2009 Ride for Kids

banjo on my knee.

It's been a while. Just trying to keep up with Joe.

Not that a lot hasn't been happening. 

Jenni battles MS and started school.

Emily continues to amaze, grow, and bring great love to all our lives.

Arran is a great dad and husband (and not a bad grad student either!).

Gina's menagerie flourishes while she gets ready to give birth (oh boy, a grandson!). 

Joe's becoming less of a mystery (nice to meet you Brittany!). Those New Yorkers....

Work has been slow (economic/political understatement, I know). 41 apprentices and 140 journeyman waiting on the books with very few calls coming in on a weekly basis. Not moving yet. What'll it take?

My last work day as a construction electrician was October 31, 2008. I had one very short short call in December. Teaching and vice-presidency positions have kept us going so far, plus the pocket change I get from working at the range. Sold the 1993 Yamaha Seca to a brother electrician, and an O/U 12 gauge through Imbert & Smithers. Every little bit helps. Thanks to all those who have helped along the way.

There's a lot of local work just sitting in the dirt waiting to go, but if you read the paper, you know the rest. The entire Bay Area is on hold. 

I keep busy with teaching and union meetings, publications, conferences, battles.

The new motorcycle club has been a real success with 22 or so members and active participation from most. We have 4 charity runs a year and a monthly ride to some place on the peninsula (usually Alice's) for breakfast. Brookdale Inn this month on the 21st (on a beautiful stretch of Hwy 9 between Santa Cruz and the ridge). We'll be planning an overnight to the Gold Country for late spring/early summer. It's great to see the cross section of members enthusiastically involved in their club, and they are a lot of fun to ride with.

I'm excited about two new projects underway, one musical, the other "athletic":

I'll be returning to umpiring after a two year hiatus volunteering for Foster City's 10U program.

Nice program with nice folks. 

Joe's interest in guitar somehow motivated me to finally repair Grampy's 1926 Vegaphone tenor banjo. I used to play a long time ago (Jenni has the one I bought with Gramps from a downtown pawn shop when I was in high school), and I'm looking forward to re-acquainting myself with an old friend and music. I picked up the uke last year, and it's been entertaining, but the tenor banjo has always been my favorite. Grampy's banjo was built with friction tuning pegs as was standard on a lot of good quality instruments back then. They wore out over time, until it became impossible for the banjo to hold its tuning beyond a few strums. So it has sat in the closet for 15 years haunting me. Last week I took it to a local luthier at Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto. He drilled out the old peg holes on the tuning board and installed some fancy geared tuners that are replicas of the type used on more expensive 1920's tenors. Grampy would've been proud. Nice work with even better results. It's a joy to play for a variety of reasons...

Be back soon.

current 3rd year apprenticeship class