At War With The City

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. Does anyone have anything to add?

October 7th, 2006

D. J. Sotelo, Code Enforcement Officer
Code Enforcement Division
Department of Community Development
601 Carmen Drive
Camarillo, CA 93011-0248

Re:

Dear Mr. Sotelo:

Your letter of October 2nd, has me somewhat confused. You state in your letter that, “a subsequent field inspection revealed that you have failed to comply with the municipal code AND you refrained from contacting us to discuss the matter or request additional time to correct the stated violations.” What are you, new? That is an untrue statement.

As you are obviously unaware, upon receiving your original letter of September 7th, I went to the City of Camarillo on September 15th, and discussed the situation. I requested that the sidewalk in front of my residence be fixed before landscaping the parkway as the sidewalk has been lifted by roots and needs to be fixed. I was given a copy of the Camarillo Request for Service that was issued September 15th, it states, “Code enforcement case – needs to be taken car of ASAP. Homeowner waiting until sidewalk fixed.” Someone from the city came and cut the roots off of the tree, painted the sidewalk orange along the crack and we were told that someone would return and fix the sidewalk. So we have been waiting for the sidewalk to be fixed.

But now, not only do I have a sidewalk that is a hazard to pedestrians, but a tree that is now a hazard because it’s root system has been severed. We all know when roots are severed, trees often die, limbs fall off and the tree sometimes falls over, or if I’m lucky, multiple roots will grow where the other roots were severed. The most efficient thing to have done would have been for the city to place a barrier between the tree and the sidewalk so the sidewalk doesn’t get worse, or if I dare say, the sidewalk gets fixed like I asked in the first place. You see, this would preclude this from happening again. Call me crazy, but I really have a problem with my tax dollars being spent on the same mistake twice.

Furthermore I am incensed that because I dared to request that a hazardous sidewalk be fixed I have now incurred another hazard in the form of a tree that could topple due to incompetence.

So in closing, to preclude further hazards from incompetent city workers, the parkway has been irrigated and landscaped.

I would like to take this opportunity to report graffiti on my sidewalk, but I'm afraid what that might entail.


Rebecca K. Gojkovich
Living in fear in Camarillo

For Heather, Who Asks Questions

Yes, we can write letters.

Peggy McHenry
Chief, Regulations Unit
California Department of Corrections
1515 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Ms. McHenry:


I have a friend who is in prison and has been for over 25 years. We have been friends since high school. For Christmas I sent him some gifts, a book of poetry by Rumi and an art book “A Star for Noon” by Gordon Parks.

He was allowed to keep the book of poetry but the art book, of female nudes with still lifes, 18 previously unpublished poems and a CD of chamber music, was returned to me because of nudity in the art book.

There is a vast difference between female nudity in the form of art, which is respectful and pornography, which is not.

When the gift I gave was returned to me, I was both frightened and frustrated. I had no idea that in our enlightened society a human being could be denied art.

I have enclosed a poem that I wrote out of that frustration as I find poetry cathartic. I am not so full of myself as to think that by my writing a simple letter, things will be changed. But I do feel that it is important to express my concerns in this matter.

Art lifts and heals the human spirit. Why those who are imprisoned are denied exposure to art -of any form- is beyond my realm of understanding.

Denied!
By Rebecca K. Gojkovich

Written upon the receipt of my gift, “A Star For Noon”
Denied by the Warden of a California Correctional Facility

Denied of our right to give freely from our collective heart
To give the gift of chamber music, poetry and art

To him who has been housed for so long
In your industrial concrete and steel

We tried to bring beauty
In images, song, and the written word.

It was “An Homage to Women”
In no way intended to cause a hostile environment toward women.

As if their witnessing, daily, human beings caged like animals
Were not hostile enough.

We envisioned him with eyes closed, his head tilted back
As the music takes him away.

To a place where flutes caress him like the wings of a dove.
Cellos mourn and weep for his losses.

While violins bring to him fond memories.
And the perseverance of the piano

And the angry beating of the drums
Reinforces his desire to never give up.

