West is Eden
Ken McAlpine’s magazine articles have earned three Lowell Thomas awards, travel writing's top award. More important to him, writing has provided unbridled opportunity for play; from free diving with sharks, to running the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, to sparring with the world shoot fighting champion (you cannot learn a martial art in a week). Ken is also the author of several books, including the non-fiction works“Off Season: Discovering America on Winter’s Shore” and “Islands Apart: A Yearon the Edge of Civilization," and the novels “Fog” and “Together We Jump.” Writing has sent him around the globe, but no matter where he travels he can’t wait to get home to Ventura, his favorite place in this fascinating world and inspiration for his column, West is Eden.
West is Eden:
Mist blew in. I tasted salt on both our lips.
West is Eden:
There's a new Walmart in Simi Valley. It's the second Walmart there -- on the same street, miles away. What do all these big boxes in Ventura County mean?
West is Eden:
It's the people you never hear of who really make a difference. And the boys from New Jersey and the California surfboard shaper fit that bill.
West is Eden:
I do worry about the children. How do they see a bulletproof backpack? What do they think about a playground fenced off on the weekend? What does this look like to someone who still believes in Santa Claus?
West is Eden:
There is no place I'd rather be than here in salt-laced, downy-soft nightfall. There aren't words for this sort of happiness. It is like falling in love. Huell understood.
West is Eden:
What is right, wrong, innocence, guilt?
West is Eden:
As the world marks another year's passing, life, the onrushing gift, might best be unwrapped with a moonlit neighborhood walk.
West is Eden:
Did it or didn't it? The end of the world, or a new beginning?
West is Eden:
Looking for the perfect Holiday gift? Here it is, courtesy of a Benedictine monk with a marvelous sense of humor.
West is Eden:
In this world where so many things are going wrong, so many things are also going right -- like this choir program in Ventura County.
West is Eden:
The end of Jalama Road in Santa Barbara County may be beautiful, but dawdling along it can be just as rejuvenating.
West is Eden:
I whistle as I drive because this road makes me happy, and long ago I ascertained that getting lost presents no problem if you don't care.
West is Eden:
Should you travel to Morro Rock (and you should), you are apt to meet Bob Isenberg. He's been there, off and on, since 1969. He's easy to find. In his words, "Look for the guy with the tripod."
West is Eden:
In this cacophonous age when almost everyone is shouting to be noticed, quiet speaks loudly.
West is Eden:
There's so much debate, din, and shouting in politics. But beneath all the noise, I hear the whisper of things lost.
West is Eden:
Something is seriously wrong when our most important asset -- the education system -- has to ask for money.
West is Eden:
"I want to go away and see things," she told me. Many people say this sort of thing. Not so many have Stage 3 cancer. She had a bucket list, she said. Ambling around the country, going nowhere in particular, was on it.
West is Eden:
Should you visit Piedras Blancas beach, I advise you visit in the evening's last light. There is something bizarrely ethereal and comforting about the gloaming that drapes itself on this stretch of sand seven miles north of San Simeon.
West is Eden:
I'm betting that the issue of homelessness gives all of us pause.
West is Eden:
This natural glory so close to civilization, the Santa Monica Mountains are a wonderful weirdness.
SoCal Focus is a daily blog about the people, places and issues in and around Southern California.
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