Yeah that’s me, not my dog!!  Halloween is today/tonight and not to be caught short, I bought 300 candy cars.  There should be enough left over for me.  This year I have multiple lighted pumpkins, a very scary tape playing and of course, my buddy Skeletor shown above.  I just call him Skelly!

Since this Halloween is kind of strange (Before the time change and no school the next day) I expect alot of spooks.  I WILL be taking pictures and posting them tomorrow.

Here are my pathetic decorations:

Photos of Trick or Treaters tomorrow.  Should be a fun night!!  Clear skies and upper 50's.

BTW, that bench in the last photo is an OLD Chinese school bench.  About 150 years old.  Here's a better view.

Hope you all have a Happy, Spooky Halloween!!

Go Phillies tonight!!

Billy is my Vietnamese neighbor and he lives next door.  If you remember, he is the one who has Asian TV commercials filmed at his house.  I never miss them!!  Great Food!  I posted about one of his ‘shoots’ awhile back.

Anyhow, he loves to throws BBQs, even though he leaves his grill out in the weather year-round, and he invites all of his friends (The reason for Rod’s orange cones!).  I went to one but Billy was the only one who spoke English so I pass now.

So, he had a new patio roof put up and that just begged for a party.  Thing is, he works for 3 days to get ready for his parties and they only last 45 minutes.  His guests come. eat and go.  Must be a Vietnamese thing.

But we are good friends.  We help each other and at least he’s not like the last 2 people who lived there!  One guy had a Peacock that squawked 24/7 and the other had a Rottweiler that could jump over our six-foot wall.

This weekend I hope to get a photo of Billy, his beautiful wife and his 2 young daughters.

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Well, the Phillies lost last night but the next 3 are in Philadelphia!!  The Yankees don’t look that tough!

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Tomorrow is Halloween and we are expecting around 200+ kids at our door.  I swear they bus them in!!  But I’m ready and have the front entryway decorated and of course, a scary mask to wear when I answer the door.  Oh yeah….  and a cool Halloween tape playing in the dark garage.  I usually have to chase a few down the street to give them their candy.  I have GOT to remember to take the mask off first!!  Should be fun!!  My favorite holiday.

I’ll post Sunday with photos!  Have a Spooky Halloween!!

Ahh Yes!!  My neighbor Rod.  The patriarch of the neighborhood.  Right…….!  lol!  He is the dad of redneck #2 (you remember him…  40 years old and rides a ‘Hello Kitty’ bike.  This family lives right across the street from me so I can’t help but see them every day.  I’ve witnessed all of their fistfights and every idiosyncrasy he has.  Sorry……. but with a huge picture window, it’s hard not to watch.  They are really nice people and great neighbors but here are a few things that I’ve observed:

1. One day, years ago, I saw smoke pouring out of the back of his house.  I raced over and there he was, in his outdoor shower!!  YIKES!!  It was steam!!  Now I want one!!

2.  Whenever a car comes down the street going a little faster than he would like, he comes racing out and yells and flips off the driver.  Sometimes they come back and confront him.  I have intervened a few times.

3. Rod is a retired Air Force Colonel and recently he rang my doorbell and asked me why my flag wasn’t flying.  I asked him what day it it was and he glared at me and told me it was Air Force Day!! (There’s an Air Force Day??).  So I put my flag up.  Last week I put up my flag and knocked on his door and asked why his flag wasn’t flying!  He cursed at me and wanted to know what day it was.  I told him Coast Guard Day!!  LOL!!  15 minutes later his flag was up!!  Next up, Brownie Scout Day!!

4.  One day I watched as he borrowed ‘Hello Kitty’ for a ride around the block and after going 10 feet, fell over into his Ivy and his sweet wife Mary had to help him up. 

5.  He takes a walk everyday (Good for him!) and carries this goofy-looking cane with him.  The tip of that cane has NEVER touched the ground but as he arrives at his house, he always tries to twirl it.  Drops it every time.

6.  Whenever our Vietnamese neighbors throw a BBQ or party and the guests begin to arrive, he runs (runs??) out and places orange cones on the street in front of his house.  Isn’t that illegal??  After all, he has one car and a driveway.  When one of the guests complained, Rod flipped him off!  Typical Rod!!

But he is a good friend and they are great neighbors.  He’s just too entertaining!!

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Soupy Sales add on…

Like many others , I grew up with his wonderful brand of humor. Soupy used to post his menu so we could have lunch with him every day. I know it drove my mom crazy, but as kids it was important to have whatever he was having.
I wanted my name to show up one day on Willie the Worm's birthday greetings, but it never happened.
Clips from his old shows on YouTube are a treasure and a great reminder of what a terrific entertainer he was.

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And Finally……

Exhibition Game?  No, Exhibitionists!

An Idaho hockey team was suspended from a city ice rink after players engaged in a game of “strip hockey” – shedding a piece of uniform every time a practice shot missed it’s mark.

As redress for last Wednesday’s incident, Boise banished the Idaho Junior Steelheads team from Idaho Ice World for four days.

One 17 year-old player who shed his underwear was suspended until next week. Police are investigating whether public decency laws were violated.

An adult whose daughter was on an adjacent rink called a city hotline to complained.

The shootout drill went like this.  If they missed a shot, they had to take off a glove.  If they missed another, they had to take off another glove. And so on, and so forth.

That’s all I have for today.  Ready for the Phillies/Yankees World Series!!!

Go Phillies!!! 

When I was a kid, I used to love this show.  I probably still would!!

October 23, 2009

Even though the occasion is sad, there is something oddly bracing in setting out to write about a man who called himself "Soupy." We need more Soupys in this self-important, don't-you-dare-throw-that-pie world -- and now there is one less, Soupy Sales having died Thursday at the age of 83.

Born Milton Supman to the only Jewish family in Franklinton, N.C., Sales first got into children's television in Detroit in 1953 -- he also had a grown-up nighttime show there -- but his years of greatest renown were from 1959 to 1966, when he worked out of Los Angeles and New York and was seen all over the country. His costume, such as it was, comprised a black pullover sweater and a floppy bow tie; early on he also wore a top hat, later on he ditched the tie.

