Technically, this is my second road trip of the pandemic. The first was last June when we visited the foothills of the Sierra, retracing the steps of John Muir and Mark Twain. That was to the east; this time we're headed south.
When I was younger I used to think that traveling was about getting somewhere. But at some point in my globetrotting past, I started realizing that moving around was not the point; instead it was somehow to be moved by the process. Perhaps ironic that the passive voice is needed to describe the active part, but so be it.
According to legend, on this trip we will crossing over to Southern California around Paso Robles. That legend was allegedly created by Lucas J Meeker, about whom I know next to nothing. He is quoted with saying,"Bakersfield is definitely SoCal and Modesto is definitely NorCal, and nobody wants to lay claim to Fresno, the apparent regional culture DMZ."
(Note to self: Must go to Fresno.)
In any event, Meeker's imaginary line is higher in the east than the west so by the time you get to the coast, it runs right through San Luis Obispo.
(Later)
As we arrived in this area, driving through what I call the Cambria Valley but the map says is the Green Valley, the sky was perfect California blue and from high spots we could see the vast Pacific stretching beyond the horizon. It looks like God's bathtub from up here. All the hills are dusted green (recent rains) and the deep cuts in the cliffs remind me of the central Asian steppe more than any other section of the North American continent.
This is also one of the central coast's major wine-growing regions. More specifically, for cultural reference, we are just north of where the wonderful movie "Sideways" was filmed.
Our route to get here was mostly along 101, the longest highway in California. It connects L.A. with the Bay Area. Much of 101 simply retraces El Camino Real, the ancient connector linking the 21 missions of Alta California.
Whenever you travel this highway you have to pay homage to the county music band named after the highway, with their song lyrics like this:
"Somewhere tonight he's a live wire
He's got his sights on someone new
Somewhere tonight he's a high flyer
And I'm so lonesome, I don't know what to do."
Anyway, the nearest beach to the lodge we've rented is called Moonstone Beach and it's a beaut.
From time to time during this pandemic, many of us have dreamt of road trips; fewer of us have taken them. I'm fortunate that my kids tend to be wanderers. And since I travel light when I'm moved, me-my-computer-my phone-my-pills-and-I can pretty much be anywhere and be in the same place too.
Greetings from anywhere.
Meanwhile, news reached us that Rush Limbaugh has died. He was the earliest and the worst of those to make a living spewing racist, misogynist, homophobic hate via talk radio, building the constituency that ultimate led directly to Trump.
As far as I know, the only time he ever took note of me personally was when one of my sisters-in-law, who was living in North Carolina at the time, told me she heard him denounce me on his show as a traitor.
The occasion was a short essay I published in The Nation contrasting life in the U.S. with that under a dictatorship. Perhaps the example I used was unfortunate, because I simply noted no one had yelled at me at a Giants game when I didn't rise and remove my cap during the national anthem.
That hadn't necessarily been a political statement; I'd been too busy preparing my scorecard before the game started to stand up and be counted. My main point was nobody cared and that made me proud to be an American.
Of course, had Limbaugh gotten his way we'd all be living under a dictatorship by now and I'd be in a prison camp, probably somewhere out near Fresno. My only question would be can you get Giants' games on the radio out there?
(Note to reader) When trying to reach the original author of this essay for comment on Limbaugh's timely passing, we got word that he was on a road trip, headed south. But the philosopher known as the Pink Panther did weigh in with this comment: "Not every death is a tragedy."
***
The heds:
* A Glimpse of America’s Future: Climate Change Means Trouble for Power Grids -- Systems are designed to handle spikes in demand, but the wild and unpredictable weather linked to global warming will very likely push grids beyond their limits. (NYT)
* Millions of jobs unlikely to come back, even after pandemic, economists warn -- Businesses are planning for a future of less business travel, more automation and more people working from home. (WashPo)
* Stay or Go? Biden, Long a Critic of Afghan Deployments, Faces a Deadline -- The question is whether the small contingent of American troops can accomplish anything after 20 years — and whether full withdrawal would clear the way for Taliban advances. (NYT)
* Google Makes Deal to Pay for News -- "The developments in Australia are being closely watched in Europe and the US for evidence the tougher approach will reset the balance between publishers and tech platforms. Among the code’s features is an arbitration system that would make binding decisions on the fees Facebook and Google would have to pay news providers if commercial negotiations fail." (ArsTechnica)
* Facebook to block news content in Australia, rather than pay like Google (SJ Mercury News)
* Rate of new coronavirus cases declining around the world, WHO says (WashPo)
* North Korean hackers attempted to steal information about coronavirus vaccines and treatments, South Korea’s intelligence service said, but it denied a lawmaker’s claim that vaccine maker Pfizer Inc. was targeted. A member of parliament’s intelligence committee told reporters that North Korea hacked Pfizer. [AP]
* President Joe Biden asserted that the general public will have access to 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July and said he’s hopeful the country will be in a “significantly better” place by Christmas. [HuffPost]
* Virologist: WHO Team Found No 'Credible Link' Between Wuhan Labs, COVID-19 (NPR)
* Police Forces Have Long Tried to Weed Out Extremists in the Ranks. Then Came the Capitol Riot. -- At least 30 law enforcement officers from around the country took part in the rally on Jan. 6 that preceded the riot. Many are now being investigated. (NYT)
* There is no Trumpism. There is only Trump. (WashPo)
* America’s ability to promote democracy around the world was damaged by “recent events,” in particular the deadly U.S. Capitol riot carried out by a violent mob of Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said. [HuffPost]
* Amazon favored big sellers on its India platform – and used them to maneuver around rules meant to protect the country's small retailers from getting crushed by e-commerce giants, internal documents show. (Reuters)
* New York Sues Amazon Over COVID-19 Workplace Safety (NPR)
* On Trump, Michigan Republicans Lean One Way: ‘Fealty at All Costs’ (NYT)
* If the West boycotts China’s Olympics, the Games could end forever. (WashPo)
* Pentagon rethinking how to array forces to focus on China (AP)
* Los Angeles’s school board voted to cut its police force and divert funds to improve the education of Black students. [The Los Angeles Times]
* Big Tech's Democratic critics discuss ways to strike back with White House
(Reuters)
* In a scientific discovery reminiscent of the plot of 1982 science-fiction thriller “The Thing,” researchers have discovered life in Antarctica that theoretically shouldn’t exist. These life forms are sponges, along with what appear to be barnacles. They were discovered after scientists with the British Antarctic Survey drilled beneath a section of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, which is more than 2,950 feet thick, in northwestern Antarctica. [HuffPost]
* Muddy’s Coffee House, near the corner of 24th and Valencia streets, has closed after 27 years. (Mission Local)
* The CineArts movie theater in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood is closing for good. (KQED)
* A new report finds that life expectancy in the U.S. dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths. (NBC)
* ‘You Go Back Where You Came From,’ Says Texan Pointing Gun At Snowman Trespassing On Property (The Onion)
***
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way
Is on the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
-- Willie Nelson
-30-
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