Chapeau, Metro

Yes, that is a good move. Excellent and to the point.

http://metro.net/news_info/press/metro_213.htm

  • Leave the Driving to Metro

Metro will offer a special Holiday Free Fare Program for all Metro Bus and Metro Rail lines operating on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The free fare program, approved by Metro’s Board of Directors, will be in effect between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. only on the nights and early morning hours of December 24-25 and December 31-January 1.

Patrons boarding a Metro Bus, including the Metro Orange Line or the Metro Red, Purple, Blue, Green or Gold rail lines during the hours designated will receive a free ride to their destination.

The free rides are being offered during this period to promote safety during the holiday season. Metro is an option for people attending holiday parties so they don’t have to drive.

Metro’s fleet of more than 2,200 buses, The Metro Orange Line, a dedicated bus transitway in the San Fernando Valley and Metro Rail lines offer patrons alternatives to driving solo in their vehicles with convenient travel opportunities throughout the region.

The Metro Purple Line operates from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Wilshire/Western and the Metro Red Line from Union Station to North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley. The Metro Blue Line operates from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, the Metro Green Line runs between Norwalk and El Segundo and the Metro Gold Line operates between Union Station and Pasadena.

For complete route and schedule information patrons can call 1-800-C-O-M-M-U-T-E or visit Metro’s web site and access the Metro Trip Planner at www.metro.net.

Metro-213

Tasty

No, I do not miss German food. I know that I am lucky, because there are fellow Germans all around the US who do. Many of them pine for food from “back home.” Quite a number of online shops in the US apparently make a fortune out of selling Germans prepackaged stuff at exorbitant prices; stuff I would not have touched even back in Germany, stuff where the list of ingredients reads like an excerpt from a chemistry book.

One thing though I do miss sometimes is “real” bread. Bread, dense and chewy, but not heavy, with no added sugar or other strange things mixed in. Bread with a real crust, bread which does not go stale while sitting on your plate. Bread which does not cost $8.00 a loaf, because it is “artisan bread.” Bread which is tasty with just some butter and a sprinkling of salt.

When that craving hits me, I bake my own bread. A loaf like this:

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We had that for dinner tonight . With butter, salt, a side of guacamole and some smoked trout. No, that is not a traditional German food-pairing, but very tasty. Old Europe meets West Coast. Yummy.

Taking A Trip

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1850: In a covered wagon from Independence/Missouri to California along the Oregon and California Trail (approx. 2,000 miles) – 6 months. Timed right, one left in Spring and arrived in October. That was under good conditions – if they were unfavorable, one might not arrive at all.

1858: First non-stop stage coach from St. Louis to Los Angeles (2,000 miles) – 20 days. Hard on the derrière for passengers.

1860: Pony-Express from St. Louis to Sacramento (1,996 miles) – 11 days. They took mail only, no passengers. Tough luck.

1876: First trip of the Transcontinental Express train from New York City to San Francisco – 83 hours and a bit. Now passengers can speed from coast to coast.

1923: First non-stop flight Long Island to San Diego (2.470 miles) – 25 hours 50 minutes. The plane had to be adjusted to carry the massive amounts of fuel needed. No passengers, sorry.

1929: First combined rail and air passenger service from coast to coast – 48 hours. No non-stop service, though.

2006: Traveling by car from New York City to Los Angeles – 31 hours 4 minutes. Some speed limits were broken while setting the new record.

More Tales Of The Island

About the last thing I expected to see on Catalina Island were bison. Right – I had not done my homework, otherwise I would have been aware of this story:

1924 a herd of 14 bison were transported to Catalina Island to act as extras in a silent movie (“The Vanishing American” ). After filming was done – and here the reports get a bit sketchy – the film company either left the animals on the island for cost reasons or because they could not round up the bison again to take them back. Be that as it may, the bison stayed and became a tourist attraction. They also multiplied and became reason for concern: The eco system of Catalina Island is rather fragile and was and is not set up to support several hundred bison, happily munching away on rare plants indigenous to the island.

Now and then some animals were taken off the island, but the herd grew to around 350 head – too many to stay there. At this point the Catalina Island Conservancy came up with the plan to return some of the animals to their home, home being the Great Plains. But would they survive there after 80 years in sunny California? Very quietly a herd of about 50 head were taken off the island and sent to the land of the Cheyenne, who were partners in this experiment. Surprisingly enough the bison adjusted within weeks to the different weather conditions, grew a nice thick winter pelt and thrived on the more nourishing grass of their old home.

After this test run, both the Conservancy and the Indian tribes knew that the repatriation would not harm the animals. With the help of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and some others, in 2004 funding was found to round up 100 bison, ship them to the mainland and transport them by truck the roughly 2,000 miles to South Dakota to the land of the Lakota tribe.

A short video can be seen here.

There are still bison on Catalina Island, a herd of about 150 animals. The island can sustain this many and for the visitor it is a wonderful experience to see some of these remarkable animals in the wild without having to travel 2,000 miles.

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A Much More Respectable Bird

Good old Benjamin Franklin. His opinion of the turkey was quite interesting:

I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.

This is an excerpt from a letter he wrote to his daughter, lamenting the choice of the Bald Eagle as the national bird of the US. His view of the Bald Eagle was … well:

For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labor of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country…

So, there we are.

Good to know that the bird brining away in the fridge is “most respectable”, a “bird of courage” and does not have a “bad moral character.”

Just imagine it were otherwise – the horror, the horror!