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Our Eclipse Adventure, Part I: On the Road to Casper

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By Michael-Leonard Creditor

About the beginning of July, my honey and I were talking and the bucket list concept came up. Of course we’ve seen the movie and discussed it before, and she had said in the past that while there are places she’d still like to go, she didn’t really have a “bucket list,” per se.

But that day, out of the blue, she says that the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse (TSE) is her bucket list.

Now, I’m a photographer; I’ve seen two TSEs and photographed one of those, and I’ve been aware of this one coming for 5 years — ever since I missed the TSE on my birthday in 2012. (It was in Australia and we simply couldn’t spare the time away.)

I know I mentioned it at least once or twice in the last year because her birthday is August 8, and it’s like a celestial birthday gift (even if it is 2 weeks late) but she never said a thing about wanting to see it. Until now. Arline is just about to turn – are you ready …? – 86 years old. So, when she said ‘eclipse’ and ‘bucket list’ together, I really sat up and took notice. This wasn’t just a passing thought.   [Read more…]

From Ocean Beach to Santa Barbara: 4 Day Journey on a Bike to Heaven

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By Dave Milligan / OB Rag

Our bikes are quiet, well-tuned, and we slip through the sleepy streets of Ocean Beach, carefully peering around each corner we cross, blowing through stop signs, not wanting to slow our progress north. I am push the steel, horseless-horse that I ride north. This is the start of an adventure that has sat in the back attic of my mind for fifty years. Vacationing as a teenager in Santa Barbara I daydreamed about doing this trip by bicycle; but there were obstacles: Camp Pendleton, what to eat, where to sleep, unfriendly roads, and of course, Mom. I now have a card that gives me entry to the Marines’ camp, another card that buys me all the food and lodging necessary, maps and a phone that can guide me, and, most importantly, the blessing of my wife (AKA: a kitchen pass). This ride is the fulfillment of a boyhood dream, my teenage self is ecstatic.   [Read more…]

Helping Children and Animals Together: Children’s Nature Retreat in Alpine

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Giving back to others is always good, but when you can give back to both animals and children, that is even better! Local humanitarian, Agnes Barrelet, is doing just that by heading up two non-profits, Hands United for Children and Children’s Nature Retreat.

The Children’s Nature Retreat in Alpine is a haven for all kinds of animals, including two zebras, four Friesian horses, African cows, mules, donkeys, rabbits, mini horses, goats and pigs, ostriches, and desert tortoises, etc. There are over 95 domesticated livestock with 17 species and 38 breeds from around the world. They all live comfortably on this beautiful 20 acre property. There are several animal enclosures, including Barnyard Alley, Tortoise Landing, African Grasslands, and Mini and Big Farms. For example, in African Grasslands, you will see the two zebras with several ostriches.   [Read more…]

Super Blooms, Desert and Death

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When I lost my job, I thought about death. And there is no better place to indulge in grave thoughts than a desert. And there is no better desert in California than in Anza Borrego, the state’s first desert park. So when I was laid off this week, I headed east to the land of cairns and the emergent “super blooms” in the country’s largest state park in the lower forty-eight.   [Read more…]

MLK Tribute: The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee

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In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I’d like to give readers a tour of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN and its accompanying National Civil Rights Museum.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. Business declined at the motel thereafter until it went into foreclosure. In 1982, a few dedicated community leaders in Memphis decided to try and save the Lorraine from being destroyed and transformed the site into a museum so comprehensive in African-American history, I would call it the United States’ “Louvre”.

With 260 artifacts, 40 films, and a vast interactive media museum of oral histories and visual displays, there is truly nothing like it anywhere. Erudite, comprehensive and emotional, my recommendation is to take two full days to visit this museum. You’ll leave with a strong understanding of the African-American experience.   [Read more…]

The City Without Souls: San Francisco Excludes One Group

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You might think San Francisco is a vast liberal hub that welcomes a plethora of diverse people who co-exist peacefully. However, I’m here to report that San Francisco excludes one group from its city limits: the deceased.

