Grunions

The grunions are running. Or so we're told. Grunions are little fish that come up on the beach at night and lay their eggs in the sand. They were scheduled to be there at 9:30 to 11:30 last night, and 11:30 to 1am tonight. I guess some experts figure it out based on the full moon and its position in the sky and past history. Apparently last night the grunions forgot to set their watches. We were out there on the beach watching the breakers roll in on six to eight foot high waves. The water was cold and we were starting to shiver when we finally gave up. By 11:30 we hadn't seen one grunion. But it was so much fun we decided to try it again tonight. Maybe they'll show up at 9:30 instead of 1 am.

Well, there are so many things are happening in the scandal ridden Obama administration that it's hard to keep up. A lot of it is frustrating. The collapsing Obamacare, the signature legislation of the Obama legacy, is so unpopular, as well as a disaster waiting to happen, that even the president is trying to delay parts of its implementation. Well over 60% of the people want it repealed, several states have voted not to allow the exchanges to set up in their states, or are refusing to fund the exchanges, the major unions that helped Obama win election are now against it, and the president keeps getting up and blaming Republicans for being against what the American people want and need. I don't believe there has ever been a president less in tune to the wants and needs of the people, or more enslaved to special interest groups than this one.

Just today the administration said defense spending robs other federal programs of needed funds. Remember the sequester? It gutted defense spending. I'd say the reason for the shortfall is too many federal programs wasting too much borrowed money and accomplishing nothing of real economic value. Certain federal employees are now being furloughed due to the sequester. White House tours had to be suspended, Marines in Afghanistan could no longer have hot lunches, the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have suspended their air shows, the military was not allowed to have July 4th celebrations, and school lunch programs are suffering all due to the sequester according to Obama. Of course, the shortfall didn't stop Obama from spending 100 million dollars on a family vacation to Africa. I wonder how many Marine hot lunches and school lunches 100 million dollars could provide? Remember when Obama said we needed to tighten our belts and inflate our tires to save money? I suppose he's never heard that the best leadership is leadership by example. Most tyrants are unaware of that. That's why so many of them get overthrown.

Obama said when campaigning in 2007 that he would heal the racial divide in the country. He then began to play the race card trying to goad Americans into voting for him to prove we aren't racist. We proved it, but it wasn't enough. There hasn't been a more racially divisive political figure in America since John C. Calhoun and Roger B. Taney before the Civil War. (If you don't know who they are a review of American history is in order.) The Trayvon Martin case proves the point. Obama praises a 17 year old thug who has been arrested twice and had marijuana in his system when he attacked George Zimmerman, but completely ignores drug-free heroes who have given their lives in Afghanistan for the country.

Although he claims to have created 6 million jobs since coming into office, more people are out of work today than when Obama started. Something is wrong with this picture. It is anything but indicative of a strong recovering economy, but to hear the president talk you would think Americans were enjoying the best days of their lives economically. Just like everything else he tries to sell, the economy he's talking about is the utopia in the socialist mind that has never existed and never will exist. He and Janet Napolitano both are insisting that the border with Mexico is as secure as it has ever been. Only in the fantasy world that they live in.

The Obama foreign policy is an abject failure. Half the Middle East is in flames, North Korea is more belligerent than ever, Al Qaeda is stronger than it's been in years regardless of his campaign speeches, and his influence is so weak that when he asks the Russians to extradite our traitor, Edward Snowden, Putin practically laughs in his face and offers the guy asylum.

And of course there is Benghazi, still unaccounted for nearly eleven months after the attacks that killed the ambassador and three other Americans. But what difference does that make as long as Hilary has resigned so she can distance herself from her own failure as well as the administration's, and run on a clean record in 2016.

So where is Obama now when there is work to do? At Martha's Vineyard, taking another vacation. Just like the grunions last night, he's not where he needs to be or doing what he should be doing when he is needed. But then, what does it really matter? According to the economically astute Barbara Streisand, Obama has been more fiscally conservative than any president in history except for Bill Clinton. You just can't argue with genius like that. Maybe Babs can tell us when the Grunions are going to show up tonight.

