“It was the best of times, it was the worse of times…” so begins the famous book….
Oceano has highs and lows also…. rampant methamphetamine use and high trucks.
Oceano sits at the edge of a huge sandbowl… a series of dunes with an Offroad Vehicular Recreation Area, so there are numerous tall trucks with wide tires designed to navigate the deep loose sands.
Here we see a small house of the type built in the forties and early fifties. There are a number of these small homes still occupied in the local area, and there are some boarded up and closed off such as this one.
We wouldn’t want the owner of this home to rent substandard living quarters to people who can’t afford the local exorbitant rents… far better that they sleep in their cars on the street.
I got an invitation through a Trade Association to meet a local Senator….
I’ll not be going…. but it does sound like an interesting trip.
Participating in government is a duty of all people who can manage the stench
Government only works when the people are involved,
without the people we have only politicians…
we need the people to run the government…
there should be no ‘career politicians’ in the USA.
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CANGC-PAC
and
Nursery Growers Association
Present
Meet Your Legislator Event with Sen. Tony Strickland March 19
Reserve Your Space and Save the Date. On March 19, enjoy tours in
Carpenteria of three exceptional nursery and greenhouse growers with
State Senator Tony Strickland, then spend two hours discussing critical
nursery and greenhouse issues such as water supply and runoff, invasive
pests, labor, and regulation in an informal, lively, one-on-one
discussion.
At prior Meet Your Legislator events, nurseries have been able to
express what they had on their minds to great good for their busineses
and our industry. These events create relationships that last through
the legisaltive session and carry messages that result in positive
outcomes in many different ways. Past honored guests have carried
legislation, impacted issues before the legislature, and helped us reach
other members that previously were out of reach.
Do good for the Nursery Industry
Owners of businesses meeting their elected official in their own
district carry a weight that our advocates in Sacramento respect and
encourage. It’s important to Senator Strickland, too. This event means
publicity for him up and down the Central Coast, and that helps keep a
valued legislator on the job for our industry. Most important, there’s
no substitute for him hearing first hand what is happening to you.
Even if you’re not interested in politics, you’re interested in helping
your business make a profit
One-on-one time with fellow nursery principals and a listening
legislator makes for magic when it comes to achieving results for your
business. Whether you want to talk about water supplies, water runoff
pollution regulation, labor, invasive pests, or what have you, you’ll
have a special chance to talk directly with the senator and hear his
response to your questions and those of others. Our Sacramento advocates
will also be there, so they’ll take away a real appreciation of what you
are facing.
We urge all members in Senator Strickland’s district (and beyond his
district) to support our CANGC-PAC and our fellow sponsor by
participating in this important tour and lunch. We recognize that
business is tough, so if you can’t contribute the full suggested amount,
come anyway and help change the business climate. CANGC-PAC will
contribute the maximum amount, $3,900, and our goal for the event is at
least $7,500 raised for Senator Strickland.
Assemble with Senator Strickland at 10:00 at Colorama Wholesale Nursery
on Via Real, tour the facility, and then travel to Ocean Breeze Premium
Cut Flowers for another tour at 11:00, and finally to a lunch at Island
View Nursery at 12:00 hosted by Target Specialty Products .
Take advantage of this Unique event to make your voice heard!
In nature it is the margin areas that are the most productive….. land animals need food from the open areas that grow it well… but they also need cover and housing in the brushy areas that don’t grow the best browse. Margins and borders are very important in human civilization also… it is the borders that mix the attributes and characteristics of two peoples into one amalgam… in agriculture we call this ‘Hybrid Vigor’. The inculcation of new germ-plasm… new DNA makes a species and a population stronger and more resistant to disease…. the blend of cultures makes for a stronger culture that has thrown off some aspects not conducive to modern life, yet retains a sense of wonder and awe in both cultures…
Afro-Celtic Sound System is a band that incorporates African rhythms, Celtic singing and instruments and Mid Eastern sounds into a strong mix… haunting… ethereal…. hard to pin down.. enigmatic. I love it.
One of their songs that I like best is Ionen…. I don’t ‘get’ the lyrics, but I like the sound.
Me and my Annette, we was as fond as we could be
We was set to marry in October ‘33
I set my sights on courtin’ her, as fine as she could be
I never ever noticed her best friend Marilee
Took a job at the saw mill and I bought my girl a ring,
Had a pre-wedding party, close friends and family
Everything was fine, eatin homemade ice cream
I swear I never noticed maid of honor, Marilee
My Sweet Annette was left standing at the alter
Marilee was taken ill, it was several miles from home
Back then it wasnt fittin’ for a girl to leave alone
Sweet Annette, she asked me to walk her to the door
As innocent as children back before the war
My Sweet Annette was left standing at the alter
Lord have mercy for what we done,
Lord have mercy when two people get along
Neither one of us had done anything like that you see
By the next sunset, I had eloped with Marilee
And my Sweet Annette was left standing at the alter.
