2012

Our little Community finds itself on the threshold of yet another New Year: 2012 no less! What do we hope to leave behind and aspire to become? Some of us don’t believe there is a future: that, according to the Mayan calendar, this is the last Holiday Season any of us will ever celebrate. Others argue that the Mayans simply ran out of the right kind of stone or perhaps, couldn’t calculate any further than 2012; or maybe the scribe dude died: so, of course we have a future! Is the end of our species just around the bend or not: I don’t know. I do know that my little dance with cancer in ’05, taught me to live every day as if it is my last: in utter gratitude for each precious moment I am given.

I also know that this isn’t the first time the World’s End has been envisioned. Nostradamus predicted a monstrous earthquake, which was supposed to destroy the Planet on May 5th, 1993. The reports were so believable, I actually purchased earthquake insurance!

Probably the most famous and world-wide “End of the World as we know it” prediction was Y2K. During the Summer of ‘99, an amazing man named Scott Walking Buffalo showed up around the Morongo Basin: teaching us about the Hopi Prophecy and giving away heritage seeds so we could all grow our own food. Musician Prince advised us to “party like it’s 1999” and everyone believed that computers would not manage the transition to the New Year: crashing; causing death and widespread havoc around the Globe.

As January 1st 2000 dawned bright, it became apparent that in the earlier time zones like New Zealand, Australia and the Far East, computers were making the transition just fine: we had safely entered the New Millennium and would live to see another Sunrise. Speaking of which, doesn’t the world as we know it end with every Sunset and then begin all over again with every Sunrise?

Happy New Year and best wishes for a most splendidly excellent 2012: Stay well!

Our little Community is holding the first Saturday Breakfast of the New Year this morning, from 8-11am. Join us for great food, lively conversation and a wonderfully Neighborly beginning to 2012.

I’ve received warnings from several Neighbors, that this Earthly Homo-Sapiens experiment, which we humans are part of, will be aborted later this year. We are advised to start living; loving; being kind to our elders, youngsters and thinking about bucket lists! These ‘end of Life’ moments certainly help us to identify our priorities; rescue and repair ourselves, don’t they? Nevertheless, I hope very much to be here these next many years!

Our Neighbor and good friend Doug, had a horrible accident on New Year’s Eve and is clinging to life in Desert Hospital. Our loving thoughts and best wishes go out to him, his Mom Cheryl, brother Jim and the whole Family.

The Mesa was rumbling at 6:52 last Thursday morning: as if a train was approaching; or a mighty thunderstorm. Instead, I watched as one of those huge, scrap metal hauling, semi-trailers thundered north on Coppermoon, across Winters and turned in at the blue house in the wash. A light-colored truck - with manual transmission and problematic muffler - followed the semi into the driveway. I presume the local scrap metal business is booming. I just hope it’s all above board; respectful of private property and the well-being of our Community.

Our Neighborhood Watch meeting is this Monday, January 9th at 6p.m., immediately followed by the CMM Community Association monthly Board meeting, starting at 7p.m. You are strongly encouraged to join us at the Center, because we all know: isolating ourselves at home and complaining about everything doesn’t make change happen. As more Neighbors gather and get to know each other, we are discovering that a diverse and interesting group of people call Copper Mountain Mesa home. So: show up, participate, meet some great humans and become active in your Community!

Hope to see more players at the Tuesday night Bingo and Supper parties every week from 5:30pm. Stay well!

Our little Community held the first Breakfast of the New Year last Saturday morning. A good crowd of 51 adults and 8 children showed up and the Volunteers were kept busy all morning. I witnessed a most touching moment, when Ruth Tuttle and Judy Driver saw each other for the first time in many moons. They melted into each other’s arms; tearfully declaring their love for each other and how much they missed being Neighbors. These two ladies are part of “The Old Guard” of the Copper Mountain Mesa Community.
Ruth retired to the Mesa permanently in 1986. She soon became involved in the Community Center; writing both the CMMCA Newsletter and the weekly column in the Hi-Desert Star for many years. Before city water was piped up to the Mesa around 1997, Ruth hauled water from Surprise Valley water well, in a huge, yellow truck, which proudly displayed the license plate: “Queen Tut”!
Judy moved up here with her husband in 1993. They lived close to the Wilberts and Tuttles and her husband grew all the trees in their yard from tiny seeds. “Now they’re all dead,” she declared, sadly. “After my husband died, the new people didn’t water them and all those trees are gone!”