My memory of "The Soupy Sales Show" (originally "Lunch with Soupy Sales") is not of specific bits, but an impression of noise and energy and a cheap, sketchy set fit with the usual appurtenances of a midcentury kids' show: a window (for Pookie the lion puppet to appear in), a door (for Soupy to answer). Waving in from the side of the frame were the paws of his otherwise unseen very big dogs, White Fang, the Biggest and Meanest Dog in the USA, and Black Tooth, the Biggest and Sweetest Dog in the USA, whom I never could keep straight in spite of the color-coding. (White Fang is the one I would imitate by saying, "Oh-reah-oh-reh-uh," unless it was Black Tooth.) There were pies in the face, mostly in Soupy's face, though sometimes in the face of a celebrity guest: Frank Sinatra took one, and so did Tony Curtis. The jokes were already old when vaudeville was new: "Show me a giant rooster chasing a member of Parliament.... And I'll show you a chicken catch a Tory." ("Now, just what do we mean by that?" Soupy said afterward, never answering the question.)

The corniness was knowing -- it was jazz, basically, like a bop musician ad-libbing on "Sweet Sue." Not so much written as riffed, "The Soupy Sales Show" was both hip and elemental, obscure and accessible, because even when it was obscure it was silly and energetic. Although the show was ostensibly for kids, the sound of laughter coming off the screen was wholly that of the grown men on the crew, to whom Soupy would play as a nightclub comic plays to the band. (That is a sound you don't hear much on TV now, the sound of the laughing crew.)

It is true that children like a reassuring voice of gentle authority, but it is also true that they like to go where the wild things are. They like an adult who does not talk down to them, but they particularly like an adult who doesn't talk down to them because he is already on their level.

There is more kids' television now than ever; whole networks are devoted to it. And yet with all those hours to fill, you will find nothing like Soupy Sales.

I hope that some of you were old enough to have seen his show.  Too funny!

PS:  You can watch excerpts of his shows on YouTube.  Still makes me LOL!!

The Angels – Yankees series that is!! 

What a drama-filled, exciting game it was.  A classic!!!  The Halos scored 4 runs in the first inning and the 4 – 0 score held up until the 7th inning.  That’s when things began to unravel.  John Lackey threw to a full count on against Jorge Posada and then threw a strike and the home plate umpire , as the umpires have for the entire series, called it a  ball.  Lackey is ticked and proceeds to walk the next batter and hit the next one.  Bases loaded and 2 outs.  Up next,  Mark Teixeira, a switch hitter, and Angel’s manager Mike Scioscia walks out to remove Lackey and the pitcher is not pleased.  The Angel’s third baseman, Chone Figgins, said he felt like a bystander about to watch a train wreck.  “I knew this wasn’t going to go well”.

Indeed it didn’t!  As Scioscia approached the mound you could read Lackey’s lips.  “This game is mine!  Are you S******* Me??  This is mine!”.  The reason for the change was to turn the next batter, switch hitter Mark Teixeira, around to his off side.  But it didn’t work.  First pitch, a three-run double to right-center and eventually the Yankees took a 2 run lead.  But on this night, it wasn’t enough as the Angels came back in the 8th and held on in the 9th…… Leaving the Yankees with the bases loaded.

Now it’s on to NY (Oh God!!!) for hopefully the last TWO games.  Bad weather and nasty fans!!  The Angels will be taking it one game at a time.

Sorry this was so long-winded!!  I was excited!!

Some photos:

I love the one of the 3 year-old with the halo!!!

Who Was That Guy?

He’s 29, from El Cajon, according to Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez.

And, in what will undoubtedly surprise many who watched Cervera traipse around the rocks and flop into the fountain behind center field, he was not drunk.

He was detained on a citizen’s arrest — likely by stadium personnel or security — and detained in Anaheim’s jail Thursday night. He has since been released, and faces charges of trespassing, a misdemeanor.

What a Dork!!!!!

He will not face charges on public drunkenness, though, a clue that officers didn’t find him to be “unable to care for himself or a danger to others,” Martinez said.

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And Finally…..

Underwear from where?

Under the heading "You Can Buy Anything on EBay," file this: Sports memorabilia peddler Phil Castinetti of SportsWorld has three pairs of Boston Red Sox "game-used" underwear for sale.
Yes, for the right price, you can be the proud owner of underpants worn by Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez or Hideki Okajima.
"We did great with what we had last year," Castinetti told the Boston Herald. "We got between $200-$300 for A-Rod's underwear, although we had some problems with Josh Beckett and we had to take his off EBay."
How can the buyer be sure these really are Red Sox underwear and, ahem, game-used?
"They are so used, I'd rather not be handling them, to be honest with you," Castinetti said with a laugh.

EWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Dodgers Never had a Chance.

The Dodgers opened the first inning with a home run but that was the only lead they had.  The Phillies came back with 3 runs in the bottom of the first and that was it!!  Dodgers hit solo home runs while the Phils hit 2 or 3 run homers!  Final score, 10 to 4 Phillies. (10 – 4 as in Over and Out!!

As for the Angels, they are down 3 games to 1 against the Yankees so, except for a miracle, they are done.  So much for a freeway series.  One game here and two in New York…  Good luck!  But wait!  In 2004 the Yankees  were up 3 games to zero to the Boston Red Sox and New York lost 4 in a row and the Sox ended up winning up winning the World Series.  You never know.  Three games left and both teams need 27 outs each game.

But it still looks like Phillies and Yankees in the World Series and I’m sure that the Yankees will be favored.  But let me just say, the Phillies can stand toe to toe with the Yankees!!  It should be a great series!!

Now, a short rant!  The Yankees will have home field advantage in the world series even though the Phillies have a better record!  Why??  Because the American League won the All-Star game!  What??  What does that have to do with anything??  The commissioner, Bud Selig, is the worst!!  Let’s count the reasons why:

1. He refuses to allow instant replay except for home runs, even though the umpires blew 4 calls in the Angels/Yankees game on Tuesday night.

2. Rather than use the best umpires in the playoffs, he wants to use all of them… even the bad ones.

3. He was elected commissioner 4 years ago even though he owned a team!  Can you say ‘conflict of interest?

4. His steroid policy is worthless.  It took Congress to try to straighten things out.

5. He called off an All-Star game because one team ran out of pitchers!  Another 4 hours I’ll never get back!

Rant over!

Anyhow, Angels/Yankees series looks ugly but we will see.  Just glad that the Phillies made it!

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Dither or Blather?

It took President George W. Bush a number of years to put us in the difficult global position we now face. And, of course, everyone wants to conveniently blame this entire mess on President Obama by asserting that by now the president should have all of his global chess pieces in place.

