Desert Trail Column - October 31, 2019

Lonnie Casper celebrated one year as pastor of the Wonder Valley Community Church this past Sunday. A delicious potluck was enjoyed by all, and Lonnie and his wife Jo are looking forward to many more years here in Wonder Valley. The church has now discontinued summer hours and has returned to the regular time of 10:30 a.m. for Sunday church services.

The Glass Outhouse Art Gallery, 77575 29 Palms Highway at Thunder Road, will hold a reception for the Copper Mountain College Students’ Art Show on Saturday, November 2 from 1 to 5 p.m. These students have fresh talent and new-age as well as unique art that has never been seen before! Come meet the artists, snack on free refreshments and enjoy music by Dana Larson.This show will run through November 24, and some works will be available for purchase. For more information, call Laurel at 760-367-3807.

Mark your calendars for some upcoming events. A newly-formed group called Coffee and Friends invites all ladies of Wonder Valley and Twentynine Palms to their meeting on November 12 at the Fangmeyer residence, 73883 Manana Drive. At Wonder Valley Community Church, a Thanksgiving potluck will be held on November 24, which is also the deadline for donating Christmas shoeboxes that the church will send to an orphanage in Mexico.

Most events at our WVCC are sponsored by our local nonprofit Friends of Wonder Valley. For additional information on any local event, contact WVCC Coordinator Teresa Sitz at teresa.sitz@sdd.sbcounty.gov or 760-367-9880.

We send out belated Rainbows-of-Opals-and-Calendulas to Teresa Sitz’s mom, Charlene Stewart, who turned 83 this past week. She just moved here form Washington DC, and we want to welcome her to our area.

Darlene’s Commentary: Once or twice a year, a full moon rises due east and shines like a beacon directed straight at my house, caused by light reflecting off the salt flats’ crystals. It’s incredibly beautiful!

Karen’s Commentary: The end of the Meyers Weed Show Frenzy is in sight!

Food for Life Ministry prepares and serves delicious hot meals every Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. at Church of the Nazarene, 72603 Juanita Drive in Twentynine Palms. If you are unable to get to the church, Reach Out Morongo Basin may deliver these meals directly to your residence. Call 760-361.1410.

Handy Hint: To dislodge gum from hair, massage butter into the offending wad to slide it easily from tangled locks.

Today’s Thought: If you make a trip to Alaska, you might want to keep in mind the fact that it is illegal there to wake a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking its picture.

Until next time . . . remember to take time to enjoy the WONDERs all around us.

COSMIC AMERICAN FRIENDS

Over the years I have met so many really wonderful people because of being a music geek . I've been a fan of so many genres and personalities that it's hard to keep track of them all.  Rock, country, punk, folk, funk, alternative, college and country rock, I could keep going but I won't. Let's just say there's little I don't like. Needless to say then, I've met so many cool and interesting folks along the way.

Making friends based on the love of a music genre is a far better option than one based on employment, politics or location or for that matter anything else in my oh so jaded opinion. When you share a love of music with someone you don't usually give a damn about their politics and their location is meaningless as well.

One of the personalities I have obsessed over at times, Gram Parsons, has a mystical hold over Hi Desert lore. Stories of burned caskets in Joshua Tree  and kidnapped corpses in LA have been told and thanks to my pal Phil Kaufman I have the location of the deed.  

I've belonged to various fan groups and been to my share of GP tribute shows over the years in Nashville and Austin and for the most part I have found Cosmic American fans to be some of the best, loyal and kind friends I've made.  We have debated who wrote the Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" and the biggest question of all -- when will Parsons be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I look forward to highlighting some of these friends as we go down this path of sharing my opinions and musings on my musical condition. We will discuss music together, you and I and it's my hope that we both learn something in the process. The stories will be true and the truth will be music. I'm unsure however if it will set you free.

All that said I want to share with you some links to a few Facebook groups that are full of good people talking about Cosmic American Music.