In the images of women and the words of Gordon Parks
We tried to bring to him a small piece of humanity

So that he will not forget
In that place where he lives

That there are those who still care
And always will.

The above is my response to the warden for denying my gift. She never wrote back.

Senator Majority Leader Richard G. Polanco
State Capital, Room 313
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Honorable Senator Polanco:

I am writing to you on behalf of my friend Elmo Chattman, who is incarcerated at CSP-Solano. Elmo recently (September 16, 2002) had a hearing before the Board of Prison Terms and was denied parole for another two years. It was brought to my attention, that the letter I wrote on behalf of Elmo Chattman, stating that he had a job waiting for him when he gets out of prison, and a place to stay with my husband, children and me, was never placed as part of the packet he took to the Board. This important information – that Elmo has a job and place to live upon release – was therefore not presented to the Board.

In brief, Elmo was with his brother when his brother spontaneously shot and killed a man. His brother even stated at his own hearing, in 2001, that Elmo tried to stop him from shooting the man. So you can imagine my surprise when Kenny (Elmo’s brother) GOT a date from the board and Elmo didn’t. How can the man that pulled the trigger get a release date and the one who tried to stop him be denied?

Elmo got his BA degree (from Antioch College) when he was at San Quentin. More recently he has taken a course through UC’s Graduate School of Journalism. He was editor of the San Quentin News in the 1980’s. Elmo is also a poet who has studied with Judith Tannenbaum when she taught at San Quentin. Elmo is a primary character in Judith’s book, Disguised as a Poem, My years Teaching Poetry at San Quentin (Northeastern University Press, 2000) and he helped Judith with the editing of that book.

Throughout the years I have kept in touch with our Deputy District Attorney Donald Grant who attended Elmo’s previous hearings in favor of Elmo’s release to our County of Ventura and who promised me that he would not retire until he saw Elmo released. He has since retired. So, I really don’t know where to turn at this point, and am asking for your assistance in this matter.

Putting all emotions aside for my dear friend Elmo, I wish to express my disappointment as a concerned citizen. I feel it is unfair to continue burdening taxpayers, for the continued incarceration of inmates who are no longer a threat to society and are suitable for release back into society. This is particularly troublesome when the perpetrator of the crime was given a parole date, and the man who tried to prevent the crime continues to be denied a date.

Sincerely,


Rebecca K. Gojkovich

(Kenny's parole date was denied by the governor)

Board of Prison Terms
1515 K Street, 16th floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
ATTN: Pam-- Correspondence

Subject: Elmo Chattman; C-05575
Post Recision #7
CSP-Solano


Dear Honorable Board Members:

I am writing on behalf of my friend Elmo Chattman. I have written to the board in the past so you are already aware that I have known Elmo since I was a Freshman in High School. I have corresponded with Elmo throughout the years and my husband and I have visited with Elmo, as well. My husband John has known Elmo since Junior High School.

With this letter I would like to take the opportunity to let the Board know that upon Elmo’s release he has a place to stay at our home in Camarillo, Ventura County. My husband and I our both gainfully employed. My husband is a mechanic for a Tree Care Company and I am a Quality Control Manger for a company that manufactures forgings for the aerospace industry.

We own our own home. We have two children still living at home ages 22 (Joseph, a bricklayer/tender) and 17 (Jacob, a senior in high school). My husband John and I have discussed with both of our children their thoughts on having Elmo coming to live with us upon his release and they both can’t wait for Elmo to join us. My children have spoken with Elmo over the years on the telephone and Elmo has sent to them books, etc., so he is not a stranger to my family. He is family. My family would all like very much to share with Elmo this new phase in his life.

So please let us.




And through it all he still has this to say.

