White Poles and a Full Moon

Posted on April 2, 2007 in Neighborhood The Orange

The white poles signaled change like a timeout in the last two minutes of the NCAA championship signaled desperation. They appeared, spaced out in an undiscernable pattern, across the arms of the ridge that lies south of Live Oak Canyon Road. On Saturday, in the same field, I saw a steer humping another — if questioned he was sure to deny that he was homosexual. Today, the livestock were all gone and I wondered if they’d ever bring back the sheep, the goats, and the cows they grazed there.

We went to a Memphis-style BBQ place — one of those which poured a heavy sauce over the ribs, chickens, and odd beef and pork cuts. Florida was smashing Ohio State. Most of the patrons paid little heed to the game — the local favorite, UCLA, had been pushed out by the powerhouse that is Florida. Only one fellow, a pudgy travelling salesman named Bob (it said so on his tag) watched with any interest. I chomped some hush puppies, slurped up a cole slaw, and pulled a chicken half until it was bones, leaving with the other half for consumption tomorrow.

The full moon connected the dots on the sage-scrub hillsides. I played with my glasses when Lynn dropped me off before parking the car in the garage. Focused: a face. Unfocused, a soft knob or the end of another white post.

Orange County does not seem to like to allow open space to thrive. It makes a promise to preserve it and then reneges. A bit like changing the rules halfway through the tournament just so the favored team can win. The favored team are the realtors who have acquired a power that exceeds the status of tradesman. Today they carve up the grasslands and the [[chaparral]]. Tomorrow will it be the air?

[tags]dining, Orange County, Southern California, development, real estate[/tags]