Gram's Angels

Sin City

Gram Parsons and the Cosmic American Music Appreciation Society

One relatively new friend I have met through these groups is Laura Harmondale.

Laura is a local here in the Hi Desert and we met at a three artist song swap at our local bar here in Wonder Valley the Palms! We chatted a bit before the show and the show was just filled with great songs and performances. We talked again a few months back about doing a photo shoot but due to pending monsoons we postponed but now that I am writing this column we decided to do an artist feature and interview next week. How cool is that?  

So, Laura Harmondale... What do you love about music?

.....to be continued ...

Creosote Capers.

Two people were spied clipping creosote bushes on a road in Wonder Valley. Two separate cars stopped to tell the clippers that it was illegal to cut the creosote.

The clippers said they were on private property. The drivers of the car weren't buying it and said they were going to call the Sheriff's Department if the clippers did not beat it.

This poor chopped up bush may have been on private property but we're quite sure the clippers did not have the owner's permission. It is illegal to cut bushes on BLM (federal) land.

The clippers had large loppers and chopped this poor bush within an inch of its life -- see the two piles of branched to each side. Not only does this kind of trimming endanger the bush but it also endangers those insects and animals that depend on the creosote bush for their lives, including 21 bees specific to the creosote bush, several crickets, and other insects, and many burrowing animals, and even ants that collect the trichomes (seeds) dropped by the bush.

FREE flu shots at Mobile Medical Unit.

Flu shots (regular) will be available free at the Morongo Basin Healthcare Districts's Mobile Medical Unit, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, at the Wonder Valley Community Center, 80526-1/2 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277. Insurance is not required. First come, first served. Quantities are limited.

You may also get a check up with qualifying insurance, and be prescribed a 90-day prescription to Joshua Tree National Park.

Please make use of the Mobile Medical Van when you can, or we may lose the service.

Owls, with Susan Doggett.

WHEN: 2:30 p.m., Saturday, October 26, 2019
WHERE: Wonder Valley Community Center
80526-1/2 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277
A $2 donation is requested. If you cannot afford a donation, please be our guest.

Susan Doggett, a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator, will bring 3 local live owls: a barn owl, a screech owl, and a great horned owl. She’ll talk about misconceptions and mythologies attached to the different owl species. The audience will get a chance to view the owls in their cages.

Note: Wonder Valley is not part of the exotic newcastle disease quarantine zone.

Emergency Community Meeting.

Join Sheriff John McMahon, Supervisor Dawn Rowe and the District Attorney's Office

WHEN: 5:30 p.m., Monday, October 21, 2019
WHERE: Sportsman's Club
ADDRESS: 6225 Sunburst Street, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
SUBJECT:
On Thursday, October 17, 2019, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office announced they received a letter from the State of California Department of Hospitals concerning a residential placement recommendation made to the Ventura County Superior Court for the community placement of Ross Wollschlager, who was committed as a sexually violent predator, into the community of Joshua Tree. Members of local government would like to present information to concerned community members and voice our collective opposition of Wollschlager’s placement within San Bernardino County, for the specific purpose of public safety and awareness. Under Welfare & Institutions Code §6609.2, Sheriff John McMahon has authority to give notice of any impending release of a sexually violent predator to any person. Captain Newport will inform those in attendance as to the court proceedings to date, as well as those subsequently scheduled, while informing the public regarding options available to affected communities.

The state of Amboy Road.

From our MAC Representative, Steve Reyes.

After the last community meeting, I received an email from Mark Lunquist in response to the condition of Amboy Road.  Brendon Biggs, the Deputy Director-Operations Division, Public Works, who stated this long section of Amboy Road has been identified for a larger Capital Improvement Project.  The Department of Public Works is performing some surface patches and fixing shoulder erosion.  Mr. Biggs will pass on when there is a final list and schedule.

Thanks to Mark Lundquist and Ms. Rowe for following up on this issue.