US Postal Service ~ USPS 2013

Our mail is in shambles. With a $15.9 billion loss, is anyone getting regular mail? Or is your mailbox or postal box just filled with advertising circulars and ads? Does anyone even get paper mail anymore or is that the realm of old folks without computers?

I read with interest the latest missive from our Postal peeps. USPS is always raising the stamp prices, but the latest news from them sounds like that giant corporation is losing a lot of money trying to provide the mail for those who need mailing services. And, the USPS is also losing a ton of money trying to support their benefits packages including their retirement funds. Now, the latest scheme to make money; tada! retail clothing line? OMG! Sounds familiar...

This morning, I was running a bunch of errands for the company. I had to stop by Office Depot to pick up a bunch of office supplies. Then, I had to head over to the Post Office to pick up a very important piece of mail that was suppose to be delivered today. By the time, I fought through the traffic, I made it to the post office line by noonish.

I stood in line and marveled at how everyone in line was an oldster (including me). No young folks. No one whom might have been born in the 80's. Same stuff was decorating the lobby for the last 30 years; myriad packages, tons of colorful Hallmark cards, lots of packaging tape and the weary people standing in line.

My turn! As I walked up to the desk, I smiled brightly and told the representative that I was here to pick-up our company mail. I reached into my purse and I discovered the postal key was missing. Oh, yes, the owner had borrowed my key and forgot to give it back to me!

"We do not give out any mail unless you have a key" she said without even glancing up!

But, I had driver's license AND a business card AND a check from the company with my name on the freakin' check! As I handed over the documents, I asked her again for my mail.

"We do not give out any mail unless you have a key. You can purchase another key by filling out this form." she murmured without looking up again.

Holy ShiiiiiiZ! The woman would not budge off of her bureaucratic stance. Ok. I was really mad, but inside my head, I kept hearing the chant, "... told ya so... told ya so..."

So I left without the mail. And, yes, I was hopping mad! But, one of the reasons I even attempted to get my mail without the key was because I have always been able to get my mail that way... WITHOUT THE KEY. So I suppose, I should be applauding the USPS for their added security.

Now, let's see if I can receive my regular residential mail. Seems their postal carriers have a bit of dyslexia. Oh, did I tell you that my (3) blocks got together and exchanged phone numbers and email addresses? Why? Because our postal carriers seem to mix up our numbered streets all the time. At least, we can warn our neighbors that I have their mail or they have my mail when our mail is mis-delivered.

Oh, I hear the mailman at my door....

 
Buddy Holly sings Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues
http://youtu.be/JOmzzSNnkHk


Mailman, bring me no more blues
mailman, bring me no more blues
one blue letter is all I can use

She wrote me only one sad line
told me she's no longer mine
Mr. Mailman - that'll do for some time

Cry - like never before
so hard - couldn't cry no more
shoo shoo mailman - stay away from my door

Mailman, bring me no more blues
mailman, bring me no more blues
one blue letter is all I can use


Hmm... seems the same advertising circulars, real estate offers, plumbers and house keepers ads have once again filled my home mail box. Stuffed full, I pulled my mail out... walked to the garbage can... threw the entire mess away. At least this time,  I actually got my mail!

~ EL
complainin' again about nuttin'

Thanks to USPS for being our mail service.
Thanks to Buddy Holly for his song, "Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues"
Oh, yah... thanks to Google for youtube.com properties.

Inauguration Day 2013 ~ 44th President

Barak H. Obama. A familiar name to everyone now unlike all the names prior to his first Inauguration Day. Remember all those presidents who came before Obama. Remember their faces during their Inauguration Day. Remember what they promised and what they delivered to the American public.

W.E.T. River Trips - California rafting on South Fork American

Does it matter if our president is of color? Yes, it does. Why? Because his past experiences will be valuable for every single person in the USA. His color will bring an understanding towards every person of color, every female, every non-Christian religion and every person who has not lived the disney-esque lifestyle that we all grew up with at the movies.

Last term, Obama tried to unify the Congress, and now this term, I hope he can be left to really do our country some good.

Please don't expect him to perform miracles! The mess Barak Obama was left with has been unprecedented in the history of our country. No one was untouched. Even the uber-wealthy were touched with more wealth in their coffers! While the rest of us, suffered the slings and arrows of an economic nightmare.

