopher, whose ideas later  "influenced" the "Renaissance" and "Enlightenment."  I guess the tv show mentioned how Marc Antony had his "severed" hands and head in the city of Rome for everyone to see.                

           Mr. Steve thinks, Al Capone being the way he was; ended up "bringing him down" as he got the Federal Government's attention.  They ended up "Putting him Away" in prison for not    paying his taxes.  Samson and Delilah the Ravens are flying out into the eastern desert.                                       

        "SAN FERNANDO" MISSION        

                PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA                             

          My boss said some people in "Roaring" 1920's Chicago gave Al Capone the nickname of "Peacock" because of his colorful suits.  Daisy says Mr. Steve took a picture of a Peacock for the  Art Exhibits he and his mom had back in the early 1990's.  I'd like to smell a Peacock.                   

               Dais and I decided I'd mainly write about 20th century American "Organized Crime" in book two tomorrow.  But, I'll also mention things as I go if I think of them.  In all my three long  books I'll learn a lot more about the "Mafia," so I'll be coming back to Al Capone later.                

         I will say now how Al Capone, back in the late 1920's; "Ordered" the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre."  That's when his men, dressed up as Police Officers; used "Thompson" machine  guns to kill some men who were in a "Rival" Chicago gang.  A Crow cawed out in the desert.        

     MISS KARIN                                         MISS JULIANE / MR. DAVE    

         Mentioning Peacocks makes me thing about that girl named "Karin" who works at the same company as Mr. Steve.   He and she, along with Miss Babette and Miss Susan; all sell things to the Auto Dealerships.  I can now smell the Twin Joshua trees out there in the back desert.         

          Daisy heard Mr. Steve talk on the phone with Miss Karin one time.  And, from what she heard; Miss Karin and her husband live in Sylmar on property which has a few Peacocks on it.    When he was at Sylmar High Mr. Steve dated a girl who used to live on that property.                   

           Mr. Steve has never heard Miss Karin sing but told Mr. Dave in New Mexico she must be good based on all the places she's performed at.  Mr. Dave knows Miss Karin from when he was  also  a Salesperson for their company.  Mr. Dave also lived down in Sylmar for a while I guess.                 

      "QUEEN I"                            QUEEN                        EARLY 1970'S       

          Daisy says a few years ago Mr. Steve met a guy who told him QUEEN'S song "Another One Bites the Dust" might be partially about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  As I've said in      earlier chapters, my boss's favorite QUEEN album is their first one.  It's from 1973.                       

           Someday, when I get over my fear of being trapped; I'll go into Mr. Steve's bedroom the way Dais does now.  She told me QUEEN have a lot of good songs and our boss likes the guitar    and other instruments on them.  And the singing is also really good too according to Dais.             

           Hey Lord!  As of course You already know, Daisy told me QUEEN have this song on their first album about You.  Speedy the Squirrel just zoomed through the slightly wider right vertical  slot on the side of the gate to run into the desert.  I'm surprised he never hits his head.                   

QUEEN LIVE

          According to what Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell Mr. Dave on the phone one time, he and Sandy saw QUEEN play twice in the mid-1970's.  The first time it at the "Santa Monica Civic"    Auditorium and then a year or so later at the Forum.  Both were really good concerts.                   

            Mr. Steve and his mom are interested in the subject of family or group "Coats of Arms" or "Crests."  A few years ago this lady told my boss QUEEN'S logo was designed by their Singer named Freddie Mercury, who went to "Arts School."  Mr. Steve has drawn many logos.                

           QUEEN'S guitarist Brian May, with the help of his father; I guess built his red girl guitar he's nicknamed his "Old Lady."  When he first heard about Brian May's custom guitar my boss was very impressed Dais says.  I smell the new baby Cholla cactus over there in the dirt.                                               

            BRIAN MAY           

     I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's Niece Stephanie's boyfriend Rich plays guitar.  He, like Mr. Mike; is also a really "Handy" person.   He and my boss discussed how impressive it is that, as a teenager; QUEEN'S Brian May built his guitar from "Scratch" as they say.                                    

     Mr. Steve thinks Brian May's father must've been a smart person in even thinking about the idea of helping his son build that guitar.  In chapter one this morning I mentioned how Mr. Steve was told Brian May thinks of that red guitar as female.  One of the Ducks is quacking.                  

   I guess Mr. Steve was also told one time how Brian May, who's right-handed; doesn't use a plastic "Pick" to play his girl guitar.  Instead, he uses a metal coin.  Daisy explained to me what a pick is because she saw that kid Jason using one when he played with our boss.                               

         RORY GALLAGHER                          

           In the 1970's my boss and Sandy saw a concert by an Irish guitarist named Rory Gallagher.  He mainly played this old beat up "Fender Stratocaster" but started out the show playing this thing called a "Mandolin."  Daisy thinks I'd really like how a mandolin sounds.    

        Mr. Steve and Sandy saw Rory Gallagher's three piece band at the Whisky A Go Go down in Hollywood.  Years later my boss was told, in the 1970's; Brian May and Rory Gallagher used the same "Vox AC30" amplifier.   Some Sparrows are chirping somewhere nearby. 

          A while back Mr. Steve had a dream about he and Sandy seeing Rory Gallagher.  I guess on that night their friends Chris, Dave and Dale also went with them.  Mr. Steve, Chris and Dave all went to St. Ferdinands and all three of them met Dale in 12th Grade at Sylmar High. 

MR. DALE

     My boss Mr. Steve had not spoken to his friend Mr. Dale for many years.  But they talked on the phone recently and reminisced about when they were teenagers in the early 1970's at Sylmar High School.  Heathcliff just crowed over there, which kind of makes me feel good.                         

     I guess Mr. Dale now lives way up there to the north in a small town that's kind of near the Oregon State border.  He still plays guitar and is still a friendly person my boss says.  The town    Mr. Dale lives in, about four thousand people; is even smaller than Piñon Hills.                               

        Mr. Steve likes 1960's "Surf" Rock and I guess still occasionally plays drums along to songs by the VENTURES, BEACH BOYS and Dick Dale too.  I mentioned this morning how his old girlfriend Emily's family knew the VENTURES.  I smell the baby Cholla cactus.     

         THE SHADOWS                          THE BEACH BOYS                       THE VENTURES

        Because the only time I can listen to music is when Mr. Steve plays his Boombox as he works out here, I've only heard a few Surf Rock songs by the BEACH BOYS.  Daisy is so lucky because she and that other Dog Millie got to hear a lot of the different Surf Rock songs.

      An "Instrumental" British band Daisy told me about is called the SHADOWS.  They have a song about a Cowboy ghost who rides a Horse up in the sky, and another one about an Apache Indian.  Their guitarist wears glasses and plays a Fender guitar Dais noticed.

      Instrumental means no singing and Daisy told me our boss likes the SHADOWS 1980 version of a Mozart song.  He was told Eric Clapton, Ritchie Blackmore and BLACK SABBATH'S Tony Iommi were influenced by the SHADOWS.  And so was PINK FLOYD'S guitarist.   

                                                                     DICK DALE

       Oh what the heck!  Even though I'm not scheduled to write about Dick Dale until tomorrow, I feel like doing it now instead.  Mr. Steve thinks Dick Dale, who was from L.A.; influenced later guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young and that guy Eddie Van Halen too.

          In the picture of Dick Dale I notice he's left-handed and is wearing Cowboy boots.  And the caption says, before he played Surf Music; he wanted to be a Country music guitarist.  Mr. Steve told his friend Randy he thinks Dick Dale plays his guitar like a drummer would.

        I can tell that Dick Dale posed for the picture in the Encyclopedia somewhere that looks sort of like places near us.  Even though our house is located in a desert area "Rock Formations" are  nearby.  I mentioned this morning about "Mormon Rocks" near Wrightwood. 

                         LINK WRAY                                                                       THE KINKS   

           Mr. Steve believes what they call "Hard Rock" may have started in the late 1950's when this guy named Link Wray, who was part "Shawnee" Indian; did a song called "Rumble."  Rumble was an early, kind of primitive; form of the "Power Chord" my boss thinks.

        I've mentioned before how one of Mr. Steve's favorite bands is that British band called The  KINKS.  In the early 1960's, influenced by Surf Music; they did these Hard Rock songs called "You Really Got Me" and "All of The Day and All of the Night."  I smell Sage.     

       Mr. Steve read that Dave Davies, The KINKS guitarist; was influenced by Dick Dale's songs "Misirlou" and "Nitro."  My boss thinks "Heavy Metal" might've began in the mid-1960's with BLUE CHEER'S song "Summertime Blues.  They were a three piece California band.

      BLUE CHEER                                                              STEPPENWOLF     

       Daisy says our boss likes another 1960's California band called STEPPENWOLF.  They had two really good Hard Rock songs called "Magic Carpet Ride" and "Born To Be Wild."  In Born To Be Wild they even say the words "Heavy Metal Thunder" Dais told me.  

       Mr. Steve did artwork for a guy who, as teenager in the 1960's; went to Dick Dale concerts at this place called the "Rendezvous Ballroom."  He said that Dick Dale, unlike the BEACH BOYS; really was a surfer.  Speedy Gonzalez just whizzed bye in front of the Sheds.

       That guy told my boss Dick Dale, whose father was "Lebanese;" made a Hard Rock version of a traditional "Arabic" melody in that song Misirlou.   Daisy says Mr. Steve likes his version of the song the SHADOWS also did about a ghost riding a Horse up there in the sky.  

                  LEO FENDER (1909-1991)                                         LES PAUL (1915-2009) / MARY FORD (1927-1977)

              Dick Dale played a "Stratocaster" guitar made by a California man named Leo Fender.  I guess back in the 1950's, he made three electric guitars; the "Telecaster, "Stratocaster" and bass "Precision."  He was friends with Les Paul, who also made guitars; and his wife Mary Ford.

           I guess Leo Fender build what they call "Custom" guitars and amplifiers for Dick Dale in the early 1960's.  Those "Amps" were one hundred "Watts" in power so Dick Dale could play so loud.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny the Crows are flying out into the eastern desert.

           Daisy says Mr. Steve told that kid Jason he's sometimes wondered how Dick Dale's song "Nitro" would sound if METALLICA did it.  Early in their career they did "Cover" versions of songs like DIAMOND HEAD'S "Am I Evil."  I'll write about that one song tomorrow.

                                                           JIMI HENDRIX (1942-1970)

PHOTO BY HENRY DILTZ

           That guitar player Jimi Hendrix, who grew up in the State of Washington; played what's called a "Re-Strung" right-handed Fender Stratocaster upside down.  Dick Dale played a right-handed Stratocaster with the strings just left upside down.  I can smell old Sage.

           Mr. Steve was once told that Dick Dale's guitar not only had the strings upside down but also those strings were thick so he broke "Picks."  Supposedly, that man Leo Fender thought it was kind of funny when he first saw Dick Dale playing his Stratocaster upside down.           

          Oh!  I just noticed Pigpen the Gopher looking up at me from his hole to the right of the big Mulberry tree.  He's sniffing the air because his eyesight is poor.  Mr. Cliff once jokingly called Snakes who chase Gophers and Squirrels down into their burrows "Tunnel Rats."   

 PIGPEN  

            Mr. Cliff, like my boss's father; was a combat veteran.  One time he told Mr. Steve about Vietnam War era Tunnel Rats who chased North Vietnamese and Viet Cong people who lived in tunnels.  Phew!  Gophers like Pigpen sure do smell bad sometimes I've noticed.

          I could never be a Tunnel Rat who goes down a tunnel with people trying to ambush and kill me with "Booby Traps." And what if the tunnel caves in and you're trapped?  Hey Lord!  In 1985 my boss Mr. Steve was too afraid to go all the way down into Lazerus' Tomb.  

          Mr. Steve's mom, who likes the Sun Flowers that guy Van Gogh painted; is a good painter herself too.  Right now I'm thinking about her big painting of the bells hanging above the couch in the Living Room.  Ah!  Pigpen just smelled me so went back down into his burrow.

"SUN" FLOWERS

PAINTINGS BY VINCENT VAN GOGH

        That girl in Mr. Steve's mom's class said van Gogh was actually "Post Impressionism." It's sad he killed himself.  Over the next three day I'll learn about it.  "Post" is just another way of saying "after" something.  A little gray Finch just zipped bye.  Finches are so quick.

        In the self-portrait of van Gogh the wavy blue lines seem to give off energy.  I guess he also committed suicide like Ernest Hemingway and died really poor like those musicians Vivaldi and Mozart.  I hear some of our neighbor's Ducks quacking over there to my right.  

       It says here Vincent van Gogh moved from the Netherlands to France where he lived until he shot himself.  My right nostril just  picked up the scent of those three Joshua trees to the right of  Manny the small Shed.  And now I can smell Libby the Horse in her Corral.                                       

             BLACK SABBATH                                                GEOFF NICHOLLS /TONY IOMMI

         Dais says a tv show she and Millie watched said Van Gogh only sold one painting in his life.   So, I guess he was kind of like one of those 1960's "Session" musicians who didn't get any credit for playing on songs.  Now his paintings sell for millions and millions of dollars.                              

     Tomorrow in book two I'm going to write a lot about the band from England called BLACK SABBATH.  Dais heard Mr. Steve tell that kid Jason who plays guitar how they had a guy named Geoff Nicholls who played keyboards on a lot of their songs.  But he got no credit.                          

      Not only did Geoff Nicholls play on many of the BLACK SABBATH'S albums, I guess he also played in their concerts but was hidden off stage where the audience couldn't even see him play.  Anyway, I'll write more about BLACK SABBATH tomorrow in my second book.                           

    GEORGIA O'KEEFE WITH HUSBAND  

          Dais and I were thinking about putting Van Gogh in book two tomorrow when I write about the influences on Mr. Steve's mom's painting.  But instead I'll mainly write in detail about him on Saturday in book three.  And I'll write about that guy Paul Gaugin then too.

            I feel like mentioning that painter Georgia O'Keefe.  She was from Wisconsin just like Mr. Steve's friend Mark, but is associated with New Mexico; where my boss still has relatives and his friend Dave lives.  I guess Georgia O'Keefe painted with "precision" and "energy."  

       Like Georgia O'Keefe, Mr. Steve's mom loves New Mexico's sunlight.  So does Mr. Dave in Taos.  Piñon Hills has good sunshine too I think.  That French girl in Mr. Steve's mom's class said van Gogh liked Provence's sunlight.  I'll write more about Georgia O'Keefe in my books.

MR. STEVE"S MOTHER  

        I've mentioned how, in the 1990's; Mr. Steve's mom's artwork was "Exhibited" at places like the San Juan Capistrano and San Fernando Missions.  The L. A. County "Natural History" Museum wanted to make her and Mr. Steve's photos a "Permanent" exhibit.

