From A Bird's Eye View

November Brings the Holiday Spirit

November 17, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:2 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

Few months offer the interest and complexity of November. Most love the month as it unofficially opens the ‘holiday season’ as we come down from a sugar high from Halloween, then salute our veterans and finally devour some turkey. Additionally, there are lots of good football games to watch for those with a proclivity for such things. I’ll not mention the election days that kick off November as we try to avoid politics here at ‘From A Birdseye View’.

First, some detractors of the month of November. Author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, was not a fan, saying, “November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year.” But one must consider that Ms. Alcott lived in the northeast where Novembers can be rather harsh and she had no one to cuddle with on those fridged winter evening, as she never married. Emily Dickinson wasn’t much a fan of November either, saying, “In November the noons are more laconic and the sunsets sterner. November always seemed to me the Norway of the year.” Having never left New England, I assume Ms. Dickinson imagined Norway as a cold and foreboding place. To her point, it can be – Northern Norway’s average high temperature in November is between 28-35 degrees Fahrenheit!

That’s hard to imagine as we here in Orange County had high 80s, even low 90s in the first week of November this year. I’m sure Louisa May Alcott would have found it most disagreeably hot. The name November itself is a bit of a novelty as it takes its name from the Latin word novem, which means nine, as it was the ninth month in the Roman calendar. But then those pesky Gregorians came along with their own calendar and added two more months, January and February, making November the eleventh month. I understand that none of the above is probably going to help you get into the ‘Holiday Spirit’, although living in someplace other than northern Norway during this time of year, may help.

If you haven’t gotten into the ‘holiday spirit’ yet, here are some alternative events that perhaps you could celebrate.

For those into ‘boy kings’, King Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in November of 1922. King Tut assumed the throne as a nine-year-old and died when he was 19, only a couple years sort of drinking age, but we can raise some spirits to him. Those who like Egyptians, boys or kings can now celebrate this.

For those pet fans, you can celebrate ‘Laika’ (which means ‘barker’ in Russian), a stray dog, who became the first animal in space as she was launched by Russia in November 1957. Unfortunately, she died just hours into the launch as insulation in the capsule tore and she overheated. If you’re surprised at hearing she died during the mission, it’s because the Russians claimed that she survived the entire trip. Celebrate your pet, or a pet near you, this month.

Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes first meets with Aztec emperor Montezuma II in November of 1519. Cortes kept the meeting friendly, but several days later he took Montezuma hostage. Celebrate famous explorer and conqueror, Cortes, or Montezuma’s Revenge.

Sadie Hawkins Day. While it technically was last week (November 13) not too many people know that so you can still celebrate this ‘holiday’. It was created in the Li’l Abner comic strip in 1937, where unmarried women would chase bachelor men and if they caught him, they would get married. Today, if the lady catches the man, she asks him to do the laundry.

Yeah, this is the kind of stuff you get from me when I’m not traveling. Hopefully it will give you more things to celebrate this month, or tell us what you celebrate in this ‘Norway of the year’.

Posted in opinion

HOME FOR A HERO

November 10, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:11 Comments

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

It’s not often that we get to witness the sacrifice of our wounded veterans up close. But two weeks ago, I was honored to attend a ceremony where the Gary Sinise Foundation turned over a custom-built home to a local veteran, Brad Ivanchan. Brad is a 37-year-old Marine who lost both legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. His journey through injury, multiple surgeries and recovery exemplifies the courage and resilience we honor this week on Veteran’s Day.

A little about Brad: he was deployed to Iraq in 2009, serving as a turret gunner and providing escort security for an explosive ordinance disposal team. He went on to become a machine gun team leader in Southeast Asia before earning the rank of Corporal in 2012. He became a squad leader serving in Afghanistan, carrying out combat foot patrols across Helmand Province, one of the most dangerous regions. On the night of June 13, 2012, Brad’s squad of 10 men and an interpreter were conducting a night patrol when Brad stepped on an IED. The explosion amputated Brad’s right leg below the knee and shredded his left leg to his lower thigh. His left arm and hand were also mangled. After his immediate care in Germany, he was flown to Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego for further surgery and recovery. Brad endured six surgeries to rebuild his left hand and treat multiple bacterial infections in both legs. And that is also where fate stepped in, in the form of Gary Sinise.

