SCOTTSDALE – I was thrilled to see that my favorite lemonade salesman – Derrick – was at the Giants-Dodgers game this weekend.
My son and I met Derrick when we came to spring training two years ago. He has a catchy and memorable sales pitch:
“Lemonade, lemonade, like Grandma made. I KNOW you want it,” he shouts. Or “I got some cotton CANDY”!
I spoke with Derick during the game. He told me he’s been at spring training for 26 years. He has a growing fan base.
“If you attend any of the spring baseball games, concerts or other professional events, there is a good chance you have seen or heard of lemonade vendor Derrick Moore,” according to a local TV report. “Moore said he is out to make people laugh.”
A vendor can sell as much as 150 cups of lemonade per event, but Derrick can sell twice as much, the report said.
SCOTTSDALE – I feel a little guilty being at spring training this weekend. The power has been out in Nevada City for days, and the rest of the family has fled to a Resident Inn in Roseville (which accepts our dog for $50 extra).
It will be up to three more days before we get power, PG&E said in a recorded message. In Arizona, I was quick to remind my wife, the weather is cloudy, too cool for swimming and rain is coming.
This afternoon, I watched the Giants rout the Dodgers 8-3 at Scottsdale Stadium. In the fourth inning, the Giants had five hits in a row, going ahead 4-1. The hitting game was “on.”
It was a sell-out crowd, though some seats were empty at game time. People told me the crowds were better-than-expected but chalked it up to the Giants being defending World Series champions.
The game contained the kind of banter you’d expect from a Giants-Dodgers matchup. A Giants fan was heckling a Dodger faithful who missed a ground ball hit toward him. “You need a bigger glove!” he shouted at the chagrined gent.
Before the game, children lined up behind the Giant’s dugout for autographs. They’d toss baseballs at the players, who signed them and tossed them back.
The concessions are set up outside, including open grills with mesquite charcoal, even woks. You can get a grilled Italian sausage or stir fry. Garlic fries are sold, too, just like the ones at AT&T Park.
The crowd is an eclectic bunch: There are retirees, families and young couples. A dog was sitting near me with a sign “pet me.” I did. His master was wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt with the Giants logo – a San Francisco “two-fer.”
All told, it’s a unique, old-fashioned baseball experience. Tomorrow I’m going to watch the Giants and Diamondbacks at their new stadium. I’m going to meet up with a former CNET colleague who wrote a book about the Giants.
I hope the power comes back before I return to town.
A growing number of people are getting out-of-town — if they can — as the power outages continue in Grass Valley, Nevada City and the surrounding foothills. (The PG&E outage map on my website still shows ongoing problems).
In Nevada City, we were told to wait until noon tomorrow to get an “update” about when power would be restored. I went ahead and booked a room for my wife, son and our dog at the Residence Inn in the “flatlands.”
Other neighbors are holing up in Chico and other cities.
It’s a sad state of affairs how often the power gets knocked out when a winter storm hits the foothills. It’s a reminder that we’re in a “cul-de-sac.”
I’m just hoping that older people are cared for and can stay warm in their homes or apartments. This is going to be a long, hard weekend for many of our residents.
“No more of Ackerman’s right-wing Tea Party perspectives/coverage.
“I really do hate that the good folks who work at The Union will eventually loose their job because the paper really is known as the Tea Party Gazette by oh so many now. But I cannot support the so unbalanced paper any longer.”
It’s sad that a small, community newspaper would find itself in such a predicament with some of its readers.
I’ve written before about the needed role of the Hospitality House in Grass Valley — often under-appreciated compared with other nonprofit causes in our community.
Here’s what Cindy Maple, the executive director posted on her Facebook page, during this week’s snowstorm:
“Forty seven guests tonight. No space to move around in the center, but everyone was awesome. I’m so filled with gratitude for all of the support we get from so many caring people.
“Tonight I took the time to look at the faces of all 47 guests and was so thankful none of them would be outside tonight. It is really something to be with them during snowstorms. Tonight they are warm and I’m content.”
About a week ago, I pointed to an article by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich about the GOP strategy (I would argue “hard right”):
“They pit average working Americans against one another, distract attention from the almost unprecedented concentration of wealth and power at the top, and conceal Republican plans to further enlarge and entrench that wealth and power,” Reich said.
More and more, it looks like he’s onto something. This past week, based on the responses to the union demonstrations in Sacramento and the closure of the Private Industry Council, I heard just that: little compassion and lots of political rhetoric.
As it turns out, We the People increasingly have become the “ham in the sandwich” of an ugly ideological debate in Washington.
It is leading to job losses, including in our rural area, and threatens the economic rebound that is underway. It comes at a precarious time too: rising gas prices from the furor in the Middle East. (No it’s not CARB’s fault as. LOL).
The discussion pits hard-right ideologues — including our Congressman Tom McClintock — against more pragmatic politicians.
The ideologues beat the drum of smaller government and are on a mission to oust Obama. Some of them, such as McClintock, Sen. Mitch McConnell and the tea party freshman Congressman, are open about it.
The more pragmatic sorts are tackling the more complex task of managing government — requiring a more conciliatory, compromising discussion. They realize you can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
This week, leaders of the Private Industry Council in Oroville blamed uncertainty in Washington — brought on by the House vote on the budget bill, or HR 1 — for its closure. McClintock voted for the cuts.
As a result, we stand to lose jobs in Nevada City and Grass Valley — several dozen of them.
The response is a simplistic one: “The government is broke.” No, balancing budgets is about making choices.
The GOPers who decided to cut programs such as the Private Industry Council did not cut other “pet” programs in many cases. It’s all about politics, not economics.
Next week, the stakes become higher: A shut down of government is possible if both sides can’t agree by next week. In his Saturday radio address, President Obama warned that a shut down will stall the economic recovery. No kidding!
I wonder if some of Obama’s harshest critics care. They’re more interested in seeing him fail, hoping for a GOP president instead. (It reminds me of the children’s story, “I don’t care. I’m Pierre.”)
This week liberal politicians are going to launch their own “tea party” protests, spelling out how the deep government cuts will slow the economy.
We the People, meanwhile, are watching from the sidelines — but we’re going to bear the brunt of it.
The video of the “I don’t care” ideologues (and the lesson) is here:
