Douglas E. Berry

One good bit of news this week. Back in December, we bought a Giants ticket voucher pack, enough for us to go to two games. It was a bit of a nightmare to figure out, and we ended up having to spend more money t9 sit in the same section for one game, but two dates to visit the most beautiful ballpark in the world and cheer on the G-men.

The first game is against the Marlins on (what we hope will be) Opening Day weekend.

The second is on July 27th against the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, my family has a history with the Brewers. My grandfather was a baseball fanatic and loved the Milwaukee team. Braves, Brewers, minor or major league, he was there.

Some of my best memories of visiting Gramma and Grandpa was going to County Stadium to see a baseball game. He had seats in the front row right behind home plate shaded to the first base side. The weather was always great, I got to eat a ton of junk food, and even if I didn't understand what I was watching, I was there with my Grandpa! He even taught me to keep score!

Sadly, he's been gone for many years now.

But when we go to the game against the Brew Crew, I'll be carrying a sign:

GRANDPA WAS A [Brewers logo] FAN.

SORRY, GRANDPA. [SF Giants logo]

Well, here we are again. Reaching the end of the calendar year for all of us who use the Gregorian Calendar.Of course, given my druthers, it'd be Idibus Decembres MMDCCLXXIV Ab Urbe Condita. But I'm weird that way.

Where are my druthers, anyway? However has them, give them back post-haste!

Anyway, for me, 2021 was dominated not by the political upheaval in Washington, but by my ongoing eye issues. What started as a simple diagnosis of a cataract in my left eye has ballooned into a still-evolving investigation of which my body is showing so many inflammation markers. But getting here has been epic. Because for the first eight months of this I was seeing an ophthalmologist who was very hesitant and unsure of herself. When she finally referred me to a more experienced colleague, it was one visit and surgery scheduled. Everyone assured me that cataract surgery was super easy, barely an inconvenience.

I came out of the surgery blind in my left eye. It was like looking through a cloudy glass brick. This was not the result anyone expected, and I began a brief odyssey of being punted around to different eye doctors before getting a referral (an insurance approval) to the Stanford Eye Clinic. We were told that this appointment could take several hours, but what happened that Friday was, well, special.

After going through all the usual eyedrops, pictures, and tests, we were visited by a succession of escalating doctors, all of whom wanted to confirm that I hadn't eaten that day. Finally, the senior eye surgeon on duty came in and told me that my retina was detaching, and we needed to head over to the Stanford ER to check in for surgery that night. Of course, due to COVID-19, kshandra. couldn't come in with me.

Any ER on a Friday night is going to be an interesting place. Stanford did not disappoint. However, it was also the night the Giants were going for the 100th win of the season, and I couldn't see my phone to follow the game! (They beat Colorado 7-2.) Eventually, They roll me into the ER proper if only so I could charge my phone. After really geeking out over how the ER is run, I'm rolled up to the surgical theater. This is the first time I've entered one in a wheelchair, so I got to really geek out over all the cool shit. The anesthesiologist and I agree on a general, and the last words I hear are "I'm giving you the relaxing medicine now."

The next thing I know it's like 0400 and I'm being rolled out to meet kshandra at the car. The procedure lasted about three hours. What they did was absolutely fucking science fiction. Along with cleaning out the gunk from the failed cataract surgery and resetting the artificial lens, they used FUCKING LASERS to weld the tears in my retina, put a silicon band around my eye to force it back into shape, and injected a gas bubble into my eye to further restore the proper retinal surface. This was out-patient surgery!

What sucked was I had to keep a head-down posture for the next week or so to keep the bubble in place. I listened to a lot of Judge Judy and podcasts at my desk. Things are still not perfect, but we're getting there!

My job continues to be fantastic. The mini-session they had in April-May last spring was weird and sparsely attended as many parents elected to continue distance learning. The new school year is back to regular days and hours, and with the exception of the six-week hole the eye problems blew in my ability to work, I've been happy to get back to my corner and shout in German at my kids. My boss was amazing, finding that I still had hours left in a special COVID-relief time bank, and a few PTO hours, so at least a little money came in during the time off. I'm so happy that I took the chance on becoming a Crossing Guard.

It was a good year for me in baseball. The San Jose Giants, now a Low-A club, won their league championship. The big league team was predicted to finish no better than 3rd in the National League West. What followed was one of the most amazing divisional races in the history of baseball. The Giants won a club-record 107 games, and still only clinched in the last game of the season because our rival Los Angeles Dodgers won 106 games, also a team record. We met in the NLDS and it went to five games, of course. LA won, and I'm not going to make excuses. But what a fucking season!