By this logic, people seem to think that the president, in less than one year in office, should fully understand all of the nuances of each world leader he deals with, and in turn, they should acquiesce to any pressure he should want to exert.

This ignorance and arrogance is what has stymied recent American foreign policy goals; the rest of the world has come to resent such strident hubris.  Give him time.

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I'm sure that most of you have watched episodes of the TV show 'Everybody Loves Raymond'.  The episode I'm referring to is the one where Frank is repairing Ray and Debra's stairs and he falls through.  Well, yesterday my little dog Bonnie was napping on the back of the couch, which is in front of a huge picture window... It's her TV.   My neighbor walks by with his Jack Russell terrier.  His dogs walks right to the window and Bonnie spots him.  She begins barking her head off and racing back and forth across the top of the couch.  I stand up and as I start walking over to her, Bingo!  She disappears between the couch and the window!  My neighbor and I are both howling with laughter when somehow Bonnie manages to climb her way back up the back of the couch, still barking.  I went outside and my neighbor and I are both laughing with tears rolling our cheeks.  All I saw was Bonnie disappear while he got the better view.  He said the look on her face was priceless!  By the way, Bonnie is just fine but she hasn't been on the couch since.  And yes, I'm easily entertained.

Hope you're having a terrific hump day!!

Kenny Chesney today - Great song and video!!

First of all, thank you to all of you who commented today.  As I said, I was just frustrated about old friends leaving for Facebook without giving me a forwarding address.  Well, Spaces is my home and I know where my friends are….. HERE!!

OK, enough of that!

Here is the second of my Nobel Peace Prize posts.  I spent days composing them and dammit, I’m posting them!  LOL!!  Be sure to to check out the end!!  LOL!

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Earning the Nobel Peace Prize  

Part 2 of 5

The No. 1 priority: Stop Iran

The president received the Nobel Peace Prize for his stated commitment to nuclear disarmament, and the most urgent place to begin is preventing an Iranian bomb.
That means keeping Iranian-American negotiations on a tight timetable and then, if negotiations falter, moving rapidly to significant economic sanctions. And if those fail, the president should sanction force -- on the part of others if America can't or won't assume that responsibility itself.

 
The president's hopes for solving the Arab-Israeli conflict depend in large part on stopping the Ahmadinejad bomb. If that effort fails, the Arab world's jihadists will be empowered. No Palestinian leader, and for that matter no Arab leader, would likely defy the new regional power and dare normalize relations with Israel. As for the Israeli public, its willingness to concede territory has always depended on its confidence in the country's ability to defend itself. A nuclear Iran would drastically reinforce Israelis' existential fears.
A nuclear Iran, moreover, would trigger a Middle East nuclear arms race, destroying President Obama's vision for disarmament.

 
Obama must prioritize his peace agenda. He must avoid the temptation of trying to immediately solve the Palestinian problem, which is, tragically, far from a solution. By all means, he must continue to press for mutual gestures of goodwill from Israel and the Arab world. But a realistic peacemaker needs to show far more urgency in stopping the imminent nuclearization of Iran.

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I so wish I had my camera today, but it’s in Italy.  Let me describe…

Two young guys, loaded with tattoos, shirtless with shaved heads.  They each are walking a Pit Bull.  Of course, my little dogs go crazy!!

The thing is, the dogs have collars but not leashes!!  So these two morons are walking their dogs, bent over, holding them by the scruff of the neck!!  The dorks!!  I guess they couldn’t afford $4.00 each for leashes!!  Where is my camera when I need it??  Oh yeah….. Italy!!

Oh well, maybe they will be back!

A good starting point!

Now I want to watch the movie again!!

Chris Erskine

October 17, 2009

In my new book "Cujo and Me," I talk about how much we love our 300-pound beagle, even after he nearly gnawed off my left leg, thinking it was his own. Pets are so important to a home.
Yep, Cujo is a chewer all right. The other morning, he coughed up a train set that had been missing for five years. So, no, he's not perfect. Who among us is?
In "Cujo and Me," I explain how we inherited the dog from the lovely and patient older daughter, who moved home recently, bringing Cujo and about $3,000 in hair care products, 40 bushels of scarves. If there's one thing young women like, it's hair and scarves. I guess that's two things.
Anyway, she brings home the beagle, Cujo, whom I never really cared for, as I don't like other males in the house unless I'm legally bound. Cujo, turns out, eats four meals a day and goes out about 60 times. It's how he keeps his weight down, probably.
Like most dogs, the 300-pound beagle is very careful about his diet. For breakfast, he prefers a nice bowl of botulism. For lunch, he'll sneak one or two of my shoes. At dinner, he rewards himself a little. Yesterday, he ate my wife's new vacuum. There's also a portion of the baseboard near the front door that he uses as a salt lick. After about 15 minutes of that, he orders out Chinese.
So, yeah, Cujo has a little belly. Who doesn't? The lovely and patient older daughter says it's the product of bad genes, but I've lived too long to fall for that old excuse. His generous girth is the product of a savage appetite and the kind of hedonism you don't see much in America anymore. Lucky us.
In appearance, Cujo increasingly resembles a very hairy beer keg. On our constant walks, he stops only to eat chicken bones that have spilled from the neighbors' garbage. And Halloween decorations.
"Crunch."
"Don't eat that!"
"Crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch. . . . "
As he ages, he looks a little like Orson Welles, mostly around the chin and eyes. It is the look of what might have been.
Yet he is strong, the strongest beast ever to pull me helplessly around a cul-de-sac. On walks, he lunges forward ferociously on all four legs, as if headed for Fairbanks. In a perfect world, he'd be hauling coal cars in Latvia.
"Easy. Easy! EASYYYYYYY!!!!!" I calmly urge.
God forbid Cujo spots another dog, or a person, or a tree waving in the wind that he thinks might be French fries. (Did I mention he's half-blind?) In those cases, he goes completely ape. He will pull on the leash until he cuts off his own windpipe and begins to cough and spasm.
When he finally passes out, I carry him home in 30-second bursts, as if cradling an oak stump. Usually, he stirs awake about halfway back. He thanks me by nibbling at my ear and trying to suck out my brains.
Meanwhile, we have this other pet -- I think he's a cat, though he might be a raccoon, or some derivation of the Norway rat.
What a rascal.
Pets give a house a very homey feel, so I am very glad to have this cat-rat-coon, who bounces from couch to chair to my ever-growing lap, usually with the 300-pound beagle in hot pursuit, knocking over vases and lamps. Sooooo cute.
"We're very blessed," I tell my wife.
"Really?"

