A Lompoc Minister Pities Us

I live in Solvang and I feel torn between this awful rift between Lompoc and Santa Barbara and call up the two cities to bury the hatchet and live in peace and harmony.

All I can say is this: When I visit Santa Barbara I see a lot of frantic desperate people driving like maniacs in a big hurry to get nowhere. When I go to Lompoc, people seem much more relaxed. I also notice a lot more businesses and restaurants in Lompoc geared toward working-class people.

If one is happy living in S.B., more power to them, but some of us prefer the ennui of our less sophisticated existence here in the North County.

I wonder what the good rev might say if the poor souls in Santa Barbara shut the spillway gates at Bradbury dam. Lompoc might have a tough time watering all those flowers and farm fields.
Lompoc vs SB......oh the humanity! Besides, Santa Barbara is easy to pronounce correctly, as opposed to LOM-POCK!

I suppose it is partly a matter of time.

The Santa Barbara I grew to love in the 50s and 60s has in large part disappeared. In those days, there were real stores, catering to real people and their real needs, right on lower State Street! There were department stores like Sears, Clark's Tool Exchange, Frank's Rice Bowl, Casa Blanca, and many others, which have now been replaced by T-Shirt shops and beer-barf bars. On one of my last visits (to a jam session at the James Joyce), we were unable to tune our instruments there because the bar across the street featured "music" turned up so loudly that we could not hear our own instruments even with the door and windows closed. This, at 3 PM in the afternoon! I recall watching as a poor soul crawled out of the bar across State on his hand and knees, collapsed at the curb, and vomited into the gutter.

Lompoc may be quaint -- indeed, it does bring the film "Pleasantville" to mind at times -- and it's basic feel is 1958 Retro-tech. Yet there is a certain charm of "non-virtuallness" extant. There are some beautiful views and great places to eat -- no, I am not going to name them! I do not live in either venue at present, but visiting the town WC Field's chose as a film location (because it was founded as a temperance colony) is much more pleasant than the current melange titled Santa Barbara.

On second thought, anyone in SB reading this note please ignore it completely, and stay in your seaside paradise. You will have my most grateful thanks!

Who cares!

"Besides, Santa Barbara is easy to pronounce correctly, as opposed to LOM-POCK!"

What are you talking about? It's easy: Lompc...Lomtp....Lommm I'll get it sooner or later.

Methinks Barney doth protesteth too much. If the shoe fits...well, you know.

And SamRedDog hits it right on the head. All true. I lived in SB from 1973 until 2005 and watched similar very distressing changes take place in the holy name of "progress".

I fail to see how a devolution from a charming, vital, functional town into a giant stuccoed, red-tiled, traffic-choked bar/strip mall could possibly be mistaken for "progress".

I'm fairly sure however, that some booze-soaked college kid or self-absorbed yuppie will come along and feel free to correct me, though:-)

What Barney and others who feel as he does fail to see (or refuse to see) is the disturbing truth that Santa Barbara's insatiable yet paradoxical urges for A: insane amounts of destruction and redevelopment with B: absolutely draconian rules against development when it comes to the "little people".

IE: if you are a rich developer/investor, you can snap up a beautiful old historic building, destroy it, and build a giant commercial and/or timeshare/condo structure.

However, if you have a modest little house and want to build an apartment in the garage for your kids who can't afford to stay here (even with three jobs), no-no-no....not allowed.

It is now nearly impossible to be a business owner in SB; soaring, insanely high rents, oppressive triple-net lease requirements, rigid requirements on businesspeople by the city and Business Improvement District, et al, have crippled downtown.

Couple this with choking traffic, one-way streets, no left-turns, no parking (unless it is in a pay lot), and sometimes blocks of walking to get where you need to go, and who but the bravest, youngest and most fit will dare go there?

I don't know how little businesses do it...heck...many of them just don't; they fold up and either go to Goleta or get out of business completely, leaving nothing but, as was said earlier, t-shirt shops and bars, complete with the requisite barfing- and urinating-in-the-gutter drunks.

In Lompoc and even Santa Maria, you go there, drive to where you need to shop, park and go in. No mystery, no hassles, no extra costs and fees.

Meanwhile in SB, they want to shut off DeLaGuerra Plaza and all of lower State St to cars entirely...as if things aren't bad enough as it is...so it will be reserved exclusively for bikes and those fit enough to hike and haul heavy bags of purchases several blocks to wherever you are allowed to pay a fortune to park your car.

