What's in Dave's Head

We attended the April 5 Hands Off rally in Washington, D.C. (not yet District of America, as proposed by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), along with friends Monica, John, and Susan, and somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 other like-minded, and mostly like-aged, attendees. Afterwards, Donna and I had a late lunch in a nearby restaurant and started talking to the couple next to us, who asked what the focus of the march was. “Everything,” I responded. People weren’t protesting a single policy, like gun laws, or treatment of a particular segment, like women’s rights. The D.C. rally, as well as many others across the country that day, reflected the ire of Americans toward the entire spectrum of the current administration’s actions. Banners and placards displayed a litany of grievances, including: The gutting, with chainsaw precision, of federal agencies, by an unelected billionaire who stands to benefit enormously The self-inflicted global trade war that has caused loss of retirement ...

Donna and I recently returned from a trip to the Golden State, seeing our son Jack and his wife Erin in L.A., visiting Donna’s brother Mike and sister Barb in Newport Beach, and sightseeing in San Diego, which neither of us had ever visited. It was a wonderful, whirlwind trip. Leg one: Mauled by Vicious Attack Dogs Our first stop brought us to a hotel in Universal City, home to Universal Studios and a five-minute drive to Jack and Erin’s home in beautiful Toluca Lake, a village whose houses are framed with colorful, fragrant gardens and the main street is lined with restaurants, boutiques, and two icons: the original Bob’s Big Boy (home of the “original double deck hamburger”), and Paty’s, a casual diner that is bustling at all hours. We met up with Jack and caught up on his various projects and pursuits (of which he always has several in the works). For protection, Jack and Erin have a trio of fierce attack animals that use their anteater tongues to lick their adversaries into s...