Big Toe Jams in Oceanside

Every Thursday between 5 and 9 P.M., for a nice time, friendly breezy atmosphere, tastes of good food, mingling with other hip yet down to Earth people and take part in some pretty good summer band sessions, Oceanside on Tremont and Pierview is where you want to be at.

To Sylvia and Micah of A Taste of Soul “Southern Cuisine for the Heart and Soul” thanks for the bowl of jambalaya and Marty and the ladies at Dad’s New York Dogs…the turkey dog I believe with the Jalapeno spread… tasty! Just remember folks, Marty’s hot dog stand is right there practically on the beach on the Southern side of the Amphitheatre and both their booths are featured by the stage at the intersection of Tremont and Pierview. Oh and right behind A Taste of Soul is the booth with the Guamanian style barbecue... a must to try...

Like I mentioned though... I just can't thank these folks enough for taking care of me on my sustenance while I was running around filming this band. So hey check out the video below although it can be seen in seemingly better quality by clicking on the word HERE.



Oh… and I sure picked one heck of a day to have sound problems but I managed to get some decent footage(s) of the band. As for the interviews I did… sad to say we lost them all for the most part but hey… we got all summer so we can get all resolved soon by just a few re-takes aye…

So this coming Thursday, I hope to see you all out there enjoying the sun, surf and events. Stay tuned for more videos and pictures of all that...

Sorry for all the delays...

I have been so swamped with all the current events that is and about to happen. The past months have been invigoratingly challenging.

I believe for the most part, the City and Public Works is aware clearly of the ongoing issue related to the encampments South of Harmony Grove Road. As can be attested through the many footages I have acquired and that I will soon compile and release, Public Works has been tremendous in the commitments they have exhibited in helping to do their part in resolving these concerns.

The encampments not only hosted many lost and dejected souls but diseases and squalor as well. That was cleared out about 2 and a half months ago with at least 5000 pounds of trash removed from the area some contributed by the transients while most was an accumulation of the trash and debris from the urban sub-shed. On that note, the catchments have been recently and consistently maintained as well thanks to the dedication of Public Works.

As for the vagrants located under the 15 overpass, in these times, it seems as if the number of homeless people in our community has increased. Fortunately with the continued interest amongst private citizens to assure that the public restrooms in Grape Day Park are free of drug activity, that the potential illicit deals that have occurred in the horseshoe area throughout the years does not continue to be a haven for such criminal elements, there are those in the transient community who in times past would have cooperated with said elements in distributing and or consuming such dangerously addictive substances such as Chrystal Methamphetamine onto our streets now think twice in doing so and all through volunteer activism in documenting such activities through photographs and video footages.

I have also been interested in working with some of the innkeepers/ bar operators in the area, especially the Mount Vernon Inn, the Californian, Motel 6, Palm Tree Lodge, and Woody's in helping to report such activities like prostitution and drug transactions they suspect is occurring on their property. I mean seriously, what is the use of building new hotels in the city when we have motels and other businesses that attract and promote activities that lead a particular area into blight.

If these business owners don't do more to assist in promoting an ideal atmosphere for the City that is orientated in Public Safety so that we can move forward in bringing a more positive light to how Escondido is perceived, I believe we should develop ordinances or put forth enhancements that allows for the City to go after these type of operators vigorously. We as a community should NEVER HAVE TO TOLERATE PROSTITUTION AND OR ILLICIT DRUG ACTIVITIES.

For the most part though, many people are receptive and open to being more conscience of the concerns, being more active in voicing their stance on what is good for this community. Escondido is very unique in it's heritage and culture as well as it's diversity. We should celebrate this City for the positive manner in which we can co-exist and work at resolving our differences. Their is a lot of potential for us to recognize and exhibit the character and flavour that uniqueness provides to and for us.

Regardless of creed, colour and or social economic status, we can come together and amongst us and as a result of our commitment and cooperation, our children can develop into accomplished musicians, graffiti artists, teachers, nurses, athletes, restaurateurs, social workers, etc...

It starts now and not just as another seeming novelty of civic duty and responsibility but as a true and sustainable approach in recognizing that we as a community can not tolerate a continued oblivious state of mind when it comes to the environment especially in relation to the city's flood control channel. That the bike/path that runs beside it and throughout the city can be critical in having a huge impact on the bringing forth the many different elements together so that we can therefore attract events, marathons and benefit marches like a 5K run that can be held in memory of Sgt. Geoff Galindo , a very well liked officer in the department who died unexpectedly in November of last year.