"To have so many animals," I say.
"Um, that's your youngest son," she says.
Oh. I guess that explains the jeans and the baseball cap. The little dude sure can fetch.
Misunderstandings like this often crop up in a family, and I think you just need to roll with them. Turns out the cat-rat-coon was really our first-grader. From what I understand, they're all God's creatures, even the teenagers.
I blame my fading eyesight for the pets vs. kids confusion. After 120 years of marriage, my eyes are going and my wife's hearing too, which is probably fortunate for both of us. A little disconnect can be good for a marriage. It's almost sexy.
For example, the other night, after a romantic evening on the couch watching Florida crush LSU, my wife handed me a children's goody bag and led me gently to the front door.
"Thanks for coming to the party," she said.
"Thanks for inviting me," I said, sneaking a peek into my goody bag (plastic Slinky, cheap yo-yo, SweeTarts).
First I got the prize, then I got the goody bag.
Honestly, I don't know why every man doesn't marry.

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Calendar says fall, but the temperatures rise

Gavin Raath, 28, of Flint, Mich., does a handstand on a balance beam at Venice Beach. Friday's high temperatures perplexed many Southern Californians because they followed a Pacific storm that soaked the region.

Meanwhile, in the local mountains…

The stores may be stocked with Halloween costumes and the ski runs may be open at Mammoth Mountain, but the weather was anything but fall-like Friday as temperatures soared throughout Southern California.
From the bleachers of Dodger Stadium to the shores of Oxnard, the mercury reached the high 90s and even the low triple digits in some places as a heat wave enveloped the region. And today could be a repeat as forecasters said temperatures wouldn't begin to dip until Sunday.
The spike in temperatures -- it reached 98 degrees in downtown Los Angeles -- perplexed many Southern Californians because it followed quickly on the heels of a Pacific storm that soaked the region and allowed Mammoth Mountain to open on one of its earliest days ever.
The onslaught of heat was caused by a ridge of high pressure over Nevada and Utah that pushed warm, dry air across Southern California, according to Joe Sirard, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The conditions brought record temperatures to some areas.
It reached 100 degrees in Oxnard; the previous record of 98 was set in 1997. Nearby Camarillo also saw a record reading of 100.
While Phillies fans huddled in 40-degree temperatures back home, Dodgers fans sipped ice drinks, donned sunscreen and viewed the team's 2-1 victory through their shades. Despite the heat, downtown L.A. still fell six degrees short of its 1958 record for the date.
A couple of hundred miles north at Mammoth Mountain, more than a dozen runs were packed with early-season snow enthusiasts. Sun umbrellas protected skiers and boarders as they munched burgers between runs.
"It was an absolutely gorgeous day," said Dan Hansen of Mammoth Mountain. "It was one of the earliest openings ever. We got the top of the mountain open."
Hansen said parking lots began to fill before dawn as 4,500 people descended on the slopes. He said there would be even more snow as temperatures dipped in coming days.
The high pressure will continue to produce high temperatures across the coast and the San Fernando Valley today. Downtown L.A. is expected to chalk up another day in the 90s, as will Pasadena and other parts of the San Gabriel Valley. Forecasters say it will be cooler Sunday through Tuesday.

The weather here has been crazy!  Especially having to change clothes three times a day.  I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind.  I met her once and she can be mean!  I tried to talk to Charlotte today about watering every day, even when it’s raining, and she just walked indoors and LOCKED her door!!!  What’s with that?  I’ll have to talk with her Redneck son.  Speaking of Rednecks, Redneck number two’s brother just got out of prison so now I have three!!

Hope you’re having a nice weekend.

I watched the Phillies take care of the Dodgers last night and I was thrilled.  Two big innings (7 walks, 3 wild pitches and 2 three-run homeruns) did them in.

But I have to say, Dodger fans are the least knowledgeable of any fans in baseball.  They boo whenever an opposing pitcher throws to first base to keep a runner close (It’s a baseball play for god’s sake!!) and they boo the opposing pitcher when he is removed from the game, no matter how well he pitched.  Dodger fans? A little less beer and beach balls on the field and a little more respect.  And while you’re at it, learn the rules!!!!

Phillies have the the roughest fans in baseball, even to their own players, but at least they know baseball.  Plus, they don’t show up in the 3rd inning and leave in the 7th.

Rant over

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My wife is spending the next 2 weeks (and probably lots of money) in Italy.  Party at my house this weekend!!!!  She brought the camera so I’m sure I’ll have lots of photos to post when she gets back.

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Rat/Mouse Update!

I finally zapped one after three days but then I remembered the one step I forgot to do.  The trick is to bait the Rat Zapper but NOT turn it on for 3 days.  Let them get used to coming, eating and going.  And then, Surprise!!!  Hoping for better results this weekend.

Speaking of weekends, I hope you all have Good ones!!

Chris Erskine

October 15, 2009

The League Championships begin today!!  Woooo Hoooo!

Diary of a mad sports fan:

Dear Diary,
While buying beer at Angel Stadium last week, I was actually carded, another miracle in a baseball season that seems ripe with them. I'm 52, going on 102, and there is nothing young about me except maybe my bridgework. Oh, and my love of a festive ballpark.
That night, Angel Stadium looked like Oz as we exited the 57, lighted as if by Spielberg. Me and the kid (my human rally monkey) were the last ones to arrive -- three stop-and-go hours from Pasadena; we should have walked. But they saved us a couple of seats down the third-base line.
We were surrounded by Red Sox fans -- Munchkins with chips on their shoulders and Budweiser on their breath. I expected a tad of unpleasantness, then the kid admitted he was actually, really a Red Sox fan himself, something he hadn't disclosed in the car.
"Go, Big Papi!" the 6-year-old screamed.
Of course, the sons of anarchy sitting nearby immediately adopted him as one of their own, handing him Red Sox wristbands and hearty slaps on his little back. He smiled. They smiled back. It was love.
Before I know it, he's got his paws on a couple of Thunderstix, which I hate more than Donna Summer, whom I hate more than frozen pizza or mail-in rebates.
In the old days, if you didn't like the people around you, you just spilled beer everywhere and acted generally obnoxious. Now, to completely alienate someone, all you do is sit back and bang together these plastic, inflated Thunderstix. They look so much like hot dogs, I tried to eat one. Not bad. In fact, better than what Wienerschnitzel serves.
Thwack, thwack, thwack. Thwack, thwack, thwack.
God, what's happened to our ballparks? The multiple video screens, the screechy Van Halen, the billboards pleading MAKE SOME NOISE. I love every lousy minute of it, despite myself. Well done, owners. For a modern ballpark is electric, in all ways -- though it is becoming the absolute worst place to actually watch a game.
Next thing, they'll be wiring all the seats to give each fan a little jolt with every home run. I predict the masses will love that. They're bug-eyed as it is, these fans, their tongues slapping out of their faces like Marmaduke. The electric jolts will let them spasm in new and exciting ways. It may change the course of human breeding, of evolution itself.
Like you, I welcome that day.

