Ojai Quarterly — Fall 2019 by Ojai Quarterly

SUMMER 2019 ‘MARKED’ MAN

From Ventura Renegade to Ojai Renaissance Man QUARTERLY

ALL THAT JAZZ

Roger Kellaway’s Genre-Straddling Career

SCHOOLING US

Five Reasons Why Ojai Women Are Taking Over Education $5.95

Authentically Restored This historic Spanish Colonial Estate was originally built in 1926 by famed architec t Ar thur E. Har vey, creator of the ChĂ˘teau Ă‰lysĂŠe in Los Angeles; it has incredible views and is situated on almost 8 lush acres near the edge of the Arbolada. The main house was authentically and beautifully restored with an architec tural historian from the original blueprints, utilizing the finest materials by Allen Construc tion. The goal was to blend the old with the new and modernize this stunning estate with exquisite attention to detail.

T H E E L TO R O E S TAT E This proper ty is truly a work of ar t; from the historical tiles to the arched entr yways, ever y one of the original elements invokes a sense of appreciation. With an expansive and eclec tic energy, it feels like you are standing in a modernized California Mission. The main house has 7 bedrooms, 6 baths, and the proper ty includes a water well, a tennis cour t, a pool, and a 2br/2ba guest house. Ecological landscape design facilitates water retention that feeds the goji berries, guavas, bananas, figs, papayas, grapefruits, mulberries, apricots, plums, and avocados. The self-sustaining farming methodology creates an environment that has enabled the fruit trees to thrive in harsh weather conditions. 1190ElToroRdOjai.com

Price Upon Request

PAT T Y WALTCHER

Presented by

(805) 340-3774

pattywaltcher.com

Fabulous and charmingly inviting, this two-story Victorian estate is nestled in the magical East End of Ojai. Surrounded by organic orchards and meticulous landscaping, this home is filled with Southern Charm. The wrap-around porch looks out to the gardens, as the country kitchen and breakfast nook looks out to the pool and tennis court. Perfectly situated nearby are the spacious guesthouse, separate cottages, and a writerâ€™s studio, creating plenty of living space for friends and family. This relaxing and inviting estate is truly elegant.

Sitting perfectly on over an acre of land with citrus fruits and a driveway of Cypress trees. Located minutes away from trails, organic grocer, coffee shops and yoga studio. This home has the modern design that unites family spirit, cozy atmosphere and large open spaces. Recently renovated, this light-filled house has a spacious floor plan with vaulted ceilings, polished concrete floors and custom doors leading out to a private backyard. The propertyâ€™s meandering paths lead to an artist studio and a sleeping cottage. This home is made for a true Ojai lifestyle. Nestled on over an acre of land, this Italian Villa inspired estate is just minutes from downtown Ojai. This impressive family home is perfect for entertaining with the formal dining opening to the light-filled formal living room with an elegant marble fireplace. The kitchen is open to the den with a large fireplace and overlooks the huge covered deck for relaxing. A charmfilled master suite is warmed with a corner fireplace and lots of windows. There are marble and hardwood floors throughout and nearly every room opens to the amazing backyard. With a huge pool, a cooks dream outdoor kitchen, nannyâ€™s quarters, a treehouse, (not just for the kids), and a variety of fruit trees and majestic oaks this home has something to offer all your friends and family. There is a threecar garage and plenty of parking. This completely fenced, gated and secluded property is within walking distance to restaurants, shops and Libbey park.Â

G A B R I E L A C E S E ÑA

CAL BRE# 01983530 Realtor | Luxury Specialist Berkshire Hathaway

Unwavering commitment to my clients’ satisfaction. Driven by passion for the work I do 805.236.3814 | gabrielacesena@bhhscal.com Gabrielacesena.bhhscalifornia.com

As Cute & Charming as they come | Great Views – Ojai Pink Moment. Terrific neighborhood | 3 Bd | 2 Bt | 1,468 Sqf | 8,631 Sq.ft lot Asking $749,000

Meticulous Mediterranean Townhome Villa | Pool & Spa Midtown | 3 Bd | 3 Bt | 2,898 Sq.ft of Bliss Asking $1,495,000

One & Only

LA Times Says “RAINS Don't Miss It”

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218 E Ojai Avenue OQ / FALL 2019

(805) 646-1441 7

T H E D EB O R AH K IN G CENTER PRESEN TS :

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PERALTA

R E A L E S TAT E TEAM

ILiveinOjai.com | (805) 794-7458 | Team@PeraltaTeam.com

TOP PRODUCING TEAM WITH OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Spanish Hacienda $759,000

Arbolada Family Compound $1.785m

Spectacular East End | 19 Acres| Privacy $7m

Close to town | Views | $3.575m

Tonya Peralta, Serena Handley & Rachelle Giuliani Tonya BRE#01862743 • Serena BRE#01994892 • Rachelle BRE#02047608

@PeraltaTeamOjai

L ov i n g l y h a n d c ra f te d i n O j a i , C A Jes MaHarry Store ~ 316 East Ojai Avenue, Ojai California 93023

www.jesmaharry.com ~ 877.728.5537 ~ jesmaharryjewelry

Photo by: Rylann Smith

Ojai

For Beauty Home Nature •

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Arts Investment Community Lifestyle Everyone •

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First time on the market, this well-cared for home was built with love by the family in 1970 and enjoyed as a second home. Charming 2-bedroom, one-bath, plus third room that could easily serve as an additional bedroom or office. Nice open floor plan includes added features like an enclosed sitting porch, a woodburning stove, built-in cabinetry and sunny inside laundry room. The large separate detached garage includes a 1/2 bath, loft and vaulted wood ceiling which provides all sorts of additional possibilities! Situated on two lots totaling .65 acres in a pastoral setting, set back with some mountain views and plenty of room to enjoy a perfect slice of Ojai living! Asking price $650,000. Call The Edwards for a private showing

DON & CHEREE EDWARDS

CALL US TODAY!

Ojai’s Top Real Estate Team living and working in Ojai Valley for 30 years! Platinum Club, Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement RE/MAX GOLD COAST REALTORS 21 W. Baldwin Rd. Ojai, CA 805.340.3192 www.LivinginOjai.com 805.340.7575 DRE # 01053877 DRE # 01823802 2001 & 2017 Ojai Valley Realtors of the Year!

OJAI QUARTERLY p.40 SCHOOLING US Five Reasons Women Are Taking Over Local Education Michelaina Johnson

p.70 THIS GENTLE GIANT Josh Moreau’s Rock Steady Career Betty Nguyen

‘MARKED’ MAN

FALL 2019

ON THE COVER: George Christie Jr. photographed by Betina LaPlante

ALL THAT JAZZ

Roger Kellaway’s Genre-Straddling Career

SCHOOLING US

Five Ojai Women Taking Over Education $5.95

George Christie’s Book Being Screened

FEATURES p.104 ‘MARKED’ MAN George Christie’s Journey from Ventura Outlaw to Ojai Renaissance Man Jesse Phelps

ALL THAT JAZZ Roger Kellaway’s Genre-Busting Career Mark Lewis

78 p.130 RESCUE, REHAB & RELEASE Raptor Center Heals Birds of Prey, Then Lets Them Go Chuck Graham

OJAI VALLEY MODERN PERFECTION Over 2 acres of exquisite privacy unfolds behind the gates of this 4,200 sq ft contemporary modern masterpiece. Highly upgraded interior with sophisticated technology translates into a relaxed single level lifestyle. Both the main house & luxurious granny flat enjoy their own private pools & outdoor kitchen for entertaining. This is truly a property to experience!

$3,395,000

THE ENVY OF THE OJAI VALLEY With an enviable ridge-top 2 acre setting & sweeping mountain views, this solar powered Mediterranean estate offers over 6,700 sq ft on 2 gorgeous low maintenance acres and includes pool, spa, and paddle-ball court. Truly one of Ojai's best values!

$1,995,000 $1,915,000

Char Michaels (805) 620-2438 ojaihomes4sale.com DRE# 00878649

FINE JEWELRY 453 East Ojai Avenue • (805) 646-1997 • Hrs: 11am - 6pm Thurs - Sat • susancummings.com 18

OQ / FALL 2019

OQ | DEPARTMENTS

p.64

Music Round-Up Betty Nguyen

p.76

Off the Shelf Of Authors & Herbalists Kit Stolz p.90

Food & Drink The Raging Burger Debate Ilona Saari p.121

Healing Arts What is Pre-Diabetes? By Beth Prinz, M.D. p.130

Raptor’s Release Healing, Then Letting Go By Chuck Graham p.152

Nocturnal Submissions Howlpants Sheep-Poke’s Lament By Sami Zahringer

OJAI LIFE: p.30 Editor’s Note p.32 Contributors p.37 Ojai Notes p.85 Artists & Galleries p.97 Ojai’s Wine Trail Map p.100 Ojai’s Gems p.116 Beyond the Arcade Map p.124 Ask Dr. Beth p.128 Healers of Ojai p.137 Top Ojai Hikes p.142 Calendar of Events

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RESIDENTIAL- HOSPITALITY - CONTRACT

960 E Ojai Ave Suite 106/107, Ojai, CA 93023 805-646-6673

Cheryl & Ray Deckert Broker Associates

Maria DePaola Realtor Partner

Sheryl Whipple

Robert Perron Paul Johnsen Realtor Associates

Alex Grush

1003 N. Drown Avenue, Ojai Offered at $799,999 Country-style home plus guest house on .44 acres Located in the city of Ojai proper, this unique property includes a country-style main house and a separate guest house, totaling 1,392 sq. ft. This 3 bed/1 bath home has been lovingly cared for by the current owner since 1975. Recent improvements include refinished original wood floors in the living room and all bedrooms, updated kitchen and bathroom (with newer quartz counters, cabinets, and flooring), upgraded 3/4" copper water main, electrical panel upgrade, rain gutters, and recent paint in some rooms. The guest house was beautifully remodeled in 2018 and features a 1 bed/1 bath configuration with newer quartz counters and cabinets, newer flooring, and a Dutch door which looks out to the vast open space beyond. Roughly half the property is open land (see aerial photo), leaving room for just about anything you can think of; space for sustainable living including a garden, chickens, horses, etc., or you could add a swimming pool - the options are practically endless!

1442 S. Rice Road, Ojai Offered at $1,389,000 7 bed/5 bath, 6,484 sq. ft. home on 1.17 acres This truly unique property can be whatever you wish: a stately compound; a spa-like retreat; or the ideal mixture of business and living pleasure. The possibilities are limitless – at your disposal is a 6,484 sq. ft. residence (exterior remodel courtesy of renowned architect, Marc Whitman), with 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and an oversized 924 sq. ft. garage (with room for 4 cars), all situated on a stunningly-landscaped 1.17 acres. The lower level boasts an office, large living room, 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, and a separate-entranced “mother-in-law” apartment with its own kitchen/bath, parking area and patio. The upper level has a beautifully remodeled kitchen with modern Jenn-Air appliances, huge family/living room with wood flooring, 3 bedrooms/1 bathroom, and a spacious private balcony. There are additional rooms to shape as you wish, as well as ample attic space. Besides great living, potential conditional-use permitting could allow for tantalizing options; a yoga studio, professional office, etc. Located less than 10 minutes from charming downtown Ojai, this is a property deserving of a name and destined to become part of Ojai lore.

Phone: 805.272.5221 ~ Email: Team@DeckertDePaola.com www.BestBuysInOjai.com / www.VenturaAndSantaBarbaraHomes.com ~

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DANSKI FA L L 2 0 1 9

Adventures in Fashion O P E N DA I LY 1 1 - 5 : 3 0 3 2 1 E AS T O J A I AV E N U E | 8 0 5 . 6 4 6 . 1 9 2 7

OJAI QUARTERLY Living the Ojai Life

FALL 2019 Editor & Publisher Bret Bradigan

Director of Publications Ross Falvo Contributing Editors Mark Lewis Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr. Jesse Phelps Creative Director Julia Weissman Columnists Chuck Graham Dr. Beth Prinz Ilona Saari Kit Stolz Sami Zahringer

Circulation Target Media Partners

CONTACT US: Editorial & Advertising, 805.798.0177 editor@ojaiquarterly.com sales@ojaiquarterly.com The contents of the Ojai Quarterly may not be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

#OJAIQUARTERLY Clementine the Goat’s morning meditation at Dreamcatcher Animal Sanctuary IG: dreamcatheranimalsanctuary

SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe to the OQ, visit ojaiquarterly.com or write to 1129 Maricopa Highway, B186 Ojai, CA 93023. Subscriptions are $24.95 per year. You can also e-mail us at editor@ojaiquarterly.com. Please recycle this magazine when you are finished. © 2019 Bradigan Group LLC. All rights reserved.

dinner

Support your local hospitals ...

al fresco dining under the big oak tree

dance

At the Bowl concert come relive the 70s and 80s with Boogie Knights and The Spazmatics

Join us for an evening of fun, friends, food and fabulous music. Proceeds from the dinner support Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation and Ojai Valley Community Hospital Foundation.

tickets and sponsorship information available at cmhsatthebowl.org

runOctober join us for these amazing events!

Classic walk be active and healthy while supporting your local hospital

roll

annual 5K, 10K and dog walk

Focus on fitness and quality of life in this weekend run/walk event with separate age divisions competing for pride and prizes. Proceeds benefit Ojai Valley Community Hospital and its Continuing Care Center.

signups and event information available at octoberclassic.org

O Q | E D ITOR’ S N OT E

SNARK REPELLENT “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” — Philo of Alexandria

I’m old enough to remember when the phrase “Good enough for government work” was said in sincerity as a signal of competency and precision. Take the Golden Gate Bridge for example, one of the wonders of the modern world. Begun in 1933, the 4,200-foot span was built under schedule and under budget. Along with Boulder Dam, Bonneville Dam and the Tennessee Valley Authority, it was a time when the Great Depression was no match for our nation’s Great Ambition and it seemed like the future was in our grasp. Sometime between then and the 1960s, something shifted in our culture, a creeping lack of trust along with an easy contempt for government. Buzz Aldrin, after walking on the moon, was being interviewed by a Florida radio station when asked, “How does it feel to be on the launch pad, getting ready to be launched into outer space?” Aldrin, typically acerbic, said, “How’d you feel if you were sitting on half a million moving parts and realized every single one of them was let out to the lowest bidder?” It is said that within half an hour, NASA officials showed up at the radio station to confiscate the tapes. We’d like to think that Ojai is shielded from the sneering winds of snark, that we still have the hopeful optimism that vanquished the Great Depression and Fascism. For example, there’s a lot of craft and talent in these pages of the Ojai Quarterly. George Christie Jr.’s book “Marked” is being made into a television series for distribution on a major streaming service. Jesse Phelps delves into Christie’s colorful past and bright future. As the jazz man’s jazz man, Roger Kellaway nears an important milestone, it’s an occasion for us to reflect on his incredible career as one of this country’s most talented multi-genre pianists. Michelaina Johnson, herself a product of our local schools, profiles the five remarkable new heads of school in Ojai, all hired within the past two years, all female. It’s an unprecedented achievement. (Note: Michael Hall-Mounsey at Ojai Valley School does a superb job of representing his gender and his stellar school) It’s interesting how their approach to the disruptive forces of the future — where artificial intelligence threatens our basic assumptions about work — all converge on the idea that learning how to learn is more crucial than what’s learned. The shortest distance between now and our future runs through our local schools. Our columnists again ably and lyrically bring back dispatches from the frontiers of Ojai Land. Ilona Saari’s nostalgic burger quest takes her deep into the search for Ojai’s best burger (spoiler: we are piled high with delicious options) while Kit Stolz tells of Lanny Kaufer, an Ojai Living Treasure, playing host to another herbalist, the illustrator and author Obi Kaufmann. Betty Nguyen’s style is as improvisational and lyrical as the local musicians she profiles. I often compare Sami Zahringer to George Saunders, America’s Laureate of the Absurd, though I predict Saunders will be one day called the “Sami Zahringer of the East Coast.” Ojai has its challenges — familiar to many affluent resort communities. I’d rank affordable housing chief among them. When the people who work here can’t afford to live here, we are the less for it. But there are still many bright sparks out there, and it is our purpose at the OQ to give those sparks a chance to set the world afire. On a closing note, in the New Testament, Jesus said that man cannot live by bread alone, but he obviously hasn’t had Chef Claud Mann’s sourdough at Ojai Rotie. Enough said.

OQ / FALL 2019

OQ | C O NT R I BU TO R S

SERGIO ARAGONÉS

BRANDI CROCKETT is an

CHUCK GRAHAM’S work

LOGAN HALL

MARK LEWIS

BETTY NGUYEN works as

began drawing for Mad Magazine in 1963 and he has drawn tens of thousands of cartoons since. He is regarded as among the world’s most distinctive and prolific cartoonists.

has appeared in Outdoor Photographer, Canoe & Kayak, Trail Runner, Men’s Journal, The Surfer’s Journal and Backpacker.

is a writer and editor based in Ojai. He can be contacted at mark lewis1898@gmail.com.

DR. BETH PRINZ

has lived and worked as a doctor in New York, London and locally. If she were president, she’d make fruits and vegetables free for everyone, and end chronic disease. Until then, she hopes to persuade with words. askdrbeth@ojaiquarterly. com

Ojai pixie tangerine peelin’ native and an editorial and destination wedding photographer. Check out her work at fancyfreephotography.com

was born in Hawaii bur raised in Ojai. He was most recently chief photographer for the Ojai Valley News and Visitors Guide.

a creative consultant to help clients rebrand. Offering fresh copy, engaging photos and impactful marketing strategies. Follow @ chironhouse

ILONA SAARI is

a writer who’s worked in TV/film, rock’n’roll and political press, and as an op-ed columnist, mystery novelist and consultant for HGTV. She blogs for food: mydinnerswithrichard. blogspot.com.

OQ / FALL 2019

JERRY DUNN

received the 2011 Gold Award for best travel column from the Society of American Travel Writers. His latest book is “My Favorite Place on Earth.”

MICHELAINA JOHNSON

is an environmentalist and freelance journalist with Ojai roots. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2017, she started working for the World Wildlife Fund as a John Gardner Fellow.

JESSE PHELPS

grew up in Ojai and has written extensively for and about the town. He enjoys freelance projects and throwing things. Jesse can be reached at jessephelps@outlook.com

JOE SOHM is an

American history teacher turned photo-historian. For more than 30 years, he has photographed the 50 states and has published his images more than 50,000 times.

JULES WEISSMAN is a

member of Ojai Studio Artists and runs local marketing agency Lunch Box; lunchboxcreative.com. Follow her on Instagram @ wooltowool.

SAMI ZAHRINGER is

an Ojai writer and award-winning breeder of domestic American long-haired children. She has more force meat recipes than you.

KIT STOLZ is an award-winning journalist who has written for newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and online sites. He lives in Upper Ojai and blogs at achangeinthewind.com.

OJAI HUB Your Central Source for Events, News & Living the Ojai life. WWW.OJAIHUB.COM

805.798.0177

OQ / FALL 2019

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THOUGHTFUL - INDEPENDENT - FIDUCIARIES 603 West Ojai Avenue #C, Ojai, CA 93023 | www.derbyandderby.com | (805) 646-3729 Investment advice offered through Derby & Derby, Inc., a registered investment advisor.

OQ / FALL 2019

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tile | stone | design OQ / FALL 2019

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OQ / FALL 2019

OQ | OJA I N OTES Much of the origins of New Age spirituality can be traced back to Jiddhu Krishnamurti (1895-1986), who first moved to Ojai in 1922. His famous talks in the oak groves have reached hundreds of thousands of people. “Truth is a Pathless Land” is one of his most recognizable sayings.