Finding Peace

Listen . . .
In the quiet stillness
of this dingy cell,
something is afoot.
Time is marching on, dutifully,
despite my plaintive protests.
The years have become my foe
taking my youth, yet delivering me
no closer to freedom.
The mirror and these gray hairs conspire
to taunt me, to paint a portrait,
an image of me I fail to recognize.
The immortality I once knew
has been made a myth, displaced
by the burgeoning reality
of middle-age,
the new captain of my fate
with whom I must grudgingly
make my peace.


-- Elmo Chattman

Vacaville, CA 95696-4000

Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon

Tonight is the Harvest moon. The first full moon nearest the autumnal equinox.

So, put your Tarot cards on the window sill so they can absorb the moon rays.




And, tonight's full moon is almost 12 percent bigger because it is near perigee, the point on it's oblong orbit that is closest to the earth. Or maybe it's just bloated.

The Harvest Moon in October only happens every 3 years.

Did you know that moonlight steals color?

Luna, the wife of Zeus, was the mother of 50 children. Well, hell yeah, she was a freaking lunatic. I have four and look at me. Sitting on the computer, ranting about the moon on a Friday night.

Oooo and next Friday is the 13th. I can't wait.

Nobel Prize Week Madness

While I often rant about women, I do recognize the great works of men. Like Alfred Nobel, who felt it fitting to leave his fortune to people whose works would most benefit humanity without distinction of nationality.

The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of Physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important Chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or Medicine ; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical work by the Caroline Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or not.

So, inspire a child, and turn them on to some educational games at the Noble Prize Website. Or better yet, reawaken the child in you.

For example,my boss thinks I'm working overtime, but I have just freed the world from nuclear weapons.

Educational Games

The Fight Must Continue

Safia Amajan, a leader in the rights for women, was laid to rest this week after being shot to death while wearing the traditional Islamic Burqa. Safia was on her way to work as director of Afghans Ministry to Women’s Affairs. Her requests for protection and safe transportation had been denied by her government. While a teacher for over 30 years, she also ran an underground school to teach girls.

In 2001, she opened 6 schools and helped teach over 1,000 women. This year alone, over 158 schools have been attacked in Afghanistan because they dare to teach women.

She refused to give up knowing the consequences of her actions because the future of other women's lives meant more to her than her own.

This week my biggest complaint was I was treated badly by a man over the phone because he doubted my female ability to interpret a specification.

I complain out of ignorance, because I forget how good I have it. I forget I can work where I want, wear what I want, learn what I want and say what I want and I want that for all women. I really do. But realistically, I'm not getting off my ass to do anything about it except send a check or talk about it.

But Safia walked the walk and for that she is my hero.

The Adventures of Sandy and Becky

So tonight Sandy drove us to Hollywood to get our Knit 2 Together books signed by Mel Clark and Tracy Ullman. We had already purchased our books at Mels' store, but it was fun to go to Hollywood. And anytime Sandy and I get together it's a laugh-fest that the rest of the motorist population is not amused by.

But I have to tell you about this guy sitting in the back during the book reading. I swear he was a cross between Stephen Hawkins and a heckler with Turrets Syndrome. He would pop off with the strangest string of words strung together and start laughing and then I was laughing so hard I was crying. People were staring like I was crazy. I should have known something was up when they had us sitting in the sports section. He would mumble something, say "degenerates" then write in a book. Later Sandy asked "what was he saying about Ellen?"

So, we got in line and had our books signed (that we bought at Mel's store) joked with Tracy about Mental Illness and then asked Mel if in her next book she would be so kind as to put in some recipes for scones or at the very least teach us American's how to make a decent spot of tea.

Met some more knitters and Sandy met a knitter with an Akita. Just like Jack. There was a fellow knitter sitting next to me during the reading and his name is Dave and Sandy and I visited with him over coffee after the reading. He is an amazing knitter. The sweater he had on was gorgerous. The color scheme umbelievable and he knit it in the round and then cut it. If he ever gives lessons I am definitely signing up.

Dave and Sandy were sitting there talking about things like New York, Habu and advertising and I'm looking for my needle that turns out to stuck behind my ear. Same place I always lose my pens.

I have a feeling that's how the heckler with turrets sydrome started out.