Dear Diary,
In the men's room, 20 urinals, 60 men, you do the math. Guys are lined up three and four deep when some pipsqueak in the middle -- not me, some other pipsqueak -- begins to lead a cheer, something along the lines of "Red Sox [stink]! Red Sox [stink]!"
Aside from the fact that this is true, I'm not sure it's something that needs to be shouted in a crowded men's room in the seventh inning of another crushing Red Sox defeat. In fact, other than "FLOOD!" or "VICE SQUAD!" there is almost nothing you can yell in a crowded men's room that's going to benefit the greater good.
"Actually, I think the Phillies will win the World Series," one guy says during a lull in the shouting, and everybody laughs.
Yep, everyone is laughing these days. The Angels and Dodgers have both made it to the semifinals by crushing opponents who used to give them fits. It has been almost too easy, hasn't it? Feels like a setup. Still, there is an aura about both these teams, the sense that more miracles are in store.
Hey, if I can still get carded in a beer line, almost anything can happen.

Dear Diary,
This is also the year of the Self-Effacing Genius -- Joe Torre in our case, Brett Favre in the case of that Eskimo football team in the far North.
The Self-Effacing Genius (I guess Gustavo Dudamel qualifies too) is that rare, gifted bird we see only once a generation. There is a core confidence, of course, yet the only person who doesn't go overboard about the genius' greatness is the genius himself.
Self-Effacing Geniuses are candid, classy and human, even as they triumph in ways we mortals only dream about. In a world brimming with canned quotes and paranoid egomaniacs (Bill Belichick, Rick Pitino, Terrell Owens), the Self-Effacing Genius gives us faith that good guys can finish first and on their own terms.
Indeed, they are a very small and select club. Tom Watson is a Self-Effacing Genius. Derek Jeter is too. Vin Scully is the dean of the club, having invented the concept of the humble genius back in the 1590s, or whenever it was he was born.
And in the case of Torre and Favre, they are performing this year for every poor sap whose boss gave up on him too quickly, who was shown the door for no good reason at all.
Oh, what a couple of weeks this is turning out to be, filled with triumph, justice, humanity.
Lord, I feel 15. Go ahead, card me.

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AND FINALLY . . .

Promise of free clothes turns ugly

A woman in a rented limousine told everyone at a Burlington Coat Factory store that she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases, police said in Columbus, Ohio. Customers called their friends, who flocked to the store, but a riot ensued when it turned out to be a hoax.
Police Sgt. Lt. Michael Deakins said angry customers threw merchandise around and looted.
"Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," Deakins said. "It looks like Katrina went through the store."
Linda Brown -- who hadn't won the lottery -- had driven away by then. But when the limo driver didn't get paid either, he turned her in to police.

Yep!!  People are CRAZY!!!

Go Phillies!!  

Our storm was weaker than expected!

October 14, 2009

As a Pacific storm descended Tuesday night on Southern California, residents waited nervously to see whether rainfall would trigger mudslides in wildfire-ravaged areas.
People stacked sandbags and positioned heavy concrete barriers against hillsides, transforming their homes into fortified bunkers.

The storm system was first expected to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain in wildfire-charred areas in Los Angeles County. But the National Weather Service said that the system had weakened Tuesday afternoon after battering Northern California with heavy rainfall, and that L.A. County mountain areas would receive up to 4 inches of rain. About half an inch of rain was expected in valleys and along the coast.
By Tuesday night, less than two-tenths of an inch of rain had fallen in coastal and valley areas in L.A. County, and about 1 1/2 inches had fallen in the Angeles National Forest, according to the weather service.
Still, officials and residents had prepared for the worst.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said Tuesday that it had beefed up stations in the foothill areas with additional firefighters to staff two-person units that would patrol areas prone to mudslides.
Big Tujunga Canyon Road was closed 1 1/2 miles north of Mount Gleason Avenue to Angeles Forest Highway. And Aliso Canyon Road was closed in the Angeles National Forest, the California Highway Patrol said.

The Pacific storm was being pushed by strong winds blowing from the south, which were expected to intensify rainfall on south-facing mountain slopes that burned from Altadena to Acton during the 160,000-acre Station fire that broke out in August.
Winds were expected to reach 35 to 40 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph, according to the weather service.
More than 30,000 customers were left without power in Los Angeles. By Tuesday night, power had been restored to about 20,000 people, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said.
In the Bay Area, the storm caused power outages and flooding. Officials in Santa Cruz County, meanwhile, ordered homes evacuated in mountain areas where summer wildfires had burned.
The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's electricity grid, declared an emergency Tuesday afternoon after strong winds knocked down a major transmission line in Moss Landing, in Monterey County. The amount of electricity flowing on the line, a major north-south connection, was reduced by about one-third.

In Southern California, flood watches were extended to areas burned by the Sheep fire near Wrightwood as well as areas burned by the Sayre and Marek fires last year in the San Fernando Valley area.
In Glendale, Paul Dutton worked amid a steady rain, unloading sandbags from his blue truck Tuesday afternoon near the corner of Boston Avenue and Markridge Road.
He hoped the bags would help protect a friend's home from potential mud flows. As Dutton worked, dull gray clouds hung low in the shadow of Deukmejian Wilderness Park, an area that has been pegged as a prime location for mudslides. The park was almost completely burned by the Station fire that broke out in August in the Angeles National Forest and spread to adjacent foothill communities.
"There is no vegetation left to hold back any soil. In a normal rain year, we have slides. Now we have rain without the benefit of vegetation," said Russ Hauck, a senior park naturalist who has worked for the city for 17 years. "We're anticipating that we'll definitely get some sort of slide."
He said crews have placed tiered levels of concrete K-rail barriers throughout the park in hopes that they would slow any debris flows.
"The hillside behind the nature center looks like a defensive lineman waiting for the ball to be snapped," he said.