Our USDA Food give-away was last Monday, January 9th, because the third Monday of the month is a holiday in January and February. A big THANK YOU to Bill Treas who drove to San Bernardino to pick up our food; because the County delivery trucks were grounded by CHP due to bad tires! Chris Jonas gave away bags of clothes and shoes from the Thrift room and 100 people went home fed and clothed! Call Chris: (760)362-4708 to donate items or visit the Thrift Room.

Earl Wilbert’s delicious Turkey Soup was a huge hit at the Bingo and Supper party last Tuesday. 12 people played and Dorothy Jacobsen won a beautiful lap-blanket as consolation prize!

Delighted to report that, despite his horrendous motorcycle accident, neighbor Doug is home: best wishes on his road to recovery! Happy MLK Day and stay well!

Our little Community’s main thoroughfare - Winters Road – was almost blocked by a long, bulky piece of metal that had obviously fallen off the back of a truck, close to the Community Center, last Tuesday afternoon. As I continued West, I barely managed to avoid another two large pieces of metal. I don’t know who’s been dropping their loads on our roads, but it’s terribly dangerous.

Our friend and neighbor Doug, was almost killed on New Year’s Eve. His dirt bike hit a log: probably dropped by ‘weekenders’ visiting our beautiful Mesa for the holiday; looking forward to miles of dirt and endless starry skies. Likely, they haven’t a clue that the log they lost, almost killed our nephew-in-law Jimbo’s brother Doug. OK, back up; here’s that part of the story! I moved up to the Mesa on a cold, dark night in the Winter of 1993. As I was unpacking the u-haul, a brown El-Camino came zipping into my driveway and out sprang Julie, my exuberantly blonde and bosomy new Neighbor to the North; accompanied by her young sons Gary and Jason. A few years later, Julie’s Uncle Jim came to visit: he is the man I’ve lived with ever since! Cut to several years after that: Julie married Jimbo; we met his brother Doug and we’ve remained friends, neighbors and relatives over the years. They all live off La Brisa: the southern boundary of the Copper Mountain Mesa Community. Doug continues to recover from his fractured skull, broken ribs, clavicle and femur. He thanks us for all our well wishes.

Here’s hoping that Rick Seeley and all those celebrating January Birthdays, will enjoy many happy returns of their special day. With love, we remember Sharon Weaver, Marge and Bob Seeley.

The Bingo and Supper party attracted 15 players last Tuesday night; including Sandy; her mother Carol, who just returned from Texas and grand-daughters Cathy and Ellie. Steve Tuttle and Earl Wilbert served up Pot pies and Hot dogs with chips. Dyan Carroll won the White elephant prize.

The Potluck Party is next Saturday, January 28th: stay well!

Our little Community’s column in this extraordinary local newspaper, has demanded my focused attention on Copper Mountain Mesa, every Thursday noon-hour deadline, for the last 52 weeks! With an average of 345 words per week, that’s almost 18,000 words: an epic epistle; an entire year with 100 square miles of stories! I My hope is that the generations of children and grandchildren who have yet to be born, will one day read the stories in the Copper Mountain Mesa columns and learn more about where their people came from and what kind of lives they led. History, if you will; or, in many cases: Herstory!
Joking aside, writing this column has been a joyful, learning experience for me. Obviously, some weeks it was more difficult to find subject matter than others, but for the most part the constant line-up of Neighborhood news, encounters and stories, dotted with my own experiences, have kept the column writing itself. I have had more reaction to some columns than others: the rodent repelling; scrapmetal hauling and Neighborhood watch meeting segments have attracted the most Community response. I have received mostly positive comments about the Copper Mountain Mesa column: please accept my humble thanks!
My predecessor, Bob Deloyd, who wrote this column for 11 years, continues to run our Community website: www.coppermountainmesa.com. My favorite feature, is where Bob displays the latest column, followed by his own columns from 5 and 10 years ago. It’s a fascinating comparison of Life in our Community back then and how Life is now.

The Tuesday night Bingo and Supper party has been around forever and attracted 17 players last week. Steve Tuttle, Earl Wilbert and Ray Foyil served Chicken and Rice for dinner. We were very happy to see Mary Reeves and Claudia Bridges. Their busy schedules with Outreach means we don’t get to see them as much. Welcome, Ladies! Ruthie Malton won the big money with U-Pik-Em: she was so happy and all-a-wiggle with excitement! You go, Ruthie!

The Potluck party starts at 4pm today and the monthly Saturday Breakfast is next week.
Until then, stay well!

