Hello (echoes)

I have been a really lame blogger. But at least I wrote a little something today!

Top 5 things we should all remember today

5) People jumping from 70 floors up to escape burning or being crushed to death.

4) Firefighters climbing past escaping throngs with almost complete certainty that they will not make it out

3) Workers who dug through the rubble and now have asthma or cancer from the toxic dust

2) Airline passengers who fought back

1) The solidarity we felt as a nation as we mourned and moved forward

Elect Cherlene Wright to Redwood City council

Here's the second in my series of endorsements for Redwood City Council: Cherlene Wright.

I think it's important to have a variety of segments of the city's population represented in city government. I don't know Wright super-well (yet), but I think she has something of a "mom six-pack" quality: she's open an inclusive and can relate to a lot of moms -- and moms are really the people who keep our community humming along.

Cherlene is set apart from the rest of the candidates and council members because she's not already part of the political establishment in Redwood City. She offers a fresh voice, and it's important on a body like the city council, where people can stay on for as long as 16 years, to get someone totally new into the mix.

Cherlene is also clearly committed to the community; she has been and will continue to be out-and-about as much as any candidate. She really wants to take her consitutents' wants and needs into account, but she also has a strong personality, so she won't simply cave to special interests or blindly sign off on what the city staff recommends.

Finally, I think what I like best about her is that she does not give off the politician vibe. Yeah, we need some of the politician-types in office, but it's refreshing to see someone running who isn't constantly trying to say exactly what's most optimal for getting them elected.

What. Is wrong. With people. Seriously.

Yesterday we had yet another fabulous block party. There was

* a great band, featuring our neighbor, Greg;
* food and drink;
* stomp rocketing in the middle of the street;
* and best of all, our wonderful neighbors hanging out with us.

There were also

* at least two people yelling obscenities at us;
* at least one person honking in anger and speeding off;
* and one folding chair, with a "McGarvey Closed Ahead" sign taped to it, stolen.

All this anti-social behavior was from people who consider McGarvey Avenue to be their own personal freeway. They are so oblivous that they don't see it as the residential street where people live, work, sleep and play with their kids. Seriously, is everyone so keyed up that they can't accept the closure of one block of a moderately busy street on a major holiday? It's not like we're closing the Bay Bridge or something.

Biggest News of the Year in the RC

We are getting an In N Out Burger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of you might be thinking that I'm exaggerating, or being hyperbolic, but unless Jack Hickey gets elected to the school board, this is it. This is a very, very long time in coming. Right now, Redwood City residents have to drive to Mountain View or Milbrae -- Milbrae! that's almost San Francisco!! -- to get an In N Out burger. It's outrageous.

But in a few months, this wrong will be righted, according to the Spectrum. Opening scheduled for November, but will be closer to January, the magazine says.

Seriously, this is really, really important. I don't eat hamburgers unless they're from In N Out. And it's a California icon. When Nathan and I first saw our favorite movie, I think we pretty much viewed In N Out as a made-up entity. When we arrived from the frozen Midwest and discovered we could actually eat at In N Out burger and go through the drive through while listening to Oye Como Va, all was right in our world.

Again, I say, We Are Getting An In N Out Burger!