Due to the pandemic, we didn't get out much. We did make a long-planned trip to Los Angeles to see Avatar at the Wiltern Theater. We made a mini-vacation out of it. We went to the Rainbow Bar and Grill and spent too much money at Lemmy's Lounge. Hey, I'm an old Motörhead fan! We also were able to have dinner with isomeme and her lovely wife and with kshandra's halfsister and her lovely wife and kids.

We also visited the Getty Villa.. I killed my phone taking pictures. It's that amazing.

Then, just a couple of weeks about, we went to the first night of Metallica's 40th Anniversary concert. THEY PLAYED FIXXXER! AND KING NOTHING!!!

So, those are the highlights of 2021 for me. The whole eye thing dominated and continues to shape my life. But there are big changes and events coming in 2022. Which will be the next post! Stay tuned!

For many years during my childhood, the height of summer vacation was the trip down the coast to Parajo Dunes, a beachside resort made up mostly of privately-owned homes and condominiums. We'd go for a week or so, borrowing the house from one of my father's clients. Daddy was a travel agent in a rich town, so he got all sorts of favors.

We stayed in house 73, an unassuming place compared to some of the more experimental designs you saw along the beach. The house next to us had all sorts of odd towers and very seventies smoked glass windows in unusual shapes. The one beyond that was dubbed "the bunker" because of it's resemblance to a German fort on the Atlantic wall. Half the fun was examining the odd designs and questionable color choices as we walked along the beach.

Each summer had a pattern. We'd get to invite a friend along, make the drive down 101 from San Jose to Watsonville, drive through miles of fields being tended by migrant workers, then pass through a range of low hills and find ourselves at the beach. Chaotic unpacking would follow, then onto the beach.

It's funny now to think about the fact that these days I'm deathly afraid of deep water, but back then I was amphibious. I'd gleefully plunge into to freezing waters of Monterey Bay and swim, get knocked around by the waves, body surf, or just stand chest deep and let the swells pick me up and then set me back down on the sandy bottom. Meanwhile, my mother would be watching me turn blue from the cold. "I'm fine!" I'd insist through chattering teeth, swearing that the water was just perfect!

We ate like kings on those trips. Food just tastes better on vacation, it seems. We'd pig out on snacks all day and still be hungry at dinner. For one thing, my brother and I were at the stage where we'd eat the refrigerator and everything in it given the chance, and we were also burning calories at an astounding rate. We'd have marinated steaks, a taco night, just good food all around. I would drink a six pack of Pepsi Light a day, it seemed.

The days were filled with fun in the sea and sand. In the evening, we developed a variant of flashlight tag where one person stood on the house porch with a flashlight while the others crawled up the sawgrass-covered sand dune that led to the house, trying to avoid being spotted and 'shot' by the flashlight. In retrospect, this was great training for the Army.

But there was one amazing year. Earlier in the spring, huge fires had ravaged Bir Sur, destroying thousands of acres of forest. Many of those trees had fallen into the Salinas River and been pushed out to sea. Which led to thousands of pieces of driftwood washing up at Pajaro Dunes. We had everything from twigs to entire tree trunks on the beach, which pieces washing up daily.

Every night, all the people staying at the resort would gather up wood for bonfires, which naturally became a sort of competition. The kids in house 73 eagerly joined in scavenging driftwood so we could have a bonfire you could see from space. When they were all lit, the effect was amazing. Two dozen or more blazing fires consuming pyramids of stacked wood that topped fifteen feet. I wish now that we had a kayak or something so I could have seen that from the water.

Near the end of that trip, we drove down to Monterey to visit Cannery Row. Which, if you have never been, is the tourist trap section of Monterey. We had lunch somewhere, wandered from store to store until we came to a nice little shop selling tourist kitsch. They had a basket filled with little pieces of driftwood, each piece six inches long at most. The sign said "$2 each."

When questioned about this, the shopkeeper assured us that this was a good price because driftwood is so rare, and it's so hard to find good examples like she was selling. We all managed to make it out of the store before we burst out laughing. Just the night before, we had helped erect a bonfire using 12-foot-long branches that had to be six inches thick. We had burned millions of dollars worth of driftwood! That became a family joke for a very long time, that we could always go into driftwood to make our fortunes.

I kept a piece of wood from that trip for several years, it vanished when I left for the Army. Pajaro Dunes is still there, and you can see the house where we stayed on their website. I don't go to the beach often these days, but the memories of those annual trips, and the Million Dollar Bonfire, are ones I will always treasure.

The Niece of Last Resort has begun collecting bottle caps. I was wondering if some of my far-flung correspondents could mail an interesting cap or two with a little information about it. Trying to get her interested in geography and maps.

The address is

Douglas Berry
2121 Main Street, #2
Santa Clara, CA
95050
USA

Thanks in advance!

Kiri and I went this morning to see Kylie, the Emergency Back Up Niece, playing her Under 9 Division League Championship.