HUMANE SOCIETY CELEBRATES NEW VET, SEPT. 15TH EVENT

AUTHOR, HEALER HOSTING INN EVENT Deborah King, New York Times best-selling author of “Be Your Own Shaman,” will host and conduct “A Hallowed Retreat” at the Ojai Valley Inn on Oct. 31-Nov. 3. The “powerful spiritual four-day celebration” is mean to bring people together from all around the world to seek higher truth, to improve all aspects of people’s lives and in order to provide joy in personal relationships, grow in careers and to maximize emotional and physical health. The Hallowed Retreat includes a pre-day full of complementary workshops on Thursday, Oct. 31, a welcome evening event celebrating the power of meditation, spirit and an All Hallow’s Eve Celebration, then three contentpacked, transformative days. “Uncover your most powerful, transcendent self in a potent spiritual vortex,” King said. More information available at deborahking. com or call 800-790-5785.

57 ARTS & LITERATURE Artists, Galleries, Exhibits & More 87 WINE & DINE Chef Profiles, Ojai Restaurants, Etc 101 YESTERDAY & TODAY Beating the Fire, Collecting History 121 HEALTH & FITNESS Healers, Hikers & Ojai-Based Medicine 142 CALENDAR What’s Going on this Season

EDUCATORS ENCOURAGED TO JOIN ‘SOUL-INSPIRED’ PROGRAM October 12-14 the California Teacher’s College is hosting a nature-centered, soulinspired teaching certificate program at Taft Gardens, called “The Soul in Education.” “Revitalize your teaching career, be inspired by a new perspective on education, one that results in more joy, less classroom

TWO DEGREES

OJAI

OF SEPARATION BETWEEN

management and more learning. Have renewed satisfaction and fulfillment in your vocation,” said organizer, educator and author Ellen Hall. For more information, contact californiateacherscollege.org, and look for their calendar dropdown for the Taft Gardens event.

DONALD TRUMP AND OJAI’S SANE CENTER ONE: In 1979, Donald Trump hired the Frankfurt Balkind firm to create advertisements for the renamed Trump Tower. When the firm finished the work, the future president refused to pay. When sued for the $25,000 invoice, Trump countersued for $250,000. The standoff came to a head during a three-hour deposition with Aubrey Balkind, after which Trump folded and paid the bill. OQ / FALL 2019

TWO: Balkind, owner of Ojai’s Sane Living Center, was a named partner in Frankfurt Balkind, famed for its iconic film poster of “Alien” with the memorable tagline, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” This year Balkind created, with Ray Cirino, “EVO 3,” a large stainless steel question mark in front of the center. Balkind hopes to prompt visitors to consider where humanity is going next. 37

EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL LAYOUT SYSTEM See the actual layout of the stonework before we make a single cut!

celebrating

23 years of business

(805) 648-4098 www.PacificStoneworks.net 31 Peking Street, Ventura, CA 38

OQ / FALL 2019

college prep

re-imagined

Oak Groveâ€™s 150-acre expansive campus is reflective of its academic approach: A college preparatory DAY and BOARDING High School with an intimate, home-style boarding program. A rich academic curriculum, emphasizing depth over breadth, spanning PRESCHOOL through HIGH SCHOOL. Engaging OUTDOOR EDUCATION courses that include camping, backpacking, international and domestic travel. This approach prepares students to function with excellence, care, and responsibilty in the world.

OPEN HOUSE

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16 2019

OAKGROVESCHOOL.ORG/OPEN OAK GROVE SCHOOL The Art of Living and Learning

Schooling Us

OQ / FALL 2019

FIVE REASONS

STORIES BY MICHELAINA JOHNSON

WHY WOMEN ARE TAKING OVER EDUCATION IN OJAI

PHOTOS BY BRANDI CROCKETT

IF YOU ATTENDED A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL, think about your teachers in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. Chances are the majority of them were female. Among public and private schools, women make up 76 percent and 74 percent of teachers, respectively. However, as you look further up the ladder, the percentage of women in power declines steeply, according to the study “Benchmarking Women’s Leadership in the United States” from the Colorado Women’s College at the University of Denver. The highest levels of leadership in public and private school systems — Superintendent and Head of School, respectively - are predominantly male. Nationally only about 24 percent of women are superintendents, while only one-third of independent schools have females serving in head of school positions, according to the Colorado Women’s College study and a further study by social scientist Kathleen Gallagher. The obstacles include gender-based discrimination, motherhood and family obligations, and an absence of professional networks. In this national context, the Ojai Valley is unusual. Women lead the vast majority of schools in the region, meaning that they not only serve as trailblazing role models and set the conversations in the arena of local education, but they also greatly influence Ojai’s economy (education is the largest employer of Ojai residents at 27 percent, according to data from the Employment Development Department). Portia Johnson of Besant Hill School, Blossom Pidduck of The Thacher School, Jodi Grass of Oak Grove School, Nancy O’Sullivan of Villanova Preparatory School, and Dr. Tiffany Morse of the Ojai Unified School District (OUSD) personify the exceptional character; leadership; community-oriented compassion; and long-range vision of how their investment of time and energy in young people produces fruit over a lifetime. The following interviews illustrate why they do what they do, and the impact of their schools on the Ojai Valley.

JODI GRASS Jodi Grass celebrates her 14th year with Oak Grove School this Fall. She started as the Director of Development in 2005 and became Head of School in 2017. The current position brings together her deep interest in the philosophy of the school, passion for youth and parent development and diverse professional experience working with nonprofits and educational organizations in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Ojai Quarterly: How does your background inform your role as the Head of Oak Grove School? Jodi Grass: On a personal level, what most informs my position as Head of School is my deep affection for people, both children and adults. Admittedly, I am a huge parenting geek. I have an insatiable desire to learn everything available on the physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and intellectual development of children. It also supports the lens through which I view and engage with students and is the resource I draw on for cultivating a vibrant and highly engaging school.

environmental regulations and international agreements like the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. How does Oak Grove’s environmental curriculum help students understand how our choices affect the globe, and how can they be active agents in solving the climate crisis? JG: Our relationship to nature is a founding principle. This is why most of our campus is not landscaped. We have explicit parts of our campus that we use for education like our Lost Meadow where trees fall and lots of animals live there so that we can study ecosystems. Then, of course, we teach students about energy use, consumerism, what we do with our waste, and the environmental impacts of landfills, plastics, and single-use items. We don’t have trash cans in our lunch area to impart the wilderness concept ‘Pack in, pack out.’ There’s an awareness from the parents about what comes back home. At school we ask our families to pack in, pack out. We compost everyday through our vegetarian hot lunch program, for which we focus on sourcing locally.

OQ: What do you see as education’s role in helping students thrive in a rapidly changing world? JG: As the world moves away from specialization and industrialized skills, there is a growing demand for the ability to synthesize information. Current employers and world leaders are looking for people who can solve complex problems with an ability to negotiate on a global level, often through conflicting cultural, social and political ideologies. Oak Grove is not just concerned with developing future employees. We are concerned with our future world citizens. J. Krishnamurti, (the founder of Oak Grove), said, “A school, through its students, should bring a blessing to the world.” I cannot think of anything more important than that. OQ: You have 26 years of experience in development and youth education with nonprof its and private schools, including the Morgan Foundation, Girls Inc. and Planned Parenthood. Drawing on this strong background, how do you approach the stereotype that private schools are f inancially inaccessible to most students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, and how does Oak Grove contend with this perception? JG: A really important clarifying point is that independent schools don’t receive money from federal, state and local governments. Although our teachers are highly educated and fully credentialed, as they are elsewhere, private school teachers are often paid less than public school teachers, and that’s definitely the case at Oak Grove School. We don’t have a comprehensive retirement package like the public schools do. Oak Grove’s income is limited to tuition and donations. There’s no other source, so we have to be more conservative in our annual expenses. About 40 percent of our families receive some amount of financial aid. Currently, about 14 percent of Oak Grove families would qualify for free or reduced lunch if they were at a public school, so we do a pretty good job having some financial diversity in our school. OQ: Today’s youth are inheriting a planet in crisis, along with many tools to safeguard the health of our planet — such as national 42

OQ / FALL 2019

PORTIA JOHNSON

OQ: Tell me about the day in the life of a boarding student at Besant Hill.

Portia Johnson has been part of the Besant Hill family for 18 years. She became the Head of School in July 2019. Additionally, Portia serves as the Secretary on the Board of Trustees for the Ojai Art Center. She is passionate about teaching creativity and inspiring students, as well as giving back to the Ojai community. Ojai Quarterly: How does your background inform your role as the new Head of Besant Hill School? Portia Johnson: Our school motto is Aún aprendo, which means “I am still learning.” That very much informs me as a person and my progression, first as a student here and then as a member of the faculty and administration. I began as an English teacher; then, for seven years, I was the Director of Teaching and Learning; and now I am Head of School. So that pretty much sums up the ethos that I’m still learning and forever challenging myself. OQ: What is education’s role in helping students thrive in a rapidly changing world? PJ: Our school is intentionally small, but we’re also intentionally diverse. We have 100 students from 22 different countries. In terms of a globalized world, I think we hit that one on the head. They get a really deep understanding of how culturally different places around the world are. The key to educating students in our new world is to teach them how to think. It’s so impossible to know what kind of world they’re going to encounter everyday, but we can teach them to be critical thinkers who are inspired to continue learning so that, when they come across new things, they can evaluate them and be able to know how to overcome the problems that we can’t even anticipate.

PJ: Sure! Breakfast is between 7 and 7:45 a.m. Classes go from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. We have regular classes, but then we also have assembly three times a week. We have our human development program, called Class Connections, which meets once a week. We have clubs, advisory, and other important co-curricular programs. Then, from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m., they have either sports or fitness, followed by a little bit of downtime. Dinner goes from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. From 6:30 to 7 p.m., we have crew jobs where the students give back to their housing community, and they all work together to keep their spaces clean. From 7 to 9 p.m., there is study hall and then free time from 9 to 10 p.m. They’re back in their dorms by 10 p.m., getting ready for bed and brushing their teeth (hopefully! Just kidding!). It’s a busy day! OQ: What is it like for teachers and staff to manage the lives of 100 students every day? Do you sense a distinction between personal life and work or does it blend together? PJ: Do our lives and our work bleed together? 100 percent! It is really important to establish boundaries and get off the hill. I think the key thing to really enjoying living in a boarding community is wanting to share your passions with young people because it doesn’t just happen in the classroom. If you really love surfing on the weekends, then you can take the kids surfing, and they’re going to love it, and you’re going to love it. I really like bad movies, so on my duty weekends I like to have bad movie night where we all watch a bad movie in the theater and laugh at how terrible it is. OQ: What’s your favorite bad movie? PJ: Definitely “Troll 2.”

OQ: You attended Besant Hill School from 1996 to 2000 and then returned to join the faculty, during which time you also earned an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of New England. With 14 years of perspective to reflect on, how do you feel that Besant Hill has molded your identity, and how do you feel that you have shaped this institution? PJ: You know, I am still surprised at how astute I was as an eighth grader at Matilija Junior High School. There was a lot of social pressure there that was distracting me from learning, so I looked around at all the schools in the Ojai Valley. When I came here (to Besant Hill) for a tour, I was like, “Mom, I’m going here.” It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. It literally shaped my whole life. Besant Hill is such a safe place for kids to try things, and that was the same thing when I was a student here. There are so many opportunities for students to study what they are passionate about academically and artwise. We are expanding our Aún aprendo Initiative, which offers an amazing and unique experience for the students to reflect on their learning and the mastery of different concepts through e-portfolios. We also invite professionals to come in and work with the kids through mastery classes where they learn from people who’ve made it their goal to be lifelong learners. I want to continue to expand that program.

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DR. TIFFANY MORSE Before becoming the Ojai Unified School District’s new superintendent in July 2019 (the second female leader in its history), Dr. Tiffany Morse served as the Executive Director of Career Education of the Ventura County Office of Education, where she helped to design innovative technical and mechanical curriculum for students. She aspires to live in a world where no one says, “I don’t get math!” Ojai Quarterly: How does your background inform your role as the new Superintendent of the OUSD? Dr. Tiffany Morse: I come from a non-traditional background for a public school superintendent. I went from being a middle school math, science and technology teacher to working at the California State Department of Education. That work on policy really helped me see the big picture; how the system influences the work we do; and how the system can be navigated to do good work for kids. OQ: What do you see as education’s role in helping students thrive in a rapidly changing world?

your day job. I think a lot of our work in elementary school and middle schools is to create exploratory experiences for kids. One of the things that we’re going to be doing next year is a program called Community Classroom where we bring the community into elementary schools and teach interest-based classes once a month. So, as a middle or elementary school kid, I get an opportunity to take a baking class, a cooking class, a Taekwondo class or a conversational Spanish class. OQ: The OUSD offers one of the lowest starting salaries for credentialed teachers in Ventura County. How do you plan to recruit and retain top talent given the salary shortcomings and ensure that current OUSD educators are able to remain active leaders in the Ojai Valley given the rising cost of living? TM: Starting salary is an issue. I will say, though, that I am not just worried about teachers. I am equally as worried about our classified staff. It is critical that we have good substitutes, good bus drivers, good nutrition service workers, and good custodians. Our schools don’t run without our classified staff, yet they are more likely to make closer to minimum wage than our teachers. Our classified staff just got a significant raise, more than two percent, so we are working on it. In general, creating a culture where teachers and classified staff are supported and developing their capacity is important. I think people will come to a place where they are valued as employees and have a capacity for growth.

TM: This is a question that educators should be thinking about all the time. We have to have a holistic view. We have to teach them to be bold problem solvers and how to communicate with others. And we have to stop trying to make obsolete things better. OQ: Your kids are about my age, right (mid-20s)? What advice would you give them? TM: It’s interesting because my son was not your typical straight-A, “I’m going to go straight to a four-year college, I know exactly what I’m going to do [student].” My advice was figure out what you like to do, and, within that context, learn how to solve problems, communicate, and learn through experiences that will help you develop skills to move on. Because, if you don’t know what you like doing, what’s the point in getting a four-year degree in something? He was taking English classes, math classes and the regular college transfer classes, but there was no hook for him to continue to take those classes and to thrive without the purpose of I know what I want to do before I graduate from college. He’s actually majoring in Sound Engineering now. OQ: I’m very happy for him, but not all students in the public school system have the privilege of having parents who can tell them, “Pursue your passion and we’re going to support you in a capacity that enables you to do that.” How did you feel that school districts can provide students with the education base that will enable them to explore their passion and to know what careers are available, especially as the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) world is growing? TM: By your passion, I don’t mean something that doesn’t make money. I would reframe what I said and offer, ‘What are you good at and what do you like to do?’ You may not know what your exact passion is, or your passion might be art, but you’re going to do something else in 46

OQ / FALL 2019

NANCY O’SULLIVAN Nancy O’Sullivan has 27 years of experience working in Catholic education and administration. She has held various leadership positions at Bishop Montgomery High School, Notre Dame Academy, Santa Clara High School, and Holy Family High School, to name a few. Ojai Quarterly: How does your background inform your role as the Head of Villanova Preparatory School? NO’S: Before I came to Villanova, I was the principal at Holy Family High School in Glendale, an all-girls Catholic High School. Because it was a small Catholic school, I ended up wearing a lot of hats. One of the hats that I really dabbled in was development and admissions. In that particular community, I found a way to engage our alumni and supporters in a way that financially assisted the school, which brought me to Villanova four years ago as the Assistant Head of School. I was responsible for discipline and overseeing activities. About halfway through the 2017-2018 school year, the Headmaster at the time said she was going to retire, so I applied for the position and was fortunate to become the Headmaster. For me, this is not a job. I don’t get here early and stay late because it’s a job. It’s my ministry, and it’s a great place to work.

making sure they’re up-to-date on current curriculum; putting all those assessments in an online grading system. And then they have their own families. We try and give them enough time to get the things they need to do done. For example, we make sure our teachers have a second prep period. As Head of School, I try and make sure that, when a family has an issue, we support them because we are also a family here and we love them. OQ: So, last question, what do you see as education’s role in helping students thrive in a rapidly changing world? NO’S: We have to change with the world, and sometimes education is the last to change. If we teach responsibility with that technology, it can be an incredible tool. I didn’t grow up with this kind of technology, but they are and it’s moving faster and faster. Mrs. Cotti is our education technologist. She teaches all of our teachers and staff about upcoming apps. So, instead of just handing out a piece of paper with ten questions and saying, ‘Okay, students, fill out the quiz and then turn it back in,’ she’ll find an online tool like Quizlet to make that assessment more fun.

OQ: Since Villanova is based in Catholic education and the Augustinian tradition, does a student have to be Catholic to feel comfortable at the school? NO’S: We have faculty members and students who are not Catholic. The way we look at it is everyone has a spirituality within them. We have Mass at least twice a month, and everyone attends. I think it’s a time for people to work on their own spirituality, whether they’re into meditation or whatever religion they are. We want to create that environment. There are many families who have said, “We’re not Catholic, but we want to come to this school,” because of our morals and ethics and the education we bring to the students. We can educate them in the Catholic faith. When you get to be a senior, you’re going to take Religion 12. In that class, you are going to learn primarily about vocations and world religions. I think bringing in that balance helps a student to feel comfortable. OQ: Teachers’ duties often extend beyond the classroom. Many educators serve multiple roles in students’ lives, including mentors, counselors, friends, and even surrogate parents, while being parents and active participants in their own communities. How do you, as Head of School, foster a work environment that supports teachers in the classroom and in their personal lives? NO’S: The thing that sets us apart from the other boarding schools is that we have resident staff who come on at 3 p.m. and they go until lights out. At most other schools, teachers teach; maybe coach; and are also responsible for the dorm. I understand why other schools do it, but, I’m sorry, I am tired by then. Instead, we have a fresh group. They are the dorm parents and really get to know the students in another way. When we talked about all the things that teachers have to do in education, it’s a lot. They are working hard to prepare their lessons;

OQ / FALL 2019

BLOSSOM PIDDUCK

ourselves and others) it takes to make this life work. The benefits are tremendous for all of us.

Blossom Pidduck assumed the position as Head of The Thacher School in 2018, becoming the first alumna to lead the school. She has been a vital part of the institution for 16 years, serving as Assistant Director of Admissions, English Department Chair, and Dean of Faculty, to name a few of her roles. Ojai Quarterly: How does your background inform your role as Head of The Thacher School? Blossom Pidduck: I knew from a young age that I wanted to do the work of those adults whom I admired most — my teachers. Many of them were my mentors and teachers when I was a student at Thacher. They modeled a passion for learning and growth and a commitment to shared, transcendent values that became my definition of a life of purpose. I’ve been fortunate to have experiences as a teacher, not only in independent schools, but also in public and charter schools, as well as in a host of different administrative capacities. In all of those places and roles, my focus has been teaching and learning, rooted in relationships and supporting young people. OQ: What do you see as education’s role in helping students thrive in this rapidly changing world? BP: Kids have incredible opportunities in today’s world and a lot to contend with. A high school education in 2019 is less about access to information and more about opportunities to engage — with information, with ideas, with people, with unanswered questions and problems, and with themselves. Learning to learn, to understand themselves and others, to connect with this planet, to critically assess information, to communicate across differences, to engage their creativity, to seek out not simply answers, but also problems — these are the great opportunities of education in what some might call an uncertain environment.