Brad was in the section of the hospital reserved for servicemen injured in the Afghanistan/Iraq wars. It was a crowded ward back in 2012. One day as Brad was recuperating, Gary Sinise walked into his room and said, “I’m just here to see how you’re doing.” When Brad related that story, he noted how sincere Gary was and how much time he spent with him learning about his injury, recovery plans and what his interests were. Brad took comfort from Gary and from the other wounded veterans who had forged a new life, despite devastating injuries. He started walking just three months after he stepped on that IED. Five months after that he became the first double amputee in history to summit the highest mountain in South America, Mount Aconcagua—at over 22,800 feet. That astonishing accomplishment meant one very important thing to Brad – it proved that his life would not be defined by his injuries.

Still, his everyday existence was filled with challenges. Three years after his initial operation, Brad had to go undergo another surgery that further amputated his right leg, this time above the knee. By then, the war had wound down, and Brad found himself to be the only veteran at the Naval Hospital who had served in the Afghanistan/Iraq wars. And yet, even though he was the singular inhabitant of the ward, Gary Sinise arrived at the hospital to visit him again. He had heard that Brad was undergoing more treatment and wanted to check on him and provide support.

Despite Brad’s incredible resiliency, his life at home was a constant battle. He lived in a small house not suited to his needs. To make matters worse, not only was the home inaccessible to his wheelchair, but it was also built on an uneven lot, so it was filled with many stairs. He fell several times, and during periods when he could not use his prosthetics, he was not able to leave the house. And that is when Gary Sinise stepped in again. Through his foundation’s R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment) program, Brad was selected to receive a custom-built, mortgage-free home designed to meet his specific needs.

Brad’s home was built near me and as a long-time supporter of the Gary Sinise Foundation, I was asked to attend the dedication ceremony. The event was one of the most uplifting moments I’ve ever experienced. Brad was escorted to his new home by a squadron of police and fire personnel. When he stepped out of the van with his dog, Roscoe, he began the walk down his new driveway, which was lined by American flags and vociferous supporters. A few leaders from the Gary Sinise Foundation spoke and not only praised Brad for his perseverance and fortitude but cited the dozens of companies and contractors who donated their time and materials to make that home possible. I sat next to the young owner of the cabinet company that made all of the custom-built cabinets for the house. He was so proud to have donated to the creation of the home and welled up when he saw Brad’s reaction to them. The director of the R.I.S.E. program said this home was the 98th they have completed and noted how heart-warming it is to see so many people anxiously contribute to their efforts. He said in conclusion, “All who help build these homes, and do so with open hearts, are the real America. Don’t listen to the news – there are a lot of good people out there.”

I think everyone left the ceremony that day feeling inspired and optimistic. Many years ago, my husband and I decided to consolidate our gift-giving and chose the Gary Sinise Foundation. In all of those years I have never felt that my money was wasted or spent on frivolous junkets. Meeting some of the foundation’s executives in person, hearing them speak, and seeing the work they do first-hand confirmed that they are good people doing good work for the military and first responders who do so much for us. As Gary says, “while we can never do enough for our nation’s heroes, we can always do a little more.”

That is a good sentiment to keep in mind tomorrow as we commemorate Veteran’s Day.

Posted in Blog Info / Up-dates • Historical

Is China Watching You? We Know They’re Watching Us!

November 3, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:10 Comments

By Bob Sparrow

Several months ago, we started seeing a significant spike in the hits to our blog. We thought, Yippee!! More people are finally starting to follow us. As a reference we usually get between 50 and 100 hits on Monday, the day each new blog posts. The count typically decreases as we get further into the week. Recently we started to see hits in the hundreds, which, of course, we attributed to our spectacular writing. But then the hit numbers jumped to the thousands; our biggest one-day hit was over 4,000. We finally realized, we’re not THAT good of writers! So, I Googled what causes a spike like this and of course, Google had the answer, several of them in fact:

In terms of possible ‘positive’ reasons it said:

You may be doing some successful marketing. No
An influencer or news source may have mentioned or linked to your blog. No way
Your blog may contain content of specific interest to those who go to the effort of using a Virtual Private Network. Huh? No
You have a growing audience in a foreign country. Hell No

Since none of those answers seemed reasonable, I asked Google what some of the ‘negative’ reasons might be for this increase in hits. The short answer was:

The most likely cause of an unprompted and large influx of traffic from a specific country is bot activity. In recent years, China has been a significant source of malicious web bots. This bot traffic is often not from genuine users and could be a sign of security threats.

So, what is a bot? A computer program that performs automatic tasks.

