This is history, folks, happening right before our eyes

Is the United States in the midst of a coup?

Britannica defines a coup as “the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group,” differing from a revolution in that it happens quickly and doesn’t depend on large numbers of people. Instead, it requires only “a change in power from the top that merely results in the abrupt replacement of leading government personnel.”

One might question whether or not what’s going on is violent. Certainly it’s violent in a way to those who are fearful of President 45—blacks, single women, Muslims and other non-Christians, battered and abused women and children, the hungry, the poor, the sick, the elderly, non-heterosexuals…………..

A presidential election, especially one where there is a change in parties, and where the party of the new administration is the same as the party which controls Congress, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, certain provides a good time for a coup that probably wouldn’t be recognized by a great super majority of anyone in the world except for dictators and kings of other countries, and possibly their citizens.

The United States had a constitutional crisis in 1973-74 with President Richard Nixon, the most recent, perhaps only, attempt in the United States to create a dictatorship or kingship. Jonathan Aitken says in “Nixon: A Life” that of he and his brothers—Harold, Donald, Arthur, and Edward—four of them were named after kings who had ruled in historical or legendary England. It’s well known that President 45 likes kings and dictators.

I was a mere child of 19 in 1974. The crisis resolved itself because of the unique type of republican democracy that is the United States. With its three separate but equal branches of government, its reliance on the rule of law, the fact that Democrats had a 56-42-1-1 majority in the Senate and a 241-192-2 majority in Congress, and the fact that the Supreme Court had ruled 8-0 against Nixon in United States v. Nixon, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, rather than be impeached.

In a motion to quash the Watergate subpoena earlier in 1974, Nixon’s attorney, James D. St. Clair, stated to Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, “The President wants me to argue that he is as powerful a monarch as Louis XIV, only four years at a time, and is not subject to the processes of any court in the land except the court of impeachment.” Wow. Nixon did have an ego.

What do you do, though, when the President 45 has an even bigger ego and his Republican party cohorts are in the majority in the Congress and the Senate, and the Supreme Court is at an impasse with a 4-4 split and with President 45 probably nominating a new justice to the Supreme Court as early as tomorrow?

This is history folks, happening right before our eyes. It might not end well for the United States as we have come to know it.

Reminds me, something about a big wall

My expedition to the boondocks of East San Diego County was via Old Highway 80, which started as a wagon trail in the 1860s; morphed into a narrow, concrete 2-lane “highway” in 1917; expanded into a wider, concrete 2-lane highway in 1930-32; and then began its decline in the ’60s when Interstate 8 was built. Many of the cities along Highway 80 were tourist traps in their heyday. Now the main traffic bypasses them on Interstate 8, and the only people using Highway 80 are locals, and weird people like me out searching for history.

Out in Jacumba Hot Springs, 80 miles east of downtown San Diego, I found the Chinese Castle. Looked like this:

The Chinese Castle is located at the top of a street named Snob Hill. It is a private residence and was not accessible. My research indicates that it was built in the 1920s by Frank Battles, a “wealthy eccentric.” Some sources say that construction began in 1914 and was completed in the 1930s. The foundation of the castle sits on solid granite, creating natural granite floors inside, and has an indoor pool hacked out of the granite.

Battles lived in China for many years and brought back a “heroic size Buddha” as well as carved chests, embroided silk screens, oriental rugs, and teak bird statues. The statues were said to have previously resided in a Chinese potentate’s palace. The Buddha and bird statues can be seen in the 1937 movie “The Good Earth,” based on Pearl Buck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1931 novel.

The Castle was owned from 1963 to 1976 by Harry Lee, a British novelist, and his wife, Velma, “an eccentric school teacher with a history of nude photos, multiple marriages, and a penchant for wearing safety whistles in her later years.” They used the home as a vacation home and artist retreat, writing for Harry and painting for Velma.

The Castle is located in what some call the “American Sahara.” It can get excessively hot out there, so the kitchen is separated from the rest of the house, allowing one to cook without adding additional heat to the living area. Interesting.

