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The Love Story of Diane and Andy

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In a boxy warehouse converted to a pub you met while the band was on break: the boy on the bicycle the girl next door. --For Diane and Andy, (c) 1984 Nancy Schoellkopf I was indeed the boy next door; in 1982 I moved to an old house in East Sacramento; a rental. No insulation, only a wall heater, and no A/C and an electrical system that would not support more than a single window unit. It was a street of mostly widows; most 70 or older. One of them was Aloyse (al-oh-weeze) Aubery . I (rarely) played my guitar or banjo on the porch, and she used to listen; she told me once that her daughter can play guitar too, and just as my hopes rose, she added "her boyfriend taught her". I worked at 15th and R Street in Sacramento; then a boring collection of tilt-up concrete wall offices, and next to the Palm Iron Works, a steel fabricating company. South of R Street there was all day parking along the street; my office was a window and I could see all of the cars parked next to my off

Guns: What are They Good for?

Guns are well known as the go-to device for personal defense.   They ensure the operator’s safety in a conflict situation due to their ability to project high-velocity lumps of metal great distances. Many people collect these devices in great number; a recent study showed that 10% of Californians owned a gun, and of these gun owners, 32% owned 10 or more guns.   So, 3.2% of Californians own ten or more guns.   Sadly, most gun users are only able to operate two (2) guns at a time.   It has been said that guns are a durable commodity; they are not like the inexpensive inkjet printer you bought last week at Office Max for $65 that will break in less than a year because of a broken spring or small plastic lever.   Planned obsolescence is all but impossible for gun manufacturers to engineer into commercial gun design because guns which break either don’t work and may get the gun owner killed with return fire or could even explode and also kill the gun owner.   Imagine if your cheap inkj