Citizens Speak

       On a dark December night, people brought the light.
     In our village tucked between the Pacific and the Santa Lucia mountains citizens joined others from Times Square to LA, at State Capitols, City Buildings, Court Houses, Federal Buildings, in dusky twilight and even in subfreezing ice and snow. From all corners of this nation, all kinds of people spoke the same words. No one is above the law. Impeach!

    The US is a democratic republic. It is made strong by participation.

     Marchers in a village are meager compared to throngs in  sprawling cities, but the message is the same, and so is the spirit. 

   It is comforting to know that US citizens in the height of a festive season of parties and busyness care enough to go out at night, leave the comfort of their couch, or party and speak their minds. To my mind, speak truth to a corrupt power.

   It is a rare moment in American history. On the eve of the impeachment vote a group of Republican strategists announced formation of the Lincoln Project and effort to take control of the Republican Party and turn it from the depraved Trumpist cult. Here's what one of the founding members, Rick Wilson said

...all of us give a damn about this country in a way that Trumpism denies and Trumpism is not about the the sacred nature of the American experience and about the propositional nature of this country. it is a cult dedicated to a madman who is displaying it today and tonight That he’s an unhinged maniac but he is lavishly corrupt and will do anything to defend himself and we happen to believe that the country is more valuable than a temporary moment, a blip in the politics of this country.”

      An unhinged madman indeed! I harken back to that August 2016 letter signed by 55 Republicans who worked at the highest levels for Republican Presidents; they warned us Trump was unfit and lacked the character to lead and said he would be a danger to national security. 
    I can only hope the Lincoln Project may have influence on Republicans in the Senate. If they do not listen to their parties elders, they will be forever smeared with fetid Trump taint.
    As one of our chants this evening said  IT IS THE SEASON TO END THE TREASON.

    See you down the trail.

There is a moment...

     The magic begins to work on the heart, with the first step in the climb up the hill, crowning Cambria's East Village. It quickly reaches the mind as one recalls the wrap of sound, image and memory that are so delicately woven in this special place on this special night.

    Lana is quick to tell that this night, the Candlelight Concert is the highlight of her year, let alone this festive season.

      For almost 150 years the Chapel has been aglow above our village tucked between the Pacific and the Monterey Pine and Oak forests of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Readers of LightBreezes have received impressions since 2011. 

         There is a moment in this traditional evening when time melts and when emotions and feelings and your sensory memories glide into a kind of current and all that you've ever known of Christmas and family are there in your head and heart as the sweet music and narrative write even more code.
      Judith Laramore's annual Reflections open those portals with her exquisite narrative. This year recalling a cold and drafty winter on Hoot Owl Lane outside Bluffton Indiana, my mother's hometown, was a literary Norman Rockwell for the soul. Colorful and vivid scenes, family gatherings, visits to  aunt Norma and uncle Charles on Chicago's Lake Shore drive and the special place in her heart for Aunt Lois created a homily to the nurturing love of family at the holidays. They are universal memories.
       And of course there is the music and the magnificent players arranged by the renown Brynn Albanese who makes the violin an instrument of love.

      We were treated to a world premier of sorts. John Neufeld, a Cambrian arranged and Orchestrated almost all of John Williams movie compositions for decades. He did an innovation on Ave Maria for this special night on the hill in our little village. 

    Before the Farewell, blend of instrument and voice, Bruce Black again told tales of family humor and treated us all to the annual Twas The Night Before Christmas.

      And so, Christmas has come again, and the magic of the season has been lit by the candles glowing in an historic chapel, flowing from a hill top mixed with sweet music and memory, a place where life and dream weave.

      See you down the trail, in Ireland.

Looking at it... A Letter to the Queen...Remember

evening flight out of Cambria

 invoking memories of that other beach of june

     94% of the some 308 million US citizens and residents were not alive 75 years ago when young men shrugged off their fear and summoned courage to experience one of this world's hellish days. 