He is best described as "a native of Escondido who was
committed to our community and the profession of law of
enforcement... one who spent many hours mentoring the youth."

The many events around town...

Downtown Escondido Chalk Art Festival on May 9th.




Cruizin' on Grand!




Who's this G.U.Y.?




Care to cruise Grand in this? Might be a bit much...




Future Rockstars performing on the corner of Kalmia and Grand.






Escondido High School Re-Union at Grape Day Park...






Escondido Street Fair...

Rescuing Marcus Claudius

I first became alarmed at the welfare of the inhabitants in the encampments adjacent to the Green Tree Mobile Home Estates at around 7 in the morning of December 15, 2008.

According to various weather sources, there was a substantial winter storm wreaking havoc throughout San Diego County with record low temperatures and considerable precipitation events during the day. By 9:30 a.m., they were forced to evacuate through a makeshift bridge they had fashioned from a felled tree... all except for one, a 49 year old transient named Marcus Claudius.

The water was rising fast and I knew the terrain around his area in the encampment was basically being surrounded by a swift moving, cold, dank wall of muddy water. What use to be a trail leading up to his lonely island is under at least 10 feet of water and a few trees nearby would possibly be strong enough to cling to.

I can pick up his voice in the howling wind. He sounds exhausted, possibly intoxicated, a slight quiver I can barely detect in his pronunciations tells me he might be suffering from being exposed to such conditions. He tells me to leave him be that he is fine but I can't leave that sort of assessment to someone inebriated and incapable to a dangerous degree of processing his current situation.

I called a Escondido Community Officer and requested someone to respond to the scene. After some quick evaluations of the challenges at hand, it was determined that a variety of assets needed to be involved in what would eventually turn out to be swift river rescue.

Ironically, although it is one of the city's most prominent and least endearing features, we have not seemingly considered having this type of training facility in an area along the flood control channel.

Nevertheless, Escondido Fire, Elfin Forest, Encinitas, San Diego, Carlsbad, Del Mar with some of these agencies contributing both fire and lifeguard personnel coordinated at times from the air from an asset provided by San Diego Fire rescued the man in about 4 hours.

Led from his last vestige of dignity and personal space, having clutched desperately to the root(s) within the soil now mounds awash and shifting below and around him. The small encirclement of young trees slightly on higher ground a residence once gathered together from a tent, some tarp and a collection of scavenged items to somehow patch the quilt work of final desperation and surrender to alcoholism together. It seemed that great Claudius was willing to succumb to his life's sufferings here amongst the cold wet wrath, lonely, dirty, drunk, shivering and starving. physically. psychologically. financially. emotionally. Exhausted in so many ways...

It is the King's horses and men in the guise of firemen and lifeguards who lead him to his carriage... a raft accompanied by an entourage set forth to pluck him from his desolations. He is draped in his finery, a sleeping bag set carefully and gingerly upon his shoulders. He chews his gum casually as if to ward off his close encounter with death with a breath of his freshened and recently rescued air.

We could have spent the money exhausted in the rescue on other projects such as a vigorous policing through ordinance improvements of current laws related to vagrancy, loitering, public intoxication, vandalism to say the least.

We may have, in the interest of social concerns and how to adequately address the concerns of grown ups who somehow have lost their ability to function, spent some of the money on facilitating a ranch/ farm diversion program that houses recovering alcoholics. Their manpower can be utilized to help care for injured animals, to farm the land in producing vegetables, food staples and other acquired processes that can render the establishment self sufficient.

Just one idea amongst a host that I have an interest in putting forth and discussing the feasibility thereof. I hope I am joined by many more in the time to come who also share my interest in re-establishing a sense of pioneerism in seeking to promote solutions that are more oriented in practicality as opposed to politics.

We can little and ill afford to continue along a same track that allowed for the rescue to be necessary in the first place and so before we tackle what seems to be the bigger problems, maybe we would be best served in simply mending the hole in a fence that has done little in keeping trouble out. I suppose we can begin with that...

The Sprinter to Ruby's

Another added benefit of having the bike path maintained, improved and set as a central theme to this city's revitalization is the efficient, relative ease and environmentally friendly mode of transportation one can employ in reaching destinations such as Ruby's at the tip of Oceanside Pier.

Now we didn't film actually eating there, not this time anyways... the day was so gorgeous and practically in mid-November that I turned the recorder off and ate my burger and onion rings washed down refreshingly with a cold dose of ice tea minus the lemon thank you...