And no amount of Barney's squawking is going to change the facts; SB is not better than it was. It's circling the drain and is not a desirable place to live anymore.

The Lompoc minister is absolutely right about that, like it or not.

Somebody is too busy thumping their bible.

I have never had problems parking in SB....and in the 6 years I have lived here, have never paid to park even once. Of course that is because I am extremely cheap.

Hey, I heard Lompoc got about 10 days of sunshine last year....great.

There is light traffic in Lompoc for a reason.....no one wants to go there!

They also have a worse gang problem than SB and how about that drug addict cop that killed himself last year in lovely Lompoc? And the cover up that followed.

They actually gave him a heroes funeral!

As someone who is not in particularly great shape, I've never really had a problem walking around SB...except that the cars kind of ruin the walking experience. I've always loved the fact that I can walk from Milpas to downtown faster than I can take the bus (if I've missed it) because the walk is usually easy and fast. The traffic is a nightmare during certain parts of the day but as with anything, if you hate it that much you can adjust to make it less frustrating. For instance, having a cup of tea and reading a book while waiting out the rush hour.

I can't say that I like the changes locally (having a preference for small towns myself) but the overwhelming generalizations on both sides are disappointing. There are no perfect places on this earth, we make our homes where we can and make them work for us. If the Lompoc minister is happy in his town then he should count his blessings and not look out his window making judgements on the homes of his neighbors.

Whether it is COLAB (B-is for bible) types or this humorous Rev. Steve Petty editorial I find this a false notion that the North and South county have broad differences. Gauging similarities in natural beauty and superficial personalities I find very little difference because most people are wanting the same thing for themselves and their families.

Sometime it is a selfish wanting resulting these rants. It's the same old story. Selfish status, not by millionaires but but middle and lower classes, the true slaves to the system that makes them feel superior or boo hoo inferior. Perhaps the lower classes are their own worst enemy by falling for these divisive north vs. south agitators.

Still, to counter Perry's humorous rant on the south I wonder how northerners would feel if southerners would turn this table a bit. I wonder if these northern agitators would consider a twist, for a moment, that it is northerners that are the snobs as illustrated by their own agitation.

Perhaps the south should install toll gates at the Gaviota Tunnel and Paradise Rd. Keep Lompton 45 miles away or at least pay an entrance fee to clean up the mess left along your way. Could these superior northerners possibly consider that they are great contributors to the southerners problems. It is the "south" after all where the northerners clog the freeways and race through southern neighborhoods to their place of employment, employment that their own leaders have failed to properly provide for them in their own superior northern climes.

It is the north that contains this snobbery or superiority status. That is after all why you left the south in the first place. You thought you were better than us didn't you. I detect this northern snobbery time and time again. Northerners need to remember that it is the South where the work is. Northerners shop, play, booze, receive medical care and buy medical marijuana in the south. And Country Bumpkin northerners wouldn't even know Trader Joe's existed if it weren't for the south. So when we see your ordinary northern tatted, pierced, and dated hair styled ugly asses on State Street, don't hate us because we are beautiful!

Lastly I haven't seen that lil old red headed Lady Ridley-Tee driving her RR around town for at least a couple years. But remember she probably generously donated to a concern that you will probably ungraciously use during your dreadful stay in Santa BahBahRah. And we southeners are grateful for the north providing the south with meth. Great wine we can import from our sister city Sonoma.

I was born and raised in SB, does anybody remember Ott's department store, remember the vacuum system that they used when you paid. Remember the store employee would insert your money in a carrier like the one used by bank drive-ups today. I loved waiting for the return of your change, you could hear it coming and then...THUMP! The only thing Lompoc has is that the average family can actually afford to buy a house, besides the wind gets old fast. Also, driving on Interstate (tongue in cheek) 246 and 1 have their own traffic problems around rush hour.

the Rev. Petty missed his calling! he should do stand up comedy in Vegas!!

my mother always said, "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all."

so just read the comic's rant and have a laugh.

All I got to say is they don't call it "Lompton" for nothing. Or here's another favorite of mine L.O.M.P.O.C=Lots Of Mad People On Crank, or crack, or cocaine.

LOL.. have any of you actually been to Lompoc?

It's a horrible place surrounded by absolute pristine beauty.

Here are the things I LIKE about Lompoc itself:

They like to have "midnight bbq's" where a bunch of kids get together, cook up pounds and pounds of meat and drink cheap beer all night. There are more meth houses in Lompoc than medical cannabis gro-ops in Santa Barbara.

Ok, so they like to have fun at least.