OQ: Thacher is known for its academic and educational excellence as one of the top 10 best boarding schools in the U.S. Yet, there are some local residents who view the school as elitist and separated from the Ojai community. What is Thacher’s relationship with the Ojai Valley, and how do you imbue public service into student life? BP: Leadership, at Thacher, is the act of taking responsibility and it is expected of everyone. While we don’t require community service, the majority of our students engage in service to the Ojai community in some capacity — from the Humane Society to the Head Start programs. Our students, staff, and faculty engage in local issues and take advantage of the many wonderful community programs in the valley oriented towards positive public discourse on issues of relevance to the community. As part of our leadership program, Thacher has partnered with Nordhoff High School to support a leadership and character development course for Nordhoff students that draws on the expertise and experience of both institutions with the ultimate goal of bringing students from our two schools together to collaborate in leadership learning. It has never been more the case that the challenges outside the Thacher School gate are Thacher’s challenges; we do not seek to separate ourselves, but to contribute our passion, our commitment and our resources to addressing those challenges as an essential aspect of our educational model. It’s our job to get out into the broader community, share ourselves, and build connection, and that’s what we’re attempting to do. ≈OQ≈

OQ: You attended Thacher between 1989 and 1992 and later married your classmate, Brian Pidduck, who is now a science teacher and Director of the Outdoor Program at Thacher, and you two have twin daughters. Nearly your whole life revolves around Thacher and its staff and students. In this context, what does family and community at Thacher look like, and how do you approach those personal-professional relationship structures as the Head of School? BP: Thacher is a community rooted in shared values, committed to educating a diverse — in all senses of the word — student body in what our founder called “the art of living for their own greatest good and that of their fellow citizens.” My husband, Brian, and our daughters and I host the community at our house most Saturday nights for something we call Open House — cookies in the kitchen, board games in the dining room, ping pong on the patio, impromptu dances in the living room and movies in the TV room. At times there will be 200-plus people in our house, mostly teenagers. Of course there are times for everyone when it is hard to draw the boundaries of work and school and private life. I don’t try to model for the students or my colleagues a “doing it all” approach. Instead, I attempt to highlight how much support, patience (with ourselves and others), and gentleness (with 50

OQ / FALL 2019

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OQ | A RTS & L I T ER ATURE

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Ojai Reads

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OQ | OJA I R EA D S BY SAMI ZAHRINGER

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BURN BOOKS TO DESTROY A CULTURE. JUST GET PEOPLE TO STOP READING THEM. — Ray Bradbury FORTUNATELY FOR US, Ojai is a thriving home to a dying breed in America: the Lesser-Spotted Avid Reader. Ideas, reading, and conversation flourish and resound all around the walls of our valley. We have our own popular “Great Books Seminars” run by Andy Gilman through the Agora Foundation; we have an internationally recognized Playwright’s Conference; a decades-old bi-monthly Shakespeare reading Salon, and umpteen private book clubs. Some read for illumination and understanding of complex situations or people; some read to escape; some to better themselves; and some read because, as Kafka said, “A book is an axe for the frozen sea within us.” To different degrees most people read a mixture of fiction and nonfiction for precisely the reasons above and the choices they make, and why, are often complicated and fascinating, resulting in every one of us having a unique reading fingerprint. We at the OQ are great snoopers of people’s bookshelves whenever they are foolish enough to let one of us into their homes. We wondered what people around town are reading this summer so we went out and asked some known avid readers-at-large in the community.

Unsurprisingly, the people we talked to read widely within their own specialties and disciplines, including art, education, and political history, but showing one of the marks of good readers — to wit: inquisitiveness — all also read outside of their professional and preferred interests. Curiosities of habit and preference arose. Some people had strong feelings about the ancient practice of marginalia; It is desecration of a pristine book which is an art object in itself, some maintained, while the counterargument goes that it’s a way of actively conversing with the book and is the highest respect you can pay the author. Some people felt that if one doesn’t like a book a short way into it, there is no point trying to struggle on grimly to the end, because life is too short. Others thought that sometimes sticking with it can be rewarded. Those who travel a lot appreciated what an electronic device could save them in luggage weight but almost all preferred the tactility of a real book. Recommendations overwhelmingly came from friends, The New York Times Book Review, and The New Yorker magazine, as well as our local Bart’s Books.

JENNIE PREBOR is the bookworm owner of blanchesylvia, a woman’s clothing boutique in Ojai. With a strong background in the visual art-world, her summer choices opened up some interesting ground for this OQ writer.

JP: Very little. I don’t go for horror or gore though. OQ: What would you recommend in fiction for a great summer read?

OQ: What are you reading right now?

JP: I just recommended a book to some girlfriends titled “Fleishman is In Trouble” by Taffey Brodesser-Anker. I’m reading it now too. The title has popped up in various fashion magazines this summer, which could just mean she has a great publicist!

JP: I just finished “Boom” by Michael Shnayerson. OQ: That sounds like a juicy read! What did you think of it? JP: I loved it, loved it! My work background is in the art world and, while the book title sounds sensationalist, it is an amazing timeline of prominent art dealers back to Duveen. It mostly focuses on post WWII gallerists and their influence on each other, which I find very interesting, beginning with Leo Castelli. OQ: Do you prefer to read within certain 60

genres?

OQ: And in non-fiction?

JP: I love biographies and historical fiction. I love reading the same books that my boys are reading for school too. My next book in that category is “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. OQ: What turns you off when choosing a book? OQ / FALL 2019

JP: “Duveen, A Life in Art” by Meryle Secrest which my husband, Fred Fisher, recommended to me about the great art dealer who worked with Henry Huntington and helped develop what would become the core of the Huntington Collection in San Marino.

Soldier,” and the use of the Unreliable Narrator, arguably the first instance of that literary device being used in a novel. Which book should everybody read, I asked him. There was a long pause, then he said, “Well not so much a book as the works of Shakespeare.” Like man, it contains multitudes. JOHN BROESAMLE is a man of many parts. The founding president of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund, and a former president of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy for many years, he was recently also the recipient of the Jame D. Loebl Award for sustained environmental excellence. He was a History Professor at Ca. State Northridge for 32 years too, so it’s no surprise that his summer reading includes a lot of political history. Our OQ phone interview took place at the time Robert Mueller was testifying before Congress but Broesamle, who was following it closely had already read the whole report. His ancillary summer reading to that formidable opus follows the political themes of our day with echoes from his own past, for he is also revisiting a book he wrote a quarter of a century ago called “Reform and Reaction in 20th Century American Politics.” When asked to comment on the political trends he has noticed over the years, Broesamle is clear that to think of American politics as a pendulum, or a cycle, is a mistake. Reform and reaction is the engine of progress — or regress as the case might be, in his studied opinion. From here our conversation — Broesamle must surely be one of the most able, lively, and gentlemanly conversationalists in our valley — segued into his other planned summer political reading, namely ” and “The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and The Case for Its Renewal” by William J. Burns. For lighter reading, Michelle Obama’s smash hit “Becoming” and Patrich McGilligan’s biography of Mel Brooks, “Funny Man,” is on his nightstand, and besides all the books with the colons in their titles, Broesamle also appreciates good fiction. He waxed enthusiastically on Haruki Murakami’s “Kafka on The Shore” and “IQ84” and had great praise for Paris Review founder Peter Mattiesson’s novel “Shadow Country.” Getting into conversation about the merits of re-reading, we began talking about his other current read, Ford Maddox Ford’s “The Good

ANDRA BELKNAP is a young Ojai journalist, writer, and activist who has written widely on many topics and traveled across country to campaign for a newly elected member

of Congress. “Right now, I’m participating in an antiracism reading program and discussion group with our local Episcopal Church, and the reading has been truly remarkable. We are currently reading “Jesus and the Disinherited,” by Howard Thurman. I wholeheartedly recommend it to my fellow social justice warriors! I’m not a Christian (or a member of any organized religion, for that matter) but Jesus’ teachings on how we should serve others, particularly the least powerful among us, are deeply meaningful to me. I didn’t so much choose the book as the reading group chose it for me, but it grabbed my attention from page one. Thurman, a black man whose grandmother was enslaved, discusses how Christian teachings are often perverted in order to maintain the status quo. The fact that English slave traders transported incarcerated people to the British Colonies in a ship named Jesus is just one potent example of how racism can overpower Christian teachings. The book was written in the late 1940s, but remains relevant to this day given our OQ / FALL 2019

president’s overt bigotry and the prevalent institutional racism in our government systems. Lately, the New York Times magazine has been my favorite, uh, “genre.” The weekly “Letter of Recommendation,” “Diagnosis,” and “The Ethicist,” are consistent favorites. The magazine’s recent feature on travel guru Rick Steves was a personal favorite. Spoiler alert: he’s a gigantic stoner! My Sunday New York Times Magazine often accompanies me to Bonnie Lu’s, where I get hopped up on caffeine, carbs and current events. The most wonderful fiction reading experience of my adult life was David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest.” It’s a beast of a book, as most are aware, it’s also utterly brilliant. I think about the characters in “Infinite Jest” semi-regularly — I’ve even adopted a variation of one of the character’s names as my own pen name. After reading this book multiple times, I feel as though I know the characters as real people. The quality of writing is remarkable. A shorter work of fiction that I sincerely enjoy is “Ecotopia,” by Ernest Callenbach. It was lent to me by a treasured friend and it’s one of those works of fiction that I’d like to turn into a reality. Fellow magical thinkers interested in revolution and sustainable communitybuilding will dig “Ecotopia.” I also recently deeply enjoyed Ani DiFranco’s memoir of her younger years in the music business: “No Walls and the Recurring Dream.” Rebecca Traister’s “All the Single Ladies,” recommended to me by a woman who is now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is a similarly empowering read that should be enjoyed by both men and women. I am a regular visitor to the staff favorites section of Bart’s Books. Manager Matt Henriksen in particular offers excellent recommendations.” OQ: In the course of interviewing people for this article, Ojai’s iconic, eccentric, and world-renowned bookstore, Barts Books and its knowledgable staff came up several times as sources of recommendations for great reads. For the record, this writer will read anything Matt recommends, too. Stay tuned for the next installment of “Ojai Reads.” ≈OQ≈

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OQ / FALL 2019

OQ | MU S I C ROU ND - U P BY BETTY NGUYEN JUSTIN ANDREW JOHNSON PLAYED the opening weekend for my shop, Sea Levels, back in the day. Propped up on a pile of sandbags that I got in a skivvy when we had epic rains that season and waters flooded halfway into my store. (An Apache friend later told me that water in my store was good luck.) He jammed out without a fuss, leaning up against my storefront window, as if the sun itself was his audience. Beloved local legends like the owner from Folk Modern rolled up with Guy Webster (rest in peace), and artists parked it on car bumpers in our ol’ “funk zone.” Those were the days when Yuppie Puppie was my neighbor and Vicki from Pink Thrift would come post up as I streamed Leonard Cohen documentaries for her. She was afraid of the wifi vibes and tin-foiled her kitchen. She’s probably right. Fast-forward to now, Justin recently booked a night out to play his new music. It was the first time I heard him sing. (I’m so glad I got the text). His vocal southern-ness filled the room with a kind of catfish magic laced with spaced-in sounds. The melodies lilted with Bowie-esque oddities, powered by Leon Russell’s piano mojo. He felt home on that piano bench. It’s been his platform since he was four years into this world. In that dimly lit room, with just a flicker of disco ball starlight, he transported the audience to another place and time, as the South can often feel. I felt proud of our friend, as I sat with the same, wideeyed anticipation a child possessed has watching a cake rise. That warm, sweet heat gushed from Justin’s aura throughout the aisles like a friendly ghost who’s on your side. His husky but intimate voice swooshed over us leaving traces of sooty, glittered, fairy dust. There was a church of John Coltrane energy in those pews, had they been lined with tambourines. Justin’s always been one of those unassuming types who is comfortable in his own skin. You can feel the earth in his bones, as he hammers at the keys and expands every grape-like sac in his lungs. His auric field is a rare, rust-colored rainbow. He seems content performing a private concert for his wife in their garden or setting up improvisational jams in his garage during parties. Mo Town is home when he’s not out in the woods walkin’ some wiggly trail wielding a chainsaw with his super-buff brethren. He’s a private firefighter or some kind of super hero when he’s away. But when he is here, be sure that there are parties and music, bonfires and friends, with our Cheshire-grinning host-withthe-most and his wife Molly (who by the way hosted a lobster party during the Thomas Fire evacuation. I was envious and not mad). He’s originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and you can hear a lineage of hard work and outdoor life when he plays. The 64

Justin Andrew Johnson pets Landlord.

blues and its environment, comes from a place of impoverished black culture when people labored from dusk til dawn in the fields or from “can’t to can’t,” as they put it in Les Blank’s documentary “No Man Like Mance.” Justin continues to sweat and absorbed the optimistic expressiveness that came from his hometown, adding to it a bricolage of jazz that he adopted at university, along with catchy, pop/alternative melodies to create something true that brings joy to himself and others. Justin attended the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and has been writing songs and lyrics since he was an early teen. It was then that he first discovered how girls reacted positively to music, where he began to view it as a connector to people and ultimately to love. Check out one of his projects and trippy video, Smile Swamp Princess “XXXO” on Youtube

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What is “the matter?” or “What’s the matter, baby?” are just some of the multilayered ways this band and their complex ways of presenting themselves question the duality and abstractness of the world. Chris Everett’s reputation for guitar playing precedes him since the inception of his other the band, “Pleasure.” He’s one of the most talented guitarists I’ve ever seen play. His groove is so smooth, you don’t need salt on those eggs. The Matter Baby played outdoors at a party recently and I swear it was like watching Pink Floyd “Live at Pompeii.” I was completely won over. James Denney’s drums could probably be heard from across the street but I can also hear my neighbors thunking corn hole for hours on end. It’s kinda torture believe me, and I’d rather hear psych rock on the farm any day. It’s rare that you get to see a rock band in Ojai play at full volume, which is one of the songwriter, Irfan Zaidi’s frustrations with being an artist here. But, on that lazy afternoon at

Rem’s going away party, (are ya gone yet Rem?), we could all just melt into our deck chairs, spleef and take in the full glory of psychedelic rock as its meant to be heard and played. They were in totally in “IT” with no need for costume, persona or pedal fuckery, although that’s always fun. The Matter Baby formed in June and have played a record twelve shows in that first month — a testament to their voracious appetite to play out live. A few of those times Chris and Irfan played in Ella and Sage’s band. There’s a beautiful synergy in the scene right now, without competition, zero, where these talented musicians have not only been sharing playbills, building community and holding space for rock and experimentation to happen, but they started playing in each other’s bands and forming new side projects. Irfan is also in a new ambient doom band called GIL, featuring members of PINNR (Ilis, Sean and Rem). As vibrant as this music scene is growing, Irfan still longs for spaces and venues that support playing loud and playing late. We discuss the underground scene and how in Ojai, he feels it’s up to cool property owners to host parties where sound isn’t an issue — where your neighbors are miles away from each other. How can the underground be fertile without any ground to lay roots in? I suggest to Irfan instead of leaving for LA, perhaps it’s worth considering rallying together a hundred youth (he knows a lot of people) and talking to the oldies at Ojai and Ventura’s City Council about a late night noise permit. That, maybe if you express a concern, responsibly, supporting a cause for youth culture and a different kind of music other than acoustic folk to exist here, that there’s a chance we can at least negotiate for change. In support of artistic expression, fostering talent and an outlet for music that isn’t necessarily soliciting illegal behavior, they just a need a place to have fun and express the kind of music that they want. Skating is an example of a subculture that’s been demonized by cities and cops. But the Ojai Skate Park happened because a board formed to champion and raise funds for a safe place for kids to do something cool. There’s a lot of rules here, but presented in a way that makes sense, can there be a dialogue for commercial venues to host late night music? At kundalini yoga yesterday, my teacher asked us to yell, hit the floor and slap ourselves to release anger, stress, anxiety and emotional baggage. It felt cathartic to scream and move freely. I know that singing in a band loudly, banging on drums and whaling on guitar is the exact same catharsis. Sure, it’s amplified but it’s part of the experience. Chill is fine, but sometimes you need to feel free to lose your shit. And what better way than for kids to unleash their angst through heavy, good music? Follow if you’re into light psych and heavy mustaches or is it the other way round? @thematterbaby

The Matter Baby.

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International Sunshine.

Serge Bandura and John Alderson are the deejays and promoters behind “International Sunshine,” a “multicultural village” party that swarms with balearic, Ethiopian and Moroccan sounds among many others and their event is unstoppable. Originating three years ago, shortly after the two met at Serge’s album release party for “Analog Lover’s Rock” (2016) in Ojai, they do what DJ friends do together, turn each other on to good music and hatch plans for a collaborative party. Serge built on his Ojai residency party called, “Earthtones” and John brought his crate of knowledge citing his UK days where his Voice Collective posted up at the club Plastic People. I didn’t realize it became a thing later, as I was privy to witness it in its underground days when my friend Neil Joliffe put it on the map with his intimate but incredible FWD parties. (Neil coined the term “Dubstep.”) They shared intentions to bring diverse rhythms and people together as the vision for their new party called “International Sunshine,” bringing out the talents that inspire the records that they love. They’ve done exactly that from what I witnessed a couple Sundays ago when they brought the stellar ethnomusicologist, Dexter Story’s “Wondem” band out to Ojai. “Wondem” was the title for Story’s acclaimed second album released in 2015. It embodies his obsession with East African grooves from Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya blended with the soul, funk and jazz of his West Coast influences. It’s an exhilarating East/West edit performed live. On catchy tracks like, “Be My Habesha” which I have on repeat while writing this, it starts with hollering and hand claps, bringing in spare but 66

crisp symbol tapping, rolling into guitar riffs and flute. The production quality is unparalleled. Another standout track, “Merkato Star” is carried by Miles Davis-level trumpet playing with eastern scale woodwind of some kind. The vocals come in chanting and building layer by layer, “Ha, ha, haa, haa, haa, haa, haa, ha...” repeating until you’re drawn into a trance. The whole album is outstanding, actually, as the songs play seamlessly one after another. Be sure to check out their August show with the Gnawest, a soulful Moroccan act with live dancers (check the YouTube) and September’s, Woolfey vs Projections, a sweet band who’s album “The Return of Love” includes the lyrics, “The night has a thousands eyes and the day but one. Yet the light of the bright world dies with dying sun. The mind has a thousand eyes and the heart but one, yet the light of a whole life dies, when love is gone.” Follow, follow, follow or miss out, out, out on all the F-U-N! @internationalsunshine ≈OQ≈

OQ / FALL 2019

Make checks payable to Ojai Quarterly, 1129 Maricopa Highway, Suite B186, Ojai, CA 93023 or Visit OjaiHub.com

Send a subscription to Ojai’s locally owned and operated magazine. — ONLY $24.95 per year! — By nationally award-winning writers and photographers.

OQ / FALL 2019

147 W. El Roblar Dr., Ojai • Tues-Sat 10:30-5 or by appt. 805.640.3699

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Whispering Oaks & East End

The Ojai Trolley Service, established in 1989, is owned and operated by the City of Ojai. The Trolley provides daily fixed-route transportation to approximately 9,000 riders per month throughout Ojai, Meiners Oaks, and Mira Monte. The Trolley is a well-known feature in the Ojai Valley, and in addition to the daily fixed-route services, participates in many local community events, fund raising activities, community service, and educational functions.

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We’llOjai,get you there! Meiners Oaks and Mira Monte

The Wall House, a spectacular modern country house, is one of four homes open on the tour. Photo by Tom Bonner

NOVEMBER 16 & 17, 2019 Hosted by the Ojai Festival Womenâ€™s Committee with proceeds benefitting the Ojai Music Festival and its BRAVO education and community programs.

