Which came first?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That still seems to be quite a question, but what I want to know is which came first in Orland in the past 10 years or so'People or land developers? We have so many empty houses in our little community now, that I think the developers got ahead of us somehow. I check with a friend in Willows, and she doesn't think they are too far out of sync, but they have a lot of unsold houses also. In fact she said that she thought the houses were being rented because they couldn't be sold. I'm beginning to think that is what's happening in Orland also. I have always been upset about the fact that houses were financed with the monthly payments not being enough to even to pay the interest on the loan. It was a big bubble that had to burst sooner or later, and we are all suffering the consequences. I'd better get off of my soapbox and write about something a little different. Several months ago I changed from Cable TV to satellite TV for the simple reason that I wanted to watch the program The History Channel. It is a wonderful channel to watch to learn a little bit about all kinds of history. Today I was watching a program about the sinking of the Titanic. That ship sank in April of 1912 so I guess soon it is nearing its hundredth anniversary in a couple of years or so. In fact, if my arithmetic is correct, this is the 96th anniversary of this sinking calamity. The program I was watching was comparing the sinking of the Titanic with the sinking of another ship, made by the same company, called the Britannic. It also sank in some sea near Greece. The History Channel had decided to help check on the Britannic under the water to see if they could find anything what might have caused these two tragedies. I goat called to the telephone and still don't know if they found anything which could prove that either one or both of the ships had a faulty expansion joint which might have caused the tragedy. Sometimes this program is repeated later on the week, so I'll have to watch for it. I did learn something new today that I didn't know before. A friend told me that about a year ago when she was called for jury duty, she didn't get paid for her trip to the courthouse in Willows because she wasn't accepted to serve on the jury. When she stopped by the clerks office and asked if the mileage check would be mailed to her, the clerk on duty told her that mileage was no longer paid to those who were called to determine if they could or should serve on the upcoming jury. My friend was very upset about the situation, so she wrote a letter to the Judge in Willows and asked "what for?" Why didn't they pay mileage to anyone that had been ordered by the court to come to court. The Judge kindly answered her letter saying he was sorry, but the County no longer paid mileage if you weren't selected to serve on the jury. Surprise, surprise! And, if you don't show up as ordered, it seems no one comes after you because it is too expensive. One day I was told they didn't have enough people to serve on a specific jury, so the sheriff had to go down to the Wal-Mart Store and select people leaving the store to take down to the Courthouse for jury selection. I haven't personally checked on this situation, so if it isn't so, will someone please let me know? I just barely have enough room to tell you that the Eagles Auxiliary in Orland has decided to dip their toes in the Bunko Party group of organizations. Their first attempt will be at the Eagles Hall in Orland on March 14. Try it. You might like it. It is a game that even I can play, so as long as you can roll a couple of dice, or is it die, you play this crazy game. I told you some time ago that pickle juice will help with leg cramps. Well, the other night I had some terrific cramps in my feet and legs. My poor toes bowed down to the ground and I couldn't even get them to stand up again. Next day I drank some tonic water. Tonic water contains quinine which apparently you can't buy under the name quinine. Anyway, the tonic water seemed to do the trick. I have had at least a glass of tonic water every day and "no more cramps ever since!: Sorry about that last poor English statement, but it is true. I can now sleep all night long with no problem except to pay a visit or two to the potty room. Age has its difficulties, doesn't it?