The ride on the Sprinter isn't uncomfortable. I noticed around the campus areas where High Schools and Colleges were in proximity that students are a good portion of the segments in the community utilizing this type of transportation. Coupled with the use of bikes and or scooters, it is a reliable, inexpensive, and practical method of getting to the beaches this summer... to say the least:)

The voice in the video besides me is "D"... he was having fun since he has been a big fan of trains forever. He took most of the footages too with me just doing the editing.

There were a lot of good surfing going on and hopefully this summer since I have acquired POV , I hope to film some pretty good sequences some maybe in the ocean.

Also there is a (request for a) proposal in the works to re-vitalize the Oceanside Amphitheatre in the hopes that it can be developed as a legitimate venue for musical performances. If you ask Lenny Williams, I would say that he would venture to opine that in it's current state, it was a beautiful place to perform as he did so at the Father's Day Concert last summer.



Could you imagine a North County Battle of the Bands with several local cities such as Escondido, Vista, San Marcos and Oceanside involved with it all culminating at the Amphitheatre and everyone would be able to attend the events by using the Sprinter? And yeah the music in the video is Donald Fagan's " New Frontier"... hope he doesn't mind... I just thought it seemed appropriate to the ideas we are embarking on in getting the North County some positive exposure and it sounded good with "D's" narration.



So I look forward to, along with all my friends, in getting to the beach to film some surfing this summer via the Sprinter. Oh and for sure we will re-visit Ruby's and definitely give you a close up view of how to take down one of their outstanding burgers...

A Sack Full of Balls...

Escondido Public Works has expressed an interest in responding to the concerns. I can not yet give the name of the specific person since I have not spoken to anyone in that department besides over the phone yet it seems promising. They have been very thankful in the involvement and concerns we have presented and although this does tend to be a long term project given all the dynamics, what matters the most is that the trash that has been gathered and bagged will hopefully be picked by the end of the week.

Kudos then to everyone... the transients who want to do their part in dispelling the notion that they are the primary reason for the pollution, the community who monitors the progress of this project and the city departments who want to work together in resolving this problem.

I know there will continue to be differences in how to best approach the many facets related to the issues yet I remain confident that the new year will bring a refreshing and re-invigorated attitude to the ongoing problems Escondido faces. I hope that in such a spirit, we can somehow become a model city in addressing such issues as the environment, the homeless, the gangs and the drugs and all possibly because of the emphasis we all bring in rejuvenating the creek that runs through all of our very lives.

In the accompanying video below, it is an update then from the footages taken during Thanksgiving weekend. I am glad that it is possible I would not have to follow through on my intent to haul the trash up to the maintenance road although Island Suns will most definitely attempt to be there when it is collected to assist and to document that work that we as a community can achieve TOGETHER.

We started off at about 11 in the morning, checked on the status of the debris in the creek/ flood control channel, grabbed a few shakes (and a shot of wheatgrass... yuuuckk! although healthy), topped it off with a nice work-out at 24 Hour Fitness and getting back by 3.

Thanksgiving Weekend

To say the least, yes, I am so disappointed. There is a huge pile of trash just 50 yards from the maintenance road that has been there since last week. It is at least 100 bags of trash each weighing at a about 25 pounds each. The day before Thanksgiving, it is still there and some have been swept back into the creek because of the rain. On Thanksgiving Day, I go down at around 7:30 in the morning to video document the water flow and the camp is surrounded by water and inaccessible. Here is the video.


As for the run-off from the city from this recent rain, it is abundantly clear that the catchment system employed is ineffective simply since it never seems to get cleared out.



The smaller objects make it through and the transients collected a bucketful of balls to prove the point.



The larger objects for a large part is trapped by the screen yet heavier water flows just results in those items eventually cresting over the catchment to eventually end up downstream. I wonder what Harmony Grove, San Elijo Hills and those communities where some of this trash can eventually end up would think of all this.





But yes, instead of having turkey, I felt like one. It is such an uphill battle and maybe I expect too much but wouldn't it be ironic how in trying to not spend the appropriate resources in cleaning up this mess, Escondido somehow ends up being fined and having to spend that in addition as well. Just the usual bureaucratic shell game and there is so much that can be done creatively to help solve this problem. I am planning on moving the trash up to the road myself though sometime this week. "D" will document it all and although it is going to be some work, I will approach it with an upbeat attitude.

The Proposition of H8

I wonder where I would be if my father had been gay unwilling, some societies may say, to have a child, and am instead borne unto a poor and impoverished family, a 4th child, undernourished at birth, bullied as a child, undereducated and underachieving as a youth to eventually become counter-productive as an adult.