Looks like those folks living in the burn areas dodged a major bullet.

Oh, and by the way, my crazy neighbor, Charlotte, is watering her lawn!!  Guess it didn't rain in her yard!!!

Coming storm brings mudslide risk to Southern California

We all knew this was coming, just not so soon…

October 13, 2009 |  9:21 am

As the first storm of the season moves into Southern California, the National Weather Service is issuing flash-flood watches for mountain burn areas from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino counties.

Officials said residents in burn areas should prepare for possible mudslides, rock slides and debris flows "even during periods with little or no rain falling."

The powerful winter storm started moving into Southern California on Monday, combining the force of a storm from Alaska with the moisture-laden remnants of a typhoon from the western Pacific.

The National Weather Service issued the flood watches for areas burned by recent fires in Santa Barbara, as well as the massive Station fire in Los Angeles County and the Sheep fire near Wrightwood. The watch also covers areas burned in last year's Sayre and Marek fires in the San Fernando Valley area.

"This storm is expected to tap into subtropical moisture, giving it the potential to bring moderate to heavy rain," according to a weather agency statement this morning. "This heavy rainfall may create significant hazards in and around recent burn areas, with a threat of flash flooding and debris flows over the burn areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties."

A high wind warning is in effect for all L.A. County mountain areas from noon today to Wednesday morning, accompanied by winds of 35 to 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.

The storm system is wetter than normal for October, when the average rainfall for the entire month is about half an inch, weather officials said. The rains are being driven by strong winds blowing from the south, intensifying rainfall on south-facing mountain slopes that burned from Altadena to Acton during the 250-square-mile Station fire that broke out in August.

The U.S. Geological Survey released a grim forecast last week for communities hit by the Station fire, saying major mudslides are likely during the winter rainy season. The locations most at risk for mudslides are La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and a few areas of Pasadena against the San Gabriel Mountains, geologists said.

The California Highway Patrol has closed some mountain roads because of the coming rains, said Officer Francisco Villalobos, a spokesman for the agency. Big Tujunga Canyon Road is closed 1 1/2 miles north of Mount Gleason Avenue to Angeles Forest Highway. Aliso Canyon Road was closed in the Angeles National Forest.

Authorities said they were seeing an increase in the number of accidents this morning and advising drivers to watch out for slick conditions.

"It's the first significant rainfall of the season," said Rich Thompson, a weather service meteorologist. "So the roads can be slicker than you might expect because of all the oil coming up."

With 3 to 6 inches expected Tuesday night and the USGS mudslide warning fresh in their minds, L.A. foothill residents hope the sandbags and debris diversions work. Some are evacuating just in case.

As news of the coming wet weather circulated Monday, residents in charred foothill areas scrambled to fill sandbags or pack their belongings and flee areas prone to flooding. Officials also worked to place huge concrete mudslide barriers along roads in areas including La Cañada Flintridge.

The storm, which originated in the Gulf of Alaska, is expected to combine with moisture-laden remnants of a typhoon from the western Pacific, making the system wetter than normal, the National Weather Service said. On top of that, the storm system will be driven by strong winds blowing from the south, intensifying rainfall on the south-facing mountain slopes that burned from Altadena to Acton during the

"We're expecting a pretty good system to come through," said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist with the weather service's Oxnard office. "What's making this so significant is that tropical moisture from the remnants of the typhoon is moving eastward and will interact with this storm system."
For the last 30 years, Meier noted, the average rainfall for the entire month of October has been about half an inch. "This one storm will make it a wet October," she said.
Last week, the U.S. Geological Survey released a sobering forecast for communities hit by the Station fire, saying major mudslides will be highly likely during the winter rain season.
Kevin Schmidt, a research geologist at the USGS, said Monday that the locations most at risk are in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and a few areas of Pasadena sitting against the San Gabriel Mountains.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Brown, who commands rescue units in the La Cañada Flintridge area, said personnel will be monitoring hillsides in the areas ravaged by the Station fire when the storm arrives. He said sandbags will be available for residents at all county fire stations. Some will also have sand available.
Olivia Brown of La Cañada Flintridge had picked up 200 sandbags, which she was hoping to place around her house before the storm arrived. Standing behind her one-story stucco home Monday, she looked up toward the rugged hillside.
"All that is supposed to come down," she said. "There are some big boulders up there. And we've had daily landslides since the fires. This is ground zero right here."
Brown, 44, and her husband had already spent a week staking steel rods attached to wood logs into their backyard to divert debris away from their home on Ocean View Boulevard near Earnslow Drive. But over the weekend, they added an 8-foot-tall chain-link fence reinforced with railroad ties across the back of their house.
"I woke up with an anxiety attack," she said. "We weren't ready to have it this hard, this soon."
In Vogel Flats, meanwhile, Bronwen Aker was busy Monday afternoon packing the contents of her one-bedroom cabin into cardboard boxes.
She said she was notified by the U.S. Forest Service to evacuate her home by Tuesday. Aker worried that if mudslides washed out nearby roads, she might not have another opportunity to gather family heirlooms, including her late grandmother's collection of hand-woven baskets.
"I'm erring on the side of caution," said Aker, 45.
She planned to put up plywood and a plastic tarp against the brick and knotty pine home that she's lived in for 11 years near Big Tujunga Canyon Road. Built in the early 1900s, the cabin has been in Aker's family for decades. It's the same place where she nursed her ailing grandmother, who died last year.
"It's not about losing money -- it's about the memories here," she said. "This is the first time I've been truly afraid of losing the house."

Our burned-out hills can’t handle 1” of rain, let alone 3 to 6 inches.  I’m just praying for the best.

In case you can't access my Media Player, here is today's song.  Brad Paisley

www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/19/795611/03-brad_paisley-welcome_to_the_future.mp3

I found these guys in my garage the other day!  They scattered when I approached.

Then I saw Mama lurking just out side!  BIG!!

Aren’t they cute??  Heck NO!!  So I reached for my ultimate critter killer.

Ta Da!!!

No, not that!!

This!!

The Rat Zapper!!!  Like an electric chair for rats. 

I simply add some dog food, turn it on  and the next morning, Bingo!!  Runs on batteries and no need to touch them.  Unfortunately, PETA decided that this device was more cruel than a traditional rat trap that snaps their neck.  However, you can still purchase these tings online at Amazon, Ebay, etc.  It really works!!