Sparks: 4
Orange Crush: 3 (in 5 innings)

These girls, aged 6-8, showed a ton of heart and some pretty good skills. Kylie had a 2 RBI double, pitched well, and in the bottom of the 4th had a great throw from left to kill a bases-loaded rally.

They normally play to four innings, so for the extra inning they had a weird rule. Each team started with a runner at second and two outs. The Sparks managed to bring that runner home, then held off a ferocious rally attempt by the Crush to tie the game up. Ended on a strike out!

I, being a doofus, forgot to take pictures. So here are some from Wednesday's game: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjF8e3q2

In our continuing quest to jump start Niece Prime's adult life, we went to talk to an Air Force recruiter yesterday. It actually was Lenore's idea, and I did my best to detail both the benefits and drawbacks of military service.

The funny thing was that when we got to the recruiting station, the doors were locked, and there was a contact number taped to the door. So we went next door to the Army station to ask if/when the Zoomies showed up. The answer wasn't encouraging, but the Sergeant on duty was kind enough to start working with Nori on the basics. Sadly, there is an issue that is probably going to be a block for her enlisting. Still I'm awesomely proud of her for even considering the armed forces as an option.

I'm not going to mention the block, as it's nobody business.

It was kind of funny, in the course of our travels I got called Lenore's dad twice. At the recruiting station and at the grocery store. And to be honest, when I heard what the barracks are like these days (two-man rooms with private bathrooms, kitchenettes, carpeting!) I was about ready to re-up myself!

But I was so looking forward to the call where we told Craig that after two months exposure to me, Lenore had enlisted. We may be middle-aged, but he's still my big brother, and it is still my solemn duty to torment him.

The Norster is moving into her own place next week, and we're really trying to emphasize that she needs to keep looking for better opportunities and get dedicated to making money. We've done what we can, and will continue to help her in any way we can, but we really want our living room back.

At some point yesterday I got exposed to a stomach bug. Barely slept last night, feeling miserable today. Called in dead. Probably crawling back into bed. I'm willing it was when I went over to my new health-care provider's offices for a coumadin level. One nice improvement at Palo Alto Medical Foundation over Kaiser, I have a dedicated NP handling my INF work, so I'll be seeing the same person each time I dfo a level and getting face time to discuss changes in diet and life-style that could affect my levels.

Not watching the Olympics. Just not overly into them this year. The Giants currently suck like things that suck a lot, but are still clinging to a half-game lead in the NL West.

Done today:

• Took out a ton of garbage.


• Bagged laundry for an Oasis run/donation (last night and tonight).


• Cleaned our front porch area.


• Wrote an outline.


• Did three loads of laundry (last one in dryer currently).

To be done tomorrow

• Take laundry in to Oasis and to the charity drop off.


• Go by Orchard to get shelving units for Kiri


• Go to library so Lenore can get a library card.


• Clean and re-stack our storage boxes.


• Drink beer.

But aside from a decimal point placement error on the amount of mashed potatoes required, my sister hit it out of the park in her first-ever go at Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey was perfect, the Trader Joe's stuffing was fantastic, and the dinner rolls were made from scratch. I ate an amazing three helpings. Which, given my recent health, should count as a miracle of some kind.

Better than the food was seeing the entire Berry clan in one place. My big brother, his lady, my Mom (enjoying her first work-free Thanksgiving in fifty years) and of course all three nieces. Lenore (Niece Prime) is now old enough to drink, a realization that makes me want a drink. Emergency Back-Up Niece Kylie and the Niece of Last Resort Regan did what any self-respecting 6 and 4 year olds would do when surrounded by relatives - they went nuts.

In between hypersonic shrieks made by small children good conversation was had. Sadly, I'm still not feeling overly well, so we bowed out shortly after desert (which I didn't even try to eat, I would have died.) The Stoopid 49ers ruined a perfect holiday by losing to the Ravens, 16-6. Ah well, we're still 9-2 and hold a 4.5 game lead in the NFC West with five games to go. GO NINERS!

Earlier in the day another Thanksgiving tradition was observed. We went to church courtesy of KFOG. Of course, now I'm imagining OWS marching to One Police Plaza, singing a chorus of Alice's Restaurant and marching away.

They might think it's a movement...

aka my Mom and my Aunts Ann and Molly. kshandra, murphymom, my cousin Pam and her daughter Lily were also there. Quite the mob. The sisters get together once a year, sometimes going on vacation or just visiting one another. Since Kiri and I were up in Reno for most of their visit this was our one chance to get together. The original plan was to eat at Olive Garden, but they don't take reservations, and we were told that it would be a 70 minute wait for a table. Pam called around, and The Cheesecake Factory right across the street could hold a space for us if we got right over. We did.

Very good food, and oh, by Halford's Shiny Head, the portions! Great conversations, very good wine. Of course, there were pictures taken. This is me and Pam.