CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Visit Mother and Bob and Robin in Nipomo with Julee Welch Patty and

0603 -
0603 -    ..
0604 - Summary/Objective
0605 -
060501 - Follow up ref SDS 6 0000, ref SDS 5 0000.
060502 -
060503 -
060504 -
060505 -
060506 -
060507 -     [On 060328 follow up letter on the visit, transmitting pictures.
060508 -     ref SDS 7 0001
060509 -
060510 -
060512 -  ..
0606 -
0607 -
0608 - Progress
0609 -
060901 - Arrived OA 0930.  We stopped at Vons to get some donuts for Bob and
060902 - Mother.
060904 -  ..
060905 - Bob was not feeling well.  He got a bad tooth ache about 0200 and it
060906 - kept him awake until about 0400, so he did not get a lot of sleep.  He
060907 - called his dentist, and talked to the dentist's wife, who evidently
060908 - works in his practice.  The dentist was playing golf.  The wife was
060909 - able to call in a prescription to relieve discomfort from the tooth
060910 - ache.
060912 -  ..
060913 - About 1100, he went to the pharmacy and got the prescription filled.
060914 - This turned out to help alot.
060916 -  ..
060917 - When we arrived, a contractor-mechanic was repairing problems with
060918 - recent improvements to the heating system.  Bob had hired the
060919 - contractor to install a new heater, and last night it failed, so they
060920 - were cold.  The contractor had difficulty finding the cause of the
060921 - problem.  He eventually concluded that the wiring has a short located
060922 - somewhere in the wall from where the thermostat is installed in the
060923 - hallway, and leading up the attic above the ceiling.  The mechanic
060924 - theorizes that the original work was defective because the cable was
060925 - stapled to the wall studs without protection.  This could have caused
060926 - a weak condition.  When he made recent improvements, tugging this line
060927 - slightly to add new features caused the prior weak condition to
060928 - escalate into an actual break in the electrical circuit.
060930 -  ..
060931 - He eventually got the system to run.  How this was accomplished is not
060932 - clear; there was discussion of having crawled into the ceiling above
060933 - the thermostat and pushed the wire "back" enough for a temporary
060934 - connection.  This would be very unusual wire to respond in the manner
060935 - described.  The mechanic told Bob he would have run a new wire next
060936 - week, during the regular work week, to construct a permenant repair.
060937 - Running new wire will require demolition to remove sheetrock from the
060938 - wall studs, to get access to the wiring.  Install a new wire, and then
060939 - repair the sheetrock, and paint the wall.
060941 -  ..
060942 - Patty called and said that Pablito cannot come today because he got
060943 - sick.
060945 -  ..
060946 - Robin called and said she is sick and so cannot visit today either.
060948 -  ..
060949 - Kathy called yesterday and said that Amy has to work today, so they
060950 - cannot come today after all.
060952 -  ..
060953 - We made a joke about "mailing in" the visit.
060955 -  ..
060956 - Mother slept a good part of the day on the couch in the living room,
060957 - including after company arrived.  She was not feeling well, with
060958 - constant discomfort from osteropersous.  After a long nap, she livened
060959 - up after dinner and joined in the discussion with interest and energy.
060961 -  ..
060962 - Julee and Cameron arrived OA 1400, and Patty got here about an hour
060963 - later.
060965 -  ..
060966 - Julee is a beautiful girl, like her mother and grandmother.  There is
060967 - also some resemblance to David.
060969 -  ..
060970 - Julee and Cameron did not stop at the Hearst Castle driving down from
060971 - Montery.  They plan to visit Hearst on the way home Monday.  Their
060972 - plan is to spend a few days in San Francisco, including take the ferry
060973 - to Angle Island.  Mil related our trip to Angle Island when we took
060974 - bikes and had a picnic.
060976 -  ..
060977 - Suggested they consider taking the ferry to Sausalito and having lunch
060978 - over there.  Also mentioned family history running and meeting along
060979 - the Embarcadero, and suggested they get their picture taken at the
060980 - wheel at Fisherman's Wharf.
060982 -  ..
060983 - They might also call Mil while they are in town Tuesday and/or
060984 - Wednesday.  Her office at 2 Embarcadero Center is a few blocks from
060985 - their hotel, so they could have lunch or something.  MacArthur Park is
060986 - a popular lunch and hangout location near the Golden Gateway Center.
060988 -  ..
060989 - Cameron seemed to indicate they planned to avoid Fisherman's Wharf,
060990 - because they do not like tourist spots.  Julee said they plan to visit
060991 - the Chocolate Factory in Ghiradelli Square.  Millie explained that the
060992 - Chocolate Factory and the landing where they plan to take the ferry to
060993 - Angle Island are both at Fisherman's Wharf.  Julee indicated that, if
060994 - time permits, they will look for the wheel, and if things break right
060995 - will take picture to continue the legacy.
060997 -  ..
060998 - Bob presented ideas about visiting Cambria on Monday, which is near
060999 - the Hearst Castle.  This would fit with plans Julee and Cameron are
061000 - talking about for Monday.
061002 -  ..