There seem to be many ghost stories and legends attached to the Chinese Castle—illegal gambling, murder. One of the most interesting, somewhat relevant to today’s anti-immigrant administration directing the United States government, is that there is a secret tunnel running from a trap door in the kitchen floor to the Mexico border which is just a few hundred feet away, a tunnel used to bring in illicit merchandise and Chinese laborers.

Hmmm. Tunnels. Reminds me, something about a big wall……

Glad I could add some laughter to Mr. Agent’s day

I went exploring yesterday in the boondocks of East San Diego County. Wow. There was a lot to see.

The first time I got out of my car, I was attacked by cold, wet stuff. I almost lost my foot.

I have reported the incident to the Centers for Disease Control.

Several people and I took a driving tour of Old Highway 80 from El Cajon to Ocotillo, about 72 miles. With switchbacks, missed turns, and sub-explorations, it was about 100 miles. Although I had done the driving tour about a decade ago, I went this time because I have a new interest in the San Diego & Arizona Railroad which pretty much parallels Old Highway 80 for the last 40 miles or so. I was not disappointed.

One of the more interesting places was Plaster City, a city totally owned by USG. I use “city” very loosely here because the “city” is actually just a huge monster gigantic really really big gypsum plant.

Some of you might remember the 1963 movie “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” with its all-star cast of Edie Adams, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Phil Silvers, and Jonathan Winters. Ethel Merman’s character is heard talking on the telephone to her son, saying that she was “in some place called Plaster City.”

I took the new 2017 Honda Civic, which still has its paper plates, so I got stopped 5 times by Border Patrol. Everyone in my car thought it was funny; I didn’t. The last agent who stopped me looked in the car at my four passengers, some of whom looked of Mexican/Spanish descent and asked me what I was doing. I told him we were photographers taking a “driving tour of Old Highway 80 from El Cajon to Ocotillo.” He saw all the camera equipment and seemed satisfied. He did caution me, though, that “with paper plates and a car full of people you’ll probably get stopped multiple times.” I told him that we already had, that he was #5.

He laughed.

My wise old grandmother always told me to add laughter to my day. Glad I could add some laughter to Mr. Agent’s day.

I rest my case

I used to have to get approval from my wise old grandmother before throwing away anything other than paper trash. If she caught me throwing away something made out of wood, plastic, glass, etc., she would gently remind me not to throw things away because “There is no away.” She was into recycling and repurposing before it was cool.

Speaking of repurposing….

The chapel of the La Jolla Methodist Church used to be the La Jolla Hermosa passenger station and power substation for the San Diego Electric Railway.

SDERy operated from 1891 to 1949, but the Hermosa station only served from 1924 to 1940.

The Hermosa station was designed by Eugene Hoffman and built in 1924 at a cost of $50,000. Its design is based on the Royal Presidio Chapel of Monterey CA which was built in 1794.

During the early 1940s the station served as arts & crafts school and then fell into disuse until 1954 when the La Jolla Methodist Church bought the building.

Information available at the church called it the San Carlos station, but the church is the only source I have found that calls it anything other than the Hermosa station. I think an ecclesiastical person unfamiliar with the San Diego Electric Railway took a little liberty because the Royal Presidio Chapel’s proper name is the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey.

There is a photo hanging on the wall of the chapel of the station as it looked in 1927:

The caption beneath the 1927 picture indicates that it is from the San Diego History Center. I checked the San Diego History Center’s web site and the picture is there, cataloged under “La Jolla Hermosa station.” I rest my case.

Music on Monday (1-23-2017)—Love me do

When Jim and I downsized back in 2007, we had a few billion books. Now we only have a few million. Thus, I don’t buy books anymore. If I want to read something, I go to the library. That gets me out from behind the computer and out into the world, even though the world is somewhat frightening right now and probably will be for the next four years.