Our little Community’s Saturday Breakfast is going on at the Center today, from 8-11a.m. Located at 65-336 Winters Road – 4 miles East of Border Avenue and 5 miles West of Lear Avenue - the Community Center is the hub of Copper Mountain Mesa. When Neighbors gather, wonderful things happen and we hope to welcome you to one of our Community Events very soon.

I was unable to attend the first Potluck Party of 2012, but Bob Deloyd was kind enough to share his culinary experiences with us: “I headed down to our Potluck with some turkey stuffing and rice. There, almost thirty of our community’s finest showed up. Tim Atzei cooked up his Mac and something. Elaine brought her family: husband Kevin, and two sons Timothy and Matthew (their first time at the community center). Karry Kearns provided us all with beverages. Dave Royer baked up a fancy French (I thought he wrote trench) lemon tart pie thingy. Marybeth Rubin made some curry bites that were delicious. Marybeth and husband Alan had property here for thirty years and just moved in permanently six months ago. Chris Jonas made his famous world renowned macaroni salad. Rose Matich brought along her husband Joe and steamed up her peas and corn for us to enjoy. Mary and Chris Koval created a lemon pumpkin dump cake (Mighty fine) and chicken mushroom mac casserole. Ruth Malton surprised us with red jello. Marie Morrison whipped up a German Chocolate Cake! There was plenty of fun in the Thrift Room especially when young Cody was clowning around with a woman’s wig and a bra: the girls got a kick out of that.” Thanks Bob: that young Cody is turning out to be quite the clown and certainly enjoys making the girls giggle!

The USDA Food Give-away is on February 13th: second Monday of this month, because the 3rd Monday falls on President’s Day. With the give-away from 8:30-11a.m; the Neighborhood Watch meeting at 6p.m. and the monthly Board meeting at 7, Monday February 13th will be a very Community-oriented Day!
Don’t forget Bingo on Tuesdays; stay well!

Our little Community held the monthly Breakfast last week, on the first Saturday of February. Ila Foyil was feeling well enough to play Cashier: assisted by her beautiful daughter Kimberly, who looks just like Marg Helgenberger of the CSI TV series! This freed me up to play Waitress, which I enjoyed immensely, as I got to chat with a lot more people than usual. Mary Helen Tuttle was worried that serving the ‘glutenous’ food would adversely affect me, but I was fine. Of course, I couldn’t eat the gluten: that would set me up for weeks of woe!

Earl Wilbert told me he’s been having troubles with his legs and feet again. “I can’t walk in the Desert, because I’m afraid I’ll fall over,” he explained. “So, I bought one of those machines to exercise on.” “I’ve been a Massage therapist for many years; maybe I can help you.” I offered. “I asked my daughter what she thought about massage and chiropractic,” he replied with a grin. “She reminded me that I’m almost 90 and therapy might do me more harm than good!” Earl started visiting Copper Mountain Mesa in 1962 and moved up here permanently in 1982. He built his own Cabin; taking two years to complete his “little slice of paradise”. In those days, the Community Center had not been built yet, so Neighbors held potlucks and deep-pit Barbecues at the Firehouse. Earl was a Volunteer Firefighter and later served as Treasurer on the Board, as well as writing the Newsletter for years. We love you, Earl and Happy Birthday on the 29th!

February Birthday wishes also go out to: Stevie Villarreal, Marcia McKinney, Stuart Watson, Pamela Waddey, John Waddell, Dennis McDermott and my beloved Jim Martin. Happy Anniversary to Mike and Stevie and we fondly remember Zoila Preciado.

Monday, February 13th is the USDA Food give-away from 8:30-11am. The Neighborhood Watch meeting starts at 6pm that evening; followed by the Board meeting at 7pm. On Tuesday night, come have supper, play Bingo and celebrate Valentine’s Day with us! The fun starts at 5:30.
Stay well!

Our little Community enjoyed a thoroughly soaking rain last week. Windy, rainy weather usually sets me on edge; as I worry about the porch flooding, the roof leaking or worse: but this was a kind storm for us. The ground was saturated, without rivers raging through the garage, or down the driveway!