        I wrote earlier how Mr. Steve's mother got a College Degree from Cal State Northridge in Art History.  Looking at the shadows makes me think about a "Technique" she studied, and has used; called "Chiaroscuro."  I guess that guy Leonardo da Vinci used it a lot too. 

       This Encyclopedia says Chiaroscuro in Italian means; "the use of strong contrasts between light and dark."  Mr. Steve thought of that idea when he printed black and white pictures in the different Dark Rooms he used to work in.  A Lizard is sitting perfectly still over there. 

                                                        IRVING STONE WITH WIFE

        The day after tomorrow in book three Daisy has me scheduled to write about this one writer named Irving Stone.  In the mid-1970's Mr. Steve and his friend Chris helped Irving Stone's wife clean out a warehouse in Van Nuys.  Her husband wrote a book about van Gogh.

        Another book Irving Stone wrote was "The Agony and the Ecstasy" about the 16th century artist Michelangelo who I mentioned when I wrote about Mr. Steve's 1985 trip to Italy.  I guess Mr. Steve's mom read The Agony and the Ecstasy.  That one Lizard is gone now.

       Over the next three days I'll learn about Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci who, during the Renaissance; were "Competitors" in Italy and didn't like each other I guess.  Boy!  It looks like my three books will be a lot longer than I planned.  Dawn's barking next door.   

  DA VINCI (1452-1519)    MICHELANGELO ( 1475-1564)       

     I guess Michelangelo didn't care about not having friends or if others liked him or not.  Mr. Steve says Michelangelo lived like a Catholic Monk except he was dirty.  He seldom changed his clothes and didn't even like food.  Boy!  That's hard to believe.  I love food!  

      As I mentioned, for three months Daisy helped me put together my three outlines.  She also helped me make my list of birthdays and special dates in our boss's family.  Oh!  I can smell that one old Sage bush which is out there in the desert behind Moe the middle Shed.

      Michelangelo was born in March like Mr. Steve's sister Susan, and he died on February 18th. Mr. Steve's ex-girlfriend Harriet was born in February and so was his dad, Grandma Córdova, Stephanie's boyfriend Rich and his Nephew Dalton.  Daisy loves the scent of Sage.     

                                                         LEONARDO  DA VINCI

                                                                                                                                               SELF-PORTRAIT    

       When he was eighteen Mr. Steve's ex-girlfriend Sandy's mother got him this Notebook with  Leonardo da Vinci drawings in it and challenged him to copy them.  He did and then she joked that he should become one of those "Forgers."   Heathcliff is crowing right now.       

       Mr. Steve copied exactly a Horse and hand "Leonardo's" did.  Oh!  This Encyclopedia says Leonardo da Vinci was born in April and Mr. Steve's girlfriend Emily's birthday is April the 9th. Mr. Steve's mom, when she was fourteen; met his dad on the 8th of April too I guess.

        My boss says he can copy almost anything if he "puts his mind to it."  But he can't just draw things like Dragons right out of his mind so admires others who can.  And doing portraits is even harder, especially a self-portrait like the famous one Leonardo da Vinci did of himself.   

                                                     RITCHIE VALENS (1941-1959)

       Earlier this morning I wrote a little bit about that 1950's singer named Ritchie Valens, who lived in Pacoima near Sylmar.  Daisy and that other Dog Millie who I replaced saw a good movie about Ritchie Valens.  He died in an Airplane crash with that other guy Buddy Holly.

       Daisy says in the movie about Ritchie Valens his brother won this drawing contest where you had to copy a Pirate in the back of a Comic Book.  Dais heard our boss tell Mr. Mike he also won art classes in the same contest shown in the movie.  Heathcliff just crowed.

        I wrote how Ritchie Valens and his mom are buried near Mr. Steve's parents Crypts at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.  Oh!  My Encyclopedia says Ritchie Valen's birthday was May 13.  My list of dates says Mr. Steve's Sister-In Law Yolanda was born on the 12th.         

                                                     GEORGIA O'KEEFE (1887-1986)

PAINTING BY MICHAEL A. VACCARO  

     For some reason I just thought about that lady Georgia O'Keefe again right now.  She was such a good painter Daisy told me and Mr. Steve's mom really admires her work.  One time she    and Mr. Steve's sister Susan visited her Museum which is back there in New Mexico.                      

        Georgia O'Keefe was born on the 15th of November just like Mr. Steve's Niece Samantha.  Mr. Mark, who worked with my boss at the Forum in the 1980's and whose family now lives in Hawaii; also has a birthday on that date.  I can smell that one older Sage bush.      

        I feel like writing about Georgia O'Keefe now but I'll wait until tomorrow.  Andy and Helen the Squirrels just used the vertical slots on the sides of the gate to run out into the desert.  It's so amazing how they don't hit their heads on the fence when they go through so fast.

                                                                                           ERWIN ROMMEL (1891-1944)

        Tomorrow I'll write about a German "Field Commander" named Erwin Rommel.  He was  also born on November 15th like Samantha, Georgia O'Keefe and Mr. Mark in Hawaii.  During World War II, in "Grudging Admiration," the British called him the "Desert Fox."  

        Daisy says our boss has studied the Second World War "Campaigns" of Erwin Rommel.  A few years ago she and that other Dog Millie were in Mr. Steve's Bedroom and saw a show about Erwin Rommel.  Mr. Steve thinks he was just as smart as that guy Robert E. Lee.  

        My Encyclopedia calls Erwin Rommel "audacious."  I've mentioned how the Germans used "Blitzkrieg" tactics to conquer most of Europe.  And it was "Rommel" and this one other guy named Heinz Guderein who were so good at using Tanks in "Lightning War."          

                                                        PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903)

       On Saturday I'll write about Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.  I guess they were friends but argued a lot so one time van Gogh got upset and cut off part of his own ear which must have really hurt.  Paul Gauguin lived and painted in "Polynesia" for a few years.

      There's a picture in this one Encyclopedia of Paul Gaugin who looks kind of like he would be a mean person.  Mr. Steve's mother has books of van Gogh and "Gauguin" paintings.  As I said earlier, Vincent van Gogh was originally from the country of the Netherlands.

      It says here that Paul Gauguin was French but is famous for paintings he did in the "South Pacific," or "Tahiti."  Daisy says Mr. Steve's mom likes the way Paul Gauguin used really bright colors.  Boy!  It's too bad van Gogh killed himself and died without any money.   

   As I mentioned, on some Saturday mornings I go in the living room to watch cartoons like Mr. Peabody and Sherman.  But only if the front door's wide open.  If I wasn't afraid to go all the way down the Hallway I'd see the white and gold Sun/Moon plaque at the far end.                          

      This morning I wrote how Mr. Peabody, just like Mr. Steve's Uncle Marty; went to College at Harvard.   I can't wait for the time when I can read and write as well as Mr. Peabody so then my boss and Dais will be proud of me.  And I can prove that females are smart too.                              

    Oh!  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel just whizzed bye in front of the three Sheds and now the only thing left is the dust floating in the air from where he ran bye.  I smell him now.  Daisy and I really like watching those funny cartoons about the real Speedy Gonzalez the Mouse.                                

                 MISSION BELLS                                                      INDIAN'S INTERPRETATION OF CRUCIFIXION

PAINTINGS BY STELLA CÓRDOVA         

  Mr. Steve's mom's ten foot tall painting of the San Fernando Mission bells hangs above the couch in the living room.  Daisy told me how our boss has four of her paintings hanging on the  walls of his bedroom.  And she says two of those paintings are also really tall.                                 

 I've only heard about the big paintings in Mr. Steve's bedroom and office.  I'm so looking forward to seeing and smelling them someday.  Hey Lord!  I really want to see the one above my  boss's bed about the Mission Indian's "Interpretation" of Your Crucifixion.                                    

   Oh!  I just thought of something.  I wonder if we'll go into the living room on Saturday to watch our cartoons?  If we do then I'll have to postpone writing book three until Sunday because I don't want Mr. Steve to suspect what I'm doing back here.  I'll just "Play it by Ear."                   

GERONIMO (1829-1909)    

       Mr. Peabody and Sherman went back in time and met Geronimo.  My Encyclopedia says he was "Medicine Man" for "Mescalero-Chiricahua Apaches" who fought the U.S. in New Mexico.  I mentioned earlier how that guy Benny Urquidez's wife Sara is related to Geronimo.                  

      Another time Mr. Peabody convinced Beethoven to not give up on being a composer when he got discouraged and took this job as a cook.  So, then he went back and wrote the 9th Symphony which has that part called "Ode to Joy" in it.  Heathcliff is crowing next door.                                

      Well God, I can't believe I've gotten this far on my first book and I'm not even tired at all because I really like learning new things.   Five more long chapters to go and I intend to stay just as focused and on schedule which makes Daisy proud of me.  Two of the Pigeons flew bye.            

LIBBY IN HER CORRAL

         Looking to my right I see Libby in her Corral nibbling on some scraps of hay left over from this morning.  Ah!  A slight breeze just brought her distinctive scent floating into both of my two  nostrils.  I can see how the mid afternoon sunlight is shining off of Libby's arched back.                

         The Sun, which is now almost all the way over on the other side of the house; is also lighting up the clump of Joshua trees over in the southeast corner of our fenced in two acres.  It's in that  group of trees the Bobcat jumped up into that one time.  Dawn's barking over there.                      

         I just noticed Andy over there guarding the entrance to he and Helen's burrow.  She's most likely down below with their new Spring babies.  Boy God !  So far this has definitely been one of the best days of my life so I want to keep on thanking all You Guys up there in Heaven.                  

                             BOBCAT IN JOSHUA TREES                         

PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA 

        Looking at that clump of Joshua trees near Libby's Corral suddenly makes me remember how exciting that afternoon was when the Bobcat fled up into the Joshua trees.  It got so scared    when Dawn surprised it.  But then Dais and I had it trapped up there with nowhere to go.            

        All five of us Dogs had the opportunity to prove to our boss's we were "Earning our Keep" so to speak.  Even Rosie and Daisy, who don't bark that often; got in on it too but Mr. Steve fed us in the front yard so the Bobcat escaped.   That Bobcat had a really mean snarl alright.              

        Oh!  Rudy the Roadrunner's standing over there near Jack the big Shed, holding a Lizard in his mouth; and if I know him he'll start body slamming it on the ground to knock it out so he can eat it.  Yup!  There he goes.  Boy!  It must hurt to be slammed on the ground like that.                                               

ROADRUNNER WITH LIZARD

       Seeing Rudy makes me think of how Miss Susan told my boss Roadrunners, like Quail and Thrasher Birds; don't have feathers on their legs.  I guess that's so their body can release body    heat easier.  Oh! Cher the Cat is right now slinking out into the eastern desert.                               

      Miss Susan said, on cold nights; Roadrunners go into a deep sleep called "stupor" and I've  noticed how, in the mornings; they turn their backs on the rising Sun in the east.  Daisy says it's  in order to absorb heat and get life energy.  Rudy body-slammed the Lizard again.                        

   Hey God!  As I've mentioned a few times, one of my goals in life is to overcome my fear of being trapped in enclosed areas.  Daisy goes down the hallway all the time and thinks I'm so silly to be afraid of doing it too.  Rudy just swallowed that now totally limp Lizard.                                       

FRONT YARD DRIVEWAY

        Daisy's probably right when she says I don't know what I'm missing in not going into our boss's bedroom and office.  I could listen to way more music or watch tv.  And, if I were in his Bedroom when he eats she told me; I'd share his food just like she now does.                         

        Boy!  Mr. Steve will be so surprised when he eventually reads my three books You Guys.  I can't wait but I still have so much work to do because this is only the eighth chapter of the thirty six total chapters that will be in my three long books.  Rudy just jogged off.  

            As I've said before, most of Mr. Steve's mom's paintings and drawings in our house were a part of the Art Exhibits they had in the 1990's.  Two Exhibits were at the Capistrano and San Fernando Missions.  Three Birds are flying bye right now and I think they're Finches.

"SWALLOW"     

          I just thought of Birds called "Swallows" who go to Capistrano Mission each year.  A photo in my Encyclopedia shows how they have kind of an unusually shaped tail.  One time Mr. Steve lent Miss Susan a book he and his parents read about the Capistrano Mission as Tour Guides.  

       Daisy told me that Mr. Steve had a customer in the State of Ohio where my favorite band DEVO is from.  The Parts Manager and his wife and kids know a lot about Birds.  He asked my boss about Swallows because he already knew about these other Birds called "Swift's."

       I guess that Parts Manager said Swifts look like Swallows and also eat Bugs right out of the air too but they're not "related." In fact he said, Swifts are more related to Hummingbirds.  Mr. Steve's mom describes the Swallows and Swifts tails as being "forked" and "V-shaped."  

  "SWIFT"       

         Daisy told me that Parts Manager in Ohio said Swifts are one of the fastest flying Birds in the world.  And, so amazingly; Swifts can stay flying up there in the air without landing for ten months!  They've evolved short, stubby legs mainly because they don't need legs that much.

        Mr. Steve already knew about how, in the Middle Ages; Swifts were "Depicted" as having no legs at all.  He told that Parts Manager he met a Chinese lady who said you can make soup out of the hardened "Saliva" Swift's use to make their nests.  Heathcliff just crowed over there.

        Ah!  The strong scents from out there in the eastern desert behind the three Sheds just came in.  I smell the Twin Joshua trees mixed in with the scents of Juniper, Mesquite and Manzanita.  Oh!  I can also detect the slight whiff of Blinky, Dawn and Rosie coming in from my right.

                                                    ("MESSERSCHMIDT")  ME-262    

       Thinking about Swallow Birds makes me remember how, back in World War II; the very first "Operational" Jet was nicknamed "Swallow" or "Schwalbe" in German.  I mentioned how Daisy says Mr. Steve has a model of a "Me-262" in the kitchen.  Daffy's quacking loud.   

       I guess, from what it says here in this one Encyclopedia; another nickname for the Me-262 was "Sturmvogel" or "Storm Bird."  I can't wait, because my boss is interested in that subject; to learn more about the history of "Aviation over the next three days.  I like Daffy's voice.    

      On Saturday Dais and I decided I'd write about advanced German technology from the time of the Second World War.  I guess the Germans were some of the first ones to think of making "Swept-Wing" Aircraft.  That means wings bending backwards like Swifts' wings do. 

JONATHON SWIFT (1667-1745)      

        Oh!  Just when I'm writing about Swifts Max the Hummingbird zoomed bye.  Later today I'll write about an Irish Writer named Jonathon Swift.  When he was in College at C.S.U.N. my boss read his book called "Gulliver's Travels" and someday I want to read it too.    

