Monday, December 6, 2010

the Santa Clause

because we need a little Christmas....right this very minute
 
I keep hearing that something is going to happen on Santa Claus Lane..the business owners want some change, the county wants some change, the homeless want some change (get it?), and some folks are getting weary of Caltrans using the lane as a dump for their freeway projects..see, that mountain of rubble they've built..that's not good..so change is coming and unless they forgot what happened last time they tried to remake this area, I'm confident any changes will be modest...
so if we go back to 1998, we see that The Santa statue was still there, the new owner wanted it gone and wanted to change the lane to a seaside villa theme, some folks, including the Pearl Chase Society wanted the Lane to remain the same, or be designated an historical landmark, hearings were held, blood was drawn, surfer Santa was hauled away to Nyeland Acres in Oxnard where he dodges gang bullets, but the name Santa Claus Lane remained..and the rest is history...now, that's the point hereabouts..any changes to the place need to reflect the history..the agriculture history..SCL used to be a lima bean field and this area has a great balance of ag, commercial and residential... the 1950s roadside attraction history.... car culture travelers used to stop here before heading to points north and south....it's a cool little place that hasn't changed much..and the scenery is awesome...mountains and ocean...ok..got it? less is better...
what we don't need here is a manicured Beverly Hills strip mall for botoxed bimbos or I swear I will go ballistic again and cause all sorts of trouble for the business owners...they own the businesses, not the goddam street!! ..Now, a new owner has moved in and finally remodeled the old Lobster House and that's good..rumor has it they will put a little Frosty the Snowman on top of the building as a nod to the past... now that's the kind of business owner who understands the area! It's important to keep it casual and fun and uncluttered, quirky California...after all, this old street is a landmark in its own right...nobody better mess with it!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since you keep tabs on amusing things in the Santa Barbara News-Press, I thought I'd share. On Page One today there's a photo of Kathy Ireland at Bryant and Sons jewelry store. I wonder if it's an advertisement for her jewelry, or the store, or maybe both.

Mick Von Caw said...

yes..and it's sheer torture for me as you will find out tomorrow!