Grunions 2

Well, we went out grunion hunting again on Tuesday night but by 11pm they weren't coming and we called it off. Our daughter, Hannah, and my wife Lhey's sister, Rachel, had to work at 7am so we went on home.

Last night was the last night for this cycle and the fish were predicted to hit the beach between midnight and 1:30am. Hannah took off work today and Rachel's schedule is flexible, and Lhey's mother, Norma, didn't have to work until 10:30, so at 8:30pm we went to a Japanese sushi bar near the beach for dinner, then went out to the beach around 10. It was still early so we waited in the car awhile and napped a little, but our young son, Ethan, was restless and Rachel and her boyfriend, Alex, wanted to get out, so Hannah joined them and they ran around the beach.

At about 11:00 or so I checked on them. Alex is a big guy, 230 pounds, and he was goofing off showing how strong he was and tried to hold Rachel and Hannah up on each arm. A challenge a former Marine like me couldn't resist. I held them both up, one on each arm too. No big deal. Then to show I'm not as old as everyone thinks I am, I picked up Alex over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. When I first got under him I didn't think for a moment my knees were going to stand up straight, but they didn't fail me and I carried him about 30 feet across the sand before I had to put him down. (And the Navy turned me down for reenlisting as a chaplain five years ago because they said I was too old!)

There were seven of us and seven more came from the Filipino church in Spring Valley. We were surprised because only five other people that we saw were on the beach and they didn't stay long, and then only two others came later on. We had the entire beach to ourselves.

We caught a few sand crabs for amusement at first. I think Ethan was just as excited about those as the fish. One of the church members set up a small tent and when Ethan and the pastor's son got tired, they went to the tent and played games on iPads.

About 11:45 we saw our first grunion. Soon after Pastor R.J. from the church caught the first one. By midnight we were seeing more and soon entire schools were coming in on the waves together. We were scattered along the beach and whenever someone started to see them we'd be running in that direction to help. Then they'd show up behind us and we'd be running back. Grunions are thin, silver and slippery, and about 4-6 inches long. They ride in on the waves and as the surge flows back to the sea they are left exposed on the beach where they burrow into the sand to lay their eggs. If you shine a light on them they turn to flip-flop their way back to the water, so you have to be quick. Nets are not allowed! You have to catch them with your hands, and if you don't grab them before the next wave comes in they'll wash back out.

Each time a wave came and we saw them we raced to the spot diving to the sand on our hands and knees trying to grab as many as we could before they got away. We probably missed more than we caught. Many times we'd be behind them trying to grab them when the next wave hit and we were soaked from top to bottom before we were through, not to mention all the sand that got into our clothing. The water was cold, but we persevered. Everyone was screaming and laughing. We had two small buckets of fish by the time it started to rain at 2am, so we decided to call it a night. It was just plain fun from beginning to end and worth the first two frustrating nights to reach the grand finale.

While we walked down the beach toward our car Lhey wasn't ready to give up and she caught four more fish before we left the water. Strange as it may seem, one of the church members, Dan, didn't get the word we were leaving. How he didn't figure it out when everyone else was gone I don't know, but when we all got cleaned up and ready to go, he still hadn't reached the cars. I had seen him last down by the pier so we went and looked there, then walked up the beach but didn't see him. Then we drove to the far end of the beach and walked all the way back down and still didn't see him. We didn't know where else to look so we went back to the cars and there he was. He just happened to be wearing a T-shirt with a logo that appropriately said, "I am lost."

We were finally able to head for home and by about 3:30 everyone was in bed except me. Norma had a cup of coffee before she went to bed. I don't know why, but I went ahead and had one with her. With eyes wide open I finished an episode of Matlock and hit the sack at 4. Tonight we're having fried grunions for dinner.

Well, if you're ever bored and looking for something exciting to do, let me recommend coming down to Imperial Beach when the grunions are running. No matter how old you are it will make you feel like a kid again.