The controversy over Electrical ‘Smartmeters’ continues. Many Neighbors on the Joshua Tree and Landers ends of Copper Mountain Mesa have received their new meters. On the 29Palms end of our Community, many of us have not had our meters changed. Jim and I live out on one of those non-existent roads and we recently received a letter from SCE, asking us to make arrangements for our Smartmeter installation. We did not reply.
E-mails regarding the ‘Smartmeter’ issue, keep coming in. Neighbor Mac writes: “I've stopped my installation, VERY EASY, just told SCE I do NOT want it due to health reasons. Less than a week later, SCE tagged my meter to STAY. My Bud in town has one, so I went to check it out. With NO change in useage, his bill jumped near 30%.” Mac also mentioned the following links, where one can further research this perplexing issue:
http://www.bansmartmeters.com/blog/whats-wrong-with-smart-meters-a-beginners-guide/
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd507.htm
http://www.rense.com/general94/smt_dev3.htm
http://www.devvy.com/new_site/smart-meter-081511.html
http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news273.htm
One can also research the pros and cons and view many ‘Smartmeter’ stories on youTube. Some consequences allegedly caused by the installation of ‘Smartmeters’: worsening symptoms of mental illnesses; constantly hearing crazy-making sounds inaudible to others; return of cancerous tumors; agitated Pets and rising electric bills; to name just a few. Other Neighbors refused the installation of the ‘Smartmeter’; which resulted in another visit from SCE; accompanied by a forceful and unsympathetic Sheriff.
As our immediate Neighbor Frank writes in his e-mail: “This forced meter change will monitor our daily life in ways that will cost us money. I'm all about my privacy like most folks here: these people will sneak onto your property to change this meter.” Food for thought, Neighbors!

Join us for Bingo on Tuesday and the Potluck next Saturday: Stay well!

Our little Community’s Tuesday night Supper and Bingo party attracted fourteen players last week. Ray Foyil and Earl Wilbert served Pizza and Salad for supper; but there were no big prize winners.

Steve Tuttle left Bingo early to attend the ‘Block grant’ session at the Yucca Valley town meeting. Over the years, Steve has submitted numerous requests for Block Grants from San Bernardino County; which have paid for the actual building of the Community Center; subsequent roof replacement; kitchen upgrades and other large projects. During recent, lean economic years, the County’s generosity towards our Community Association and the Center, has dwindled markedly.
Recently, Steve found out that the County is obliged to continue distributing allocated funds to rural, unincorporated areas. He immediately applied for a grant, as our Community Center has several repair projects that need to be addressed. Steve was told he would have to go through Yucca Valley, where all local grant monies would be distributed. When he approached the proper channels, he was told that the ‘powers that be’ had decided to allocate all County block grant funds to the Town of Yucca Valley!

Welcome home Mary Helen: Steve Tuttle’s lovely wife. A week after Steve’s Uncle, from the Victorville area, passed away; Mary Helen’s Uncle in New York died and she flew back East to attend the Services. Sincere condolences to you and your Families.

Reports of Hepatitis ‘C’ reaching epidemic status amongst Baby Boomers, are very concerning to me, as this is what my beloved Jim is receiving treatment for. Another silent killer, symptoms don’t occur until it’s almost too late. Of the 10,000 deaths related to ‘Hep C’ last year; 80% of the cases were Boomers. Contracted through blood transfusions received before 1992 or other blood exchange; needle-sharing; or ‘rough’, sexual contact; the disease must be tested for specifically as it does not show up in regular blood tests. Play it safe, Boomers; get yourselves tested.

Reportedly, Chris Jonas is bringing his oh-so-yummy-Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and Gravy to the Potluck Party: today at 4pm. Until next time, stay well!

Our little Community held the monthly Potluck Party last Saturday and here’s what Bob Deloyd had to say about it. “Potluck was special this month because it’s Chris Jonas’s birthday. Around thirty of us stood up and sang Happy Birthday to this wonderful, dynamic man! Mary Koval and her daughter Chris made a poor man’s lasagna, dinner rolls, and baked up some peanut butter cheesecake brownies.Chris Jonas and family went all out cooking up some mighty tasty meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. The chicken tortilla casserole that Dorothy Jacobsen brought was undeniably a show stopper. Ruth Malton whipped up her Waldo-jello salad. Rose Matich steamed some peas and dragged Joe, her husband, to the center. Dyan Carroll spent the last couple of days slaving over a hot stove preparing us a magnificent meal of lasagna with a side dish of cauliflower covered in a special melted cheddar cheese sauce, yummy. Marie Morrison brought candied yams. David Royer concocted a ham and pasta salad for our enjoyment. I brought my regular stuff which paled in comparison to these others.”

I really appreciate Bob writing about the monthly Potluck, because I have been unable to attend these past many months. What with Jim’s immune system challenges and my food allergies, it didn’t seem sensible.