Heather and Dave's Big Day

So, the big day finally arrived. The ceremony was beautiful, the vows were awesome, the food was incredible.

There are too many pictures to post on my blog so I posted them here.

Heather and Daves Big Day

Enjoy.

Budda and the Wand

We went to see Jackie for her birthday and had a great time. We bought her a chakra wand for her birthday and a Budda for her and Josh for a house warming present.

I think next year I'm getting her a Thomas Guide and a compass, because we got lost four fucking times people.

I'm not shitting you and don't even get me started on that shit.

Any who we had a great italian dinner sans the blue cheese on our pizza. Enjoyed a few galleries (did you know Jimi Hendrix paid a friend $1500 a week just to roll joints?) And then kicked it with the younguns and watched their cat Krypto. She's very amusing.

Ya'll need to check out the new additino to my sidebar. I get to say I knew him way back when.

Tis Better To Give

It’s been a great week for gift giving.

George Lucas gave 175 Million to USC.

The Gates Foundation gave 1.8 billion to a Los Angeles Charter school organization.

And my man Bubba, aka Bill Clinton, hosted a conference and was able to get 215 world leaders, corporate giants and various celebrities together for three days and they have collectively pledged 7.3 billion to help reduce global warming, fight third world poverty, disease and ethnic strife.

And this was his debut conference.

I feel all warm and fuzzy.

Concerned Knitters For America

We interrupt your regular blog to bring this important announcement. Heather is joining the Republican Party. We repeat Heather is joining the Republican Party and her first act as a Repubican will be to form her own chapter of Concerned Knitters For America in honor of her hero Nancy Reagan. Who knew? Julie and I dual with our cameras. (banjos play in the background)

Heather sleeps while sitting up as she is certain clowns will kill her. She even made a freakin shirt and want's to buy a button machine









Side Note: There is much discussion about Pirates, dildos, remote controls, dildos with remote controls, fire dancers and guess who's sleeping with "the man upstairs".













Cheryl is wondering what the house is going to look like when she gets home after realizing she left the furbees alone with fresh batteries and a six pack of beer.

This has been a strange turn of events. We return you now to your regular blog.

Today's Topics

Category: Good News

The Turkish government has decided to acquit Elif Shafak, a prize-winning female author, of all charges of insulting the Turkish nation by writing a novel about the massacres of Armenians during WWI.

This is very big of the Turks and I’m sure they will get a few brownie points with the UN since they are trying to join that club.

I think System of a Down should write her a song.

Category: Bad News

Today All Saints Episcopal Church will announce their course of action with the IRS audit. Perhaps you are unaware that they are being audited by the IRS over a sermon where a speaker gave a hypothetical situation where Jesus debated George Bush and Senator Kerry.

If the IRS proves that the sermon “intervened on a political campaign”, in other words, was in favor of Kerry and opposed Bush, (those bastards) the church will owe back taxes to who knows when and then I’m sure they’ll want a list of the congregation so they can be audited too!

The sermon took place in 2004. Why now months before another rigged election?

You pick the category news:

Opium in Afghanistan has hit record levels, were talking about a 40% increase since last year. The heroin balloon is about to explode!

The 2005 harvest made up 52% of Afghanistans GDP (gross domestic product) and the increase has risen each year since we booted out the Taliban.

Now if the drug lords hook up with the terrorists we'll be so fucked up we'll never know what hit us.

Socks that Rock

Here is my first sock on double pointed needles.


And John put in the lights for the library and it's all done.

Suicidal Tendencies

This morning my husband calls me to tell me Johnny Lang has a new CD out today. Things like this occur to him while struck in traffic. And while he’s stuck in traffic some young person passes him on the right side in the emergency lane on the freeway!

I drive to work and a kid wearing a sweatshirt with his hood pulled so low thereby blocking his peripheral vision pulls out in front of me on his motocross bicycle hears me, flips around, sees oncoming traffic and then flips back around and sees I've stopped so he crosses the road in morning rush hour traffic.

