The Snipe Hunt

All Praise the Pooper Scoopers!

For those of you who missed it, and I don't know how you possibly could have, this past weekend was the 51st Annual Swallows Day Parade. Parade Day is still a big deal in SJC; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Downtown merchants look forward to it every year and rightly so. I think that this year's parade also packed extra meaning, given the state of the economy and all. But this isn't that kind of blog. 

First and foremost, it's now my responsibility to the first into town. It's my job to be in town by 8 AM, well before any streets are even threatened to be closed down. I pull in, park somewhere out of the way, then hump every chair and blanket owned by the Galindo family into its proper Parade Viewing Position. And, when I write every Galindo Family chair and blanket, that's quite literal. It's not just wife and son and I, but my parents' chairs, my sister's chairs, and blankets for the kids to romp on. In all, that's about 28 pieces of equipment. 

Next, I have to get into town early enough to get my mother's preferred spot in front of the Marie Callendar's restaurant.  Now, in years past, once all the equipment is set up, I'm free to leave and wander the town in search of coffee and breakfast. Not so this year because, by 8:30 AM, there were already crowds on Del Obispo. People turned out early this year. And I think that's a good sign. 

In the parade's 51 year history, I've been to about ten straight parades. I think that's pretty good considering I moved back to California in 1997. And now that my son is old enough to enjoy it, I think I enjoy the parade more. It's magical to watch him become so fascinated by everything in the parade. From the big bull to the walking dogs to seeing his cousin Arthur march with the San Juan Hills HS band, my son was captivated. But, to me, the funniest part of the whole thing was and will continue to be the fact that you can not only see but interact with your friends and neighbors who are in the parade. Where else, when else, can you do such a thing? A lot of parades are about strangers coming into your town and making a spectacle of themselves. But, not so in SJC. Our parade is all about our town. We make a spectacle of ourselves. And that's how we like it. 

Say it with a smile!

It's tough to be in the car business right now; I think we all know that. But, at least one local dealership is hiring. A buddy of mine started at Park Place Lexus a week ago. If you don't know, that's the Lexus dealership just north of Avery Parkway. He tells me that sales have been steady, if slow, but better than at the Cadillac dealership he used to work for. 

Anyway, as a new hire, he had to go to the local corporate building, in the Irvine/Tustin area, for his official Lexus corporate training. Or, as he put it, it was his time to "drink the corporate Kool-Aid". 

Which reminded me of the only good advice I ever got from my brother Joseph Peter. Now, Joseph Peter has always been my "bad boy" brother. While my other brother Art went to college, struck out on his own, married, and started a family, Joseph Peter (who, by my mother's declaration must always be referred to by his full Christian name), skipped college, went straight to work, had a long bachelorhood (he loved to boogie; he loved the nightlife), and, in general, did things that bad boys do; like marry an Italian girl. But, on day, out of the blue, he told me something that didn't make sense to me until years later. In fact, it wasn't until I was out of college and working that this singular piece of advice really hit home. 

When I was about twelve, and totally out of the blue, Joseph Peter told me, "When They tell you it's time to drink the Kool-Aid, you offer to serve it and tell everyone else not to wait on you because you want to make sure that everyone gets served first. And say it with a smile."

I like to think my brother was telling me that, sometimes, it's better to just to sip the Kool-Aid instead of shooting it straight up. And maybe in this day and age, that would be a pretty good thing. So, to my buddy, formerly of Cadillac, currently of Lexus, I say, take what you need from the corporate training and trust your instincts on everything else. Unless they're serving the watermelon/grape Kool-Aid. That was always my favorite. 

The things you forget.

If you're a regular reader of my print column, you'll know that my wife doesn't cook in our house. So, this past Monday, I got up a little early and started a hearty pancake breakfast for my wife and I and my Little Dude. There few things in this world that my Little Dude loves than pancakes. Granted, he's only 3, but you get the idea. 

So, as the three of us munched pancakes and sipped either milk or coffee or some combination thereof, my wife asked what I wanted to spend the day doing. Normally, on a day off, I spend the day, or part of it at least, working the yards, balancing the checkbook, or some combination thereof. But, on this past Monday, I really honestly had nothing to do. For a few minutes and a few mouthfuls of pancake, I really racked my brain trying to think of something entertaining and, if nothing else, vaguely educational. Then, it hit me. 

The last time I had been to The Ocean Institute was about month ago. And that was for work not play.  The company I work for had catered a luncheon event there. Anyway, I knew the Ocean Institute wouldn't be open in a Monday, but the actual institute is only half of the fun and, besides, my Little Dude is only 3. So, we drove down, parked, then spent an hour walking around the bluff behind the Institute, down on the rocky and luckily low-tide beach, the native plant walking path and around the two tall ships docked nearby. My Little Dude walked, ran, asked questions, and speculated as to the whereabouts of all the pirates who must man those two tall ships. In short, it was a great hour of family time. 

On the drive to lunch, my wife and I got to talking. We're lucky to be living where we do, we decided. In part because Southern California isn't, say, southern Indiana or southern Ohio, but mostly because of the plethora of great, easy, free and largely forgotten things anyone can take advantage of. My wife, for example, born and raised right here in the Capistrano Valley, had never been to the Ocean Institute. So, we made a pledge, right then and there, to take advantage of the all the great free things around us. Next week, on my day off, we're thinking of spending an hour or so re-exploring Los Rios Street. Something neither one of us has done in a very long time. Until then, feel free to post your favorite free family spots here. I'll report back on any that my family visit. 

Welcome to the Snipe Hunt

Maybe I was a naive little kid or maybe I had really mean friends, but when I was about ten, I went on a sleep-over to a friend's house and was made to believe that a small yet extremely valuable lizard like creature called a Snipe lived in the backyard. What's more, the person to actually catch the Snipe would be the first to do so in over a hundred years and would no doubt reap the financial benefits thereof. Well, needless to say, I stayed up late into the night searching for the Snipe. 

But what my friends didn't take into account was that I did have older siblings who were, at ten to fifteen years older than me, in and out of my parents' house. What that meant, was that I was pretty experienced at staying up late because, as my siblings had taught me, the best t.v. shows came on late. As a consequence, I was able to outlast all of my friends. The last of them finally dropped to sleep sometime around midnight while I remained vigilant at the patio door. 

You can imagine my surprise the next morning when my friends heatedly told me that I had ruined the whole night. "Me?" I said. "You're the ones who fell asleep! I had to wait nearly all night and I still didn't see that thing!" It finally took someone's older brother to explain it to me. You see, Snipes don't actually exist. The whole point is to tell someone the story, wait for them to fall asleep, pour a combination of something disgusting and something smelly on their hands, then tell them that the Snipe must has slept all night in their warm palm while they slept. Fame, fortune, and the attention of girls worldwide were surely gone forever! 

To be honest, I still don't get it. But, what do kids know anyway? Look, this is my new blog and in it, I'll be micro-blogging about the comings and goings of the Capistrano Valley (and maybe from places afar as well). Feel free to leave a comment if you like or not. If you come across something you think I'd be interested in (and you will after awhile) then please feel free to point it out to me. I like to think I'll be posting a blog twice a week, but, you know, I do have something resembling a life, so don't hold your breath. Hopefully this blog will give you something to think about or, at least, something to smile about because it's happening right in your backyard. Enjoy!