TOUR four distinctive homes in the beautiful setting of the Ojai Valley, each adorned with festive holiday inspirations Tour tickets: $40 advance/$45 day of the event

For tickets and details, call 805 646 2053 or visit OjaiFestival.org

SHOP at the Holiday Marketplace featuring a collection of curated lifestyle and fashion items with more than 40 vendors The Holiday Marketplace is open to the public, free admission New location â€“ Libbey Park

OQ / FALL 2019

Unless you’re Flea in big stuffed animal pants doing back flips or Les Claypool on a clear, custom fretless, bass players are conventionally more known as the kind of steady rhythm person that you feel is the reliable guy in the band, “that tall lanky dude.” Of course, if you’re a female bassist, like Kim Gordon, Kim Deal or “Paz” Lenchantin, then you’re a rock badass and everyone wants to be you. Bassists like Holger Czukay from CAN have also been known to gain legendary status. His basslines are considered by some, the precursor to techno.

This Gentle Giant

JOSH MOREAU IS A LOCAL BASSIST who you may have seen guesting in a lot of Ojai STORY AND PHOTOS BY BETTY NGUYEN bands because he’s so versatile and talented. He doesn’t mind not being in the spotlight, but when you see looking closer, I notice on stage ... Josh! “Yeah, him play stand up bass, cello or bass guitar his that’s me on stage at Glastonbury a few weeks proficiency and demeanor shines. His career has ago.” HOLY SHIT. The whole band is wearing brought him to play gigs at the White House mostly black. I ask Josh if that’s a coincidence. on four separate occasions. “I’ve met Obama, “Well, Miley has a stylist and I asked her if it George W., Clinton and Trump (before he was was cool if I wore white pants and she said,’it president). Even with his stellar career, he’s might stand out a bit because Miley’s wearing never once thrown his weight or shade. In fact, black pants.’ Miley’s cool tho. She trusts us he’s such a humble light that he speaks about and tells us to just wear our personal style.” the music scene in Ojai as “epic” and that he Respectfully and stylishly, Josh plays as it lays “gets to play with” the talented bands here and wearing dark sunglasses, (cool and unassuming names off singers and songwriters I’ve never bass guy) and black jeans, his shoulder length heard of, so as music writer and fan... I’m hair casually flowing. He’s totally aware and definitely intrigued. honest about the industry and his career. “I He invites me over to his house and I’m just feel so blessed you know? I know that I’ve stoked to commute just down the street in been in the right place at the right time and this heat. When I enter, there, on his wide, being handsome doesn’t hurt. It has all just flat-screened television in his living room is definitely brought me to this place. Music is Miley Cyrus performing to a massive crowd my path in this life and provides for me.” He is at a festival with long wavy hair and Elvira a godly person who expresses his commitment vamp-kitten make up not giving any f*cks to Christianity and his beliefs but he is able in her phat Chanel “CC”, Dior AND Gucci to navigate being in Miley Cyrus’ band. Five bling, rocking a barely there white tank and minutes into the live performance filmed thigh-high, patent leather witch boots with for national television she comments, “Nice buckles up the wazoo. Pop producer darling titties” aside to an audience member. But then Mark Ronson shares the stage with her and you hear her say something else in that show,

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something that brings tears to my eyes and redeems whatever bullshit trainwreck of what we all maybe went through at one point in our twenties, and you know she’s always been sure of herself by exclaiming, “Daily, I ask the universe to bring me something I’m so scared to do, so I can f**kin’ do it. And today that’s mutha fu**in’ Glastonbury.” Pushing ourselves to have those difficult conversations or admit hurt, taking risks to make big ideas happen, we learn that we can ask for what we want, what we need from a heart place and we can’t go wrong. Josh shares this true understanding of who he is and his purpose in life. The band goes on to play several powerful covers from Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” NIN’s “Head like a Hole” and then her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus comes out on stage to play his controversial and weirdly, catchy-as-hell-hit with Lil’ Nas X “Old Town Road.” It’s a ferocious set that is just like Miley, voyeuristic, brutal and 100 percent raw like a bucking bronco set loose on stage. The music is undeniably great. I ask Josh what the best part of his career has been. A lot of artists talk about traveling and the partying, but he says, “I’ve had the opportunity to play some of the best concerts with the most talented artists.” It always comes 71

back to the music for him. It looks like a million people are out there in that audience and I ask him if he ever gets stage fright. “You know, I think the older I get the more nervous I get. But maybe that’s because sometimes I get word of who’s out there. Sometimes someone will tell me, “Sting is in the audience or Stevie Wonder is side stage.” Glastonbury 2019 was headlined by The Cure and Killers. What an incredible feeling to know that he is sharing a

JOSH IS FROM CAMARILLO AND HIS MOTHER STILL LIVES THERE. HE WAS TURNED ONTO MUSIC BY A FRIEND’S OLDER BROTHER. WHO PLAYED THEM UNDERGROUND TAPES AND HE WOULD BORROW HIS BASS GUITAR WHEN HE WASN’T AROUND. stage amid giants. “I started on drums but then my dad saw that I had an interest in bass, so he finally bought me one.” Josh taught himself bass by listening to CDs and copying the bass lines. He sat in his bedroom, literally stopping and starting CDs by his favorite artists over and over until he got it. There were no YouTube tutorials back then. He started a new wave band in his teens. Played professionally for alternative rock band Hoobastank, in his early twenties and then one fateful day in Los Angeles, he met Katy 72

Perry. “I was at this bar in Beverly Hills where they had the best funk, jazz and live pop bands. Musicians went there. Cute girls went there. It was kind of a scene. Katy Perry wasn’t famous or anything yet. My friend just tried to hook me up with her and introduced me as Sting’s bassist.” He wasn’t Sting’s bassist back then, but it was a silly line that caught her attention. “We talked and I told her that I was Christian. I wasn’t sure how that would go but then she flipped her wrist over and showed me her tattoo of Jesus.” His face lights up. “We kept in touch and she invited me to go see her shows. It was just her playing acoustic guitar solo and singing. I invited her to my shows and we became friends. She called me one day and said that she was going on the Warped Tour. As a friend, I told her that it was going to be brutal. A few weeks later, she said her bassist dropped out and she needed someone. I wasn’t willing to go on tour in a van. I had toured and would only do it on a bus. She asked if I would talk to her manager about it. When he called he said, ‘We got a bus.’ Something huge shifted and Katy’s tour got sponsored because Madonna namedropped her and her Myspace blew up.” The rest is history. He became a permanent part of her band until last October. “I didn’t work for a little bit and then my friend who I played in a jazz trio with in LA called and was like, ‘What are you up to?’ He played in Miley Cyrus’ band who I played with before and they were looking for someone to get on some shows for Spring / Summer. I was like, “Absolutely nothing.” Josh went out on the road with them to play several shows in Europe and is now in Miley’s band. Sitting there watching him with Miley on stage, hearing this story about Katy was surreal. I have been on tour with Aphex Twin which is maybe the closest I’ve been to witnessing fandom or big festivals back stage first-hand but this was different. I asked him what the most memorable, over-the-top gig was that he had ever played. “Well, I played this private party for the Koch brothers in Miami and it was totally insane. The theme of the party was ‘70s disco, so we dressed in costume. One of the brothers gave us a tour of the place and I mean ... walking down the halls, there were Rembrandts, Monets, the art was insane. The house had this collection of deep Americana.

JUST YOUTUBE MILEY CYRUS GLASTONBURY. SERIOUSLY. OQ / FALL 2019

He told us that he found this abandoned ghost town in rural America, so he acquired it and had all the architecture moved to one of his properties. There were rooms filled with the original “Most Wanted” posters of Billy the Kid. I handled some guns that were owned by Napoleon (motioning like Yosemite Sam and laughing). He literally had a room with like scalps and taxidermied animals. I mean that stuff was gnarly.” There’s probably no way to sway the Koch Brothers’ opinions on the ethics of shooting a polar bear or elephant. So what can one do really in that awkward situation? “I mean, Katy and I were both looking at each other in shock trying to just keep it together.” He is indeed the cool, collected bass player. He can be likened to a street wear-clad, young Johnny Cash to me always rocking’ black and keeping to himself. But, maybe Johnny Cash woulda smacked that Koch brother. Josh is Christian in his defense. “I know not everyone would be happy with the role that I play but I love being able to play rad music with top musicians. I’m OK with not playing my own music. The artists trust me to play what they need and sometimes there’s room for me to do my thing.” Josh puts me at full ease during our whole interview, which feels like the opposite when being interviewed, and I ask him who would be the ideal artist he would love to play with. “Bjork. She’s everything ... Radiohead.” He switches the television to a live performance of Bjork’s “Live at Cambridge” and I remember the lighting and staging as it starts. I ask if she’s wearing a white Hussein Chalayan dress with white wings. She comes out wearing that dress with white makeup on her forehead. “I don’t like that she plays wearing masks now. I mean look at her face!” Women may have different pressures when aging but who knows what’s up with those masks. Bjork, like Thom Yorke, do their own thing. We are both hungry at this point and decide to venture out into the heat to take photographs. Josh is dressed, his basses are out, and I’m like, “Can I photograph you riding this bike or watering your plants instead?” It’s just one of those relaxed, hot summer afternoons where I wanted to capture how normal and cool he is because all the pretense and “artist stuff ” seems a world away from this man.≈OQ≈

OQ / FALL 2019

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OQ | OF F T HE S HEL F

THE BACKCOUNTRY BOOKSELLER BY KIT STOLZ

LANNY KAUFER HAS ALWAYS BEEN a voracious reader, he says, but one with a mission: to learn everything he can about California native plants, and to share their beauty and potency. The long-time Ojai resident retains a bibliophile’s love for books and authors, and has an extensive home library, but he’s not a passive armchair reader. He has worked with many of the authors whose books are on his shelves, leading walks into the Ojai backcountry with writers including Jim Adams, a USC pharmacologist who spent years learning about native plants with a Chumash elder; Obi Kaufman, a best-selling California writer, artist and cartographer, and Pascal Baudar, a forager of natural foods, among other leading voices on California’s nature today. Perhaps it’s not surprising then, that conversation with Kaufer makes clear that his most profound learning experiences have come not in the classroom — despite his training and years of work as a teacher in local schools — but out in the natural world. Ask him about the origin story of his work with native plants and the natural world in this area and he talks of the healing he personally experienced at the hands of a Native American living in New Mexico. “In 1967 I was traveling in New Mexico. I picked up a Pueblo Indian in my truck and took him all the way home to the mountains of Jemez. He was so thankful to get a ride all the way up there that he told me I could stay as long as I wanted as his guest,” Kaufer said. “I stayed about a week. While I was there I got a cold, and this man’s uncle brought me a bag of what he called “cedar tea,” made of native plants. He made a tea from these plants and had me inhale the steam. I quickly recovered and it made me curious. I wondered: Is there something to this?” 76

Kaufer went back to UC Santa Barbara, where he was a student at the time, and — being a devout reader — went to the library looking for books on native plants and their medicinal properties. He could find but a single volume: “Back to Eden,” by Jethro Klaus. That book, advertised as being about “American herbs for pleasure and health … with instructions for living the Edenic life” is a counterculture classic now long out of print. For Kaufer it came as a revelation. “I started reading that and almost couldn’t believe it,” Kaufer said. “I had stumbled into a whole world of fascinating information.” That set Kaufer on the trail of the likes of William LeSassier, “a brilliant herbalist and very original thinker, who was living just up the hill in Santa Barbara at the time.” Kaufer heard that LeSassier was leading what he called “herb walks,” to help people learn about native plants. The phrase planted a seed in the thoughts of Kaufer, to sprout and bear fruit years later. Before becoming an educator, young Kaufer worked for a time as a caretaker at Wheeler Hot Springs, before the historical property was destroyed in the infamous floods of l969. With a legendary Ojai character known as “Organic George,” Kaufer went on to open what he thinks was the first natural foods store in the Ojai area, in Oak View. At the time he was living on a farm in Meiners Oaks, and learning to farm vegetables. He connects the organic lifestyle with native plant healing. “We were an all-organic natural food store in 1971,” he said. ‘There was no other store like it in the Ojai Valley — and look where we are now! Look at the success of The Farmer & the Cook in Meiners Oaks, or Whole Foods. I think people want to go back to a time when you could drink water from the stream, or pick vegetables from the side of the road — a time OQ / FALL 2019

when the earth was clean.” At about that time, in l970, Kaufer went on a journey into the mountains of the Sespe. This was before he had any Native American friends and, he hints, at a time when he was looking for direction for his life. He recognizes it now as a vision quest, though he didn’t have the language for it at the time. “This was about six years before I started leading these walks,” he said. “I was in the mountains here and I heard a calling to speak for the plants and for nature in this area, to defend and teach about it. This took shape over time, as I realized that the way to create preservationists is by showing people the value of this nature and its plants. People take care of what they value.” Kaufer has been leading “herb walks” for more than 40 years. When he first began, back in 1976, he said there was very little demand on the natural resources in the Ojai area, but that’s changed, in part due to the popularity of the Sespe backcountry. “I’ve had to emphasize the concept of natural foraging,” Kaufer said. “I focus first on harvesting non-native weeds which environmentalists want out of the natural environment, or on native plants that are abundant or can be easily grown.” Among the most popular of Kaufer’s authors is Jim Adams, the pharmacologist trained in the ways of the Chumash. With Kaufer, Adams will typically lead a walk to the Ojai Meadows Preserve or the Matilija backcountry in the morning, and then after an impromptu lunch Adams will demonstrate some Chumash healing techniques, while Lanny sets up a table and sells books, including Adams’ popular “Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West,” written with the late Chumash Elder Cecilia Garcia. On a recent excursion into the Matilija

ABOVE: Lanny Kaufer. BELOW: Artist Obi Kaufman.

backcountry with the artist, writer, and mapmaker Obi Kaufman, Kaufer watched with pride as Kaufman — working from a photograph of a frog that had taken on the pale hues of the stones in the stream where it rested — adroitly painted the front in front of an admiring crowd. Selling books this way — through public events, classes, and conferences — seems natural to Kaufer, especially in Ojai. “I think the book as a form is going through an evolution,” he says. “People said the same thing about music, when CDs began to go away. I haven’t noticed people listening to less music: I think digitization has opened up a world of diversity. I think it’s the same thing with books — the form is changing. We’re really just at the infancy of the e-book.” As for Ojai, Kaufer remains a believer, though he worries about its popularity.

“I think the consciousness of Ojai has not changed fundamentally,” he says. “The appreciation for art, nature and music that has made Ojai a magnet the world over is still here. What is alarming is that the popularity of Ojai as a place to live has raised its land OQ / FALL 2019

values so much that the kind of writers, artists, educators and naturalists that created this consciousness can no longer afford to live here. It’s non-stop work for me, staying in business, but I’m doing what I love, and trying to create the kind of world I want to live in.” ≈OQ≈ 77

AS HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY LOOMS, LEGENDARY OJAI PIANIST-COMPOSER ROGER KELLAWAY LOOKS BACK ON HIS STORIED 65-YEAR CAREER, DURING WHICH HE HAS BOLDLY STRADDLED MUSICAL GENRES WHILE COLLABORATING WITH WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS.

AS HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY LOOMS, LEGENDARY OJAI PIANIST-COMPOSER ROGER KELLAWAY LOOKS BACK ON HIS STORIED 65-YEAR CAREER, DURING WHICH HE HAS BOLDLY STRADDLED MUSICAL

GENRES

WHILE

COLLABORATING

WITH WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS.

OQ / FALL 2019

all that jazz BY MARK LEWIS

PROTEAN AND PROLIFIC: These adjectives attached themselves to jazzman Roger Kellaway in New York way back in the early ‘60s, and they still apply today. As a player, arranger or composer, he has worked on more than 250 record albums over the years, more than 30 of which have his own name on the cover, and he won a Grammy along the way. An Oscar-nominated film composer, he has scored 27 films, orchestrated them, and conducted the orchestra. (He has worked on other films as a player, orchestrator or conductor.) As a live performer, he has appeared with the biggest names in jazz, some of the biggest in pop, and several famous classical-music virtuosos. Kellaway turns 80 on Nov. 1, and the prospect of that milestone has put him in the mood for taking stock. What follows are Roger’s ruminations on his remarkable and ongoing career, which began at the age of 15 when he got his American Federation of Musicians union card as a high school student. We will interpolate comments published in years past by the late jazz writer Gene Lees of Ojai, Kellaway’s good friend and sometime collaborator. PIANOS WERE COMMON in American parlors in the 1940s, and there was one in the Kellaway home in Waban, Mass., a suburb of Boston. But young Roger didn’t play it – not until the day in 1946 when his father sat down to play “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” a sentimental chestnut that had recently been appropriated by Hollywood for a hit movie of the same title starring Bing Crosby. Roger’s father was a painting contractor, not a musician, but what he played that day struck a chord with his 7-year-old son. After listening to his father’s rendition, Roger seated himself at the upright and improvised his own version. “They asked me if I wanted to take lessons,” Kellaway says. “And I said, ‘yes.’ So, at 7, I started doing classical studies.” By the age of 12, he already knew that he would make music his career. But, which kind of music? Hearing the jazz pianist George Shearing’s hit “I’ll Remember April” already had prompted Kellaway to expand his horizons beyond Bach and Beethoven. “I was crossing over into jazz through George Shearing,” he says. Kellaway did not entirely cross over – he retained a foot in both camps. At Newton High School, he played bass in the school orchestra and also in his friend Dick Sudhalter’s Dixieland jazz combo, which played local dances. Meanwhile, he continued 80

to study classical music with his piano teacher, and he also was listening to contemporary jazz artists – especially his idol, the pianist Oscar Peterson. “Roger in those days was an omnivore, open to everything,” Sudhalter later told Gene Lees. “The older styles interested him as much as the new stuff. … His capacity for absorption was limitless.” Kellaway says he enjoyed the challenge of mastering different musical genres. “When I was very young, going in 10 directions at once felt very natural to me,” he says. “Sound is the major common denominator. It’s sound that attracts me.”