I wanted to kick the fucking shit out of him while screaming at him about how badly I would have felt had I actually ran him over.

It made me miss my boys.

Bob The Baptist

Ever since knitting last Tuesday I have been thinking about a group at the table next to ours. We were at the Coffee Bean and there was a man who looked like a modern day version of John the Baptist and a table full of Narcotics Anonymous dropouts. Well, after all Rehab is for quitters. But I digress. We were looking at my Tarot Cards and we were trying to be civilized and not talk loud to interfere with the religious group, yet he kept talking louder. You know your typical Lounge Lizard Larry at a dive bar.

He was ranting on about the Book of Daniel and the NA dropouts would pop off questions like there were in a think tank! It really bothered me first because obviously these are vulnerable people and can be easily manipulated and secondly because we are constantly being barraged on television about religious terrorists and quite frankly, I don’t see the difference between us (Christians) and them (all others) anymore.

And then, as I often do, I dwelled on it for days like a dog with a bone and then I read online where Michigan wants all girls by age 12 to be required to have the vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. Yeah for modern science! Ninety percent of all cervical cancer is caused by the HPV Virus. Ninety freaking percent people! This vaccine is wonderful news for women. The Bill in Michigan hasn't even been passed yet and already the Concerned Women for America oppose this new bill. How can Concerned Women for America oppose a freaking bill to protect women? Why would a rational people not want to protect their children?

Because they are not rational people they are religious people and I bet you the Concerned Women for America is ran by a man and he can't handle the thought of little suzie getting her freak on.

Okay, so let's say she saves herself for marriage? (Which btw, is a crock. If you don’t fuck other people how will you know if you mate is any good? I'm kidding people. Please don't start a coalition on my behalf) Anyway, so she saves herself for the blessed wedding bed and he’s slept around, Einstein? Or she gets raped? Or gets slipped a rufey? Or reacts to her basic human needs and has sex? OH MY GOD!!!

Like Bob the Baptist at CB it’s completely irrational behavior. Behavior that is based on opinions that come from a BOOK that some read and view as a beautiful piece of literature and others believe in it verbatim and will let you die because of it.

Osama Bin Laden , a wealthy, intelligent, educated man who lives in a cave has a book too!

Scientific advances are a good thing people. Trust me, I know. I have epilepsy "the Holy Sickness" "the falling down sickness" the disease with a thousand names". The only other disease with more saints was the plague. Some previous treatments were trepanning, (where they drill holes in your skull to let the demons out) insane asylums and sterilizing. Eugenics started in America and Hitler copied us, that bastard. Now we get surgery or medication and can drive, vote, smoke in public and fuck like rabbbits before marriage. muwaahahahahahah.

Dammit, I lost my train of thought again.

For Jessica

Just wanted to keep you posted on my Socks that Rock.



They are just at the point where I need to do some serious thinking.


And here we have the talented and intelligent Albert Einstein modeling my first lace project.

Man, doesn't he look good in green?

Eli Has Gone To The Dogs

Last night our grandson Eli spent the night and when it came time to put the Ninja turtles and racecars away he insisted he wanted to sleep in the dogs bed!

I tried to explain to Eli that if you lay with dogs you wake up with fleas, but my musings are lost on a four year old.



So Grandpa put a blanket over the bed and Eli got all cozy and Hank pouted which is amusing in itself.




Then Grandpa, the great peacekeeper of all, got down on the floor and everybody was happy.

Roger and Heidi's Big Adventure

My oldest child, Roger, the fruit of my looms, has moved to Texas with his girlfriend Heidi. I'm so excited for the two of them and proud of them for having the guts to venture forth into something new and relatively unknown.

Makes me feel like my son has a bit of the pioneer spirit flowing through his veins.

My great grandfather came from Sweden and after shoveling coal and saving his money he crossed the country in a covered wagon and homesteaded in Nebraska. He built his house out of sod then went back across the country to retreive his wife and children. They lost three children that first winter. That was over a hundred years ago and my mother still owns that 80 acres in Nebraska.

