Al's Opinions

A week ago today I was taken to Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport, where I boarded Alaska Airlines Flight 525 to Seattle.  In Seattle my daughter Barbara met me at the airport and drove me to the Bainbridge Ferry.  We just missed one ferry and had to wait about 20 minutes or so for the next one.  The weather was cool and pleasant.  It was a big change from Woodland Hills, which had experienced a week of 100-degree weather.  A few days earlier the air conditioner for my house finally bit the dust, went belly-up, croaked, and quit.  Actually the freon compressor seized and wouldn't turn.  And the unit was only 52 years old, the same age as the house.  I suffered for a few days before I was able to leave for cooler weather.

I didn't follow the news much on Bainbridge Island.  I knew that there was a national debate of sorts going on as to whether we, the United States, should shoot missiles at or drop bombs on Syria to punish the head man there for using poison gas on other Syrians.  Bad man, if so, and deserving of severe punishment.  President Obama spoke of some kind of air attack against Syria, then, realizing that he was not George Bush the Younger decided to ask Congress for permission.  The Senate gave him grudging permission.  The House did nothing but scheme about how to derail the new Affordable Care Act.  Meanwhile I feasted on ripe fresh sweet plums.  You can't get sweet ripe plums at supermarkets in Woodland Hills.  What you can get are plums that have been picked green (so they won't spoil on the way to the market) and allowed to age for a few days.  They get somewhat sweet, but the taste can't compare with a plum that's so ripe it falls off the tree when you shake the tree.  Besides eating plums, I attended a concert given by a singing group in a church (my daughter sings in the group), saw a movie "The Butler" with my daughter, and with my daughter, her husband, and his parents went to a high place (Hurricane Ridge) in the Olympic Mountains for a picnic and a view of Victoria, BC, in the distance.

I came back to more heat on Tuesday.  Wednesday two men came to replace my heating and cooling system.  They were finished by 11 AM today.  Since then I've been enjoying the coolness (should I say "coolth?") provided by the new system.  Of course it's not as hot outdoors as it was last week.

I also voted today.  I'll mail my ballot tomorrow.  I won't say whom I voted for.  There were eleven candidates on the ballot.  It's a heavily Democratic district and only two of the candidates are Republicans.  The Democratic candidates are supported by various Democratic office holders.  Representatives Sherman and Waxman each have a favored candidate.  So does our present city councilman (the former Assembly member who is being replace).  Another city councilman has another candidate.  There are several candidates without any elected official supporting them.  In addition to the nine (count-em, 9) Democratic candidates, there are two Republicans.  The quaint thought has come to me:  Suppose the district is 67 percent Democratic and each Democratic candidate gets an equal share of Democratic votes, less than seven percent of the total.  Suppose also that each Republican gets an equal share of the Republican vote, or about sixteen percent.  The run-off election will be held with the two biggest vote-getters, namely the two Republicans.  Then the heavily Democratic 45th Assembly District will be represented by a Republican, thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger's goofy primary law.