Tracy Press

In the stillness and beauty of nature, columnist Jon Mendelson finds it's easy to forget the shouted rage and faux debate offered by today's "news" networks.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont. — The Highline Trail, one of the most-traveled paths in this park, climbs no dramatic crag, harbors no hidden secret. What it does offer is a sweeping panorama of the Crown of the Continent that will leave your camera full and send your spirit soaring.

Even when the legally blind 79-year-old named Ivan leading the expedition finishes in better shape than you do.

In exchange for the grandeur, all you have to do is march an 11-mile loop, with the final 4 miles a steep, downhill hurtle on a horse trail so hard it makes your feet cry.

Like everything else in life, the walk through Glacier is a tradeoff. In this case, I traded the temporary well-being of my legs for a view of a bighorn sheep in its natural habitat, nine or 10 hours walking with my girlfriend and getting to know one of the most awesome outdoorsmen I’ve ever met (the above-mentioned Ivan, who also happens to be my girlfriend’s grandfather).

It was a good swap.

All that mattered, besides the vistas and 500-foot drop down the mountainside, was one foot in front of the other and not sliding down the snowfield.

Also erased by the steady pounding of hiking boots were the hassles, irritants and nagging inanities of everyday life.

Cable news, for instance.

It occurred to me after several days of combing the woods for a lost dog and dangling my legs in Flathead Lake that I was happier — and healthier — disconnected from the electronic world.

And you know what? With most media outlets obsessed with covering the presidential campaign and the spin of the campaign and the perception of the spin of the campaign (actual issue comparison, context and fact-checking at www.thatwouldrequirerealwork.com), I returned to civilization without missing a thing.

What I gained, aside from great memories, was a rediscovered wisdom of the "off" button.

I was unburdened from the vapid personalities peddling faux issues and shouted rage packaged as debate, freed from the cameras zooming in so no move can — WAIT! Was that a head scratch or a signal for his secret army of half-man, half-beast minions to take over Topeka? — escape.

That stuff is bad for your health.

If I want to be informed, which I admit is still important, I’ll check an outlet that doesn’t yell and scream at me — perhaps a newspaper or National Public Radio.

Or maybe I’ll just go for another walk and decide it the traditional American way: by what kind of booze the candidates perfer.

It’s no secret that San Joaquin County has a homeless population to go with its high unemployment and crime rates — the Trifecta of Urban Decay.

But advances are being made.

A federal report released this week concludes that there were 12 percent fewer homeless people in the United States in 2006 than in 2005.

The report has its shortcomings, as it only deals with the number of adults who have been homeless for a year or more or who have been homeless many times. Families on the street or those living under the freeway for "only" seven months don’t count. But we’ll take progress where we can get it.

The folks at the Department of Housing and Urban Development who put together the report say there are better ways of measuring — and therefore targeting — the homeless in our communities, and that effort is showing results. Not that the city of Tracy has helped at all.

During the most recent annual homeless count — mandated by Congress, by the way — the city of Tracy took a pass while Lodi, Manteca and Stockton all stepped up to help count and minister to the homeless in their midst. Instead, county officials came into Tracy and picked up the slack.

Acknowledging that a problem exists is the first step to recovery. Addressing homelessness in Tracy — and yes, it exists — requires figuring out how big the problem actually is, and what it looks like.

The next homeless count is in January 2009, which should give us plenty of time to jump on the bandwagon.

Or, maybe we can just pretend that homelessness is a problem for someone else. Like the homeless.

• For a daily dose of Second Thoughts, visit Jon's blog. Or contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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written by amy , August 02, 2008

Sure would like to see one of Tracy's own nature retreat in the form of the "Wetlands"! Love it here, perfect for getting away from stress of my profession.

-amy

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written by Bar Fann , August 04, 2008

"vapid personalities peddling faux issues and shouted rage packaged as debate. If I want to be informed, which I admit is still important, I’ll check an outlet that doesn’t yell and scream at me "

I once heard a proverb, something about people in glass houses throwing stones. . .

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written by Dave Hardesty , August 05, 2008

Bar Fann

And isn't it refreshing to see them attempting to change their ways? Roses are always nicer than the stems with the thorns that bear them.

Dave Hardesty

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written by Bar Fann , August 05, 2008

Mr. Hardesty,

You are absolutely right. I shouldn't be so cynical. Maybe a week communing with our sublime mother, Nature, is just what the doctor ordered for young Mendelson, and he will come back a changed man.

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written by Dave Hardesty , August 05, 2008

BAr Fann

I hope you are correct. I know when I get away for a couple of weeks and am out in the great out doors it has a positive effect on my outlook on things. I like to think it has a similar effect on others as well.

What with all the troubles many of us experience in our day to day lives it's awfully easy to sink into being cynical and that doesn't really do anyone any good. I should know, I have been there plenty of times.

Dave Hardesty

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written by Steve Reshakis , August 07, 2008

If I want to be informed, which I admit is still important, I’ll check an outlet that doesn’t yell and scream at me — perhaps a newspaper or National Public Radio.

yeah...NPR they don't yell...they lull you into the zombie like sleep walk of a brainwashed tool.

stay in the mountains Jon, infact, take a year off.