The things I don't like is the general atmosphere. The town looks terrible. I have no problem with any other town within a reasonable distance of the coast line north of Santa Barbara, except Lompoc. It's the only one, and I've driven well past Seattle nearly to Canada.

I have no problem with the people of Lompoc themselves, it's just an ugly town in the middle of one of the most beautiful areas in the entire world.

" ... I was born and raised in SB, does anybody remember Ott's department store, remember the vacuum system that they used when you paid ..."
-- chuckUfarley

Yes! That thing was a trip. I seem to remember picking up my SBJHS gym clothes (blue shorts, gold jersey) at Otts. Reminds me of Peterson's before McDonald's took over as well.

Wow, *way* back then, SB might have been more like Lompoc is now.

" ...some of us prefer the ennui of our less sophisticated existence here in the North County ..."
-- billclausen

Never expected to see the word "ennui" here! Perhaps our northern brethren are more sophisticated than we thought!

Ever been to L.A.?
More people, more traffic than Santa Barbara. The bay area has us beat too, by a long shot. The reason lompoc has all the benefits of a small town is because it is one. Sounds to me like this preacher has a lot of hate in him. Sad to see when sheep expect him to bring god to them every sunday morning. What are they really getting? I wonder if he tells them how to vote like that 'reality' preacher in Carp.

plus, who wants missiles? The good reverend wants missiles close by? Who would Jesus bomb?

Regarding billclausen's use of 'ennui' in the first comment,
[December 3, 2009 at 4:11 a.m.]:

It's used incorrectly.

(Unless he meant to sabotage the meaning in an ironic manner)

Lompoc has lots of cool murals, and "Hi! Let's Eat!". Otherwise, not much. W.C Fields didn't set "The Bank Dick" there because it was a hub of sophistication and charm.

binkster, I'm pretty sure billclausen was being sarcastic. I give him more credit than, say, past Presidents of late.

"I was born and raised in SB, does anybody remember Ott's department store"

I remember Ott's Old Town Mall, and the guy that used to walk around the neighborhood with the crew cut smoking cigarette butts.

"Never expected to see the word "ennui" here! Perhaps our northern brethren are more sophisticated than we thought!"

It's amazing what we can do. Some of us have actually heard of Langston Hughes. I really appreciate the left-handed compliment. It complements some of the other comments.

"Ever been to L.A.?
More people, more traffic than Santa Barbara."

But the issue is Santa Barbara. Even if L.A. always is in 1st place for traffic and crowding, that doesn't mean Santa Barbara doesn't have this problem and that it isn't getting worse.

"plus, who wants missiles? The good reverend wants missiles close by? Who would Jesus bomb?"

Maybe I missed it, but where does Spetty call for missles?

"Regarding billclausen's use of 'ennui' in the first comment,
[December 3, 2009 at 4:11 a.m.]:

It's used incorrectly."

Wrong. See below, to wit "boredom" as in boredom of a small-town existence. (Still waiting for your answer to my question on Instrument drive for S.B. schools article)

One last note: In the Bible, I've only seen God referred to as "Reverend" and I wonder who anyone claiming to be a Christian can justify calling such attention to themself? It makes sense since the idea of people being exalted simply because they went to some man-made institution seems a bit pretentious. (Then there's the whole humility issue the BIble speaks about) So not only are the various right-wing "reverends" out of line in this respect, but also the icons of the left such as Sharpton, Jackson, and locally, Asman.

I meant to add that when someone expresses surprise when a person such as myself (from outside the academic intelligentsia world of the S.B. scene) uses a word that indicates an I.Q. above room temperature it reminds me of those who express a similar surprise when they hear a black person expressing higher thought with the requisite intended flattery of referring to that person as being "articulate".

billclausen, I think you've misinterpreted my comments and I apologize if offense was taken. Absolutely none was intended. My comments were meant to be as sarcastic as I had assumed yours to be. Perhaps I've failed in that attempt at humor and should have added a smiley face :)

We usually disagree more than we agree, but I've always found your posts to be civil (something I strive for as well, when not making bad jokes!).

Not to worry Eastbeach, but I had to take a swipe at the intellectual culture anyway. Either way, I'm glad we have thick skins about this. Now I see that I completely missed your 3:17 post. I honestly don't know how that happened but I didn't see it when I wrote what I did.

from Barney's column:
"Life is more than money. That's why the richest place on the Central Coast is here in the valley of great compassion, caring people; which also has flowers, vegetables, murals, missiles, and visitors in abundance."