As I was learning about bots, I looked further into Google Analytics that support our blog to see where in the world these hits to our blog were coming from. Past analytics for this data would show that the majority of our hits come from the U.S., followed by the some from the United Kingdom and then a few scattered around the globe from places like Brazil, Australia, South Africa and other countries. Currently our analytics showed two things, 1) China by far had the most hits – in the thousands, and 2) the hits were mostly on one particular blog, Suzanne’s Loyalist or Patriot? that she wrote in July 2023. Why that particular blog? Interestingly enough, is about Ben Franklin’s son, William, who, while his father was busy helping the U.S. break away from England, William remained a loyalist to the crown and ultimately moved to England to live out his life and never spoke to his father again. If you’re interested in reading or re-reading, her entire blog, go to our Archives on the right and click on July 2023.

So, what is the Chinese’s fascination with this story that shows an iconic American family divided over which country to support? Of all the blogs we’ve written over the past 13 years, this one about divided patriotism is the one they’re hitting. They could just as easily have landed on her blog about Dash the Wonder Dog. OK, maybe not, but it’s just a little spooky that the Chinese have a particular interest in that blog. And why does the bot keep hitting it?

So, I’ve done a little research into ‘bot protection’ and while there are some good programs out there that would hopefully eliminate the bots, I’m a little hesitant as I don’t want to lose thousands of our readers. But I will caution you that if you ever comment on our blog, make sure you’re not saying anything that will jeopardize our national security.

Posted in Family

BURNED AT THE STAKE? TWICE?

October 27, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:10 Comments

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

**Our great-grandmother, Effie**. **A barrel of laughs, no doubt**

Facebook is often a cesspool of trivial and inaccurate information. However, once in a while something redeeming stems from it and such was the case a few weeks ago when Bob and I were re-connected with a first cousin, Mark Whitman, who we have not seen in many decades. We enjoyed learning about his life and accomplishments and as luck would have it, he is also the keeper of a great deal of our mother’s Whitman family history. He shared with us a photo of our great-grandmother and her sister who were apparently quite active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Wow – she would not be happy to see how far the family has fallen when it comes to alcohol! I sent Mark the history of the family that I wrote back in 2011, and after he read it, he told me that I stopped short by ending it in 1632. Two generations prior, our 10th great-grandfather, Edward Wightman (name changed later to Whitman for reasons that will become obvious) was the last person burned at the stake in England. So, to add to our already august ancestors who were horse thieves, we can now add heretics.

Clearly, I had to learn more, and it turns out that Edward was not only burned once, but twice! He was born on December 20, 1566, in Burbage, Leicestershire, England. By all accounts he was first exposed to the Puritan movement while serving an apprenticeship in Shrewsbury. We do not know how or why he became such an ardent Puritan, but it came to pass that his particular views differed radically from the local Puritan leaders. Like cray-cray radical. Most salient among his philosophical musings was that there is no Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost), that Jesus Christ was a mere man, not God, and that Christ was never incarnate and did not fulfill the promise of salvation. Edward’s most outlandish claim was that HE was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Although King James I was tolerant toward Catholics and helped liberalize the Church of England, he saw Protestant dissenters as a major problem and challenge. Edward, foremost among them.

By 1611, now completely deluded, believing in his own righteousness and persuasiveness, Edward delivered a manuscript detailing his radical theology to King James I. This was a dubious move to say the least. Edward’s family was prominent in the community and because of that, local clerics tried to hush him up before the king could take action. But Edward continued to interrupt local church services, convinced he was the anointed one. Finally, the local bishop reported Edward’s actions to the king, who was determined to deal once and for all with this bothersome heretic.

In April 1611, Edward was arrested. His trial took place in November of that year (the wheels of justice ground slowly back then too), where he was found guilty. Having refused to change any of his views, he was sentenced to be excommunicated and condemned to be burned at the stake. But first he was placed in a public open place each day for months as an example to others who might harbor similar beliefs.

Finally, in March 1612 Edward was tied to a stake and his execution commenced. But once tied to the stake, Edward began to review his options. As the flames reached his feet and legs he screamed and began to recant his beliefs. In those days a beheading or burning at the stake was equivalent to an NFL game today, with lots of cheering, booing and calling out the refs. Apparently, the crowd assembled for Edward’s burning was a benevolent one and once they heard his screams and recantations, they pleaded for his release. A written retraction was hurriedly prepared and Edward, in pain and weakness, orally agreed as it was read to him. Later, however, no longer fearing the flames, he refused to sign the retraction and blasphemed louder than before.

King James re-approved his execution and a few weeks later on April 11th, he was once more led to the stake. Again, on feeling the intense heat of the fire, Edward cried out in recantation but this time the sheriff told him he would “cost him no more” and commanded additional bundles of thin sticks to be thrown on to make the flames roar. Edward was burned to ashes

King James I lost faith in burning heretics shortly thereafter, as the proliferation of them continued unabated despite the threat of death. After the case of Edward Wightman those found guilty of heresy were instead silently and privately left to waste away in prison rather than excite others with a public execution.

