SERIES:
THE NEW
BEDOU
From Wanda's Facebook post, December 14, 2019:
"Forever in Gratitude:Today I am challenged with the letter R. I am grateful for roses. They are the symbol of the unfolding self in the tradition in which I have spent most of my adult life, as shown here in the cross I wore in this photo.I became a Rosicrucian in 1963."
Photo by Clarissa K. Conn
Column 165 - Part 1 - A FEW WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS ALONG LAPIS ROAD (12/8/2017
“FOLLOWING the lapse of their temporary legal welcome along the 1-mile stretch of county road north of
Marina, did the Lapis Road Homeowner’s Association vacate its parking spots by their December 1 deadline?”
a reader asked.
“If yes,” I said, “at least 15 vehicles are now parked in the County of Monterey Coastal Offices that
house District 4 Supervisor Jane Parker, the Department of Health and Public Guardian at 2616 1st Ave.,
Marina.” (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 166 - Part 1 - continued - A FEW WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS ALONG LAPIS ROAD (12/15/2017)
WRITING a column about homelessness varies from reporting facts about houselessness in one major way: If I
use the first-person noun in my column, it’s okay; however, as a reporter who cut her eye teeth on Hearst
Corporation standards, the use of “I” was a professional reporter’s no-no.
Well, I’m now retired and the reward of many years of objectivity is the privilege of saying “I” if I feel
so moved. I feel moved now to correct (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 167 - Part 2 - AT LEAST 20 MORE VEHICLES AND ONE LONE MAN! (12/22/2017)
SETTING off like Santa driving Dasher, I headed north on Highway 1 at 5:45 a.m. on Tues., Dec. 19.
“If I don’t get lost in the dark,” I told my Honda, “I’ll reach Supervisor Jane Parker’s office at 2616 1st
Ave., Marina long before 7 a.m. to see whether the Lapis Road Safe Parking Program went into effect.”
Well, guess what? The darkness wrapped around my vision like reindeer antlers that served as blinders,
and the 7-mile trip from (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 168 - Part 3 - ‘TWAS THE PRE-DAWN OF CHRISTMAS ALONG LAPIS ROAD (12/29/2017)
PREPARING for my surprise Christmas-morning visit to the new Safe Parking Program site in District 4
Supervisor Jane Parker’s lot meant making a trial run from Seaside before sunset on Christmas Eve.
“If I can see where I’m going while it’s dusk,” I reasoned, “I should be able to find my way to (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 169 - Part 4 - TO PEEP OR NOT TO PEEP? THAT IS THE QUESTION! (1/5/2018)
CONTINUING this column in 2018 raised questions: “If I decide to extend coverage of homelessness, should I
change anything?”
Conscience cried, “Re-examine your covert action.”
“What covert action?”
“Masquerading as Peeper Parrott.”
“She’s social justice’s private eye.”
“Not just a nosy snoop?”
I huffed, “A private eye goes undercover.”
“Why?”
“2017 was depressing. I hope to help raise humanity back to. . .”
“To what?”
“As a start, understanding how multitudes from south of the border survive adaptation to a strange new
place where they’re not always welcome, the culture is foreign, and they don’t know the language. . .”
“You mean those who migrate from (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 170 - Part 5 - WHERE HAVE ALL THE NOMADS GONE? (1/12/2018)
ZIPPING over to Lapis Road to celebrate the first Sunday of the New Year, I thought, “If I’m right, no one will be parked in District 4 Supervisor Jane Parker’s lot at 2616 First Ave., Marina, since Monterey County’s new Safe Parking Program doesn’t allow project participants to start their 12-hour overnight stays until 7 p.m.” A road sign on Highway 1 waved: “$1000 Fine for Littering.” “I predict finding 33 trucks, trailers, campers, RVs, cars and bikes parked along Lapis Road.” “Oh, yeah?” A sign on the right side of the highway winked. “Litter Removal Next 2 Miles—Pick Up Artists.” “Who are the Pick-Up Artists?” I wondered and scribbled on a scrap of paper “Google them.” At 3 p.m. I reached New Bedou territory, meaning the oasis north of Marina where migrating dwellers (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 171 - Part 6 - KANGAROO FOR DINNER? JUDGING THE HUNGRY BY WHAT THEY EAT (1/19/2018)
TRYING to think like a local realtor, I ponder, “What single word defines ‘disparity’ in property values in
Paradise, where multi-million-dollar Pebble Beach estates co-exist with litter-strewn Lapis Road?”
Memory whispers, “Recall Tom Bratty’s property-buyer’s ABCs.”
I flash back to my 1965 failed foray into Monterey Peninsula landlordship. “The tenants in our duplex
wrecked the units by trashing the yard, sawing the top off the kitchen sink in Unit A, and stealing the toilet bowl
from Unit B.”
The ghost of Tom Bratty, Pacific Grove broker serving as my mentor back then, whispers, “Remember
what I taught you to consider before buying or renting: location, location, location.”
“You also said ‘Assess the tenant before signing a contract.’ How does a property owner pre-judge
potential buyers or renters by the content of their character rather than color of their skin?” (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 172 - Part 7 - ARE TRAVELING-GYPSIES CAMPING IN MONTEREY? (1/25/2018)
DRESSING in colorful print blouses with bright beads, feathers and gold chains wasn’t the only reason Darby
Moss Worth reminded me of a Gypsy. If one term sums her up it’s “Fortune Teller.”
Darby foretold and managed her own future masterfully.
When it was evident death was imminent, Darby celebrated by inviting friends to visit her Carmel
Valley home where she wanted to be buried.
Well-wishers swapped stories, shared poems and reminisced, and on Sunday, January 14, a humorous
version of the Last Rites was performed by a visiting minister. Later that night, by phone, Darby repeated the
ritual to me, laughed, said “I love you,” and told me good-bye. (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
Column 173 - Part 8 - REMINDERS OF THE GYPSY IN EVERYONE’S SOUL (2/2/2018)
COMPARING the late Darby Moss Worth to a Gypsy in last week’s column was metaphorical, not literal. If I
appeared derogatory it’s because, as a poet, I used the simile “Gypsy” like “gypsy” to mean anyone “free from
the shackles of social constraint.” (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)