       Daisy says Hummingbirds can fly even when it's raining.  One time she and that other Dog Millie saw Max and 99 perched on a branch when they shook off water just like we do when we get wet. Hummingbirds can even shake off water when they're flying she noticed.

       My right nostril just picked up Libby's scent which floated over from her Corral.  Today's a really nice day as far as the weather's concerned.  Dais says she has a few memories of when the first day of Spring was really, really cold up here in our part of the High Desert. 

HELICOPTER 

           Aha! I knew I was hearing something coming and it's an amazing Helicopter.  That reminds me of the first time I heard the ominous sound of a Helicopter approaching and thought it was a monster.  At that time I was living homeless in the field my old owner dumped me in.    

       My boss told Mr. Mike about that British writer Aldous Huxley who lived in Llano.  At the end of his book "Brave New World" I guess he described a Helicopter's sound and wrote how "a humming sound had become a roar."  Max the Hummingbird just zoomed bye again.    

       Mark Ritter told Mr. Steve the first attempt to "analyze" Hummingbird's flight was in Nazi Germany during the 1930's.  Then they developed the first "hovering" Helicopters.  During the Second World War the Nazi Luftwaffe worked on Planes that take off "vertically." 

                                                            FOCKE-WULF "Fw-61"

        Even though Daisy and I decided I'd mainly write about advanced Nazi technology in book three on Saturday, I feel like writing a little bit about it now too.  I guess Mr. Steve's friend Mark Ritter knew about that particular subject.  I can smell some Mesquite.  

          My Encyclopedia says the first "operational" Helicopter was used in World War II by the Germans to lift and then carry some heavy things like Artillery.  It was called the "Fw-61" and used "rotors" instead of wings to supply "lift."  Heathcliff just crowed. 

      It says here the first "successful" what they call "rotocraft" was flown in Spain way back in 1923.  It was a "gyroplane" created by Juan de La Cierva.  That was twenty years after those two Wright brothers flew their first Airplane here in America I guess.  

                             HEINRICH FOCKE (1890-1979) WITH ADOLPH HITLER

        A picture in my Encyclopedia shows this man named Heinrich Focke explaining something to Adolph Hitler.  The caption says he "designed" Aircraft and his "partner" in doing that was named Georg Wulf.  I'll be learning more about the "Focke-Wulf" Airplanes in my books. 

        On Saturday I'm going to look up this Russian man named Igor Sikorsky who also designed Helicopters.  I've mentioned a few times how my bosses friend Mark Ritter died.  His sister Gary gave some of his really good books on Geology, Reptiles and Aviation to Mr. Steve to keep.  

       Mr. Steve has lent Mark Ritter's books on Helicopters and Jets that take off "Vertically" to people.  I guess that guy Igor Sikorsky's family moved to America in 1919, which was the year after World War I ended.  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel just ran bye in front of the Sheds.

 "AERODYNAMIC" FORCES OF "FLIGHT"

              A diagram in my Encyclopedia shows how machines can fly.  I guess, in order for Planes to fly you have to use four "aerodynamic" forces; "Lift," "Thrust," "Drag" and Weight."  The first three help you to "overcome" Gravity and keep a Plane or Helicopter up there in the sky.   

             One time Mr. Steve was told by this older man at Van Nuys Airport, when machines fly it's "sort of like four arms holding the weight of the Aircraft up in the air; each one pushing from a different direction."  Dais heard how he then joked that, "Lift is a gift, thrust is a must."   

         Birds are darting around out there in the eastern desert behind the three Sheds.  It makes me feel good right now taking in deep breaths of fresh air, and smelling this first day of  Spring.  Hey God!  Thank You so much for creating the Birds because they make me really feel alive.

                          GEORGE CUSTER (1839-1876) WITH WIFE AND BROTHER   

          Daisy says our boss and that Parts Manager in Ohio discussed Swallowtail" Flags.  George Armstrong Custer, who I'll write about tomorrow; lived in Ohio as a kid and in Ohio they use a Swallowtail flag and so did his "7th Cavalry."  Three Birds are flying bye right now.

       A picture of "Custer" shows him with his wife and brother "Tom."  I guess my boss thinks one reason George Custer is famous is because his "pretty" and "intelligent" wife "Libby" went out and "promoted" him after he was killed in 1976.  A Crow just cawed faintly.

       George Custer and his brother, and almost all of the 7th Cavalry; were killed by  "Lakota" Sioux Indians in 1876.  It was a total slaughter I guess.  Now I can hear two Crows out there in the desert fighting over something and I'd be willing to bet that it's good food. 

                                                                                                                        "CLIFF" SWALLOWS              

                                                                                                                                     PHOTO BY SCIENCE SOURCES

           In that book about the Capistrano Mission it also talks about Birds called "North American Cliff" Swallows.  The fly around in big "Flocks" and live in large "Colonies" I guess.   At times, the whole group sits or "Perch's" in trees to "Preen;" which means to clean.  

           Swallows are "Songbirds" who warn each other about danger or call one another when they find some food for the group to eat.  And I guess Swallows mainly eat Bugs and things like that.  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel just zoomed bye and left only dust hanging in the air.  

          I've mentioned a few time how my boss Mr. Steve thinks many things in life are "Dual" in nature.  So, with good comes bad and with bad comes good.  Birds living in bigger groups has a lot of benefits but, it's also much easier to "Transmit" sickness, parasites and disease too. 

"CLIFF SWALLOW" NESTS

        I guess, Cliff Swallows are examples of Charles Darwin's "Natural Selection" idea.  They've "Adapted" to people, so now, instead of only making nests on cliffs, they do it under bridges and buildings too.  Darwin thought "Evolution" was slow but Mr. Steve thinks it can be fast too.    

       Daisy heard Mr. Steve tell Miss Susan at work he read Cliff Swallows make "group" nests oit of "mud and saliva."  A picture in this Encyclopedia shows how they have entrance holes.  Well, back to writing more to write about George Custer's 7th Cavalry and how they all died.

       I guess some say Custer was lucky in the Civil War but, ten years later in 1876; his "Luck "Ran Out" as they say.  "Crazy Horse" and the Sioux Indians slaughtered he and his American Soldiers, partly because of his "over confidence" my boss thinks.  Daffy's quacking next door.

                                                    CUSTER'S "LAST STAND" (1876)    

       This Encyclopedia says, in 1876; Custer's brother Tom was also killed at the "Battle of the Little Big Horn," or "Greasy Grass" as the Sioux call.  Wow!  In the Civil War Tom Custer was awarded not one but two "Medals of Honor."  That's a really hard thing to do I guess.

       Daisy and Millie saw a good tv show about George Custer.  It said he "became" a "secular martyr" who, in 1876; died on the 100th "Anniversary" of America.  Mr. Steve read that some people think in 1876 he was too "reckless," so he and the men he led died because of it. 

       Oh!  What a coincidence that, just as I'm about to write about a Horse named "Comanche" I smell Libby over there to my right.  Comanche was this boy Horse who "Survived" that Battle of the Little Big Horn.  Libby is walking slowly around over there in her Corral right now.      

                                                             "COMANCHE"

            It's said there were no survivors from Custer's 7th Cavalry in 1876 but Comanche lived, even though he had seven bullet wounds on him.  Wow!  In this battle the year before he fought with an arrow even sticking out of him!  I guess this yellow Bulldog also survived too.

        In a few minutes I'll write about this brave Horse named "Reckless" who was in the Korean War.  The Crows I heard a minute ago are still fighting out there in the desert so whatever food they're squabbling over must be pretty good.  Dawn and Blinky are barking to my right.      

        Daisy says our boss Mr. Steve told that Parts Manager in Ohio how other Horses survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn too but were taken by the Sioux as "Spoils" or "War Booty."  I guess Comanche was just left out there to die.  But he was really strong so survived I guess.

                                                          MYLES KEOGH (1840-1876) 

       I think I'll write about Comanche's owner Myles Keough now too.  He was from Ireland and his brothers and sisters died in the Irish "Potato Famine" of 1845 to 1850.  I'd definitely wear a good helmet like the one he's got on in the picture of him here in this one Encyclopedia.  

       This is interesting.  My Encyclopedia says Myles Keogh, who died at Little Big Horn; fought for the Pope and his "Papal States" in Italy in 1860.  But then I guess he decided to leave Europe and come over to America to help fight against the southern Confederate States instead.  

       Oh!  It says here Myles Keogh, like George Custer; fought in the three day 1863 "Battle of Gettysburg" which I'll write about tomorrow in book two.  As I've mentioned, in 1977 Mr. Steve and his brother Rock visited that town called "Gettysburg."  Heathcliff just now crowed.

                    J.E.B. STUART                    ROBERT E. LEE        "STONEWALL" JACKSON

     This Encyclopedia says, during the Civil War that guy Myles Keogh fought against three of the famous Rebel leaders; J.E.B. Stuart, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and even Robert E. Lee    too.  That big Dragonfly just zoomed bye.  I heard it coming from far away.                                    

       Hey Lord!  In 1876 after the battle the Sioux "mutilated" the bodies of their enemies but not Myles Keough.  My boss thinks it might be because he wore a Christian medal around his neck    and many Indians respected Your powerful "Medicine."  I'd wear a medal.                                    

       Comanche the Horse was "nursed back to health" and died in 1890.  Like Reckless a century later, Comanche then became a "Mascot."  This Encyclopedia says Comanche and Reckless are    two of only four Horses ever given "Military Funerals."  I smell Libby over there.                          

MR. DAVE

   Daisy told me Mr. Steve's friend Dave in New Mexico, according to his Facebook site; has played in few bands since moving from California to Taos.  And, I guess one of them was called    RECKLESS like that Korean War Horse.   I smell some new Spring Sage.                                        

      Ah!  I just looked to my right and see Libby the Horse standing in her Corral looking right at me.  She's probably wondering why I've been sitting here on the Patio for seven hours.  Boy!  It's such a good thing that my old couch Elvira is so comfortable to spend time on.                               

   Libby's unique scent just floated in on a slight breeze coming over here from her direction.   And for some reason that suddenly makes me remember how Molly the Mule smelled.  I sure do  miss good old Molly and know for sure that both Daisy and Mr. Steve miss her too.                                                                                   

            "SMOKEY" THE BEAR           

        Writing about Comanche and Reckless the brave Horses makes me think about this other Mascot named "Smokey the Bear."  Daisy says he represents "Fire Prevention" and overheard our boss tell Mr. Mike the real Smokey the Bear was from New Mexico.  I smell Sage.

        I've mentioned how the United States entered the Second World War in 1941 after Japan did their surprise attack on us in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor.  The public was angry my boss thinks.  Rudy the Roadrunner is jogging bye but knows today I won't chase after him.  

        I guess Mr. Steve thinks the American public was also scared after Pearl Harbor. Then, in early 1942 a Japanese Submarine surfaced off shore and fired a few cannon rounds at an oil field on the coast of California.  My Encyclopedia says it was at a forest called "Los Padres."

        "SMOKEY" THE BEAR    

         Oh!  A picture shows the original Smokey Bear walking on an Airplane.  Mr. Steve says in 1942 wood was as important as steel for World War II.  So, because of that Japanese Submarine attack and the big fear of forest fires; the "C.F.F.P" program was created. 

        The caption below the picture of Smokey Bear says, from 1942 on; the "Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention" program used a Bear as a Mascot.  Then, in 1950 the little Bear cub walking on the Airplane was badly burned in a New Mexico forest fire.  Heathcliff crowed. 

        This is interesting.  After his burns healed that cute little Bear Smokey lived in Washington D.C. but died in 1976, when Mr. Steve was twenty one.  He was then buried in New Mexico.  The Japanese knew how important wood was to America during World War II I guess.

            JAPANESE WORLD WAR II ("BALLOON" BOMB)      

          In my three books I'm going to learn about "Balloons."  It says in this Encyclopedia the first Balloon was flown in France in the late 18th century and by the time of the Second World War Japan had "weaponized" them.  Mr. Steve's dad rode the "Goodyear Blimp."                        

            My boss told Mr. Mike that, like Sylmar is "associated" with "Hang Gliding," people now think of New Mexico's Balloons.  It says here, during World War II the Japanese "floated" nine thousand "antipersonnel" and "incendiary" Balloons to America.  Dawn's barking.

       A drawing in this Encyclopedia shows how the Japanese hung bombs from the Balloon and sailed them from Japan.  The caption says it was the first "intercontinental" weapon ever.  Daisy says antipersonnel is just fancy way of saying they were meant to kill people.         

ROUTES OF JAPANESE BALLOON BOMBS 

            A map shows how the Japanese used the "Jet Stream" way up in the sky to send Balloons over here, hoping they would drop on and then burn American forests.  That's what incendiary means.  The Japanese called those Balloons "Fu-Go" or "Fire Balloon."  

            Luckily, the Balloons "proved ineffective" so only about three hundred got through to kill six people, whose deaths were kept totally secret from the public.  Boy!  Daisy wouldn't be afraid to fly up there in one of those Balloons but I would.  It would be way too scary.

            One time Daisy and Millie heard Mr. Steve talking on the phone with his dad, who knows from his time in the Marines about Balloons used to help predict weather.  I guess twice a day a lot of Balloons are released in America to float up into the sky.  Heathcliff just crowed.  

                                                        "WEATHER" BALLOONS

               A map shows places in the U.S. where "gas-filled upper air observation" Balloons are sent up every day.   Attached "Sensors" collect "Data" or information.  It says here, when the Balloon "bursts" at 100,000 feet;  a parachute opens to let the equipment fall softly to the ground.  

          The caption under an old black and white photo shows a man releasing a Weather Balloon  into the air and I notice one of those Water Tank's behind him.   I mentioned earlier this morning how we have a Water Tank here in Piñon Hills.  I really do want to see it someday. 

          Oh what the heck!  Even though I'm not scheduled to write about the subject of "Fire" at this point, I just kind of suddenly feel like learning about it now too.  I know my boss is interested in that subject.  Two of the Pigeons are flying back in from being out in the desert.

                                              CONSTANTINOPLE ("GREEK FIRE")

ARTWORK BY TV ARAJ

       One time Daisy and that Dog I replaced named Millie were in Mr. Steve's Bedroom and got to see a good show about the history of "Incendiary" weapons.  One thing they talked about was this thing called "Greek Fire."  Incendiary means "designed to start fires."

       Dais says, in the 7th century A.D.; the Byzantine Empire used fire throwing guns to burn up the wooden enemy Ships.  I wrote earlier about the 4th century when that guy Constantine the Great made Christianity the religion of the eastern Roman Empire.  I smell Sage.