ONE SOUND THAT DID NOT ATTRACT HIM WAS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL. His high-school years were the heyday of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, but Kellaway gravitated more toward the beatnik milieu, where young men sported goatees and jazz was king. Rock mostly left him cold. “I was never touched by it,” he says. “Not deeply.” After graduating from Newton in 1957, Kellaway spent about two years studying piano, bass and composition at the New England Conservatory of Music in nearby Boston, while also gigging with his own jazz quintet. As a member of the conservatory chorus, he performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but then he pivoted back to jazz and hit the road as a bass player for the Dixieland-style cornetist Jimmy McPartland. That six-month tour was followed by another, with a different jazz band. Somewhere along the way, Roger met and married his first wife, the singer Patty Hale. By 1960 they had quit the road and settled in New York. (He and Patty later divorced.) MOST YOUNG MUSICIANS struggle to find work when they first arrive in the Big Apple. Not Roger Kellaway. “My first night in New York,” he says, “I sat OQ / FALL 2019

in with Jimmy Giuffre and Jim Hall, on bass.” Soon, Kellaway was a regular at the many 52nd Street jazz clubs; at midtown joints such as Birdland and Jilly’s Saloon; and at the Half Note near Greenwich Village. Nevertheless, his days as a bass man were numbered. He decided to focus on the piano instead, and soon was in great demand as a sideman and session player with the likes of jazz greats Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer. “By the age of 22, he was one of the busiest and most highly respected pianists in New York, playing record dates, jazz clubs, and working with singers such as Lena Horne,” Lees wrote in a profile of Kellaway. (The two men met in 1961, when Kellaway was the pianist on the recording of a song for which Lees had written the lyric.) During this period, Roger played on three albums that remain among his personal career highlights: ”More Blues and the Abstract Truth” by Oliver Nelson; “Bumpin’ ” by Wes Montgomery; and ”Alfie” by Sonny Rollins. But Kellaway was more than just a sideman, or a session player for hire. He was also writing and performing his own material. In 1963 he released his first album, “A Jazz Portrait of Roger Kellaway.” Two years later, he released a follow-up, “The Roger Kellaway Trio,” which earned a ringing endorsement from no less than Time Magazine: “A gem for piano lovers of all persuasions by one of the most versatile creators around.” Note the use of the word “versatile.” Jazz writers would repeatedly apply it to Kellaway over the years, along with “eclectic,” “multifaceted,” “protean” and “a musical chameleon.” “Roger Kellaway, a jazz pianist whose interests range from old-fashioned, two-fisted swing to electronic experimentation, ran through a large portion of his gamut,” John S. Wilson wrote in the New York Times in early 1966, reviewing a recent club appearance. Kellaway “played with a rollicking joy that gave his performance an intensely rhythmic feel even when he was working in a relatively slow tempo.” By this point, Roger was playing a duo in his private life with Jorjana McIntosh, a stunning showgirl from California. “She was a Playboy bunny in the New York Playboy Club,” Roger says. “Someone called her and asked her if she would work the party room on Nov. 11, 1965, and she said, ‘Who’s playing the piano?’ ” Monty Alexander, they told her. “And she loved Monty Alexander, so she said yes. But Monty couldn’t make the gig, so he’d asked me to substitute for him.”

PHOTO CREDITS: OPENING PAGE, LOGAN HALL; THIS PAGE, JOE SOHM; FOLLOWING PAGE, JOE SOHM.

OQ / FALL 2019

The rest is history. They married in June 1966, and they’re still married today. (Roger helped Jorjana raise her son from a previous marriage, Colin Kellaway.) THE NEWLYWED KELLAWAYS migrated west, where Roger found himself fielding more job offers from pop-music singers. In August 1966, he played the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas as musical director for the singer Bobby Darin. (An up-and-coming young comic named Richard Pryor was their opening act.) The gig as Darin’s director lasted for more than two years, and it wasn’t limited to live dates – Roger played on Darin’s single “If I Were a Carpenter,” a Top 10 hit in 1967, and arranged and orchestrated his “Bobby Darin Sings Dr. Dootlittle” album the same year. But he also was doing his own thing in L.A. with the Roger Kellaway Quartet, a jazz outfit that included a young sax player named Tom Scott, who was featured on the quartet’s 1967 album “Spirit Feel.” “He is one of the greatest eclectics of modern piano,” L.A. Times jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote in 1968. Kellaway was prone to experiment, Feather wrote, but did not push these experiments too far: “In a sense, he is the Oscar Peterson of the younger set, for no matter how advanced his stylistic concepts, he 82

rarely fails to swing.” Kellaway launched his film-composer career in 1968 by scoring, arranging and conducting the music for “Paper Lion,” starring Alan Alda. The following year, he played piano on the soundtrack for “Change of Habit,” Elvis Presley’s last movie as an actor. “I spent a day with him at Universal doing the soundtrack,” Kellaway recalls of Presley. “What a nice guy.” From Elvis, the ever-eclectic Kellaway segued to George Balanchine, the presiding genius of the New York City Ballet, who commissioned Roger to compose a ballet based on a Pan American Airways television commercial. Balanchine supplied the choreography, and Kellaway got to conduct one of the performances at Lincoln Center. During the same period, roughly 1969-70, he wrote and recorded “Remembering You,” the piano instrumental closing theme for the enormously popular TV series “All In The Family.” The honkytonk style Kellaway adopted for this recording also served him well on one he did for the singer Melanie -- “Brand New Key,” which shot up to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of 1971, and stayed there for three weeks. But there was nothing honkytonk about “The Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet,” also released in 1971, on Herb Alpert’s A&M OQ / FALL 2019

Records. Despite the title, there was only one cello in the group, played by the classicalmusic virtuoso Edgar Lustgarten. The quartet’s other three members, including pianist Kellaway, were jazzmen. This disc represents a highly original synthesis of jazz and classical music. They sometimes are described as the beginning of “New Age” music, although Kellaway prefers the term “crossover.” The Cello Quartet album is what first brought Kellaway to Ojai. The quartet performed at the Ojai Music Festival in 1973 at the invitation of Michael Tilson Thomas, who was that year’s musical director. “He was a Cello Quartet fan,” Kellaway explains. The Cello Quartet albums may have impressed Tilson Thomas, but they failed to sell well, and Gene Lees knew why. “Roger Kellaway suffers from the curse of unclassifiability,” Lees wrote in the New York Times in 1975. “He is a brilliant and colorful jazz pianist, but his mind is as much in classical music as it is in jazz. … Commercially, the albums have suffered, as much of Kellaway’s work has, from failure to fit a pigeonhole. Are they classical music? Jazz? Popular music? They have elements of all three, and in the end, who cares? They’re intriguing simply as music.”

Meanwhile, Kellaway had shifted gears yet again, joining forces with Tom Scott’s jazzfusion group The L.A. Express, which had backed Joni Mitchell on her hit album “Court and Spark.” Kellaway did not play on that 1974 record, but he and guitarist Robben Ford joined the band for the subsequent tour – 55 concerts, all of them played before crowds far larger than a jazzman like Kellaway was used to. Ever adaptable, he began playing to the crowd, rock-star style: “When I was onstage with Joni Mitchell and there were 10,000 people in the audience, I thought they were mine.” The tour brought him to England, where one night George Harrison invited the band to jam in the ex-Beatle’s home studio. Two songs they recorded that night, “Hari’s On Tour (Express)” and “Simply Shady,” were the opening tracks on Harrison’s next album, “Dark Horse,” with Kellaway on piano and organ. After the Joni Mitchell tour ended, Kellaway produced a well-received album, “I Am Music,” for the jazz singer Carmen McCrae, then went on to write the score for the 1976 version of “A Star Is Born,” starring Barbra Streisand. The score earned Kellaway an Oscar nomination, so he donned a tuxedo and attended the ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, only to lose the Oscar to the composer of the Woody Guthrie biopic “Bound for Glory.” Interestingly, the Oscar nomination did not necessarily make Kellaway an A-list film composer; nor did “I Am Music” make him an A-list record producer; nor did the Joni Mitchell tour make him the go-to guy for rock stars looking for a keyboard player. He wouldn’t stay put in any category long enough to be identified with it. “It may well be contended that Kellaway has too many talents for his own good,” Leonard Feather observed in 1977. In 1983, Roger and Jorjana moved back to New York. The next decade brought him bounteous professional opportunities, of which we can only skim some of the highlights: He played Jerusalem with Dizzy Gillespie in 1985; served as musical director in 1988 for Stephane Grappelli’s 80th birthday tribute at Carnegie Hall, with Roger writing jazz lines for classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma; won a “best instrumental arrangement” Grammy award for a suite on the 1988 album “Memos From Paradise,” by jazz clarinetist Eddie Daniels; and wrote “Songs of Ascent,” a classical piece for tuba and symphony orchestra

commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and conducted at Lincoln Center in 1989 by Zubin Mehta. ROGER AND JORJANA RETURNED to California in 1993 and landed in Ojai. Their friends Robben and Anne Kerry Ford had just moved here; their friends Gene and Janet Lees already lived here; and Roger, despite his many decades in New York and L.A., was favorably disposed toward small-town living. “Since I grew up in a small town, Ojai was very comfortable for me,” he says. “I like going into stores and having people call me by my name.” They rented for a year, then bought a house off Villanova Road with a lovely “pink moment” view of the Topa Topa Ridge. The walls feature paintings by Jorjana’s father, Robert McIntosh, a noted artist who once worked as an illustrator on “Fantasia” and other Disney classics. There’s also a home recording studio featuring a 7-foot-6-inchlong grand piano made especially for Roger by the Bluthner firm in Leipzig, Germany. Gene Lees welcomed Roger to town by writing a two-part analysis of his career in the Jazzletter, Lees’s idiosyncratic, “must read” jazz newsletter. “No one … has suffered as much from the propensity to pigeonhole art and artists as Roger Kellaway,” Lees wrote. “Kellaway has all his life refused to be placed in categories. And to make things harder on himself, he often mixes the idioms.” Lees quoted an exchange he once had with Oscar Peterson about Kellaway: “I love Roger Kellaway!” Peterson said. “He knows the tradition, and he’s not afraid.” Meaning that Kellaway, who started out playing Dixieland and modern jazz at the same time, was well grounded in the legacy sounds, but eager to go beyond them. “Being diversified has made my life extremely interesting, but difficult for people who are trying to market me, for they keep looking for the ultimate category I’m in, and I’m not in one,” Roger told Gene, as quoted in the Jazzletter. The world increasingly prefers to deal with “a compartmentalized mind,” Roger said. “And that’s not where I’m at.” Twenty-five years later, Kellaway still eschews compartmentalization. What he enjoys is hearing something new, and then working out how it was done. It all goes back to what he felt as a 7-year-old, listening to his father play “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” and feeling impelled to try it himself. OQ / FALL 2019

“There’s a basic curiosity,” he says. “Like, ‘Wow, what’s that?’ ” Since he settled in Ojai, Kellaway’s career has continued apace. Some highlights over the years include “Both Sides Now,” a 2004 album with the violinist Yue Deng, a Gene Lees protégé; “Heroes,” a 2006 Roger Kellaway Trio tribute to Oscar Peterson’s famous late 1950s trio (this record won the Prix du Jazz Classique from the French Jazz Academy); a 2007 concert tour with Tony Bennett; “Invictus,” the 2009 film by Clint Eastwood, a longtime fan of Kellaway’s jazz albums, for whom Roger orchestrated the film’s score and conducted the orchestra; and Kellaway’s and Eddie Daniels’ 2013 live album “Duke at the Roadhouse,” a tribute to Duke Ellington which won the French Academy’s Grand Prix. There was also “Visions of America,” a multi-media collaboration with the noted Ojai photographer Joseph Sohm and the lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman, with Eastwood as the narrator. The music part of this ambitious “photo-symphony” project combines singers, a full orchestra, and Kellaway himself on jazz piano. As he contemplates the prospect of turning 80, Kellaway does not see himself taking on any more major composing projects like “Visions.” His writing process requires too much mental isolation, too much alone time, and at this point in his life, he wants to spend that time with Jorjana. “You get a lot more mortal in your thinking,” he says. “You don’t know how much time you’ve got left.” But he’ll still be writing songs, doing arrangements, making albums, and performing in front of audiences. He will celebrate his Nov. 1 birthday with a series of gigs, including one with his old friend Tom Scott in Palm Springs on Oct. 27; two at Birdland in New York on Nov. 15-16; and one back in L.A. at Vitello’s in Studio City on Nov. 29. See his website, rogerkellaway.com, for details. And while you’re there, browse the site’s archives and wonder at the vastness and variety of Kellaway’s musical output over the years, regarding which this article has barely scratched the surface. “How lucky I’ve been to work with some of the greatest musicians in the history of jazz,” he says. As for his unusual versatility, Kellaway says he’s just built that way. “Each of our lives can be compared to a wheel,” he says. “I just happen to have more spokes.” ≈OQ≈

OQ | VIS UA L ARTI STS Perhaps it was potter and “the Mama of Dada” Beatrice Wood’s influence, going back nearly 90 years. Maybe it even goes back further, to the Chumash people’s ingenious and astounding artistry with basketry. It’s clear that Ojai has long been a haven for artists. The natural beauty framed so well by the long arc and lush light of an east-west valley lends itself to artistic pursuits, as does the leisurely pace of life, the sturdy social fabric of a vibrant community and the abundant affection and respect for artists and their acts of creation.

RICHARD AMEND

clear glass with kilnfired enamels, mapping unpredictable rhythms of thought. Custom commissions for art & architecture welcome. SusanAmend@pobox. com She is also on Facebook.

PATRISH KUEBLER

DUANE EELLS

is an artist who expresses herself in two strikingly different mediums: soft pastel and rich encaustic. 805-649-3050 PatrishKueblerFineArt.com

MARC WHITMAN

Original Landscape, Figure & Portrait Paintings in Oil. Ojai Design Center Gallery. 111 W Topa Topa Street. marc@whitman-architect. com Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

JOYCE HUNTINGTON

Intuitive, visionary artist, inspired by her dreams and meditations. It is “all about the Light.” Her work may be seen at Frameworks of Ojai, 236 West Ojai Ave, where she has her studio. 805-6403601 JoyceHuntingtonArt.com

SUSAN STINSMUEHLEN AMEND Paints on

Mysterious equations of abstraction, nature, architecture, and illumination rolled into the stillness and clarity of singular, psychological moments. “Thought Form #1: Clearing.” Oil on canvas, 48” x 36.” Contact: amend@pobox.com or visit RichardAmend.net. 323-806-7995

CINDY PITOU BURTON

Photojournalist and editorial photographer, specializing in portraits, western landscapes and travel. 805-646-6263 798-1026 cell OjaiStudioArtists.org

KAREN K. LEWIS

\In his portrait commissions, Eells captures the essence of those he paints. His paintings are about empathy and connections. Bold strokes are tempered with classical drawing principles. Visit eells.com 805-633-0055

Painter and Printmaker of People, Places and Things. Media: oil on canvas and printers’ ink on paper. lewisojai@mac.com. 805-646-8877 KarenKLewis.com

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LISA SKYHEART MARSHALL

Inspired by medieval chain mail — stainless jewelry, scarves, purses, belts and wearable metal clothing. UnzickerDesign.com 805-646-4877

Original botanical paintings: birds and insects, scenes of cottages and gates inspired by Ojai and travels. Watercolor+Ink and Acrylic. Paintings, Cards, Prints at Poppies, 323 East Matilija Street SkyheartArt.com

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TOM HARDCASTLE

Working in acrylic and mixed media, Mary Neville builds her large scale canvases into rich layers where there’s much more than meets the eye. For more information about the the studio go to: www. MaryNevilleArt.com 805-798-4269

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NUTMEG’S OJAI HOUSE

Featuring local artists, including William Prosser and Ted Campos. American-made gifts and cards, crystals, new and vintage goods. 304 North Montgomery OjaiHouse.com 805-640-1656

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CHIRON HOUSE

Working with reclaimed, organic, local materials such as bones, clay and drawing on fabric and newsprint, she uses hippie vernacular in modern way. Mediums include photography, sculptures, unique prints and paintings. “Datura / Kanye” (2019) bettynguyen.carbonmade.com

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OQ | FOOD & DR I NK “CHEESEBURGER... CHEESEBURGER... CHEESEBURGER...” BY ILONA SAARI

… “PEPSI… PEPSI… PEPSI.” So yelled Greek immigrant Pete Dionasopoulos (played by John Belushi on “SNL”) to the short-order cook in TV’s fictional greasy spoon, The Olympia Café. Only three things were really on the menu at Olympia – “cheeburger” (as Pete pronounced it), Pepsi and chips. Heaven forbid you ordered a Coke, never mind French fries. I related! Doesn’t matter to me, Pepsi or Coke – you can hold the fries… the only thing I want is the cheeseburger. I was about seven when I ate my first cheeseburger. It was summer. My family and I were vacationing at my Great Auntie Fanny’s camp (what New Englanders often call their summer houses) on Lake Boone in Massachusetts when, as the sun went down, my dad packed us into our Ford sedan and drove us to a popular burger shack for dinner. He ordered cheeseburgers all around and, as I sat on an outdoor

picnic bench and took my first bite, a glorious church-like choir sang rapturously in my head. A taste revelation! I was in food heaven, enhanced by the fireflies lighting up the night sky like votives in a darkened church. Whoever dreamed up the combo of melted American cheese on top of grilled ground beef stuffed into a white bun was a food god. To recreate that magical culinary moment, I’ve been searching the world for that perfect cheeseburger ever since. (Fast food cheeseburgers don’t cut it. Not even In-N-Out.) My quest didn’t end when I moved to Ojai – and though I still have not recreated that nirvana cheeseburger experience of my youth, here are a few of my favorites in our valley in no particular order.

THE DEER LODGE on Maricopa Highway started as a gas station/ grocery in 1932 serving weary travelers, but eventually morphed into the iconic Ojai tavern it is today. Try the Lodge Burger made with 6 ounces of ground beef, homemade bacon jam, cheddar cheese, golden garlic aioli, and greens on a whole wheat bun (we’ve come a long way from ketchup, mustard, relish or mayo accoutrements). Then there’s the delicious Buffalo Burger – 6 ounces of ground buffalo meat, the homemade bacon jam, muenster cheese, chipotle aioli and greens on a pretzel bun. For a great cheeseburger with a view to match, you can’t beat JIMMY’S PUB overlooking a rolling golf green at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Made with Angus beef, it’s topped with melty Marin brie, bacon-onion marmalade and arugula, served on a brioche bun. Because the beef and cheese are the “thing,” I often have the “sauces” and greens served separately so the tastes don’t conflict with the actual “cheeseburger” part. But, the Deer Lodge’s bacon jam and Jimmy’s bacon-onion marmalade are delish improvements over ketchup. Really, it’s got bacon!!! JJ’S SPORTS ZONE on N. Ventura Ave. in Oak View offers a variety of cheeseburgers including its Classic Burger made with Angus beef, lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo (add your choice of cheese to make it a classic cheeseburger); the Bacon Blue, served with applewood smoked bacon, softened ripe blue cheese crumbles, lettuce, tomato and mayo; and its Mushroom Swiss Burger with sautéed portobello mushroom slices. Not in a beef frame of mind? JJ’s also offers a turkey cheeseburger with Monterey Jack cheese, guacamole and garlic aioli, plus a veggie cheeseburger option. 90

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The OJAI BEVERAGE COMPANY (OBC to its friends) on E. Ojai Ave, offers cheeseburgers from the classic to the exotic. The Classic is topped with melty cheddar, spring mix greens, tomato with 1000 island dressing on a brioche. One of its more exotic choices is Cow On Stilts, a burger smothered in blue cheese, fried jalapenos, bourbon bacon jam (another twist on the popular bacon jam) and mixed greens on a waypoint bun. For the non-beef eaters, OBC offers a free-range white turkey cheeseburger on a waypoint bun with pepper jack cheese, greens, tomato, onion, avocado, brown mustard and a pesto aioli. What’s a waypoint bun? I had to look it up. It’s a celery root-and-sesame seed bun that sounds healthy, and perhaps it is, but, seriously, we’re talking cheeseburgers here.

OJAI PUB, also on East Ojai Ave., is the new “burger kid” on the block featuring “California comfort” food. Comfort food + a pub = cheeseburgers, starting with a Classic Burger made of beef or an “impossible patty” (translation: vegan patty), the house’s secret sauce, cheddar cheese (or vegan cheese), lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion on a brioche bun. Also, on the menu is the Rancho Burger with either patty, salsa macha (peanut butter salsa), cheddar (or vegan cheese), crispy onions, tomato, roasted bell peppers, jalapenos, and chipotle aioli on a brioche bun.

