Guns on Amtrak

Ok, what the hell? All the news programs I've seen in the last two days have been talking about this, and in my opinion, this is the biggest non-news item ever.

Amtrak.

Is allowing passengers.

To take guns onto their trains.

What???

Oh ... it has to be an unloaded gun, checked into the baggage compartment, and you have to call the train station in advance to let them know you'll be checking the gun!

That's basically like shipping the gun. You're not allowing the passengers to take guns on the train ... you're allowing them to transport their property!

I don't care what the hell you check into the baggage compartment, to be honest. I like to ride the train between cities in Southern California (great way to travel without the headache of having to drive or go through airport security). I can get on an Amtrak train by walking up to an Amtrak pseudo-ATM, stick in my credit card, and tell it where I want to go. If I'm not checking bags, the first Amtrak person I see is the conductor who takes my ticket once I'm on the train!

So does it matter what bags are checked? No. I am not afraid that an honest, law abiding citizen who lets Amtrak know, "Hey, I'm going to bring an unloaded gun to check into the baggage compartment," is going to go get the gun mid-trip and rob the train Jesse James style. And it's not like they're going to get it, hijack the train, and ram it into a building.

The person who is going to try something stupid and illegal is the one to takes a loaded gun in his carry-on. And if they're planning on doing something, they're not going to call in advance. AND since there's no security check at train stations, by the time the weapon is detected, it will be too late.

So why the heck are do many news agencies have their undies in a knot over the 'new' Amtrak rules?

Christmas Lights

Christmas is a scant 12 days away. Wow ... I hadn't even thought of that until this very moment ... 12 days before Christmas! No, it's not the 12 days of Christmas ... that's actually the 12 days between the 25th of this month and the 5th of January (with Epiphany being celebrated on the 6th).

Ok, no ... that's not what I was going to blog about. It is almost Christmas, but I haven't really felt the spirit yet. I'm not sure why ... quite possibly because it's like 80 degrees in SoCal. Eeek. Yeah, global warming is not real. Hahaha. So I've wanted to do something to get into the Christmas spirit:

1. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills has their Christmas lights up. There's actually a complete Santa sleigh flying over the intersection of Wilshire and Beverly. But the cutest thing is the fountain at the foot of the stairs coming down from the court on Rodeo down to Wilshire Blvd. There are some polar bears and I think some penguins, wearing scarves! They're pretty cute. And at the top of the stairs there is a beautiful Christmas tree.

2. The Venice canals in Venice Beach is a cute neighborhood with a relatively decent proportion of decorated houses.

3. Long Beach has a parade of decorated boats (the Harbor Lights Christmas Cruise) through the 28th. Call 562.799.7000 for reservations.

Just a few ideas!

Don't forget to check out the e-book at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/32964

Hopefully I'll have a novella available by January! Tell a friend!

And don't forget to write a review on Smashwords and/or Amazon.

Movies and Life

Too many things to do, and not enough time. But I've always wanted to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and it happens to be on USA right now, so I'm watching it. Good for getting in the Christmas spirit, you know ... such a 'peace on earth' storyline.
Ah...so anyway, I noticed that, well, it isn't such a great movie. Has Spielberg lost his touch? Then again, I was watching the FIRST one, and that, TOO, wasn't such a great movie. Makes me wonder if I'm losing my ability to like movies...? Perhaps as a child I didn't see the plot holes glaring in my face.

So I kept watching, and noticed that, yeah, if I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for a mo', the movie got better. I've been a bit bitter lately, making me hypercritical, but I just noticed that, when I am happy, and I let myself loose a bit, then I can just enjoy the ride.

Think I need to do that with life, too. Let go, allow myself the freedom to just enjoy the ride, even if it's taking turns I didn't expect ... or want. Just like at Disneyland, the unexpected turns can be more fun than the expected ones.

Don't forget to check out the e-book at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/32964
Hopefully I'll have a novella available by January! Tell a friend!
And don't forget to write a review on Smashwords and/or Amazon.com.