       This morning I wrote about how, when the original western Empire over there in Italy fell; the only part of the Roman Empire left was the Byzantine area in the east.  Greek fire was used to defend "Constantinople. "  I've mentioned how that city's now called "Istanbul."

                                                                        "ISTANBUL" 

     That tv show said, the use of incendiary weapons didn't begin with the Byzantines use of  Greek Fire in naval engagements.  And, at that exact same time in history; cultures like China were using "projected fire" to kill in war.  The Pigeons are on the patio roof.

        From what Dais saw on that tv show, people had put something on Pigs and then lit them on fire.  Then they stampeded them into an enemy's lines, hoping to make those soldiers lose their courage and "Break Ranks" as they say.  The Pigeons are cooing up there.

       Forever people have lit up arrowheads to shoot at something they want to catch on fire and burn.  The original Italian Romans used "Catapults" to throw burning boulders.  Daisy told me about how our boss has a little miniature "Trebuchet" Catapult sitting in his office.     

                                                                    PROMETHEUS

                      I just looked up this ancient Greek God named "Prometheus."  Actually, he was one of those "Titans;" who I guess are bigger in size than the "Deity's" or God's who came later.  The Pigeons are walking on the patio roof, and I see their moving shadows cast on the dirt.

              I guess Prometheus, who's often linked or associated with the Goddess Athena; "defied" the highest God Zeus by stealing fire and coming down to give it to people.  Hey! That's kind of like how that guy Nikola Tesla wanted to give free electricity away.  Heathcliff crowed.

             Oh wow!  When Zeus found out what happened he punished Prometheus by tying him to this big rock so an Eagle could eat his liver.  Ugh!  That must hurt!  And then, Zeus made it so Prometheus's liver kept growing back every day; so the Eagle could eat it all over again.    

                                                   SWITZERLAND                  YUGOSLAVIA                                                

                                                 "UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS"

               I just thought of those "U.F.O's," and pictures in my Encyclopedia shows some "flying saucers." I mentioned earlier those World War II era "Foo Fighters."  Daisy saw a tv show about "Aliens" from outer space who a long time ago came down to Earth and changed humans. 

              Mr. Dave back in New Mexico one time told my boss about how some Native people have stories about "Star Beings."  That tv show said some think it was Aliens who taught the humans about things like fire.  Some even think Prometheus was really an Alien Dais told me.

             Hey God!  Mr. Steve doesn't believe in things like flying saucers and thinks You probably just gave some early humans the intelligence to figure things out.  Boy!  Those two pictures of the flying saucers sure pretty realistic to me!  The Pigeons are flying away over the Sheds.  

                                                 UFO                                                                   IRON MAIDEN

                     I've mentioned how my boss likes some of the songs by that one British band from the 1970's called UFO.  They're the ones who have the song about a Doctor.  I've never heard it but Daisy and Millie heard it a few times and thought it has really good music and singing too.

              Mr. Steve, who has tried to play along to that UFO song; likes how their Drummer does the "Fill's" connecting the different sections.  Mr. Dave likes the way he uses the bigger "Ride" cymbal on certain parts of the song.  Someday I really want to see my boss play the drums.

              Daisy heard one of Mr. Steve's Parts Manager customers, who likes Heavy Metal music; told him how that other British band IRON MAIDEN start all their concerts by playing UFO'S Doctor song.  I guess UFO also has another really good song called "Rock Bottom." 

"GREAT WHITE" SHARK

               Thinking of how Zeus let that Eagle eat Prometheus' liver for eternity makes me think about how Mr. Steve's private Hell would be if he were attacked and then eaten by a Shark for eternity.  Tomorrow in book two I'll write about things that live in water like Sharks.  

              Hey God!  Are You Zeus too?  As You know of course, I've wondered at times if You're also Islam's Allah, the Viking's Odin or the ancient Roman's Jupiter.  Dais heard our boss talk on the phone with his friend Mr. Ralph one time when they discussed that exact subject.       

            Mr. Steve, and his father too Daisy says; think You God gave people the ability to reason and use science to figure out things about the physical world You created about fourteen billion years ago.  Dawn, Blinky and Rosie's scent just floated in from over there next door.                                              

                  MARY SHELLEY (1797-1851)                        FRANKENSTEIN

                                        PORTRAIT BY RICHARD ROTHWELL

                  I've mentioned before how, because my  boss is interest in that subject, I'll learn about "Horror."  That girl from England named Mary Shelley wrote that book about "Frankenstein."  This one Encyclopedia says how her book's "Sub-Title" is "The Modern Prometheus."

              Mr. Steve's father thinks Mary Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein represents a "Lone Genius" who tries to improve mankind.  But her now famous 1818 novel has also come to symbolize all of the "unforeseen consequences" that can come about.  Donald and Daisy are quacking.

              Fire seems like a good example of the dual nature of many things in life.  "Harnessing" it gives people more power to "Control their Destiny," like in cooking or keeping warm.  And, fire also gave people the really, really important ability to work with all of the different metals. 

                                   DESTRUCTION OF THE SPANISH "ARMADA" (1588)

       Oh wow!  I'm looking at a painting in this Encyclopedia which shows what happened back in 1588 when Spain tried to attack Queen Elizabeth I's England.  I guess the English set some Ships on fire and then "floated" them into the invading Spanish Fleet.  A Crow cawed.  

      Those British Ships that were set on fire ended up catching many of the Spanish Ships on fire and it was a total disaster.  The surviving Spanish vessels could not just sail back down south and go home to Spain.  The Pigeons just took off and are flying out into the desert.

      In those days, before motors; Ships had to either have the men row or use wind in their sails to move forward.  And back in 1588, after the Spanish "Armada" was defeated; what they call the "Prevailing" winds were blowing to the north.   Now two Crows are squawking.  

    SPANISH ARMADA DISASTER

       Wow!  This map shows how, after their totally disastrous naval battle; the surviving Spanish Ships had to try to make it back home to Spain by sailing all the way around the top of Scotland and Ireland.   A lot of Ships "Wrecked" and many sailors died along the way. 

        As I wrote earlier this morning, Mr. Steve and his father have both noticed how good things almost always end up being used for bad purposes too.  Tomorrow I'm scheduled to write about the subject of "Nuclear" energy.  Heathcliff the Rooster just crowed over there.

        In today's modern society fire is used for many useful purposes.  But in war it's been almost perfected so you can more efficiently kill a lot more people from a longer range.  At least that's what my boss has noticed.  They drop some huge bombs now meant to make fire.

2014 NISSAN "ARMADA"

                 When we were putting together my three outlines Daisy told me about this guy who one time came over to our house to do some work.  She and Millie noticed he was driving a Car called an "Armada."  Blackbeard and Anne Bonney are flying toward the northeast.

            This Encyclopedia says an Armada is a "full-sized Sports Utility Vehicle," or just "S.U.V. for short.  Dais says one of Mr. Steve's "Nissan" customer's said Armada's are "assembled," or put together in the State of "Mississippi."  Nissan is one of those Japanese companies.

            I guess that Parts Manager told my boss how, over in the "Middle East;" Armada's are made so the driver is on the left as you face it.  I just glanced up in time to see Speedy Gonzalez zip out into the back field.  He ran through the right vertical slot on the side of the gate.   

                                                                "OKINAWA" (1945)

        Ugh!  My Encyclopedia shows three American Marines in 1945, on the island of "Okinawa;" killing Japanese soldiers by burning them.  The caption says they're using a "Flamethrower" to do it.  Aha!  I knew I heard Max the Hummingbird coming and there he is. 

      In the lower right hand corner of the photo of Okinawa is a burned up Japanese soldier.  In the Korean War Mr. Steve's father had flamethrowers used against him.  How in the world could anyone have even figured out how to invent such a thing as a Flamethrower?  

     One time I heard Mr. Steve and his friend Cliff talking about bombs that are created only to burn things.  At the end of the Second World War in 1945, before the U.S. dropped those Atomic bombs; we burned down other areas of Japan with fire bombs.  A Crow is cawing. 

                                                           ARCHIMEDES' WEAPONS

         Daisy told me, on the tv show about using fire in warfare; they talked about Archimedes and some weapons he is said to have invented.  One was the idea he had of using mirrors to focus the Sun's rays onto a wooden Ship and burn it.  My right nostril smells Libby.

       Archimedes, who I mentioned in the last chapter and will talk even more about over the next three days; also supposedly used a "Claw" device to hook onto an invading Ship.  Then you can lift it up and tip it over.  A diagram in this Encyclopedia shows how to use it.

       Writing about those weapons Archimedes invented to protect his town of "Syracuse" makes me remember how, in the 16th century; Leonardo da Vinci designed weapons like a "Tank" or a "Helicopter."  Mr. Steve copied them.   I just noticed Libby over there in her Corral.    

          LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519)                       NIKOLA TESLA (1856-1943)

        When Daisy and I were putting together my three outlines we decided that I'd write about that guy Nikola Tesla tomorrow in book two.  But writing about fire makes me remember how he had the idea of using a "Particle Beam" to destroy things.  Dawn's barking.

        One idea the U.S. government considered using in World War II was strapping "Incendiary Devices" to Bats.  Then the Bats would hopefully fly down and roost in all the wooden and paper Japanese houses.  The device could then be activated to burn those houses.  

        On Saturday in book three I'm scheduled to write about some of the advanced technology the Nazi's developed, or at least thought about; during the Second World War.  One idea they considered was a mirror that orbited the Earth.  Heathcliff just crowed over there.

          HERMAN OBERTH (1894-1989)                     SATELLITE MIRROR WEAPON

              One of the Nazi Scientists brought here after World War II in Operation Paper Clip was named Herman Oberth, who's called the "Father of Rocketry."  He thought it possible to put an "orbiting satellite mirror" in space.  It could be then used to burn anything here on Earth.

           That guy Herman Oberth taught Wernher von Braun about Rockets and things like that.  It was Wernher von Braun's ideas that allowed the United States to go up and land on the Moon in 1969.  Samson and Delilah the Ravens are flying bye way up there in the sky.

           Daisy says it's a good thing the American government brought all those German Scientists  to America in the late 1940's.  They helped us to win that "Cold War" against the Soviet Union.  And, not only that; the husband of the lady who built our house was one of them too.    

                                                          CALIFORNIA "WILD FIRE"

                I've mentioned a few times how we're in a drought here in California.  I've never seen one of those "Wild Fires" Daisy told me about and I sure hope I never do.  According to that lady Miss Susan, there have been some big fires up here where we live in the High Desert.

               Mr. Steve and his family all survived the 1971 "Sylmar" earthquake, even though their house didn't.  Sylmar, or the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley; has also had some big  fires too.  One happened in 2008, a few months after the family trip to Washington D.C.     

              Well, back to 1942.  In the months after the attack on Pearl Harbor many of the white people got really angry; especially after that Submarine shot about twenty rounds of artillery at the central California coast near "Goleta."  A Raven is croaking out in the back desert.   

                 "I-17" (TYPE-B-1)                                                           FEBRUARY 23, 1942

           Oh!  I wonder if my boss Mr. Steve knows this?  This Encyclopedia says it was on February the 23rd, near Santa Barbara; that the Japanese Submarine shot at California.  I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve's father's birthday is February 23 and his mom's the 24th.  

         The city of Santa Barbara is where Mr. Steve's family went every year on vacation, and his sister Susan went to College.  In 1978 Mr. Steve saw a GRATEFUL DEAD concert up there at "U.C.S.B."   All four of the Pigeons are flying over Libby's Corral and moving to the east.

             One morning, when Mr. Steve was filling up the water basin below the big Mulberry tree; he and Mr. Cliff talked about "Subs."  That's what Mr. Cliff called Submarines I notice.  He said some of the World War II Japanese Submarines were even able to carry Airplanes.

                                             "PEARL HARBOR" (DECEMBER 7, 1941)

       It says here that in late December of 1941, after the Japanese "surprise attack" on Hawaii; seven of their Submarines sank or damaged eight American "Merchant Ships" in the western Pacific Ocean area.  And they "skirmished" with the U.S. Navy.  A Duck is quacking.  

       This is interesting.  It says here, when the Submarine shot at California; it was the first time a "foreign" country attacked the U.S. since the War of 1812.  That was when the British burned Washington D.C. and that guy Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans. 

       In 2008 when Mr. Steve's family went to Washington D.C. Mr. Steve took a book with him about the city.  It had a chapter on the War of 1812 which Daisy has me scheduled to write about in my three books.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny the Crows are flying bye right now. 

                               "BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES" (FEBRUARY 24-25, 1942)

          Daisy thinks another way you can tell that so many people in California were really nervous after Pearl Harbor is what happened in February of 1942.  Some people in Los Angeles thought Japanese Airplanes were attacking.  A Sparrow just zoomed out into the back desert.

        Wow!  My Encyclopedia says, on February 24, 1942; 1500 artillery shells were fired up into the sky above Los Angeles.  It turned out to be a "false alarm."  I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's Grandma Córdova's birthday was February the 24th.  And his dad was born on the 23rd.

        I wonder if my boss Mr. Steve knows this?  I guess five people died in what's now called the "Battle of Los Angeles."  Three were killed in a Car crash and two had heart attacks.  Daisy and I wonder if that "Artillery Barrage" might've been shooting at one of those U.F.O.'s?

                                                                                  "ZOOT SUIT" RIOTS (1943)

            Even though I'm not really scheduled to write about the "Zoot Suit" riots until Saturday in book three, I kind of feel like writing about it now too.  As I just mentioned, in the period right after Pearl Harbor; there was a lot of fear and hate.  Heathcliff just crowed over there.

         This Encyclopedia says, in 1943; American "Servicemen" stationed here in downtown Los Angeles roamed the streets beating up "minorities."  They mainly beat up Mexican-Americans I guess.  Wow!  I just glanced up from my writing to see the beautiful high blue sky. 

         Mr. Steve thinks violence and hate "instinctive," or "endemic;" which means "Something prevalent or common."  He says many people want to think of  "us" and "them."  Many sports fans seem to hate their favorite team's "Rivals" even more than they love their team.

          HEINRICH HIMMLER / ADOLPH HITLER             BENITO MUSSOLINI / ADOLPH HITLER            

                   Mr. Steve and his father think warfare is often more common in history than peace.  Hey Lord!  Even though You said to love God and other people, people's hate has been "Exploited" by their leaders since what they call "Time Immemorial."  Two Crows are fighting.

             Dais says Mr. Steve believes revenge is a way leaders "take advantage" of the "Zeitgeist" of an era.  They use hatred, and the "appeal of violence" as a "means" to get them to do what benefits that Politician.  But, a lot of times they just pay men to fight; like it's a regular  job.

