Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 156
I get hankerings every now and then. If that sounds too old-school and you're wondering what I mean by that, well, a "hank·er·ing," noun, is defined as "a strong desire to have or do something." In my case, the "have" part is often food related. The other day I had a hankering for a BLT at Mr. Tomato in California City. So off I went one Saturday to satisfy my hankering. And while I was in the area, I decided to visit the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, also known as the Desert T...
Weatherwise, March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, or at least that is what the ol' almanac tells us. But our weather is so mixed up these days I'm not sure that old saw cuts wood anymore. We did have a couple of lion-like days in March, if you count the wind and cold temps as lion-like, and we also got a couple of glimpses of warmer lamb-like weather to come. Another old saying is that April showers bring May flowers, but we've also already seen a bunch of...
You don't have to be a crazy cat lady to enjoy visiting the EFBC's Feline Conservation Center – affectionately known both officially and unofficially as the "Cat House" – in Rosamond. In fact, it's a great place for the whole family to get together and spend some time. I got there recently at opening time (10 a.m.) on a mild winter morning, thinking that earlier in the day the cats might be more active than on a lazy summer afternoon, and indeed they were. Several were napping but several wer...
Gas prices have soared these past couple of weeks so last Saturday I opted for an outing not too far from home. I took a drive out to Boron, only 45-ish miles from Tehachapi, and treated myself to a visit to the Rio Tinto Borax Mine just north of that town. As a kid I loved watching "Death Valley Days" on television in the 50s, and I remember well that the program was sponsored by "20-Mule Team Borax." But at the time I had no idea what borax was and, to be honest, at the time I was too young...
March is designated Women's History Month by presidential proclamation, but historically speaking, it hasn't been designated so for very long. It all started with the United States celebrating a National Women's Day in 1908 and succeeding years, to joining a celebration of International Women's Day in 1975 (begun in 1909 in Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Germany), and grew from Women's History Week (1982) in the U.S. to being proclaimed National Women's History Month in 1987. I didn't even...
The old adage suggests that you have to spend money to make money, and that may be true in business scenarios. But – warning! – that adage does not necessarily hold up when it comes to gambling. I ought to know as over the years I've spent way more money than I've ever made at the slot machines. However, I call it money spent on entertainment as I enjoy a visit to Laughlin or Las Vegas a few times each year. My traveling and gambling pal, Willie Ray, and I consider time in the casinos as a vacat...
St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and I can't help but celebrate it here in my column. I have a bit o' the Irish blood coursing through my veins, but that is really neither here nor there as everyone is a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day. And why not? If this is a holiday that brings us closer to a feeling of togetherness and camaraderie through green colored celebrations, adopted heritage, and happy words, then I say Faith and Begorrah, let the celebrating begin! And we certainly do need that...
February is designated Black History Month (BHM), a time to celebrate "the wide breadth of history, contributions, and achievements of African Americans" (Bernard Grant, Ph.D.). "Included in Black History are stories of activism against slavery and continuing racism, as well as a long record of Black life in America that spans over [400] years." Black History in our country dates back to the 1500s when the first slaves were brought to our shores, and of course continues today. So much of that...
Years ago I used to drive down to Lancaster to shop at King Photo Supply. It was one of a handful of open businesses on a very sad and graffitied Lancaster Boulevard. Most of the other storefronts were empty; some were boarded up. My, how things have changed. The City of Lancaster has done a complete turnaround over the years in making their downtown a destination in itself. There are no empty storefronts now. Trees line the center of the street's pull-in parking spaces, murals decorate many...
Valentine's Day is coming right up, a holiday to celebrate love. But aside from that rather blatantly commercial holiday, we are reminded daily, all year long, in movies and songs and devotionals and everyday experiences, that love is the answer, that love conquers all, that love is in us all. But what is love, anyway? Well, for starters, love is something easier to describe than define, as poets have been doing for years. Some of them have done a pretty good job of it too: "How do I love thee?...
Cabin fever is a real thing. It's described as "the psychological symptoms that a person may experience when they are confined to their home for extended periods. Such symptoms may include feelings of restlessness, irritability, and loneliness." Who among us hasn't experienced a little cabin fever in this era of corona virus and persistent variants, which has meant continuing closures of restaurants, businesses and places of entertainment and culture, not to mention quarantining directives,...
The holidays are over, and life is getting back to business-as-usual. Or it's supposed to be anyway. Actually, holiday season or not, things have been pretty crazy now for a couple of years, and I'm not sure they will get any less crazy any time soon. Which makes this as good a time as any to remember that we don't have to do it all (and we certainly don't have to do it all at once), that everything doesn't have to be perfect, that we can only do what we can do and we can't do any more than that...