Edward’s grandson, George, emigrated from England to Rhode Island in the late 1700’s. The Wightman name was commonly interchangeable with “Whitman” and perhaps to avoid association with his grandfather he changed the spelling. Or it was a clerk at the registry office who couldn’t spell. In any event, that is how my mother’s family ended up as Whitmans. Unfortunately, no relation to the candy company. But having an ancestor who was the last person burned at the stake is less fattening and entirely more fascinating.

Posted in Family • Historical

The Amazing History of Cal-Neva Lodge

October 20, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:16 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

I must admit that I am somewhat obsessed with the Cal-Neva Lodge and Casino, as it was part of my young adult experience in a most idyllic place. For those unfamiliar with Cal-Neva, it is a hotel, with an additional 11 cabins on the property, built in 1926 on the sparsely populated, north coast of Lake Tahoe’s Crystal Bay, directly on the California-Nevada border. In fact, the main dining room had a line down the middle that shows one side in Nevada and the other side in California – same with the swimming pool outside.

While gambling was not legalized in Nevada until 1931, part of the reason for the hotel’s sparsely populated location was that gambling was going on at the hotel before that. A story about silent film star Clara Bow says that in 1930 she had a gambling debt of over $13,000, which in today’s dollars would be about $250,000. She claimed that she thought she was playing with chips worth fifty cents each, when they were worth $100 each! In 1935 a 13-year-old Judy Garland performed for the first time at the Cal-Neva Lodge.

Fast forward to the 1950s when Cal-Neva was sold for $1 million (about $13 million in today’s dollars) and was frequented by Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable as well as the Jack and Bobby Kennedy, who weren’t going there to gamble, but rather to enjoy the ladies. Cal-Neva was also frequented by Frank Sinatra, who eventually was part owner of the resort and added the ‘Celebrity Room’ where he and his friends, “The Rat Pack”, performed.

My interest and connection to Cal-Neva comes from spending parts of every year at Lake Tahoe from the time I was about 10 years old (mid-1950s) to after graduating from college. My Dad’s best friend, ‘Uncle’ Dick, was a life-long bachelor and sort of adopted our family as his. In 1952 he bought a cabin just outside of Tahoe City, at the north end of ‘The Lake’ and we spent every vacation, every season, every year at that cabin, despite the six-hour drive at that time from Novato to Lake Tahoe. The routine was, we’d leave home on a Friday night after they got home from work, get there very late on a Friday night, spend Saturday there, when, that night, Dad and Dick would dress up in coat and tie and Mom in a formal dress and ‘Go over to the line’, referring to the California-Nevada state line and spend the evening at Cal-Neva dining, dancing and gambling. We’d then get up early Sunday morning and drive home. Years later, brother, Jack, bought a home and a restaurant (Off Shore Bar & Grill) on the lake in Tahoe City and lived there for several years. Roommate, Ken Poulsen, who you may have seen a couple of weeks ago here in a photo at Kezar Stadium, and I, bought a cabin in the 1970s, right next to Dick’s cabin. We sold it years later after a tenant had left a couch on the floor furnace and went skiing; when they returned, the house was burned to the ground. Ken managed the rebuilding of it and then we sold it.

Yes, I got to park fancy cars like this!

Another personal note is that when the Rat Pack was performing at Cal-Neva in the mid-sixties, they needed to hire more valets to manage all the cars. A friend of mine, Dale Aman’s mom, worked in the accounting department at the hotel, and she called Dale and Dale called me to go to Cal-Neva and valet for the Rat Pack show. It was the first and only time I worked as a valet. Fortunately, there were no crashes! We made rather good money (about $25 – Hey, that was like $325 in today’s dollars!), but after we were done valeting, we went into the casino and gave it all back!

Sinatra’s friend, Dean Martin, was also a shareholder in the hotel as well as another Sinatra friend, Chicago mobster, Sam Giancana. When Sinatra built the Celebrity Room, he re-utilized Prohibition-era smuggling tunnels beneath the property to allow mob members to move around the property without being seen by the public. One tunnel led from the main building to Sinatra’s private chalet overlooking Lake Tahoe. In 1962 Marilyn Monroe was in one of Cal-Neva’s private cottages and overdosed on drugs, but was found in time to save her life. A few weeks later she was found dead in her home in Los Angeles.

