1. Don't you wonder when you're road tripping through the valley or mountains or meandering along the shore line who certain roads are named after? I do. Today, while passing through the arid and fertile San Joaquin valley on my way to a wake, I yearned to discover who exactly Jack Tone (having zoomed by it many times) was, for there is not a better sign in the state of California than Jack Tone Road. Hurtling down 99 with out a straw in my path, the road sign hit me square between the eyes. In one of those middle aged moments, I was startled by a little bit of nostalgia and a whole lot of happiness. Stars flew over my head, as my old friend, Jack Tone Road, came into view. I looked to the right and left and saw the magnitude of change and the persistence of sameness along the physical highway. History says Jack Tone was a rancher in the San Joaquin valley and that he developed his struggling farm land into a modern fertile ranch; working tirelessly he designed irrigation systems and instituted farming with modern equipment. Jack Tone was also an advocate for the valley farmers and fought for local water policy. It was also said Jack had the power of the 'laying of the hands,' and that he could heal both sick animals and people. Jack Tone Road...the longest straight road in the San Joaquin Valley.
2. Yale. WTF? And title IX. Apparently there is a long list of alleged sexual harassment and sexual assaults made by graduates and under grads which the Admin at Yale have not addressed or chosen to ignore out of contempt or stupidity. Some of the allegations stretch back as far as 2005. The Department of Educ. has finally stepped in to investigate the matter. One of my first jobs in high school was delivering documents for my father's law firm. Every day I grappled with emotional obstacles. The weather was steaming. It felt like 105 in panty hose and I was drenched in sweat as I slogged documents back and forth in mini pumps between the courts and various law offices. It was of course, made worse, because I didn't even have a place I could hide and cop a smoke. One unbearable day, I dropped a pile of papers off and handed them to a petite woman who was surrounded by a mountain of files. I thought she was the secretary until I returned a couple of weeks later to drop off more legal papers and learned through awkward introductions she was Patsy Takemoto, the resident attorney of the tiny office. Decades would pass before I learned that Patsy Takemoto had applied to more than 20 medical schools and been rejected by them all because she was a woman. In 1972, as a congressional member Patsy T. Mink, a believer in woman's rights, authored Title IX. She would serve Hawaii for 12 terms in the House of Representatives. I often reflect on that particular summer whenever violations or sordid incidents surface like the current allegations at Yale.
3. They say when a great man or woman dies, winds sweep down across the plains and settle into the valley. Albin Watson Crabtree. 1910-2011. I felt the wind brush up against my back today.
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