Twelve players turned up for the Tuesday night Bingo and Supper party. Steve Tuttle and Patrick Whalen served Pot Pies and our hungry, young Neighbor Cody showed up to help with the left-overs! Everyone enthusiastically wished Chris Jonas a happy 70th Birthday: he is a much appreciated Volunteer Extraordinaire and he is dearly loved by all of us. Dorothy Jacobsen won the Powerball #2: congratulations m’Beauty! There were no other winners: the various Pots will be huge at the next Bingo party this Tuesday, so don’t miss it!

The monthly Saturday Breakfast is going on this morning, from 8-11a.m. The food is simply wonderful and for only $4.50 you can get a mountain of yummy nosh plus juice and coffee; so come on down the bumpy road and pay us a visit. Stay well!

Our little Community was hot, cold and rather blustery all week, to put it mildly! Our school teacher-friend told us how a wind-whipped, sand-storm in 29Palms, obliterated all views outside the classroom windows. Her first-graders cried in terror and many worried about getting home. The Wind always puts me on edge anyway, but this storm was a humdinger and brought in some wintery cold. We were pretty much out of wood for our stove and cutting wood is such a challenge for Jim in his current, weakened state. While I’ve taken over most of Jim’s chores around here, using any kind of saw scares me and I can only break up so much wood with my hands, feet and trusty hatchet! Fortunately, however, our wonderful, ‘secret-Santa’ Neighbor brought over some wood for us, so we spent our evenings warm, dry and out of reach of that howling Wind outside! Early in the week, I was darting around in shorts and flip-flops; by mid-week, with cold winds howling, it was back to winter-wear and frozen bird-water; only to end the week ‘enswirled’ again by warm, dry breezes: that’s Life in the Hi-Dez!

Check out Bob Deloyd’s blog at www.coppermountainmesa.com , where he expresses his outrage about the Yucca Valley Town Council’s recent decision to award all San Bernardino County Block Grants to Yucca Valley. Not one penny will be awarded to outlying rural areas, like Copper Mountain Mesa, where the funding is needed so desperately.

Birthday wishes go out to: Violet Jonas, Andy “Joe” Lane, Seimi Shiba, Dulce McDermott, Bev Long and all those celebrating their special day in March. Also, we fondly remember Harry Preciado.

Eleven people showed up for the Bingo and Supper party last Tuesday evening. Everyone enjoyed Breakfast for dinner: with eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy. Nobody won big, so the pot rolls over to this Tuesday for huge cash winnings!

Our monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting starts at 6p.m on Monday March 12th, immediately followed by the Board meeting at 7p.m. Until next time, stay well!

Our little Community Board Meeting was last Monday evening. Secretary, Tim Atzei’s spelling and grammar is much improved these days and we are thankful for the Agenda and Minutes he churns out for every meeting.
We also really appreciate Ron “Indy” Amos of Joshua Treets Ice Cream. Now that all the official requirements and inspections are behind him, Ron is working hard to supply the growing demand for his most deliciously scrumptious Ice Cream. He creates a multitude of flavors, including sugar-free and gluten-free varieties and produces all this Mmm-mmm goodness right here in our Grade ‘A’ commercial kitchen at Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center!

The USDA Food Give-away is this Monday, March 19th. Last month we helped 90 local families receive much-needed groceries. Bill Treas and Roger Smith usually arrive around 8:30a.m. with a trailer full of food. The Volunteers spring or limp into action; unpacking boxes and putting the food items into bags to be distributed. This is by far the busiest and best-attended event at the Center, as 100+ people show up every month to receive free food.

The Thrift Room is a welcome diversion and Chris Jonas is doing a splendid job. He has cleared out truckloads of old stuff and is bringing in quality items of all descriptions. This weekend, the Thrift Room will be receiving two carloads of clothes: all sizes, all styles, so come on down and see for yourself.
Where’s Cody Wunderlee: our hard-working, always hungry, young volunteer? He’s one of the best Assistants Chris has ever had in the Thrift Room. Sadly, Cody had a serious disagreement with his father and moved off the Mesa. No-one seems to know where he is: we all hope he’s OK and we miss him very much.

On Wednesday March 21st, Vern Fowler will be presenting an Emergency Managers Plan at the Community Center, starting at 6p.m. He designed Emergency plans for Sacramento and other cities and wants to share his expertise with us, so our Community will be more prepared when disaster strikes. Until next week, Stay well!