During the early and mid-60s, Sinatra’s Cal-Neva had lots of visits from celebrities such as Liza Minnelli, Kim Novak, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and Richard Crenna. During this time, Giancana was spotted on the premises and Sinatra’s gambling license was suspended. So, Sinatra had to sell the property; he tried to sell it to Howard Hughes in 1967, but that didn’t go through. The property was bought and sold a number of times to real estate investors but ultimately closed in 2010.

It sat dormant for eight years, then Oracle owner and billionaire, Larry Ellison purchased it in 2018 for $35.8 million. After not being able to rebuild due to being held up in bankruptcy court by creditors’ protests, he sold it in 2023 for around $55 million to Denver real estate developer, McWhinney, who plans to open it in 2027.

So, why has it sat dormant for so many years? In addition to bankruptcy issues, the three magic words in real estate are, location, location, location. Cal-Neva is in a remote location; Reno, the closest, largest city (less than 300,000 population) is about 45 miles away and Reno already has plenty of places to gamble. During the winter, North Lake Tahoe can get severe storms that can drop several feet of snow in 24 hours. Additionally, there is only one two-lane road leading to and from Cal-Neva, so often it’s not very accessible.

Because of my history and interest in this iconic place, I have sent an email to Troy McWhinney of the McWhinney company letting him know some of my history with their property and my interest in being among the first guests at the hotel when it opens in 2027. I mentioned that I am 81, so I am hoping that the opening date of 2027 is achieved. I also let them know that I would be available to valet if needed.

Posted in opinion

A SPIRIT LIKE NUN OTHER

October 13, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:8 Comments

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

In the 13 years that Bob and I have been writing this blog there are a few posts that stand out. For me, one of them was the piece I wrote in 2023 about Sister Jean, the Loyola basketball “good luck charm”. That fall the college sports world was obsessed with conference realignments and the effect they would have on the future of the sport. When a few journalists wrote columns about a nun at a Catholic university, their stories were buried by articles speculating about NIL, travel schedules and unfair scheduling. But they shouldn’t have been. Because that nun, at 104 years old, seemed to be the only person in college athletics who had her priorities straight. Sadly, Sister Jean passed away last week at the age of 106. Now, more than ever, we need the wisdom, spirit and good humor she sent out into the world. So today I am once again telling the story of Sister Jean, and the inspiring message she left us with in the final weeks of her life.

Jean Dolores Schmidt was born in 1919, the same year as our mother. She was raised in San Francisco, just 18 miles from our mother. I’d like to imagine that she and Sister Jean crossed paths at some point, but that seems unlikely since our mom loved a good gin rickey and I don’t think Sister Jean frequented many bars. Sister Jean attended St. Paul’s High School at the beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral in San Francisco and played on the girls’ basketball team. After graduation in 1937 she entered the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary convent in Iowa. She eventually returned to California to further her education, earning BA and MA degrees. She taught school in California until 1961, when she moved to Chicago to teach at Mundelein College. She was hired by Loyola in 1991 when it merged with Mundelein. She planned to retire in 1994 but was asked by the administration to stay on as the team chaplain to the men’s basketball team to help student athletes keep up their grades so they could maintain their eligibility to play. Imagine that.

She steadily provided counsel to the students and cheered on the basketball team without fanfare. That is until 2018. That year Sister Jean became a household name when the team made a Cinderella run to the national semifinals — the farthest Loyola Chicago had made it in the NCAA Championship Tournament since 1963. Sister Jean’s spirited antics on the sidelines attracted national media attention and won over the hearts of viewers across the country. She became a star along with the team – orders for Sister Jean bobbleheads broke records, and she got a shout-out from former President and Chicago resident, Barack Obama. Afterwards she quipped, “It only took me 98 years to become an overnight sensation.” In March 2021, at the age of 101, Sister Jean traveled to Indianapolis to watch Loyola beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and eventually make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

But Sister Jean didn’t let the fame and attention alter her in any way. She kept the door to her office open for students to drop in and chat and she retained her position as the team chaplain. She even went so far as to email scouting reports, encouragement and advice to each of the players after every game. She attended every home game and opened them with a prayer, in which she urged the refs to make good calls, the players to share the ball and God to nudge the Ramblers to a big W. In 2022, at the age of 103, she published a book, “Wake Up with Purpose! What I’ve Learned in My First 100 Years.” It was filled with her trademark sense of humor and good-natured observations about her century of life. On her 104th birthday students celebrated her by gathering in her office and bringing her one of her favorite foods – CAKE! Later that week she threw out the first pitch at a Cubs’ game and was honored with a block party at Loyola’s Water Tower Campus.