Four years is a very short time in our history. Four more years of jockeying around the political mantra from every special interest group in Washington, DC. There isn't enough money to recreate all those 'old' programs from the past and give it a new name. We need real change. We need our politicians to really talk to each other without the fear of their next election. We all need to throw away our political robes, and stand as people, together in our quest to move forward.

Sigh... another term, another president. We do need to solve problems now. Can we afford not to? Yes, we can!

~ EL
W.E.T. River Trips
California Whitewater Rafting since 1978
January 21, 2013
United States of America
California

Burning Man or "I Got the Golden Ticket"

I haven't written anything for California Whitewater Rafting blog in a long time. Why? Well, the business of white water rafting and outdoor adventures is one that keeps me... well, rather busy. We are networking with so many new partners and ventures that just keeping up with it is more than anyone can handle. So, I don't write much anymore, and leave that to the younger blogging team and Big Poppa ... their writing is much more interesting and more timely than my musings or rants.

Several events are happening around American River trips. There was the P.O.W. show. I heard that the company did the first Punks on Water shows waaaaay back in the 80's. Big Poppa is an unusual boss. He is an old guy with a very young heart... and all of us that work for this company know it is a special relationship between employer and employee. He ain't like a regular boss... but I guess you all figured that out already.

Big Poppa and one of the senior crew members, Mizz Maggie hopped on the Burner's Psy bus and headed to the great vast Black Rock Desert for music, performance art and the party event of the year! Burning Man was calling and Big Poppa answered the call enthusiastically. Check his personal blog for a blow by blow pre-party contest and how Mizz Maggie won her "Golden Ticket".

He promised to write part 2 of the Burning Man episode to fill in the rest of the story... I want to see the video and the pictures, peeps... I heard Kev was there hanging out along with several other Burners that we all know and love... hahaha... you know who you are. Oh, yeah... and Mack sent this video to the office from the last group rafting trip on the South Fork American... Big Poppa sure talks up rafting and food!



More party events are happening this weekend with the American River Festival, several day hikes around the rivers and even a kayak sale brought to you by The River Store in the Lotus Coloma Valley. Summer is gone, but WET trips continue for Fall rafting and Winter boating.

One thing Big Poppa said when he got back to the office... he said, "For 50K people that were there, it sure was calm... no riots, no fighting... just love and more love..." And that is what makes the world go round and round and round and round... PEACE OUT!

Klamath River and Salmon

I've been watching and reading the missives from Friends of the River in California about the bus company up in Oregon that refused to run an ad for the Klamath Salmon. Yeh, the fish. The bus company refused to post the ad on the bus. Why? Because of the political nature of the ad; not because it was pornographic or violent or subject to any strange interpretations. The ad simply says, "Salmon shouldn't run up your electric bill... They should run up the Klamath River."

Whoa... that's quite risque, isn't it? The picture shows three salmon fish swimming towards a barrier of electrical outlets. The bottom of the ad has a website address for the Salmon for Savings program. WOW. This ad could definitely offend... maybe a politician.

So Friends of the River sued their ass and the ACLU and the Karuk Tribe are happier than heck that Judge Henry Breithaupt wrote in his opinion that Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon "TriMet" has violated both the Oregon Constitution and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Judge Breithaupt stated that the "decision was made on the basis of the nature of this message rather than any risks or limitations expressed in its standards."

An appeal is expected. The Portland area residents that are getting their electricity from the Klamath dams deserve to know that dam removal can save them money on their utility bills. FOR's Hydropower Policy Advocate Kelly Catlett said today, "“We are pleased that the judge upheld the rights of Pacific Power’s customers to hear that dam removal can save them a significant amount of money.”

Friends of the River has been working to remove obsolete dams on the Klamath River. In my opinion, the lawsuit they brought is a significant one. At least the Klamath community will now have the right to decide for themselves. And those who mute or censor the information will now think twice.

Thanks to Friends of the River for this information! ...and F.O.R.... give 'em hell!

Cali Burn Fest

October 10 - 13th, the team for W.E.T. River Trips turned out for the "Cali-Burns" Burnt Ranch Race on the Trinity River.

Wolf, Alex, Bird, Justin, Heffe, and some stragglers made the trip. Alex guided the Burnt Ranch section for the first time and styled it.

Later, he commented that the Class 5 run at 650 cfs was more like "whitewater gymnastics."

Sunny skies and a great Saturday night party with the Cali Crew made the trip even more awesome than the runs.

