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  <channel>
    <title>oldjack's Journals on Buzznet</title>
    <description><![CDATA[Conceived in Death Valley. Moved to coast as soon I could. Lived the last 50 years here in Santa Barbara, a lovely temperate University city
 retired from local newspaper, taught ESL at the University for 26+ years.  Have always enjoyed meeting people of different cultures and places. Buzznet was made for me! Four Children Susan, Jeanette, John, Jennifer, six Grandsons Donnie, Douglas, Sonnie, Charlie, Frankie and Sidney! Hobbies used to be anything creative, now anything connected to a cathod ray tube or it's successor. Grew up with computers and know absolutly NOTHING about them. Went to electronics school in the Navy, worked for NCR for a short while in Vegas. Still don't know anything. I used to paint and sculpt. Now I go to museums. I play tennis 2-3 times a week, swim in season, (when the waters over 80f), ride my motorcycle. Love to cook, Italian, Mexican, Beef chicken fish. Pasta. Eclectic taste in music. at one time I played slide trombone, Piano, violin, flute, ocarina and recorder. Turntable, tapedeck, CD player. Radio and Television. The only thing I'm still playing is the car radio and TV. I'm not sure what I want to do when I grow up, but it will involve young women. *Grin*]]></description>
    <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/</link>
    <language>en-us</language>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Meanderings of a once nimble mind]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/1988411/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Journal for  Wednesday  March 13, 2008 for older people

Today it is proven, My  mind is a meager mass of mush. Meandering from moldy, masculine minimal mosh pits to massive meals of metaphorical mish mash.  There that's finished and no harm was done. Memory is a terrible thing to lose, I don’t mean amnesia but “what the hell am I doing on the stairs?” am I on my way up? or going down. Your at the supermarket, no list just winging it, you haven’t had lunch yet, so you really should be careful. That isle with the perfect turquoise bay and alabaster white beaches, let us land there! That’s the problem you screw up a word and your on a completely different playing field. Words are such marvelous things, they can do heroic battles, woo innocent maidens.  Have you ever bowled a maiden over?  That's like pitching a no-hitter. in the game of cricket. Speaking of which have you ever played Grasshopper? Aha! I assumed not. Beetle is a game played in Britain with a deck of cards, I think it’s called a drive. When you drive cattle they are on foot! when they are carried by vehicle they are trucked. Trucking was an innocent dance move of the 40’s and Arti Shaw played “string of pearls then, That was a great tune to dance to. A nice rhythm and sweet beat. The beat of a drum is most hypnotic, a Chinese, drum, (one hundred million miracles) a Japanese drum, I remember an evening in Tsukuba in the hills above Yokohama I heard a distant drumbeat, It was a warm moist evening and the beat beckoned me, I wandered about a half mile and came upon a large group of slightly drunken Nihon jin Beating off! It was magnificent! They seemed to take turns leading and the sounds were awesome! Awe like the first view of Yosemite or Niagara falls. something like taking my son into the lobby/atrium of a hotel in Frisco that had some 13 stories all facing the lobby floor. and little glass elevators whisking up and down.and the appropriate word was wow! A wow like you shout when you first step on the edge of the Grand Canyon. gee whillikers wouldn’t it be nice to have it on your back doorstep. such a trash can! Can you imagine some archeologist in the far distant future, digging our middens through stacks of plastic covered newspapers that can just barely be made out. This looks like some religious  tract, get the book of ancient writings and translate, “Special today! canned peaches 39 cents” “hmm canned means let go from your work. peaches another name for the female of the species
39 are a form of mathematics no? cents? did they mean sense so as I see it your God will fire you if you fail to pay that lady the money for her smell! Odor is a wonderful thing, it can bring back hidden memories of our childhood, like the white paste used in the 3rd grade, almost edible. then came the little bottles of amber syrup that was dispensed through a flat red rubber nipple, that wasn’t edible. Have no fear the world continues to spin, summer comes then fall and winter. The polar caps melt and the sea rises. Should we start building dykes now? The coastal commission forbids breakwaters because it will disturb people down stream.  Don't you just love it?]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-03-13T23:51:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Spring has sprung]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/1844971/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA['Twas a beauteous day in Spring and all the boids were on the wing.
Oh my woid, how absoid,
I thought the wing was on the boid!

