my mind begins to hum...

[Ugly Dougly]

Snickers
If we can’t fix this planet what makes you think it’s gonna be better someplace else?
Magical thinking ....it’s always greener on that other hill..... but somebody just painted that hill green. don’t be fooled.
Let’s figured this one out before we jump ship. The sea of space is not a very inviting. place.

Don't worry about it. John Done is a bot.

Yep, we are not "colonizing" Antarctica, but it's MUCH more friendly to human life than anything we will find in space. Let's terraform planet 3.

[M F Bonz]

Snickers
If we can’t fix this planet what makes you think it’s gonna be better someplace else?
Magical thinking ....it’s always greener on that other hill..... but somebody just painted that hill green. don’t be fooled.
Let’s figured this one out before we jump ship. The sea of space is not a very inviting. place.

Don't worry about it. John Done is a bot.

Yep, we are not "colonizing" Antarctica, but it's MUCH more friendly to human life than anything we will find in space. Let's terraform planet 3.

Should have known.

[M F Bonz]

Shut up, open your eyes and ears, and you might learn something

No I’m not talking to you.

But since I have your attention, I need to put this down someplace.

This is something my dad used tell me when he was trying teach me something and I was just jacking my jaws instead of listening

I’ve found the skill to be very useful in my life.  I still use it today.

I’ve never understood what’s behind hating someone because of skin color, who they love, or what geographical location on the planet you or your ancestors came from. Or any other arbitrary reason. I do know it’s a learned behavior.

Dad couldn’t care less who you were. His service work brought him in contact with many cultures and he liked that.

I do remember only one discussion ever about race ... it was with my mother. I was very young and I don’t remember what triggered the conversation, but what she was trying to communicate to me was to only marry someone of your own race.

I just didn’t get it.!?!?!? With my childlike innocence at the time, I came up with a great solution: But mommy... what if everyone married everyone then people wouldn’t get mad?

I think the flawed logic of what she was trying to teach me became clear at that point. It’s what somebody told her as a kid. ...that learned behavior. For the rest of her life the subject never came up again.

Forward to a playground in elementary school.

With my mouth shut ...eyes and ears open.

I came upon a rather heated discussion on the playground about Aztec and Chicano Pride.  During the conversation, Brian my best friend at the time who I thought was white, says, “Well I’m Brown.”  Now the conversation has turned to him looking for an explanation. Brian then says (one of my favorite  memories from adolescence), “Well my mom is white and my dad is black so that makes me a kind of brown..”  Someone says what do you mean your dad is black? Brian then reveals that his dad is Von Drummonds a local radio DJ.   So that’s about when the bell rings and as Brian and I are walking back to class I can’t believe his dad is Von Drummonds

I tell him I listen to your dad’s radio shows all the time.  I love your dad. The fact that he was black entered no part of our conversation. His dad shaped part of my taste in music.  Getting to meet Brian‘s dad at a birthday party was an all-time high for me as a kid. A very cherished memory.

With my mouth shut eyes and ears open.

I watched high school tensions get high between social groups. To the point where a large fight broke out in the campus center right in front of me. I watch four seniors jump in the middle of it and break it up by reminding everybody involved that they all went to school and played with each other since first grade.  Small town.

My best friend Norman, his stepdad had this story.>>

In the early 1900s, the Nanamura family left Japan and settled in California in the central valley city of Lindsay. Frank Nanamura was born in Lindsay, the eldest son of seven siblings. The family established twenty acres of citrus in 1931 but when WWII broke out, they were forced to leave everything behind, except what would fit in a suitcase. Along with many other Japanese Americans, the Nanamura’s were bussed to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona. Frank was given the option to enlist in the Army and took the opportunity to serve his country.

