Concert Dec. 28 in the Yreka Community Theater

THE RSSPA PRESENTS A HOLIDAY CONCERT STARRING TWO FAVORITE SONS – YREKA NATIVE KEVIN MCKEE AND HONORARY YREKAN JACEK MYSINSKI


Pianist Jacek Mysinski’s December concerts have become a tradition and this season the much anticipated event takes on an additional element with trumpeter and Yreka native, Kevin McKee. The two musicians appear together for the first time at the Yreka Community Theater in a Red Scarf Society for the Performing Arts holiday concert on Sunday December 28 at 3:00pm.


McKee, son of Luanne and Yreka High School music teacher, Brian McKee, began his trumpet studies in fifth grade. He has since gone on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University Sacramento and a Master’s Degree in trumpet performance from the University of Maryland. His performances and studies have taken him to the Aspen Music Festival and the Music Masters Course in Kazusa, Japan. Kevin is a freelance trumpeter and teacher in the Washington, DC area; is a member of the Continuum Brass Quintet, the Great Noise Ensemble and has published two compositions, “Escape” for brass quintet and “Vuelto del Fuego” (Ride of Fire), published through Balquidder Music.

Warsaw born, Mysinski, began his studies at the age of seven under the tutelage of Halina Dzierzanowska. He has won many prestigious awards; among them the Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition and Special Prize for the best performance of Bach at the Polish National Competition. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music New York where he was associated with Jerome Lowenthal. Currently Jacek lives in New York where he devotes his time to jazz and composition studies and after having worked with the Mark Morris Dance Group earlier this year, has been invited to re-join them in 2009. Through his many appearances in Yreka, Jacek has come to be regarded as an adopted son. In a recent communication Jacek said, “I am thrilled to be back in Yreka!”.

A champagne reception to welcome home native son, Kevin McKee and honorary son, Jacek Mysinski, will be held immediately following the concert at the Yreka Community Center. Tickets, $15 and $5 for students are available at Scott Valley Drug in Etna, Village Books in Mt. Shasta and in Yreka at Surroundings, Nature’s Kitchen and the Yreka Chamber of Commerce office; or visit www.redscarfsociety.org.

The Absolutely Bullet-Proof Bird Feeder

Aren't they cute? I fed them for months on end as a by-product of my well-meant effort to feed the birds around our yard. I didn't mean to, they just out-smarted me at every turn. Hang the feeder from a pole and they'd shinney up. Try dangling it from a suspended wire and the deer would paw it down.

So here's the secret, squirrel-proof, deer-proof, TELESCOPING bird feeder design: 30 inches of 2-1/2" PVC (for the base) + 60" of 2" + 40" of 1-1/2". They sleeve, you see so all you have to do is drill a hole for a pin and you can lower the actual feeder for refilling.

It's cheap, too. I spent about 16 bucks for the pipe, including having it all cut to length at Yreka Hardware so it would fit in my car. I used plumbers' tape to strap the base piece to our existing 36 inch high fence post so the overall height is a guaranteed eight, yes eight, feet above ground.

Of course the deer might knock it over and then I'll come back with one of those cones they put on dogs so they can't scratch their ears. Did I mention I'd tried little strips of cloth? They stuffed them in their cheeks and nipped them off for nest material.

Part D, Anyone?

Sally and I and perhaps many of you have been receiving endless mailings from AARP and other Part D providers because this time each year is when you can sign up for (or change) your Part D coverage. There are literally pounds of mail to sort through that "explain" all your choices. All. Your. Endless. Choices.

HICAP to the rescue. A free service of the Senior Advocacy Center of Northern California, HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) is sponsored (I think) by United Way. HICAP is however NOT affiliated with any insurance company or agency nor does it sell or recommend any specific insurance.

You can call them for many valuable services including omsbudsman and senior legal advice at their Redding office, 800-434-0221. We already knew Debbie Weiland the Program Manager because she travels the five north state counties making presentations on their services and she had conducted several Medicare seminars for seniors here and in Weed.

But the big value for Sally and I was their new Siskiyou County volunteer Joan Favero, who guided us through the Part D maze and enrolled us in a new version that will save us a little over $1,100 in 2009. That's right, nearly $100 a month less than we pay now ($81.60 per month premium plus $25 a month each in co-pay for the one brand name drug we each take). We use the mail-order Rx plan with AARP's United Healthcare and we get a 90 day supply each time we order (although we can also still use the local pharmacy).

Joan pulled up a special comparison shopping program that she trained for on her computer and displayed for us 51 plans that we were eligible for. Then she ranked them by cost and we compared their features to be sure we weren't changing to a plan that used a deductible for example. The best one that fit me was $809 a year and Sally's best choice was $725. That's the total plan cost, premium, drug co-pay, and deductible (if any). We were each paying $1,387 per year so the savings are substantial. All this took just minutes.

