Ed & Kay Bejarana

You know it will happen.  Sure, right now the anti-gun crowd are fairly quiet, but it is only a matter of time before we hear, “we have to get the guns out of the hands of criminals.”

In case you are not aware of what I am writing about, a criminal on parole was pulled over for a traffic infraction.  The criminal caught the police off guard and killed both officers.  Fleeing from the scene, police are let to an apartment, a shootout ensues and two more police officers are killed in the line of duty.  A fifth officer was wounded but is expected to recover.

Harry Harris, with the MercuryNews.com, wrote a good article about the Okaland Police Shooting.  He wrote, “…Mixon stepped out and began shooting with an semi-automatic handgun, hitting Dunakin and Hege…”

While Mr Harris did not write words that were overtly anti-gun, he did use language that implys the type of gun made matters worse.  What exactly is the different between a “semi-automatic handgun” and a “handgun”?

In an ABC report, Amy Hollyfield reported “[the salient]…used a handgun to shoot the motorcyle cops who pulled him over and an assault rifle at the apartment.”  Again, not overtly anti-gun, but “assault rifle” starts to introduce emotion in the reporting.

At some point in the not so distant future, someone will suggest outlawing semi-automatic handguns AND assault rifles is in the public’s best interest.  The suggestion will be that outlawing these guns would keep them off the streets.  The problem with such an argument is the criminal in question was already breaking the law by possessing guns.  He was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon.  What makes any sane person think a criminal will stop breaking the law by passing another law?

Disarming law abiding Americans only serve to embolden criminals to further impose their lawlessness on society.  The anti-gun groups are switching tactics and are now going after the ammunition.  The site slogan states, “Saving lives one bullet at a time”

Stay tuned, you can almost hear the anti-gun chant starting.

Ed

Friday morning was an early start morning.  Everyone got up and had bagels and cream cheese because we needed to get in the van to head for the coast.  Going back to Louise’s original requests, she wanted to see the volcano and take a trip to the Pacific Ocean.

Our trip was planned well a head of this day, but being mid October we knew god could have given us foul weather.  Going back even further, the original Pacific Ocean trip was to include a trip to Newport Bay Aquarium so that Chrissee could see the whale that make te trek up the Sacramento River.  Chrissee also want to get out in a boat and do some whale watching, but the season wasn’t quite right, so we figured a trip to Seal Rock would be as close as we could get.  Killer whales love Seal Rock because all the tender seals swimming in the ocean make for a smorgasbord of delicatessen.

Plan B was a trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon with a second stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory for Ice Cream.  As you can see by the blue sky in the picture, god blessed us with beautiful weather.

As it turns out Tom (et.al) love to shop.  We stopped at a couple of trinket malls in Cannon Beach, then ate.  We walked the streets buying more goodies, then bought sweets and ate some more.  Our journey lead us all the way to the end of the street with a memorial to the grey whale stood with the Pacific Ocean as the back drop.  But the sandy trek included a watery obstacle that prevented the tootsies from being dipped into the fridge ocean waters.

Our drive to Tillamook, I knew, included lots of ocean front opportunity.  The most scenic of which was a close pass to Haystack Rock.

Haystack Rock is a 235-foot (72-meter) tall monolith (or sea stack) on the Oregon coast in the northwestern United States, the third-tallest such structure in the world. A popular tourist destination, the rock is adjacent to the beach and accessible by foot during low tide. Haystack Rock tide pools are home to many intertidal animals, including starfish, anemone, crabs, chitons, limpets, and sea slugs. The rock is also a refuge for many sea birds, including terns and puffins. (curtiously of Wikipedia)

Kay, Louise and I didn’t feel the urge to walk through the sand, so we’ve enjoyed watching the rest of the family partake in the “cold” joys of the Pacific Ocean.

While the weather was great, the water temperature was VERY cold!

After a beautiful day at the beach, we all felt a trip to the cheese factory for ice cream was in order.  After a short tour, shopping and scarfing down loads of ice cream, we pointed the van East for Portland.

A trip to Portland is not complete without a visit to the Nike campus and a drive through downtown Portland at night time.  Since we were all still full from cheese and ice cream, we decided to head from home and order Pizza and play video games.

Saturday was going to be an interesting schedule.  I had arranged to perform with the band during the worshipservice and the Church had also scheduled a concert for the same weekend my family was in town.  I thought, great, 40 years, they had never seen or heard me play, they would get the full gammit from one weekend.  The only challenge was the extra rehearsal on Saturday and a long Sunday.

Saturday morning we drove up the gorge towards Multnomah falls.  The plan was quick sightseeing, a trip to the shopping mall and all-you-can eat chinese at Tin Tins.  Then they would drop me off at church, Kay would show Tom how to get to the light rail station and Tom and Tommy would head off to a Winter Hawks Ice Hockey game.

Tom & Tammy at Multnomah Falls

The waterfall was beautiful, the trip to the mall included a GREAT view of Mt. Hood (the other active volcano in our immediate area), a fun shopping trip at the Clackamas Town Center (I bourhgt Tiger Woods ‘09), and a filling dinner.

Tom and Tommy watched minor league hocket and I played music.  the girls stayed home and watched girl movies and dumb TV shows.

A perfect family night!

to be continued…

Ed Bejarana