Getting to Know Your Lawn Ornaments and Other Happenings

Do you know anything about the person whose name is on the sign in your yard?

It has now been four months since I last put in an honest day’s work and was compensated with money. While in all real terms that is a very short period, it has at times felt interminable. Quite often I just look out there and wonder what could possibly come along and how long it will be before I apply to man the French fry press at In and Out. Given the rising tension around the old homestead, this may need to happen sooner than later.

There are no two ways about it, being unemployed sucks. But not having to report in to an employer on a daily basis does have a few advantages. For instance, this week my mother treated me to a visit to the Phoenix Art Museum where we took in the Cezanne exhibit and grabbed some lunch. It also allows me some amount of freedom to get out for a ride or run with minimal residential traffic to worry about.

As with the rest of the nation, Arizona is in the throes of mid-term election season. As I ride around town, it’s impossible not to notice the street corners stacked with billboards advertising each of the candidates, getting plastic recyclers giddy for their upcoming bounty of materials to process. I’m always amused by this mountain of red, white and blue (along with the occasional orange or green) signage that I have to believe most people just ignore and pass by, paying more attention to those sign spinners trying to get you to sell your gold.

For some reason though, signs in people’s yards are a little more noticeable simply because that homeowner/renter made a conscious decision to place it there. They have elected to support this candidate so openly that they’ll interrupt their line of lantana to encourage their neighbors to vote for whomever. And I’m one of these people.

Without question, this has been a contentious political season, and anyone who has paid any amount of attention to my Facebook page knows what end of the political spectrum I fall on. But I am still amazed that people are willing to openly support certain candidates with a sign in their yard. I understand that conservatives are angry and “want their nation back,” but there is no way that they can be truly informed about some of these people they are advertising for unless the decide to endorse these candidates purely for the fact that they just aren't a damned liberal. For example:

• Tom Horne, candidate for Arizona Attorney General. A career politician, last holding the job of Superintendent of Public Instruction after his stint on the State Legislature, who proudly “banned bi-lingual education” and oversaw Arizona’s education while its ranking sank to anywhere between 45^th and last in the nation. Now he’s running to be the top lawyer in the state, never mind the fact that he has a lifetime ban from the Securities and Exchange Commission for presiding over an investment firm that went bankrupt in 1970.
• Ben Quayle, candidate for US Congress, Arizona CD 3. The conservative son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, little is known about this guy except: he’s a private practice attorney specializing in commercial litigation, real estate transactions and acquiring small businesses; he posted to a sleazy nightlife website and denied it; he and his wife own a dog they rescued from the Wickenburg Humane Society. Oh, and he hates President Obama so much he’s willing to stand up about it.
• Wendy Rogers, candidate for Arizona State Senate, District 17. Mrs. Rogers is hands down winning the Most Signs contest by a country mile. According to her site’s bio, she and her husband landed in Arizona in 1996 and own a home inspection franchise that employs 10. She is riding her bike around Tempe and Scottsdale meeting people, so I guess she can’t be that bad. But she recently did ditch a District 17 debate, which is too bad as it would have given us a chance to get to know her.
• John Huppenthal, candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. Mr. Huppenthal made news in 2008 by getting into a flap for removing opposition signs on Election Day. More remarkably, this past spring he completely disrespected a high school journalist who was interviewing him about his vote of support to cut state funding for vocational education by excusing himself mid-interview and never returning. He also had a fairly weak showing at this week’s debate, constantly wanting to fix the Arizona educational system by “using good science” to evaluate the educational rankings that place Arizona last in the nation.
• David Schweikert, candidate for US Congress, Arizona CD5. Schweikert lost to the sitting incumbent two years ago, so he’s giving it another try. It’s kind of amazing that this Republican-heavy district can’t back a stronger candidate that this guy who was cited in an internal audit of the Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office when he was County Treasurer, that stated his office improperly obtained vendor bids and improperly paid one of his campaign aides with County funds.

 

Spinning up The Program

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am worked on starting up a bike youth-based bike program here in the Valley. This past Wednesday, I coordinated a meeting with the Principal of my kids’ school, their PE teacher, and two representatives from Phoenix Children’s Hospital to launch one of these programs at their school. By all accounts it was a successful meeting and Principal McCoy assured me that she would be contacting the school district’s director of safety to see if my proposal meets all district safety standards and what would be needed to implement the program immediately. This coincides with my submitting for a $1000 grant for the program through the National PTA. Not much money, but it would get things rolling solidly. I’ve simultaneously been talking with the executive director of the Lincoln Family Downtown Phoenix YMCA about starting a similar, if not connected, program.

So now I wait to hear back from Principal McCoy and the good folks at the Downtown Y in hopes that we’ll be able to get these bike programs started up and kids terrorizing neighborhoods by mid-October.

Sowing the seeds...

I am also working on the school’s garden project. This is a really ambitious project with a cool design that will fill a nice open space next to the school library in the east end of the school yard. The project’s leader, artist Rebecca Ross, led the initial charge with the school’s PTA to gather support for the plan and spent a portion of the summer collecting a ton of donated recycled building materials to construct the garden beds. I came in mid-summer and helped bring in another parent with great contacts throughout the landscaping industry who has essentially delivered landscapers and materials to get the irrigation system in place. We’re digging dirt next Saturday, Sept. 25, to lay the PVC and sprinkler heads in place. Another small but important local project underway.

And now for something completely not important…

I know you all have been waiting anxiously for it…here it is…the training log!

• Thursday, Sept. 9 – Hard ride to Camelback Mtn to ride the South Camelback 4, four short but steep climbs on the south side of Camelback Moutnain, with grades in excess of 20%. Weather was hot. 30 miles, 1hr 44 min, 1589 Kcalories, Avg HR 151, Avg Speed 17, Avg Cadence 84.
  
• Saturday, Sept. 11 – Long ride to Riata Pass in North Scottsdale. Steady incline with final altitude gain of 1800 feet. Quick climb on Mummy Mtn on return trip. 80 miles, 4 hrs 26 mins, 4127 Kcalories, Avg HR 152, Avg Speed 17.5, Avg Cadence 89.
  
• Tuesday, Sept. 14 – Ahwatukee foothills ride. 36 miles, 2 hrs, 1878 Kcalories, Avg HR 153, Avg Speed 17.9, Avg Cadence 89.
  
• Thursday, Sept. 16 – 30 minute yoga and light free weights followed by a 2.75 mile run. First run since the spring. Had to walk for a minute after 2 miles. Legs felt tight for four days after.
  
• Friday, Sept. 17 – Slow, hard ride up 2 climbs of S. Camelback 4 + the PV Classics loop, an undulating route through Paradise Valley around the north side of Mummy Mtn. It resembles a European Classics route with the short, sharp hills. 43 miles, 2 hrs 51 mins, 2209 Kcalories, Avg HR 137, Avg Speed 14.8, Avg. Cadence 74.
  
• Sunday, Sept. 19 – Long ride to South Mtn with climb up to TV towers and along San Juan Rd. with Chris Bockey and Wyatt Franz. Rode with Wyatt to his house and then home with headwind. 71 Miles, 4 hrs 15 mins, 3669 Kcalories, Avg HR 146, Avg Speed 16.6, Avg Cadence 84. Time from old gatehouse to TV towers and back was 48 mins 56 secs with avg HR of 162.