Our winter begins and ends with our rain. Everything turns green and if we get enough we'll have wild flowers. The birds are nesting, the gophers are proliferating, creeks run, and Ducks pair off, we have a momma mallard in the creek and two daddies following her. The oxalis blooms in the front lawn, and all the pollywogs in Diane's fish pond have turned into full voiced frogs. The skunks are leaving us alone, I guess they are holed up having babys. along with the possems, raccoons, wood rats, and field mice. Our phoebes didn't leave this winter, so I don't know where they are nesting, with the rains they may not build in our eaves, they do love the water and eat a lot of bugs. The bald eagles they left around our reservoir have increased and now ther are  today there are more than 7,000 pairs in California. Life is good!]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2008-02-17T16:51:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[I'm old!]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/1381901/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Having just past another number on the calendar of my life. I pause to take stock! 
My hair is grey.
Except for the few strands that grow out of my nose that is shiny black, viral and earthy (except for the boogers)! and from my ears it's gossamer gold, light and have! My fingernails and toenails are strong and straight. Fingers are a little warped. My hands, soft and wrinkled have not one callous,  and forearms are a mess! every knife, saw, chisel, piece of glass, splinter and rusty nail has left their indelible marks. the little squamis cell cancers having been dug out  leave a white patch. and the warts moles funny bumps and hair all vie with the wrinkles for a space in the sun. If I lie on my back and lift an arm up, I get folds of what can only be described as "crepey skin" My former pecs, now boobs look nice if you don't mind the hair. The hair on my chest is grey and wispy, doesn't grow in any direction. My once V shape has sagged to a mexican question mark. I recently thought of modeling mens underwear, but have almost given up the idea. My thighs are a mere shadow of their former selves, and my calves while still cramping nicely are a disappointment. Growing old is ugly!]]></description>
		  		  	<category>best</category>
		  		  	<category>fantastic man</category>
		  		  	<category>friend</category>
		  		  	<category>great</category>
		  		  	<category>jack</category>
		  		  	<category>marvelous</category>
		  		  	<category>old</category>
		  		  	<category>old jack</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2007-11-27T21:19:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[It's a small nice world]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/211281/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Last Wednesday, our Japanese Daughter was walking her dog on the sidewalks of Lompoc when she was accosted by a pair of loose dogs, one a pit bull attacked her dog Graycha. Two young men on bicycles went to her aid. This was a brave and honorable act. Now comes the coincidence. one of the lads is the brother of Ceceyeah and Son of Mamastripeism See http://ceceyeah-paul.buzznet.com/user/photos/
It really is a small nice world]]></description>
		  		  	<category>heroes</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2007-05-13T23:18:00Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[The EYES have it]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/138620/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Talking to Jennifer this evening, about how my eyes didn't match, ans she suggested taking the lens out of one side and Well!  That was a complete bust! I took the right lens out of my currant glasses and put them on and I got two images that could never mesh. The left eye had a clear image of yellowish tinge and the right eye with newly implanted lens was about 10% larger and much brighter colors! Like I was smoking dope in my right eye and wearing dirty sunglasses on my left eye.  Oh well, we tried.]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2007-03-19T23:00:33Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Ain't life a beach?]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/138349/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[You know... Friday has lost it's magic. Just about all weekdays are the same. I do look forward to 4pm! Thats when we go to the doggy park. I also look forward to 11am thats my lunch time, there is something about food, the smell, the texture, the warm carress of my tongue, the aroma of warm weiners and piquant bite of the mustard, that topped by the cold feel of a chocolate milk shake!. 2 pm is good because that is salsa and guac time, the cold hot acidic bite of my salsa with the tender crunch of a Kiki's corn chip, made only in Lompoc. just blocks from Mamastripism.  

At the present time, I'm blind in one eye and farsighted in the other, this is just the opposite of what I've lived with for 60 years. Next week I'll be fitted with new prescriptions, I'll write more then!]]></description>
		  		  	<category>magic</category>
		  		  	<category>oldjack</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2007-03-19T15:06:06Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[In Afghan Valley, a Peaceful War]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/100261/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[Italians, Barred by Their Government From Combat, Stage a Day-Long Medical Clinic and Supply Depot, Part of a Larger Mission to Win a Region's Support

By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, January 13, 2007; A12


SURJAI, Afghanistan -- Inside a green tent pitched on an ice-crusted field and guarded by armed troops, a young boy winced in pain Wednesday as a military doctor slowly injected medicine into his nose and cheek, red and swollen from the parasitic disease leishmaniasis.