Our little Community Center hosted the Neighborhood Watch “Emergency Managers Plan” meeting last Wednesday March 21st. Board member Patrick Whalen attended on behalf of the Copper Mountain Mesa Community Association. Resident Vern Fowler, who gained Emergency Management experience in cities like Sacramento, presented the plan. In case of disaster, the first arriving key-holder to the Community Center, would assume management responsibility, until other members of the Board arrived. Distribution of food and water; providing shelter and emergency medical care would be top priorities. Vern suggested we get a list of Neighbors who have tractors, generators, etc. should disaster strike. Mesa residents dislike unexpected visitors: going door-to-door might only get us a list of Neighbors bearing arms!
Although flyers were distributed to the 80+ folks who received free food at the USDA last Monday, only 4 people attended this meeting. I could complain about Neighbors who only come to the Center to get free stuff: without any membership contribution or Community participation whatsoever. I could go on and on about entitled, anti-social Neighborhood hands held out only to take and get…but I won’t. I prefer to believe that in disastrous times, all Copper Mountain Mesa Residents will come together as a Community, truly help each other and be utterly magnificent!

The buzz against ‘Smartmeters’ continues. Landers neighbor Donald, e-mailed us: “There is world wide outrage and resistance against the smartmeter deployment because of the health, safety and 24/7 surveillance issues connected with these devices.” He attached an e-mail from “thepeoplesinitiative.org” which begins with the alarming statement: “Homeowners insurance does not cover smart meter fires due to lack of UL certification…”.
I mentioned this at our most recent Board meeting. Steve Tuttle kindly offered to look into it and his insurance agent has reassured him that his insurance does cover ‘smartmeter’ home fires.
Jim and I still have our old meter. I suffer from PTSD and I’m paranoid about 24/7 satellite monitoring and ‘smartmeter’ health hazards. We don’t need anymore challenges in the cancer, allergy, audio-sensitive, ADD or Bi-polar departments, thank you very much! The discussion continues; stay well!

Our little Community includes Neighbors who are unhappy with me. Apparently, some Mesa Residents did not appreciate my way with words in last week’s Column. Nobody contacted me personally to complain or discuss; I just heard about it Desert-style: down the wind and across the way! One Lady objected to being called a ‘freeloader’; even though this word did not appear in the Column. Others simply declared they don’t like me: all hearsay with a few unprintable murmurings! The way I see it: a close-knit, rural Community ensures plenty of personal space, which allows the expression of everything splendid and noble in the Human Spirit. Compassion; co-operation through sharing gifts and talents for everyone’s benefit; protecting the very young and the very old; taking care of basic Human needs for everyone; knowing each other by face and name; being respectful and kind…I know: blah blah blah! I can just hear the cynics ‘pffshawing’ at my hopeless idealism! I genuinely love this Community and I’d like to see Copper Mountain Mesa Residents gathering at the Center more often. Sharing of themselves: their experiences; valuable insights and offering workable, realistic solutions to challenges in our particular little slice of Paradise. Any positive ideas on how we can step over Community differences, attract Neighbors and focus on turning the Center into the Hub of our Community Wheel, for the benefit of all of us?

Speaking of which: 13 people showed up for the Tuesday night Supper and Bingo party last week. Steve Tuttle prepared a wonderful meal of potatoes, hamburger and vegetables: all graciously served by Ray Foyil and Earl Wilbert. Once again, the big money rolls over ‘til next week!

The monthly Potluck Party is today at 4p.m. Come one; come all: the food is great and you’ll have a ball!

Next week, our monthly Breakfast coincides with Easter Saturday, so we shall hold our annual Easter Egg Coloring party, at the same time as the Breakfast. Gather up your Loved Ones and join us for a scrumptious meal and colorful festivities for Children of all ages. Until then: Stay well!

Editor's note: I believe Annelies Kuiper is doing a magnificent job writing this column. I have found, over my 11 years of writing this very same column, that those who yell and scream the loudest usually have little or nothing to add to the conversation.
Keep up the good work Annelies!
Bob DeLoyd

Our little Community was rocked by tragedy last week. Bill and Liz Treas lost their youngest son, two-year-old David; in a split-second that changed our lives forever. Bill and Liz - always accompanied by their three sons: Josue, William and David - are a very familiar sight at Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center, as Bill transports the food from San Bernardino to the Center, for the monthly USDA Food giveaway. The Family usually attends the monthly first Saturday Breakfast and we will miss seeing little David very much. His sweet, outgoing personality and ready smile touched all of our Hearts and we mourn his loss. Several Neighbors attended David’s Celebration of Life, held at the Treas’ home in Landers. My jaded, doubting heart was deeply moved by the faith, trust and courage I felt around me, as we tried to understand David’s death. We hugged, wept, sang and shared stories of this miraculous child, who blessed us during his tragically short time on Earth. We love you and we’ll never forget you, David Treas.

