Fred Sandsmark's Blog

I was sitting on my back deck last evening sipping red wine and reading Alan Furst's The World At Night. When it got too dark to read, I picked up my book and glass, stood up, and saw this guy sitting on my next-door neighbor's TV antenna:



I took another shot with a flash, but all I got was one shining red eye.

I've heard owls screech in the night around the neighborhood, and not long ago had one fly low over my head when I was walking the dog in the evening. The difference with this encounter was that he sat still for a long time -- long enough for me to go inside and get the camera, and even when I started taking pictures he didn't budge.

Two of my favorite San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Keay Davidson and Glen Martin, are leaving the paper.

The only good thing about this is Davidson's farewell autobiography, linked above.

I was saddened but not surprised to read in today's San Francisco Chronicle about the deaths on Yosemite's Half Dome. I did this hike several years ago (for a hint as to how long ago: I wrote the original eHow for doing the 17-mile hike in a single day) and found the cables to be the most difficult part. My thighs burned when I reached the top; it's like doing double- or triple-stairs up a ten-story building. In altitude.

Once I got to the top, I really wanted to look over the flat edge at the valley below. But the only way I could do so was to lay on my belly and slither to the dome's shear side.

The cables up Half Dome's shoulder are steep, difficult, and harrowing. From the Chronicle report it sounds like the most recent fellow who fell and died -- his name was Hirofumi Nohara -- was well-prepared, healthy, and traveling with a group. All smart moves. His fatal problem arose, perhaps, from a momentary lapse in concentration; we'll never know. I surely extend my compassion to Mr. Nohara's family, and also to Brian Mott who witnessed Mr. Nohara's fall up close.

Still, the hike up Half Dome is one of California's peak experiences. (No pun intended.) I'm glad I did it, and hope to do it again some day. We're entering the prime weeks for doing this hike, with long daylight hours; I encourage everyone who is trying the hike to be careful, be safe, and look out for your fellow hikers.

I am blown away by the finalists in the "Stuck at the Prom" contest. Can you believe that these outfits are made entirely of duct tape?

Jane and I are fortunate to belong to the San Francisco Brain Tumor Support Group. One of the few good things about suffering with this disease (or, in my case, being a caregiver) is meeting other wonderful people who are in the same struggle.

Judy Garlow, whose obituary is in today's San Francisco Chronicle, was one of those wonderful people. A quiet but steady presence in meetings, she always listened more than she spoke -- but when she spoke, her questions and comments were always insightful and worth listening to.

When Jane went into hospice in January, Judy was one of the first people to offer emotional support. She called and sent notes regularly, and always had encouraging things to say. Not long ago, when her doctors at UCSF recommended that she enter hospice, I was privileged to get a call from Judy asking for guidance and advice.

Now I read in her obituary what a spectacularly accomplished person she was. She was a pioneer in finding alternative funding for legal aid programs for the poor after federal budget cuts crippled programs in the 1980s.

Knowing how Judy has been a kind friend to us, I can completely understand how she would not just see injustice, but work to do something about it. Turns out that working on others' behalf was integral to what Judy did, personally and professionally. I'm so sad she's gone.