Perspective...

Nothing puts life and the qualities of life into better perspective than death. I spoke with my Mimi this morning and found out that my great Uncle Ken had passed away last Friday; he was 80 years old. Great Uncle Ken was my Poppo's older brother. I recently saw Uncle Ken at my Uncle Ron's birthday celebration. Ken was carrying his oxygen tank around and sipping on a whiskey-on-the-rocks drink. He looked like a rugged cowboy; the type who had a tough upbringing and lived to tell the tale. I didn't know Uncle Ken very well, but his passing is tough; as is everyone who we've known in our lives that is now dead. I hope he's in a good place now... I hope he's with his brother; my Poppo.

Kenneth Durwood Blake
Kenneth Durwood Blake, 80, passed away Friday, June 30, 2006 at home. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, 2006 at Cloverdale Funeral Home, Boise. Burial will follow at Terrace Lawn Memorial Gardens. Services are under the direction of Cloverdale Funeral Home.

Ken was born Feb. 17, 1926, to Durwood and Anna Luella Blake in Heskel County, Tex. His family moved to the Colton, Calif. area. He was educated in southern California and Oregon. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1944. After he was honorably discharged, he joined his family in Eagle, Idaho. There he met his future wife, Delores "Dee" DeChambeau, at Orville Jackson's Drug Store where she worked. They married on June 15, 1947. They had three children and lived throughout the West.

In 1967, Ken was transferred to Helena, Mont. by the Kaiser Cement Corporation. He retired as a mining supervisor in 1978 and they returned to Eagle. Dee passed away in 1993. Papa and Grandma Dee spent several years remodeling what started out as a small cabin. They turned it into a beautiful home overlooking the Terrace Lake Golf Course. It continues to be enjoyed by their children and grandchildren. Ken married Shirley Ross Aug. 5, 1995. They have had ten wonderful years together traveling to Alaska, the Oregon Coast and between their homes in Arizona and Boise. They shared many happy times with both of their families. In his early years, Ken was an outstanding softball pitcher and played on several regional championship teams. In later life, his passion became golf. He enjoyed the game, as well as his many golfing friends, including the Florian Group. They had annual tournaments for many years. Ken was the family photographer. He began capturing memories in the early 1950s with rented movie cameras. He was a jack-of-all-trades and helped anyone with whatever projects needed his many skills. He loved to garden and care for his yard. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dee, his parents and brother, Jim Blake. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, his children Linda (John) Adams of Eagle, Bob Blake of Bozeman, Mont., Steve (Jan) Blake of Alameda, Calif.; grandchildren Tiffany Briscoe of Seattle, Linsay Adams of Lahaina, Emily of Boise, Charles of Bozeman.

An Inconvenient Truth

Last night, the Beau and I went to see "An Inconvenient Truth" at the Flicks since it was opening night. I bought tickets earlier in the day because I was expecting a large crowd; similar to the opening day of Michael Moore's movie 2 years earlier. The Beau and I rode Rusty and Betty down to the theater and had some brew and pita/hummus combo before getting in line for the movie. Wow... so many people in line for the movie. After asking around to make sure we were in the correct line, we found out the long line was for "Prairie Home Companion" and the shorter line was for us. I was both relieved and saddened to be in the shorter line. Relieved because we would get a good seat, but saddened that there were more people in line for some Hollywood hit (albeit a good movie - saw the previews and Beau wants to see it), but people weren't in line for a documentary that would affect their lives and the lives of generations to come.

I enjoyed the film and Mr. Gore made some very strong points of where we are headed due to our behaviors and ways of living. From a movie-making perspective, there were some disconnects when Gore would switch to his personal experiences and draw a parallel between that and why he is doing what he's doing today with his presentations. Overall, I would recommend this flick. It really struck home how what we are doing affects the environment. I knew there were some issues, but to see graphical displays of the sun's rays that hit our atmosphere and are unable to escape due to the CO2 emissions that are being emitted by our exhaust and other high technology tools we've come to rely upon. Yes, progress is a good thing, but it should be made with precaution and awareness that every cause does have an affect. We may not see all of the effects during our lifetime, but our children and grandchildren will. It seems so foolish to live blindly to what is going on.

It was disheartening to see the graphs of other countries and the U.S. in terms of MPG requirements and standards. The U.S. ranked the lowest with the excuse that if we put stringent requirements upon the American automakers, then they wouldn't be able to be profitable, yadda yadda. However, California is making leaps by trying to pass a law to require higher MPG for autos being driven there. Interesting... that the state is currently being sued by the automakers concerning this same law. Hmmm. If we were to look at a graph of American automakers and overseas automakers, we would see that the Americans are losing money. Interesting that the excuse to keep low MPG requirements is to save the American automakers... I ask, "How can other countries have higher MPG requirements and are still able to make money"?

Another big question I had, after watching this movie was, "when did the environment become about politics and some politician's (non-scientist) idea of global warming being hogwash"? How did we let it get to the point where it's the fat cats in Washington who are deciding what we are to do? I know we're supposed to be living in a Democratic nation where we elect these individuals; but COME ON! The people are elected because they have $$$$. What's the average amount of $$$ spent on a campaign? Ah, this diatribe has digressed from the environment to politics. The main point I'd like to make is that the difference has to start with us. We cannot depend on Washington to do what's right for this Earth. It comes down to using energy efficiently. Re-using and recycling what we have. Riding bicycles or using public transit as often as possible. Carpooling. Having an energy audit conducted on our homes to determine what we can do to better utilize energy. The list continues. People complain that recycling is inconvenient because the recyclers don't come to their home. If you make recycling a part of your routine - i.e. store glass, aluminum, paper, plastic - and then take that to a recycling center 1-2 times per month, it's really not that inconvenient. Do it on your way to the store!

***

All these thoughts were running through my head as we left the theater. We hopped on Rusty and Betty and then rode downtown to get some food. Unfortunately, the buttery, succulent popcorn during the film had not sustained our hunger. As we parked out in front of a new Basque eatery downtown, a friend of ours called out to us. He was with 3 others and asked what we were up to. When we mentioned that we had gone to "An Inconvenient Truth", his companion said, "Oh, how depressing." And he added, "Yeah, you should just try to forget about that so you won't get depressed." It was hard, but I held my tongue. I didn't feel like going off on a tirade right then and there. Over dinner, I let loose with the Beau. It's that kind of attitude - Oh, it's depressing, don't think about it - that retards people from doing anything about THE PROBLEM! That attitude doesn't stop with the environment... it covers rape, domestic abuse, diseases, poverty, homelessness, etc. Sad to say, but the list continues! Oh, no, we mustn’t think of depressing topics or we may become sad and won't be able to enjoy the rest of our night. We are such a selfish society... Sorry to say friends, but the demand is beating the supply... we have more problems and issues to deal with now than ever before. Every little bit helps :-)