Passings and Legacy

Moonstone Beach, Cambria CA

    It happened this week, the passing of two men who made big differences. In the way of things, there is a confluence in my life. 

 I knew them and I was inspired by them. I still am.

Photo by Charles Bennett, Associated Press

      Birch Bayh was the quintessential Indiana public servant and one of the most historic and arguably effective members in the history of the US Senate. He passed at 91 and leaves a legacy that has led some to refer to him as a "modern founding father."

     Bayh was the author of two constitutional amendments and creator of Title IX. He also authored what could have been a third constitutional amendment, the ERA. These are accomplishment of historic proportion, shaping the constitution, the spine of this democratic republic.

    The 25th Amendment deals with Presidential disability and succession. The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that is federally funded. It was nation changing. 

    Bayh was an architect of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Juvenile Justice Act that required separation of juveniles from adults in prison. He was co-author of the Bayh-Dole Act that allowed small businesses and universities to own inventions that were developed using federal funds. It helped lead to the technological explosion that has fueled our modern life and led to new business horizons in communications, and technology.

    Bayh led the Senate opposition to Supreme Court nominees Clement Haynsworth and George Carswell. He was a contender in the 1976 Democratic Presidential nomination. Birch Bayh was a three term Senator and father of Evan Bayh, Governor of Indiana and a two term senator.

    I covered and got to know both men. They were different personalities. Evan ran one of his father's election campaigns. Birch Bayh may have been one of the best "retail," one-on-one politicians ever. Before social media, candidates spent more time talking to individual voters in person. Birch would light up a room and if possible spend time with everyone, sitting with them, putting his arm around them, leaning in listening, shaking hands and having true conversations. It was a marvel to see. 

    He was a veteran, a Purdue graduate where he was President of the Class, played baseball and was a champion boxer. He was elected to state government in his 20's and had a stellar career and impact before being one of the youngest men elected to the Senate.

     After the Civil Rights act was passed, he and his friend Senator Edward Kennedy were on a flight between Washington and Massachusetts when their light plane went down. Bayh extricated his wife Marvella and then freed a trapped Edward Kennedy, who suffered a broken back. Others on board were killed.

      It was a privilege to know and a joy to joke around and talk with this plain spoken, down home leader. When I think of America being "great," I think of Birch Bayh and his indelible influence on this nation. He is one of the giants in the human rights movement.

    Friend, colleague and inspiration, Bob Foster, on the right in the photo above, lost his long hard fight with Leukemia this week.

   Frequent readers will recall Bob's contributions to this blog

beginning in August of 2011 as he chronicled his harrowing wait and experience with a bone marrow transplant.

   In the picture above, Bob and I were a morning team on the radio, seen here doing a remote broadcast.  Bob had a wonderful career in radio and his great love was live sporting events. For a number of years he was a premier play by play man in Hydroplane racing and other sports.  

    Bob had a good run in the advertising world, but after complications of his disease was sidelined for a while, only to come back to his first love, radio sports.

     He was on the air and running a sports talk station in Iowa at the time of his passing. In the last couple of years he had battled pneumonia and this week that is what took his life. It is the same disease that claimed Birch Bayh.

    In September of 2014 Bob was having a triumphant moment and sent this post.

Photo Courtesy of Iowa State/Bob Foster

Never did I imagine that I would again be testing the wireless broadcast system on the sidelines at Jack Trice Stadium before a Big 12 game.  Resuming duties as a game site producer on a Big 12 Football radio broadcast seemed no longer possible.  Saturday afternoon was very emotional.  I wept several times and knelt in sprayer of thanksgiving before the game began.  Now, I am better prepared mentally and emotionally to approach with intensity the game broadcast at Texas on 10/18.  It is all because of Jesus I am alive.

Bob Foster.

      Bob was a man with a strong faith and as you may recall from his earlier posts, even when near death and an uncertain future, he said he was blessed to be able to lift the spirits of others who were facing challenges.

    His wife Diane told me when he took his last breath he had a smile of relief. His timing was always perfect.

     Life always moves forward. New generations go to meet their future. There are, however, those who precede them who make their path a little easier.

      Birch Bayh and Bob Foster leave wonderful and positive legacies. They loved and cared about others. 

      See you down the trail.

Peace in the Mountains

    The frame above is the perspective of a portion of the Santa Lucia Mountain range as seen from our back hill. The Santa Lucias are a mostly uninhabited coastal range that runs for 105 miles, starting south of here in San Luis Obispo County extending north into Monterey County. The Santa Lucias are the eastern boundary of Big Sur.