     At great cost, D-Day altered the course of WWII and in turn influenced human history.  The 6% of those alive on that June 6 remember of course. Like the brave men, their numbers are thinning. It is crucial the rest of us pay respect and remember. We are forever in their debt.

regional architecture

 glimpses of the court house

Santa Barbara

an old favorite is healing

 good to see the Montecito Inn recovered

from the disastrous floods and mud flow

 the place chaplin built is back to its classic self

we're sorry

     Dear Queen and the people of England,

          We're sorry, very, very sorry. Thank you for your civility, though most of us wish you would have listened to the mayor of London and simply locked the door and refused to  let the undeserving sully your most excellent castle. America is so embarrassed. 

           As you know the man is a bit of lout who most of us detest. We, the majority did not vote for him. His biggest fan is his Russian sugar daddy and some off us are not sure he didn't somehow vote for him. I hope you can understand most Americans don't think he should be let out of the house, let alone visit royalty in your dignified realm.

          We're sorry he shot off his mouth about your domestic politics. Please recall that no other American President has  done that.  Please know he's not really a President; he doesn't behave like one, or work like one. In fact he doesn't work much at all. He watches TV and uses his phone.
          Most of us were sad he even disparaged some of our own people while he was in your land. We don't approve of that. Real Presidents don't do that sort of thing.

          We hope you check the rooms he might have wondered into, make sure everything is still there, especially anything that is gold. Look for chicken bones too. Some may be stashed around.

         Your majesty, we think what you said about the old alliances was spot on. Of course the fool was probably looking at his reflection in something and missed your salient point. He doesn't read, you may have heard. And he doesn't listen to his advisors. He's impulsive and he's really rather stupid. You probably knew that the moment you saw how that tuxedo fit him. Don't you think a guy who pretends to be rich could afford a better fit? Maybe he can't help it that he's a slob. 
          What did you think about that crown he wears? What do you think it is? 

        We hope he didn't suggest that you put your name on the castle. Wouldn't surprise us though. It would have been tacky if he asked you if he could his name on it. He might of told you that's what he does. Did he tell you that his home has more gold than yours? We call his style of decorating 
"Bordello Deluxe."

       It really hurt a lot of us to see this tax criminal and mob boss getting to meet you and your family and to be amongst the most refined. Did he grab any of the women? We're sorry if he did. He's got a habit of that sort of thing, but so many people here who should do something about his ways, are just sycophants. I guess they are afraid of him or maybe it's his followers. 
       Maybe you've seen him and his people on television. They stand behind him and shout and yell while he acts like a dictator. We think that's really what he wants to be. He doesn't have the manners to be a King. But you may have noticed how much his mannerisms are like Mussolini. If you haven't noticed that, look at some old film.
      We are always afraid when he tries to act like he knows something about world affairs. He's got a crush on Putin-he idolizes him. You've probably heard him say he trusts Vlad more than he trusts his own national security staff. Yea, I know, most of us can't believe it either! Did he tell you how much he loves Kim. 
       Well, in all honesty there are a minority of US citizens who like him. Maybe you've seen those people who stand behind him at the rallies, they don't seem to care how offensive or unhinged he looks and sounds. They don't seem like very nice people. They seem to be like those people who went to lynchings. They don't even care how many thousands of documented times he lies. That's scary isn't it. Maybe they are just paid actors. Or maybe they think he's smart. That probably tells you how poorly we Americans have taught history and civics. We're sorry about that too. We think that needs to change. He is probably the best example of why.

       Oh, how we wish you would have refused to see him, or maybe invited just his wife to tea and sent him to the tower. 

       Don't hold him against us. At least not all of us. Over here a lot of folks are easily fooled, or they don't know much, or they do a good job of justifying things, or maybe they are just stupid. I know that isn't politically correct, but in all honestly there's a lot of  stupid going around now.

