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The Memory of Trees

Monday August 26, 2002

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Sequoia National Forest
Rep. Bill Thomas Summer Retreat

NOTE: The fourth installment of the Mullings Dog Days Tour Travelogue "WD-40 or Fight" - is now available.


• This will be a mini Travelogue because I am at in the Sequoia National Forest at the Wuksachi Lodge with no newspapers and no television and - at 7,400 feet above sea level - very little oxygen.

• Wuksachi, for those with an interest in Native American Languages, means: "50 miles from the nearest mall."

• For someone who grew up in the shadow of New York City, the only time I am comfortable at 7,400 feet is when I am in an airliner climbing toward 10,000 feet so it will be safe to move about the cabin and begin the use of permissible electronic devices.

• On top of that, my watch stopped working yesterday morning at precisely 6:15:12. A cheap watch which does not run is called: Cheap Jewelry. So, I am in a national forest and I have to depend upon my ability to look at the position of the sun in the sky to tell the time. Oh, yes. I'll survive out here.

• Call ... a ... forest ... ranger ... please.

• This is where the mighty Sequoia trees live. Although I've looked at photos of them for my entire life, seeing them in person is a remarkable experience. (Sequoia, by the way, means: "The Redwoods are farther north. Go build your deck out of THEM and leave us alone."

• The largest of the Sequoias is called the General Sherman and is billed as the largest living thing in the world. Describing it doesn't do it. Looking at a photo of it, doesn't do it. Standing next to it, does it. (There is a Mullphoto of this particular tree on the Secret Decoder Ring today).

• Over the weekend President Bush came to the West Coast; did five events with the GOP candidate for Governor, Bill Simon; raised $2.6 million for his campaign; raised an additional $750,000 for the state party yet the press called the President's appearance here, "reluctant" and his support for Simon, "lukewarm."

• The Simon campaign is in trouble because, even though no one in the entire state of California thinks the incumbent, Gray Davis, has done a good job or deserves re-election (polls taken by Democrats show Davis with only between 38 and 42 percent of the vote); Simon, unfortunately, is getting between 31 and 35 percent.

• You know the stories:

  - The Simon campaign has gone through about 237 senior staff changes;
  - A court just ruled that one of the Simon family companies defrauded investors and got slapped with a kajillion dollar fine;
  - Since conservative Simon defeated moderate Dick Riordon in the primary, the state GOP's normal bifurcation has been expanded into a split the size of the Grand Canyon (to keep our natural wonders theme going).

• And yet. And yet. Simon is within striking distance, which tells you just how deep Davis' support is here.

• The President, because he did come out here, because he did do event after event with Simon, because he did raise over three million dollars, gets high marks for doing the right thing when it would have been easy to ditch this trip and leave Simon to fend for himself.

• Here was the headline yesterday on Yahoo! dealing with the FBI investigation into leaks from the Senate Intelligence Committee: "FBI Reportedly Probing Senators Over 9/11-Related Leaks"

• There's an image I think we could have done without.

• One last thing about the Wuksachi Lodge: The rooms have an armoire where a television should be. When I got in on Saturday night I opened the doors to find ... an extra pillow.

• I watched the pillow for a little while, but didn't think the plot was very strong, so I went to sleep.

• On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A comparison for (and a photo of) Redwoods and Sequoias, the Reuters piece on the FBI/Senate investigation, and the latest Travelogue!
  --END --
  Copyright © 2002 Richard A. Galen

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