Its raining in Portland today. The sky is darn, wet, overcast. I wish I could sent it down south. These pictures are from my co-worker’s house. They came within 200 yards of his back yard.

A wildfire, fanned by the first Santa Ana winds of the season, has charred at least 16,000 acres along the Los Angeles-Ventura county border, forcing hundreds from their homes and closing schools today.

I’ve had the house to myself a lot this week because Paul has been in prison. Bill Karelis from the Shambhala Prison Community was up to do a three day Shambhala Training Level One at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem.

Prisons are very abstract to me. I’ve heard of them. I’ve seen them on TV. I don’t know anyone or have spent any amount of time with anyone who has actually done hard time.

pris·on

noun

A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons convicted of crimes.

A place or condition of confinement or forcible restraint.

A state of imprisonment or captivity.

[Middle English, from Old French, alteration (influenced by Old French pris, taken) of Latin prēnsiō, prēnsiōn-, a seizing, from *prehēnsiō, from prehēnsus, past participle of prehendere, to seize.]

One man was doing 7 years because he threw his car keys at the chest of a cop. He contested it in court and was found guilty. Oregon law has a minimum sentence if you contest and thats what he got.

I stayed last night at St. Francis Westin in San Francisco. I am now completely oriented to BART and can go where I please. San Francisco is beautiful and lively and the sidewalks don’t trip me. I took the BART from 19th Oakland. Peter Espiritu insisted on escorting me to the station (which I didn’t need) because he thought it was the right thing. (Contrast to my first dark night in safe Pasadena in March) Public Transit & San Francisco are much more ‘my style’ than Taxis & Oakland.

The St. Francis was build in 1902 and survived the 1906 earthquake.

My Sister Jenny and her youngest daughter Eden came to visit for Labor Day weekend.