The same week, the home where Chris and Violet Jonas’ grand-daughter lived, on Pole Line and Indian Cove, burned to the ground. Seven dogs were killed in the fire, but no human lives were lost.
So much sorrow, as Life continues and we muddle along as best we can.

Today, is our monthly Breakfast, from 8-11am and we will hold our Easter Egg Coloring event simultaneously.
On Monday April 7th, our Neighborhood Watch meeting starts at 6pm, followed by the monthly Board meeting at 7.
Tuesday night Bingo attracted 18 players last week! Carol Miller, accompanied by daughter Sandy and grand-daughter Cassy, served delicious Chicken and Dumplings for supper. Still no big money winners, so the loot rolls over until next week, when Judy Driver will bring chicken and beef enchiladas for our supper.

Sincere thanks to Dave at Brothers Towing and John and Crew at Mesa Garage, in Yucca Valley. Our truck’s front-end has been reinforced, brilliantly welded and we’re back on the bumpy road! They kept the price down too: much appreciated.
Stay well!

Our little Community held the April Saturday Breakfast last week, serving 61 adults and 8 children. Penelope and Andrew joined Chris and Violet Jonas’ Grandchildren Shy-Onna, Anna and Mikey at the Easter Egg coloring table. Ray and Ila Foyil’s beautiful daughter, Kimberly, very kindly took over the Cashier’s spot so I could supervise the Kids. It soon became apparent that we were going to run out of the hard-boiled eggs donated by Mary Helen Tuttle and Joshua Treets Ice Cream’s Proprietor, Ron ‘Indy’ Amos. Kathy Quinn’s husband, Scott, was sent home for more eggs, which Ray Foyil very kindly hard-boiled for us.
The Treas Family joined us for Breakfast and were warmly greeted and consoled by their Mesa Neighbors, following their recent tragedy. Young Josue and William Treas enthusiastically dipped and rolled eggs, creating some very interesting designs. I then hid the eggs around the front of the Community Center and supplied Easter baskets from the Thrift Room, so the children could go-a-gatherin’. We had lots of fun and the photos may be viewed on our Community website: www.coppermountainmesa.com.

The topic of last Monday’s Neighborhood Watch meeting, spilled over into the Board meeting, as Vern Fowler shared some of his Emergency and Disaster Preparedness expertise with us. Thank you, Vern and welcome! The Board also voted to introduce the “David Treas Memorial Highchair”, complete with a special plaque, honoring the two-year-old who died so tragically last month.

Judy Bowman lost her two big dogs recently. She had been threatened by five dogs earlier and presumed this same pack had later dug under her fence and killed her canines. Then Chris Jonas told us that a Neighbor heard an almighty din the other night and saw a Mountain Lion leap over his fence carrying a young goat, leaving four dead goats behind. Scary stuff; reminds me of Africa!

Fifteen people showed up for Bingo supper last Tuesday night. Judy Driver brought Chicken and Beef Enchiladas, with Beans and Rice, yum! Still no big winners: those pots keep rolling over! USDA Food give-away is on Monday, April 16th.
Stay well!

Our little Community rose to my defense, after I mentioned that several Neighbors were unhappy with me. I received phone calls, e-mails from as far away as Ohio and personal reassurances: that I must “keep doin’ my thing with words”, because they were much enjoyed by Neighbors across the Country! Sandra Foyil - who is Ray and Ila Foyil’s niece and the late Tex Foyil’s grand-daughter - wrote from Arizona. She loves reading about the Mesa and this Column keeps her connected with her beloved Granddaddy and his Desert ways. Your support and encouragement means the world to me and I warble out a resounding “Thank You” to all of You who showed your approval and appreciation.

April Birthday wishes go out to Mary Helen Tuttle, Marie Morrison, Bill Bonner, Carol Lane, Patty Bradley, Brenda Zimmer, Ruthie Malton, Cody Wunderlee, Roger Toomes, Tim Villarreal, Judy Driver and Carol Miller’s granddaughter Cassie. Congratulations to Mac and Sayoko McDermott on their 27th Anniversary. We fondly remember Bob Stonebraker, George Chadwick and Dennis Caton.