The other day I was at my favorite crowded Costco. They often have several huge tables full of books, all of them at discounted prices. I usually ignore them because I’m not going to buy any of them. On this day, though, going straight through the book section was faster to get through the crowd. A big red book caught my attention: “All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release.” Uh-oh. A quick 10-second flip through a few pages and I invited it to come home with me.

The Beatles first single to be released was “Love Me Do.” There actually are two versions of “Love Me Do” out there, a single version and an album version, uncommon then but done all the time in today’s world.

The single version was recorded on September 4, 1962, and the album version was recorded on September 11, 1962. The single version has no tambourine whereas the album version does.

Ringo Starr played drums on September 4, but after listening to the tape of the recording, George Martin decided he didn’t like the drums and wanted to re-record the song. He scheduled the re-recording session for September 11 and hired a session musician, Andy White, to play drums. Ringo thus was delegated to playing tambourine, which had not been in the song to begin with. Many musicians have appeared on Beatles’ records—Billy Preston and Eric Clapton come immediately to mind—but Andy White is the only musician to actually replace one of the Beatles.

The single, released on October 5, 1962, but inadvertently the version featuring Ringo Starr on drums was used. The error was corrected when the album was released, and Andy White is on drums. The only way to distinguish the two songs is to listen for the tambourine!

“Love Me Do” was released on October 5, 1962 in Great Britain and peaked at #17 on the British singles chart on December 27, 1962. The single was released in the United States on April 27, 1964, and peaked at #1 on the American charts on May 30, 1964.

YouTube doesn’t allow Beatles recordings on its site, so I have uploaded mp3 copies to my web site and included links here. If you don’t trust links, hover your mouse cursor over the link and look in the lower left corner (usually) to see the URL of the link, a great way to avoid malware, viruses, and phishing schemes. If you trust the link, click on it. Alternately you can copy the link’s URL and past it into your browser.

Love Me Do
Single version with Ringo Starr on drums and no tambourine

Love Me Do
Album version with Andy White on drums and Ringo playing tambourine

Alternative facts are the new fake news

Since Facebook and Twitter are trying to put a stop to fake news, or at least tag it as fake news, the current administration seems to have come up with a way to get around that by calling their fake news alternative facts.

My oh my.

Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President, brought up alternative facts on “Meet the Press” this morning, and the world is having a lot of fun with it. Even Urban Dictionary is getting in on the fun. Their definition:

When truth is so unfavorable to a pathological liar that they must invent a whole new category of lies to describe their nakedly intentional acts of deception.

Examples: “Kellyanne Conway told CNN that the President and his Press Secretary presented alternative facts about inauguration photographs that prove conclusively how few people attended the ceremony.” #lies #falsehood #intentional lies #pathological lies

“You’re saying it’s a falsehood and Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that.”

If these alternative facts didn’t have the capacity to do so much damage to so many people’s lives, it would actually be funny.

It has encouraged me to write two books concurrently, one about the history of railroads in San Diego County and the other a day-by-day account of this administration alternative facts.

I might die of laughter before I die from lack of health insurance under this administration.

It helps to have friends in high places

The San Diego Central Library has microform copies of San Diego newspapers going all the way back to the beginning, which is the San Diego Herald from April 1851.

I’m currently going through those newspapers looking for items of interest concerning the history of railroads in San Diego County.

Sometimes an interesting headline catches my attention, usually relating to other interests of mine, like law.

One item from Vol. 1, No. 16 of September 11, 1851, caught my attention because it is titled “Law in California.” Here’s text for Google and the newspaper scan below:

“Law in California—Three men were taken up in Sacramento City, for knocking a man down and robbing him of two or three hundred dollars; they were tried by a jury of twelve men, found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged; which sentence will be carried into exocution [sic] next Friday afternoon. In San Francisco, a man shoots down another in cold blood, the victim dies immediately; the murderer is tried by a jury of his countrymen, and they cannot agree upon a verdict! and the probability is that he will escape punishment. Comments: In the first instance, the three men are [illegible] friendless and unknown. In the second instance, the man is a rich gambler, and claims as his friends some of those high in office in San Francisco.—Marysville Herald.”