This preacher is equating missiles with flowers, vegetables, and murals which make for a life of riches? He is not calling for missles Mr. Clausen, he is just fine and dandy that they are close by to keep him, I don't know, safe????
Check the last 2 paragraphs of the article again.... I had to read it 3 times because I couldn't believe it myself.

SB is the new LA. I guess....

"This preacher is equating missiles with flowers, vegetables, and murals which make for a life of riches? He is not calling for missles Mr. Clausen, he is just fine and dandy that they are close by to keep him, I don't know, safe????
Check the last 2 paragraphs of the article again.... I had to read it 3 times because I couldn't believe it myself."

I see it now. Thank you for catching that.

PART I.
We moved back to the states from Germany to Santa Barbara in 1956. I lived there until 1997 when I married and moved to Flagstaff, AZ. Santa Barbara was a beautiful and sleepy little town until around the mid-'80s. I used to walk or ride my bike to and from school without risk of life or limb; that would be downright dangerous today in SB. Even today, with all the congestion and over-populous, the beauty of Santa Barbara is not completely diminished--but I couldn't imagine living there again, nor would I care to. Most Santa Barbarians are not natives, so they have no idea what the city was and what it has become. My 5-6 trips down the hill each year are trips I have to prepare for psychologically. Yes, I know all the areas and where I want to get to, but virtually everything has changed about virtually every area I knew. The only way I can stand to spend any time in SB now is to psyche myself into a mind-set to try to look at the city as an adventure: as opposed to that sweet town I grew up in, i.e., instead of facing disappointment at the wonderful things that are gone. My hometown has become a transient, unrecognizable and struggling metropolis.

Those who didn't live through the years I and my friends did, as we grew up in this little relaxed town, have no idea to what extent SB was once a friendly and warm place for people to live, commune and share the beauty of our town with each other and all the admiring visitors who made the trek from near and far. As a youth, people would suddenly speak to us, spontaneously, and remark on the friendliness they were experiencing from the people who lived and worked in this city. Most of the time, these people thought they would get something from the teenagers that they weren't getting from the adults; some rude remark or something you might receive today. However, we were all schooled in good manners (in those old days) and supported those positive experiences the visitors were receiving. On the other hand, we were not growing up in a virtual rat race, so there was not the aggression you see now in our youth. There was always somewhere to go, that didn't involve expense/money, and almost always involved nature or the beach. So, our generation grew up in an unhurried/unharried time, where life and environment were still pristine and reasonable.

I even remember reading newspaper commentaries on the courtesy of local drivers. The traffic is really awful there now but, since I've reached a ripened age, I still spy a few others who are courteous on those roads; those must be the people who realize that 'everybody' on the road is going somewhere, so why not be nice about it!

(see PART II.)

PART II.
I decided to write this because I read about Ott's department store; it closed in my last year of high school. I wrapped Christmas presents every winter break in the Gift Wrap Dept. from the middle of Jr. High through High School. Everyone I knew would bring all their gifts in to pay for their gift to be wrapped, bought at Ott's or not, just to help keep that store afloat. That was just one of the ways the community would come together to help a business out.

I can't close this interjection without making a comment about where I now live and why I wouldn't choose SB again over Lompoc. Someone previous talked about a small number of sunny days in Lompoc. Well, I'm sure someone else has talked about the windy afternoons we get here, too. So, if you put two and two together, you must realize that the sun is probably shining in Lompoc almost continually because the wind won't let any clouds stick around. The wind, something I never thought I could live with, is an absolute blessing. Does that sound silly? Well, consider that we have no real industry between us and the ocean (4-5 miles down the road), so the wind is fresh and cool. The wind has been scoured and cleaned before it blows into town in the afternoons, after about noon, and then pretty much dies down about 5-6:00. Then we get a cool and soft breeze at night; wonderful for sleeping. I dread ever having to leave this place; it is an absolute godsend! I travel a lot and I can't wait to get home for the air!

Yes, the town's a little grungy, but you can still get a decent meal and any groceries you need and, with a short hop to Santa Maria, you can even do some serious shopping. Another great thing for living here is that we don't have a freeway, so there isn't that incessant pounding of trucks and traffic everywhere; not good for the economy, but great for living!

Santa Barbara was once wonderful, but I wouldn't hit Lompoc over the head with a stick! Other than those in charge ignoring our needs, it's not half bad.

Why the animosity between Santa Barbara and the Poc?

We should be combining our efforts to bash the real armpit of the county, Santa Maria.