In August of this year, on her 106th birthday, Sister Jean wrote the following message to the Loyola community — directed at students as they began a new academic year:

“It has been wonderful for me to be with you these years and to watch you grow spiritually, intellectually, and socially, and to see the friends you’ve made. And to see the progress you’ve made in your academic life. I’ve always been happy to share my time with you. Let your dreams become reality. Don’t let anybody stop you. You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country, and our world.”

This past September 25th Sister Jean retired from her job at Loyola due to health concerns and on October 9th she passed from this life. The world is a lesser place without her. In these times of overwhelming news and division it is good to let the spirit of Sister Jean guide us: live life with joy, encourage others, and maintain a sense of purpose. And, of course, eat cake.

Posted in travel

The ‘Why?’ Cruise, continued

October 9, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:6 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

Well, no jumping overboard for me – Alcatraz is too close! Fortunately, there was no need to jump as the trip was ready to get more interesting. Wednesday morning, we woke up in San Francisco Bay, opened the curtains in our cabin and looked out on the best view I’d had all week: the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and Alcatraz. It was overcast, but what did we expect in San Francisco? However, temperatures were in the 70s, which for this time of year in ‘The City’ is ‘HOT’! We walked over to Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square then decided to take the hop-on-hop-off bus around the city. It was awesome! We never hopped off but just enjoyed the views from the open upper deck of the bus, of places like North Beach, the Golden Gate Bridge, Union Square, Haight-Ashbury, the Financial District (Where Suzanne used to work) and Golden Gate Park, where we drove past old Kezar Stadium, where at somewhere around 8 years old, I watched my first 49er game. It was also the place where I played my last game of college football. The whole tour was very enjoyable and very nostalgic. We got off the bus at Fisherman’s Wharf and had an awesome dinner at Fog Harbor Fish House – clam chowder, Linda had lobster, and I had crab and just to stay with the theme of the cruise we both had some California wine. I have to say ‘The City’ looked awesome, and Newsom didn’t even know I was going to be there!

Teammate and roommate Ken Poulsen and me at our last game in Kezar Stadium

The ship’s entertainment was generally pretty good; the program I enjoyed the most was an interview with Taj Jackson. No, I didn’t know who he was either, until I did a little research before going to his on-stage interview. He is the first of three sons of Tito Jackson, member of the Jackson 5 and brother of Michael and Janet. Taj and his two brothers formed a group years ago called 3T, (All their first names start with ‘T’ – Taj, Taryll and Tito Jr.). They were mentored by Uncle Michael. Taj says that the group is more popular in Europe than here, but they are still touring and selling lots of music here. We had a chance to personally meet Taj after the show, and he is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He took time with everyone to answer questions (mostly about Michael) and was just a super person. I’m not familiar with their music, but I’m definitely going to give them a listen.

Meanwhile, it’s another day at sea as we head down to San Diego. We did get to watch the 49er-Ram Thursday night game on TV – Yay 49ers!!! We had such a good experience in San Francisco with the hop-on-hop-off bus that we decided to try it in San Diego. But don’t call it a hop-on-hop-off bus, it’s a ‘trolly’! While the venues weren’t as memorable or nostalgic for me as San Francisco, we did hit the high spots of San Diego, which were interesting – Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado Island and the Del Coronado Hotel, Balboa Park, Little Italy and Old Town, where we got off to have a delightful Mexican lunch . . . complete with margarita! We decided that since we live so close, we need to get to San Diego more often and spend some time at some of these fun and interesting places!

Back on the boat for our final night and the short cruise up to L.A. (that took all night). So, our plan of flying to Vancouver and taking a boat ride home turned out to be surprisingly good, once we got to San Francisco.

Posted in travel

The ‘Why?’ Cruise

October 6, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:6 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

You regular blog readers may remember that we took a cruise last November to countries that neither of us had ever been to, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong – Very Exciting! And in July we did a family cruise to nowhere, the boat went from L.A. to Ensenada, but we never got off, so we really didn’t go anywhere – Family Fun! Now, as I write this, we are on a cruise to places that I’ve not only been to, but have lived around – Why?

To be honest, I’m not sure. Other than the excuse my wife gives that while I was looking at our yearly calendar last January, I said, “Doesn’t look like we have much going on in September?” Apparently, that was her cue to find a cruise for us. She knew I wouldn’t mind traveling . . . anywhere! However, ‘anywhere’ this time turned out to be a ‘West Coast Wine Cruise’. When she told me, I was a bit surprised, as I was born and have lived on the West Coast most of my life, and have consumed a good deal of West Coast wine most of my life. And while I have enjoyed both, I really didn’t see a point in cruising to places that I was very familiar with and drinking wine, that I was even more familiar with. But I think I figured out why Linda even considered this trip; it’s on Princess Cruise Lines and she has plays a lot of Princess slot machines, so Princess wants us, well, not so much me as her, to come back. So, we got a deal on the cruise to familiar places, drinking familiar wine.

