Archive for the community Category

Storms

Posted in community, home, Humboldt County with tags , , , , on January 5, 2023 by inretaliation

There is always a sense of excitement after a storm. I can’t wait to go out and see what damage has occurred during the night. This last one was a pretty big one. They measured winds of up to 97 miles per hour up on Bear River road. I woke up eager to run outside and asses the consequences. There is a tree down in the neighbors yard it missed all the junk cars and Rv’s. It is lying straight across a power line though. I called PG&E but a quarter of the people in the northern part of the state are without power so we are pretty low priority. The gentleman on the phone sounded bored as he took the potentially life threatening information. I can only imagine how many other similar calls he has had this morning. The river is still well within it’s banks which is strangely a little disappointing. I don’t know if it is because we have been in a drought for so long or it is just human nature to be attracted to destruction but it always gives me a little thrill to have the river overcome it’s boundaries. As a matter of fact none of our roads into our little valley are impassable. Down along the beach you can tell that the tide must have been magnificent. There is driftwood thrown atop the dunes and the dunes themselves seem sheared in half by the strength of the incoming tide. Out here the road is thick with mud from the sand leaching across as if the dunes on either side are striving for a connection.

The Mattole January 5th 2023
The Mattole October 16th 2022

Trashy

Posted in community, Humboldt County with tags , , , , on May 20, 2016 by inretaliation

trash-monster-1_5

I just put a new motor in my 85 Toyota pickup.  I love the Shark, it looks tough and it has both a straight axle and fuel injection.  Anyway, the first thing I wanted to do with it, was go to the dump.

On my property there is a spot we call the resource forest, it basically holds everything that doesn’t really get used anymore but could maybe come in handy someday. I know all of you at least have a drawer full of that kind of stuff.  Well a big part of the resource forest is plastic from ex growers on the property.  Huge swaths of panda plastic, bins and bins of grow bags, and of course PVC.  Earlier this year I rented a U-haul, filled it with this plastic and took it to the dump. (ok there were a couple of water heaters, and a washing machine in there too) I didn’t even make a dent.  I knew I wasn’t going to make a difference with the Shark either, I just wanted a mission.  After packing the Shark as full as it could go with panda plastic and strapping it all down, I made a pit stop at the local store.

I walked inside and heard an elderly gentleman asking one of the clerks if they knew who owned my truck.  I chimed in thinking he wanted to tell me how amazing my truck is.  He asked me to step outside, he wished to speak to me in private.  I obliged and he begins to tell me about all the trash he has been seeing on the road into big town.  He says he knows it probably isn’t me but that I should watch my load very carefully.  This gentleman owns a big purplish dodge van that he uses for transporting his stone sculptures.  He says he has been tempted to pick up the bags and open them to look for a name.  I reassure him that I will be watchful and I go on my merry way.

Sure enough I pass by these bags of trash….then I stop in the middle of the tiny windy road and run back for the bags.  Thankfully they are light and dry, ugh someone else’s trash juice on me would have been upsetting.  I stomp everything into the back of the truck and retie my load.  I spend the rest of the 40 minute trip wondering why, if he cared so much, didn’t he pick them up.  I don’t believe in landfills, I think mother earth would be better able to deal with our trash if we spread it everywhere evenly.  That would look terrible I know, but we should realize this is a question of aesthetics, not saving the planet. (Those incinerators in Europe, why can’t we get some of those?)  The gentleman, why did he leave the trash on the side of the road?  Once the bags broke open the mess would be far worse.  Was he giving the culprits the chance to do the right thing?  Did he want something to complain about, to down talk what he saw as careless people taking over our tiny town? Wouldn’t it be better if we all tried to fix something the moment it broke, rather than walking away because it is someone elses responsibility?

Foment

Posted in community, Humboldt County, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on April 28, 2016 by inretaliation

My little town is going through a little uprising.  It has been festering for years, the more that weed becomes an outsourced business, the more the discontent grows.  Our town is typical of small Humboldt villages, lots of back to the landers, a little bit of meth, a few old time ranchers, more new fangled new agers, and everyone (except most of the meth heads) with a little too much untaxable income.  Our land prices are high, we did not suffer in the crash of ’08, the land is too beautiful, it is always desirable.  I have lived here for 17 years and I see the change.  People come from out of town or out of the state and buy land, they camp long enough to pull in a huge crop, bring in tons of out of town workers, and then they all leave when the rain comes.  They do not spend the time making an effort to get to know the wonderful community they make their living in.  They do not care about our children’s soccer games or school plays.  They don’t celebrate on the beach with us for May Day.  Their money and ruthlessness makes us feel powerless and bullied.

   zx22.