Wolf competed in the kayak race with an old-school Pirouette (long and fast)... He pulled down a fifth place while competing against Cali's best... well done, dude!

Charlie Center dropped in with first-place to continue to cement his "legend" status.... for Wolf's sake, Charlie, go back to Law School.

And last week, Team W.E.T. hit the demo run on the lower Silver Fork out of Ice House! More on that tomorrow...

A Big Poppa Post

Michael

Our young staff members are grieving big time over Michael's death last night. None of us thought he was losing his battle with cancer. He was in remission, damn it. Only 18 years old. My heart is breaking for our young members of the W.E.T. rafting blog. And so are we, the older members on staff.

As we witness the young group, as they deal with their loss of a dear friend, we can't help but wonder how this affects their young minds. I mentioned this loss this morning to a colleague... first thing out of their mouth was, "Was it a car accident?"

Sure, the young group have had losses before... brutal car accidents taking their best friends, weird circumstances related to stupid or dumb decisions (guns, anyone?) ... that's how young people die; but this is not suppose to happen to a vibrant person like Michael... not freakin' cancer.

Creative and artistic, the loss of his life just proves how we all must hold our loved ones as close as possible. And please, all adults... keep in mind that our young adults and teens face the same ugly and sad issues that we face everyday.

Myspace entries throughout the group will be riddled with accolades, memories, pictures and good talks among us all. Michael, if you can hear us... make the best freakin' angel clothes ever... heaven will be lining up for your designs.

Sollie, Taiwan, the Cove, SF Giants

Hi Y'all! So my phone keeps getting messages... I have 7 today, but no way of reaching any of them. Oh well, at least I can get to a computer now and then. Today, I ate a fried leaf...

Oh, just an update: I spent a week in Tennessee visiting family and The Farm with Irene, Rob and Gin. From there, I flew to Taiwan for an educational understanding tour for principals in America. They basically sent us around the nation, and we toured colleges and universities, and they still haven't told us why we are here. However, they are treating us like kings.

So, I have been here in Taiwan a few days, and the coolest thing I saw, was in a night market; a 15-foot boa slithering around on the floor. Today, I ate fried stuff. Yup, just like a Taiwan State Fair. I also ate a fried flower and a fried taro root. Mummmm. Greezy. So I woke up at 5 am and we got on a bus to the train station. I was hoping we would be on a bullet train but sadly this one didn't seem to go faster than 20 mph.

We arrived in some town Hulain (sic). Sounds close. We ate a meal at a place that if it wasn't in Taiwan could easily have been a forgotten place in Mexico. There were no signs for the restaurant, dogs sleeping on the dirt floor, stumps for seats, palm leaves for a room, and squat pots for restrooms, and a monkey chained to a tree, but the food was great. I think I will deep fry some leaves when I get home.

Afterwards, we went up to a National Park and drove through this Slot Canyon 9000 feet deep. With a river running through it! Just in case you were wondering , it was all runnable whitewater.

We arrived at our motel and watched the natives do a dance and use some clubs to make a rice paste. Mummmmm rice paste...

After that, I went upstairs and watched the Home Run Derby on ESPN Taiwan - I think I saw Jason in some W.E.T. river rafts out there in McCovey Cove. I wandered down to the game room and spent the last hour teaching the locals to play ping pong. They don't even know how to hold the paddle upright. Rookies.

Hey guys - did my dirt catch on fire? I received an e-mail from a resident who lives in Coloma and thinks my property caught on fire. Can you have one of the guides check on it?

I will be in Taiwan for a few more days, then off to Korea for a week where I will meet up with Irene. Good times...
Saul

NOTE from W.E.T.: On Monday, July 9th, the crazy guides from the W.E.T. crew took a couple of rafts, a partying spirit to the Cove to try to catch a $1M ball. It was a party. Last year, it was chaos but the organizers this year had set up a parking lot just for the crazies. The W.E.T. boats made ESPN, SacBee, Major League Baseball and the rest of the world out there. But the best picture came from the Official Site of the San Francisco Giants. Yeh, its a good pic.

KD and Barcy Nightlife

Today is day 14 of my trip to Barcelona, Spain. I had never been to Europe and was not too sure as to what to expect. The trip was solely planned around one thing and one thing only; skateboarding. To the average person, Spain's architecture is amazing and beautiful. In the eye of a skateboarder, we see a giant playground. Not only is the city itself perfect for skateboarding, but so is everything that comes with it.

