Next week is the State of the Union address, and I thought I’d offer a little last minute, unsolicited advice to the president and the White House speechwriters. Some may think it presumptuous, but as one of “we, the people,” I think it’s allowable. It’s not like they have to take the advice, after all . . . but it sure would be nice to see and hear something like this.

The country that has so benefited in civilizing effects and prosperity from the education given veterans by Ralph Yarborough’s Cold War G.I. Bill of Rights just voted against those who want to bring it back from the gutter it’s been pitched into. That’s hard to understand. I’ll just be proud of what we could do, and wait for an electorate to redevelop for the treasures we have in our hands.

The stimulus package passed earlier this year provided $750 million for the National Park Service to address infrastructure and deferred maintenance. That’s a pittance, compared with the need — and the state parks are in even worse shape because of state budgets.

Closing parks, even sporadically, hits the local economies of the neighboring areas hard. On the other hand, spending money to revitalize the parks brings back jobs in large numbers. Hopefully some of the dusty heads in DC will get a clue.

Meanwhile, enjoy the parks this weekend. If you can.

Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Johnson and Kennedy, passed away at the age of 90 on Saturday. Rather than repeat obituaries’ biographic details, this diary pays photographic tribute to his life’s passion, our wild public lands.