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Read this very sad story today:

25 dogs die of smoke inhalation in Riverside

Two blazes strike within 12 hours at the same house, where firefighters had difficulty moving around because of boxes and furniture. Fourteen dogs died in the first blaze, 11 in the second.

Riverside firefighters responded twice within 12 hours to two separate blazes in a house packed with debris where more than two dozen dogs died of smoke inhalation, authorities said Wednesday.
In both blazes, which broke out Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning, firefighters had difficulty entering the single-story home and moving around inside because it was jammed with furniture and boxes filled with clothes and other items.
"They were faced with pack-rat conditions," said Division Chief John Martinez of the Riverside Fire Department. "It was bulging at the seams with stuff."
The first blaze was reported Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. The fire was apparently sparked by a wiring problem with a fan in the bathroom, Martinez said. The flames damaged the attic and two bedrooms of the home in the 1800 block of Missouri Street near downtown Riverside.
While firefighters were mopping up the blaze, they found 14 dogs in cages in a bedroom, dead. "They were overcome by the smoke," Martinez said.
The second fire, a rekindling of the first blaze, broke out at 4:17 Wednesday morning. After knocking down the flames, firefighters discovered 11 more dogs dead from the smoke.
"They were huddled in a back room," Martinez said.
Two firefighters suffered minor eye injuries in the blazes.

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Now for some better news…

OKTOBERFEST!!!

I’m doing an Oktoberfest dinner this weekend!  How does this look??

Bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad and caraway cheese!!  Can’t wait!!!

The weather has been perfect here!!  Watching baseball playoffs…. Go Phillies and Angels!!

If enough rain falls, some flows could contain enough debris to cover a football field with about 60 feet of mud and rock, and could reach far into communities along the San Gabriel Mountains. And with an El Nino expected???

Soil, rocks and branches like these in the fire-scarred Angeles National Forest could be washed far into foothill communities by winter rains, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Geological Survey on Tuesday issued a grim forecast for foothill communities hit by the Station fire, saying major mudslides are highly likely during the winter rain season.
Scientists identified Pacoima Canyon, Big Tujunga Canyon, the Arroyo Seco, the West Fork of the San Gabriel River and Devils Canyon as being at particular risk. In those areas, the report said there was an 80% likelihood of flows. Under certain conditions, some flows could contain up to 100,000 cubic yards of debris -- enough to cover a football field with mud and rock about 60 feet deep.
Under the worst-case scenario, in which there would be 12 hours of gentle, sustained rain, the report said thick flows of soil, rocks and vegetation could stream downhill into neighborhoods as far south as Foothill Boulevard in such communities as La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta.
"Some of the areas burned by the Station fire show the highest likelihood for big debris flows that I've ever seen," said Susan Cannon, a USGS research geologist and one of the authors of the emergency assessment. Cannon has been studying debris flows after fires for 11 years.
The Station fire burned 250 square miles in August and September, leaving hillsides barren. There is little vegetation left to prevent water, sediment, rocks and branches from rushing down toward thousands of homes when it rains.

The much-anticipated report, which includes maps depicting the potential paths of destruction, gave communities along the fire-ravaged areas of the San Gabriel Mountains an early and frightening look at what might happen when a heavy rainstorm pounds the area.
"We are very seriously worried," said La Cañada Flintridge Mayor Laura Olhasso. "It's highly possible that some of the homes that were saved from fire will be lost to mud."
Federal geologists used computer models to estimate the likelihood of debris flows in 678 drainage basins in the burned area, as well as how voluminous the material might be and where it might go.
They based their projections on the steepness of the slopes, the extent and severity of the fire, soil characteristics and possible rainfall. The assessment posed two scenarios -- a three-hour, high-intensity thunderstorm, and a 12-hour, gentle rainstorm -- and found high probabilities that each would cause large debris flows in neighborhoods that front the San Gabriels.
If drainage basins in the mountains fill up, Cannon said, debris could stream into neighborhoods.
Triggered by rainfall, debris flows can travel faster than a grown person can run. The rushing water, soil and rocks can destroy bridges, roads and buildings, and seriously injure or kill people in the way.
The goal of the assessment, officials said, is to help guide state and local planners as they work to protect lives and property in the storm season. Foothill communities are beginning to set up sandbags and concrete barriers to divert any mud flows into the streets and away from homes.

But in some cases, where homes directly front blackened hillsides, there is little that can be done.

"We have a couple homes where the county told the property owner, 'Put plywood over your windows and just leave,' " Olhasso said. "The one thing that residents need to understand is that if they have this plan, they need to put it in place now; it can't wait until the 24-hour forecast for rain. By then it could be too late."

In Big Tujunga Canyon, residents still struggling to clear piles of debris and ash from homes destroyed in the Station fire said they fear there is worse to come.

 
"There's nothing to hold that back," said Bronwen Aker, pointing to the charred slope behind her red cabin, inherited from her grandmother, in the canyon community of Vogel Flats. "It's going to come down; it's not a maybe."

Adi Ell-Ad is hopeful the sandbags will work, "if we don't get that much debris flow."
"If it's overwhelming," he said, "then nothing will stop it."

It’s going to be a long winter for those folks.  The forecast doesn’t look good.

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Tomorrow I'll tell you about my new little 'friend' living in my garage and my plan to get rid of him!!!  Here is today's song.  Don't ask but yeah!

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/19/795611/Bellamy%20Brothers%20-%20Old%20Hippie.mp3

Julius Goff, severely burned after taking refuge in a hot tub, says he didn't ignore a mandatory evacuation order but instead stayed behind to warn 10 neighbors who did not receive the order to leave.

This is why we don’t like Arnold!

Julius Goff, right, who was seriously burned after he and a housemate took refuge in a hot tub, hugs Trevor Pullen, who was evacuated before the Station fire descended on their Big Tujunga Canyon neighborhood. "This guy saved my life," Pullen said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other authorities held them up as examples of irresponsible behavior. They were the butt of jokes. But one of the two Big Tujunga Canyon residents who jumped into a hot tub to escape the raging Station fire says they are being unfairly judged.
Julius Goff, who suffered serious burns, told The Times that he did not ignore a mandatory evacuation order but instead stayed behind to warn 10 neighbors who did not receive the order to leave. By the time he reached his own house, with plans to get his housemate and get out, the fire had surrounded them.
Trapped, the men ran screaming through 50-to-100-foot flames to what they saw as their best hope: the only pool of water within reach.
Later, Goff watched in tears from a hospital bed as they were repeatedly castigated on TV. Then he learned that everything he owned was lost in the fire.
"I'm not some idiot who ignores the evacuation order," Goff said Sunday as he surveyed the piles of debris and ash, which are all that remain of the two-story house. "I got a 10-year-old son. I don't want to die."