       Well, thanks for being nice to such a lout. He really is a poor soul. And he's not well. We don't know if he lies so much because of his mental illness, or because he's been a cheat and liar his whole life, something he learned from his father who was also a racist. We don't dislike him because of his illness, we just dislike haters, criminals, racists, sexual predators, bullies, liars, braggers, bluffers and rotten people.     
       So maybe your being so hospitable will lodge somewhere in that oversized and unfit body and start something that will turn him into a decent human being, who pays attention to his job, and listens to experts and cares about people and stops being a bully and a fool.

        Well, your majesty, we can hope and pray. We Americans do that a lot and as you know it has helped us through tough times before. But please don't invite him over again. There are so many other Americans, who know so much more, and are more refined, and better read, who are more kind and who can find clothes that fit.

Sincerely,
Embarrassed in California

      See you down the trail.

The Road

Historic and scenic Santa Rosa Creek Road

the preamble

    People lived in this area that is now half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles in pre-historic habitation. The native Chumash traveled the mountains, settling in seasonal camps in the highlands or near the Pacific shore. They ranged these mountains to hunt and gather and fed on shell fish and fish when camped by the sea.

    There is evidence some 30 thousand lived here a thousand years before the Spanish arrived. That happened when the Portola expedition camped near what is now Cambria in 1769.

     In the 700's the natives created paths, their version of roads, including a trail that ran along side the stream. Today we call it Santa Rosa Creek and the trail is Santa Rosa Creek Road.

    The settlers began to come in the mid 1800's and it picked  up in 1860 when Cinnabar, the ore of mercury or quicksilver, was discovered and then mined.

     Today's road, in the frame above that mid screen line that winds down on the left, was part of the creekside trail that ran to the Oceanic mine that opened in 1865. Later when the first of several waves of cattle growers came to the area, the Santa Rosa Creek trail was the route for cattle drives.   

    

   Santa Rosa Creek Road is a favorite for riders, motorcyclists, more adventurous tourists or Sunday drivers who want to see the beauty of the Santa Lucia Mountains. It's a 15 mile winding, climbing, series of cutbacks and turns and magnificent views. The road can be seen winding in the right mid frame above. 

    

the delight

     Lana and I were enroute home from Los Osos the other day when to our surprise, and that of a hundred other motorists, Highway 1 was closed at Highway 46, the Green Valley Road. Closed because the Tour of California bike race was speeding south from Big Sur. Someone had goofed because there was no advance warning the road would be closed. Certain exits had been marked days in advance and we planned accordingly.

     So we found ourselves in what amounted to a parking lot on Highway 46 and Highway 1. The inspiration flashed...

     We had not driven Santa Rosa Creek for a while. We used to hike there regularly and always took visitors, some of whom turned a bit green or white knuckled, for a drive. 

      On this day, what a delight!

      The road was resplendent with Sweet Peas and Lupine.

     And the sky over the Santa Lucia danced with clouds gathering a rare May rain storm.

         A good detour, this road less taken.

don't play in traffic

   One more road story here. 

    This is the scene that greeted us after dinner in the village the other night. A quiet street and there at about 3:00 is a street walker, out of place to be sure.

     Dawdling, he or she seems to be. First one way and now the other and seemingly unaware a motorist has entered the scene.

      Oblivious is this gull. Are we about to witness his or her journey to oblivion?

      No dispatch today. And the quiet settles in, the sun sinks more deeply toward the sea, and the street walker dawdles on.

      Certainly these stories left you with less anxiety than the news. But of that, it can be sure we are on the road to an historic battle of legislative rights and Presidential prerogative. 

       Cast another way, a battle between constitutional process and contaminated power. Cast yet another way a battle between right and wrong. 

        See you down the trail.

Left Coast View

Ragged Point overlook

Big Sur

     A visiting 3 year old got her first look at Big Sur from what she called the "roof deck." She was mesmerized, as I was all those years ago.

     As written here previously, the theater of mountains meeting ocean fired neurons that gave polarity to the navigational tides of my life.

     Years ago one of the smartest people I know, a Harvard Law graduate corrected something I said about people and provincialism. He reminded me a provincial mindset can be authored by wider parameters than I cited. 

a left coastist

      This left coast has pulsed my gyroscopic tendencies. 

