No matter where you were this weekend around the Lake, you enjoyed excellent conditions. That high pressure system out in Nevada brought light breezes from the east and kept the clouds and fog and cold winds somewhere else.
While visiting a restaurant in the neighborhood, the TV was broadcasting a game from spring training camp between the New York Yankees and Phillies. New York won 8-5. The fans were in sunwear, dark glasses and short sleeves, definitely spring training. So here we are: the first weekend of March, the solstice in about 3 weeks, and a dry winter in the books. Combine this season with the ongoing recession, and we have a deepening of adverse conditions for residents around the Lake. It is a hard lesson in business cycles, changing demographics, a new model for resort business, and continued antagonism between developer interests and environmentalists(NIMBY's). The Boomers are retiring now in ever growing numbers and many have found their circumstances less than what they had hoped for while working: their homes are worth less, pensions worth less, Social Security eaten up by inflation, Medicare only a partial insurance program, and healthcare rising at an annual rate of 6% or more. All this in a presidential election year with the 2 parties facing off over who's to blame for the BIG RECESSion.
Maybe it's time to board the Rocket Ship and take a long vacation; then return and hope things have improved.
That rocket ship can be found on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, next to the Ferry Building at Pier 1. It's a work by the Burning Man group. It's called the Gothic Rocket and it's about 40' tall, made of aluminum sheets riveted to a framework. It's only a temporary installation, but will remain in place for a short time. Enjoy it while you can!
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