Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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In early January I was fighting what I thought was a head cold. Sniffles and stuffiness. Then it went into my chest, making me cough up all kinds of gunk, and breathing became a little difficult. I was exhausted; I was sleeping all day in my recliner and sleeping all night in my bed. I wasn't eating anything because my sense of taste was gone and I couldn't smell anything either. Being in a state of denial, I insisted it was just a really bad cold and I stayed home from work. I ached all over...
For the past year, local artist Judith Campanaro has been working on a series of 12 scenes of Tehachapi. Recently, with the help of South Street Digital, she compiled the body of work into a calendar. "The paintings were a bit difficult for me because I usually work in an impressionistic style and mostly use bright bold colors. Detail is not my forte but I am glad I tried because I learned so much from this project," Campanaro said. It all started with a photo by Joey Rooney of the row of...
I'm happy to tell you I'm all moved into my new place (although I'm far from being all unpacked), and I'm ready for the new year. So very ready. The year 2020 has universally been regarded as a tough year in many different ways and for many different reasons. I can personally vouch for that perspective as I've had my own set of challenges as well as dealing with national ones like the vicious virus. But as bad as the year has been, there have been some bright spots and some good things...
In what's become a semi-annual success story, our Toys for Tots drive this year brought in over 750 toys all of which will stay in our community. In this year of COVID we had an abbreviated collection period and not as much advertising as we normally do. But our incredible town responded as it always does with a flood of toys, most of which were bigger than last year's toys! Besides my office on F Street, we had a number of great drop-off locations. Maria and Ivan Jadric at Tehachapi Martial...
Here's another one of those sweet stories that has been sent to me via the wonderfully prolific Internet. Alas, like so many of these things, this one is marked "Author Unknown." I hope you enjoy its message as much as I did: A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the four pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy....
Rufus Thomas is a Tehachapi man who had an interesting career, spending 40 years working for Southern Pacific Railroad (later Union Pacific) and retiring after many years as a conductor. He has filled his retirement years as an artist working on various projects, drawing, painting and building scale models of the old wooden oil derricks that he grew up around in the Taft area. The story of Rufus Thomas begins on June 10, 1939, when he was born to John and Grace Thomas, joining a family that...
I find myself a bit overwhelmed with the sadness in the world today, not to mention my own struggles with downsizing and moving, nor to mention the loss of my dog Bailey recently, so sometimes it seems to take a bit of an extra effort to find the bright side, to find the things to be thankful for, to find the goodness and the light. Actually, this has been one heck of a year for everyone, and the challenges and hardships seem to be topmost on everyone's minds these days. But the good news is, no...
Tehachapi Treasure Trove is having a super sale starting on First Friday, December 4, and continuing Saturday, December 5. This will be a great opportunity for you to save on holiday gift shopping while also supporting local businesses. Please note: because of COVID concerns, no food, entertainment or seating will be available during these sales, and masks are required. On First Friday, Tehachapi Treasure Trove will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature a presale during the evening (5...
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I've written about how it also took a village to get me through my knee replacements and various other surgeries. Indeed, what would we do without the help of friends in our times of need? It turns out it also takes a village to make a major move (as in moving from one house to another); in other words, what would we do without the help of strangers, either, every now and then? I made the decision to downsize and move to a smaller place some...
Usually this time of year I like to write about how I love October, the month of Halloween, especially because of all the dark and scary movies that are on television. I'm not necessarily a big fan of dressing up or decorating for the actual Halloween holiday itself, but I do enjoy seeing other people's scary yard art and gruesome costumes. As far back as I can remember, I have always loved the telling of macabre tales and ghost stories through horror books and frightful movies and tellings...
It’s been a rough summer in the retail world as we’ve seen many of our favorite stores and businesses close temporarily, or shorten hours or go out of business completely. It’s been a rocky time for all of them. It’s also been a confusing and difficult time for consumers, as we don’t know what is going to happen next so we might put off that special purchase altogether to “wait and see.” Everyone is feeling a bit challenged these days. Tehachapi Treasure Trove is offering a solution to h...
Right off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone who hasn't been affected by some kind of cancer at one time or another, either directly or indirectly. I haven't had to deal with it personally – knock wood – but I have been in the fight with friends and family who have. I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer, and I've lost eight other friends in recent years to other cancers, including breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is always a time to remember tho...