Nearby, soldiers tossed sacks of rice, beans, tea and sugar into wheelbarrows pushed by local villagers. At a third spot, cargo trucks piled with firewood and tin stoves were surrounded by excited, shoving crowds until a local mullah carrying a list of names restored order.

"Andiamo!" -- Let's go! -- called a rifleman near the food supplies, beckoning to the next family in line.

Col. Antonio Maggi, who commanded the day-long operation by Italian troops in the snow-coated Mushai Valley, strode watchfully among the tents and trucks. He often stopped to chat with local elders, an interpreter at his side.

To Maggi, who heads NATO's 2,000-member Italian military contingent in Afghanistan, the day's humanitarian mission was a small piece of a long-term, strategic plan to win the support and collaboration of the valley's 20,000 inhabitants for the Afghan central government and the international troops who support it.

Like most of the 26 foreign military contingents that comprise the 20,000 NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan, the Italians have been banned by their government from conducting combat missions, except for 72-hour emergency sorties to aid other NATO forces.

Only British, Canadian and Dutch combat troops operate in the four southern provinces where clashes with Taliban insurgents are constant and dozens of foreign soldiers have died. A separately commanded mission of about 20,000 U.S. troops is based in eastern Afghanistan, conducting combat and aid operations.

But officials say the work of troops from Italy, Turkey, France and other nations, which are bringing security, training, aid and development to impoverished and potentially hostile areas of central and northern Afghanistan, can be more effective than military raids, which can invade homes, create casualties and alienate communities.

"This valley is important because there have been problems with security in the past," Maggi said. "Now we are present, listening to the people's problems, meeting with the leaders, bringing assistance, doing joint patrols with the police. Our message to everyone is that there can be no reconstruction in the valley without security."

Lying about an hour's drive south of Kabul, the capital, the Mushai Valley has a history of strategic importance in Afghanistan's succession of conflicts. Militia commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who with U.S. backing fought Soviet troops during the 1980s, maintained his stronghold near here. Later, he turned against the Western powers and is today a renegade insurgent leader.

During the years of Taliban rule, from 1996 to 2001, some foreign Arab militia groups lived in compounds nearby.

The largely unprotected valley is just across a low ridge of mountains from the border with Pakistan. NATO and Afghan officials say insurgent fighters from the revived Taliban militia receive training and weapons there and then infiltrate Afghanistan to launch attacks.

One of Maggi's principal roles, since the Mushai operation began in October, has been to help recruit, equip and train local police. The Italians have provided them with pickup trucks, radios, boots and wool winter uniforms. They are also building a brick police and administrative headquarters to replace the rudimentary hillside compound that is now the government's only structure in the district.

"Things have changed a lot since the colonel came," said the Mushai police chief, Commander Arif. "We are in an open area where people can come across from Pakistan, and we had no checkpoints before. Now we have three new checkpoints, joint patrols and 112 police officers getting trained. The people are collaborating 100 percent, so the insurgents cannot do their work."

The skill level of the police is still low, and Wednesday's giveaway program was briefly marred when an argument broke out around a truck laden with firewood. One inexperienced policeman hit a man with his rifle, bloodying his nose and angering the crowd.

But in general, the welcome received here by Maggi's forces, who attend regular meetings with local leaders, has stood in sharp contrast to the angry resentment aroused last fall when U.S. combat forces staged a raid looking for Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents. Residents said the troops entered houses at night, herded women and children outside in the rain and shot one civilian dead.

"They did many wrong things, and the people were unhappy," said Maulvi Shirin Agha, a senior cleric in the valley, who helped organize the aid distribution this week. "They were looking for al-Qaeda, but there has been no al-Qaeda here for the last five years. The Italians behave very well with the people, and everyone likes them," he said. "The Taliban can only dream of coming back."

Aside from the improved security, leaders in the Mushai Valley said they were most grateful to the Italians for providing free medical aid. The area has no clinics, and families said that when they take sick children to hospitals in Kabul, they are turned away or given inadequate treatment.