   Thor Liland Larsen captured this image in August 2009.

The Santa Lucia Mountains are granitic and essentially the same composition of the Sierra Nevada range.

  The highest peak in our area is Rocky Butte at 3,432. Here's a peak through trees. We have a clear view from the front of the house, but I wanted to maintain the same camera angle for a tour of our local peaks.

  Above and below are frames of Red Mountain at 2,047 feet.
Red was once mined for Cinnabar, a Mercury ore.

      The photo above, by Chris Ralph, shows the sometimes crystal like composition of Cinnabar. There are times when the light on Red Mountain allows it to reveal its name.

     Cinnabar was taken from long narrow tunnel mines. A product of volcanic activity, it is a source of Mercury. When crushed and roasted in furnaces it produces quick silver. 
     Chinese, some of whom worked on building railroads, were especially good at mining Cinnabar from Red Mountain.

  Above is the 2,849 foot Vulture Mountain.  The valleys and slopes of the Santa Lucia range are perfect thermal glide zones for Vultures, Hawks, Eagles and other birds.

   The frame above is, to my best guess and attempt to read the topo maps and data files, Triple Slough at about 2,500. The three crowns or summits are obvious.

   The Salinan and Chumash people inhabited or hunted and gathered in the Santa Lucia Mountains. 

    The first European to document the range was Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo in 1542.  

  Arguably the most famous, certainly the most expensive, building in the Santa Lucia Range is the Hearst Castle, just a few miles north of our ridge. This excellent photo by Mike Peel shows the William Randolph Hearst "hill top cabin" on Cuesta Ridge. 

   The Santa Lucia's meeting the Pacific creates the always stunning Big Sur coast line.  

     The range elevation runs from about 1,500 and increases  as it extends up into Monterey County. 

   This is the 5,857 Junipero Serra Peak as documented in 2015 by Thomson200.

      Lana says one of the joys of this area is seeing cattle free range grazing on some of the gentle slopes of the Santa Lucias.

     This is looking south and east into what is called the Green Valley. I have yet to learn the names of these peaks which spine our distant horizon.

     We frequently drive over the rolling range when enroute to Paso Robles. It is a scenic drive, though we've made the trip in thick fog or driving rain as the highway crests the top of the range. Inclement weather is more robust on the summit road.

     The highway is at about 1,700 feet at its highest elevation and it offers magnificent and expansive views of the Pacific.
     In the distance you can see the iconic Morro Rock.

    Technically it is not in the Santa Lucia Range as it stands alone in the Pacific, though it is also a product of volcanic and plate tectonic dynamics. It is part of the so called "7 Sisters," peaks that were created by uplift.

      Morro Rock is ringed by the Santa Lucia range.

     Another of the 7 Sisters is Hollister Peak, a massive and textured beauty that also solos against the range.

   As you have guessed, I spend a lot of time enjoying the beauty of our central coast mountain views. I want to share a kind of anomaly.
   At certain times of the year one of our distant neighbors lights up. I apologize for the poor frame quality, but I'm on an extended zoom. As the sun drops behind me, it casts itself over the grazing slopes to our east and a ranch house sparkles.

    This is called a Mediterranean climate so the scenes below are rare, but snow can fall on the Santa Lucias.

   When snow gets down to the 2,500 to 3,000 foot elevation, it is cold by central coast standards. 

    Both rugged and gentle with undulating and rolling slopes, high cliffs, sandy beaches and ragged walls at the ocean, wide valleys and thick forests and all with limited human encroachment and a rich wild life population. It is a good balance and a beautiful range.

        The Santa Lucia range memorializes Lucia of Syracuse, a 4th Century Christian martyr.  

       As the insanity of the world can often be vexing,

 looking to the mountains is a help. They've been here a long time and they will remain, despite human shenanigans. 

    See you down the trail.

NEW FACES, NEW ETHICS-CAN WE GET A "NEW NORMAL?"

real oversight

   For the first time in two years Congressional oversight, a key to the Constitutional principle of Checks and Balances, appears to be in place.

   The new breed Republican party spent two years being acquiescing lapdogs instead of watchdogs. The power shift in the House means there's a new Sheriff and posse with a new purpose.

"we are better than this"

    The most powerful thing I heard in the Cohen hearing were the words of Committee Chair, Elijah Cummings when he said, "we are better than this."

    Cummings said what most US citizens think, we want to get back to "normal." Cummings called it a "new normal...where democracy stays intact."