Last week, another quaint Desert home burned to the ground. The occupants, a young couple and their Baby, had only just moved in and they lost everything, including two Chihuahua puppies. Chris Jonas offered them anything they needed from our Thrift Room and a relief fund has been established at US Bank in Yucca Valley, in the name of Charles Pittman. We are all very sorry for their trauma and loss.

Bill Treas picked up the food for the USDA giveaway last Monday, generously donating his time and petrol. We served 91 families and had to contact them all, when the frozen chicken was declared contaminated! Local radio station, Z107.7 reported this and was most helpful in getting the word out. We were all advised to trash the chicken, although some people had already eaten theirs and seemed none the worse for wear!

Tuesday night Bingo attracted 14 players last week and Ray Foyil and Earl Wilbert served Pot Pies and Salad for supper. Still no big money winners, so the pot rolls over ‘til next week!
Stay well!

Our little Community attracted fourteen people for a little Supper and Bingo last Tuesday night. Steve Tuttle was still up in Alaska due to a family death, so Ray Foyil provided Spaghetti with Salad and Garlic bread. Still no big winners on the Jugball, U-Pik-em or Powerball pots, so the money continues to grow. Ruthie Malton won the consolation prizes on U-pik-em and blackout. She also won the White Elephant prize two weeks in a row: you go, girl; now for some big money!

Our Potluck Party is today at 4p.m. Dyan Carroll is bringing Seafood Lasagna, while Chris Jonas is serving his famous extra-yummy Macaroni Salad. So come on over to the Community Center for a good Neighborly chinwag and bring one of your culinary creations to share. Chris held another Thrift Room clean-out last week, so there’ll be lots of inexpensive or free items for you to choose from.

Our Community Breakfast will be held next week, on the first Saturday of the month as usual. The food is marvelous and a good crowd shows up every month. It’s always a pleasure to see the familiar faces and extra-special when newcomers make the trek to come out and join us.

We encourage everyone to become a Member of our Community Association. The $10.00 per person annual membership fee helps keep the doors open at the Center, which also ensures that we continue to qualify as an official Shelter should disaster strike. You do not have to actually live on Copper Mountain Mesa to be a member of our little Community, but we would be honored to call you ‘Neighbor’ if you’d like to join.

Last week, a polite young chap drove up to install a ‘smartmeter’ on my property. I said I didn’t want one. He informed me I would have to pay $50.00 a month extra to have my meter read or Edison would cut me off at the pole. “What about all those meter-reading jobs?” I asked sadly. With downcast eyes, he responded: “They will all be gone!”

Our little Community held the monthly Potluck at the Center last Saturday. Our friend Bob Deloyd attended and here’s what he wrote: “I went to potluck where about twenty happy but hungry desert folks showed up. Chris Jonas made his Fabulous Macaroni Salad. Folks were asking Dorothy Jacobsen for the recipe for her macaroni and cheese corn casserole; her fig bars were tasty too. Dyan Carroll provided a wonderful shrimp and crab seafood lasagna along with Sunday Trifle that was mighty fattening. Ruthie Malton brought a Bundt cake which disappeared quickly. Mary Koval and her daughter Chris cooked up a feast of Cowboy Casserole, miniature date nut muffins, and chocolate strawberry cupcakes. Marie Morrison’s Au Gratin potatoes vanished quickly from the table. David Royer spent hours concocting a scrumptious pasta tuna salad for our gastronomical pleasure. Rose Matich steamed up some carrots and peas. Pretty Marybeth Rubin cooked us up some vegetarian chili with cheese bread that I really liked. I noticed sadly nobody had any of the rice I brought. I thought Marybeth’s chili would go good on my rice and I must have said it out loud because most everybody came back and the rice and chili were gone in a flash!” Thanks, Bob; sounds yummy!

I have not been attending many events at the Community Center lately: just ‘kinda layin’ low, stayin’ home with my Honey’. Jim is doing pretty well and he’ll be half-way through his Hepatitis ‘C’ treatment in a couple of weeks. As his immune system is still severely compromised, however, I avoid going to public places for fear of bringing home some infectious illness.

Tuesday night Bingo and Supper Party attracted 14 players and Ray Foyil served Lasagna, garlic bread and Salad. Steve Tuttle is now home from Alaska, but he broke his hand while he was up there. So sorry, Steve: watch out for those rogue sledgehammers! Claudia Bridges was accompanied by her friend Linda from Yucca Valley. Marie Morrison won Powerball #3 and Carole Miller won the free breakfast coupon.

Our monthly breakfast is today, starting at 8am. Stay well!