In 1945, the Nanamura family was the first Japanese American family to return to Lindsay when released from the camps. They were apprehensive of the return and were often discriminated against when allowed to go into town, via police escort. They were extremely blessed when a nearby neighbor would sneak into their citrus groves occasionally (while they were away at the internment camp) and water their groves and hid their valuable belongings from Japan. Due to that selfless act, the Nanamura family was able to come home to their grove, which in turn allowed them to help their fellow Japanese Americans as they also returned home. Frank's father, Torakichi, was given an award from the Emperor of Japan, for helping his fellow Japanese American citizens reestablish their lives in Lindsay.

Frank returned home from the service shortly after and helped continue the growth of the family ranch and started his own farming operation years later. After several years of successful farming and starting his own family, Frank, along with his wife Frances, decided to venture out and take on the challenge of producing a quality beef jerky in Porterville.  Frank and his wife Frances were able to establish a USDA meat processing facility in 1979, with much sacrifice and adapt the family's recipes for USDA approval. Frank laid the foundation of a reputable product and was very much appreciative of his new loyal and faithful customers.

Norman was my racing partner and Frank was like an uncle.  I worked for Frank on his farm and then his fruit stand. Frank raced go carts and still holds an unbroken track record. Both Frank and Norman passed away years ago.

In the 90s I had a musician in the studio that did some music work for a Vietnamese temple. Because of that, he and I made several trips to the temple on a fairly regular basis. The inside joke between the two of us was no matter what time of day we chose to show up they always fed us. We would actually make an effort to try and hit a point that we thought they would not be eating. Alas, it was unavoidable and the food was great. The temple was vegetarian and I had some things that I swore was meat but wasn’t. They weren’t constantly eating; It’s a social thing I find that it carries across all cultures.  On one particular visit, we must of come at lunch because the room was full and everybody was eating. We used a translator because most didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Vietnamese. So as we’re all eating and the master is talking and the translator is roughly filling us in on what’s going on. Someone starts to read a letter.

So I shut mouth close my eyes and open my ears.

It’s something I quite enjoy ... to listen to the language’s rhythm of the conversation that’s going on before me.

Points where people are laughing ....points in the letter with a group silence occurs ...vocal cues. The communication sounds I hear are exactly like any other gathering I’ve ever been at.

Suddenly everybody stops. I feel a tap on the arm and I open my eyes and I hear the master’s voice from the end of the table telling my translator to tell me “”it’s ok that they’re not praying ....somebody is only reading a letter. “ They had seen my closed eyes. I thank her. Then I kind of chuckled and explained what I was doing. The master laughed, smiled a big smile at me, and instructed that the letter be continued to be read. I once again closed my eyes.

Forward to about a year ago.
Sorry for the long diatribe.

My home has cameras and no soliciting signs out front, so when somebody bypasses the cameras and the signs to go ahead and knock on the door, I have a quiver of snark ready for them.

Not knowing who it might be … I always keep my mouth shut and eyes and ears open in the beginning. But If you can’t get right to the point.... so sorry.

Ahmeenata came right to the point though.

She had just purchased the house next-door and she was greeting and meeting her new neighbors.  It’s something that we in the neighborhood all try to do with new neighbors but she beat us all to it.

That took me from Snarkville into a loving hug.

Ahmeenata Is from a different country. She has lived in the US for about ten years. She’s a single mother who has a three-year-old boy, twin girls, and a 12-year-old boy... her sister and mother also live with her. This is the third place she’s lived in the United States. First time owning a home.

Bump and I heard the kids in the pool all summer long. They don’t sound like kids from the other side of the planet they sound like every other kid in the world I’ve ever heard playing in a swimming pool. It makes us laugh and our hearts full hearing them play.

I have smiled so much more since they moved in and we just love them.

Her mom is the reason for this long story and why I hold hope for humanity.

Her Mom doesn’t really speak English .. a little broken stuff. But not much. The two of us still communicate pretty good because she’s around the house most days and makes an effort to be social with me. During the summer, they cook outside and you can smell it around the neighborhood. She makes a point of bringing me some over so I can taste it. Extremely spicy food, a lot of rice,  exotic ingredients you don’t find in American food. Some of the ingredients have healthy benefits. Things like to help with skin allergies and some digestive benefits.

laughs ~one ...is that it is supposed to make a woman’s boobs bigger.

