Reflections on the Price of Victory

Victory At Any Cost (April 8, 2008)

General Petraeus, your mission is dragging
Cheney is willing but spirits are sagging
Vict’ry you say is round the next corner
Explain to the mothers who wait by the coroner

The specious invasion at five years and counting
Our country it suffers from backwards accounting
Library hours grow shorter and shorter
Money for textbooks they’re spending on mortar

The bloodshed increases and George doesn’t see
He said it was finished in May of 03
Each day your forecast grows fairer and fairer
When did that country get riddled by terror?

With 4,000 dead, on our side alone
It’s too soon for towels or fits to be thrown
Now is the time to be hopeful and strong
But glasses in deserts aren’t half full for long

I hope we aren’t half as dumb as you think
The longer we stay so the deeper we sink
Protecting your honor, young gentlemen die
While Exxon sees profits go straight through the sky

You entered their land with a force of deceit
And coming back home is the mark of defeat
So send the boys in for another attack
If you had your way they would never come back

Free Days With The Condor

The most recent excursion in our series of non-bamboo field trips took us up to Big Sur where we camped two nights at Plaskett Creek and explored the back country of Julia Pfeifer Burns. From the high ridge of Elwoodson Trail, we had a close encounter with what appeared to be a flock of Turkey Vultures.

Closer inspection, however, revealed these giant birds to be California Condors. According to Wikipedia there are fewer than 300 California Condors remaining in existence, and about 147 in the wild. We saw at least 8 individual Condors. In contrast to their more common relatives, the Condors have a far more graceful flight pattern, a much wider wingspan, and number tags under each wing (because they are monitored by wildlife biologists.)

These amazing creatures, relics from a bygone prehistoric era, will mostly likely become extinct within our lifetime, so we relished in this rare opportunity to see them up close and personal, high above the dramatic Big Sur coastline.