MOMMA PRESIDENT...A DOG HOLE PORT... A SUNDAY IN '35...

MOTHER AS PRESIDENT

     Hillary Clinton's nomination would set up a potential shift in the American psyche, the likes of which we have not seen.

      US citizens, consciously or unconsciously, think of the President as a default "Father" figure. One could build a case that it started with our reference to George Washington as the "Father of our Country," and followed from there in a largely patriarchal society. Hillary would cause a shift.

       The US adapted, not entirely successfully, to a Black President. The next adaptation would be to a Mother President which I submit would be even more profound. Both Obama and Clinton carry "historical narratives" and with those come historical disruptions, which by themselves are positive, even progressive. It is the manner of reaction in the short run that can be sensitive.        

        If Hillary is elected it would be probably the last definitive cultural change brought by the boomer generation, the parting echo of the 60's counter cultural revolution. It would be a big deal here, but women leaders of nations is not news. That it would be such a big story here is further evidence of how hung up, fossilized, old school and out of touch is US politics. This breeze stirs a haunting refrain from long ago, that is more than an anachronism, "Oh, the times, they are a changing..." It's about time many would say.

  

PARTINGTON COVE

       Nautical drama played out in the shallows beyond the trees rimming Partington Cove south of Big Sur.

  You are looking at a "dog hole port" as they were known in the late 19th century.

  The remains of a tunnel transports you to the scene of 1870's adventure.

  It was here that schooner captains proved their mastery of the sea by bringing their sailing ships into this dog hole port. They were so called because in the idiom of the day, there was "barely room for a dog to turn around."

  A 125 year old tie up remains witness to the loading of tan bark product that took place here below the famed Partington Ridge in Big Sur.

  There were no engines or motors, only wind and water for the captains to command as they battled their way along the rugged California coast. These were isolated areas but rich with Tan Bark trees that were used by San Francisco tanners north up the coast. The captain would read the tide and pilot his schooner into these tight quarters as crewmen went to work loading the bark that had been harvested on the other side of the mountain in thick oak and redwood forests.

   It is hard not to be impressed by the enterprise and heroics of 1870-1890 commerce that plied along this rugged coast.

   Construction of a tunnel, for example, that was build to last.

THE LOCAL RODEO

  This is from a Hearst Ranch historical display in San Simeon. Cambria's 8th Annual Rodeo program for Sunday June 30, 1935.  I note the Rodeo was preceded on Saturday night and followed on Sunday by Cowboy Dances.

   I took pleasure too in noting the ad on the left from the Cambria Development company, promising longer life in Cambria Pines by the sea.  

   See you down the trail.