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Saturday, January 23, 2016

Takela, how the street got its name

How did Takela Drive in the City of South Lake Tahoe, California, get its name?

Entering Takela Drive from Lake Tahoe Blvd.
The answer is in the 11.02.16 issue of the Lake Tahoe News. Thanks to them for publishing this important piece of information (er, trivia?).

URL: http://www.laketahoenews.net/2016/02/takela-the-true-tale-of-a-name/

If for some reason, you cannot access this curiosity, or bit of fluff, contact me and I'll forward a copy.

Addendum

I admit there are probably people who remember the times I am talking about; however, I believe I am safe in asserting that the origin of the place name securely rests in the lives and memories of just three people. Now I believe there will be more.

I note with interest that the News has categorized my truth-telling as opinion. I would surely love to hear what other "opinions" there are that specifically address how the street got its name. But I suppose, people will believe what they want to believe, and they do, of course.

I have tried to ferret out records of my father's proposal to the planning commission. Perhaps there he had to explain the significance of the word Takela. As for whether or not the newly incorporated City of South Lake Tahoe got in on the action I can't say. I will leave that to those on the scene and who can get access to city records, microfilms at the local library, etc.

Not many street names that I suggested in the several subdivisions my father developed at (many say _in_) Tahoe remain under the same name. Or the streets have disappeared and subdivisions re-configured. Alas.

And finally an aside. I remember applying for a summer job with the local newspaper at the time. I wanted to be a writer and I wrote for my high school newspaper. I met two people at the newspaper office, and the guy in charge, once I told him my last name, went off on my father and that in no way would I have a summer job with his paper. The other guy witnessing the vehemence tried to calm the first guy down. Not entirely unconscious by then as a young person, I slinked off. No summer job that year, but yeah! more water skiing behind the boat christened, and that went by the name of, Takela.

This aside, a memory of something that happened a long time ago and was and is of no account really, led me to use the expression "damnable property developer" in the piece I contributed to the Lake Tahoe News.


Thursday, January 14, 2016

Natural Bohemia

[Promotional copy for an incubating business.]

"Locally Produced and Handcrafted Natural Products"

XXXXX, Proprietress

Natural Bohemia offers handcrafted personal care and food products for local shoppers in Umbria and Bohemia. Through selected retail outlets, farmers' and festival markets, custom orders, and online shops, Natural Bohemia personally and proudly offers unique Italian and Czech specialty items.

Your Natural Bohemia product always comes from people who made it with their hands working with traditional tools in time-proven ways. The hunter-gatherer in you will find your needs fulfilled for living with nature. In addition to producing its own unique goods, Natural Bohemia has done the hunting and gathering for you.

See what's in the store: www.naturalbohemia.com

Follow Natural Bohemia on Facebook: www.facebook.com/naturalbohemia

Have you showered, shaved or shampooed with pure olive oil soap lightly scented with lavender picked from a wild Umbrian field? If not, your skin needs this care and treatment. Washing becomes less routine and more like a ritual to which nature invites you.

Have you tasted the olive oil from a neighbor's grove yet? The oil that comes from hand-picked olives rushed to the local press and lovingly packaged for you? Take a bite of plain white toast soaked in the stuff. Store-bought oil will never match this standard, or give as much pleasure.

Have you ever realized the health benefits of eating honey and using beeswax cosmetics from native woods and fields? Whether for sweet consumption, the soft glow from a naturally scented candle or body application and skin regeneration, these products make harmonious living intimate.

Natural Bohemia, the natural choice for Czech and Italian specialties.


Monday, January 4, 2016

It's the little things

Isn't it? Today it's the jam jar. Have a look.

Imagine my dismay as the product nears depletion; the container it came in prevents me from savoring the last berries and globules of nectar. No spoon or knife can get into the ridges at top and bottom of this jar, and the nub at the bottom obstructs any clean swipe with ordinary tools I can find in my kitchen. Alas.

If science and its handmaiden technology cannot by this point in history work together to make breakfast or tea time frustration-free zones in our otherwise trivia-filled lives, what's the hope? There is no progress in certain sectors of my world. Yours?

As I stretch my mouth around the jam jar's opening and stick my inadequately sized tongue in to lick the uppermost ridge of the jar while the beard on my chin acquires a new color and consistency, I must contradict Stewart Brand, who I otherwise almost always agree with when virtually having him join me for breakfast via The Edge:
When you scan through a newspaper or magazine, all the human interest stuff is the same old he-said-she-said, the politics and economics the same sorry cyclic dramas, the fashions a pathetic illusion of newness, and even the technology is predictable if you know the science. Human nature doesn't change much; science does, and the change accrues, altering the world irreversibly.
Scientists, engineers, designers (in this case German), people! Unite. We need a better jam jar. I await accrued changes to improve my world irreversibly, specifically with regard to this one, little thing.