061003 - Robin called OA 1730 and said she still does not feel well enough to
061004 - come over.  She plans to try to visit tomorrow before Patty leaves at
061005 - 1100, so that she can meet her cousin.
061007 -  ..
061008 - Julee and Patty were disappointed that Kathy and Ed missed the visit,
061009 - since Julee has never met them, and Patty hasn't seen them for quite
061010 - a while.  Discussed possibility of Julee and Cameron stopping by
061011 - Sacramento on the way home, since Highway 5, is generally a faster
061012 - route.  Something to keep in mind for next week.
061014 -  ..
061015 - Everyone was disappointed that Pablito missed the visit.  We clued
061016 - Julee and Cameron in on Pablito's wonderful wizardry with culinary
061017 - delights.  Actually, the same is true for Robin.  They are both
061018 - geniuses with food.  Maybe next time.
061020 -  ..
061021 - We learned a lot about Julee and Cameron.  At age 5 maybe, Julee lived
061022 - for awhile at the marine base in El Torro, CA.  She grew up mostly in
061023 - Oregon and Washington.  Her office with the Bonneville Power Authority
061024 - is located downtown Portland.  Her home is in the the Southwest part
061025 - of Portland, which sounds like the other side of the Wallemette river
061026 - (I think??).
061028 -  ..
061029 - Julee studied literature for her undergraduate degree at Lewis & Clark
061030 - College, also, in Portland, as discussed on 060317. ref SDS 6 WG63
061031 - Her course work did not address the debate over transformation from
061032 - orality to literacy reflected initially on 991108, ref SDS 2 3339, and
061033 - citing Havelock's analysis, along with Plato's Phaedrus showing innate
061034 - resistance to writing, as an aid to memory and reasoning, i.e., wit,
061035 - intelligence, thinking... ref SDS 2 2320  We did not discuss this
061036 - history today, shown on 991209. ref SDS 3 0877 and ref SDS 3 3416
061038 -  ..
061039 - Julee travelled in the Far East and to Europe following graduation
061040 - from college.
061042 -  ..
061043 - Cameron and Julee like cats.  They have several, and care for a number
061044 - from the neighborhood.  They do not eat meat (Julee and Cameron),
061045 - evidently related to food chain "processing" issues.  May have
061046 - mentioned something about unions, or that employees are not treated
061047 - well - not sure since this would seem to preclude eating most
061048 - everything.
061050 -  ..
061051 - Cameron seems thoughtful and engaged in the world of ideas.  He plans
061052 - a career in renewable energy, things like Jeff did at Seawest building
061053 - biomass, wind farm systems, e.g., reported on 990409. ref SDS 1 HO9M
061054 - Evidently, hydroelectric does not fit the parameters of "renewable"
061055 - because of collateral impacts.
061057 -  ..
061058 - Julee's older sister Sheree has lived a scratchy life, starting out
061059 - with a bad situation of child abuse by the step-father when they lived
061060 - on the marine base in El Torro.  After she grew up quickly.  Sheree
061061 - lived for awhile in Hawaii.  She now lives in Washington, and works as
061062 - a file clerk for a law firm.  Sounds like the sisters remain fairly
061063 - close; Julee seems to be the one coming the rescue of various scrapes
061064 - that still occur in Sheree's approach to things.
061066 -  ..
061067 - Travis is living in Las Vegas with his wife.  He is 38.  Travis was
061068 - successful in wrestling in high school.  He had two stints with the
061069 - military.  Initially with the army.  After discharge from the army,
061070 - some time later he joined the marines and had a successful career in
061071 - special forces.  He may have been in the first gulf war.  Kind of the
061072 - got the impression that he was not in theater for Afghanistan nor in
061073 - Iraq, but may have this wrong.  He now has a business with contracts
061074 - to support the military in some manner.
061076 -  ..
061077 - The highlight of the day, besides Bob's pizza, was looking at
061078 - pictures.  Patty brought a bunch, and Julee had a lot of pictures.
061079 - Mother had more pictures.  The living room made a nice gallery for
061080 - spreading things out to compare everyone over the years.
061082 -  ..
061083 - Patty told us about her new job.  She enjoys being her own boss, and
061084 - working from home via the Internet.  Her business has expanded, so
061085 - that revenue is favorable for them at this time.  Pablito is working
061086 - in sales.  Patty seemed to relate concerns he has about the sales
061087 - approach of his current assignment in relation to teachings of their
061088 - church.  They are both deeply committed to the church, which is
061089 - providing a solid foundation and compass guiding their lives.
061091 -  ..
061092 - Patty has been fortunate in both work and marriage.  She told the
061093 - story of having "fallen off the wagon," as the saying goes; yet,
061094 - Pablito helped her work through this and get back to goals for
061095 - sobriety.  Patty also credits Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), in addition
061096 - to her strong religious practice for the positive track of life.
061098 -  ..
061099 - Great visit.  Need to do more of this; maybe keep in touch a little
061100 - more through email.
061101 -
061102 -
061103 -
061104 -
061105 -
061106 -
061107 -
061108 -
0612 -