Did I mention that she is a retired pharmacist and was able to not only pronounce but even spell our prescriptions which, if you take anything heavier than asprin, is an achievement for us common folk. I was having trouble with Omeprazole (can you blame me?) for example and all I could think to say was that the doctor prescribed it for acid stomach. Before I could blink she named off three major brand meds and mentioned Omeprazole as a generic for one of them. Bingo. (If you get an appointment with Joan save her the time though and bring a list of your meds).

December 31 is the end of the open enrollment period however so if you know anyone who is confused over Part D, give them Joan's name. An important point is that this happens each year so if someone's medical condition changes during the year and their prescription needs escalate they should review their Part D coverage and be ready to change during the annual enrollment window (Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 I think, but you'd better call). Joan is in Yreka at 842-3751.

What we appreciated beyond her pharmaceutical expertise though was that the review is a free service. It seems to me that a huge number of seniors must surely experience the same degree of mystification that we did with the mailed "explanations". It's just overwhelming. But they might not know about HICAP and Joan.

Please share this good news with those you love.

Snow Job

(Editor's Note: This is my adaptation of a joke I got in an email. It's like the anonymous sign in the auto parts store "The beatings will stop when morale improves" or the anti-stress poster "Beat your head here until you don't feel any more stress".I have no idea who started it but I have replaced some of the expletives for the sake of propriety.)

We always have loved the mountains. We lived in southern California for so long and are so tired of the traffic, the crime, the . . . well, you know.

So when I finally retired and the kids were all gone we sold out and moved to the High Sierra where they have four REAL seasons as opposed to our one (smog).

The first winter storm was just gorgeous. Magnificent white flakes (no one is the same, did you know that?) fluttered down from the night sky to embrace our home with a sugary coating. It was easy to shovel the driveway, too. The neighbor said it was a "dry snow", whatever that means.

Oh, now it's Thanksgiving and I've got some REAL shoveling to do. Ha ha ! It's a little heavy though, the storm was a little more "serious" according to Fred but hey, this is what we wanted, to get back in touch with Mother Nature, right?

A little sore this morning, but nothing a session in the hot tub can't cure. Power is out though, so I'll hope the tub works tomorrow.

Wow, I can hardly see the hot tub now, this last storm really clobbered us! But this is why we moved here: snow up to the fence-tops, that's Mother Nature at work!

Broke the shovel today, need to go buy another but can't get out of the driveway.

The snowplow piled a mountain DIRECTLY in front of my driveway! Can you believe this guy!?! And to beat that, it's frozen now. Solid ice. Still don't have a new shovel.

Okay, I get it. You need to know the home phone number of the plow driver and probably threaten his children. How come the schools get plowed out and I don't, hmmmm? He might be Mafia or maybe related to that jerk I fired a couple of years ago.

The little woman is getting testy. Splitting and hauling wood to cook on our Decorator Wood Stove was not in our plan but with my injured back what does she expect???

I'm really freaking tired of this. That bloody plowman is on my list now. Every time my snowblower (with electric start but the power is still out) breaks down HERE HE COMES AGAIN !! HE KNOWS I HATE HIM. He KNOWS that I put the garbage cans right where he can KNOCK THEM OVER. Hah! I am going to find out where he lives and sic Guido on him !!!

Power has been off for three days now and we are living on cans of Chef Boyardee and beginning to enjoy it. My lower back is now in the 'don't even talk to me' stage and the wife is threatening to go back to southern California where she says the sun is still shining.

Alright. I'm not going to deal with this neanderthal plow guy any more. If I see him I'll shoot his #*@!? little truck right in the gas tank. The wife and I have separated and my letters to the editor are going nowhere.

They wrapped me in this funny suit today just because I was running up the street and I forgot to get dressed first. It's a Scandanavian thing but they claim I torched the house on purpose. They just don't understand . . . . it’s because I just don’t want to shovel anymore!

Whee, The People

I'm using the title to this article, "Whee The People" much the way Herb Caen did regularly in his column for the San Francisco Chronicle. Herb was fond of poking fun at his readers and lampooning their follies. He laughed the most at the antics and foibles of socialites and politicos in the Bay Area and became surprisingly famous and in great demand in their celebrity social circles.

My reason for using his phrase is much the same; I relate to his cynicism . . . the government bailout issue for example. The automakers, their unions, their suppliers, and ultimately we consumers created this crisis ourselves, as a group. Why try to blame General Motors when we drivers were buying the Hummers and the Suburbans? Big was good in our consumer lingo. Remember the joke "you don't need to look for a parking space when you own a Humvee. You make your own" accompanied by the video clip of a Hummer driving over the top of adjacent cars? It appealed to those very same impulses that marketing companies use today, namely own more and bigger things than your neighbor.