By the way, the photo at the top was not put in to show you how few people there were lounging by the ship’s pool, but rather to show you the first time, in three days, that we saw a little blue in the sky.

We started our journey by flying from Orange County to Vancouver, Canada, a place we started our Alaskan cruise not that long ago ago – in fact, we stayed in the same hotel this time as we did then – just keeping everything familiar! What we were not familiar with was the rain. But what did we expect in the northwest in late September/October? We boarded the Royal Princess on Saturday and while we found the ship’s main gathering areas nice, it was all a bit ‘tired’ as the ship was first launched in 2012. There were several inconveniences like not having an electrical or USB connection next to the bed or in the bathroom! Yes, nowhere to plug in anything in the bathroom! Additionally, our small balcony would be crowded if we were both on it. But hey, we were cruising and damn happy about it.

We spent most of our time on Saturday in the sports bar watching college football and the Ryder Cup. By Sunday, we had made it all the way to Victoria Island (about 60 miles) and decided that the only thing we would want to see there was Butchart Gardens, but we’d already seen it, so we stayed on board watching NFL football and the Ryder Cup. So, to summarize the trip thus far, we had not seen the sun, the ship was just OK, Linda’s Vikings and my 49ers both lost as well as the U.S. Ryder team – not a great start, but we figured that the further south we go, the better!

We then had two days at sea to make the one-day trip to San Francisco. I guess they just circle around in the ocean or maybe the captain is fishing off the back of the boat, who knows? I think they just make it longer so we can drink more California wine.

The rest of the story on Thursday . . . if I haven’t jumped overboard by then!

Posted in opinion

THE MAYOR OF BALBOA

September 29, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:11 Comments

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

Earlier this month I packed up Dooley and seemingly half of my worldly belongings and headed out to Balboa Island. Balboa is adjacent to Newport Beach and is a cute touristy town full of cute shops and restaurants. It seemed like the perfect retreat from the endless hot days of Scottsdale. Dooley had never been on a car ride longer than an hour, so the success of this trip was a crap shoot from the beginning. Plus, I soon discovered that my new car model is smaller than my old model. Or maybe it was that between Dooley’s crate, car seat, stroller, food, grooming equipment, toys and training tools it just seemed smaller. In any event, my friend Pat and I each rented homes on Balboa for the month of September and early on the morning of the 1st, we set out on our grand adventure. To my surprise, Dooley is a great long-distance traveler, and my rental house was perfect – recently updated, freshly painted, and right along the main street with a front patio that was ideal for Dooley and me to watch the world go by.

To be honest, in the weeks before the trip I felt I needed a break from Dooley. He is a very high-energy puppy, and I am, well, more of a sloth. But for various reasons I couldn’t find anyone who could take him, but to my surprise, Dooley’s presence turned out to be a blessing. On the second day of vacation, one of the people who walked by our patio was an elderly man, wearing a Panama hat and walking a golden retriever. He stopped when he saw Dooley, reminiscing about the two Cavaliers that he’s owned. I noticed that he had a patch on his shirt that indicated he was a dog trainer. Long story short, his name was Ed and had been training dogs for 30 years. I hired him on the spot and boy, was he the right guy. His methods were strict and no-nonsense. Apparently, I was failing at being the “alpha” in my relationship with Dooley, but Ed straightened me out with all the subtlety of a drill sergeant. Sure enough, within a couple of days Dooley was already walking better on a leash. Ed came over a few times, and I wanted to bring him home, but we agreed to work remotely on additional behavior issues – mostly mine.

Every afternoon Dooley scratched at the front door, just itching to get to the patio. He would sit up on the sofa, head resting on the porch railing, and greet everyone who walked by. Who could resist those puppy dog eyes? Apparently no one. Almost every person who passed by smiled or stopped to give him a pat and or ask me about him. I ended up talking with several people multiple times. Without exaggeration, over the three weeks I was there I probably met more than 300 people. Pat jokingly began referring to Dooley as “the mayor”, as he greeted his “constituents” every afternoon. Our multiple walks each day brought other opportunities to meet and greet, including a chance encounter with Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He was walking with two other people a few yards ahead of me and at 7’2″, he’s rather hard to miss. He stopped to sit on a bench, and he smiled at Dooley as we passed by. When I turned and headed home, we passed him again and he said, “That dog isn’t going to attack me, is he?” We both laughed. He clearly has some mobility issues, and it made me happy that Dooley brought him a light moment. I finally realized that without Dooley, I never would have met so many people, had so many engaging conversations, or walked the 13,000 steps he led me on every day. He is my calling card to meeting strangers and making friends. From now on, he will accompany on all of my car trips.

