More Than Shelter

Starting coffee for the crew in the morning is a mundane task, after opening the gates and turning the heater on in our meeting room. Even after the heater has been off for a night of cold weather, the meeting room and adjoining galley are not too uncomfortably cold by morning. I do not give much thought to the unusually rainy weather right outside. After all, the rain is outside, and I am inside with coffee and a heater.

There is not much view from the window in the galley. The yard below is storage for several dumpsters. It is surrounded by a fence and the Memorial Grove. A busy road and associated bridge over Zayante Creek are just beyond that.

Since New Year’s Eve, some of us have been watching Zayante Creek from the window in the galley. The water is normally barely visible. Because of the storms, it had risen to within only a few feet of the yard downstairs on a few occasions. It will likely be about that high again by morning.

The bridge is prominent within the center of the view from the window. Under its closest corner, on this side of the road and on this side of Zayante Creek, I can see a site that had sometimes been inhabited by unhoused neighbors. It would be very unpleasant to be out there now, in the cold and damp weather, and also dangerous as Zayante Creek rises again overnight. It is very muddy there after getting submerged earlier.

I do not consider that much though. Instead, I remember how homey it was when friends lived there. Although it was not as comfortable as where I now observe it from, to more than a mere few, it was more comfortable than being out in the rain. Furthermore, it was where some people really lived, even if merely temporarily. They did much of what people do in homes, as if homes were unnecessary luxuries. Although I do not party like most, I attended a few celebrations there. I directly witnessed the extreme generosity and graciousness of others of society who had no business under such a bridge. Regardless of how pleased I am that almost everyone who had been unhoused back then presently resides within comfortable and stable domestic situations, I also miss some of how it was in what now seems to be history.

Good Times

Goodness!! Because this blog is now officially discontinued, I felt that I could write about anything that I wanted to write about. For tonight, I briefly explained why my other blog is also about to be discontinued. Well, at least the recycling of old articles and other hooey will be discontinued, while the timely posting of articles from my column will continue. By the time I finished, I realized that I wrote more about why this blog is discontinued, and it was not at all interesting. I delayed it until next week, and just might delete it before then.

Good Times seemed to be more appropriate for now. I was reminded of the old television show while in the Los Angeles region in September. My colleague pointed out J. J. in the neighborhood, but I embarrassingly could not remember who he is. Dynomite! Well, I will get over it. Anyway, the show was about the good times of a working class but somewhat impoverished family. I do not remember that their poverty was obvious, but am told that it was a prominent premise of the show. Some of us may identify with understated poverty.

Good Times was a spinoff of Maude, which was a spinoff of All In The Family, which was the show that The Jeffersons was also a spinoff of. That is too much confusing history for me to process, which is likely why I somehow mistook J. J. for a member of a family who lived in a deluxe apartment in the sky. That show was about a prosperous working class family who relocated to a more luxurious neighborhood while maintaining affiliation with their former Community. Some of us may identify with such affiliation for our Community, even after major modifications of lifestyle and possible relocation for such modifications.

So many of us who lacked domestic situations only a few years ago are doing well now. Some are doing remarkably well, and are remarkably prosperous. We know because we remain in contact with them. A formerly unhoused couple from our Community now owns a disproportionately large and unmortgaged home in Fremont, and restored their camper that they formerly lived in so that they can return to Felton to camp on their vacant parcel. They brought unhoused friends back to live in unused portions of their house. Another of our Community is a realtor, and lives in a luxurious home in a scenic region of Sedona in Arizona. A friend lives in another home nearby, but will likely return to Felton, particularly now that real estate is becoming more affordable. Another of our Community resides in a historic apartment in Watsonville, with the intention of returning to Ben Lomond or Felton. These are a few examples of those who are no longer unhoused within Our Community.

There’s No Place Like Home

Some of us do not get out much. Perhaps the expense is unjustifiable or prohibitive. Perhaps work is too demanding. There are as many reasons for not getting out and about as there are for doing so. We all know that it can be fun, relaxing and healthy. We must also be realistic.