The closest cheeseburger experience to the one I had as a child is at the SUMMIT DRIVE-IN, a burger stand in Upper Ojai on Hwy 150 where you order at the window as my dad had done all those years ago. Take a seat at an outside picnic table and just enjoy the flavors of the Summit’s Classic Burger with melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and secret sauce on a sesame seed bun. For a non-classic culinary experience try the Western Burger covered with melting cheddar cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, and an onion ring. Or bite into the juicy Red, White & Blue with grilled onions, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and secret sauce. Also on the menu is the Firehouse #20 melty pepper jack cheeseburger, with chipotle mayo, jalepenos, bacon, lettuce and tomato. And, yes, this burger shack even has a Vegetarian Summit Burger which includes lettuce, tomato, pickles, secret sauce, and cheese! served on a sesame bun. The only thing missing were the fireflies in a night sky.

PHOTOS BY ILONA SAARI. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE DEER LODGE, JJ’S SPORTS ZONE, OBC AND DAWN HEATH.

Two more brief cheeseburger shout outs: A favorite among the Nordhoff High School crowd is the spin on the classic cheeseburger made from locally raised Watkins beef at O HI FROSTIE on Maricopa Highway.… Another classic cheeseburger favorite is at JIM & ROB’S (W. Ojai Ave.) also made with Watkins beef and popular with Ojaians. Cheeseburgers – manna from heaven. ≈OQ≈

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CHEF RANDY

Navy bean soup (redux) The navy bean got its current popular name because it was a staple food of the United States Navy in the early 20th century. They are mild, pea-sized beans that are creamy white in color. Like other common beans, navy beans are one of 13,000 species of the family of legumes, or plants that produce edible pods. Combined with whole grains such as rice, navy beans provide virtually fat-free high-quality protein. This recipe is a revision to my original slow-cooker version. It is a little heartier and has different herbs than the orginal. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

NAVY BEAN SOUP

1 package Field Roast Italian sausage 16 ounces dry navy beans (rinsed) 1 medium onion (diced) 3 stalks celery (diced) 1 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped) 4 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped) 4 cloves garlic (minced) 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil (chopped) 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 2 quarts vegetable broth 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon (no chicken base)

DIRECTIONS:

Randy Graham is a writer, author, and private chef. He enjoys cooking for friends and family using ingredients from backyard vegetable and herb gardens. His food is often called “vegetarian comfort food.” He and his wife, Robin, live in Ojai, California, with their dog, Willow. Robin and Willow are not vegetarians.

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Directions: Plug in your slow cooker and set the heat to high.

Use two of the four sausages in the Field Roast package. Cut the sausages into ¼-inch slices and fry the slices until browned on both sides. Place the sausages and all other ingredients in slow cooker. Cook for five hours. Prior to serving, adjust for salt adding more if necessary.

Slow Cooker

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Vegan

Ojai Cafe Emporium Ojai’s favorite gathering and eating place for over 30 years.

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OQ | OJA I W I N E M A P CASA BARRANCA ORGANIC WINERY & TASTING ROOM Historic Downtown Arcade. Stop by and relax in Casa Barranca’s Craftsman style-designed tasting room. Taste our award-winning wines made with organically grown grapes, also our USDA certified wines containing no added sulfites! Join our Wine Club!. 208 East Ojai Avenue, 805-6401255. OPEN DAILY: Sunday — Thursday 1 to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday until 1-7 p.m. CasaBarranca.com or facebook.com/casabarranca.

VENTURA SPIRITS Ventura Spirits is a California Craft Distillery specializing in distilled spirits inspired by the native and cultivated flora of California’s Central Coast. We offer distillery tours and tastings of our award winning spirits in our new onsite tasting room. For more information or to contact us please visit: venturaspirits.com, email to: info@venturaspirits.com or call us at: (805) 232-4313

TOPA MOUNTAIN WINERY Topa Mountain Winery offers handcrafted wines made from grapes grown on its estate in upper Ojai and sourced from other premium vineyards in the region. Located on two acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, Topa Mountain Winery has been voted Ventura County’s best Tasting Room two years in a row, is family and dog friendly and offers live music every Saturday and Sunday. TopaMountainWinery.com

OJAI OLIVE OIL Ojai’s no. 1 rated visitor experience, our Olive Mill & Tasting Room is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free tastings and shopping. We also offer free guided tours on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit an organic family permaculture farm and learn everything about extra virgin oil. We also have balsamic vinegars, olive trees, skin care products and more. No reservations required, pets welcome. 1811 Ladera Road , Ojaioliveoil.com, 805-646-5964.

OLD CREEK RANCH WINERY Old Creek Ranch Winery is Ventura County’s only rural winery situated on an 850-acre ranch in the Ojai Valley. A tasting room as well as lawns and guest areas with handcrafted chairs and couches, surrounded by lush landscaping, have been designed for relaxing and enjoying fine wines. Pack a picnic, gather up the kids and dog, and head to the Ranch! A selection of 25+ red and white varietals are available for wine tastings and purchase. Check oldcreekranch.com for a schedule of live music and food trucks. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Located at 10024 Old Creek Road, Ventura, CA 93001. 805-649-4132. OldCreekRanch.com

BOCCALI VINEYARDS & WINERY is a family-owned and operated winery located in the scenic Upper Ojai Valley. Father and son winemakers DeWayne and Joe Boccali are the driving forces behind the label. Boccali Vineyards produces 100 percent estate wines; grown, produced and bottled at Boccali Ranch. Visit us in Ojai’s East End on weekends for a tasting at 3277 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai. Visit us on the web at BoccaliVineyards.com.

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MAJESTIC OAK VINEYARD Hidden in the stunning Ojai Valley, the Majestic Oak Vineyard is deeply rooted on land our family has held for decades. As fifth generation Ojai-ans, we had a dream of bringing you the quintessential Ojai experience â€” something as beautiful and unique as the Valley itself. We believe a great bottle of wine represents the hard work that goes into it. From the land, to our hands, to your table, we are proud to offer you our labor of love. We invite you to be part of our legacy. 321 East Ojai Avenue (downstairs), 805-794-0272, MajesticOakVineyard.com.

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OJAI ALISALâ€™S handcrafted wines are made only with grapes we grow in Upper Ojai. We grow Syrah, Grenache, Malbec and Viognier in our beautiful vineyards dotted with California walnuts and sycamores (or Alisal in Spanish), bringing the spirit of the Rhone region to California. Please visit our Weekend Tasting Room at Azu Restaurant, 457 East Ojai Ave, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12 noon to 5 p.m.. For more information 805-640-7987 or online at OjaiAlisal.com and AzuOjai.com.

Celebrating 32 Years Breakfast

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Fun Fo r

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Visit our Honey Tasting Room! 206 East Ojai Avenue, The Arcade, Downtown Ojai

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JES MAHARRY Artisan and famed Sundance jeweler Jes MaHarry has teamed with her sister Wendy MaHarry to create the perfect space for their magical creations. Walk into the boutique and you will instantly feel surrounded by beauty. 316 East Ojai Avenue 877.728.5537 JesMaharry.com

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ORMACHEA JEWELRY Specializes in hand-made, artisan jewelry creations; offering custom and unconventional engagement ring design in precious metals with unique gemstones. Each piece is slow-crafted in our studio by the sea. 432 E Main Street, Ventura 805.652.0484 Info@ormacheajewelry.com OrmacheaJewelry.com

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OQ / FALL 2019 ADVERTISEMENT

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OQ | YEST ER DAY & TODAY

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Photo by Brandi Crockett/Fancy Free Photography

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‘Marked man’

OQ BEYOND THE ARCADE MAP

George Christie’s Journey From Ventura Renegade to Ojai Renaissance Man By Jesse Phelps

Street Map & Landmark Businesses

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“A Jon Augustine spy writer production”

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‘marked’ man

BY JESSE PHELPS

PHOTOS BY BETINA LAPLANTE 104

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FROM LEADING VENTURA’S HELLS ANGELS TO SHOOTING A TV SERIES BASED ON HIS NOVEL, GEORGE CHRISTIE’S ROAD LED FROM VENTURA RENEGADE TO OJAI RENAISSANCE MAN

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THE FIRST TIME A YOUNG GEORGE Christie saw a serious biker in all his longhaired, wind-tossed glory, he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to break free. He wanted to ride. “That image just stayed with me my whole life,” Christie says. Even then, Christie felt like an outsider. In the 1950s 805, his parents, proud Americans both, were nevertheless raising him in a fairly closed circle with adherence to the traditional, old-world customs of their parents, born in Greece. During dinner at visits to his grandparents’ house in Ventura, young George was told to wait for his grandfather, seated at the head of the table, to break the bread before eating. School was tough. Christie had the smarts but not the grades. His dyslexia went undiagnosed, and even when a test went well, an administrator accused him of cheating. So, at 17, he asked his parents to sign off so he could join the U.S. Navy Reserves. And as Christie served, he never forgot his childhood vision of that wild man and his chopper. So he rode. And after his service ended, when his military experience led to a job tracking submarines out of Point Mugu for the Department of Defense, Christie cultivated his relationship with “Old Man John,” a founding member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Hells Angels. And then the day came that Christie was offered his patch, and he stepped fully into his outlaw destiny. Told to choose the club or the job — because, as Christie points out, the DoD wasn’t enamoured with giving a high-level security clearance to a man who spent so much time around felons — he walked away from the job. Soon he returned home to Ventura, where he would become a club legend and a wanted man. Over the next three-plus decades, Christie would guide the Ventura Hells Angels chapter, battling rivals and law enforcement, evading listening devices, serving time in prison, hanging with legends of the ‘60s counterculture and parlaying lessons from marketing heavyweights into a chance to carry the Olympic flame in 1984. And then, eventually, he would take another road less traveled. He would leave it all behind. Meeting George Christie now, only the tattoos — and the vest he wears even on a summer day in Ojai — hint that the wellspoken, espresso-sipping gentleman across the table may have a past that once made him a priority target for local police and federal 106

agencies. Still fit and still sharp-eyed, Christie now lives something of an archetypical Ojai existence.

A ONE-TIME LEADER OF THE WORLD’S MOST INFAMOUS MOTORCYCLE CLUB HAS TRANSFORMED HIMSELF INTO AN ARTIST. He’s penned and performed a one-man play called “Outlaw” and written an autobiography, “Exile on Front Street,” which the History Channel adapted into The Outlaw Chronicles. Christie says they “got their money’s worth” on that one. Now, with one small-screen success under his belt, he’s writing for and getting ready to act in a new show, “Marked,” based on his largely autobiographical novel of the same name. Backed by an experienced production team and optioned by a major streaming service (which cannot be named as of press time, per contractual agreements), “Marked” is set for an October release of at least eight onehour episodes. Christie has traded the streets for the runway. “Marked” is starting to shoot at Pinewood Studios, just outside London, and in Marbella, Spain, where producers say they can capture something that mirrors Ventura County at a fraction of the cost. Christie is part of a brain trust of writers adapting the story, led by Pat Andrew of Halcyon-Wanda Productions. Like the novel it’s based upon, the show, Christie says, will be a “fictionalized account of my life.” The hard-to-find novel (used copies of the paperback go for about $50 on Amazon) follows protagonist Jack Crest as he rises, under the tutelage of Old Man John, to a leadership position in the Question Marks, a one-percenter motorcycle club based on the real-life Hells Angels. Those are not your Bernie Sanders one percenters. In the parlance of the biker world, it is said that 99 percent of riders are law-abiding citizens. The one percenters, then, belong to outlaw clubs — or, as critics have called them, criminal organizations — like the Hells Angels. The novel parallels Crest’s conflicts and OQ / FALL 2019

triumphs with those of the law enforcement personnel who pursue him, jockeying with one another in an effort to nail him on a variety of charges. Christie recalls the real-life heat this is all based upon vividly. “I was targeted by multi-task agency squads. Every federal agency, Ventura P.D., Ventura Sheriffs,” he says. The book pays homage to the road by detailing the club’s annual cross-country trip, which provides a jumping-off point to highlight internal struggles and a cat-andmouse game with other one-percenters and law enforcement. It also cleverly uses a couple of framing devices, one a flash-forward that starts several early chapters and builds suspense as Crest prepares to take out the leader of a rival gang. The other is a flashback to Vietnam, involving a killing that both haunts Crest and informs his actions as he attempts to live and lead in, perhaps, a slightly more responsible manner. It remains to be seen whether any of these storylines or devices make the transition to the screen. Much will change in the adaptation, according to both Christie and Andrew. Though Christie never served overseas himself, both men say they want to use the show as a platform to explore not just motorcycle club culture but the scars and trials of returning from war. While the book is set in, and mostly after, Vietnam, the writers say they’ll transpose the setting so it’s current: television’s Crest will be a veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan. “The first thing that we noticed about “Marked” was how relevant it was to modern-day America — if we change the lead character to be coming out of Afghanistan and Iraq as a war hero versus Vietnam,” Andrew says. “We also understood that the modern media basically was not interested in telling the soldier’s stories, which is exactly what happened to the Vietnam veterans.” Christie said he’s been picking the brain of an experienced friend to ensure the drama mirrors homecoming as accurately as it does the details of club culture. “He’s a Navy Seal, eight tours in Afghanistan. He’s a treasure trove of that particular era of information,” Christie says. “We want to address Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We want to address narcotics abuse with veterans, administration issues. We’ve got some good stuff we’re working on.” Christie says some of the Seals he knows talk about going through extensive psychological evaluations before deployment, but question why they aren’t given more

(or any) support after the conclusion of the clandestine missions that can take such a toll on them. Andrew points to some of the root causes of trauma. “What happens with these people, after four tours of duty and they come back home, most of them are disillusioned because the cultures of Iraq and Afghanistan are clannish in nature (and) they are not very interested in democracy,” he says. “Soldiers witness the realities that the war may have been about economics, i.e. oil, and a lot of soldiers were fighting in the epicenter of opiates so there are a lot of addiction problems.” Andrew says “the original 12” bikers comprising the show’s Question Marks will have various military backgrounds that “provide a rich vein to mine story arcs.” Christie will play a version of his mentor. Big John is modeled on Old Man John and has “a long and mysterious connection to the Chicago Syndicate,” running Ventura County gambling and loan-sharking operations. It “provides a never-before-seen, insider’s view into how illegal gambling and loansharking are part of everyday life in Ventura,” Andrew says. And he provides us a dialog preview: “As Big John tells his crew, ‘There are no victims in gambling, only volunteers. They come to us to place bets and we take them. Things only get complicated when they can’t pay.’” Christie says that he has already “channeled” Old Man John, his mentor from the Hells Angels, in his one-man play. He knows the show will take the character to new places, and he’s excited to continue paying homage to the man who introduced him to the lifestyle he’d lead for decades. Christie also expresses great appreciation for the partnership with Andrew. He said that the two talk for hours at a time on the telephone and that “Pat has a real sense of what’s happening, a real rhythm of the times.” In turn, Andrew refers to Christie as a “’Renaissance man and an amazing actor — his audition tapes are some of the best I have ever seen. He is a true California liberal. He loves animals, people, the beach and freedom of choice. Those are great traits in a friend and he certainly embodies a great California spirit.” Indeed, it’s perhaps too easy to want to simplify Christie’s life as a leader of the Hells Angels. Sure, it was a tough-guy existence punctuated with and surrounded by violence, machismo and crime. But it also brought him into contact with a host of erudite icons from

the Age of Aquarius. The novel details meeting Augustus Stanley Owsley, the Bay Area LSD chemist famous as the chief supplier to the Merry Pranksters, at a Marin County party for political movers and shakers from both sides of the aisle. And in our conversation, Christie reminisces about his friendship with Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia, which he says included deep conversations about Amazon deforestation and the dangers of nuclear power. The updated-for-television retelling may or may not feature acid trips in the woods of Marin or any mention of the Grateful Dead. But its tone will be layered. “While we are dealing with very serious topics, we are also using a lot of irony and humor to walk the viewer through this life,” Andrew says. “If we merged ‘Rebel without a Cause,’ ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,’ and ‘Six Feet Under,’ it might give you some sense of where we are going with this unique television show.” Christie’s life is like a tapestry with threads of many colors, and the writers plan to explore them in “Marked” as long as people keep watching. And Christie hopes they do. OQ / FALL 2019

He’s keenly aware that the bottom line rules the day in show business, just like it does in his own past life. “It reminds me of the Department of Defense,” Christie says. “It’s just this big, moving machine with lots of intricate parts.” If the show takes off, there are tentative plans to shoot local. “I’m hoping that if the series does have some success with the first season,” Christie says, “we can come back and do some stuff in Ventura County, do some stuff in Ojai.” To support Christie’s work and to see how the team unfurls Jack Crest’s tapestry for television, mark your calendar for October, when “Marked” will start streaming to your watching device of choice. ≈OQ≈

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For over 27 years, Vivienne Moody has brought to her clients her full range of real estate expertise and experience in the Ojai Valley in Southern California.

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michaels

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A SLICE OF OJAI PARADISE This impeccably renovated 1928 East End cottage designed by Austen Pierpont enjoys a most magical 1.1 acre setting and unparalleled privacy for the 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath main residence plus newer 1 Bedroom guest cottage. The enormous renovated kitchen with Wolfe, Miele & Sub-zero appliances will inspire any chef and the remodeled baths are absolutely classy! Relax by the Saltwater Pool or retreat to the very cool 1920â€™s vintage stone outbuilding: a perfect hideaway for your wine cellar and tastings with friends. Come enjoy the magic!

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Located in the Ea st En d of Ojai, charming updated, mid-century home with a welcoming covered porch, located on a fully fenced, quarter acre with the view of the Topa Topa Mtns. Refinished oak floors, updated kitchen with breakfast nook, formal dining room with picture window, spacious living room with fireplace, bay window and window seat, plus bonus room (can be den/office/3rd bedroom). Beautiful custom wrought iron fencing, rock wall, raised bed planters, fruit trees, grass areas and 2 car garage.

Bordered by a long row of holm oaks & rose hedges, Villa Serena is a modern design residence located in the beautiful hillside of historic Assisi, Umbria, Italy. For more details go to BuyaHo us e i nUmbr ia.com ROSARIO FALVO Global Awareness | Local Focus 805-207-5094 | OjaiRe.com 110

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Chisum's Floor Covering From inspiration to installation

Serving the Ojai Valley since 1965 118 Bryant St. Ojai, CAÂ (805) 646-2440 chisumsfloor@sbcglobal.net License # 242944

Open M-F 10:00-5:00 ~ Saturdays by appointment

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chisumsfloorcovering.com pinterest.com/chisumsfloor facebook.com/chisumsfloor

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Your FriendlY neighborhood gYm

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OJAI BEYOND

1. Azu Restaurant & Ojai Valley Brewery 457 E Ojai Avenue 805-640-7987 2. Bart’s Books 302 W. Matilija Street - corner of Cañada Street. 805-646-3755

3. Besant Hill School 8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Road 805-646-4343

The TheRanch RanchHouse House 15 15 15 15

4. Ojai Music Festival 201 S Signal 805-646-2094

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5. Boccali’s Restaurant 3277 Ojai-Santa Paula Road 805-646-6116 6. Emerald Iguana Inn Located at North end of Blanche Street 805-646-5276

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7. Genesis of Ojai 305 E Matilija Street 746-2058 18 18 18 18

8. OVA Arts 238 E Ojai Avenue 805-646-5682

14 14 14 14 8888 18 18

9. ROTI 469 E Ojai Avenue 310-770-3282 4444

10. Ojai Art Center 113 S Montgomery Street 805-646-0117

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THE ARCADE

11. Nutmeg’s Ojai House 304 N Montgomery Street 805-640-1656

12. Ojai Café Emporium 108 S Montgomery Street 805-646-2723

Olive Ojai

13. Ojai Valley Electronics & Hobby 307-A E Matilija Street 805-646-7585 14. Ojai Valley Museum 130 W Ojai Avenue 805-640-1390

15. Ranch House 102 Besant Road 805-640-2360 11

16. Sea Fresh 533 E Ojai Avenue 805-646-7747 19

17. Studio Sauvageau 332-B E Ojai Avenue (Inner Arcade) 805-646-0117

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STAY ON HWY 150 for about 2.2 miles 1

18. Treasures of OJAI 110 N Signal Street 805-646-2852

19. Porch Gallery 310 E Matilija Street 213-321-3919

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HOUSE OF HEALING

RESCUE, REHAB & RElease

Healing Amid Art, Nature By Betty Nguyen

Flights for Soar Eyes By Chuck Graham

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Ask Dr. Beth

calendar

Ojai’s Hiking Map

Pre-Diabetes — What Does It Mean? What Can You Do About It?