The catalyst seems to be that recently one of our sons was killed as a pedestrian on the 101 hit by a car.  He was 27, his death has made all the do gooders want to form committees to save our town, our community.  He was addicted to meth, but that should not be his whole story he had parents who struggled and lost to their own addictions, he was isolated, he rarely left our town.  After his father died he lived alone up on a hill that you could only drive up sometimes.  He struggled to be good, to contribute.  A few years ago a couple of his friends took great advantage of him, they plied him with drugs and got him to agree to let them grow on his property.  He became so drugged up he lost a bit of his mind, his friends kicked him out he lived in his car they gave him more drugs so he wouldn’t say anything he lost more of his mind.  Finally another member of the community made sure his friends left the valley and never came back.  The son never really came back either.  His death makes us feel guilty, we stood by and watched and didn’t do anything worthwhile.

Marijuana and the economy around it are inseparable from our community, its joys and its hardships.  I make my money from weed, I hire itinerant workers, I love my community, I am both.  I am concerned that we will forget where we came from, that we will judge without understanding. There are so many things we can blame when we forget that we are our own original melting pot of needs and desires. In the name of equality we will condemn those who don’t agree with us.  In order to make our community greater we need greater understanding, not the fake judgemental kind.  The kind that happens when you realize you are capable of terrible wasteful things too.  The kind that happens when we realize we all are the same.

 

Missing the Point

Posted in community, Humboldt County, politics with tags , , , , , on March 13, 2011 by inretaliation

I feel a little frivolous for my post yesterday, who am I to complain when there are so many other terrible things happening in the world.  In my defense I did not want to post about Japan or the tsunami in Crescent City, because much more up to date bloggers than me were doing a very good job.  So today I am going to do a little summary of some major events.

First Japan, there is nothing controversial about this event, it is mother nature it happens.  I am sorry.

This is an awesome picture, if the link does not take you to the picture directly, click on the before and after tab. Before and After Picture

Second Libya, funny this all started because of that guy who set himself on fire in Tunisia.  I am proud and happy for the people who are fighting for their rights, and I am profoundly saddened by the casualties both sides must sustain for this fight.

Last and least, what should dispensaries, or the police, do to protect the customers of medical marijuana clubs?  Do robbers wait outside high end jewelry stores? No, not usually.  These consumers are targeted because of the gray area around the legality of the product they desire.  Figure out how to legalize it, the gray area is killing it, nobody (the growers, the distributors, the consumers) has any power to do anything great.  Don’t be scared because you think the converse of that statement is also true, that nobody has the power to do anything terrible, like mass production.  They are doing it anyway.

Man robbed of marijuana outside dispensary

oh and my dog died

The Best Bar On The Arcata Plaza

Posted in community, Humboldt County with tags , , on March 6, 2011 by inretaliation

I do not own the copyright for this beautiful image, if it is yours and you would like me to remove it please let me know

Rhett and I ran into a disagreement Google could not solve for us.  We were going to breakfast at Luke’s Joint, which led to a discussion about what used to be in that vicinity.  Both Marino’s and NEC burned down over there.  I think Marino’s was where the glassblowing place is now or the H2O bar (is that still open?), and he thinks it was where the chain link fence and the empty lot are.  Can you solve this for us?  By the way, that was the best bar on the plaza.  It didn’t stink like Toby and Jack’s (what is that smell?).  It wasn’t a meat market like Sidelines, it didn’t cater mostly to a specific sexuality, and back then Everett’s was the old people bar.  Now Everett’s is the best because it has Betty.

Trivial

Posted in community, Humboldt County with tags , , , on January 13, 2011 by inretaliation

I have a black eye today.  I was having a really bad day yesterday, everything seemed to be going wrong.  I finally got home and we were out of water. arrrrrr!  So I went to change the filter, only the last time I changed the filter we did not have underground water lines.  I had no clue where the filter was anymore,  I was following all the lines I could see in the growing darkness, which meant clambering all over wet sloppy hills.  One deer trail decided to give out beneath me and I slid all the way down to the creek.  On the way down a branch slammed across my eyes.  I actually have one puffy eye and one black eye.  I gave up and walked back to the house to find that my husband had arrived.  I was instantly mad that he didn’t come and help me (I had told the kids where I was going).  Of course my lovely children had no idea where I was because they hadn’t paid any attention to me.  I asked where the hell the water filter was, and was mortified to find that it is on the side of the house DAMN!  I went to try to change it and couldn’t unscrew it. DAMN!  I was beginning to cry which just frustrates me more.  I really gave up and asked Rhett to please do it for me, DAMN!

