Apollo 17 / NASA
The Moon. It’s a real place. A world of it’s own, that hangs in our sky. It may be the very reason life exists on this planet. Formed when a planet the size of Mars collided with the (then smaller-than-now) Earth, the results of that chaos formed the (more-properly designated) double-planet system we see today. We often talk about the Moon orbiting the Earth, but it doesn’t, not really. The Earth and the Moon both orbit around a common center of gravity. That center is some miles below the surface of the Earth, but it is not the center of the Earth. The Moon is considered the largest satellite (even though it’s not, not really) of a planet, relative to the primary’s size, in our solar system, with the possible exception of Pluto/Charon. Now that Pluto has been downgraded from planet status, the Moon may hold that title without challenge.
I took my telescope out into the back yard tonight, and had a look-see.
So one of the cool things about Twitter is being able to follow “stars”. I’m not much of a star-struck type, I don’t try to get autographs, or buy lots of material licensed by famous people. It was cool to get George Takei, appearing at a Star Trek convention in Visalia years ago, to sign a copy of a science fiction novel he wrote, and I once walked past a television actor (Lance Kerwin of ‘James at 15’) on the sidewalk at Venice Beach. Late one night Steven Segal came into the liquor/convenience store I was working in (and behaved like an asshole. I think he was insulted that I didn’t recognize him. I just thought a grown man giggling that he loudly passed gas was a bit juvenile). I don’t really have a desire to meet actors, because I tend to think of them as the characters they portray, not as the real individuals they are. I think that sets you up for a disappointment, because the real person is probably not much like the character you know. The real person may be someone it would be great to get to know, but they could also be a self-absorbed jerk. Even in today’s over exposed world, the real character of a person who “fakes” a character for a living, could be something much less than their public persona.
The Duty Officer has many responsibilities to tend to during his or her shift in dispatch. One of those duties is answering the intercoms posted at various doors to the building. Several times a night, the buzzer at one or the other of the doors will sound, with someone needing help. Almost without fail, they are looking for the jail. Posting signs at either intercom, indicating that each particular door is NOT the jail, and pointing out where one needs to go to find the jail, rarely produces the desired result. They still buzz, and are still looking for the jail. Last night, we had one that had me laughing harder than I have for a long time.
Kicking back at Teazer’s in Fresno’s historic Tower District. Jim and Ted lounging and shooting the breeze.
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
A flashback. My dead father pays me a visit.
January 9, 2012
Jim Reeves commentary, Personal dad, ghosts, Jim Reeves Sr., reflections Leave a comment
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Every once in a while, something will happen that reminds me that I am my father’s son.
At times, it’s disconcerting as hell, other times it’s a nuisance, and sometimes it’s just amusing. I had an experience this morning that I’m not sure about, since it’s several hours later as I write this blog, and I’m still thinking about it.
The most common experience that makes me think of him is when I cough. I make the exact same sounds as he did, and those are the sometimes disconcerting moments. He was a heavy smoker all his life, and eventually died of throat and lung cancer. I, however, have never smoked, and haven’t been around a smoker since I moved out of his house. Some of the family from his side also have the same cough, and many of them were or are heavy smokers. I’m hoping the common sound is related to the structure of our genetically similar bodies, and not due to some other trait we all share that has contributed the deaths of many of my relatives.
I sometimes do things, that once I recognize them, I find amusing. I’ll notice that I’m walking with a gait that resembles his, and I wonder…. am I unconsciously being a little boy, and copying my Dad? Or does that style of moving have more to do with me having a body that is a very close structural copy of his? I’ll notice I’m sitting in a position that he sometimes sat in, and again I wonder. Is it just the long legs and no padding on the butt that results in this orientation, or something else? I had a bad case of hero worship when I was a child, and desperately wanted his approval. I wonder if sometimes that little boy sneaks out of some deep corner of my memory, and still wants Daddy’s attention?
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