It’s Busy Time in Ojai with Premier Events Coming

Our Top Trails Art by Colleen McDougal

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Events • News • Explore 123

OQ | A S K D R . BET H

PRE-DIABETIC? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? DR. BETH PRINZ

Finding Your ‘Right’ Tribe and Your Health in Ojai

One if every three Americans are losing years from their lives from a preventable, reversible, easily diagnosed condition they don’t know they have. In medicine, we sometimes get it wrong when it comes to naming our disorders. “Prediabetes” is one of those medical terms that causes much confusion for patients. How does someone have a pre-condition? A non-condition? “Madame you have pre-depression. You don’t have it yet, but if things keep going the way they have been, you will have depression in about 5 years.” Countless times I’ve counseled patients with blood sugars in the prediabetes range — trying to get across the gravity of the situation — going so far as to say, “unless this is reversed, it will shorten your life,” only to hear the response, “ok, so to be clear, I don’t have diabetes, right?” It’s as if one is prepared to wait around until prediabetes turns into diabetes before doing anything about it. We don’t have the same laissez-faire response to the word “cancer.” Inform a patient of a pre-cancerous lesion anywhere on the body, and panic may ensue. We need to be at least as concerned to learn we have prediabetes because it will shorten one’s life if allowed to persist. Type 2 diabetes cuts about 8.5 years off the lifespan of the average 50-year-old compared to a 50-year-old 124

without diabetes, according to research. Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are on a continuum of a condition called insulin resistance. How many people does it affect? The latest numbers from the CDC (2015) show that 30 million Americans have diabetes and 84 million prediabetes. “More than a third of US adults have prediabetes. Only about one in ten know they have it.” People with prediabetes have a 50% chance of developing diabetes over the next 5 to 10 years. Any of the following tests confirm the diagnosis of prediabetes.Hemoglobin A1C = 5.7-6.4 percent • Fasting Plasma Glucose = 100 to 125 mg/ dL • Oral Glucose Tolerance Test = 140-199 mg/dL Do you have insulin resistance? Ask yourself if any of the following applies to you: 1. Am I overweight? 2. Do I have high blood pressure? 3. Is the widest part of my waist circumference more than half my height in inches? 4. Do I exercise less than twice a week? 5. Do I have high triglycerides? 6. Does diabetes run in my family? 7. Do I feel tired and crave sweets? 8. Do I eat the standard American diet? Even if none of the above apply to you, it’s OQ / FALL 2019

Contact: doctorbeth@ojaiquarterly.com The Food Doctor M.D. – Dr. Beth Prinz is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and passionate about preventing disease through healthy living and a whole-food plant-based dietary approach to health.

easy to get tested. The A1C blood test does not require fasting and can be done in the office with a finger prick. A fasting insulin test is a good screen for insulin resistance (pre-pre-diabetes). A fasting insulin higher than 5 is a clue that sensitivity to insulin is impaired. The body may be keeping glucose in check but at the expense of higher and more-continuous insulin production. High insulin levels around the clock is a problem. If insulin is around even after fasting for eight hours, it’s very difficult to lose weight. Insulin is a fat-storage hormone. It instructs the cells to store fat, not burn it. Insulin also acts as a growth factor, promoting both cancerous tumors and benign growths like skin tags. Insulin resistance occurs when muscle and liver cells are infiltrated with dietary fat (particularly saturated fats from animals). This is called intramyocellular lipid storage. This fat is microscopic, not the kind you can pinch around your waist. Intramyocellular lipid interferes with insulin signaling. It’s the fat in your diet, not the sugar that is causing the insulin resistance/diabetes. Once you are diabetic, eating sugar can be a disaster because it’s like adding fuel to the fire. While sugar is getting all the attention, it’s the excess fat we are eating that is causing our type two diabetes. The top five sources of

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saturated fat in American diet are: cheese, pizza, desserts, ice cream, and chicken. The top five sources of calories, period, are: desserts (doughnuts, cakes, cookies, muffins), bread, chicken, sweetened beverage, and pizza. Americans are getting most of their calories from those five food groups! The good news is prediabetes is completely reversible. Just two weeks on a whole-food-plant-based diet can reverse type 2 diabetes. “Plant-based diets — i.e., eating patterns that emphasize legumes, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds and discourage most or all animals products — are especially potent in preventing type 2 diabetes and have been associated with much lower rates of obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular mortality and cancer,” according to the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology. And plant-based eating is a sustainable way of eating for a lifetime. It’s not a “do-it-for-a-month-until-I-feel-weak” diet, it’s a “try-it-for-a-month-and-feel-better-than-I-have-in-my-life” diet. The longest-lived, healthiest people on the planet, living in five geographic areas, dubbed “Blue Zones,” consume a 95-percent plant-based diet. They share other traits: purpose, physical activity, down-shifting stress, eating until 80 percent full, limited alcohol, a sense of belonging or faith, putting loved-ones first and strong social networks (“the right tribe.”) Sounds a lot like Ojai! Blue Zones are Blue Zones by accident. People weren’t choosing the lifestyle, they were following the norms of their culture — their culinary traditions determined their lifestyle. Our culture determines our diet more than we like to admit, but in America with disastrous health outcomes. It takes a lot of determination to resist the culture and make better choices. But by being well informed we can resist the cultural determinants and live a healthier lives. ≈OQ≈

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OQ | HEA L I NG A RTS ch i ro n ho us e :

Finding the Map to Who You Are

Photo of Chiron-House artists, Cara Bonewitz and Ilka Hartmann at the opening dinner for “Community / Humanity” by Sam Stenson

BY BETTY NGUYEN How can your star chart provide a map to who you are? If you’re not a believer in your star sign, how is your reading so specific to your natural tendencies and desires? Perhaps, if we remained opened to the universe and what our higher self is unveiling for us, we can walk on the path of this physical plane, this lifetime, with a better understanding of our purpose in life. The stars and planets, the sun and moon help us evolve when we are ready to receive. Since moving to Southern California, the moon seems to have become a huge influence. Don’t think the moon affects your cycle? Well, it does have the power to pull the ocean’s waves. Shortly after moving to Ojai, someone looked up my characteristics in Rob Breszny’s “Pronoia” Book. I was nervous because I grew up reading his horoscopes. She flipped through and read aloud, “You are an Indigo Child from

the Pleiades.” The twenty-three year old, selfprofessed shaman was right. I was in. Since early childhood, royal blue was my favorite color, the inky sea my favorite place only to be closer to the night sky. From then on, I would walk home after work, instead of driving in, so that I could commune with my glittery brethren up in the deep, glorious night sky. I even composed music on the organ in the house channeling their light and twinkly energy. I remember having a crush on this guy and looking directly in his eyes nervously but with all candidness saying, “I’m an indigo child.” He responded by saying, “I’m from the Pleaides.” Gulp. I took a natal astrology workshop earlier this year, to get a better understanding of my moon and all my planets, their houses, etc. It was a lot of information to unpack but it was there,

LAURIE EDGCOMB Lic. Acupuncturist since 1986, voted best in Ojai! Natural medicine including Microcurrent, nutritional and herbal consultation, Facial Rejuvenation. LaurieEdgcomb.com 805-798-4148

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that I learned about the Chiron. A Chiron is an asteroid and the “Wounded Healer” which is how I felt after the Thomas Fire. I sought out so many modalities after the fire and found that meditation was my gift. I didn’t want to shy away from being a healer and artist, so I started Chiron-House, a pop-up art and healing space in Meiners Oaks in June. By supporting local artists, leading one on one meditation and programming workshops, Chiron-House provides a place for emerging artists and healers to share their life’s purpose. Creating community around art and healing, in an exhibition space that also has a garden and swimming pool has been a dream. Nic George’s “Pictures For People Who Close Their Eyes” opens Saturday, August 31. Go to www.chiron-house.com for details Follow @chironhouse to participate.

ASHLEY BERRY Offering whole-being healing through Holistic Health Coaching, Reiki, Breathwork, AromaTouch, and Intuitive Card Readings. Available for private sessions, group gatherings, workshops, & events helloashleyberry@gmail.com HelloAshleyBerry.com 310-775-1765

LIVING LUCID Healthy living information and advice blog focused on healing through plant-based nutrition, meditation, and lifestyle changes. We post frequently on a variety of topics and offer consultations with Dr. Beth Prinz, M.D. for personalized guidance. Visit LivingLucid.org.

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NUTMEG’S OJAI HOUSE Functional Art for Heart & Home - American Made Fair Trade - Psychic Tarot and Astrology Readers, Energy and Crystal Healings daily by appt. Walk-ins welcomed: Open daily 11 am to 6 pm 304 N Montgomery Street OjaiHouse.com | 805-640-1656

SOMATIC SANCTUARY Welcome to Somatic Sanctuary — a somatic-based healing and movement arts center. Explore healing treatments, group movement sessions, workshops and community events. 410 W Ojai Avenue 805-633-9230 SomaticSanctuary.com

NATHAN KAEHLER, MA, LAC Nathan Kaehler (Best of Ojai 2014). Licensed Acupuncturist, MA Psychology. Gentle acupuncture, 14 years experience Personalized herb preparations Large onsite herb dispensary OjaiHerbs.com | 805-640-8700

HEALING WITH ALISON EAKIN Healing sessions for the mind, body and spirit. Guided breath work meditation opens the flow of energy from the universe. Get help with insomnia, anxiety, depression, trauma, anorexia, and addiction. HealingWithAlison.com 970-208-7733

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ALAN CHANG, L.Ac 2nd generation Acupuncturist who brings 13 years of Meditation, Tai Chi and Kyudo Zen Archery experience to his healing practice of Functional Medicine and TCM. AmaraOjai.com | 805-486-3494

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NAN TOLBERT NURTURING CENTER Pre-birth to 3; pre/post-natal well-being; infant/toddler development; parent education/ support. BirthResource.org info@birthresource.org 805-646-7559

BIRGIT JUNG-SCHMITT Anat Baniel Method (R) NeuroMovement (R) Practitioner for children & adults. Brain injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, autism, ADD/ADHD, developmental delays. In Ojai & Los Angeles. bjungschmitt@ gmail.com FormingMovement.com. 520-369-5460

ALARRA SARESS Gong Meditation and Acutonics Sound Alchemist. Master Bodyworker. Founder of Harmonic Earth — sacred space for healing arts and performance. Call or text. 107 W. Aliso Street HarmonicEarth.org | 720-5303415

LAUREL FELICE, LMT Offers Swedish, deep tissue, reflexology, reiki, cranialsacral and pre and post natal massage with a reverent and joyous balance of hands and heart. laurelfelice54@gmail.com 805-886-3674

LESLIE BOUCHÉ, C.HT. Cert. Hypnotherapist Find your calm center. Release negative thinking, emotional reactivity, anxiety, fear and unhelpful behaviors. Improve sleep and comfort. Safe, loving, rapid change. It’s time to feel better! leslie.bouche@roadrunner.com LeslieBouche.com | 805-796-1616

JULIE TUMAMAITSTENSLIE Chumash Elder Consultant • Storyteller • Spiritual Advisor • Workshops Weddings & Ceremonies JTumamait@sbcglobal.net 805-646-6214

JACALYN BOOTH Certified Colon Hydrotherapist Ojai Digestive Health With more than 30 years of experience in healing modalities, Jacalyn brings a deep level of caring to the art of colon hydrotherapy. Professional, nurturing, experienced. OjaiDigestiveHealth.com 805-901-3000

MICHAEL D. FREDERICK Master Teacher, Alexander Technique - Feldenkrais Method. State-of-the art in stress management. “Life Just Got Easier.” More than 40 years of international teaching experience. Free 20-minute consultations. MichaelDFrederick.com 310-880-7700

DR. JOHN R. GALASKA Dr. John R. Galaska, PsyD, BCN, Cht, university professor of Psychology, Neurofeedback, biofeedback, hypnosis for past troubling experiences and enhancing subjective life experience. BeCalmOfOjai.com facebook.com/BeCalmofOjai 805-705-5175

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OJAI RAPTOR CENTER STORY & PHOTOS BY CHUCK GRAHAM

HEALING, THEN ...

letting go

...

STEPPING INSIDE THE SHADED FLIGHT PEN specifically for American kestrels, Kim Stroud, founder and director of the Ojai Raptor Center (ORC), quietly maneuvered within a few feet, where six of the tiny falcons darted back and forth and clung to the mesh enclosure. Eventually all six kestrels would be released, but just two during this mid-morning release. All six were rescued as orphaned chicks, where they were reared for this moment, to fly freely in the rolling foothills of Ojai and beyond. Stroud gently netted two of the three-ounce, dove-sized raptors and then deftly placed them inside their portable containers, readying them for release. As Stroud drove to one of the many nearby release sites, I mentioned to her that the dedication put forth by the ORC and its throng of dedicated volunteers was responsible for saving and releasing so many generations of raptors within one of the most diverse regions of California. “It was a dream for me,” said Stroud, who found the ORC in 2000, but has been in the business of caring for raptors since her training began in 1992. “I did not think we would grow as we have, and I am very proud that it has taken off to this extent, as a legacy is now going to happen.” GROUND WORK Every rescued raptor possesses a different situation; orphaned, injured, sick, disoriented and so on, but the ultimate goal is to release healthy raptors back into the wild where they belong. Depending on each raptor’s situation, they all need to go through a series of protocols to give them the best chance at survival in suitable habitat. According to Stroud, each raptor needs to follow a “release criteria” put forth by the National and International Rehabilitation Councils, which involves basic skills and strengths. Can the bird hunt? Can it 130

fly? Can it build a nest and migrate if it needs to? It also assesses the feather quality of each raptor, as well as its weight and overall strength. “Our assessment takes many points,” said Stroud, who not only cares for raptors, but also other birds, mammals and reptiles at the ORC. TAKING FLIGHT With Ojai’s rolling, chaparral-choked hillsides and the Los Padres

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National Forest backdrop just a short drive away, there’s lots of habitat to choose from when it comes to releasing raptors back into the wild. The question is: how to determine if the same species of raptors are already occupying a region of a potential release site? During all those drives far and wide to pick up orphaned and injured raptors, Stroud and her legion of volunteers are continuously keeping an eye out for what’s appropriate habitat for release and what raptors are already established within that habitat. “We all keep an eye out as we drive for prey base, other raptors in the

area, and water is a big one” Stroud continued. “Raptors need prey and prey needs water to survive. We try and note where resident pairs are.” Around the offices of the ORC are many flight pens that allow raptors to recover from injuries, learn to fly and to hunt. “Their purpose is to condition the birds for release,” said Stroud. “It tests their hunting skills when they’re juveniles.” In 2018, the ORC released 236 raptors. After lots of winter rain in 2019, they’ve already released 268 raptors, but according to Stroud, another 80 birds are in flight pens and are nearly ready for release.

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Stephen Adelman

“ Your Family Man Realtor”

The top three most frequent visitors to the ORC are barn owls, redtailed hawks and great-horned owls. Great–horned owls are Stroud’s favorite raptor, along with vultures. Stroud took me into a flight pen that held 10 great-horned owls that had all passed their protocols and were ready to be released. As we entered their flight pen, they congregated together looking like they were ready to take flight. “Greats were the first ones I got to rehabilitate when I started,” continued Stroud. “I also have an imprinted vulture that has chosen me as his person. They are so smart, smarter than most raptors. American kestrels come in a close third.” SMALL BUT MIGHTY Stroud had access to a secluded, private property, one of many that allow the ORC plenty of choices for release sites throughout Ojai. We pulled off the road on a remote hillside overlooking the Ventura River. Donning thick leather gloves, Stroud removed the young American kestrels one at a time from their portable enclosures. Kestrels are the smallest, most colorful and widespread falcons in North America. At about the same size as a blue jay, seeing them up close while Stroud readied them for release allowed me to appreciate how striking their markings really are. As Stroud held the American kestrel up close, what immediately stood out were the two distinct black facial stripes that ran beneath each eye down to its neck. Not to be denied were its rusty-red back and tail and warm reddish wings and black-spotted underparts. The stunningly beautiful raptor — although small — is nevertheless a fiercely intense predator that always enjoys a good-sized grasshopper or deer mouse in

Ojai’s sweeping foothills. As the first of the two kestrels were released, I sensed some relief in Stroud as the tiny raptor circled back toward us several times before vanishing in the oak trees. Each raptor requires much attention to get it to this point. Then to finally see it flying free in new habitat brings everything full circle for the ORC.

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COMING EVENTS AND OBSERVING RAPTORS www.ojailuxuryrealestate.com The ORC will have an art show fundraiser from September 1 – 30, at the Ojai Art Center. A reception will take place September 7, with local artists who donated their work. The ORC has 12 non-releasable raptors due to injuries that won’t allow them to return to the wild. However, they serve as vital ambassadors for educational purposes at schools throughout the region. The ORC is not open to the public, but you can come see these important ambassadors during the ORC’s Fall Open House on November 3. This will be a ticketed event that goes on sale soon through their website at ojairaptorcenter.org. ≈OQ≈

OPENING SPREAD: Raptor Center Director Kim Stroud releases a fully rehabilitated American Kestrel. ABOVE: Kestrels in the flight pen at the Raptor Center. LEFT: Great Horned Owls in their flight pen. RIGHT: Kestrel, ready to launch.

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You Won't

Believe What You'll Hear at the Ojai

Festival at Libbey Bowl

& the Ojai Art Center.

7 of America's finest storytellers and two winners of The Moth will have audiences laughing out loud

and on the edge of their seats. If you listen to the Moth or like podcasts, youĘźre going to love the Ojai Storytelling Festival. Come experience the power of storytelling under the oaks and beneath the stars.

More than a festival ... itâ€™s an experience. For tickets, go to ojaistoryfest.org For info, call 310-890-1439

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Together, our community will help protect Ojaiâ€™s trails and open spaces for everyone to enjoy, forever. Visit a participating Wild About Ojai business today and take part. A Taste of Ojai

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Consultant

Alojai Creations

Greyfox Investors

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Jennifer Keeler, Hair Stylist

Rowsie Vain

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Lorraine Lim Catering

Sol Haus Design

Char Man Brand Hot Sauce

Mary Nelson Skincare & Massage Studio

Dogs Fly Design The Glass Man Professional Window Washing Company GNOSIS 134

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The Southern Los Padres Trekking Company Tobias Parker, General Contractor Tonya Peralta Real Estate Services, Inc Watercolors by Patty Van Dyke

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OQ | HI K I NG M AP 1

SHELF ROAD 3.5mi EASY | Elev. Gain: 200 ft | Overlooks downtown Ojai.

PRATT TRAIL 8.8mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 3,300 ft | Goes to Nordhoff Peak.

GRIDLEY TRAIL 6-12mi MODERATE | 3 mi to Gridley Springs (Elev. Gain: 1,200 ft) 6 mi to Nordhoff Peak.