Realistically though, many or most of us realize that we happen to be in the best place that we could be in. Otherwise, we would be somewhere else that is perceived to be better. This is why those who indulge in vacations in other places return afterward. Not only is this home, but it is an excellent home. After all, many other people come here from elsewhere for their vacations.

Yes, this is biased, since most believe that their particular home is the best place to be. Most people who inhabit Los Angeles actually believe that they are in the best place to be; which is fortuitous, since millions of people searching for someplace better could cause this region to become unpleasantly crowded. Obviously, we tend to believe that there is no place like home.

Yet, regardless of obvious bias, it is impossible to deny that, besides being the best place for those of us who live here, this really is among the most excellent places in the entire Universe. The climate is perfect, with just enough winter without too much chill, just enough summer without too much heat, plenty of sunny weather, and only mild storms within a brief rainy season. Scenery is exquisite, with grand redwoods and the coast of the Pacific Ocean nearby. Society is remarkably diverse, accommodating and generous. There are too many advantages to being here to list. Even those who lack domestic situations know how fortunate we are to be here.

BEST

(For reasons that I explained last week, this blog, Felton League, will be discontinued; but there are still a few old articles that can be recycled like this one from last October.)

B-enchlands E-stuary S-tewardship T-eam is the BEST! They remove both trash and invasive exotic (nonnative) plants from the portion of the San Lorenzo River that flows through Santa Cruz and into Monterey Bay. Some team members are residents of the Benchlands Encampment at San Lorenzo Park or nearby neighborhoods. Some are members of the Santa Cruz Downtown Streets Team, which also collects trash elsewhere in Santa Cruz County, including here in Felton. All are volunteers.

BEST was organized in response to concern about the sensitive ecosystems of the San Lorenzo River, and, among other issues, the consequences of habitation by unhoused residents within such ecosystems. Direct involvement of the associated unhoused residents not only utilizes their coordinated volunteer efforts as a primary resource, but also provides them with ecological and environmental insight, which is a collective asset to the local unhoused Community. Others of the local unhoused Community are more likely to respect the sensitivity of the ecosystems in which they reside if they are more aware of how detrimental some of their activity can be to such ecosystems, or if they are aware that others within their particular Community take the initiative to mitigate some of the consequences of potentially detrimental activity.

For a distinctly socially disadvantaged segment of the Community, BEST provides opportunity for social, as well as environmental, contribution and improvement. This is more than socially and personally gratifying. It is healthy!

For the distinctly disadvantaged animal and plant life that inhabits and interacts with the associated ecosystems, but is unable to defend them, BEST does what it can to alleviate various ecological incursion, and promote recovery. So, BEST is not only healthy for the human participants, but is also healthy for the native flora and fauna of the intricate ecosystems of the San Lorenzo River Estuary.

The Unhoused Of The Sacramento Shooting

Melinda Davis is one of six people who were killed in the Sacramento Shooting, shortly after two in the morning of the third of April. Like all of the other victims of this crime, she has her own unique story, as well as a few common characteristics. Everyone is someone’s daughter or son. Everyone is someone’s friend or neighbor. Most are someone’s sister or brother, or wife or husband. In other words, everyone is someone.

Melinda Davis was also unhoused. She was a member of a minor Community that includes less than half a percent (>.5%) of the populace of America, but is now almost seventeen percent (16.7%) of the deceased victims of the shooting. Without a home to be in on that night, she was innately as vulnerable to this sort of random social violence as those who were out being intentionally social.

Tim Langer was likewise there at the time only because he currently lacks a home to be at. However, his presence was fortuitous for four panicked young ladies whom he sheltered from the shooting, within the doorway alcove in which he sleeps. His immediate and selfless response to the dangerous situation was exemplary. Tim Langer, although a member of a Community that is less than half a percent of Society, was the right man for the job.

