OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

I've been following the Presidential race, without feeling particularly inspired by any candidate. If I leaned any particular way, it was toward Hillary Clinton, because I wanted Bill back in the White House, and the Clinton's are politically savvy. And I believed they were in touch with the people at the same time. Whatever the criticisms of them may be, they're NOT George Bush, nor are they like McCain or Romney. That alone is worth the vote. However, as I listened more and more to Obama, in speeches, in the debates, I started getting this real sense of the possibility of a President who thought outside the box. I remember the same sentiment with John F. Kennedy, even as young as I was in 1963. Obama has brought extraordinary number of the young vote and the independent into his campaign, people whom I feel are the most disenchanted with the political process. The more I listened to him speak, the less enchanted I became with Hillary. And then when Bill started injecting "race" into the discussion by comparing Obama's win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's win in 1984, that pushed me over the edge. Obama has nothing to do in belief nor political thought to Jackson. The comment was out of line.

Please take a look at Obama's website. Donate $25 or $50. The Clinton's are a well-oiled, well-financed political machine. The Republicans WANT Hillary to run, because she's the most "beatable" candidate. They're going to raise the specter of Bill's administration to scare conservatives into voting Republican.

Think outside the box. Support Obama.

Old Friend Resurfaces

A few weekends ago, my longtime friend Hills came up from San Antonio with Caralyn, whom we've both known since high school. My family moved in next door to Hills when I was 5 and we've been friends ever since. Caralyn I met in 1968, and she introduced me to Donovan's music. Really, she was the first hippie I'd met. Anyway, Hills and I have always kept up over the years, but one of our very best friends in those formative years, Rob, we hadn't seen since then. Rob is the one who turned me on to Dylan. I was over at his house, and he had just bought "Another Side of Bob Dylan" and told me I had to listen to it. I remember when "Blonde On Blonde" came out, Rob and I went to U.V. Blake Records, and sat in one of those listening booths where they pipe in the LP of your choice. We were particularly awed by "Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again)" and laughed at all the cymbal crashes at the end of the song, that wouldn't seem to end.

He's been living in Ft. Worth for the last 25 years, and is somewhat reclusive. But he came to see us that weekend, and it was almost like we hadn't skipped a beat in the last 35 years. He's had an interesting life. A few years ago, Rob quit his engineering job after an epiphany that he wasn't really enjoying his life. He is now making the most incredible clocks, which you can see at this website.

When Rob was an engineer, he had to get top security clearance from the Dept. of Energy to do some work for the government. He was told it took about 2 years to get clearance, but he got a call to come to Washington 2 weeks later! When he walked into the office, they handed him his clearance. Turns out, he was involved in a Viet Nam war protest at Texas Tech University in 1970, and the FBI had had a file on him ever since! Man, my own friend on Nixon's enemy list!