Usually when we put up new calendars I like to write a rah-rah sis-boom-bah column about the joys of starting a brand new year. Endings and beginnings! Out with the old! In with the new! Look ahead! Start over! Clean slate! Well, not so much this year. Like many of us, after a few years of being absolutely hopeful that the new year was going to be better than the last one, I find myself tiptoeing up to 2022 in order to peek around some corners and keep my fingers crossed and my hooded, wary...
One of my favorite parts of the winter holiday season is driving around town after dark and seeing all the Christmas lights and decorations on people's homes and yards, including, of course, decorated Christmas trees seen through house windows. Long ago my family used to always take part in this holiday tradition, usually starting to decorate our house the day after Thanksgiving, or sometimes not until the first weekend in December. Then around the middle of the month, especially if it was...
My friend Vicki emailed me a copy of the following letter, which was reportedly written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend. I haven't been able to find out who wrote it originally, and you'll note it is a bit dated (i.e. the grocery costs), but the words are wise and as true today as they ever were. In keeping with my last missive on being thankful for the little things, I think this speaks to that effort, as well. So, I wish to dedicate the words in this letter to all of you who find a way...
Many people like to celebrate Thanksgiving with a wonderful old tradition, which is to pause before the holiday meal and go around the table giving everyone a chance to say what they are most thankful for. Invariably, some people can ramble on and on about their multitude of blessings while others find it difficult to think of anything at all, or even to be able to express what they can think of. Some people celebrate the tradition by wanting to make sure they say something profound, speaking...
Many changes are coming up for the Treasure Trove over the next few months, but some things will remain the same in December. First Friday's celebration will be on Dec. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m., and will once again offer regulars and newcomers alike a chance for laughter and camaraderie, beverages and snacks. As usual, we are proud to feature the wonderful music of Art Larson. Please note that Tehachapi Treasure Trove is once again a collection spot for Toys for Tots. You can bring in new, unwrapped t...
Two years ago, 2019, most of us celebrated Christmas (and the many other religious holidays of the season) the way we were used to celebrating holidays: we traveled, we shopped for extra groceries and special gifts, we got together in large and small groups and exchanged presents and prayers; we danced, we ate and drank together, we went to parties and concerts and holiday shows. We attended places of worship and joined other people for various specific holiday traditions and festivities; we...
As a writer, I'm used to and okay with taking a bit of poetic license now and then, and making up words or using malapropisms. But as much as I love word play, sadly I am very slow at making up puns. According to the Cambridge dictionary, a pun is "a humorous use of a word or phrase that has several meanings or that sounds like another word." (The dictionary also suggests that a really good pun usually elicits a really good groan.) Even though I'm slow at making them up, I love puns and I have...
I love the month of October for many reasons – the little chill in the air, the leaves turning colors, the every-now-and-then brisk breeze that turns into a surprise snowfall, baseball playoffs and football season, hayrides and bonfires. And while I do enjoy those things immensely, I also really like all the scary movies on the big and little screens and the Halloween-type celebrations that happen right down the street. Dark and scary times, fright nights, haunted houses, a good adrenaline r...
Tehachapi Treasure Trove will be celebrating the next First Friday on Nov. 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. November's celebration will once again offer regulars and newcomers alike a chance for laughter and camaraderie, beverages and snacks. As usual, we are also proud to feature the wonderful music of Art Larson. Upcoming classes at the Treasure Trove include a Fused Glass Class with Leila Kleiman on Saturday, November 6, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost is $45 and that includes materials to make a fused...
It's that time of year again, when the leaves are colorful and flying all over, and the fall chill is much more noticeable...and everyone should remember that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. 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), but I have been in the fight with friends and family who have been diagnosed. My mother had breast cancer twice and...
Tehachapi Treasure Trove is pleased to be able to open again for First Fridays and we look forward to seeing our regulars and newcomers for more laughter and camaraderie every month. This month's celebration will be on October 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. and, as usual, we'll be offering beverages and snacks along with a place to reconnect with old friends or meet new ones. Plus, we'll be featuring the wonderful music of Art Larson. We're also excited that classes are back at the Treasure Trove:...
Below are a couple of stories I've received from friends via email that I'd like to pass on and share with everyone. I don't know who wrote either of them (i.e. that prolific Author Unknown), but the two pieces are good examples of (1) how a simple story can exemplify a fact of life, and (2) how imaginative thinking can solve a problem. Nails in the fence There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper, she...
Fifteen years ago I wrote a column about "slowing down but not stopping." In it I discussed the realization that while I couldn't do some of the things I could do when I was younger – like playing basketball all day or being able to read the directions on a pill bottle without glasses – I was still able to do a lot and I was not planning on stopping any time soon. I acknowledged then that a little creativity and desire goes a long way in figuring out how to keep on doing the things we love to...