Yes, there is the cultural affinity that is comfortable. Creativity seems most compatible with open mindedness. Artistic pursuits seem to breed enthusiasm, joy, and a delighting of the senses. 

      But there is also a primordial resonance and power of pure nature. It massages the soul.

      And here, on this left coast, there is light that provides clarity for the eyes and for the mind. It infuses life with color and dimension. It has shaped me, kneaded me. I've become a provincial, a left coastist!

 A "Bottle Brush" tree dressed in spring finery

 A flirtation with the setting sun

An exquisite composition, this spring lily.

      There is something to observe about being a left coastist, this assumed and self proclaimed provincialism, especially at this time in the struggles of our Republic. Imagine a new program-that follows below, but first.....

    The biennial Petals and Palettes art show has been judged and is hanging at the Cambria Center for the Arts (CCAT) Gallery.

     It is a cooperative venture of the CCAT, supported by the working artists in this historic colony and the Cambria Garden Club. 

      Art and floral arrangements in symphony...

      This Blue Ribbon of floral arrangement with art is the work of Lana, both the artist and floral designer. 

          The painting, Bonnie's Garden is the work of one of Cambria's best, Pat Wilmott. 

        Lana was painter and arranger.

             She also created this floral arrangement for the stunning photography of an extraordinarily talented Judith Skartvedt.

         

             Tom Gould's masterful photo realistic rendering is matched by the floral work of Donna Hoppe

           Another award winner is the painting by one of Cambria's great, Jeanette Wolff. 

           Kathi Rippe, another popular artist and award winner.

       This award winner, both painting and arrangement by Holly McCain.

          An honorable mention here for Lana and master water colorist Steve Kellogg, also a tennis master. 

                 A mixed media offering by Sheri Parisian.

 

        A lily painted and paired by mother nature.

        If you have an opportunity to be anywhere near Cambria in the next couple of weeks, the show will be up in the CCAT Gallery, but the floral arrangements are on a shorter time schedule.

        that coastal view

         Our little coastal enclave is half way between LA and San Francisco. We are about an equal distance from the cultural and political landscape of Bakersfield and the central valley. We are about as far from Washington as one can get, our backs are at the Pacific. 

         We are in the waves of energy and thought that come from the Bay area of San Francisco, San Jose and the Silicon Valley and those from the vibes of entertainment, rocket science and diversity of LA and southern California. Over the mountains, past cattle ranches and through wine country and over the high desert is the world of agriculture and culture of the Valley. 

         We see diversity of all sorts. We take our measured view, with the bias that this is not like anywhere else and attitudes here are sometimes the butt of jokes back east. Well, we can joke back. Just pretend that after this season of Game of Thrones brings the series to an end, a programmer begins a new series-

if this were a just world...

(a creative overview)

        The occupant of the White House is bound and gagged and marched to the US Capitol by way of visiting the memorials of WWII, the Korean War and the Viet Nam wall.

        Before he ends up in the well of congress, he is forced to take a full briefing by the CIA including about the intentions of Vladimir Putin's Russia and Kim's North Korea. 

        Before he is tried as a traitor, he must endure the forced reading by Mitch McConnell of the full Mueller Report. 

      Then Speaker Pelosi reads to him, the Constitution of the US. 

      Said McConnell is  then named as a co-conspirator and bound back to back with the president.

      And then children will present causes of indictment--reports-

       --about the national security consequence of denying climate change and of pulling out of the Paris accords, 

       --recitations of each of the thousands of lies he has told,        

       --analysis of the consequence of his undermining of the national security apparatus 

       --replay of his Helsinki appearance with Putin, 

       --the reading of transcripts of his private conversations with Putin, 

       --reports on the nature of his business relationships with Russian mobsters, 

      --replay his grandiose statements about Kim, 

      --video of the most recent missile launches.

    After the children complete their presentations, all US citizens will vote; thumbs up or thumbs down. 

       Talk about must see TV!  And maybe it could be serialized on Twitter. 

        See you down the trail.