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Bodega Bay Beat by Joan Poulos - June 2018

Have you ever seen better weather? It has been sunny and any wind came at night after we were once again housebound. We still need rain, but it is hard to complain about perfection. We have had a spate of calls promising to send us to exotic climes. They are strangely quiet when I tell them that I live in the most beautiful place in the world and have no interest in going to the Bahamas or Las Vegas (now Scotland, might tempt me.)

The only drawback is the slow salmon season. There is now no abalone season. The crab season left much to be desired and now the salmon season is sparse. These are tough times to be a fisherman.

The birds are loving it. Every morning we are awakened by the doves trying to mimic owls. We see nests in our gutters; we see all our flowers with the heads nipped off. But we love our wildlife. My hummingbird feeder is constantly busy. The blue heron that has staked out the end of our street as a repeated site to visit thrills us. I love the picture John Hershey took of the blue herons (which hangs in my living room) but nothing equals the inter vivos view of the visitors to the bay.

The Bodega Bay School after school program had a very successful Cinco de Mayo dinner. The posole was excellent and the friendly reception was capped by the children singing Uno Dos Tres. Whenever you are lucky enough to watch children totally enjoying themselves go to one of the events put on by our Spanish-speaking friends. (If Murilla and Oswaldo are the cooks the food will be good too.)

It’s almost time for elections. As I have discussed in prior columns, the Sheriff’s race is a tough one. We can just be grateful that these qualified men are willing to put up with the angst the winner will suffer. We will be at the Grange Hall June 6 for those who have not voted elsewhere or for those who just want to return voted ballots. The Grange Hall is the site of a major tree-cutting project. The new owners of the adjacent house had the trees leaning over their roof and interfering with their PG&E. Unfortunately, the major tree removal project affected the phone line of Dr. Michael Trappani and made him concerned enough to e-mail his patients and tell them that he had no service. Progress always has a price.

Even the best of sheriffs can’t stop the hacking phone calls. We have received one nearly every day. I finally called Publishers’ Clearing House who the scammers try to get us to believe is the sponsor. They are VERY frustrated. They gave me the scammer line and urged me to call whenever someone calls to tell me that I have won money, but they have to go to the bank to get the certified check. The number to call is 1-800-392 4190 (which may just be Publishers’ Clearinghouse.)

The most recent report about scams comes from a local woman.She was contacted by repair persons who said they knew she had overpaid Microsoft. They said if she gave them her bank account data they would refund the $200 she had paid Microsoft. She had not paid Microsoft (she does not have a working computer) but she has received repeated calls saying that she had overpaid for repairs and they would refund it if she gave them all her bank data. Fortunately, she did not do so, but the calls continue.

She also warned about multiple calls from those promising a trip—to various sites. She believes the same people are behind this, since the accent is similar—not an American accent. Apparently, they are based in China, but she now just hangs up.

Personally, I continue to have calls (usually at 6:30 a.m.) saying I had won $5,000,000. All I have to do is meet them at WalMart and get a credit card that would pay them $500—and I would get five million dollars. We have asked them to stop calling. The calls continue, even though we request that they stop. It is great to see that at least one robocaller has received a HUGE fine.

This is the time of year for graduations. For those of us whose grandkids are finishing their formal education, we are the proud recipients of multiple graduation announcements. What do you give as a gift to these wonderful young people who are setting up housekeeping, but don’t want any “stuff.”

The reality of today’s youth is that many of them view their college graduation as just one more step in their education. Many of them plan to go to graduate school, or medical school, or even law school. They certainly don’t want “things” and giving them money is not very satisfying to the donor. When these young people have managed to juggle school demands, social demands, and still pay the lightbill, you have to acknowledge that theirs is an incredible achievement. Many of them have used athletics to get through (my grandkids are dedicated water polo players and have parlayed this accomplishment into an undergraduate degree. They are starting a new chapter in their lives and whatever we can do to encourage them is hard to figure out.

The weather is wonderful. Even the wind has died down today. We still need more rain, but we won’t complain when the weather is as lovely as it has been (even with a few small craft warnings.)

Mothers’ Day came and went. Many of us won’t be lucky enough to see our kids, but fortunately, even klutzes like me can text and make contact. As I remind them, we did the best we knew how..and most of us are pretty happy with the result. Enjoy any contact you have, and don’t forget to tell them “I love you.”

Go for a walk, watch the hummingbirds coming back and most of all, Pray for Peace.

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