The biggest blessing of this trip was being able to spend time with family. I got to watch college football with Bob and Linda, had a wonderful afternoon and dinner on Balboa at the Village Inn with them, their daughter Dana, and their two grandchildren, Addison and Mack. And on my last night, they hosted a dinner with all three of their children and five grandchildren. We hadn’t been together in a long time, and it was the perfect way to end my trip.

As lovely as it was to be in cooler climes, I learned that a month is way too long for me to be away from home, especially with a puppy. Ed acknowledged that Dooley is a very smart, but very energetic puppy, who would better adhere to training at home. Plus, after three weeks I was ready to sleep in my own bed and have my own “stuff” at my disposal. I admit it, I’m a homebody. As it turned out, Dooley picked up a parasite at the end of our stay and luckily, I was home and near our vet before it hit him full force. So, leaving early was meant to be. But I’m already perusing my options for a vacation home next summer. My chief requirement? It has to have a spot for “the mayor” to meet and greet his constituents.

Posted in Social media

How Long Can We Tolerate Fraud on Social Media?

September 22, 2025By Sparrow/WatsonComments:8 Comments

by Bob Sparrow

When ‘thefacebook.com was first introduced in February of 2004, it was only available to students at Harvard. A month later it was open to students at other universities like Yale, Columbia and Stanford. In other words, average to stupid people were not allowed – very different than today. In 2005 it was open to high school students and the name changed to Facebook. In late 2006 it was opened to the public; so average and stupid people were finally allowed access. It caught on. By 2008 it had over 100 million users. I must admit to being one of them, as I thought this was a wonderful way to connect with family, friends, former classmates, etc. who were not local. So, I could see what they were up to on a regular basis, and they could see what I was up to. I thought it was a cool concept!

But something happens when you give EVERYONE access to EVERYONE else. Which is a nice way of saying that Facebook gave idiots a platform. So, content is not fact checked, in fact, it seems the less factual it is, the more hits it gets. Which is all Facebook cares about, because it’s free to the user and is paid for by sponsors.

Speaking of sponsors, recently an ad popped up, of course it was based on a previous search I had done looking for a particular health benefit. A well-known physician that I respected and had recently read on of his books, came on Facebook talking about a simple cure for my ailment. Yes, they wanted me to buy something, but it wasn’t that expensive and because it came from such a reputable source, I was ready to buy. But I knew enough to make sure it was legitimate, so I asked Google if it was a scam. It was. The image and the voice simulation was recreated with the help of Artificial Imaging and Artificial Intelligence. So this influential physician appeared to be saying things that he really was not saying and, in fact, didn’t believe. It’s not just Facebook, it’s everywhere. It doesn’t matter who you see or what they are saying, it all could be artificially generated, just to get you to buy a product that is not endorsed by anyone who might have any knowledge of the subject. We might catch on if we see a bodybuilding ad done by Barney Fife or marriage counseling done by Elizabeth Taylor., but they know we’re not that stupid . . . are we? Demographics today show that 74% of users that go on Facebook to connect with friends and family are seniors between ages 55-65; sellers know that this demographic is the easiest target to fool. (I’m so glad I’m out of that demographic!)

So, yes of course, I’m still on Facebook, as that’s where our blog posts every Monday; but when you juxtapose our low subscriptions with the multiple comments we get, it tells us that most of you read our blog on Facebook, as we only have about 225 ‘Followers’, meaning that those ‘Followers’ have our blog sent directly to their email and read it there, not on Facebook. And yes, we know who you are – THANK YOU! Just to compare our 225 number, the top person being followed on Facebook is Christiano Ronaldo, who has 170 million followers; so, we have a long way to go. He’s a soccer player from Portugal in case you aren’t one of his followers. The top U.S. person being followed is Vin Diesel (not even his real name) with 98 million followers. So, because most of you read our blog on Facebook, we feel like we’d be abandoning you if we took it off and delivered it only to our subscribers email. However as our disgust with Facebook grows, we still might consider the possibility of taking it off. If we do, we’d give you plenty of warning and plenty of opportunity to subscribe, so that the blog would come directly from our website to your email – no middleman or flimflam man, no Facebook.

To the right of each weekly post is a place where you can ‘subscribe’, it’s free! And don’t worry about Facebook getting along without us; they are currently valued at a little over $1 trillion.