A scenario of a life lumped into a recognizable and tangible generalization. Yet isn't that contrary to our fundamental belief in the concept of what, as individuals, makes us unique? Isn't that the very divine nature of our congress? A constitution that in it's imperfections, we as the direct beneficiaries, hold fast to such a bold and true undertaking? To sustain, nurture and evolve the principles of equality so that we can someday honestly epitomize the intentions as stated in the Preamble of the Constitution.

Please read the Preamble...

Are gays not providing for the common defence?

Promoting for the general welfare as well as ensuring domestic tranquility?

How then shall We appropriately establish the justice of their, in some eyes, imperfect union?

I can recall when Prince Charles and Princess Diane were wed in front of what must have been the entire world. How picturesque and oh so perfect did their union seem. How disappointing it must have been to some, including myself, the portrayal of what seemingly was the perfect storybook fairytale marriage, undignified in it's collapse. Another victim of what ails even the commonest of marriages... INFIDELITY...

In some countries such as Malta and Philippines, divorce is not even permitted so high in regard is the oath that is given considered. And please, what is the argument related to the contention that the basis of marriage is that of propagation?

I would be very interested indeed in knowing about the number of men and women that in some ways could not have children and yet were allowed to marry.

Those with erectile dysfunctions, intrauterine malfunctions, or just plain too old to even have children, why even death row inmates such the infamous Richard Ramirez, the night stalker are permitted to marry and to do so without consummation.

But what really saddens me beyond belief though and yes from both sides of the argument is the amount of money spent on this venture. The many millions and also hours, seemingly wasted resources that could have fed a child or helped provide in the mentoring and or adopting of one, paid for a teacher's salary, helped struggling families and all to just instead re-establish what seems to be a deeper divide.

Doesn't it remind you of Proposition 187? How we choose to spend the time and money litigating something as basic as human kindness and dignity. We could have better spent that time and money reaching out to one another, uplifting through seeking common ground and insisting on social accountability that is represented, maintained, and reinforced by the members of the human community.

To do so in the neutrality of our truest and most sincerest of intentions; educating our children, fostering growth and unity, humbly overcoming the daily struggles and dignified in our successes. Should I believe other civilizations of the human society do not hold onto those basic notions as well?

We all they do, in just another language. I would hope in this day and age where there is so much to achieve, bridges to build and or to mend within the nationale and global communities, let's create more sister cities, beautify a creek, help to care for those with special needs like my lovely and happily married cousin Mimi does. I hardly get a chance to talk to her she gets so busy running the daily operations of 2 households serving people who have special needs. She is at least a decade younger than me and I am so proud of her.

Other than that, if we insist, we will be marching against each other for many years to come. Pointed and unrelentless in eXpousing generalizations only to achieve a greater divide. I for one will be forced then to move for and support a Constitutional Clause that adds one more word to the Preamble where it then reads:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of LOVE and Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Regardless of having been popularly believed by some band of mystical all knowing jurists that the introductory statement has no judicial value, I hope there will be a growing number of people that begin to seriously consider otherwise.

Those who believe that the Constitution is a living document. One that evolves and yet sustains the very basic nature of it's existence where freedom and equality is defended as an individuals' inherent right.

People who are knowledgeable and patriotic enough to exert the necessary passions in defending such a fundamental right for those they love and hold dear.

For how can one appreciate Liberty if there is a lack in the understanding of the very concept of having Love for it? Consequently then, why should a small supposed educated minority define what is and is not of great import in taking into consideration the elements within a document specifically designed to defend the Common People?

A Preamble is a statement of intent and in this case, one considered Great indeed. An introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles which the Constitution is meant to serve.

What greater statement of intent is there then that of LOVE?



Is Love not an inherent right?



Love of Country and Community as expressed by Jennifer Shumaker of walkfortogetherness.



A staunch advocate of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in America, she gathered a march seeking public awareness in the movement to repeal Proposition H8. A march of 400 people over 2.4 miles starting and ending at Grape Day Park.

A march where, for the most part, participants were greeted positively and as a resident of Escondido, I can be proud of that.

For how can one seriously hope to hold onto the severest distinctions in considering what is Love for Family?

A Family who loves and supports dearly two human beings and just as importantly, Uncles who are Gay?



What better notion and or noble a lesson is there then? To hold above all else the simplest of decrees. Love, Compassion, and Equality.

Please join the human family on November 22nd for a "Candlelight March for Equality" in Oceanside. You can find all the particular information at http://northcountylgbtcoalitionforce.org/.

Thank you...