             Now I can really hear the Crows fighting out there in the eastern desert behind the Sheds.  Someone must've found something really good to eat, like maybe a big dead Rabbit or something like that.  Oh!  Now there are more than two Crows squawking and yelling at each other.   

                    THE BEACH BOYS                                                       THE BEATLES

            I've mentioned how the German word "Zeitgeist" means the "Spirit of the Times.  Daisy thinks that probably means how most people feel about things at that particular time in history.  It often applies to "Popular Culture" but, at other times; it's used in "Politics."  

        Mr. Steve thinks the BEACH BOYS and BEATLES represented the zeitgeist of the 1960's. In the early 1960's the BEACH BOYS symbolized what's called the southern California "Youth Culture" of Hot Rod Cars and Surfing.  The Crows have stopped fighting.

          My boss believes the BEATLES sensed the feelings of many young people in the mid-1960's.  And he thinks that other guy named Bob Dylan wrote some songs about how the United States was changing too.  I'll be writing more about the 1960's in my three long books. 

                                                                       BEACH BOYS

            I've mentioned a few times how, because I'm afraid to go all the way down the Hallway in the house I can't listen to as much music as Daisy does.  I've only heard one BEACH BOYS song and I really like it because it has a flute in it.  Dais says it's called "Sloop John B."

           One time when Daisy and that other Dog Millie were in our boss's Bedroom they heard him tell that kid Jason about hearing Sloop John B when he was away from home.  And every time it made him feel really "Homesick."  Dawn and Blinky are barking right now.

            Besides the flute in that song Sloop John B, I like how the BEACH BOYS sing.  Dais told me the BEACH BOYS are three brothers and a Cousin and you can really tell their voices all blend together well.  In my books I'll write about what they call "A Capella" singing.

                                                                        SANDY

       In my three books I'll write a lot more about songs Mr. Steve associates with growing up in Sylmar.  Dais says the BEACH BOYS have a good song about a girl named "Rhonda."  When our boss hears it he thinks about his girlfriend Sandy's friend named Rhonda.

          Mr. Steve and Sandy, when they were going to Sylmar High; used to do things with Rhonda and her boyfriend named Ronnie.  I guess that guy Ronnie died a few years ago and so did his wife "Celeste."  Mr. Steve says Ronnie was a good-hearted and decent person. 

        Sister Rita Joseph and the other Nuns who taught by boss at St. Ferdinand's are all dead but, as I've said before; in a philosophical way still live in his mind.  Sister Rita Joseph knew a lot about the history of thought.  Two of the Pigeons are flying bye right now.

                                                                FRIEDRICH HEGEL (1770-1831)

                                                                      PAINTING BY JACOB SCHLESINGER                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Because my boss and his father have studied philosophy, as I've said before; in my books I'll learn about that subject too.  And one German philosopher who I'll find more about is that guy named Friedrich Hegel.  Two of the Pigeons just flew in from the desert.  

            I guess "Hegel" lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and his brother died fighting Napoleon's France.  Hegel influenced later thinkers, like Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche for instance.  The Pigeons landed on the Patio roof above me down here on Elvira.

        My German Dictionary says the phrase "Weltanschauung" means "world view" and I guess that phrase began in the mid-19th century.  Mr. Steve once met this smart lady from "Stuttgart" where "Hegel" was from.  Boy!  I'm sure glad I have all of these Dictionaries.                                  

SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939) / CARL JUNG (1875-1961)

      In my three books I'll write about these two guys named Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.  They were "Psychiatrists" and I guess were friends until they became "Competitors."  "Freud" was a German Jew, while "Jung" grew up in that country called "Switzerland."                             

       This Encyclopedia says Freud, who was about twenty years older; considered Carl Jung to be his "heir apparent" or "successor."  Jung was his "Disciple."  The caption below the picture    says how Sigmund Freud "for a time" thought of Jung as "Joshua to his Moses."                           

       I guess Carl Jung said that he "doubted everything" just like an 18th century Philosopher Immanuel Kant, who I'll learn about later.  Jung's idea of society's "collective unconscious" in a way sounds like "Zeitgeist" or "Weltanschauung."   The Pigeons are cooing up there.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "HEGEL'S DIALECTIC" METHOD                                                 

                                                                                                                                                             This Encyclopedia says one thing that guy Friedrich Hegel is known for is his "Dialectic" method.  And Hegel's method is defined as an, "interpretive formula in which the contradiction    between a proposition or "thesis," and its "antithesis" is resolved."  Dawn's barking.                    

       Wow!  Philosophy is kind of hard to understand.  It says here the contradiction between the thesis and antithesis is "resolved at a higher level of truth."  And that "combining of opposites"    or "resolution," is then called the "synthesis" which becomes a new thesis.                                       

       As I've said, Mr. Steve thinks that many things in life are dual in nature so good comes with bad and bad comes with good.  And you can't have one side without the other side.  In a way it    kind of sounds like Hegel's Dialectic believes in the two sides of everything too.                                                               IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)                                KARL MARX (1818-1883)       

        My Encyclopedia says Hegel, like Carl Jung; was also influenced by Immanuel Kant.  And then, later in the 19th century; some of his ideas influenced writers and thinkers like Karl Marx.  Kant, Hegel and Marx were all German but very different in personalities. 

        I guess Karl Marx used Hegel's Dialectic method when he wrote about the subject of what's called "Materialism."  As I've said a few times already today, Marx wrote about "Capitalism" versus "Socialism" and "Communism."  Now Dawn and Blinky are barking.  

       This is kind of interesting.  It says here that, in using Hegel's formula; Marx predicted some day there might be a "bloody revolution" where the "exploited working class," or "Proletariat;" might overthrow the "Bourgeoisie" middle and higher classes.  I smell Sage.

                                                                SUPER BOWL ( 2008)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VS. NEW YORK GIANTS

PHOTO BY DAVID TYREE        

                   This morning I wrote about how my boss thinks many things in life are "two-sided," and like in Hegel's Dialectic; are "Proportionate."  So the bigger the good, the equal "Potential" for bad; and vice versa too.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny the Crows are flying bye up there.

             I said earlier how the 2008 New England Football team went into the "Super Bowl" with an 18-0 record, but lost so; the entire season was considered a big failure.  It wasn't.  Mr. Steve's Nephew's Dalton and Austin in Connecticut are big "Fans" of the New England Patriots, 

            One time Daisy and Millie heard Mr. Steve talking to one of his "Jeep" customers about a Car called the "Patriot."  The Parts Manager said they first came out in 2006 and are made in the State of "Illinois."  I smell Andy over there guarding the entrance to their burrow. 

2014 JEEP "PATRIOT"

                   Daisy heard the Jeep Parts Manager tell Mr. Steve the Patriot is a "compact crossover" Sports Utility Vehicle.  He said there are three "models" and can come with either two or four "wheel drive."  Andy sniffed the air and I can tell he smelled me over here sitting on Elvira.

             According to what Daisy heard that one time, since 2009 there's a version of the Patriot Car powered only by electricity.  Mr. Steve "Faxed" some of his black and white line drawings for that Parts Manager's kids to color.  Their favorite Baseball team is the New York "Mets."      

            Over the next three days I'll write about the 1977 trip my boss and his brother Rock took, where they visited their Uncle Marty's family in "New Jersey."  One time, as they were driving their rental Car around New York City; a good song came on the radio.  I smell Mesquite.  

                                                                          HEART  

           In August of 1977, as my boss and his brother Rock were driving around "Manhattan;" the song they heard was by a band from the State of Washington called HEART.  It was about a Fish called a "Barracuda" I guess.  I've never heard it but Daisy has and really likes it.

           When Mr. Steve heard that one HEART song he thought of a girl in his philosophy class at C.S.U.N.  The year before, in 1976; she had jokingly predicted that in 1977 there might just be a Hard Rock band with a strong female Singer.  And she used Hegel's method to do it.

        I can't wait for the day when I get over my fear of being trapped in an area with no escape route so I can go into Mr. Steve's bedroom and watch more tv and listen to more music.  I want to hear that song Barracuda.  Daisy told me how HEART is mainly just two sisters. 

                  FOGHAT                                          B.T.O.                                 BAD COMPANY

        The reason that girl in the philosophy class predicted HEART'S song Barracuda is because in 1976 some Hard Rock bands like FOGHAT, BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE and BAD COMPANY had some "Hit" songs.  Heathcliff just crowed over there next door.

        I guess, in the mid-1970's; there were also hit songs by girl Singers like Olivia Newton John and Linda Ronstadt.  And the CARPENTERS, who I wrote about before; also had popular songs then too.  Someday, I really want to hear Karen Carpenter sing; and play drums. 

     One morning, as my boss was watering the Mulberry tree up there in the front yard; he and Mr. Randy talked about the "Barracuda" Fish that HEART'S song is probably about.  I guess, a few years ago; Mr. Randy's friend caught a Barracuda in Florida.   I smell Mesquite.                     

                                                                    "BARRACUDA"

            As I've said before, I'm mainly scheduled to write about things like Sharks which live in the water tomorrow in book two.  But, because I wrote about HEART'S song; I just kind of feel like mentioning a little bit about Barracuda Fish's now too.  Dawn's barking over there. 

         I noticed how Mr. Steve described Barracuda's as "snake-like."  He said some of them grow to be almost six feet long, which is as tall as he and Mr. Randy both are.  Oh my God!  A picture in this one Encyclopedia shows how they have sharp teeth sticking out of their mouth.

          The caption below the photo says Barracuda's are "ray-finned predator" Fish who mainly live in "Tropical" or "Subtropical" Oceans.  Mr. Steve told Mr. Randy they often swim near the "surface" or "in and around" Coral Reefs or Sea Grass areas.  I really like Dawn.           

                                                    1970 PLYMOUTH "BARRACUDA"

              When he was young, my boss had this friend who drove a 1970 "Plymouth" Car; called a "Barracuda."  Mr. Randy knew how that Car was fast because it had a "426 Hemi" motor which could produce 425 "Horse Power."  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel just ran bye.

         Mr. Randy thinks the Barracuda Car was "unlucky" to have "come out" in 1964 when that guy Lee Iaccoca's Ford "Mustang" was "Introduced" as they say.   And then, in 1967; it's brand new "Body Design" was what they call "Eclipsed" by Chevrolet's first "Camaro."

        According to what Mr. Randy remembered, the 1970 version of the Barracuda had kind of a "similar" body design to the 1969 "Dodge Challenger."   Mr. Steve agreed with him on that, and both were right because; that's what it says in this Encyclopedia too.  I smell Sage.   

                                                                          MR. RANDY

                My boss told Mr. Randy how back in 1928, the year before the American "Stock Market" started to go down; an "Auto Maker" named Walter P. Chrysler created this "New Line" called Plymouth. He named it after that early 17th century British colony.  Sage smells good.  

                I can tell Mr. Randy knows about Cars, Trucks and things like that.  And, because they're both about the same age; he likes some of the same music as my boss.  I remember how one time Daisy said they both like some songs by a 1970's Hard Rock band called FOREIGNER. 

           Mr. Steve told Mr. Randy about how, in August of 1977; he and his brother Rock heard a FOREIGNER song called "Cold as Ice.  They were driving around New York City on a really hot and humid day with a "Garbage Strike" going on.  Cold as Ice refers to the bad smell.

                                                                       FOREIGNER

                Mr. Randy remembered how that band FOREIGNER got their name from the fact that a few of the members were American while others grew up over there in England.  One was in that band SPOOKY TOOTH who I mentioned this morning.  Dawn and Blinky are barking.

            I guess some of the guys in FOREIGNER came from this other English band called KING CRIMSON.  Daisy says Mr. Steve has some KING CRIMSON vinyl records and played one of them for that kid Jason who plays guitar.  I'll write about KING CRIMSON tomorrow.  

           I've never heard any FOREIGNER songs but Dais has and told me how some of them are what they call "Ballads" while others are Hard Rock.  She says Mr. Steve used to play his drums along to their songs "Double Vision" and "Dirty White Boy."  I smell some Mesquite.

                                                                       "TRIGGER"

           Mr. Steve was told how, before FOREIGNER; that band from New York City was called TRIGGER just like the smart Horse.  I've mentioned how Trigger's owners, Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans; lived here in San Bernardino County with their kids.  Dawn's barking.

           I guess my boss was also told that singer Willie Nelson also named his old acoustic guitar Trigger too.  As they talked about the 1977 New York City Garbage Strike Mr. Randy helped my boss load our Truck Rex with things to be taken to the Dump.  Now Blinky's barking.

           According to Mr. Steve, it smelled really bad in some areas of New York City in August of 1977.  As he and his brother walked from their rented Car to Yankee Stadium to see a game big piles of trash were on the sides of the roads.  Fannie and Freddie are flying bye right now.  

                                                                 NEW YORK CITY

            I'm so tempted to write more about New York City right now but, I'd better just wait and do it according to the outlines Dais and I prepared.  I know on Saturday in my third book I'll do a lot more on the subject.  The scent of Libby the Horse just floated in from my right.

             As they loaded Rex the Truck I heard Mr. Randy say how one of his favorite girl singers is named Linda Ronstadt.  I'm also scheduled to write more about her on Saturday too.  I can now see old Libby over there walking around really slowly near the fence of her Corral.  

         Boy!  I'm so tempted to write about about that girl Linda Ronstadt.  I guess she grew up in the State of "Arizona" to our east, and Mr. Steve and his friend Mark Ritter who died; thought she was pretty.  Rudy the Roadrunner jogged bye but he senses I won't chase him. 

                                                                 LINDA RONSTADT

             Even though I'm mainly planning on writing about Linda Ronstadt in book three I can also mention a little bit about her now too.  According to what Daisy and Millie heard our boss tell Mr. Randy one time, he thinks she's really pretty.  Heathcliff just crowed again.

             Dais overhead Mr. Randy say that Linda Ronstadt grew up on a "Ranch" near a city called "Tucson."  I guess, when she first came to California; her Drummer and Guitarist were the guys who later started that band the EAGLES.  Mark Ritter lived near Tucson for a while.

             Speedy Gonzalez just zipped through the right vertical slot on the side of the gate to go into the eastern desert.  The dust he raised is floating up in the air  but he's now what they call Long Gone."  Boy!  I'm still thinking about what music was like way back in the 1970's.  

         CAPTAIN AND TENILLE                SEALS AND CROFTS                     BAY CITY ROLLERS

PHOTO BY MICHAEL OCHS

            In the mid-1970's three popular bands were the CAPTAIN AND TENILLE, SEALS AND CROFTS and the BAY CITY ROLLERS.  Mr. Steve has a Sailor's hat like the one the Pianist in the CAPTAIN AND TENILE'S wears.  The Captain and Tenille were married Dais heard.

