I hope you are all doing well and had an enjoyable summer!  It is getting near spring here, evident by the pink flowers of the blooming peach trees.  Yet the weather in the Highlands is still very cold!  Some days, when it is cloudy or windy the temperature doesn't get much above 65, and when the sun is out it will get maybe up in the 70s.  The crops and grasses are brown and have died down, but the pine, eucalyptus and other evergreen shrubs remain as a presence of green.

I need to correct Grateful Web over their bias over the impact of oil and gas on the environment.  First of all... the production that bush wants to open up in Colorado is GAS.  Gas is very clean,  not only for burning, but also to drill and produce.  An average house in Boulder is far, far worse for the environment then either an oil or gas well.  It only take a few weeks to drill a well, where a house is pretty much permanent. An oil well normally has a 20 year life span... if the producer is lucky.

Navigating the undulating route of HWY 93 from Boulder, our trusty VW Bus, along with the countless others migrating from the north, was a spectator to a spectacular lightning display. There's an ongoing jest between my friends and I about the contrast we experience when we leave our tranquil Boulder bubble, venturing into Jefferson County where factories and urban sprawl replace our cherished open landscapes.

We went to Van Morrison at the wiltern which is kind of a stuffy, lied center sort of place.  no one was dancing, but we HAD to...people were upset behind us for standing up at a rock-n-roll concert...so we tried the aisle...the ushers told us we couldn't dance there...so ro' went to the manager to find out where we could dance, she said dance in your seat, maybe you'll start a trend.

Time to stifle your shrieks and open your minds, dear readers, for you will find that this is a story outside of the parameters of Judaism.  A story not about desecrating The Body, but one of adorning it, rewarding it.  It is about a little needle and a whole lot of Bacitracin.  You've read the title; you know what I'm talking about.I was not raised in a home particularly concerned with religion.  Channukah was just like any other week and cheeseburgers weren't outlawed due to kashrut but for cholesterol content.

Phil Lesh will be at Bonfils Blood Center's Lowry Donor Center on Saturday, June 19, 2004 to increase awareness about the importance of giving blood. Lesh received a liver transplant and is an advocate for blood, organ and tissue donation. He dedicates much of his time at similar events across the country to promote blood donation and express his gratitude to donors. Lesh will be at the Lowry Donor Center for a portion of the blood drive.

Tons of music for your listening pleasure..