As an alternative, San Francisco stiffs can reside two miles away in The City of Souls, also known as Colma. Yes, proponents for the lush environment of Colma say there’s something here for everybody. They point to the Italian cemetery, Japanese, Serbian, Jewish, Nonsectarian, and even a pet cemetery. But are the deceased really content within the rows and rows of regimented headstones? And what about the conformity of living in a city that has 2 million deceased, but only about 2,000 living residents?   [Read more…]

The Armenians of California: Challenges and Achievements

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A tour of one of the 200 different ethnic groups who live & contribute to our California

While exploring Los Angeles one weekend during the summer, I stumbled upon the district of Little Armenia. The community intrigued me, so I dove deeper, traveled further and found a large, diverse Armenian culture in California.

The most moving tribute to Armenians is located in the park outside the Fresno Courthouse. Donated to the County of Fresno by the people of Armenian descent of the San Joaquin Valley, the statue was dedicated on August 11, 1970 and was created by sculptor Varaz Samuelian. The plaque reads:

“David of Sassoon is the legendary folk-hero of the Armenians who rid their land of foreign conquerors single-handedly. It is an epic based on historical events dating back to the seventh century A.D. Troubadours, poets and sculptors have immortalized him for it gives eloquent expression to man’s undying love of freedom and justice for all. This statue, by Varaz Samuelian of Fresno, represents a thousand Davids in a thousand lands where throughout all of history man has sought to sustain his freedom against overwhelming odds.”   [Read more…]

Geo-Poetic Spaces: Thunderbird Blues

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The progressive run
through Yosemite’s gridlocked valley:
a modulation of the redwoods and granite
slide-slipping down Tioga Pass

The diving elevation
composed as haiku on paper bags–
a sure sign poets were at the wheel   [Read more…]

Remembering a Sad Moment in ‘Gay Paree’

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Paris. Maria and I and her family spent 16 days there in late June, literally taken by its beauty and its charm.

I have such sweet memories of our time there:

Our cursing the five flight of stairs to our apartment every time we returned from somewhere;

All the sights, the art, the culture, the fashion, the cuisine; the Metro; the soccer madness created by the Euro-Games;

Eye-shopping in a store with prices way beyond what we could ever pay without suffering tremendous buyer’s remorse, when out of nowhere there came a little fuss and then to the left of us walked Celine Dion, taking a selfie with a woman who was way beside herself with joy, smiling at her admirers, quickly signing autographs, and leaving as gracefully as she had appeared …   [Read more…]

League of Women Voters Tour San Diego Border Crossings

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By Beryl Flom

The League of Women Voters of San Diego recently took a tour with Customs and Border Patrol. The August 2 tour was arranged by the League’s Immigration and Deportation Committee as an opportunity to educate members about various border and immigration issues.

Those issues include the wait time crossing the border, regulations by the U.S. which can slow down a smooth transition between the two countries and the court backlog for people without documentation seeking asylum. Another issue that concerns us is the deportation of non-citizen veterans who have served our country and then commit some minor legal infraction and are deported without consideration of their readjustment back to civilian life.   [Read more…]

A Vacation of Joy and Misery and Hope

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Maria and I just spent 38 days in Europe with a stop in Philly on the way home, a vacation that had a combination of both joy and misery and ended with notions of hope.

It began with a man driving us from the Madrid-Barajas Airport to our hotel, talking about politics all the while. He wanted us to know that Spaniards, as we Americans do, have a few Donald Trumps around town. He had a lot to say about our president, a man he admired “for how he stepped up and got the U.S. out of the recession.” He finished his praise with “Great man, that Obama.”

All that made us feel very welcomed and eager to explore the city. As soon as we got our luggage in the room we strolled along streets and plazas built a very long time ago, and dined on the tastiest of tapas. We got a good nights sleep and got up the next morning in an easygoing mood, ready to take in as much as we could.

Then came Orlando, news that weakened our knees.   [Read more…]

Geo-Poetic Spaces: Getting Away

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Flying back in time
to a man who grew out of himself

Knocked about by turbulence
until he passed through security
traveling lightly:

No baggage to search
nothing to declare
no allegiances to profess   [Read more…]

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