            Mr. Steve told his friend Randy how some of the BAY CITY ROLLERS, who are from the country of Scotland; for a time lived in the San Fernando Valley.  Mr. Steve's brother Sam cleans pools for a living and used to clean their swimming pool.  The smell of Mesquite came in.   

        I guess SEALS AND CROFTS were from Texas where Mr. Steve's brother Rock lives with his son's Rocky Jr. and Jacob.  In the 1970's SEALS AND CROFTS' families lived in the city of San Fernando.  My boss told Mr. Randy one time he's not sure if they still live there or not.    

                                                                   HUMMINGBIRD    

                                                                                                                                         PHOTO BY MICHAEL LEVINE

         Oh!  What a coincidence.  Just as I'm about to write about how Mr. Steve's customer over in Texas told him SEALS AND CROFTS' daughters have a band called HUMMINGBIRDS who do I see?  It's Max and I heard him coming from near Libby's Corral over there to my right.   

             My boss told Mr. Randy the Parts Manager in Texas said SEALS AND CROFTS also had a song about Hummingbirds too.  Mr. Steve knew because he has this 1972 SEALS AND CROFTS vinyl record with that song on it.  I guess my boss was only seventeen back in 1972.  

         Daisy says that SEALS AND CROFTS album also has a song about Summer breezes.  She thinks Hummingbirds must be symbolically important to this one religion called "Bahá'i," which SEALS AND CROFTS are members of.  Heathcliff is crowing over there to my right.    

                                                   "BAHÁ' I" TEMPLE ("HAIFA," ISRAEL)

           I've mention a few times already today how, back in 1985; Mr. Steve's parents organized a two week trip over there to Italy and Israel.  And one place the Tour Group's bus drove bye in Israel was a Harbor town called "Haifa."  They saw a Bahá'i Temple there. 

           The Tour Guide named Chaim knew about the history of the Bahá'i "Faith" and said it was founded by a man from Persia in 1863.  Some really big American Civil War battles, like the one at "Gettysburg;" were fought in that same year.  I smell some Mesquite.       

            Mr. Steve says SEALS AND CROFTS used to get Chinese food from this restaurant in San Fernando.  He and his girlfriends Sandy, Emily and Harriet also got "Take Out" food there.  Mr. Steve read that Dan Seals was born on October the 17th like his brother Rock in Texas.

                    BAHÁ U' LLÁH (1817-1892)          

            I just looked up Bahá u' lláh who founded the Bahá'i religion and my Encyclopedia says he and his followers were "persecuted" by the Ottoman Turkish Empire.  A map shows how Bahá u' llah was imprisoned four times.  Two Pigeons just landed on the Patio roof.  

             Back in 1985 that Tour Guide Chaim told Mr. Steve's group how Bahá u' lláh spent the last twenty years of his life in a prison at the ancient city of "Acre," which Alexander the Great once conquered.  Acre is near Haifa I guess.  The Pigeons are cooing up there.   

            My boss told Mr. Randy how, in 1971 he thinks; he could've seen a SEALS AND CROFTS and CARPENTERS concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.  But he went on a date with this girl named "Annie" instead.  They had a good time so he doesn't regret it.  

"SPIRITUAL" BELIEF SYSTEMS

           This is interesting.  According to what it says here in this Encyclopedia, people who follow the teachings of that guy Bahá u' lláh believe in the "worth" of all religions and also the "unity" of all peoples.  I see the Pigeons shadows out there on the dirt in front of the Patio.  

       I guess in the Bahá i religion the worshipers all "focus" on the unity of three things; "God," "Religion" and "Mankind."  And, it says here they also believe in three "divisions" of "reality;" "God," "Creation by God of the physical world" and God's Will."  I smell Sage.

       People like SEALS AND CROFTS, who are in the Bahá' i religion; think religion should be; "orderly, unified and progressive."  The symbol of Bahá' i is a "nine-sided star."  A black Cow Bird just used the right vertical slot on the side of the gate to run out into the desert. 

"CRUCIFIXION"

         Hey Lord!  It's interesting how in my Encyclopedia it says a belief of Bahá' i is that an "all-knowing" God sends guys like You, the Buddha and Prophet Muhammad to "reveal" His will by founding some new religions.  Two of the Pigeons are flying bye right now.

            Wow!  I got way off the subject of those World War II Zoot Suit Riots that happened down in Los Angeles.  But, as Daisy heard that guy Rick Steve's say on his travel tv show about writing his "Script;" it's often a "Work in Progess."  Dais says nothing is "Set in Stone."

         In 1943, the second year of World War II for the U.S.; "civilians" also beat people up too as they hated the "Zoot" suits some young people wore.  In a time of "rationing" they thought it to be "unpatriotic" to wear "extravagant" clothes.  Mr. Steve thinks they enjoyed violence too.   

                           MOVIE "MALCOLM X"                      

ARTWORK BY RUTH E. CARTER       

           Mr. Steve's friend Ralph told him about a 1992 movie about a guy named Malcolm X.  I'll write about more about him on Saturday in book three when I write about Martin Luther King and O.J. Simpson.   In that movie the Actors wore colorful Zoot suits.

        I guess Mr. Ralph knows a lot about 1943's "series" of racially-related riots.  White soldiers and civilians "rampaged," stripping off "flamboyant" Zoot suits and beating up those who were wearing them.  Zoot suits were first worn by 1930's black Jazz musicians.

       "Zoot" was a slang word used by Jazz musicians in the 1920's.  Mr. Ralph told my boss that another word they "coined" was "Gig" which meant a "temporary" job.  Mr. Steve jokes today, in a time of recession; that's just another way of saying a "poor-paying" job. 

                                                        MR. RALPH / SON RORY

PHOTOS BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

        I've mentioned my boss's friend Mr. Ralph a few times today.  Daisy told me you can tell Mr. Steve admires his knowledge of subjects like Mexican history and things like that.  One time Mr. Steve took some pictures of him, and also his son "Rory;" at the San Fernando Mission.

       From what Dais says, Mr. Ralph was born in Mexico City but grew up here in Los Angeles.  I mentioned before how he went to San Fernando High and, like our boss; was a friend of Bobby Chacon the Boxer from Pacoima.  I smell the baby Cholla cactus out there in the dirt.

       Mr. Ralph, just like that one Barber named Gary whose shop is in San Fernando; is kind of like a Historian of Boxing.  Over the next three days I'll write about both of them because they've influenced my boss.  Mr. Gary has bought some of the Boxing pictures Mr. Steve took.

                                                                 "PACHUCOS"

                                                                PHOTO BY HENRY ROMERO  

        Daisy says Mr. Ralph told our boss about this one thing called the "Pachuco" movement.  It took place out here in southern California during the depression of the 1930's, just before World War II and was sort of a show of "defiance."  Heathcliff is crowing next door.                                 

        Mr. Steve once met a guy who said, in early 1942; his father and uncles all wanted to kill the Japanese-Americans and so did a lot of other people too.  In 1942 the Washington D.C. Japanese "Embassy" was attacked by angry mobs.  Speedy Gonzalez just ran bye.

        Mr. Steve says it seems "human nature" is for some people in every group to want or maybe need? an "enemy."  In 1942 he thinks many, if not most white people; disliked "People of Color" so were "predisposed" toward violence already.  Hey Lord!  I love God and people too.    

REMOVAL OF JAPANESE-AMERICANS (FEBRUARY, 1942)

        Some think Japanese-Americans, like Mr. Steve's family Doctors from San Fernando; were put in prison camps "for their own protection."  My Encyclopedia says "Nisei" is the word for "Second Generation" people of Japanese "descent."  I smell some Mesquite.   

        President Roosevelt signed the "Executive Order" creating the Internment Camps on the 19th of February.  A few days later that Submarine shot at California and the false alarm in Los Angeles happened.  February 19 is also Mr. Steve's ex-girlfriend Harriet's birthday.  

        Mr. Steve read that President Roosevelt, like most Americans in 1942; didn't like what they used to call "Orientals."  Dais told me many Chinese, Japanese and Koreans like to be referred to as "Asian."  I can hear a Motorcycle going bye out there in the eastern desert.  

                                                      "442ND INFANTRY REGIMENT"

            Even though I'm not scheduled to write about the 442nd Infantry Regiment until Saturday, I kind of feel like mentioning them now too.  They fought in World War II against the Germans and the men in it were Nisei.  And many even had relatives in the Internment Camps.

        Wow!  My Encyclopedia says how, "for its size;" the "442nd" is the most "decorated" unit in U.S. military history.  I guess in 1943 they fought in Italy like Audie Murphy but, in 1944 they were also in the bloodiest battles in France where many were killed.  I smell Sage.

        I'm tempted to write about that photographer Ansel Adams right now but I'll just wait.  He took pictures at that Japanese-American Internment Camp "Manzanar" I mentioned in the last chapter.  Daisy says Ansel Adams took good pictures of California and New Mexico.            

"DODGER" STADIUM        

          From 1977 through 1989 Mr. Steve's father bought Dodger season seats.  Dodger Stadium was built in the "Chavez Ravine" where Mr. Ralph says Mexican-Americans were "displaced."  But back in 1943 there was a "Naval Reserve Armory" located in Chavez Ravine. 

        In 1943 the soldiers who hunted the Zoot suit wearers were stationed at that Armory.  Mr. Ralph and my boss discussed about how, in 1943; blacks, Mexicans and other racial minorities were also beaten up in Chicago, Detroit and New York City too.  A Crow cawed. 

        Anyway, As I've said a few times already; I'll write a lot about World War II in books two and three.  But I'm sure today in these last five chapters there will be things I'll mention about it too.  Speedy Gonzalez ran bye and now the only thing left is the dust rising in the air.                                    

       Fannie and Freddie are flying bye and I can hear little Blinky barking over there next door.  The scent of the Twin Joshua trees just floated into my nose from out there in the eastern desert  behind the three Sheds.  Boy!  I'm beginning to like Blinky's voice more and more.                         

      Oh!  Hearing Blinky's voice is giving me one of those Déjà Vu feelings again.  Another time when I smelled the Twins Blinky was barking too.  Boy!  Blinky is so brave and, even though he's kind of small in size; I'll bet he would be a really good father to some puppies.                                

          Sitting back here on Elvira, underneath the wooden roof of the Patio; makes me realize how amazing a house is.  My boss read people's first "Shelter" was Caves, the first "Dwelling" house might've been made of "Mammoth" bones and hides.  A Mammoth is an extinct Elephant.

""PRE-HISTORIC" MAMMOTH BONE / HIDE HOUSE     

          Dais says Mammoths were bigger and hairier than Elephants, who now live only in Africa and India.  They had thick fur like herself.  She one time heard Mr. Steve talk with his brother      Rock about times he's gone to the different Zoo's, like in San Diego; to take some pictures.            

          Boy!  I wonder what an Elephant would smell like?  Daisy and Millie saw this tv show that showed two huge boy Elephants using their giant teeth, trying to stab each other; so they could    then have the right to be with the girl Elephants.  I guess the long teeth are called "Tusks."           

         That tv show said "Wooly" Mammoths "resembled" the "Mastodons."  Daisy says they're extinct too, and were smaller than Mammoths.  Mastodons ate wood, while the Mammoths ate      grass.  Mastodon tusks are shorter and straighter than the "curved" tusks of a Mammoth.            

          MASTODON                          WOOLY MAMMOTH                             ELEPHANT             

ART BY BARRY ROAL CARLSEN                                            ART BY DORLING KINDERSLEY                                                                                                                   

          This Encyclopedia says Mammoths and Mastodons lived from about the "Late Miocene" era through the "Pleistocene" period which ended about 8,000 B.C.   A customer in the State of    Georgia one time told Mr. Steve of a Heavy Metal band called MASTODON.  I smell Sage.           

        The tv show said Mastodon "Molar" teeth chewed wood, while Mammoth teeth "evolved and adapted" for eating grass.  Hey!  That's like how, through "Natural Selection;" the beaks of  the "Galapagos" Finches Charles Darwin studied were all so different.  Sage smells good.             

        One time as they loaded Rex the Truck my boss and Mr. Mike talked about a place to the east of Piñon Hills called "Mammoth" mountain.   Both have visited the town of "Mammoth        Lakes," which Mr. Mike said is "hidden in the lower slopes."  Daffy and Daisy are quacking.                                          

   "MAMMOTH" MOUNTAIN

   PHOTO BY NOLAN NITSCHKE

        My Encyclopedia says Mammoth mountain is a "lava dome," left behind when a volcano "erupted" about "fifty seven thousand" years ago.  It last blew up "seven hundred" years ago.    Mr. Mike was told that some people died from breathing gas there just a few years ago.                 

       It says here Mammoth mountain is part of that "Sierra Nevada" chain, and just like the town of Wrightwood near us, people go there to ski.  Dais heard Mr. Steve's Nephew Sammy Jr.    likes to "Snowboard."  His sister, and her two sons Dalton and Austin; all like to snow ski.            

          Daisy says Mr. Steve and his mom like images of "Nature," but are way more impressed by some painters ability to capture the "Likeness" of a person in a "Portrait."  That's why the so admire Mr. Hussein who has that Coffee Shop down in Sylmar.  He's really good at it I guess.                                                                 

                            "BLUE BOY"                                                         "PINKIE"

              PAINTING BY THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH                                                               PAINTING BY THOMAS LAWRENCE                                        

           Two of Mr. Steve's mom's favorite paintings are called "Blue Boy" and "Pinkie."   They were painted by men from England and are "On Display" at the "Huntington" Library in L.A.   We have a boy Bluebird who lives around here that my boss named after that painting.   

           Back in the 1980's Mr. Steve and his friends Mark and Helen worked at the Forum with a girl named "Pinky."  She was also a Sales Person, and her husband was then the bass player for a band called LONE JUSTICE.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny are flying toward the east.

          One time I heard Mr. Steve telling his friend Randy about that one band LONE JUSTICE.  I guess they played what some people call "Roots Rock" and their songs were at times described as "Cowpunk."  Some Ducks are quacking but Daffy's voice stands out from the others.     

                                                                   LONE JUSTICE

           According to what I overhead my boss tell Mr. Randy, that girl Pinky's husband was named "Greg."  Besides being in LONE JUSTICE, he later also played in one of that guy Bob Dylan's bands.  Mr. Steve said he thinks LONE JUSTICE'S girl singer is talented.

          I guess Pinky's husband Greg wrote songs for Joe Cocker, Edgar Winter and Eric Burdon; the ANIMALS' original singer.  He played bass for the ROLLING STONES' Mick Taylor.  Greg Sutton worked with the BLASTERS' Dave Alvin, who Mr. Steve took pictures of.