For example, the weather is cooler, and as far as the laws for skateboarding on the streets, mellow indeed. There is no real reason that the police are more giving out here with skateboarders. But after two weeks of skating around, I have a theory. The fact that skateboarding is less familiar here in Spain, it has only begun to blossom, and has only been around for maybe 10 years or so. Therefore, compared to California, or just America in general, skateboarding in Spain has not had enough time to become a problem. Which for now, is AWESOME for skateboarders.

I came over here to skate and then got here and realized I had a new plan. Don't get me wrong, I have been skating non-stop and taking advantage of how much fun it is, but came across a different comfort zone. Obviously, being in another country where they speak a different language is going to take you out of your comfort zone right? Well, I had never really thought about it until I got here and jumped right into it. For me, the thing I really enjoyed is meeting people from other countries. But, very sadly trying to communicate with each other with the bits and pieces of words we know from each others languages was a bit frustrating.

One night, the skate crew and I decided to go out to the clubs and check out the Spanish night life. Luckily, the drinking age over here is only 18 which was a recipe for disaster for us, right? HA HA HA. So at one point, we were all together dancing and having a good time in a club called FELLINIS. I decided to go outside to get some fresh air for a few minutes, and I found myself at another bar separated from the crew.

Thinking I knew my way around town, I decided to go with it and have a good time by myself. I took a seat at the bar, and, within 5 minutes, I was chatting it up with 2 Spanish guys who lived here and 2 girls from Norway that spoke English and Spanish. The girls would interpret my English for the Spanish dudes and vice verse. They were surprised I was still out and about even though I was lost from my crew of team mates. The girls offered to hang out with the Spanish guys for the rest of the night, and, of course, I went with them.

We went to 2 more clubs and 1 more bar. Throughout the night, the Spanish dudes kept saying they wanted me to have a good time and kept buying my drinks. Being the gentlemen, I could not refuse a drink someone offers me. When the sun was coming up and the bars closed, we said our good nights and "nice meeting you's," and I took off in search of my destination; our apartment. Little did I realize, I was about a 30-minute walk from the apartment. After asking a million people for directions, I finally made it home by 6 in the morning.

The next day, my friends asked what happened to me the night before, and so I told them about my lost wild night. Then I realized I didn't even remember the Spanish guys' or the Norwegian girls' names. It was funny to think I had made friends and hung out with them all night long, but never got their names. The more and more people I meet now and see, I have concluded that it doesn't even matter if I get their names or not because it's more of a good-nature thing. Whether you speak English, Spanish or French or whatever, it's human nature to speak with one another and teach one another.

We still have another 4 days here in Spain and the weekend should be fun. Hopefully, I will have another story to tell before I come home. THANKS for reading ya'll... KD

Check out these resources on Skateboarding Barcelona:
Why skate Barcelona?
Thrasher Magazine Article
Barcelona Skate Tours
Barcelona Metropolitan Magazine
Against the Law

After skateboarding all day in your current heatwave in California, ya otta check out whitewater rafting. It'll give you the same thrill except no road rash. LOL... ollie-oop...

Barcy Excerpts from the Teen Bloggers

W.E.T. River Trips has a brethren of young guides and bloggers working for us. They bring a youthful and enthusiastic lifestyle to our company. Many of them are also involved in surfing, kayaking, rafting, skateboarding and snowboarding programs and events because of their wide range of talents. They live the lifestyle. Our rafting news and California rafting news pages also highlight the lifestyle of the extreme sport outdoor enthusiast.

This month the young bloggers headed to Barcelona, Spain. Meeting with several other skateboarders and production crews, the 20-somethings joined pro skaters in Barcy (that's their nickname for this beautiful city) after their tour to end the trip as a vacation. And yes, W.E.T. ended up sponsoring more than just a few... the story of the card-eating ATM machine was one of the reasons given for the "extra" sponsorships...

Here are some excerpts:

July 2, 2007
"...last night I stayed at the new apartment for the first time. It's the epitomy of Spain. Woooooooo hoo. We are right next to a main street, so there's a bagillion people out at all times. Anyway, I hope my account s%!* is all correct... but whatever. Anyways, I miss you and I hope all is well..."

