Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 120
As I’m writing this, it is early April and outside it’s snowing. Well, it’s not just snowing, it is blizzarding – snow is coming down fastly and furiously and the mighty wind is blowing it sideways. I was pretty surprised when I got up this morning to see that it had snowed overnight, although snow had been in the weather predictions (it’s April, after all). It was snowing lightly still when I arose, and sticking on the ground, and the fog was so bad I couldn’t see the mountains that are ri...
I've written a couple of times about winter walks, fine places to go for a day or an afternoon to just take an easy stroll on a cool winter day. I've also been saving my favorite winter walk – in the woods at the Audubon Kern River Preserve in Weldon – which was what I wanted to write about today. But, alas, as sometimes happens, my day trip to Weldon did not go as I had planned. I headed out of Tehachapi on a rare sunny day with high hopes of taking a walk through the woods in the Kern Riv...
March Madness is upon us, and I'm not talking about being disgruntled with the wet and wild weather we've been having this month. I'm talking about the fan-fueled frenzies surrounding the NCAA Basketball Tournaments, and I'm mad about it. Mad in a good way, as in "very enthusiastic about someone or something." Actually, truth be told, I'm not very interested in the men's side of the tournament. I'm mad for the women's side and happily, this year, thanks to a number of talented players and more...
The weather this winter has been iffy, mostly rainy and cold. But if you can find a nice day in the forecast, this is a great time of year to stay active and take a winter walk in some of the lower elevation, desert locations, as I've noted before in this space. Here are some more suggestions to do just that: The California City Desert Tortoise Preserve is one of my favorite places to take a winter or spring stroll. I've been there several times over the years as it is a peaceful desert...
It's St. Patrick's Day this weekend, and you know what that means: it's the day when everyone claims to be a little Irish. And why not? If this is a holiday that brings us closer to a feeling of togetherness and camaraderie through green colored celebrations and adopted heritage, then I say Faith and Begorrah, let the celebrating begin! St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays even if I don't typically do anything special on the day (I do usually try to wear something green, even if...
Like many of you, I was terribly sad to find out that the Hitching Post Theater in our fair little town has closed its doors for good. I'm very sad for the reason it closed – the death of the owner – and I offer my condolences to his family and friends and employees. I only met Will Viner one time years ago, when my Art Center was having an art show opening with an Ode to Hollywood theme. I went into the HP to buy some movie popcorn for our grand red-carpet event, and he just donated two lar...
Seems to be the rainy season lately in our area, which means 'tis the season to do indoor things. So, one cloudy, cold, and wet day recently friend Leila and I decided to go down the hill to check out the current displays at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. It was well worth the trip as the exhibitions there are unique and varied, and thought-provoking. By the way, the drive down there was especially gorgeous with all the hills turning a vibrant green, thanks to all the rain, and it was sunny in...
The puns just keep on a-comin' and a-comin', and I gotta admit, I'm glad they do. There's nothing like a good play on words to brighten up dreary rainy days like the ones we've been having lately, especially the ones that provide a good chuckle (or even a good groan). And based on the feedback I get from readers – not to mention the numerous puns I receive from friends and strangers alike – many of you like them as much as I do. So here, then, are some more funny punny offerings from my acq...
Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love, is coming right up. And we all know what love is, don't we? Or do we? It's hard to define, for one thing. Love is something easier to describe than define, actually, although poets have been trying to do it for years. Some of them have done a pretty good job of it, too. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...." thanks to Ms. Edna St. Vincent Millay, or Shakespeare's "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" For most of us, whether we're poets or...
A new art show has recently opened at Lancaster's Museum of Art and History (MOAH), and it's a good one. I really enjoyed viewing the various artforms when I went down there a couple of weeks ago. Called "Formation" the show features a number of ceramic sculptures and wall displays and offers some very unique pieces. The show runs through April 14, so you have plenty of time to see it if you're so inclined. Nine different artists are featured, including Kiel Johnson, Kevin Kowalski, Galia Linn,...
Winter has definitely arrived in our Tehachapi Mountains, and in the surrounding valleys. Some people like to use winter as an excuse to stay in and stay warm, others like to get out and be active in the cooler weather. For those in the latter group, today I'm suggesting a few good places to take a nice easy walk this winter – great places to get out and enjoy nature that won't leave you huffing and puffing, and that are easy to get to. One of my favorite places is the Arthur B. Ripley Desert W...
When I was a kid, I loved playing board games and card games with the cousins, and then with the adults as I got older. I especially remember hours of Monopoly with cousin Steven and Chinese Checkers with the other cousins, and Clue and the card game Touring with the aunts and uncles. As a teen and young adult, I spent many a happy hour playing Casino with my mom, and Life, Sorry, S*** on Your Neighbor, Spoons and Uno with friends and family. When I went to college, I was warned not to learn to...
