Hi Francis -- Thanks for letting me know about this. I do live along the extraordinary California coast. Actually on the Bay Side more (Mill Valley) but it doesn't take me long to get to the actual coast. I'm really very fortunate in that. It's so expensive here though, we may have to move, which will be a sad day for me. It's getting tougher and tougher to keep up, as I'm sure it is with everyone else. You probably pass my exit (East Blithedale) on your way into the city. I'm an artist, a painter. When I first arrived I asked some people where might be a great place to do some work. They suggested the Marin Headlands. When I finally figured out where/what that was, I was astounded and more than a little bit exhilarated. Wow; What a place to paint! I've done a number of paintings out there. Views of the coast itself, views of the Point Bonita Light, Views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Coastal Trail, etc. A couple weeks ago I met a woman painter who is probably in her late 70's. I was painting down at Fort Baker looking up at the GG Bridge. She wanted to see what I was doing and tell me a little about her story. She told me she was instrumental in the formation of the Sausalito Art Festival but also in stopping the development in the Headlands area. The story as I understand it, is that developers had already negotiated and signed a contract to put gawd knows how many houses in the Headlands. Groups of Nature Lovers and Tree Huggers intervened and by some act of perseverance they were able to create the Golden Gate National Recreation Area instead of a grid of houses. I and many thousands of others are eternally grateful to those who spoke out so forcefully and effectively in those days. So I am happy to hear there is an organized group hoping to protect the coastline in a similar way. That said, I am one of the worst candidates for such a group. Me, as an activist? or watchdog? I'm really much more of a pessimist and I'd ruin everything by just getting angry. So I like to think that my work as an artist does way more good for promoting the benefits of coastal areas than anything I could say or do politically. As a point of conversation, I periodically suggest bumper sticker slogans to my wife and one of them was "TRYING TO PAINT THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE FASTER THAN YOU CAN RUIN IT WITH DEVELOPMENT AND SUICIDE BARRIERS" BUT IT'S a sort of John Henry theme (he was a steel drivin' man". My wife sometimes chuckles or laughs or ignores me. So instead, I've settled on simply this: "NULLE DIES SINE LINEA" Latin for "Never a Day Without a Line" That is the public statement on the back of my truck. I don't even put it in English to be better understood. Nevertheless, and however naive you may think it is, that is how I will protect the California Coastline.
FD wrote: This is for those that live along the coast of California that are interested in the Coastal Act and ensuring it is enforced . . . to help coastal activists overcome the vast financial resources of those that want to challenge the Coastal Act --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "StrataList-OT" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/StrataList-OT?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