So I’m up on a ladder in the backyard. Doing some new cabling for my camera system and mom gets my attention from her side of the fence. She starts with the usual greeting ..how are you? How is your wife? Did you enjoy the food we sent over?  Did Bump enjoy hers because she’s a vegetarian?

I wasn’t ready for the next question and it  almost made me fall off my ladder ..but it made me belly laugh so hard and warms my heart for humanity’s future.

Her Mom then grabbed her own boobs shakes them and in her broken English asked if I saw any Improvements in my wife’s boobs.

I love her mom and can’t wait until I can hug her for real. A couple of days agoI told Ahmeenata the boob shaking story and how much I loved her mom and  how glad we are they bought the house next to us.

Ahmeenata is a front line nurse, so I don’t get to see much of her since COVID hit.  It makes me sad that she recently told me that we were the first neighbors who actually talked to them ...she missed the neighborhood social closeness they left. Since they moved to the United States most people just looked the other way and ignore them when they waved hello to neighbors.

Notice I didn’t indicate where Ahmeenata comes from. That’s because it’s not a governing factor in our relationship.

But it definitely makes her stories interesting.

This is why I like using the term
**native human**

Even though we have some odd need to divide ourselves in the world...we really aren’t that different and the way we are different makes us interesting.

It’s my personal opinion that people miss so much of the spices of life because they just aren’t paying attention.

Just wanted to share some personal experiences that have enriched my life.  

Now look out your front door and go say hi to that neighbor that won’t make eye contact with you.  You might be surprised.

Mozy Fucking Bonz~

[Ugly Dougly]

[M F Bonz]

Smiles~ yes I do can’t you tell.

[^Rhino!]

M F Bonz, I am awed and humbled by your love for your fellow human beings It’s an honor to have met you here. Have faith, and carry on !!!

[M F Bonz]

Think of it as a treatment for a script or as a establishings shot in film ...considering film is 25 frames per second and a picture is worth 1000 words ...I think I’m ahead of the game.

I have an idea!! I’ll be back but I’m busy.
All the stories are true and there is so much more to them.

No keyboard see the difference?

[^Rhino!]

I see the difference; then again, my last half-dozen [osts were from my iphone anyway.

[M F Bonz]

My phone case is good for 30 feet underwater.... so it makes editing almost impossible.

Be well.

[^Rhino!]

You be well too, with my kindest regards,

[Ugly Dougly]

https://youtu.be/4tZVnbDq9B4

[Ugly Dougly]

My phone case is good for 30 feet underwater.... so it makes editing almost impossible.

Be well.

[M F Bonz]

Nice Picture.

33 feet actually. Thousand drops from 6.6 feet. Exceeds military specs. Came with a floaty wristband so if I dropped it in deep water the phone will go back up to the surface.
Talking , typing... it sucks.

[^Rhino!]

I've got a pretty good case, too, but not with that kind of spec. My iphone normally sits on the island in my kitchen ; the island is the nerve center of what goes on in my home and in support of my life.

It's a pretty good organizational system that I have going. I keep a 'to do' list updated daily, and have my monthly calendar in plain sight on the wall. It has three phones at hand - my iphone, my landline,and a cheap 'brick' phone (drop it, who cares if it dies? It only cost me $5 on close-out. It's an old t-mobile phone with a SIM card that I'll just pull out and put in my next 'brick'.) Behind me, in a kitchen cabinet are my meds and vitamins that I take daily. I have a couple of 7 day pill containers that I refill weekly. This is also the subject of a joke that I tell about the local police.

I was at the pharmacy picking up my generic Lipitor, a.k.a. atorvastatin, which is taken to lower your cholesterol to manageable levels. The pharmacist, a nice lady with my best interests in mind, bid me good-bye after this transaction. I jokingly told her I had to go home and 'deal drugs'. A police officer overheard me, and inquired further about my 'drug dealing'. I told him about my drug dealing: one goes in the Monday slot, one for Tuesday.............

