Message 402

After another good night's sleep I feel like I am back to my regular self. I had a nice visit with Annie yesterday at my condo while Vanessa took Beech to his anger management therapy. When that was over Beech visited me while Annie went with Vanessa. What a delight he was. He colored some pictures to give to his dad while I watched The News Hour. He was very interested in learning who were the good guys and who were the bad guys in the coverage of Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I also discovered that he likes pears. I keep quart jars of pears and peaches in my refrigerator. He first requested some peaches, then changed his mind to pears. He eventually ate about half of one jar. He said his dad was not a fruit man, but he was. I said that I was a fruit man too, so he might have gotten that from me.

I then went to dinner at Gombei, a local Japanese restaurant. They go there regularly, but I only go when they invite me to go with them. I always get the pork cutlet dinner, which is very good. When I find something good I stick with it.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Stop Loss, which is a disturbing story about soldiers who are forced into multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very realistic and reminded me a lot of Generation Kill, which was also a reenactment of a true story. I give Stop Loss 3 stars.

Message 401

I am back in my usual routine now, so I am sending this message in the morning. Susan and Julian will not be back home until tomorrow, but Caroline and Ellie are now with Linda and Walt, and Beech will be back in school today. He should have gone back on Monday, but he did not want to miss the fun of the chance to spend time with Caroline and Ellie. I am in the process of doing laundry and putting my condo back together after Beech and Ellie took it apart. I have not even watched a DVD for the past three nights.

Message 400

This is the latest I have ever gotten off my daily message. I just got back from spending the day with Vanessa and the four kids (Caroline, Ellie, Beech, and Annie). Last night Jason joined us all at Ten Fu for dinner. Vanessa had all four kids stay the night with her. This morning I went up and took the kids to McDonalds for breakfast. We then spent several hours with the kids playing around the house, and especially playing a slip and slide water game called shark bite in the back yard. Vanessa had a pizza delivered for lunch. About 4 PM we drove over to Half Moon Bay for an ice cream. When we got back Vanessa took Beech to his first basketball class. I took Annie over to Maureen's and then to Caroline and Ellie to stay at Linda and Walt's for the next two nights. I am looking forward to a quiet

Message 399

Yesterday afternoon I drove Beech down to Los Gatos to pick up Ellie so she and Beech could have an overnight with me. Susan and the twins have gone on a rafting trip down the American River with their church group. Jason gets to stay home and work. I picked up Carolyn too so she could stay overnight with Vanessa and Vanessa, Julian and Annie. We all went out to dinner at Taxi in San Mateo. Julian had to leave early this morning for New York. Beech and Ellie finally went to sleep at my condo a little after 9 PM. This morning they woke me up at 6:30 AM, so they each got at least nine hours of sleep They want me to take them to McDonald's for breakfast, but they are playing for now, so I am getting this message off before we go.

Last night I watched Masterpiece Mystery on PBS while the kids slept. Afterward I read some of the Economist.

Message 398

Yesterday I had my usual Saturday at Starbucks and Safeway. Vanessa, Same, Beech, and Annie went to Los Altos and had lunch with Jason, Susan, and the girls. Joshua brought in some fast food for dinner. We ate while watching the Giants game on TV. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Miracle at St. Anna. It is a World War 2 movie directed by Spike Lee. It is based on a novel about black soldiers fighting in Italy. I do not think it is historically accurate, but as with most Spike Lee movies it is well done. I give it four stars.

This morning I took Maureen and Sam to Vanessa's house to have a Father's Day breakfast with the kids. Julian is still out of town, but he is due home this afternoon. The food was very elaborate and delicious, and Vanessa showered me with lots of Father's Day gifts, all of which I can eat or drink.

Message 397

Yesterday I finished my CIA history book. Even though I had read a lot about the CIA before I learned a lot of things that were new to me. It is incredible how many strange and misguided people were allowed to make so many mistakes for so long. It was about eight hundred pages, so I can now get back to other things.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Cadillac Records. It is based on the true story of the people like Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Chuck Berry who started the crossover of black music in Chicago that led to Rock 'n Roll. I give it three stars.

Message 396

Yesterday afternoon I read more of the CIA history and watched The News Hour on PBS. What is happening in Iran is very interesting. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie The Departed. It had an amazing cast, about three times the number of major stars that you usually see in a movie. It was a reasonably well done crime thriller too, so I give it four stars.