2004 Archive
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2004 Archive

May 19

A Thank You to Pacifica It has made us so proud to read and hear the many kind things that have been said about our dad, Paul Azevedo. In a final Reactor column, we would like to show our appreciation to all of you.

April 28

"Mr. Democrat" Joe Fulford could be very exasperating. What other word would you use to describe a man in his eighties who could disappear from his own birthday party, only to be discovered smoking somewhere outside?

April 14

Snapping turtles and Mynah birds Today my brother Ray is a retired Superintendent of Schools, a widower who continues to indulge his lifelong love of birds and other pets, and continues to share his skills at gourmet cooking with favored guests from time to time. A visit to his home is a gastronomic treat. In the Spring of 1960 he was an impecunious college student between school terms. It was too early to head for his summer job as the breakfast chef at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, and he badly needed to stretch his funds.

April 7

Drive carefully, but drive. It's more efficient in the long run I'm retired, except for temp jobs from time to time. I don't think I'm unique. I prefer to drive to work, those days when I work, because I want to get there and back without wasting a lot of time (Time's the stuff life's made of, and it's always in short supply, especially at my age!). Most people choose cars rather than public transportation. I notice most who enthuse for public transportation think it's great for others. They think they're the exception who should be allowed to drive alone. If most of the top brass at SamTrans don't have reserved parking spots and cars that fill them regularly, I miss my bet.

March 24

A few words about numbers and dates An anniversary passed so quietly last January 26 it's doubtful any one noted it. I certainly didn't. It was the 165th anniversary of the founding of what became Pacifica. Jan. 26, 1839 Don Francisco Sanchez received his land grant from the Mexican government. Later the U.S. Government confirmed it as 8926.46 acres. Sanchez was born in San Jose, was a military officer, and served as Alcalde. A gift of land was the cheapest way his civic contributions could be rewarded.

March 17

When news facts are painful I've been involved with newspapers in some fashion 58 years. I was 14 when the Santa Rosa Press Democrat allowed me to deliver 214 papers six days a week from the back of my bike. That's not quite as bad as it sounds. Papers were small. Ad supplements were still somewhere in the future. Later I worked after school, doing a variety of jobs for the newspaper.

March 10

Thanks, neighbor. I'm glad you're there A white stucco building with a red tile roof in California Mission style sits on a hillside, perhaps 500 feet from my back fence.
It was there when I came to Pacifica over 40 years ago. I hope it's there, serene and secure, for another 40 years and well beyond.

March 3

Where will the ocean go next? There's a lot of concern being voiced these days about climate change, so-called "global warming." Guilt's being laid on with a trowel. We're all guilty, it's said, because we're using fossil fuels, doing things to the ozone layer, building up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and setting up a planetary greenhouse, all presumably to our detriment.

 
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