The unhoused are rare, but are integral components of Society nonetheless. They are generally exposed to more dangerous situations than those who inhabit secure homes, as is demonstrated by the death of Melinda Davis. Within such situations, some are occasionally presented with opportunities for the sort of admirable benevolence that was exhibited by Tim Langer.

The links above provide more information about Melinda Davis and Tim Langer in regard to the Sacramento Shooting. Other articles are in the news.

Kurt Cobain Memorial Park

Aberdeen in Washington is known more for nearby tourist destinations outside of town than for that which is inside of town. It is a convenient source of supplies for exploring and hiking in the Great Outdoors. It is, after all, the Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula.

The Kurt Cobain Memorial Park is a unique tourist destination that happens to be within town. It is not for everyone, but appeals to those who appreciate who Kurt Cobain was. Many within our Community do. Some of us have much in common with Kurt Cobain, and can identify with his difficulties prior to his untimely death twenty eight years ago.

These pictures are from the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park. They are likely and perhaps fortunately unimportant to many of us. Nonetheless, their significance and relevance is obvious to some.

Neighbors protest the traffic associated with the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, which was not designed for such traffic. Actually, it was not designed to be a Park. Apparently, is is a popular destination for those who appreciate who Kurt Cobain was.

This is a big explanation for such a small Memorial Park.

This plaque features quotes by Kurt Cobain. The roses were fresh.

This plaque is on the backside of the base of the sculpture in the next picture.

Graffiti honoring Kurt Cobain covers most surfaces of the sculptures and infrastructure here, without obscuring inscriptions.

It seems as if something is missing, but the plaque at the base reads, “KURT’S AIR GUITAR”.

The underside of the Young Street Bridge, with the northern bank of the Wishkah River beyond, was the inspiration for ‘Something In The Way’, by Kurt Cobain.

This site under the Young Street Bridge is a component of the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, so is designated as such with this plaque.

Graffiti intended to honor Kurt Cobain is even more prominent under the Young Street Bridge than it is elsewhere within the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park.

What seem to be campsites are excavated into the south bank of the Wishkah River below the Young Street Bridge. Some believe that Kurt Cobain lived here for a time.

All Saints’ Day

Halloween is over! Goodness! It is such a weird indulgence of degenerate behavior! Children are actually encouraged and expected to dress in costume, perhaps ghastly or shabby by design, and tour their respective neighborhoods to engage in aggressive panhandling. Some of their parents, perhaps outfitted with comparably inappropriate attire, or worse, shamelessly attend debaucherous parties.

This is fun?! This is socially acceptable?! Well, it should afford significantly more respect for those who request donations on the Pacific Garden Mall because they lack other options. They waste neither resources nor effort on their possibly shabby attire. Nor do they come to our porches at night expecting handouts.

Anyway, it is now All Saints’ Day. It will be All Souls’ Day tomorrow. In many cultures, both days are All Soul’s Day, or something similar with a different name. Regardless of the name, All Saints’ Day is one of only six Holy Days of Obligation. Halloween is merely the day prior to All Saints’ Day. It is what Christmas Eve is to Christmas. However, although almost everyone in America knows what Halloween is, not so many know what All Saints’ Day is.

How many of us are aware of what Saint Patrick’s Day is? Why is Cinco de Mayo such a minor holiday where it actually has some relevance in Mexico, but is just another excuse for drunken partying here? Has partying become so important on the Fourth of July that we forget that it had formerly been Independence Day? Mardi Gras really should be a day for (responsible) indulgences, but has somehow become more important than subsequent Ash Wednesday and forty days of fasting and abstinence from such indulgence during Lent.

Society can be impressively creative with justification for unfounded indulgence. A few in society can be remarkably selective with such justification.

Bad Journalism

There are two primary reasons why the brief articles that post here have been of less than exemplary quality for the past year or so. Actually, they have been of rather substandard quality. (Okay, they have been downright ‘bad’.) I would prefer to avoid such unpleasant description; but that would merely defer the obvious.