Goff, known to many as "Jules," describes how he ran through a wall of flames to get to the hot tub, where he received severe burns on his legs, ear and nose. "It was like 20 freight trains running through here," he said. "I had to come out here and face the dragon." He says Vogel Flats residents will need help preparing for the coming rainy season, which authorities fear will bring mudslides and heavy debris flows if nothing is done.

Goff and his roommate took refuge in this hot tub. Goff grabbed a pair of jeans, ripped them in half and soaked them with water from the water heater so they would have something wet to put over their faces. The roommate grabbed their landlord's dog, Roxy. The two men jumped into the pool, where they lay on their backs -- with Roxy on Goff's chest -- for about an hour and a half.

Goff's account of trying to step into the void when authorities failed to reach all of his neighbors comes amid other questions about how the fire was fought in the Angeles National Forest. Reinforcements from Los Angeles County were scaled back early in the battle, and federal officials now say they are investigating the actions that allowed the blaze to rage out of control. The fire, which began Aug. 23 above La Cañada Flintridge, became the largest in recorded county history and killed two county firefighters when their truck plunged off a mountain road.

Goff, a 50-year-old single father who lives on Social Security, moved into the canyon community of Vogel Flats seven years ago. An elderly resident offered them a free room in his house on Stonyvale Road in exchange for help maintaining the place.
Goff said that when firefighters from Orange County arrived in Vogel Flats the morning of Aug. 26, he was one of two residents asked to show them around as they recorded the number of people in each dwelling and where propane and water tanks were located. Although a voluntary evacuation order was in effect, Goff said fire officials told residents they thought the fire might bypass their community.
"They said don't worry, we are going to put a truck in front of every house," Goff said.
Even so, Goff was concerned about his neighbor, Trevor Pullen, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident six years ago. He went to Pullen's house and advised him to leave. When Pullen's caregiver called to say she was stuck at a checkpoint, Pullen met her to escort her into the canyon. Then she and another aide loaded Pullen, his chair and three dogs into two vehicles, which sped off.
"This guy saved my life," Pullen said Sunday.
By this time, it was nearly noon and flames had appeared on a ridge above the strip of cabins and homes. Sheriff's deputies started banging on residents' doors, telling them to get out immediately. When Goff headed down the road to check on other neighbors, he said the deputies tried to stop him.
"I said, 'But there's more people down there, aren't you going to get them?' " Goff said. "They said: 'We're leaving.' "

 
Members of the Incident Command say they did the best they could without putting the lives of firefighters and deputies at risk. At an emotional meeting with Tujunga residents last week, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Deputy John Tripp said the terrain was too dangerous to make a stand in Big Tujunga Canyon, and officials had no choice but to order crews to pull out.
On Monday, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore emphasized how unpredictable the fire had been.

Goff stands on scorched ground. On Monday, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore underlined how unpredictable the Station fire had been. "Sometimes the evacuation orders were given, and you needed to respond instantly," he said. Whitmore said that he was relieved to hear that Goff was recovering.

"Sometimes the evacuation orders were given, and you needed to respond instantly," he said, adding that he was relieved to hear Goff was recovering.
Goff said that when he saw sheriff's deputies and fire crews leave, he made the decision to head deeper into the canyon. He knew his neighbors were still loading their vehicles, unaware that the voluntary evacuation had become urgent. He told them to drop everything and go.
At his house, Goff found the garage and a boat parked in the frontyard already on fire. He kicked open a chicken coop to let the birds out and ran inside the house. Goff's son was safe with his sister, and his landlord was away on a hunting trip. But their new housemate -- a man he knew only by his first name, Peter -- had not evacuated. He found him in tears.
"We've got to get out of here," Goff recalled telling Peter. The fire's heat was melting the window frames. A moose head hanging in the living room burst into flames.
"I'm panicking now," Goff said. "I figure we're dead."

Goff surveys the ruins of the two-story home on Stonyvale Road. Seven years ago, the owner offered him a free room in exchange for helping maintain the place.

For a minute, he considered emptying out two big meat freezers and hiding inside. Then he remembered the hot tub.
Goff grabbed a pair of jeans, ripped them in half and soaked them with water from a water heater so they would have something wet to put over their faces.
Peter grabbed their landlord's dog, Roxy. Huge flames were racing across the yard as they ran for the tub.
"All I could do was scream, it was so hot," Goff said.
As they scrambled across a footbridge, the slats broke and Peter fell. Goff pulled him back up and the two men jumped into the water. There they lay on their backs, with Roxy on Goff's chest, for about an hour and a half.

When the worst of the flames had passed, the men saw two U.S. Forest Service trucks driving down the road. The local firefighters had come looking for them, Goff said, and they were bringing body bags. The two men stumbled across the yard and were hauled into one of the vehicles, which reversed all the way back to the nearby ranger station.
"After all the other firetrucks pulled out, these guys saved my life," Goff said, tearfully.
A Sheriff's Department helicopter flew through thick smoke to bring them to hospital, authorities said.
When Schwarzenegger addressed a news conference the next day, authorities were battling to persuade residents in a number of areas to heed mandatory evacuation orders. Underlining the risks that holdouts could face, Schwarzenegger said: "People got burned and really badly injured because they did not listen."
Goff was still on a lot of pain medication when he heard what was being said. He wandered into the street and walked up to a police officer, demanding to speak to the governor. The officer gently directed him back to his hospital room.
Asked about Goff's case Monday, Brittany Chord, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman, said: "The governor's No. 1 priority is the safety of all Californians, and he takes the evacuation orders very seriously in any emergency situation."
Goff has not heard from his housemate, Peter, since the man checked himself out of the hospital. Goff left the hospital about two weeks ago. His legs are still bandaged, and he constantly shifts his weight from foot to foot to lessen the pain. At night, he is plagued by terrifying nightmares.
Some neighbors say Goff is owed an apology.
"This man is a hero," said Bronwyn Aker, who lives up the road.
"He saved 10 lives."

There are alot of heroes who we never hear about.  Arnold needs to keep his mouth shut and go back to what he does best... acting!