by TAKEO "BABE" UTSUMI

Many years ago, one had to be a person of means to be able to own an automobile. Today it seems like everyone has a car or two, and the trend has reversed — one has to have a few bucks to maintain a horse.

He must have a stable to keep the horse, and that is practically impossible in the city. Thus the horse owner has to find a stable outside of the city limits, or have another home in the country, if he is wealthy enough.

Maintaining a horse requires not only stable charges but also feed and even medication, if necessary. Now, with the economic downturn, many are giving up their animals to shelters that will take them. Even dogs and cats are meeting the same fate.

In my family during the Depression, the only horse that we ever rode was on the merry-go-round at the carnivals and county fair.

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As I watch TV during the day, there are many pitches to sell items like kitchen equipment, floor sweepers, gadgets for your workshop, beauty aids, hair growers, back pain relievers, shoes, clothing, etc.

Some are fairly reasonably priced, and I am curious to know why so many of them sell at $19.95. That seems to be the magic number. And if the item is priced higher, there may be increments of three or four payments of $19.95.

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The recent murder of three people in Chicago was given a lot of print in the papers because a female relative is a celebrity. What was brought to light was that Chicago is one of the most crime-ridden cities in the United States, even surpassing New York and Los Angeles.

Do you realize that there have been over 400 murders committed in the Windy City this year?
Here in the Bay Area, Oakland seems to be the top killing field with 130 or over every year. Nearby Richmond, which is a much smaller community, still has a high crime rate. San Francisco's killing rate is around 100.

Curiously enough, San Jose, which has the largest population in the Bay Area, has the lowest murder rate. I can't explain the reason, but credit must be given to the police and the governing body of that city.

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Another mystery to me is the many advertisements on radio and TV by people who will settle your debts, no matter how bad or how much. There are voices saying that thousands of dollars of debt will be cleared away in a couple of years without any extra expense.

I don't know how this can be done, and I don't particularly care to know. I hope I will never get into a situation where financial help is sought from these so-called debt solvers.

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There was a discussion on a radio sports program regarding which is better — to slide into second or third base head-first or feet-first. Diving head-first has been discouraged by many because of the possibility of injury to your hands or head.

Gutsy Pete Rose was one of the proponents of the head-first slide. He was one of those rough-tough-type ballplayers.

I remember in one All-Star game he was running full steam toward home plate. The catcher was blocking the plate and Rose barreled into him like a fullback, almost knocking him into the front-row seats. Let's face it, this was actually only an exhibition game, but Rose was that kind of hard-nosed player.

Ricky Henderson, who broke the base-stealing record, was another head-first stealer.

The fact is a base is stolen not only in the catcher's throw, but mostly on the motion of the pitcher.

Incidentally, timers utilizing measuring equipment show that one gets to the base five inches earlier by going head-first.

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Well, Coach Mike Nolan of the 49ers was finally replaced by linebacker coach Mike Singletary.

Rumors have been flying around since last season due to the dismal showing of the Niners. Can't blame Nolan completely. He had the misfortune of inheriting at the quarterback position Alex Smith, who turned out to be a miserable flop.

Smith was the first-round draft choice for San Francisco, and Nolan naturally had to play him, like it nor not. Smith is now on the bench, and you can say that he dragged Nolan down with him.

I had high hopes for J.T. O'Sullivan at QB. He has a strong arm and good speed to run out of tight situations. But his biggest fault is he holds the ba;ll too long. Consequently, he leads the league in being sacked.

I must add that not all was his fault. In one game I saw both wide receiver Morgan and tight end Davis drop passes while the ball was in their hands. You can't blame J.T. for that.

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I enjoy watching on TV various restaurants famous here in the city and other parts of the world. Some are truly magnificent establishments and the food equally so.

There are either super fancy or unusually quaint ones. One establishment in Denver features on its menu Rocky Mountain oysters.

If you don't know what that is, you are really not on the ball ...