       Back in the 1980's, my boss Mr. Steve took pictures of that guy Dave Alvin; who had been in a Rockabilly band called the BLASTERS.  Pinky's husband Greg is friends with Carlos Santana and the guys in Tom Petty's band the HEARTBREAKERS.  I smell Spring Marigold.

                                                              TOMMY TUTONE

         Pinky's husband Greg was in a San Francisco band for a while called TOMMY TUTONE.  Daisy says they had a really clever, and catchy song; whose title was a girl's phone number.  She  thinks I would really like that song and it might even make me feel like dancing too.                       

         Writing about the name Pinky makes me think about the color pink.  As I wrote back in my fourth chapter when I mentioned that Drag Racer Shirley Muldowney, pink is now "associated with" or "symbolizes" the fight against "Breast Cancer."  I kind of like pink.

        I've mentioned before how Mr. Steve, besides giving money to individuals like Mark and his little Yorky Dog Karma who are homeless; also gives money to charities.  One is to fight Breast Cancer because his Sister-In-Law Yolanda beat that Cancer.  Heathcliff crowed.

                                                     LADY CÓRDOVA / MR. STEVE

        I've mentioned before how I really want measure up to Mr. Steve's Dog Lady who lived to be nineteen years old.  She and Daisy are my role models.  According to what Dais told me our boss to this day has Lady's old pink collar hanging in the kitchen near his key rack.  

        Mr. Steve and his mom like to go to Museums and places like that.  Someday it would be so great to visit a Museum or Library where I could learn many new things.  Whenever Mr. Steve or his mother hear about some Library "Book Sales" they try to go to them.  

         I wonder if I could learn how to paint if Mr. Steve buys me the right equipment?  I'll bet his mom would even lend me the paint brushes and things like that.  Then later, if I became enough at it; we could even start the first Art School in history for all of us Dogs.

                                                                      L.A.C.M.A.    

                     I guess there are two Museums on a road called "Wilshire" Boulevard down there in Los Angeles.  A Boulevard is a really big road with a lot of Cars Mr. Steve says.  Living up here, in a small town; now makes him appreciate more not having what's called "Traffic."

          A Museum on "Wilshire" is "L.A.C.M.A."  That stands for "Los Angeles County Museum of Art" and, when Mr. Steve worked for those sports teams in the 1980's; he spent a lot of time in the area where L.A.C.M.A is located.  Ah!  Blinky's barking over there next door.  

          Mr. Steve has visited L.A.C.M.A. with his mom and girlfriends Sandy and Harriet and as a kid his classes sometimes took Field Trips there.  Boy!  It would be so great to be part of a group of Dogs who went on Field Trips.  You know, I'm beginning to really like Blinky's voice.    

                                                                                                                        LA BREA "TAR PITS"                                        

           Near L.A.C.M.A. is the "La Brea Tar Pits" Museum where fifty thousand year old bones from "Mammoths" and "Saber Toothed Lions" are at.  And they have skeletons from these big things called "Sloths" Daisy says.  I wonder what a real Sloth would smell like? 

           Even though I'm not scheduled to write about her until book two and three, I think I'll mention this Nun named "Sister" Wendy now too.  Like Mr. Steve's mom, Sister Wendy knows a lot about Art History.  Mr. Steve told Mr. Cliff she's also a "military historian" too.

           I guess Sister Wendy's British, and had a tv show about Art History; like what Mr. Steve's mom still studies.  In 1999 he drove his mom to L.A.C.M.A where they met and shook hands with Sister Wendy.  He didn't tell his mom he had lost almost all of his money  a month earlier. 

                                                        "SISTER" WENDY BECKETT  

                                                                                                                                                     PHOTO BY "REX"

                 My boss thinks Sister Wendy's smart, his mom likes how she "condenses" information in a way the average person can understand.  That guy Rick Steves, on his European travel show is also good at that too Dais told me.  Oh!  I just smelled the new little baby Cholla cactus.

           Mr. Steve says Sister Wendy is "witty" and "unpretentious."  He once read that, just like his Grandma Trujillo; she loved doing these things called "Crossword Puzzles."  Daisy told me our boss's mom used to be good at putting together or "Assembling" cardboard puzzles.

           Also like Sister Wendy, Mr. Steve's mom really likes the paintings of Diego Velázquez and Edouard Manet.  "Velazquez," lived way back in 17th century Spain; while "Manet" was a 19th century Frenchman.  All four of the Pigeons just flew together out into the back desert.   

               DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ (1599-1660)                     EDOUARD MANET (1832-1883)

 SELF-PORTRAIT                                                                                                                                           SELF- PORTRAIT

                 Because my boss's mother knows about Art History Daisy has me scheduled to also learn about that subject in my books.  Looking at what are called "Self-Portraits" of Velázquez and Manet I can see why Sister Wendy and Mr. Steve's mom like their work.  I smell Sage.

           One time, as they were sawing up some dead Joshua trees; I heard my boss tell Mr. Mike about how hard it is to do self-portraits.  Doing "Portraits" of other people is "hard enough" he said, but portraying yourself; must be even more difficult.  Smelling Sage is so great! 

                Mr. Steve's parents often eat at this place in Sylmar called "Coffee and Cream."  The man who owns it, "Hussein;" is from the country of Egypt.  I guess he did some really great portraits of  Michael Jackson the singer, and that one Basketball player named Kobe Bryant too.

                         "COFFEE  AND CREAM"

                 My boss told Mr. Doug he and his mom think Mr. Hussein is a talented portrait painter.  And Mr. Steve's mom doesn't even know who Michael Jackson or Kobe Bryant are.  Because of the economy Mr. Hussein is not lazy, and works fourteen hours a day; six days week. 

               Mr. Steve thinks Sister Wendy might like the way Mr. Hussein uses "light and dark" in his paintings and, more important; I guess he also makes good food.  Mr. Doug, who still lives down in Sylmar though his wife Susan died; eats at Coffee and Cream.  Boy! I'm getting hungry.

           Sister Wendy had "Epilepsy" Mr. Steve read.  In the 9th Grade at Alemany High School he and his brother Rock knew this kid named "Martin" who was also "Epileptic." One time he had a "Seizure" playing Basketball and, to this day; I guess my boss still thinks of it.

                                                           SAINT VITUS ( 290-303 A.D.)

                Some think Julius Caesar might have also been epileptic and, Mr. Steve was told that guy PRINCE has epilepsy.  This Encyclopedia says St. Vitas was killed because, as a thirteen year old Roman kid; he converted to Christianity.  Epilepsy seizures are called "St. Vitus Dance."   

           Hey Lord!  It says here that St. Vitus is one of those "Martyrs" I've mentioned before.  He was tortured and killed by the Emperor Diocletian for wanting to believe in You.  Oh!  He's the "Patron Saint" for the Protestant "Methodists" I mentioned back in the last chapter.

          Aha!  No wonder an epileptic seizure is called St. Vitus Dance.  It says here that St. Vitus is "venerated" by us Christians as the "Patron Saint of Dancing" so, maybe I should also pray to him; seeing as how I love to dance so much.  Andy and Helen just ran into their hole.     

                                                                         RICK STEVES

                 I've mentioned Rick Steves who, like Huell Howser; has a tv show about traveling.  Huell Howser visits places in California, Rick Steves goes to different European countries.  He visited a big huge Cathedral dedicated to St. Vitus in the "Czech Republic" Daisy told me.     

           I guess that guy Rick Steves was born here in California.  I mentioned the city of Barstow in chapter seven and that's where Rick Steves was born, although Daisy says our boss was told he and his family now live up there in the State of Washington.  I smell the Arborvitae.

          Oh!  I wonder if Lizards can have epilepsy?  I remember that one time when Dais and I, on the north side of the house; watched that one big Lizard "Spasming" and shaking around before it finally died.  Samson and Delilah the Raven's had a really good meal on that day.   

                                                                   BLACK SABBATH

          I'm still thinking about how people like Sister Wendy, Julius Caesar and PRINCE; were born with epilepsy.   Daisy says our boss likes, and tries to play drums along to; this song by that band BLACK SABBATH called "St. Vitus Dance."  I'd like to hear that song someday.

          Daisy and Millie both liked the BLACK SABBATH song St. Vitus Dance.  But I guess they liked even better another song on that BLACK SABBATH album called "Under The Sun."  Two of the Pigeons just flew bye right now and are winging their way toward the northeast. 

             One time Daisy heard Mr. Steve talking on the phone with his friend Ralph about that lady Sister Wendy.  Mr. Ralph read she was what they call a "Cloistered" Nun.  Daisy thinks it might mean she lived in one of those "Convents," totally "Cut Off" from the outside world. 

                                                   THOMAS MERTON (1915-1968) 

        Writing about Sister Wendy makes me think about this writer named Thomas Merton who Mr. Steve and his father have read.   He was a Catholic "Monk" who, like Sister Wendy; lived in a "Cloistered" Monastery.  As a "Hermit," he was often not even allowed to talk.                           

        I guess for years Sister Wendy lived in a trailer without heat.  The money she made from tv and books she wrote was given away.  Hey Lord!  Sister Wendy and Thomas Merton spent a lot    of time praying in "Solitude," while "Renouncing" most of the "Worldly Pleasures."                     

      Daisy says our boss sometimes reads while sitting in the bathtub.  And, because he heard  Thomas Merton was electrocuted to death when this lamp fell into his bathtub; he only reads on  really sunny days.  As I mentioned this morning, someday I want to see a Bathroom.                       

DALAI LAMA    

      My Encyclopedia says that Thomas Merton had friends from other religions, like the "Dalai Lama who's Buddhist.  Even though he was Catholic just like us; Thomas Merton wrote about a Buddhist concept of what  they call "Zen."  Heathcliff is crowing next door.                                    

      Daisy says our boss once met a nice older Chinese lady at the "Oviat" Library at C.S.U.N.  I guess the lady explained to Mr. Steve how Zen is one type of Buddhism that originated in China  and then spread to other areas around the world.  And one place was Japan.                                   

     The lady said the word Zen is actually a Japanese "mispronunciation" of the Chinese world "Chán."  She told my boss for Zen Buddhists three things are important; "self-control, "insight  into the nature of things" and "meditation."  Mr. Steve sometimes meditates.                                  

  REINHOLD NIEBUHR (1892-1971)

     Hey God!  From what it says here in this Encyclopedia, Zen Buddhists believe in "accepting the things they can't control" just like that guy Reinhold Niebuhr, who was a Christian "Pastor" in the city of Detroit for a few years.  I started this book with his prayer.                                          

      I feel like saying Reinhold Niebuhr's "Serenity" prayer right now as a matter of fact.  "God grant me the serenity to accept all the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I  can; and the wisdom to know the difference."  Mr. Steve's mom believes in that.                             

    This Encyclopedia says Reinhold Niebuhr's parents came to America from Germany in the late 19th century.  Their son became an important 20th century "Theologian." Mr. Steve's mom has a copy of his Serenity prayer stuck on the front of her Kitchen refrigerator.                                            

  CALIFORNIA "HIGH" DESERT

      Hey God!  Looking at the eastern desert behind the Sheds for some reason made me feel like looking up that guy Reinhold Niebuhr now.  This Encyclopedia says some of his ideas are called "Christian Realism."  I can smell some of the Joshua trees behind the three Sheds.                         

      I guess Lord, from what it says here; Christian Realism is "built" mainly on three what they call "biblical presumptions."  And the first is that people are "inherently sinful" and any idea of "human perfectibility" is an "illusion."  My boss and his dad also believe that too.                        

    Hey Lord!  Christian Realists believe in the "freedom" of humanity so, I guess that probably means they believe in "Free Will" the way Mr. Steve does.  Max the Hummingbird just whizzed  bye right now, moving from my right to my left.  I knew I had heard him coming.                              

   "CRUCIFIXION"

      Well Lord, I guess that guy Reinhold Niebuhr really believed in the "Great Commandment" 
You said to do.  And that is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all      thy soul; and with all thy mind."  Boy!  I think I want to believe in that idea too.                            

      From what Daisy told me; Mr. Steve and his father have read other things Reinhold Niebuhr wrote about besides religion.  Reinhold Niebuhr wrote about politics and what my Encyclopedia calls "public policy."  The beautiful high blue sky is so clear right now.                                            

      According to what it says in this Encyclopedia, Reinhold Niebuhr's ideas are still influencing a lot of people even today.  Oh!  That guy Martin Luther King Jr., and also ex-President Jimmy  Carter too; are some of them.  Heathcliff is crowing again over there next door.                                              

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (1906-1945)

      Just like that one writer George Orwell was a student of Aldous Huxley, this other German man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer took classes from Reinhold Niebuhr.   Daisy says Mr. Steve and  his dad read a book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  I smell the new baby Cholla cactus.                       

     Oh!  I notice in my Encyclopedia that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazi's on April the 9th.  And, in looking at my list of dates; I notice how that's my boss's old girlfriend Emily's    birthday.  Speedy Gonzalez the Squirrel just sprinted bye in front of the Sheds.                              

    Mentioning Zen makes me think about when my boss and this Parts Manager in the State of Montana talked about a Basketball player named Phil Jackson.  Later, as a Coach; Phil Jackson was nicknamed the "Zen Master."  The dust that Speedy stirred up is floating.                                                         

       COACH PHIL JACKSON         

      I've mentioned before how my boss Mr. Steve has been doing his job since 1999.  And when he and the Parts Manager in Montana talked that one time Phil Jackson was the "Head" Coach of the Lakers.  But, I guess before that he had been the Coach of the Chicago Bulls.                       

     As I wrote earlier, Mr. Steve hasn't followed "Popular Culture" entertainment for a while.  So, during all of those years when Phil Jackson was the Lakers' Coach; he saw only one game in  person.  A flock of small Birds is moving towards the northeast right now.                                       

       I guess the only game my boss saw was in 2004, when he and some kids sat "way up high" in what he jokingly calls the "nose bleed" section at the "Staples Center."  That single game was a  "Playoff" game against this team called the Detroit "Pistons."  The Lakers lost.                             

PHOTOS BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

        As I've mentioned before, for a few years in the mid-1980's; Mr. Steve and his friends Mark and Helen worked as salespeople for the company that owned some of the different L.A. sports    teams like the Lakers.  My boss also took pictures in those days.   Ah! I smell new Sage.                 

      Mr. Steve was told Phil Jackson was raised as a "strict" Protestant "Pentecostal" Christian who aren't even allowed to dance.  Boy Lord!  That would be hard for me not to do.  He at times burned Sage in the "Locker Rooms" of the teams he coached from what my boss heard.             

