Happy Birthday, My Friend...

REMEMBERING MY FRIEND
As some know, Larry Moore, my best friend for 57 years, passed away after six weeks in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Las Vegas as a result of a motorcycle accident on his way home from that city the end of 2003.  I miss my friend every day and mark his passing on the anniversary of that date and on this date, July 30th - his birthday.  That image above is the last photo taken of us together just a few months before his passing.

HE WAS LOVED BY MANY
My bud was a retired Los Angeles Police Officer - 31 years on the LAPD - and a man who made friends everywhere he went.  He loved his two daughters and has missed his two grandchildren grow up.  His eldest daughter, Kara, is now a Detective with the LAPD. 

A MAN OF MANY TALENTS
Not only was he a cop, he was also an athlete - a terrific swimmer and football player - and a wonderful composer and singer.  At his retirement party he was joined by his good friend, Bobby Sherman, as they belted out tunes to the Karaoke machine.  He cut a record or two and actually was the opening act on local television when The Righteous Brothers performed.  Here's one of his tunes, co-written with Eddie Cochran.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMIGO... WE MISS YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY
I always loved this image of us together - that halo effect seems perfect.  Happy Birthday up there, amigo...

An Honor That Requires Comment

I WASN'T REALLY KIDDING...
Remember a couple months ago when I posted what I told you was, after more than 3,400 entries,  my final blog post?  You know, the one where I told you that retirement and health issues had required me to reconsider my lifestyle, and that it would seldom, if ever, include more posts here?  Well, today something happened that requires me to return - if only for today.  Besides, I really do miss y'all...

FOOD?  DID YOU SAY FOOD?
Today my sweet and very patient wife and I were hosted by a dozen or so employees of the City of Costa Mesa - members of the Costa Mesa Police Association, the Costa Mesa Fire Association and the Costa Mesa City Employees Association - at a lovely lunch at The Newport Rib Company -  one of our favorite restaurants in town.  Thanks to John Ursini and the staff for a very special event.  As an aside, the photo below was BEFORE the BBQ was served and, yes, those men in white shirts managed to keep the sauce off their clothes.

CAUGHT ME OFFGUARD...
The purpose of this lunch was for them to say thank you to me for my support over all these years and, I must tell you, that was very strange, because it really should have been ME saying thanks, again, to them.

A HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE!
I was overwhelmed by this wonderful event.  It is truly one of the highlights of my life!  I will be forever grateful to those who attended this lunch today, and to those they were representing.  It's hard to see the screen on my computer right now - there's some mist on my eyes - just as there was when this beautiful plaque was presented to me today.

 I'M AN ADMIRER
As most of you know who have been reading this blog over the past dozen years, I am a great admirer of the Costa Mesa employees - those folks who have had to endure so much for the past more than a decade - every since Jim Righeimer dragged his carpetbagging rear-end across the border from Fountain Valley and began to systematically destroy one of the finest city government organizations in the county.  I wrote about him HERE. Together we've watched the decimation of complete organizations, we've seen the impact of the toxic workplace created by the Righeimer-led majority, with senior, experienced employees leaving much earlier than they anticipated.  But, we've seen those employees who endured become stronger and more resilient and even more dedicated to our city.  For that I, for one, will be eternally grateful.

BETTER, BUT A WAYS TO GO...
Things are better now, but far from perfect.

• We have a Police Department with a staffing level that is at least 20% below the numbers necessary to properly provide law enforcement coverage of our city, particularly with the impact of sober living homes and the homeless folks wandering our streets.   Chief Rob Sharpnack has said repeatedly in the recent past that it will take at least until the end of 2018 to be fully staffed - and he based that on the current authorized number, not the number we actually need.   Although we're doing a good job of recruiting and capturing the cream of the crop, we can't hire faster and couldn't train them if we had them.  
• Under the guidance of Chief Dan Stefano we have a Fire Department that, while permitted to finally hire sufficient staff to man our stations and equipment, still suffers from the lack of a new contract for five years and no pay increases for a decade.  This is unconscionable!  
• The CMCEA group finally has a new contract, so there's a chance to get staffed-up in critical areas like Planning and Engineering and related areas and cease relying on contract employees.  And, the anti-employee bias on the dais has been muted since the last election.  We certainly hope that continues in the next one in 2018, but the whole "district-voting with directly-elected mayor" scheme that Righeimer imposed on us makes that problematic and will require very significant citizen attention and participation.                                                                                                     

THANKS TO ALL
So, today, I want to fully express my gratitude to Detective David Sevilla and all the others  responsible for this wonderful recognition, and to encourage the employees of this fine city to continue to work hard and keep the faith that things will continue to improve.  Many of you have become my friends over these many years - something for which I'm very grateful.  You have solid leaders in place in most areas that should be getting much more support - and less micromanaging - from the elected leaders.

GRATEFULLY
Until next time... Thanks... that hardly seems enough, so...