Okay, so it's not exactly a trip to Texas in a Nissan pickup, but it's the start of a great story. It definitely has the potential to be carried on for generations.

So now my besest friend Vicky (my riding partner in crime) moved back to Texas. Roger and Heidi have moved to Texas. I love Dr Pepper and they have Dr. Peppper in Texas with REAL CANE SUGAR. Not that corn syrup crap we get in California. Sorry Mom. (Mom raises corn on that 80 acres)

I think the cosmic gods are telling me to move to Texas. I've never even been to Texas, but I have three good reasons to go now. Maybe I'll like it and want to retire there right about the time John is finally finished with the house.

Just Another Day

So today my son Roger tells me he is moving to Texas. He asked if he could come and borrow my computer. I believe they have computers in the valley now, but apparently not fried chicken. So, since Roger was coming up from the valley (and I had now volunteered to make fried chicken since he was moving) he called his brother Sean who in turn invites his roommates.

Luckily I made enough fried chicken, milk gravy, corn, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, salsa and chips, and lava cake to go around because my boys like to eat and you never know who they will bring along. Which is fine with me because I feel it is good karma to feed these young military people because my son is fortunate to be stationed near his family, but if he were away I would want the same treatment for him, less the following scenario:

The roommate played with the dogs and the wife looked at books with the boys and then they all ate. I was occupied with my knitting while John was watching tv in the other room when the roommate played with the dogs again and this time he was tossing something to the dogs and while he tossed this something I realized with utter horror it was a pair of my panties! He didn't realize what he threw until he saw Hank and Blue playing tug-o-war with them. Naturally, Hank won and then proceeded to prance around the yard with them like a victory flag.

After the uncomfortable pause I offered to pay for his therapy.

I must have seriously fucked up in a previous lifetime.

Orbs,What are they?

I was taking photos of my room and I took this picture of my hutch. As always I take several because I never know how they will turn out. In the first shot there was this small, white orb in the picture of the seagull next to the sun.

And in the second picture the smaller, white orb is not in the picture on the wall. Hmmm


And from another angle I can see an orb that looks like a water spot.




And here again, in the second photo the orb or whatever it is doesn't exist. Hmmmmmmm




And of course John's not home to verify my claim. So I could be making this up, but I"m not that bored, just perplexed. I'm alone with orbs and a big, dead, grey rat they my cats drug home and graciously placed in the garden where I was planning on weeding. And on top of that I have a squirrel in my tree in the back yard that is driving my dogs crazy. I can watch him from my bedroom running up and jumping throughout the tree and he's cute, but honestly, when you have one day to sleep in and you wake up to deranged dog barking you want to put a hit on the squirrel. If only I knew a cat named Guido.

So as you can see, I have no time to sit around and stage orbs.

John just walked in and scaed the shit out of me because I didn't know he was here and he want's to know who I was talking to because he heard voices in the house while he was in the garage.

And he says the orbs are water spots.

Okay, mystery solved.

Ta Dah!

Yeah, my book cases are finally finished.

Now we need to find a really cool painting to go above the fireplace because it looks really bare.

And the fireplace mantle just needs to be grouted so I can put stuff on it. And then I'll get to stand in front of a roaring fire with one arm on the mantle while the other holds my chin in deep contemplation. For some reason deep contemplation always looks like constipation on me. It's not a good look for me.

I even thought (for a nanosecond) that perhaps we could pretend we were normal people and, you know, since John and I are breeders and all, we could gather up the offspring and get one of them there group photos for above the mantle. But that would entail lots of work. I would have to bribe them with food, fried, chicken most likely, and then of course it is highly probably I would have to buy them suitable clothing because I would want them to match my color scheme. And statistically speaking what are my chances of finding all 6 siblings ranging in age from 21 to 30 all sober on the same day?

No, I'll have to settle for a picture of John serenaded our dog Hank with his harmonica.















And I'll spend the money I saved on yarn and books.