     The Washington Post, which has been a running fact check, says the man who is president has lied 8,718 times in his time in office. Republicans, sadly, abandoned their old values, and have failed their party and the nation by letting things get so far out of line.

     seeing the difference

    The peoples interest, all of us, democrat, republican, liberal, conservative, independent, even the disinterested were well represented with Representative Katie Porter raised a question to the Chairman of Equifax. This is a great recent moment in public service. You can watch how it was noted on a news network or you can link directly to the clip in the next line of copy.

    

See a great Congressional moment. Link here

  

or see it in the video from a news channel

          That is the kind of accountability and hard questions this nation needs and deserves. There is no ideological edge, no partisan blather, no b.s. to that kind of oversight. 

      There was a time when the best interests of all were considered above partisan or ideological ground. That is what we need to get back to. 

    public service is more than politics

it is a real skill

      Anyone who knows anything about real politic has warned that the rouge president is doing damage by his ignorant blundering in foreign affairs. But he is such a defective, he is sure he knows better than experts, who have spent their life in diplomacy, negotiation, and real deal making. 

     North Korea has again gotten the upper hand. And while Senate Republicans have enabled a power drunk and traitorous stooge, he has continued to preside over a decimation of the Department of State and the national intelligence community.

    Those days may soon be over. House investigations have only begun. There is the coming blizzard of federal prosecutions, state and local investigations and prosecutions and there will be a field of democrat presidential hopefuls and quite likely a republican challenger who will also hold this very bad man's feet to the fire. The difference of rhetoric and vision will be stunning.

    History will be ruthless. Analysis and logic will be very unkind, not only to the stooge but to those who aided and abetted him and those who continued to support him even after they saw him for the fraud he is. And dear readers, that information is coming in, compounded daily and we've only just begun with real oversight in place. And some of the new crowd are playing by new rules. I refer you to the picture above.

how does your garden grow?

      The winter lettuce crop has been fantastic. 

    Lana has done a great job up in Indiana. That is the flat and tillable soil at the top of our hill.

     We are enjoying a good rain season and the succulents approve. 

     If you reside where winter means snow, ice, cold, gray and a longing for spring, these green shots may bolster your spirits.

      Maybe by then we will be closer to what Chairman Cummings said, "...back to the democracy we want."

     See you down the trail.

     

JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE...

   It's funny how a fragment of memory launches itself and then sends you down a lane of thought, maybe even a rabbit hole.

   I can't tell you why, but one of my great aunts singing Blue Birds Over The White Cliffs of Dover sprang full bloom into the day. My great aunts, Martha, Anna, and Sarah were, like my grandmother Mary, born in England and arrived in the US as young girls and teens. 

    The song was made popular by an English singer, Vera Lynn and it was one of the most popular tunes of WWII.

    I'm a post war boomer, but I remember hearing them sing that tune as I was toddler in their care when my parents were out or on a trip. It was soothing to them, an assurance that regardless of the present problem or crisis, it would all work out. And apparently it did the same for this former little tyke.

I think they sometimes sang it to me when I was having tyke travails. 

   Maybe it's the winter clouds decorating our Santa Lucia mountain range, or the full moon rise during the light of evening.

        Maybe it's my hopes and prayers for a friends who are struggling against serious health challenges. Perhaps my optimism fueled by my trust in our democratic republic's sense of justice and the power of tenacious investigation and judicious outcomes. Perhaps it was reading of the winter storms and seeing snow blanket Arizona like something from North Dakota in photos from my friend Bruce. (His blog link appears in the column to the right.)

    But there it is, Blue Birds Over The White Cliffs of Dover, in my head, evoking memories of assurance, certainly as it must have done for millions as a world war against great evil ensued.

     Funny, how time's jewels come back, often just in time.

       By the way, I think the drag net is tightening around the great fraud and stooge. His poison will come to an end, "just you wait and see"

       "...I remember well as the shadows fell

           the light of hope in their eyes..."

        "...there'll be love and laughter

          And peace ever after

          Tomorrow when the world is free..."

    

    

    Be as young of heart as you can.

    See you down the trail.