‘The Water is Wide’ is an old Irish tune that’s several hundred years old
Yeah, few can say it like the Irish
The water is wide, I can’t cross oer
Neither have I the wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I
Oh love is gentle
and love is kind
the sweetest flower
when first it’s new
but love grows old
and waxes cold
and fades away
like morning dew
There is a ship and she sails the sea
She’s loaded deep as deep can be
But not as deep as the love I’m in
I know not how I sink or swim
I leaned my back against an oak
Thinking it was a trusty tree
But first it bent and then it broke
So did my love prove false to me
Oh love be handsome and love be kind
Bright as a jewel when first it is new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew
I sowed the seeds of love.
I sowed them in the springtime,
Gathered them up in the morning so soon
While small birds sweetly sing.
My garden was planted well
With flowers everywhere.
I had not the liberty to choose for myself
The flower I held so dear.
Now, the willow tree may twist
And the willow tree may twine.
I wish I was lying in that young woman’s arms
That once held this heart of mine.
When cockle shells turn silver bells
Then will my love come back to me
When roses bloom in winter’s gloom
Then will my love return to me
The water is wide, I cannot get oer.
Neither have I the wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I.
There you may stand in your splendor and jewels
Swaying me in both directions
One is the right one, the other for fools
How do I make my selection?
The city lies silent in the warm morning light
The sand is as golden as saffron
Oasis of love, sweet water of life
God bless the poor ones who have none though they have tried
Someone is drowning down there in the flood
But this river will dry by tomorrow
Is it ocean or stream, this love in my blood?
Bringer of joy or of sorrow?
The end of the journey must soon be in sight
Birth is the start of the swansong
Oasis of love, sweet water of life
God bless the poor ones who want some, but are denied
No one is given the map to their dreams
All we can do is to trace it
See where we go to, know where we’ve been
Build up the courage to face it.
While we fumble in the darkness where once there was light
Roaming the land of the ancients
Oasis of love, sweet water of life
God bless the poor ones whose patience never died
While we stumble in blindness where once there was sight
Searching for trees in the forest
Oasis of love, sweet water of life
God bless the poor ones who have none though they have tried
God bless the poor ones who want some, but are denied
God bless the poor ones whose patience never died
God bless the poor ones on that one-way donkey ride
One of the great old-time poet-philosophers, Johnny Cash, and one of his greatest songs… ‘Man In Black’
“I’d love to wear a rainbow everyday,
to tell the world that everything’s Okay.
But maybe I can carry-off a little darkness on my back,
till things are brighter, I’m the Man in Black”
“I hope I shall have firmness and virtue enough to maintain,
what I consider the most enviable of all titles,
that of an honest man” ~G Washington~
Reputation can be polished through a long time of honest dealings and proper actions. But like time, reputation cannot be run-backward and re-polished… once the taint of impropriety has etched the metal of reputation, even a lifetime of polishing will not bring the shine of virgin veracity.
Don’t trade off your hard-acquired trust for temporary gain…. the money garnered will last only so long… but the trust people misplaced in you will never be fully regained…. “once burned twice shy” goes the old saw….
I am not a watcher of daytime talk shows… but through the years I have followed the careers of a few people such as Oprah and Montel Williams. I know both of them have a huge amount of trust built over decades placed upon their personas by the US people. I have a great deal of respect for both of these performers who have accomplished so much and seem to provide a good service to the people by virtue of the (usually) good advice of their guests.
But sadly, I am seeing Montel Williams pitching a money-lending service on television and the Internet….. being reactively suspicious of such services, I did some looking into the company Montel pitches…. it seems usury to me. Looking the name of the company up along with the word ’scam’ brought forth a large number of pages complaining of the practices of this company.
This is not a site that deals with scams or money management… there are many who can do splendid at helping people with these matters, people such as www.ripoffreport.com , www.clarkhoward.com or www.suzeorman.com all of whom seem to (generally) give rational advice… my purpose in this missive is to make a statement on trust and integrity… Montel has had the trust of the nation for many years…. his ‘personal brand’ is based on honesty and decent-dealing, but he has violated the trust garnered through decades by placing his huge following and personality behind this scam of a ‘money-lending’ issue.
There will be some who will counter that he is an actor…. he is a paid spokesman for a product, the same as Sally Fields with her Boniva ads…. now, while that statement can be made…. Boniva at least may have some beneficial results.. this usury by the company Montel pitches will only lead most followers to headaches, heartaches and more financial deprivation. The sad thing is the huge number of good-hearted people who will sign up for such a service based only on the personage of Montel. This proves his worth as a spokesman… but that worth is very much diminished for the next company that wishes to have him endorse a product. As for me, the next time I see him pitch anything… my thoughts will be less that it is a ‘quasi-public service’, as much as he is a pitchman who will hawk any product as long as the recompense is high.