The sky was blue, the smoke cleared for awhile, the sun was shining but there was a light breeze – last Sunday was a great day for a political rally in our dear little Tehachapi. I was one of those many people on the corner of Valley Blvd. and Tucker Rd. that day who were waving flags and wearing masks and generally spreading feelings of good cheer. It's been many years since I've attended a political rally in an election year for a specific candidate, not in small part because I live in T...
Here's another one of those wonderful little tales that makes its way through the universe by email, word-of-mouth, and/or written copy. No one knows who wrote it, but it's worth passing on because it has a wonderful reminder for us all. Here you are, the story of the Daffodil Principle: Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-haour drive from my house to hers. "I will come next Tuesday," I...
I love sports. I played them all through childhood (and yes, I was the only girl who played baseball with the boys in grade school, after my parents had to raise a ruckus so the school administrators would let me) and the teen years and a good part of young adulthood. Organized sports were my thing but I also enjoyed recreational activities like hiking, biking, bowling and the occasional game of horseshoes. Some sports – like softball, basketball and volleyball – I enjoyed so much I off...
From time to time people send me things via email, most of which have no author credited. Some make me think, some make me smile. And some, like the title of the one I'm sharing today, seem very timely (even though I received it some years ago) as well as making for some thinking and smiling. Here then, for your consideration are 32 strange things to get your mind off of politics (and who doesn't want to forget politics for a minute or two?): 1. A rat can last longer without water than a camel....
Going through a box of old papers, I found this poem that my mother had cut out from some newsletter and saved. No author credit, no publication credit, but an incredibly important and timely message: Children learn what they live If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be...
As a kid I loved the Fourth of July, even though I didn't really understand what it was all about. The Fourth of July meant big picnics on the farm in Iowa with extended family, playing with the cousins outside all day, watching the uncles set off fire works in the evening and us kids running around the yard with sparklers. Oh, and we always had homemade ice cream. As a teen I loved the Fourth of July because in my small Iowa town there was always a parade (I was in the marching band) and a...
Dads sometimes seem like the forgotten parent, but believe me they are not. Here are some quotes on fatherhood and dads in general to honor this weekend's Father's Day: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." –Mark Twain "One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters." –George Herbert "The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing som...
I'm currently in the middle of packing and purging, and sorting and tossing, and consequently I can't help but think about a theme I've visited before: how I just have too much stuff. Every box I go through makes me think of an old Henry David Thoreau (of "Walden" fame) story that goes like this: Thoreau was walking through Concord one day when he saw a man carrying an enormous pack on his back, wading through the mud. Thoreau felt sorry for the guy when he learned that the man was carrying...
Mother's Day is going to be a bit different this year, as many of you will not be able to be with your mothers or grandmothers. By the same token, many mothers will not get to see their children – the very people who make them mothers – face to face either. Nevertheless, we celebrate the day and the women (and some very special men) who love us unconditionally and mother us to the best of their abilities. In this day and age some of you will be able to FaceTime with mom through the miracle of...
Just another day in this time of Coronavirus. Just another day like yesterday was, and the day before that, and that other day, and all the others. I can't say I have much news to write about as I am, like all of us, homebound except for those exciting and somewhat daring excursions to the grocery store. But I have found the bright side to being self-quarantined, at least a little. For example, I am not a good cook – never claimed to be, probably never will be – but I am cooking for myself the...
These are trying times in which we find ourselves, and aside from bad news and the occasional moments of dread and terror, I'm heartened by the happy things I find online, and the happy and funny things that are being sent to me. It's good to laugh whenever possible in these dark days. So I've compiled a bunch of puns – one of my favorite forms of humor – to pass on some grins and giggles for you today. My favorites: My friend's answering machine says "Leave a brief message" so I said "fruit of...
An old curse goes: “May you live in interesting times.” Hmmm. Have we been cursed or what? Well, I don’t really think so. As bad as things seem to be getting in these particular interesting times, there is always an upside as well… a bright side if you will. And more than ever I appreciate hearing some of the good stories that are coming to us in these days of confusion and fear and concern for our very well being. For example, people in Italy have been staying home, self-distancing, doing w...
The upcoming 36th Annual Bear Valley Springs Cultural Arts Art Show is fortunate enough to have six talented donors this year. The show, as you may already know, runs from Sunday, April 5 til Friday, April 10 at the Oak Tree Country Club, 29541 Rolling Oak Dr. The reception is on April 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. The cost of the reception is $10 for non-members or free for members. Membership is only $20 per year, or $35 for a family membership. Donor artwork will be awarded to lucky prize winners on...