Dan, the police officer who's still a friend of mine, told me "You had me going there for a minute." He laughed, and mumbled something about how he'd forgotten to respect his elders (he's only a couple of months younger than me). He winked at me and departed.

Pardon me for getting off the subject. My kitchen island also has office supplies like envelopes, stamps, and address labels for paying bills, an amplifier for my iphone speaker and a slice of granite I use as a cutting board.

In one drawer I have a binder clip useful for holding recipes at eye level when I clip the recipe to a kitchen cabinet door. A to-go cup from my favorite sports bar/restaurant contains pen and pencils. I also have a generous supply of post it notes. I post intriguing or funny quotes on the cabinets along with my own thoughts as life occurs. I think the guy at 3M who came up with post-it notes should have gotten a Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to human advancement. Just my opinion.

[Simon of the Playa]

your copy paste skills are awesome...

https://www.planojerky.com/pages/history

[Ugly Dougly]

https://youtu.be/CXDYAkbXODA

[M F Bonz]

Yep that’s Frank. Family friend. Christie his daughter still runs it. She actually sent me jerky to the playa one year. So can you so if we ever get back to it. I have actually followed Frank in the field while he picked cantaloupe. Norman and I used to run around in his old race go carts on the ranch. I have a Plano sticker in the middle of my car and my truck window so does my son. But you know you are posting a commercial website so it should be taken off of here. Until then order some jerky it’s great stuff talk to Christie. Ask Who Norman is and who his best friend Mike might be. Ask her if she’s ever sent jerky to burning man.
Norman was to take over the company when he died in a rollover crash . It was his brothers Greg ...graduation night and Norman was heading back to the house while Greg waited for him. I lived in Sacramento at the time. It Killed Norman the other person in the car survived. I guess I could have quoted it or cited a website. But it’s commercial so I can’t.

Thank you she needs the business. Mail order while it’s still up.
Your skills constantly impressed me Simon.

[M F Bonz]

7FAB0C69-82D3-48A0-9096-7FE6F3C9B53F.jpeg

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[M F Bonz]

Norman and I used to watch the jerky ovens at night and drink saki poured from a 5 gallon bucket they made the teriyaki with..... shhh he would also open the oven and get meat out before it was jerky.

Sighs I miss my friend. He would have been a burner. Died 1985 ...RIP quarter bender.

[M F Bonz]

Norman, my cousin Troy and I all ran around together. Ronnie and brother Donnie who played with Magnum force and Mozy bonz were Troy’s older brothers and my cousins.
Their parents, Frank, Francis, and my parents were all friends.
Dad took care of all of Franks cold boxes for years. The first sushi I ever had was made by Frank’s hands.

Man I haven’t thought about all of those times in so long. I knew the story was there that’s why I grabbed a piece of it. I didn’t think I could do the story justice by just summarizing it in my own words. It’s an important story.

Good catch.

I still do thank you Simon. You just shared something I wish I could have shared on here years ago. We give jerky during the holidays. save the site. She’s been talking about closing the plant.

Norman passed away in 1985 I couldn’t Bring myself to say goodbye until in the temple in 2007.

[Simon of the Playa]

5E9DC5E6-F4EF-4D53-A6F5-9D6950B397DF.jpeg

[M F Bonz]

Snickers~

[M F Bonz]

Snickers~

Laughs~ Worship doom? no.
Finding out about a bogeyman that scares someone. Yes ..I might attach it to the end of a stick and poke them with it a couple times. OK a couple of dozen times. Don’t be so afraid of the dark people. And grow some skin ...Life is not that scary or bad. Fucking Laugh More I do. Loosen up on the grip I see your white knuckles.

[^Rhino!]

Snickers~

Laughs~ Worship doom? no.
Finding out about a bogeyman that scares someone. Yes ..I might attach it to the end of a stick and poke them with it a couple times. OK a couple of dozen times. Don’t be so afraid of the dark people. And grow some skin ...Life is not that scary or bad. Fucking Laugh More I do. Loosen up on the grip I see your white knuckles.

spoken like a true Road Warrior. In our heyday, you and I would have dined on danger and danced with doom. I intend to return to those days sometime in the near future.

