Terrifically Haunted fun for all. Another Halloween under our belts. Big thanks to Nicole and Julie for helping save the day. To Scott and Josh, candy professionals with nerves of steel. To Steve and Mitch for your hands on help. To Jim for fantasitc photo attention and being brave around both the young and old. Most important, to Micheal, whom without his patience and hard work, Halloween would never be.
iPhotos generously provided by Jim McGill of photo444.com
This was the first preview night for “Frightening Fashion Show”. I think there were as many adults (possibly more) than children. I took pics with my iphone when I wasn’t giving my annual speech about “what’s inside my head”. Most people want to know…Ha! I usually just tell people that I’m the love child of Erma Bombeck and Alfred Hitchcock. Gosh I love my camera heads…
Artwork by Richard Towle
We set out for Borrego Springs early on Saturday to photograph some of the wonderful sculptures created by artist, Ricardo Breceda.
Breceda (originally from Durango, Mexico) was once a carpenter who took up sculpting 13 years ago after he fell from a second story and broke his back while working construction. He persevered and found a way to make a living from his passion for things that roamed millions of years ago by establishing Perris Jurassic Park. Then, years after his penned creations peeked over the fence along the 215 Interstate, a millionaire who happened to have purchased some dessert land surrounding Borrego Springs and Anzo Borrego National Park came along. His name is Dennis Avery, who like Breceda, shares a love for the prehistoric. Avery, upon a drive by and turn around, first saw a 30 foot Tyrannosaurus Rex leaning over the chain link fence. From that first sighting, he commissioned several works by Breceda and the transformation of Galleta Meadows began.
What I particularly like about what I saw is, not only the craftsmanship and how it weathers in the elements, but also the placement of each creature. You get the feeling you are watching them in their true setting or how they would have lived. I also love the fact that you can drive your car right up to them, making it easy for folks less able to get around, see and enjoy them easily…oh, and did I forget, it’s all free. These two men, along with their vision, have given the general public a wonderful gift that can be enjoyed by future generations.
Ok, I admit it. I am a charmaholic. I have been eating Lucky Charms since they came out in 1964. Granted, for the first 5 years, I only ate the magic marshmallows. For years my Father could never figure out why “his” cereal never seemed to have any “Charms”. Little did he know, after leaving for another hard day at work, the old oak table was covered in nasty toasted oats while busy hands sifted through… carefully gathering up all that magical goodness. In my teens, I finally succumbed to eating the oats. I found them tolerable…as long as the charms were there to sweeten the deal. As an adult, now I seek out the largest box on earth. Last month I was so excited to find a 1lb, 8oz (28oz) box on sale for 3 bucks. Tonight (OMG) 2lbs, 12 oz (44 oz) of goodness! I was so proud I shot a picture next to my teapot (the only thing in my kitchen that gets used beside a cereal bowl) so you could share in both my happiness and the sheer enormity of the box.
An advertising agency convinced General Mills in 62 to create a cereal for kids based on a charm bracelet and all these years later…the legend lives on. The original 64 charms were pink heart, yellow moons, orange stars and green clovers. I can remember the jingle. The blue diamonds were added in 75, purple horseshoes in 84, red balloon in 89, rainbows in 92, pots of gold in 94, leprechaun hats in 96, shooting stars in 98 and the hourglass in 2008 while others were removed.
Oh and the Leprechaun mascot, Lucky (also known as Sir Charms and originally called L.C. Leprechaun) was born in 1963 and now has his buddy Emerald Elder.
Laura Arellano is not only one of the talented Artists in our Community Gallery but she is an exceptional dancer and my dear friend. She told me she and her beautiful dancing partner were going to have a show Sunday night…so I showed up with camera in hand. The dances were erotic, the costumes exotic… and the combination…visually stunning. When the two women began their own version of the veil dance… the clouds of floating silk combined with the haunting music made a lasting memory in my mind. I promptly asked Laura to teach me this dance… 😉
“Evil Spirit” Â Jamie Lee Sugarman
“Jack-o-lantern” Kara Lawson
“Prints from the past” Laura Arellano
“Spirit” MaryBeth Leonard
“Scary Clown” Jamie Lee Sugarman
“Nightmare Buddha“ Yumiko Yanone
“Boo” A Halloween Surprise” Â Laura Arellano
When I was a kid, I used to wish I was Bewitch. Not so that I could have things, although I’m sure I would have made a couple of wishes and wiggled my nose with regards to the local candy store 😉 My love for pixie stix was awfully strong back then. No, I use to sit in the car as a passenger and see someone, maybe a Mother with lots of kids driving an old, beat up car. I use to wish I could twitch my nose and she would suddenly be driving some big fancy thing. I imagined that I would see the startled look on her face as she realized her hands gripped an unknown steering wheel…and smiled at the thought she would have no idea where or from whom it had come.
I went to school with a girl (Deborah) who was different. She was slow and the kids made fun of her. I would twitch my nose when we rode the bus and she would become Cinderella with beautiful long hair and a lovely new dress. She would be charming and smarter than anyone…and everyone would be so confused.
I also went to school with a boy (Richard) who’s parent’s were so poor he didn’t have a decent pair shoes. I remembered that my own Father went to school without shoes. I tried so long and hard… twitching my nose, but I just couldn’t make them new for him. I asked the teacher to help me. I don’t know how it happened. All I know is that he had a new pair of black high top sneakers one day…and I thought it was magic.
I still drive around and see things…that I wish I could change by twitching my nose. I’m smiling now at the thought. I’m telling you this because if you ever have a chance to help someone…and can…it will do you more good than you know.
Last night I came home after working and then visiting with my Family. I was almost home and as I turned one of the last corners towards my block, I saw a small figure sitting on the corner. At first glance it appeared to be a small boy, about 12. I passed and kept on driving because it was late at night and I was so tired. But that brain of mine just could let it go…and I turned my jeep around. I stopped and rolled down the window asking “are you ok?” The figure looked up and said they were waiting for a ride. I asked “How long have you been waiting?”…no reply. I’m not as trusting of people as I used to be but I just had this feeling …”Get in”.
The small figure climbed into the jeep and it was then that I realized it was a girl. I asked her “what are you doing out here so late”? She said she was driving with someone who was so reckless that she got out of the car. I told her I thought she was a kid sitting there and she politely asked me if I would have stopped had I known she was a 24 year old woman, a single mother of 2. I told her it wouldn’t have made any difference and she smiled a pixie grin. We drove for a long while and she told me about her life. That’s something between just her and me but it was a life that someone as young as she was, should never have had to live through. I took her farther than she asked because I could see the kind of neighborhood we were heading to. She was so very small, I just couldn’t let her go. We finally got as far as she would let me take her, then as she grabbed the handle to get out…she turned to me and said “God Bless You Ma’am”…. Can you imagine…all that I have and all that she didn’t…and she wished me a blessing!
My husband (who never yells) yelled at me for 10 minutes when I got home…about safety and strangers and all the stuff I actually know… Sometimes, things just happen. Sometimes you just feel Bewitched. Be grateful people. Be grateful for everything…because there are so many other’s worse off. Do good things…but be safe. Make a difference. It will open your eyes to your own blessings…large and small.
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