I love having a black eye though, it somehow makes me feel tougher.  Maybe I got in a fight in a bar, or maybe I took up boxing.  Don’t believe it, I fell and then I cried about it. I am so glad yesterday is over.

Admit It

Posted in community with tags on January 8, 2011 by inretaliation

I have been drawn to a certain type of person lately, or maybe more accurately I am drawn to a certain aspect of all people.  Some just cultivate it more than others.  I adore emotionally unstable capable people.  I want people near me who strive to be better people but fail, a lot,  who are strong enough to take a joke most of the time,  who like clean spaces but don’t always have a clean house, who are intelligent, but admit when they don’t know something.  These are the people who make me feel comfortable and real.  They don’t necessarily make me feel more normal, more like we are all weird, insecure, stupid, mean, jealous, angry, and judgmental. We all have to learn to overcome these things and we all screw up sometimes.

Don’t pretend to be perfect around me, I will get bored and walk away.  I am not always a good mother, I am a raging bitch to my husband, I like it when you can admit the same back to me.  Don’t try to give me what I want, I will not respect, or appreciate your inability to stand up for yourself.  Tell me my hair looks like shit, my shoes are ugly, that dress does not fit me right, I will love you for it. (these things need to be done without an air of judgment, or I will secretly hate you) I will treasure you when you admit your failings, while enjoying your strengths.  Don’t baby me, I may not be able to handle the truth right then but I will remember later, and I will cherish you for it.

Admit the real you, I bet it’s horribly good.

Down To Four

Posted in community with tags , , on November 11, 2010 by inretaliation

Rhett and I decided to build our own house.  This was a very naive decision.  Everything always takes longer than you think.  You always need more help than you had planned on.  We have been living with people on our property since May of 2009.  We are finally done, I just waved goodbye to the last of our helpers.  I have been giddy for days at the thought of having my little family to myself again.  Today surprised me though, we have had a lot of people around for the last month trying to finish up before the rains.  Today I said goodbye to them all, and now I am pensive.  I have been wandering around the house finding little things they left behind and piling them one on top of the other in the hopes that someday I will be driven enough to send them along.

Our last group of people were particularly cohesive.  Sure, there was drama but not very much.  They all paid attention to my kids, and let them climb all over them.  They ignored me when I was moody.  They took extra care when Rhett was sullen.  They laughed with us a lot.  I can honestly say I loved having all of them.

There is a bond that forms between family members.  You know each other so well.  Its different when other people are around, I am always aware of where they are (probably because I am very nosy).  I know that I tone my attitude down most of the time (not all the time).  There is a little bit of stress that comes from holding your tongue.

What is our family going to be like now?  Will we relate to each other differently?  Will it be better?  Or not?  Are we so used to having other people around we won’t be able to function well without them?

I am sitting with my daughters while one draws and the other does homework.  We are going to have a pot pie for dinner.  They are going to take a giant bubble bath, then we will all snuggle up in my bed and watch movies.  I think we will be a little more boring, but excellent all the same.

So much love, and encouragement, and excitement to all of those who have left me.  You have changed me for the better, thank you (with way more meaning than those two plain words can possibly express).

Posted in community, Humboldt County with tags on October 17, 2010 by inretaliation

One of the perils of hanging out with people you don’t really know for many hours at a time:

I had no idea Jack Johnson had six albums. Do you know how long it takes to listen to six albums?  Four hours.

Twitter

Posted in community with tags , on January 13, 2010 by inretaliation

I have NEVER tweeted.  I am not really sure what it is all about, but it is kinda weirdly informative.  I recommend these for keeping track of events in Haiti.  The first two are supposedly from people who are in Haiti.  The third one is Partners In Health.

http://twitter.com/latimes/haiti-quake

http://twitter.com/RAMhaiti

http://twitter.com/PIH_org

This website has intense pictures

http://www.haitifeed.com/

picture: AP