317 - Graduation(my last kindergarten class)

My last kindergarten class graduates from 8th grade. Next year High School. What? No I don't feel old.

Went to another graduation (party) this weekend. Two of my students. (One)Now at Notre Dame University he's home for the summer.

318 On the Grid; Power Lines

Took a slight detour on the way home and caught sight of a whole bunch of power lines that cut through Folsom. I'd also like to keep this handy in case the CAISO would like to put some power lines from within Folsom to replace the old pictures on its website.

319 El Guajolote

As I was leaving work today I ran into the Turk. A bunch of these criters seem to always be around work.

Trabajo con un montón de guajolotes. Aquí hay uno que trabaja afuera.

320 - Two or how you say? Dos!!

Dos vacitos para mi Patrón
Two Bubba Gump souveniers from Long Beach and Holly-wooooooooooooood
Dos Patrones
Two loaves of French bread to go with our spaghetti dinner.

321 Roadside Memorials - A Fellow Teacher

Went to the Folsom Outlets today. As I got close to the outlets I passed by Susan McNew's memorial across the street. The Cameron Park school teacher was killed a bit over a year ago.

The top picture was taken from the outlets parking lot. I crossed Iron Point Blvd. to get a closer look (bottom shot). The cross had her name written on it as well as some of her students' names. Some school supplies such as pens, pencils, rulers, crayons, glue sticks and other similar items were glued to the cross. It was a sad sight but at the same time it showed the love of others for a fellow teacher.

322 Memorial Day (Member you memberrrrr)

My baby Mariana and I. This was a little more than 25 years ago. Today is her birthday. This is just a couple of blocks from where I live now. Happy Birthday Mariana, I love you with all my heart.

The previous 2 pictures are of a present at a cemetery as well as a lovely little angel statue watching over the physical grave(s).





I find it a bit ironic that religion is part of this Memorial Day when we pay homage to those who have died to defend our country. Looking back at my youth I remember trying to avoid the draft when I was 18. I could not see, and I still can't, going to a foreign land and killing a fellow human being. I try to understand why others join the service and try to "defend" our country but as I looked at this cemetery I just can't justify seeing all these graves, all these dead individuals who lost their lives, and most likely, took other lives. Not just that there are so many innocent people that are killed and for what reason? I don't know. What hurts the most is that there are thousands, and probably millions, of innocent children who are affected by this loss. Oh my sweet lord how my heart cries for these children. The parents, the spouses, the children that are left behind to lament this loss. Oh, tears roll down my eyes, my heart goes out to the families of those who are killed or who go out and kill for lost causes. One of System of the Down's songs cries out "Why do they always send the poor", I ALWAYS think of this song when I hear the dead count of our soldiers on a daily basis, what about their parents, their spouses, their children? What about those on the other side? They too have parents, children, spouses. Oh what a loss, oh what a price to pay for what? Freedom? Mission Accomplished?



Above is half a note left on a grave of a child. Heartbreaking.
Memorial Day

323 Hair Today

So Gabe decided to get a haircut today. He thought about it for a while and decided to get it cut short.


From left to right, top to bottom;
Checking out how long it was. Side view for a better perspective.
Coming back from getting it cut outside then inside the house.
Playing with the hair to see how Bren would look with long hair and the twins looking more like twins.

324 Grad Day

Marcus' Graduation

325 Quiet Day

I took the day off work so I woke up at my leisure. Didn't do much all day. We don't have a bird bath but this little guy sat on the hose and enjoyed the water coming from the sprinkler. It didn't even move when I turned the water off and then back on for his pleasure.

Un pájaro no loco.

326 Jesuit High School, Baccalaureate Mass, Brazil

AMDG probably brings up the question; what does it mean? Anybody that's ever visited Jesuit's campus has probably seen that on written material and throughout different parts of the campus. AMDG stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God). Tonight was Jesuit's Class of 2008 Baccalaureate Mass at the Memorial auditorium.

Bishop Weigand presided over mass. Very touching homily. I was hoping my other kids would have made time to go to the mass but none could make it.

I took Marcus to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory on J Steet. We had a good time and we were able to discuss the importance of education. We also discussed what we could derail the best laid plans once you're in college (alcohol, drugs, etc.). I was very happy when he mentioned wanting to study abroad. He says he wants to go to Brazil (he better start learning Portuguese). Anyway, we discussed what Festival is and how it's celebrated. It was a nice evening.

327 Lizard King

Went to get some meds after work. As I got out of my car I spotted something just outside my field of vision. I thought it was a field mouse but as I focused on the critter I noticed it was a lizard. I grabbed my camera to take a quick picture but it did not scatter away as I expected. It posed for a few pictures until a strong gust of wind made it run for cover.

La lagartija haciendo lagartijas.

328 of 365 Gas over $4.00

Gas prices over $4.00 as predicted by yours truly (I won't talk about the other million or so who predicted the same).

Today's gas prices. This station does not sell Diesel gasoline but ARCO down the street sells it for more than $4.79 (yesterday's price). I guess $5 a gallon might be just down the road. Bad news for consumers all around but good news for the fuel corporations of the world.

As oil profits continue to make fat cats out of gasoline conglomerates we continue to pay whatever price they set. I think I might stay close to home this Memorial Day weekend. Frickin' A.

329 Green Girl

Went to breakfast at Mel's this morning with the MDAS gang. The picture above shows trash that Katie picked up on our way back. She's a pretty conscientious person who talks the talk and walks the walk as far as being Green goes. As far as the environment goes, she is the "greenest" person I personally know. So on our walk to Mel's she picked up some litter on the way and did the same on the way back (I should have bent over and picked up some trash myself but I didn't, next time though I might do that). I also noted that the toy dinosaur on picture 346 of 365 was missing today, too bad, so sad.

Anyway, at home I thought about a commercial I saw on tv but for the life of me I could not remember what the commercial was about, except it was related to picking up other people's litter. I knew it was a car commercial and Marcus said it was a Honda Civic Commercial and sure enough here it is.

330 Pacific Rim Festival

It was a hot day today but made it to the Pacific Rim Festival. After walking around for a bit we got some Polynesian food and made it to a cool area to view some dancing and musical events. Above you can see several Pacific Island dancers performing cultural dances.

Too many pictures to post here.

I was almost done with this posting a couple of hours ago but the power went out in Folsom just when I was uploading the last picture. Ok no matter what it is done. I am burned out. Good night.