CONTOURS OF BLACK FACE & PAYING DUES ON THE ROCK ROAD

     ocean rock off fiscalini ranch preserve  cambria

      A place of sanity and civility is a tough spot to find these days. The most recent black face blow up might offer a ledge, precarious though. 
     And ahead in this double post is a photo essay on paying dues on the music highway.

the rutted road of black face

       spanish moss tunnel on jack creek road templeton 

       Black face had its origins in Europe. It was used in theatre to permit white actors to play dark skinned characters, including Othello. It did not begin as an act of racial denigration.
       The "racism" of black face began in the early 1800's in  theater when characters with demeaned qualities were played by actors in black face. British theatre of the 1800's also used black face to portray Black people in stereotyped and derogatory ways. They were portrayed as stupid, lazy, slow talking, sexually aggressive, easily frightened, and worse. That same hurtful poison was poured by American theatre. By the mid 1800's actors in black face did music and comedy skits feeding the stereotypes. Minstrel shows toured and carried the racist stereotypes far and wide. 

even disney

     In the 20th century film, animation and even Disney cartoons perpetuated the stereotypes.
     This occurred in an age when racism was rampant, but ignored. White government and majority white society functioned as though it was blind to, insensitive of or ignorant about the damage and hurt caused by the perpetuation of the stereo types much less the under girding de Jure and de Facto segregation and racism. Such behavior is inevitable in a nation where many of the founders owned slaves.
    These are undeniable truths. It is also true that not all people who have put on black face are racists. They may be stupid, but not necessarily racist. 

stupid

    If this nation did a better job of teaching real history, and respecting the truth of our heritage, contemporary Americans would know how hurtful it is. 
    I wrote here earlier that Megyn Kelly was not automatically a racist when she raised the issue of black face, stupid probably, ill advised and her network bosses succumbed to perceived outrage and she was released. 
    Now that black leaders and community leaders have come to the defense of the Virginia Governor, it may offer that ledge to have a conversation about a couple of things.

in the national dna

     First, the US must acknowledge its racist and genocidal heritage and then teach it. Our government, our system of life, perpetuated, enabled and encouraged racism and ethnic genocide. 

not fully human

    People of color were not recognized as full human beings, that was in our charter. Before that we did not recognize the sovereignty of the first citizens of this continent. As terrible as it has been for African Americans, it has been worse for native Americans. This nation slaughtered millions of native inhabitants. When the murder stopped, we then lied to and cheated them. That is who we are, and what we did. Thank God men and women of conscience and increasing intelligence have reshaped, refined and corrected our national establishment, but it has been a long battle and it continues.

reason, don't screech

    Second, and this needs saying. Stupid things done by a student 35 years ago should not be the automatic disqualifier for a person who otherwise has demonstrated good judgment, citizenship and character. Who did not make poor judgments in their youth?
     There are limits here. Dressing up like Michael Jackson, or Al Jolson may have been stupid but it is not like doing a crime of violence. Being overtly racist, abusive, discriminatory or committing sexual assault are more serious than dressing up. We need to acknowledge that.
     There is a screeching factor in American politics today that borders on hysteria. It is loud and it drowns out common sense, civility and due process. It makes victims of the system and can injure people more grievously than some of the so called alleged offenses.  To those who are calling for the Virginia governor's dismissal, I urge you to point some of that venom toward the American mass culture and educational system that has failed to teach just what black face is, the whole story. 
      It is offensive and dangerous when a society fails to know and learn from history. We have much to learn, and a lot of making amends to do. 

 the music road

   the pour house  paso robles

    Davy and the Midnights do a sound check at a tap room in Paso Robles. Their tour of the California coast takes them from LA to San Francisco and north.

   Haven't heard of them? You may someday. They play country, blues, rock and the sort of fare that keeps you alive playing bars. Their own music is good and they are refining it in an LA studio. 
   They are young, on the road and paying their dues.
   Lead singer Davey Allen is also the keyboard player for Eric Burdon and the Animals and has played with other big name rockers. He's got a great band.

    Guitarist Greg Cahill is a superb player. Full disclosure-His dad is a life long friend. We've watched Greg from when he first sat at a piano as a tyke.  He's true LA pro. 
    But that doesn't make life on the road easy.

      cayucos saloon and card room  the"tav"  cayucos

     After the Paso gig it was on to a place to sleep, briefly. An early morning wake up put them on the road to Carmel Valley for a three hour acoustic performance at a winery. The long drive back slammed into showing up in Cayucos to set up for the Saturday night show at the old Saloon.

    These guys are not in the music royalty, yet. They are their own roadies, engineers and set up men.

     On the road, you never know what kind of set up and acoustics you'll find.

     It takes a little psychology and musical alchemy to get a sense of the crowd, what they want to hear, and then feed them.

     There's no time to perfect the "room" for sound or staging. Just get up there and do it.

      After the second set at the Saturday night show, I told him it takes someone a lot younger than me to keep up the pace.                        

      In the next 8 days they'll be in San Rafael, Sacramento, San Francisco, Fairfax, Blue Lake, Arcata, Brookings Or., and Crescent City.

    Rock on!

     See you down the trail.