On Wednesday, parents lined up all day outside the tent clinic where Lidia Sarntaro, a doctor and Italian army lieutenant, treated their children for coughs, headaches, rashes and more serious ailments. Twice she administered a local anesthetic and removed shrapnel fragments from a child's arm, bending over a metal cot with a scalpel and gauze to stanch the bleeding.

Lala Gul brought in his son Akmal, 7, who was left with a fragment in his arm last year when a shell he and another boy were handling exploded.

Gul worriedly watched the boy's frightened face while Sarntaro stitched up his arm. The second boy waited outside.

"I took them to the city, but nobody helped us. All the doctors asked us for too much money," said Gul, a farm laborer with eight children. He said he was taking home a bundle of food supplies, though he did not fully understand who had donated them. "The elders told us to come here today to get help," he said. "It is free, so I am happy."]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2007-01-15T09:09:43Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[How old am I?]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/97141/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[In the middle of last year, I made a momentous discovery!  I can no longer play "Hop Scotch" when I stand on one leg and hop I get real tired very fast, my balance goes, and the squares are too small, or too big! and my maximum hops are about 3 (three).  No big deal, you say, Hah! I was once the champion of Gephart, Riley, Elliot, Harding, and 42nd Street schools I had a lagger that could hit and stick from 10 feet away!

This morning, on the Today show they had a segment on mental as well as physical aging. and for 5 box-tops and umpty ump-dollars they will send me a machine that will test my physical age. I don't need it, I have a hat that says I'm older than dirt!

So! I'll never climb Mount Everest, Denali, Mount Whitney, Mount Shasta, Pikes peak, or Thunderbolt Peak that tops out at over 14,000 feet! I max out for breathing at about 7,000. and that is driving up!. Climbing I can do two flights of stairs at sea level.

I'll never run a marathon, a 10K, a mile, a 440, 220 or 100 yards again.  I used to run the 100 and 220 and hurdles. Never cared much for distances.

That takes care of the physical, now the mental. In the past 77 year I have been accumulating bits and pieces of information, some lifesaving and some trivial. For instance, The Capital of Kern County is Bakersfield, it is 81 miles from Boron. where it can get up to 125 degrees in the summer, (but it's a dry heat) you can swim in the wet tailings (greygreen mud) from the borax mines, but when it dries, it is painful to pull your levies on.

When sugar, chocolate and milk are boiled to 116 degrees Farenheight (soft ball) it will crystalize into a delightful concoction called "Fudge"

The SNJ (trainer) aircraft stalls out at 60 miles per hour.  When you stall out, push stick forward and kick opposite rudder.

The necessary ingredients to good Spaghetti sauce, contains basil, oregano, garlic, tomatoes,thyme and ground beef. sometimes a bay leaf.

Too much fudge after italian food can give you heartburn.

Dogs respond to quiet authority. a Dog will always forgive you.

So! Physically I'm 105 and mentally I'm 15]]></description>
		  		  	<category>great man</category>
		  		  	<category>oldjack</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2007-01-09T10:32:58Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[Bye  Dear Peoplw]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/67826/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[We are off! leaving sunny Santa Barbara for soggy Kauai. Be back on the 9th
Love Jack]]></description>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2006-10-31T11:50:14Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
		    <item>
	      <title><![CDATA[5 things]]></title>
	      <link>http://oldjack.buzznet.com/user/journal/31364/</link>
	      <description><![CDATA[My 5’s

5 things in my fridge (isn't this a little personal)?
2% milk and mayo!
whole milk and OJ
half and half and mustard
cream and something growing green hair
sour cream and chocolat fudge browny ice cream

5 things in my closet
Massage table (just barely used)
Golf frizzbee disks
nine tennis rackets
new old style roller skates
Pet carrier full of porn

5 things in my pockets (I don't own a purse)
chapstick and change
Keys to house, car, Swiss army knife, blue flash light
wallet
comb
poop bags for doggies

5 things in the car
rope for towing motorcycle
tictacs (from when we quit smoking)
old lottery tickets
plastic dark glasses from eye doc
assorted tapes Abba, some Irish lady "Sail away"

5 people
rhiwena
mrsasta
scockcroft
mamastripeism
azannie]]></description>
		  		  	<category>tagged</category>
		  		  <category>Buzznet</category>
	      <dc:creator>oldjack</dc:creator>
	      <dc:date>2006-06-26T23:47:15Z</dc:date>
	    </item>
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