A great weekend is in the books and it is back to work and the process of earning a living. Our new underwriter starts today and she was here bright and early at 7:30 this morning. It was a good sign as generally I'm the only underwriter in attendance until about 8:45. Our core hours are 8:30 - 5:00, but anyone in production knows that those are the staff hours. Our true hours are whatever it takes to get the job done. Gwen told us during interviews that she likes to get to work early, so we will have another body to make the first pot of coffee in the morning, a critical element to the success of any organization.

Darla and I went to the Placer County Fair on Saturday night. We strolled the grounds looking at the pies and clothing, photography, cookware booths, food booths and wondered what we'd paid $7 a head to see. We both enjoyed the hypnotist, a highlight of which was watching as she hypnotized an obviously inebriated Charlie Manson look-alike in the crowd. He was not part of the show, but what part of his alcohol-warped brain was still working was open to the power of suggestion and he dropped prone on the ground in the middle of the crowd. A small dog climbed on his face and was licking him for all his worth. Finally, when one of the volunteers woke up out of the hypnotic phase, she invited Charlie onto the stage and he became part of the show. It was hilarious.

I had a Sunday golf game, so Darla and I went to church Saturday night before the fair. It is definitely a different crowd on Saturday night at church. Darla was concerned about wearing shorts to church, which (by the way) I do every Sunday. She needn't have worried as most of the churchgoers were in shorts and sandals at 5:00 p.m. on a hot Saturday afternoon.

I did play golf at the break of dawn on Sunday. We teed off at 6:04 and I woke up about 7:00 a.m. I started my round 6 (double-bogey)-6 (double-bogey)- 8 (triple-bogey). I'm an 11 handicap and I was 7 over after three holes!! I was able to wake up and completely turn around my game with birdie-par-par-bogey-birdie-par to finish the front nine at 42, six-over par after being seven over after three holes. I shot 41 on the back side for 83, 11-over par. I was proud of my comeback in the round and even happier to collect the $42 in skins and stroke bet money from my playing partners. I think they all thought early on that this was a day that they would fleece me royally.

I was off the course by 10:15 and Darla and I packed up and headed to the beach. We were on the beach by noon as we stopped for sandwiches on the way. The crowd at the beach was thinner than usual, although the temperatures climbed into the middle-nineties. Two people got their cars stuck in the sand and one guy in an older Ford Bronco pulled both of them out. I told him that he should charge for the service and he said that the first guy gave him $20 and that made up for the second girl whose Honda Civic was hopelessly sunk into the sand. He pulled her out after she continued to spin her wheels until her front bumper (she had front wheel drive) was covered by sand. He hooked up to her rear bumper and yanked her out. She simply waved her thanks and drove away. I've learned to stick with the hard packed sand of the roadway and stay out of any soft sand.

It is amazing to me the collection of stuff people bring to the beach. The array of screen rooms, canopies, umbrellas, barbecues, rafts, tents, boats, wave runners, air mattresses, dogs, kids, fatties, skinnies, hard bodies and albinos on the beach is almost overwhelming. Darla and I spend hours people-watching on the beach, which is fine until one of the string bikinied hardbodies walks by. Then I usually catch an elbow in the ribs. Some things are timeless I guess. This week, Darla was particularly annoyed with the dog people as the aroma near our blanket was a bit over-whelming. Most dog walkers in the neighborhood carry a bag and a scoop of some kind and pick up after their dog. The beach dog people are famous for simply covering the offending fecal matter with sand. The problem is the beach ends up looking like a field of brown-sugared sausages. We hunted for the offending cigar, but couldn't find it. The wind blowing in off the lake carried the scent to us without fail. It was kind of a "crappy" day at the beach.

Jennifer will make her triumphant return home this week. She flies in on Thursday night and will be here until July 15th. We plan to take her up to Lake Almanor to water ski and jet ski over the 4th and then Darla and I will take her up to Lake Tahoe and Reno on the 11th-12th. She will get together with the boys and go to the local water park at some point. Her Mom has plans with her and she has plans with her friends, so it will be a whirlwind visit. Jennifer is in Pittsburgh as I write this with Ryan, a friend of hers, staying with his parents. They are having a blast visiting the sights in Pittsburgh (what steel mills and factories?). She got there last Thursday and will fly home this Thursday. I really look forward to seeing her. She really is my hero for her bravery and her dedication to defending our country. She will go back to Augusta and then fly home for a week before leaving for her 14-month tour in Kuwait City.

Well that's it for another week. Be well. I'll add to this after Independence day.