Firstly, the second of the two primary reasons for the compromised quality of posts here is the lack of time to devote to composing them. I am simply overworked. It is a long and irrelevant story. To be brief, I continue to write horticultural articles for a few newspapers between San Francisco and the Los Angeles Region, while also working as many as three days weekly to help maintain landscapes at a local Conference Center. I know that I should retire from such writing, but can not bear to do so. Nor do I want to relinquish the landscape maintenance work, which was actually intended to be only temporary (a long time ago). Both are very enjoyable, but also limit my potential for other obligations.

Secondly, the first of the two primary reasons for the compromised quality of posts here is the lack of subject matter. There simply is not much to write about like there had been only a few years ago. This blog was originally intended to provide insight regarding the homeless and socially disadvantaged Community of Felton. However, so many of those who had previously lacked domestic situations presently reside in comfortable and safe homes, with stable lifestyles. Many who had previously been unemployed are presently gainfully employed, and therefore able to sustain their respective lifestyles. Relatively fewer have become deprived of domestic situations or employment while relatively more have procured the same. The socially disadvantages Community of Felton has been doing remarkably well. Ultimately, this is a good problem to contend with.

Live In Fear III

As mentioned last week, “Those who choose to live in unrealistic or unjustified fear seem to be rather deficient of common logic.” This is exacerbated by their ignorance of such deficiency, or worse, by their innate but unfounded belief that they are somehow more logical than others of the Community.

For example, many of those who choose to live in unrealistic or unjustified fear want all homeless encampments to be demolished without a plan for those who would be displaced by such demolition. They simply do not understand how important planning is, or that a lack of planning is contrary to the intended results of the unplanned demolition that they want.

No one wants homeless encampments within the Community. Those who inhabit such encampments, including the few who do not require domestic situations, would prefer more stable lifestyles. Neighbors understandably dislike the unsightliness. In some regions, the associated fire hazard is a major concern.

Logical people realize that the unplanned demolition of homeless encampments will not help any of the inhabitants of such encampments be any less homeless than they already were. They understand that the expensive process merely relocates the unsightliness of homelessness, but does not eliminate it. Logical people who are truly concerned about the fire hazard associated with homeless encampments would prefer to confine such hazard to less combustible and relatively manageable regions, rather than relocating such hazards to more combustible forested regions outside of town.

There are no simple remedies for all homelessness. Logical people understand that. Those who choose to live in unrealistic or unjustified fear do not, and some seem to be intent on preserving the very same dysfunction that they choose to fear with such dedication. Perhaps that is quite sensible. What would they do without the unrealistic or unjustified fear that they choose to live in?

Live In Fear II

“Those who choose to live in fear have the option of relocating to someplace where they do not need to live in fear.” I mentioned this last week, with a few examples of unpleasantries that those who choose to live in fear might otherwise choose to emigrate from. One example that I mentioned was, “If they fear houseless people, (…), they can relocate to someplace that is unpopular with (…) houseless people (…).

Does that seem harsh? It should not. Some of those who choose live in fear of the houseless commonly suggest that the houseless should relocate in order to accommodate them. If this is so easy or such a practical concept, then it should be just as easy or practical for those who choose to live in fear of the houseless.

After all, and contrary to what those who live in fear of the houseless claim, the majority of those who are houseless here are either native or have been here significantly longer than most of those who choose to live in fear of them. Many of those who live in fear of the houseless start complaining about it as soon as they arrive from somewhere else.

Those who choose to live in fear of the houseless should have become familiar with the local Community and society prior to deciding to immigrate. They should not have immigrated to a Community or society that is unsatisfactory for them.

Since so many of them believe that the houseless migrate here, they should migrate to where they believe the houseless migrate from. The houseless whom they choose to fear should be gone from there, since, according to those who choose to live in fear of them, they came here.

Those who choose to live in unrealistic or unjustified fear seem to be rather deficient of common logic.