And the newscasts of serious-faced Congress people looking down at the automakers in the hearings? Do any of us suspect that maybe some of them were driven to those meetings in 8 mpg limos? And then tell me that "we" (meaning the government but really us, the voters) are going to do a better job. A government car czar to decide which cars to build, how much to pay the workers, etc. etc.??? I always thought that was up to the entrepeur, the business owner......

So if there is need for regulation and discipline shouldn't we look to ourselves first instead of trying to blame somebody else? After all, we vote people into and out of our government, people whom we mean to represent our needs and interests. We have a representative democracy in this country (although some, like the Illinois governor treat it more like a business) and if you think about it, so is our market economy. Nobody is making us buy those Humvees. No one forces us to watch NASCAR races, and muscle cars have been hot sellers ever since cars were invented.

I guess "whee" gets the brass ring. We could waste a lot of time and money and engergy pointing fingers when really all that is needed is for us to just look in the mirror. Self-discipline is what this crisis is all about. Taking a longer-range view of our consumer-driven mentality would go a long way toward avoiding these bloated corporations and bloated bureaucracies.

My two cents.

Watching for Katie

We own three rescue shelties as many of you already know. Rescue means they were given up by their owners for whatever reason and are in effect, in the pound so not only is this the only way we could afford one but it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you take an animal home from the shelter.

Oliver for example was a trade for fixing somebody's rototiller because he was too tall to show which is what his owner wanted and she couldn't afford the repair. Andrew was dumped by some vile breeder on a logging road outside Hilt with no collar or tags and loaded with ticks and burrs. His only 'fault' was he was a little fat.

And Tiffany is well, skitzy . . beautiful but emotionally challenged. She would not show well either but for behavior reasons.

Anyway, we walk them through the neighborhood regularly and we are both facinated at their ability, all three of them, to remember where each neighbor dog is. For instance, a neighbor up the street has a gorgeous Irish Setter named Katie. She is usually on a lead by his garage, lounging and watching the passers-by with her toys at hand.

But Ollie thinks she's fearsome. For yards before we reach the house he's pulling and 'yapping' (in quotes because he's de-barked). Also, she's 'there' even if she's not. Most times in other words, the garage is closed and she's gone with her owner somewhere. But Ollie doesn't buy this. She is there SOMEWHERE and he just KNOWS it. He anticipates that she is there / not-there fifty yards away and point his gaze directly at the garage, hoping perhaps that his intuition has not disappointed him. This is a lot like 'eyes left!' in the miltary.

He did (and continues to pull even now) the same thing at Ed Dallara's house on Hogan. Ed, who passed away some months ago, used to cruise the neighborhood with his walker giving out treats to all the dogs he met. If Ed saw us coming he'd open his garage to come out with the biscuits. He had many doggie friends who are very disappointed at his passing and Ollie is just one of them.

Ollie never forgot this man. Or his home. Or the biscuits. We still come to a tugging halt when we walk by his place, even though the garage is closed now.

The thing is THEY REMEMBER. Places where they were, places where nice people were. Why am I not surprised at this?

Attention Gearheads

You have to Google this . . . the Schneider Cup was a fab thing in the 1930's, THE place to be when it came to speed. And since airports were scarce most thinkers thought seaplanes were the wave to come. WW II changed that of course but during the 30's there was a lot of interest in seaplanes (see other stories under the Aviation label).
So here comes Italy with the awesome TWIN IN LINE 12 cylinder (presumably liquid-cooled) engines powering two counter-rotating props through, get this, a hollow drive shaft.


I know. This is why I said Gearheads in the title. The first two models crashed or blew up midair so the third volunteer must have had quite a dose of confidence. He set a world record of 448 mph in this rocket. That record was not broken until a Russian did better in a jet powered seaplane in 1961.
Note; thank you Jack Brooks for sending the photos and firing my curiosity. One last question I have is where is this plane displayed?

WATCH D.O.G.S.

I saw on the news that fathers are volunteering time at the school where their child is enrolled. It's a program that is apparently growing quite fast nationwide and from my perspective as a retired public school teacher, is badly needed in schools everywhere.

The "D.O.G.S." by the way stands for "Dads Of Great Students".

I went to www.fathers.com and found all sorts of info (also 800-593-DADS), the most relevant being instructions on how to set up a program in your locality. It appears that not only are dads a good influence on their own children while in the classroom but on the other students as well. In addition the program helps teach dads something too, good parenting skills.

I suspect our local schools would welcome such a plan. The question is are there any dads out there interested in doing it?