Another new year is upon us. And I'm meeting this new year once again with mixed feelings and emotions. In many ways 2023 was difficult, and in many ways it was a great year, and all things considered I'm ready for it to end and another new one to begin, I've always loved new beginnings, and the start of a brand new year is always a good one as far as I'm concerned. It's as if when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, everything changes; possibilities are endless. Everything old is new...
During the holiday season I often reminisce about long ago holidays, and those memories always include days of indulging in my grandma's homemade fudge. And these days, those memories of grandma's fudge make me think of Charlie Brown Farms in Littlerock, California, where they make the fudge just like Grandma used to. So, one fine day during the week between Christmas and New Years, my friend Leila and I set out for Littlerock, just southeast of Palmdale. It was a fun day trip for both of us...
When I was a kid, I thought everyone celebrated Christmas the way my family did: we each opened one present from out of the immediate family on Christmas Eve, saving everything else for Christmas morning. Christmas morning (usually very early, much to my parents' chagrin) we discovered what Santa had brought, then we all got to check out the goodies in our stockings. Breakfast was next, and then we sat in a circle opening presents, one person/one present at a time. Especially as a child, it was...
From time to time, I receive interesting stories from friends and readers that I like to share with you in this space. Today is one of those days; please enjoy this special story by (that most prolific) Author Unknown: First lecture; the professor enters the lecture hall and looks around. "You there in the 8th row. Can you tell me your name?" he asks a student. "My name is Sandra" says a voice. The professor says to her, "Please leave my lecture hall. I don't want to see you in my lecture." Ever...
The Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest is a little gem in the desert. I typically get to visit the museum a couple of times a year; my most recent trip was this last October on a sunny but not too warm fall day. And as usual, while there, I always see something new. This time, to my delight, the new things I saw were in fact, new things. More artifacts and other additions in the outdoor garden display, and of course the latest art display in the galleries. Founded in 1962 with a mission "to...
I recently had a unique, one-of-a-kind day tripping experience that I'd like to share with you today. My friend Joan Cote called me in early November and asked if I would like to go with her to visit the Mobile Vietnam Memorial Wall, which was to be in Rosamond for a few days, sponsored by Southern Kern Unified School District, Rosamond Municipal Advisory Council, and the Rosamond Chamber of Commerce. I said yes immediately. Joan and I are the same age, and the Vietnam War was our generation's w...
Once again in this season of thanksgiving, I find myself struggling a little about what to say about being thankful, as no matter what I say or think, I am painfully aware of all the suffering going on in the world today. I know that in spite of all the mass shootings, ugliness and uncertainty in our country – not to mention the out and out war going on in the world at large – there is always something to be thankful for. And I am thankful, even as I also know I have much more to be thankful for...
A pun a minute means time flies... oh never mind. I'm not good at thinking up puns, but I sure do love to hear them. It seems many of you do too, as so many of them come to me from friends and strangers alike. Here, then, are some more funny funny, punny punny offerings from my collection for your enjoyment: A beehive without an exit is unbelievable. The turtle crossed the road to get to the Shell station. The opposite of formaldehyde is casualjekyl. Skipping school to bungee jump will get you...
One fine October day not long ago I decided to wash my car. It looked so nice when it was all clean and shiny. And then the next day I decided to visit the Trona Pinnacles. I wish I would have waited on that car wash. Visiting the Pinnacles is a dusty proposition... and the way to do it is by car. My poor little Ford Escape looked like a very large dust bunny when I got home. Oh well, it was a beautiful, cool fall day – a perfect day to spend in the desert. Twenty miles east of Ridgecrest on S...
Some people I know look forward to Halloween all year. I'm not necessarily one of those people, but I do enjoy the Halloween holiday when it gets here, and all that goes along with it. I've celebrated Halloween since I was a child, one way or another. As a youngster I loved to dress up and go trick or treating for candy, and I was still dressing in costumes as a teen and young adult (though not necessarily going to houses, usually going to school or club sponsored get togethers). Then when I had...
It's the month of October, the month of Halloween and spooky good times ... and what better way to celebrate the month than to enjoy some of those good spooky times at the Gaslight Melodrama Theater in Bakersfield. The Gaslight is "an old-timey theater featuring family-friendly melodramas and musicals, plus American food, beer and wine." Housed in a bright red barn-like structure, the theater is small and intimate. It boasts that it is the "first privately owned performing arts venue [by...
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and once again I'm writing a reminder to get yourself checked. All of you, both women and men. Everyone I know has been affected by some kind of cancer, in one way or another, either directly or indirectly. I'm fortunate to have dodged that bullet for myself (so far), although I have had a couple of scares. But mostly I have been in the fight with friends and family who have been diagnosed. My mother had breast cancer twice and beat it both...
Here are a couple of stories that have come to me via the Internet, stories I think are worth sharing. One perhaps will make you smile; one may make you think before you react to some situations; both are by unknown authors: Dear Dad A father passing by his son's bedroom noticed the room was unusually clean, and he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, 'Dad'. With the worst premonition, the father opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands....