Montel, I am sorry that you got roped into this deal…. I really hope you were stoned out of your mind when you signed the papers…. that is the only way I can keep a tiny bit of trust in your integrity… but then I must have worries about your thought-process while stoned.
Johnny Cash… ‘What Is Truth?’
“And in a time of change there comes distorted images,
and uncertain values.
And we all must search,
must search for ‘What is truth?”
Believe it or not!
There are lots of people out there that can make impressive web pages showing anything imaginable…
You can save the world if you just listen to them…. or maybe not… but what does it matter if you CARE.
Just caring is worth so much…. and it’s popular too!
When I was a kid there were still a lot of the old-folks who were born in the eighteen hundreds. Back then not too many people got into their seventies…. my parents donated some time with the old folks as volunteers with ‘Meals On Wheels’. So I met a number of the old folks. They usually liked to speak of the old days when our area was open range… they’d speak of taking wagons to the beach to pick up the boards and planks the ships would throw overboard. Our local tow didn’t have a wharf or harbor… just a long beach curving along ten miles of coast. So with no mooring for offloading, all cargo had to be rowed to shore (a VERY dangerous undertaking on our local beach) or simply chucked overboard if it would drift to the shore.
They’d speak also of the horse races they’d have up and down our main street every Fourth of July, or how the horses got spooked when the first cars came to town…. and how eventually the streets got paved making riding a horse more and more difficult.
I recall this one old fellow who always drove a rickety bike up and down some of our roads…. he was so unsteady on his bike that everyone worried he’d swerve into the path of their cars… I never spoke to him because he always seemed scary… and I was a kid… there was another house in a nearby wooded area that had an old man who had a chain attached to his ankle and the porch post. He had dementia and would go wandering off… the people of the house had work to do, woods to hunt and fields to plant… they couldn’t afford to have him wander off and get hurt. A friend of mine once told me the old man often peeled his clothes off and sat naked in the sun. One day he found the old man wandering down the road naked, his pants caught in the end of the chain dragging from his ankle twenty feet behind him.
So sad that the life and hopes and dreams and experiences of a person should disappear upon their demise… and even sadder when it should become locked in the vault of the mind… irretrievable except on those rare moments when some door opens and allows cognition before it slams shut again.
I am glad I took the time I did to listen to old folks…. but now that those people are gone… I know that I didn’t do nearly what I now wish I had. Old folks seem to like to sit and speak of the past… perhaps that is because they have more of a past than they can perceive of a future. Kids don’t think about past or future… they just are ‘now’. I guess like much in life, it is the middle that seems the logical place to go. A little of the past without dwelling on it… a little of the future, because if you don’t plan your route who knows where you’ll end up… and a whole huge amount of ‘Now’, because that’s where you are now, along with all your family and friends and the myriad creatures we exist alongside.
There’s something about old folks, kids and old animals…. young animals too… what would life be without puppies and kittens.
Whatever you want in your family can be transposed over to your local government and governmental agencies further up the chain. Any weak link can snap causing all to fall down… and the higher-up this weak link is, the more potential damage, and the heavier the weight of chain falling.
The head of a family has to be able to hold him/herself together in times of adversity… people are dependent on you to maintain stability in the face of adversity….
If the Lord of the Country flits about like a fool,
He will lose his leadership Tao Teh Ching
This idea extends all through all governance and business….
Many schools of thought insist on high morals…. most people see this as merely an effort to surround oneself with moral people…. but perhaps the ‘hider of secrets’ might not be the one you want hiding the secrets of your government or company.
There’s a reason governments and businesses often insist on people being open about their past when applying for work. If a person in power has deep dark secrets, they might be inclined to ‘tweak’ policy in order to keep this information being divulged through blackmail.
During the run-up to the war in Iraq there was a weapons inspector named Scott Ritter who gave huge amounts of alarm to the world… he said that Saddam Hussein was a dangerous person… that he had weapons that we’d not want loosed upon the world… he seemed to give the impression that Saddam needed to be stopped for the good of his people and for the safety of the world. Then he made an abrupt about-face. Quickly he became one of the staunchest opponents of the war. What happened to make these changes so quickly? Could there have been blackmail involved?
This is why morality among our elected and other governmental people is paramount. Even more than pure morality however is the fact that there be no hidden issues. All people have different levels of tolerance for moral issues. For some the bar is high, for others much lower…. so it can’t be morality alone that is the deciding factor… it is the hidden moral issues that matter the most.. these are the ones that can cause security issues.