July 3, 2007
I have a butt load of money because Arthur just transfered 800 bucks online into my account cuz his card just got lost too. So I officially have everyones money in my account, so I technically don't have that much. Anyway, Danny seo is going to pick us up from the airport since you can't, but his car is too small so can you have a full tank and keys to the Subaru ready for Danny on next Wednesday... anyways, I'm having a lot of fun, and today I'm trying to relax because I've been going non-stop. Last night we went to the 'skater bar' called Bar Manola and they project skate videos on the wall, and everyone that goes there is a skate dude. We saw some pros... and blah blah. Then we went to NASTY MONDAYS. It was radddddddd. No one got carded except for poor Goober, but he talked his way in. We danced till 4 in the morning to all American songs... Beastie Boys, Joan Jett, Of Montreal... it was rad. Anyway, I'll keep you posted and I miss you guys a lot... it's super fun and you guys would love it."

Words from W.E.T.
KD had an encounter with a card-eating ATM machine in London... day 2 of the tour. This was the first of many card losses with the group. KD contacted his parents who contacted W.E.T. who contacted the only one in London who still had their debit card. So in went the money. (Read post above about the butt-load of money...) I think everyone had LL handle their funds. The crew also discovered that drinking was legal at 18 years. We didn't get many blogs after that.......

Southern Gentleman's Sweet Words

I haven't written for this blog in a while... concentrating mostly on the business end of the company. Big Poppa and the rest of the crew have been sending lots of new posts with the perspective of being on the river trips during these past few months. Starting in February, when the guides went up north to do the Smith, filling in their acclimation time on the American River, and then last month, spending time up on the Cal Salmon, they've been blogging. Their posts are funny and filled with lots of new pictures. It was a pleasure to read them and see the images of the river and the crew.

The past week's posts have been cloaked with the sorrow of Virginia Tech, as all of us were affected by the tragedies of young life ending so abruptly. Those students were the same age as many of our river guides. It also triggered for me the sorrow of a friend who died just a week before from leukemia. Lots of sadness, lots of time to think of my own mortality.

The weather reflected all the tears, too, as winter seemed to come back with rain and snow on the summit this week. The client paddlers came out anyway, regardless of the weather. Some even called to make sure we weren't canceling. I love them all. They seem to know, at least by my interpretation, that life is nothing without a bit of hardship. With the bad, comes the realization of how good life really is. My family, my dear friends and this rafting company, who I've had a pleasure to be associated with for many years, have all given me unconditional love.

He called yesterday, a gentleman who recently moved to California. His voice lilting with the echoes of a Southern origin. His demeanor and candor was so refreshing. He was a river rafting junkie. He called me sweetheart, which usually, I would bristle, coming from a feminist attitude. But it was the way he said it. He spoke to me as if I was his daughter. It came from a sweetness and love that I hadn't heard in such a long time.

It seems that our world just keeps getting meaner. There is no other explanation. We can go on and on about society's failures, but it just boils down to plain ol' mean people. They're the ones who scream at us on the phone or flip us off at the stoplight. Being mean takes a toll on everyone. It kills the soul. The best and grandest reminder of heaven on earth is when I'm on the river, the ocean, the outdoors. It's God's gift to be able to enjoy being on the water; a soulful connection with the earth and a greater being than oneself.

Sun's out today in all its spectacular glory! And that Southern gentleman? He'll never know how he lifted me and wiped away the tears.

W.E.T. Blogger Problems

First, I want to apologize to all the webmasters out there who have our feed on their sites. I am sure that most of you are aware of the reoccurring problems that Blogger experienced these past few days. W.E.T. River Trips official company blog was updated to a beta version that reeked havoc on our posts! Over on Momentum River Expeditions, the posts showed up with the conversion date and bumped everyone else's posts out. Also, California Whitewater Rafting was showing 15 of our current posts all at once, also bumping everyone else out. Geesh, what a nightmare. This is a test post to see if Blogger worked everything out. If not, we're back to square one.

The blog is currently showing up correctly if you go to our regular link at either raftwetblog.com or raftwetblog.blogspot.com. Either one will take you there.

