Fwd: Homeless count

 Homeless count

This morning I went out before sunrise to help count the homeless living in 29 Palms.  What an eye-opening four hours!  I was on a team with four men (I love going out with men!) The driver was Jim Thornburg, one of our former sheriff Deputies and now our city's Code enforcement Officer.  We rode in his BFT (The first thing I learned is that a BFT is a Big F..ing Truck).  Jim  knew where all the homeless camp out, knew them by name, knew their stories and has a great rapport with them. Along with Jim were four of us representing 29 Palms Rotary - Gary Daigneault, owner and operator of the Morongo Basin's Main radio station, who has lived here over 30  years; Aaron Kyle, a third generation local who has lived here over 40 years; Danny Mintz one of our City Council members and a second generation '29-er  with over 50 years of local living; and me, a second generation local, with over 70 years of living here.  Among all of us in the truck, we shared stories all morning of people and places of the past in this town. We carried with us hot and freshly made egg muffins from Jack-in-the-Box; backpacks filled with Sox, underwear, hats etc; bags with personal toiletries; and sleeping bags.  One abandoned house had 7 People living in it!  Our team counted  and surveyed 15 people.  The surveys were recorded on an App on our cell phone.  This information will be used to receive County, State, and Federal funding and services.  I sure know more about this town than I did when I woke up this morning!

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Fwd: JOIRIDE

This has been an over-the-top day, and I need to write about it to share my excitement. This is a scheduled meeting day for the Board of Trustees of Copper Mountain College, and, as President, I needed to be on board for the meeting by 2 o'clock. At 12 o'clock noon, my friend and partner in a business enterprise, Ivan, called me and said, "Do you want to go for a helicopter ride?"  He and Chris are partners in a helicopter airline business, planning to build a heliport on my land near Joshua Tree National Park for tourism purposes.  The company's name is JOIRIDE, and they are contracted to fly for news reports for NBC.  In return, NBC agreed to give them a publicity photo shoot, which included JTNP and my land.  

OF COURSE I was up for the ride, but told Ivan I needed to be at the college by 2 o'clock. Ivan said, " no problem,  we'll drop you off at the college at two."  So I met them on my land, the JOIRIDE helicopter landed, and a second helicopter landed also. JOIRIDE had one NBC photographer and the second helicopter had two other NBC photographers.  We spent the next two hours doing photo shoots of exciting flights, hovers, and scenes with desert backgrounds.  Very fun!  At 1:30 I texted Jeff Cummings, the College President, and told him I was flying in for the meeting, and on my way. We landed on the athletic fields near the gym, and Jeff was there to pick me up!  Observers commented it was like a Presidential arrival, and I reminded them I WAS the President of the Board, and we all had a good laugh! To top it off, we had a very good Board meeting.

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Ride of a Lifetime

For 74 years I have watched the sunrises and the reflected light of the sunsets on the Sheephole Mountains.  Yesterday I was given the opportunity to fly in this beautiful helicopter over that mountain at close range, seeing it like I have never seen it before!  It was a thrill beyond words for me, and an adventure I will never forget.

Fwd: Ride of a lifetime

Liz Meyer 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Elizabeth Meyer <lizmeyer920@icloud.com>
Date: August 31, 2018 at 6:17:49 AM PDT
To: "lizmeyer920@hotmail.com" <lizmeyer920@hotmail.com>
Subject: Ride of a lifetime

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Small Town Government

The Last Lap

Liz Meyer This morning I was awakened at about 3:00 AM (not sure which time zone) in our campsite in Golden, CO. with shattering thunder, lightening and a downpour of rain. Concurrently, Miki was burrowing Into my sleeping bag, and Cinda moved to curl up around my head! The remainder of the night was noisy, but cozy and dry for the three of us. Today brought crossing the Rockies, with passes higher than 12,000 feet that requires drivers to stay alert with varying high and low speeds, curves, and construction. The views, when you took a peek, were spectacular! I am camped tonight in Richfield, Utah. A cooling swim and the dry evaporation factor makes things comfortable. An early start tomorrow will bring me home, grateful for over 6,000 miles of driving, wonderful camping sites (and some not so wonderful) and great family time.

Goodbye to the Green

Liz Meyer The flannel PJs and the sweatshirts are packed away, leaving just the shorts and flip flops for the needed attire to travel back to the Desert. I leave first thing in the morning for the four camping nights and five days of driving to get home. Just the two dogs and me are making the return trip. I'll miss the company of David and Hannah, and following along with Jeff and Lauren and Katelyn in their 5th wheel, but I look forward to the adventure. Another wonderful summer at Hatch Haven.