The bogeyman is still a mere mid-card talent. A Road Warrior is a main eventer, singly or as part of a tag team.

[Miura-7]

The graveyard was my extended front yard growing up. It was like a park to us. Just don't fly a kite, because while you're watching your kite trying to get off the ground. Wham! Knee busted on a gravestone. Yeah we kept the deceased entertained.

[M F Bonz]

Snickers~

Laughs~ Worship doom? no.
Finding out about a bogeyman that scares someone. Yes ..I might attach it to the end of a stick and poke them with it a couple times. OK a couple of dozen times. Don’t be so afraid of the dark people. And grow some skin ...Life is not that scary or bad. Fucking Laugh More I do. Loosen up on the grip I see your white knuckles.

spoken like a true Road Warrior. In our heyday, you and I would have dined on danger and danced with doom. I intend to return to those days sometime in the near future.

The bogeyman is still a mere mid-card talent. A Road Warrior is a main eventer, singly or as part of a tag team.

Smiles~
I try not to just pick on somebody just to pick on somebody. Simon doesn’t bother me. The depth of his intellectual Snark is unparalleled...makes me wanna hump his leg.
I spent part of my career in private security ...sticking up for the people who couldn’t stick up for themselves. But if you are going to dish it ...you better be able to take it. That’s why dad always said “”grow some skin boy.”” He also threw my uncle in a swift river to teach him how to swim. ...that almost didn’t work out the way he planned. Go figure.

I came from a family harder than plow steel.
Family of storytellers and actors.
One thing dad drilled into me early on ...was he would just embarrass the fucking shit out of me until I learned it. If he ever over heard me telling a story of his or a story he knew. And if I altered that story with my own facts or versions. He would walk up in a loud voice so everybody could hear...
“”never let the truth get in the way of a good story huh son?””
I quickly learned that simply telling the actual story instead of adding to it ...not only the story was more powerful and interesting on its own....but you didn’t need to remember a lie.


I had just totaled a 1984 Kawasaki ninja in a T-bone accident. Only had 1200 miles on it. I was moving to Sacramento and I was going to use the bike for street/strip racing. I totaled my bike before I moved.
So the move was done in a wheelchair.

Norman and I lived in adjacent houses out in the country on a half acre before bump and I moved to Sacramento. Regaining some of my mobility about a year later. I started crewing with a friend on a blown alcohol Hydro. The last time I talked to Norman was about him coming up to the boat drags and so we could see him.
And so he could check out the local dragstrip racing scene. Norman had a 65 mustang we built for dragracing. Within the month he rolled his ZX turbo.
I still keep in touch with touch with Friends who are still around from that time.

One is in Texas now ....him and his brother has been rebuilding a race car.
This text came with a video. I won’t post the video.
“”Finally fired the race car up last night. It’s been two years! Yea””
Haven’t seen him in probably 35 years or more.

I reconnected with him recently by getting his number from a mutual friend. And texting an old picture from high school of his 67 Shelby he had stuffed a 428 CJ into. Saying “”the last thing I remember about this car is we had to jack up the motor to change a spark plug.””

He knew I knew him but had no idea who it was. Until I told him. We communicate on a regular basis now and he keeps me informed with updates on the racecar.
Hope to go see him at his ranch in Texas Someday. Or on the race track here in Sacramento.

Not many of us left.

[Simon of the Playa]

they don’t care if millions of us die...wrap your mind around that...

[Ugly Dougly]

they don’t care if millions of us die...wrap your mind around that...

Remember, feudalism in Europe owed its demise largely to the effects of the bubonic plague.
You gotta wonder what the aftermath in America will look like, years from now.

[Miura-7]

"White ain't right." "Blue is for you." Kinda like political parties.

[Ugly Dougly]

There has been too much violence, too much pain.

Just walk away and there will be an end to the horror.