We're going to post now... hope it works. If not, we are really sorry about the inconvenience to the feeds. We have faith that Google will fix it!
iBetty Networks

The Business of Rafting & Random Thoughts

The business of rafting is almost a misnomer since most of us got into this because of a love of rivers, rafting and the outdoors. We want to share this love and introduce this activity to other people. Sharing this joy is almost a religious calling... the rivers beckon, we hear and we go. To be in this business is a positive thing. We sell joy... we sell excitement. We sell an experience not compared to much. And it is an activity shared with many types of users. With skiing, you have to accomplish it on your own. You know, ya put on the skis and ya have to go downhill by yourself. You can't depend on anyone else, but yourself. With rafting, the beginner, the timid, the less athletic person who is spiritually and mentally ready can go rafting and conquer their fear and accomplish quite a feat in conjunction with a team. A team of like-minded individuals who are guided by professional paddlers.

The business end is filled with politics. We're governed by several agencies on our rivers that include the county, the state, the feds and others. That's a lot of agencies duplicating essentially the same paperwork and resources to mandate the same rules and regulations. We have a lobbying group who takes care of protecting our industry from overly zealous politicians in DC. We have environmental groups who look after our precious resources and help us to keep rivers flowing. We work with the utilities who control dam releases on some of our rivers as we negotiate for flows much like agriculture and municipalities... yes, water is our number one precious resource in the state of California...

Recently, we took down a group of middle school kids from a Bay Area youth group. Back to back overnighters for the entire week, and each day approximately 50 kids ranging from 12 to 14 yrs rafted the venerable South Fork American River. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely. Most were definitely priviledged young people, living a bountiful life of good schools, great neighborhoods and wonderful opportunities. Do they know how lucky they are? Do they know how many children their age that never see a tree or experience a naturally moving stream? Living in an urban setting doesn't prevent you from experiencing these things, but money does. Money for activities like this. What I'd like to ask is that those of you who have the resources; check your communities. See if there are organizations who offer outdoor activities to inner city kids... and then donate your money to them. Support them. Help them to introduce these opportunities to the less priviledge. Every year, we take our resources and donate to these groups who could never afford these trips...

W.E.T. River Trips started out as a rafting company dedicated to at-risk youth. From those beginnings, we set out to introduce the team-building aspects of rafting and paddling to those youth groups. We see it as a constitutional right that everyone enjoy a part of their lives in the great outdoors. From those introductions, young people will connect to nature and will understand how important it is to place yourself in the universe. You matter. You can make a difference. And as future voters, they will have a deep connection to saving or preserving these places in our world...

Speaking of connecting, I had some readers who were upset with the tone of the Maddox blog. Didn't like Maddox or didn't like his politics. Ok. So, don't read him...? Nothing prevents anyone from reading anyone's website or blog. And, where is your sense of humor? I like reading anything that gives me a good belly laugh. The kind where you're sitting in your chair and your head rolls back and a big ha ha comes exploding out somewhere deep from your gut. I like reading this stuff... even when it's politically incorrect... sometimes that's the funniest.

My friend who writes political blogs says some pretty damning things and I get such a kick out of his bravery and courage to post inflammmatory words about this current administration. It's flippin' funny that anyone could get so emotionally disturbed about such posts. Remember it's an opinion... a United States of America Constitutional right to write about anything we want. And that's why we all blog. The only thing that I see as a problem is that perhaps some of us and you may only read the opinions that we agree or concur with. That is limiting and could be perceived as narrow-minded. So, I even read political blogs about things that I disagree with so that I can be informed and know what the "opposition" thinks. It's important to have a balanced view. Most of us are opinionated and have a political view, but I think the majority of us all have the same hopes and dreams... a good life, loving family, the ability to make a good living and support your loved ones, a safe place to live... see we are all alike.

I am definitely a liberal leaning to the left... but only slightly to the left, because I also pay taxes and am raising children and I worry about "bad" stuff happening to my family. So political parties really don't offer much for me anymore. I've been a registered Democrat for a long time, mom was a Republican and dad was a Kennedy Democrat... so for me, political parties just don't seem important anymore. I vote for specific issues, and I vote for people who seem to have the common sense necessary to make decisions based on sound reasoning and people's well-being. So I might not vote for a Democratic candidate just because I'm a Democrat. Or I might not vote for a bond issue because I see wasteful spending in an area which is upsetting. Or, I might not vote for the liberal politician because his environmental record sucks. But there are some things that are quite automatic for me... I will vote against unbridled development in agricultural and wilderness areas. I will vote against this administration's attempts to destroy our National Parks and rivers. Because once it's gone, people, it is gone forever. And that's not what we want to leave as a legacy for our children.