Now I understand why my wise old grandmother over one hundred years later always told me, “It helps to have friends in high places.”

Notwithstanding Garth Brooks who had friends in low places.

Out & About—How come Santa didn’t bring me a drone?

Brick is not widely used in Southern California but the Del Mar depot, built in 1910 by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, is a beautiful brick depot located on Coast Boulevard between 15th and 17th streets.

That depot had been in continuous use from 1910 to 1995. For many of those years it was the only passenger stop between Oceanside and San Diego, a distance of 39 miles. At the time of its closing, it was one of Amtrak’s busiest stations, mainly due to the Del Mar Fairgrounds being nearby. The Fairgrounds host hundreds of events throughout the year, including the San Diego County Fair, the 5th largest fair in the United States.

In the late 1980s, the city of Solana Beach, located two miles north of Del Mar, set about to build a regional transit center. The San Diego Association of Governments voted to close the Del Mar depot due to limited parking, the lack of handicapped access, and the poor logistics of providing for trains, buses, cars, and people. The Del Mar City Council rejected expanding the depot but hoped to keep it in operation as an Amtrak-only station; Amtrak nixed that idea and moved its Del Mar operations to Solana Beach.

Across from the Del Mar depot is one of Southern California’s prime surfing spots, so this area area is highly congested as surfers arrive by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus, and taxi. No longer do they arrive by train.

The depot now is private property so there is no access to it. I did find a walkway going above it where I got seven pictures to create the panorama show above. The picture below is looking down the tracks where you can see the depot on the right. That’s as close as you’re going to get to a trackside picture without a drone. Hmmmmmmmm. Drone. How come Santa didn’t bring me a drone?

Music on Monday (1-16-17)—Voting is open for the 2017 San Diego Music Awards!

I turned 18 in 1973.

Suddenly I was intelligent enough to vote.

I have never missed an opportunity to do just that.

I like to encourage others to vote, too.

So today I want to encourage YOU to vote for our favorite Indie band, Big Bad Buffalo, in the 2017 San Diego Music Awards.

vote now vote right here this is where you can vote

After you vote—yes, AFTER you vote—you can listen to Big Bad Buffalo, buy their music, even buy a T-shirt, over here at their music site.

Zoey the Cool Cat normally approves my WordPress posts.
That did not occur today because she’s in peaceful bliss listening to
Big Bad Buffalo.

However, she did leave a message for me to post:

And this is what she thinks of those who don’t vote:

How come trains get to do 90 mph?

Fifty years ago I wanted to be a history teacher. Then I found out how much teachers got paid in Texas. So much for that want. I still love history, though, and when I find history that has been saved, even if it means re-purposing, I get excited.

Recently I found a book titled “The Railroad Stations of San Diego County” by James N. Price. So I used it to go exploring.

I found the historic Encinitas CA depot built by AT&SF in 1887. The book has two pictures of it, one from 1910 and one from 1988, so you get to see three pictures of this beautiful structure that has been saved for others to enjoy.

1910 photo
Credited in the book to the San Diego Historical Society, Ticor Collection)

Ca. 1988 photo
No photo credit so photo probably is that of the author, James N. Price.

January 2017 photo by Russel Ray

This depot served rail passengers into the 1950s, closing completely in January 1969. Plans were proposed in 1971 to move it to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Instead, it was bought by an entrepreneur in 1972 and moved to Leucadia (annexed by Encinitas several years ago) where it was turned into a crafts/hobby center called, appropriately, The Station.

It sits at the corner of Atheena Street and North Coast Highway 101 where it currently is the extremely popular restaurant Pannikin Coffee & Tea. And while it no longer sits trackside, it is just across the street from the busy Amtrak tracks so one can watch Amtrak and Coaster trains zoom by at 90 miles per hour.