       In my books I'll learn about these guys named Michel de Nostredame and Edgar Cayce.  And I'll also look up this place in ancient Greece called "Delphi" where girls called "Oracles," whose job was to predict the future; worked.  That one first guy is just called "Nostradamus."                              

PHIL JACKSON (NEW YORK "KNICKERBOCKERS")

          In ancient Greece, before you went in to see the Oracle so she could predict your future, you first had to read up on the wall two things to think about.  One was "Nothing in Excess," and the other thing up there on the wall was "Know Thyself."  Heathcliff is crowing over there.              

        Mr. Steve heard Phil Jackson, when on the New York "Knicks," knew he wasn't good on "Offence" so; adapted and played good on "Defense."  I guess he did "Crossword Puzzles, like Grandma Trujillo and Sister Wendy.  I'll learn about New York City in my three books.                           

         Dais heard Mr. Steve tell his mom on the phone Knicks is short for "Knickerbockers,"  what the "descendants" of New York City's original Dutch colonists of New York City were called in this one book by a guy named Washington Irving.  Heathcliff crowed.                         

TOM BRADY

      Mr. Steve hasn't followed sports for a long time but thinks Phil Jackson is probably the best "Professional" Basketball Coach in history.  His teams have won eleven Championships which    is hard to do he says.  His teams use a "Triangle"  Offence which "Creates Space."                         

    In book two I'll write about a Football Quarterback named Tom Brady.  Mr. Steve has only seen him play on tv a few times but, as with Phil Jackson; thinks he must be one of the best of all time just because of his winning so many "Super Bowls."  A Duck is quacking.                               

     Even though I'll mainly write about Tom Brady tomorrow, I just feel like saying a few things about him now too.  I guess he's Roman Catholic just like us.  One of Mr. Steve's customers up in northern California told him that Tom Brady's older sister was a good athlete too.

                    TOM BRADY                          FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA STATUE

                                                                                              PHOTO BY STEVE CÓRDOVA

    I guess Tom Brady's High School is named for Father Serra who I wrote about earlier.  He went to College in Michigan but was a low "Draft Pick" of the New England "Patriots." He    was not what's called "Highly-Rated" and didn't do well in the "Tests" to be a "Pro."                   

      As I mentioned this morning back in chapter four, the  Patriots are Mr. Steve's two Nephew's Dalton and Austin in Connecticut's favorite team.  Mr. Steve has been told that Tom Brady, like    the women in our family; is good at "Doing more with Less."  I smell Sage.                                   

    My boss hasn't really seen that guy Phil Jackson coach, or Tom Brady play; that much.  But he's definitely noticed how both seem to be disliked by a lot of people.  He told his friend Rick it    is most likely because of "jealousy" and "envy."  A Train just whistled faintly.                                

"ROMAN" CATHOLIC NUNS 

    This morning I mentioned how Sister Rita Joseph at St. Ferdinands explained the difference between "Objective" versus "Subjective."   Subjective is when each person is "Entitled" to their "Opinion."  Objective "Truth" leaves no room for "Biases" or "Prejudices."                                  

      Hey Lord!  As You know already of course, my boss Mr. Steve was told that Tom Brady's dad really believes in You; like Daisy and I do too.  We all want to think You were special and told us  a way to try to live a better life.  I hope to meet all You Guys someday up there in Heaven.             

   Mr. Steve thinks, though being considered "The Best" at something is subjective; Tom Brady must be the best, or at least one of the best Quarterback in history.  No Quarterback has ever in hstory won so many Super Bowls.  But he also has a great Coach to work for too.                                     

JUNIPERO SERRA HIGH SCHOOL (SAN MATEO)

     Objectively, Tom Brady has led his team to more Super Bowl wins than any Quarterback in history.  His Catholic High School is in the city of "San Mateo" which  is near San Francisco Bay area.  That one Train just whistled again to my left.  I like being a Catholic.                                    

    My Spanish Dictionary says San Mateo means "Saint Mathew."  I've mentioned before how my boss's brother Sam, who lives in Littlerock with his wife Yolanda; has a son named Mathew.  And their other kids, who are younger than "Matt;" are Sammy Jr. and Raqquel.                          

     Mr. Steve was told Tom Brady is not a fast runner, and doesn't have the strongest arm; but is smart.  What makes him good is how, each season; he adapts to the type of offensive players his    team has in that particular year.  Anyway, I'll come back to Tom Brady tomorrow.                         

CLAIRE ROTHMAN

         Writing about Phil Jackson makes me think of that lady Claire Rothman, who I mentioned managed the Forum in the 1980's when Mr. Steve and his friends Mark and Helen worked there.  Dawn and Blinky are barking at something.  I wonder if Blinky likes how I smell?                          

     This morning I wrote how my boss admired Claire Rothman because, in some ways; she reminded him of his Grandma Córdova.  I guess, both were "Firm but Fair" in how they dealt with things.  Mr. Steve used to call her "Miss Rothman" according to what Dais heard.               

     Daisy says over the years, especially as a kid growing up down there on Hagar Street in Sylmar; Mr. Steve was at times "Teased" for being what they call a "Momma's Boy."  One time he even got in a fight over it.  But, the reason he got mad was; it's true Dais thinks.                             

MR. STEVE'S MOM   

             Mr. Steve's mom, in doing things like leading a Girl Scout Troop; was influenced by her own mom and her Mother-in Law.  Without saying a word, when they looked at you in a certain way; you just knew they were telling you something.  Someday I want to be a mom too!                 

             I wonder if there's such a thing as a "Momma's Girl?"  One time Daisy heard Mr. Steve and Mr. Ralph talking on the phone and he used the term "Daddy's Girl" because in some ways thinks his sister Susan is a Momma's Girl, and Daddy's Girl too.  Heathcliff is crowing.                 

         Oh!  Both nostrils just picked up the scent of that Rosemary plant out there behind the Sheds.  Hey Blessed Mother!  Since I don't remember my real mom, in a way I kind of think of You as my mom and wouldn't be embarrassed to be called names.  In fact, I'd like it!                           

   DALAI LAMA / POPE JOHN PAUL II (1984)     

      Oh well!  I feel like writing a little bit more about the Dalai Lama.  I can also write about him tomorrow.   A picture shows him with Pope John Paul II and I guess it was taken the year before my boss took pictures of the Pope in Rome.  Heathcliff is crowing over there.                                  

    Hey Lord!  As You know, Mr. Steve and his father think the Dalai Lama seems like a decent person.  But they think it's unrealistic to believe there will be a time when all people "get along"  because many people will always like to hate and use violence.  I hate all Flies.                                

      The Dalai Lama, in some of the things he says; sounds like You Lord.  I wrote how Sister Rita Joseph explained the difference between "Sympathy" and "Empathy."  Mr. Steve thinks many    people are often neither one.  I guess Aldous Huxley believed violence was "Innate."                     

 PIGEONS ON PATIO ROOF

     Two Pigeons landed on the Patio Roof and I think they're Fred and Ethel but they could be Lucy and Ricky.  As I've said, sometimes it's hard to tell them apart; especially from a distance.  Oh!  To my left I hear the faint whistle of a Train going bye in the northern desert.                        

      Throughout my books I'll write about Railroad Trains and things like that.  The ones that go bye our house are called "Freight" Trains and are close to the California Aqueduct I mentioned  earlier this morning.  The Pigeons are cooing above me up there on the Patio roof.                         

   I've mentioned before how, for almost fifty years; Steve's Grandpa Trujillo worked for the "Santa Fe" Railroad company loading and unloading freight.  My English Dictionary says that    freight mainly means, "Transported goods."  I hear that Train whistling again.                              

"PASSENGER" TRAIN (1950'S)                                          "FREIGHT" TRAIN               

      When they were growing up Mr. Steve's family took Train trips to Belen where many of their relatives still live. Those trips were because Grandpa Trujillo worked for the Santa Fe Railroad.  Nowadays, because of Planes; way fewer people use Trains to travel I guess.                                    

    From what I heard my boss tell Mr. Cliff, the Freight Trains that go past Piñon Hills also go bye Littlerock too.  The tracks are right near Mr. Steve's brother Sam's house.  I can tell that those two Pigeons are walking around up there on the Patio roof above me.                                     

    Oh what the heck!  Even though it's on my book two outline, thinking about the Dalai Lama makes me want to write about the highest railway in the world.  It's in "Tibet" where the Dalai    Lama is from.  Dais got to see a good tv show about the "Qinghai-Tibet" railroad.                         

"QINGHAI-TIBET" RAILROAD        

      I've mentioned before how, ever since 1949 when that guy Mao Zedong came to power after World War II; China has been ruled by "Communists."  This Encyclopedia says that in 2006 the current Chinese government finished that railway line in Tibet.  Dawn's barking.                          

     Wow!  That railroad was built on the "Tibetan Plateau" at 16,000 feet above sea level.  This morning I wrote about here in Piñon Hills we're about 4,100 feet above sea level.  It says here the rail line over there in Tibet was built on what they call the "Roof of the World."                             

      Dais told me the tv show said, in building that rail line so high up in the air; the Chinese had to "overcome" some really huge "engineering obstacles."  One was how to keep the ground the    tracks were on solid.  It says here unfrozen "Permafrost" is an "unstable" surface.                                        

DIVER SWIMMING TO THE SURFACE

         I've mentioned how Mr. Steve's sister Susan lives in Connecticut with her sons Dalton and Austin.  She used to "Dive" in deep water, so knows all about this really bad thing called; "The    Bends."  That's what happens if the Diver goes up to the surface of the water too fast.                    

        Daisy told me, on that tv show about the rail line in Tibet; it said there is less "Oxygen" at "High Altitude."   So, it's way harder to breathe; and you could even die from trying to work so  high up there in the air.  The Pigeons just took off and are flying out into the desert.                       

         Special "Decompression" rooms are for people to feel better after going way up in the air or deep down in water.  If you don't stay in that room long enough, you might die Daisy told me.  I guess, you could kind of say that this couch Elvira is sort of my area to decompress.                                                                                 RADIOHEAD     

                  PHOTO BY PAT POPE            

     A few years ago Mr. Steve met a girl who liked a 1990's British band called RADIOHEAD.  The only song he'd ever heard by them was called "The Bends" so she played him some of their  other songs too.  His impression was that they sounded kind of sad somehow.                                   

    In book three I'll write about that "27 Club," or musicians like Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix who died at age twenty seven.  That girl joked RADIOHEAD'S singer could    have ended up in that club.  She thought RADIOHEAD influenced COLDPLAY.                           

      I guess the Bends, or "Decompression Sickness;" happens when "Nitrogen" gas in the body dissolves because of the pressure from being up high or down deep in water.  So, you have to get the gas bubbles out of the body before going back to sea level.  I smell Mesquite.                                                                    

"TRANS ALASKA" PIPELINE

PHOTO BY DANIEL ACKER 

            I mentioned earlier how, back in the mid-1990's; Mr. Steve worked for his friend Rick's "Mechanical Contracting" company.  So they did some jobs where they worked on pipes.  I just  looked up what's called the "Trans-Alaska" pipeline which was built in the 1970's.                        

           According to what it says here in this one Encyclopedia, when the Chinese built that rail line in Tibet they studied the building of the Trans-Alaska pipeline.  They needed to know how to keep the ground frozen and hard.  Blackbeard and Anne Bonny are flying bye right now.              

           In mid-1973, after graduating from Sylmar High; this guy Mr. Steve and his friends knew went to Alaska to work on the pipeline.  That was after an oil shortage where people sat in long    lines to get gas.  Mr. Steve and his brother Rock even slept in their Cars to get gas.                         

"POTALA" PALACE ("LHASA," TIBET)

 PHOTO BY RON GATEPAIN

         The Chinese built that one rail line to, "boost Tibet's economy" and "raise the Tibetans standard of living."  But the Tibetans thought the real reason was to control the area and "erode their "cultural identity."  The Dalai Lama is now living in what they call "Exile."                           

         Hey God!  Thank You so much for the Sun's warmth right now as it's making me feel so good.  Now, knowing from personal knowledge what Winter is and how cold it can get;  I've got    to get up the courage to go in the house.  But the tunnel Hallway is so scary to me.                          

            Burr!  It was really cold on some of those Winter nights when I slept out here buried into my couch Elvira.  She kept me company, and helped me a lot so; I want to be loyal to her.  Boy!    I sure am glad God You decided to have me brought over here to live on these two acres.              

"TUNDRA" ("DISKO" FJORD / GREENLAND)

PHOTO BY DENNIS MINTY

          Even though I'm not really scheduled to write about this type of land called "Tundra" right now, finding out about a cold area like Tibet makes me suddenly think of it.  Ah!  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a Lizard on the Patio floor near Miss Emily's Coffee Table.                    

           This Encyclopedia says the name Tundra comes from a Russian word meaning "upland treeless mountain."   It's an "elevated region" of "low temperatures" and very "short growing    seasons."  That one little Lizard just ran underneath the Coffee Table right now.                            

             I guess there are three areas with Tundra's, the northern "Arctic" at the top of the Earth, the southern "Antarctic" at the very bottom; and high mountains in the middle.  The "Andes," "Pyranees," "Alps" and "Himalaya's" are all what they call "Alpine" type Tundra.                       

2014 TOYOTA "TUNDRA"

            Dais says one time a man driving a "Toyota Tundra" came over to our house.  She thinks I would've really liked that big Truck because it was royal blue and so shiny too.  Mr. Steve, Miss  Babette, Susan and Karin sell things to Toyota dealerships all over the United States.                     

          I can't believe I'm over halfway done with this first book.  I've already learned so many new things, and gotten a lot of good practice reading and writing by looking things up.  Boy!  It's already getting kind of late in the day and yet I haven't even had a single snack today.                    

            As I've mentioned, the warm Sun makes Daisy's feet feel better.  When it's cold they really hurt so Mr. Steve takes her into the house at night but I'm still afraid to sleep inside of the house.  Thank You God for supplying me with this really warm couch Elvira back here.  

    "BEAVERTAIL" CACTUS

  Oh!  I just picked up the faint scent of that group of "Beavertail" cactus behind the three Sheds.  Wait until Daisy hears this because she likes the way Beavertail cactus smell and me too.  Thank all of You Guys way up there in Heaven for this really good day so far.                                 

      Because she can't see that good, Daisy relies more on her other senses I notice.   She'll like it when the first "Fuscia-Colored" flowers "Bloom" on the Beavertail cactus, and I know for sure  that Mr. Steve will too.  Dawn is barking faintly over there next door.                                               

   That lady Miss Susan says Beavertail cactus are also called "Prickly Pear."  They're short vertically but horizontally grow wider.  As I mentioned this morning, I have shorter hair so stay  away from all cactus while Daisy has really thick fur but still avoids cactus too.