COZY DELL 2.2mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 740 ft | Cozy Dell Creek & Ridge.

MATILIJA CANYON 12mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 1,200 ft | Middle Fork.

SISAR CANYON 22mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 4,800 ft |Topa Topa Bluffs.

SULPHUR MTN. 22mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 2,300 ft | Sulphur Mountain Road.

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Supporting the Rotary Club of Ojai Educational Foundation f o o d f u n l i b a t i o n s •

•

Taste of 2 to 5:30 P.M.

Ojai

Sunday, October 27 New Venue!!

Topa Mountain Winery 821 Ojai Ave.

Come enjoy this showcase of delicious creations from local restaurants, breweries, and wineries – all with a special Ojai touch!

For more information and tickets visit www.tasteofojai.com 138

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October 31 - November 10

2019

Explore Ojai Valley’s History, Art and Culture

20th Anniversary!

130 West Ojai Avenue (805) 640-1390 www.OjaiValleyMuseum.org

• Features, Documentaries, Animation • Screenplay Competition and Live Table Read • Lifetime Achievement Awards • Women in Film Legacy Series • Industry Insiders, Rising Filmmakers, Professional and Student Workshops, Parties, Surprise Guests and Honorees

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• Opening Night Carnivale! Free Halloween Movie in Libbey Bowl, Live Music Pre-Show: Bands, Dance, Poetry, Costume Contest, Surprise Guests. Children’s Faire with Arts & Crafts, Face Painting, Fortune Telling, Prizes, Games and more! October 31, 4pm, Libbey Fountain Plaza.

COMMUNITY

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OQ | E VE NTS CA L EN DAR

9.7 WAR | SAT 5 p.m. | @ LIBBEY BOWL | libbeybowl.org

AUG. 30 — SEPT. 2 LABOR DAY WEEKEND POTTERY SALE & CHILI COOKOFF Location: Firestick Gallery, 1804 East Ojai Avenue Times: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily Contact: theroswell3@gmail.com 805-646-5684 Chili Cookoff and live music on Saturday. Celebrate ceramics in Ojai, and try your hand at the wheel. SEPT. 7 WAR IN CONCERT Location: Libbey Bowl 210 South Signal Street Time: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Contact: wheremusicmeetsthesoul.com, 888-645-5006 The hit musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae. SEPT. 6 — 29 “BLESS YOUR HEART” Times: Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Location: Ojai Art Center Theater 113 South Montgomery Street Contact: ojaiact.org, 805-640-0117 A thoughtful yet hilarious look at a teacher of evolutionary biology who returns to his Carolina home to stop his 17-year-old brother from marrying the preacher’s daughter. SEPT. 15 HUMANE SOCIETY’S “SPAY-GHETTI NO BALLS” 142

SEPTEMBER

9.21

10.19

TOPA MOUNTAIN MUSICFEST | SAT 7:30 p.m. | @ LIBBEY BOWL

| libbeybowl.org

Location: Four Brix Winery, 2290 Eastman #190, Ventura Time: Noon to 3 p.m. Contact: hsvc.org, 805-646-6505 All funds raised at this event will benefit the the Humane Society of Ventura County’s low-cost Spay and Neuter Clinic services. SEPT. 21 TOPA MOUNTAIN MUSICFEST Time: 2 to 10 p.m. Location: Libbey Bowl, 210 South Signal Street Contact: topamountainmusicfest. org. Among performers scheduled are the Brett Dennen Band, Marc Broussard Band, Reverend Tall Tree Gospel Review and The Mother Hips, among many others. Suitable for all ages, games, pie eating contest, face painting, local wine, beer and food trucks. Proceeds from this concert benefit cancer research. SEPT. 28 AGORA’S FOUNDATION’S “LINCOLN’S PRE-CIVIL WAR SPEECHES” Time: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Location: Agora Foundation, 417 Bryant Circle Contact: agorafoundation.org Timely thoughts on enduring political institutions. OCT. 12-14 THE SOUL IN EDUCATION Location: Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve, 2162 Baldwin Road

OJAI DAY| SAT 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Downtown Ojai | ojaiday.com

Times: 9 a.m. each day Contact: Info@californiateacherscollege.org A certificate program in nature-centered, soul-inspired teaching. OCT. 12 BOOGIE NIGHTS & THE SPAZMATICS Location: Libbey Bowl Time: 5 p.m. Contact: cmhatthebowl.org 888-645-5006 An evening of Denim and Diamonds, with dinner and dancing, to support the Ojai Valley Community Hospital Foundation. OCT. 12 — 14 OJAI STUDIO ARTISTS TOUR Times: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Location: Ojai Valley Museum, 130 West Ojai Avenue Contact: Ojaistudioartists.org The 36th annual self-guided Ojai Studio Artists Tour is one of the premier art events in California. OCT. 17 EASTERN CLASSICS — THE TAO TE CHING Location: Ojai Library, 111 East Ojai Avenue Time: 12 noon to 1 p.m. Contact: agorafoundation.org OCT. 19 OJAI DAY Location: Downtown Ojai Times: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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10.24-27 OJAI STORYTELLING FESTIVAL | THU TO SUN @ Ojai Art Center, Libbey Bowl & Ojai House | ojaistoryfest.org Contact: coordinator@ojaiday.co 805-640-5581 ext. 304 A day-long celebration of everything Ojai with fun and games, contests, events and activities. OCT. 20 OJAI POPS ORCHESTRA – FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT Time: 4:30 p.m. Location: Libbey Bowl 210 South Signal Street Contact: libbeybowl.org OCT. 24 — 27 19TH OJAI STORYTELLING FESTIVAL Times: Varies Locations: Libbey Bowl, Ojai Art Center and the Ojai House. Contact: ojaistoryfest.org Kim Weitkamp, Blind Boy Paxton, Anne Rutherford and Peter Cook are among the world’s top storytellers coming to Ojai. OCT. 25 — 27 WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT RETREAT, “ENCOUNTERING THE EMPRESS WITHIN” Times: Varies Location: A Sacred Space Contact: katherine@katherineMcClelland.com 805-794-8281. Katherine McClelland and Elaine Unzicker are hosting this threeday retreat to awaken your soul’s purpose.

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

11.16-17

10.27

HOLIDAY HOME TOUR & MARKETPLACE | SATSUN @ LIBBEY PARK 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. SAT, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. SUN.

TASTE OF OJAI | SAT @ TOPA MOUNTAIN WINERY | 1:30 p.m.

OCT. 26 OCTOBER HEART & SOLE CLASSIC Location: Ojai Valley Community Hospital Time: 7 a.m. Contact: octoberclassic.org 805-640-2317 A 5k, 10k and Dog Walk to support the Ojai Valley Community Hospital’s Continuing Care Center.

Location: Varies — Ojai Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery Street. Times: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Contact: info@ojaifilmfestival. com. In its 19th season, one of the gems of the film festival circuit will air more than 100 original films, plus awards for lifetime achievement and original screenplays. This year will feature an opening carnival in Libbey Park.

OCT. 27 TASTE OF OJAI Location: Topa Mountain Winery, 821 West Ojai Avenue Time: 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Contact: tasteofojai.com Ojai’s premier culinary event, featuring more than 20 top local restaurants and chefs, all to raise money for the Rotary Club of Ojai’s Education Foundation. OCT. 31 — NOV. 3 THE DEBORAH KING CENTER’S “HALLOWEEN RETREAT” Location: Ojai Valley Inn Times: Varies. Contact: Deborahking.com/Retreat2019 Led by the New York Times best-selling author and renowned spiritual teacher. Special one-day passes available for Ojai residents at Deborahking.com/saturday2019. NOV. 1 — NOV. 10 OJAI FILM FESTIVAL Times: Varies

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11.1-10 OJAI FILM FESTIVAL | FRI- SUN @ OJAI ART CENTER | Runs all day, see schedule at ojaifilmfestival.com

HISTORICAL WALKING TOURS OF OJAI Every Saturday, October through June Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Location: Departs from the Ojai Valley Museum, 130 W Ojai Avenue. Contact: 640-1390 ojaivalleymuseum.org FULL MOON MEDITATIONS Dates: To be announced. Check website. Location: Meditation Mount, 10340 Reeves Road Contact: 646-5508 ext.103, meditationmount.org Open meditation at the Full Moon.

NOV. 16 — NOV. 17 OJAI HOLIDAY HOME TOUR & MARKETPLACE Times: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday Location: Ojai Music Festival, 201 South Signal Street Contact: ojaifestival.org 805-646-2053 The Home Tour offers an inspiration and festive view inside four distinct, architecturally significant homes. The Marketplace, across from the festival office in Libbey Park, offers items from 40 vendors. NOV. 22 — DEC. 15 “SEUSSICAL, THE MUSICAL” Times: Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Ojai Art Center Theater, 113 South Montgomery Street Contact: ojaiact.org, 805-6400117 “Oh the thinks you can think” when Dr. Seuss’ beloved characters collide and cavort in this musical caper.

CERTIFIED FARMERS MARKET Every Sunday Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Contact: 698-5555 Location: Matilija Street city parking lot behind the Arcade. Open air market featuring locally grown produce, as well as plants, musicians and handmade items.

‘EATING OJAI’ FOOD TOUR Date: Call to schedule Time: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Location: Varies Contact: 295-8687 venturafoodtours.com

FOR MORE LOCAL EVENTS: OJAI HUB Your Central Source for Events, News & Living the Ojai life. WWW.OJAIHUB.COM

805.798.0177

OJAI SEEKER’S BIKE TOUR Date: By reservation, 48 hrs in advance Time: Varies | Location: Varies Contact: 272-8102 or email ride@themobshop.com Ojai bike tour features agricultural, artistic, culinary, cultural, and historical landmarks in Ojai. Riders are guided to eight stops where they answer questions about each place. OSA SECOND SATURDAYS Free, Self-Guided Studio Tours Every Second Saturday 10-3 For maps & directions: www.ojaistudioartists.org

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HOWLPANTS SHEEPPOKE, THE HALLUCINATING SHEPHERD OF BRUE (Being A Tale from The Windy Outer Hebrides of Scotland Whence Your Humble Correspondent Was Spawned.) BY SAMI ZAHRINGER HOWLPANTS SHEEPPOKE, the Hallucinating Shepherd of Brue, never meant to hurt anyone that October day so it was with dismay that he sat on the high hillside and watched the village explode and burn. He took no pleasure whatsoever in seeing Mrs. MacCuish from the Post Office flung 30 feet in the air in a slow elegant arc, even though a small part of him thrilled to the naughty semantic thought of her being hoisted on his petard. As a boy in the shop with his mother, he’d always taken a secret pleasure in being pressed in fond envelopment to Mrs. MacCuish’s suffocating bosom, with the sure certainty of a lollipop to follow. He hated to see her looking so floppy and flying. Oh, he knew he hallucinated, he knew as well as anybody. The gentle rattle from the pill-bottle in his pocket usually soothed him, but looking at old burning Mr. Jamieson racing towards the duckpond, his clothes all aflame, the tinkle seemed to be mocking him. You shouldn’t have forgotten us on Tuesday … shouldn’t have forgotten us on Tuesday … Tuesday…Tuesday … the pills seemed to say. But when exactly did the hallucination begin that day, and when did it end? Howlpants Sheeppoke, the Hallucinating Shepherd of Brue, could not be sure. Was he still hallucinating now, even nasally, as the smell of burning chaos drifted up the hill to his nostrils? He was pretty sure now he had been hallucinating when he tore into the village shop screaming “The clouds! The clouds have fangs! Look everybody! See how their abominable maws are slavering with rain! They mean to fang US! Fang us to death! Hide! Throw tins of soup! Anything! Don’t just stand there gawking! O rainy, unhappy day of the fanged clouds! Who will help me throw things at them? Who will listen to me?” The people had stared of course, they usually did, before saying to each other “Oh that’s just young Howlpants Sheeppoke, he’s a hallucinating shepherd, you know. Don’t pay him any mind. Nice lad really” Then gradually they’d gone back to the usual things of stacking the shelves, chatting by the eggs, and doing some minor shoplifting. Mr. MacKenzie was looking at the birthday card for their son Calum 144

that Mrs. MacKenzie was showing him. “Oh I don’t know, The Transformers? I mean he is turning 21, Effie.” “Don’t be silly!” bustled Mrs. Mackenzie. “He loves technology and things of that sort. I think it’s Calumy, very Calumy.” And that’s what had gone wrong. As she said “It’s Calumy, very Calumy” she chanced to look up and straight into the dilated pupils of Howlpants, now sitting quietly on the ice-cream freezer and eating scratch-cards.

HOWLPANTS SHEEPPOKE HEARD NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT A BELOVED SON. WHAT HE HEARD WAS, “CALUMNY, VERY CALUMNY,” AND A GEAR SNAPPED BACK INTO PLACE IN HIS HEAD, THE FAN-BELT ENGAGED AGAIN AND STARTED UP BLOWING HOT WINDS OF SULPHUROUS RAGE OVER HIS THROBBING, HURTY BRAIN.

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For if there was one thing that everyone knew that Howlpants hated, it was to be called a calumnist. On less insane days, he knew that technically some of his Cassandra-like proclamations in the shop about man-eating Glaswegians coming over the hill, and all the tractors suddenly melting, thawing and resolving themselves into a dew, were not true, but, he had maintained at the emergency meeting last year — as had his doctor and indeed most of the village, except the minister — that because the hallucinations were true to him, he could not be called a liar. He would not be called a liar, nor a calumnist, nor a fibber, nor a dissembler, equivocator, maker-upper or, worst of all in his profession, a wool-puller! The last person to call him a calumnist, he’d beaten so badly she couldn’t go to play-school for a month. But, and also yet, here was someone looking him straight in the eye and saying “Calumny, very calumny” (albeit a bit archaically — but wasn’t that Shakespeare dude really popular, right now? Hadn’t the Barvas Players just done “As You Like It” in Shawbost? This woman had obviously picked up Elizabethan speech patterns and was using them to fling the stinging insult at him from her lair, by the greetings cards.) He could not stand for it. His brain kicked up another gear and with a fury that knocked the crisps-rack clear 10 feet across the shop, he leapt to his feet and attempted to strangle Mrs. MacKenzie. Mr. MacKenzie paused only very slightly before rushing to his wife’s aid. He pried the mad shepherd’s fingers away from the purpling neck of his semi-beloved and was lucky to sustain only a broken coccyx when Howlpants’s rage-fortified strength lobbed him backwards into the washing powder. Howlpants flung his head backwards, his neck ropey with fury, and screamed at the ceiling tiles “Calumny? Calumny, is it?” Then seizing the basket of Halloween rockets by the counter and a Zippo from the window display he roared out of the shop as suddenly as he’d entered it, leaving the shocked shoppers to attend to the whimpering MacKenzies. All through Brue phones rang and the word spread rapidly that Howlpants Sheeppoke had really lost it this time. The village went eerily

quiet. By and by, one by one, people started coming out of their doors to see what was happening. The first ones to do so were also the first to see the rockets go off as Howlpants clambered to the top of the statue of The Unknown Crofter at the crossroads, laughing maniacally and howling “Calumny nononononononononohahahahahahaha!” The rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air — it’s an old story but never was it played out so multicolouredly as it was at Brue. Howlpants had been everywhere with his fireworks. The barns exploded, the library van, the church, the holiday cottages, the Post Office and the Whaler’s Rest. But not the school. Not the school. And how beautiful it all was, thought Howlpants Sheeppoke from up on his hill. If you could ignore for a minute the flying cows and people, and the annoying screams of anguish, how beautiful to see the pub explode into green and red like that, the church into blue and gold! And suddenly, Howlpants was not sorry any more. Not sorry at all. NOT LONG AFTER THE SOUND OF THE EXPLOSIONS and burning Hebrideans had subsided, Flossie, Howlpants’s favourite sheep, wondered over and licked him absently with her rough tongue. He came to groggily, sat up and gazed down at the peaceful green village beneath him. He saw Mrs. MacCuish wave goodbye to the post-van from town, and there was Mrs. MacKenzie hanging out her washing. He lay back on the soft mossy grass, closed his eyes and smiled. It had all just been a beautiful dream. When he opened his eyes again, it was raining and a grinning fanged cloud leered down at him as it descended upon the hill, shrouding it, and muffling all noise… ≈OQ≈

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145

EAST$

Dennis Guernsey 805-798-1998

Broker/Owner, State Licensed Appraiser, General Contractor

Coldwell Banker ProPerty ShoPPe Ojai homes, Ojai ranches, Ojai commercial real estate. Experienced and knowledgeable Realtors serving the Ojai Valley for more than 30 years.

MIRROR LAKE Move-in Condition! Owner has added new paint, new flooring, some new plumbing fixtures, new landscaping and more. Attached 2-car garage, fenced back yard, F/A heating and A/C — affordable home centrally located. $589,500

COUNTRY CHARMER Immaculate country charmer on almost 1-acre in Mira Monte. Open floor plan features raised beam ceilings, maple wood floors and cozy fireplace. Large family room opens to kitchen, making entertaining easy. Formal dining room for family gatherings, three spacious and bright bedrooms. $995,000

ONE OF THE LAST BUILDABLE LOTS IN RANCHO MATILIJA Buyer to verify. Completely flat, interior location, mountain views, adjacent to walking and riding trails and includes one Casitas water and sewer hookup. Seller has conceptual plans for Mediterranean-style home — Must See! Zoned for horses. $399,500

Dennis Guernsey, Cell: 805-798-1998 • Office: 805 646-7288

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EAST END ACRE Rare find in East side of Ojai — Flat 1-acre lot just minutes from town. Utilities at street — buyer to verify. Buyer advised to check with City or County about possible development. Perfect for mini estate, horses, planting etc. Great mountain views. Reduced $50k! $399,500

Coldwell Banker Property Shoppe Ojai 727 W Ojai OQ Ave, Ojai, / FALL 2019CA 93023 • dennisguernsey.com • www.ojaicoldwell.com

Wilde

Larry 805.640.5734

Erik 805.830.3254

Thacher Road | Classic 1908 “Julia Morgan” Architect | $2,750,000

25+ Acres | Thacher Road Well Water | $2,495,000

Oh What Views & Privacy | East End incredible Detail & Quality | $2,395,000

Thacher Road| 5+ Acres Nine Rentals | $3,495,000

Downtown Ojai | Great Location Guest House | $975,000

Downtown Ojai | Private | 1.5 Acres $1,349,500 | 811canada.com

Bryant Circle Industrial | 2400 SF | Currently Leased Solar | Roll Up Doors | $945,000

727 W. Ojai Ave. - Ojai - CA 93023 - Larry - 805.640.5734 - Erik - 805.830.3254 wilde-wilde.com - lwilde@west.net - erikw@west.net Larry Wilde DRE:#15216270 - Erik Wile DRT:#01461074

Wilde

Larry 805.640.5734

Erik 805.830.3254

Rancho Matilija | Full Guest House Pool/Spa | $1,895,000

2+ acre Oak Studded lot with water in Rancho Matilija | $549,000

Upper Ojai | 20 Acre Farm | 5000 SF Home + Guest Quarters | $3,375,000| 12150mountainlionroad.com

East End Ojai | 1 acre with Views | $1,150,000

Commercial Lot in Ojai $375,000

East End Ojai Craftsman | $1,795,000 1615McNellRoad.com

727 W. Ojai Ave. - Ojai - CA 93023 - Larry - 805.640.5734 - Erik - 805.830.3254 wilde-wilde.com - lwilde@west.net - erikw@west.net Larry Wilde DRE:#15216270 - Erik Wile DRT:#01461074