Anthony Marr's CARE-7 tour blog #13 - 6 May 2010
Las Vegas, NV
May 4, Tuesday, was my last full day in California, and even I say that
it was a day of well deserved R & R, but still, I spent the whole day on the
computer, save a fun late afternoon with Julie and Steve Meskell, and
Catherine Garneau who took the day off work to help me reorganize the tour
in this our last shared day before rejoining for a few days at the Animal
Rights Conference at DC in July.
I updated her on the current state of the organizing effort. Nevada has
been pinned down with a video interview by the top Las Vegas Vegan Chef
Mayra at 5:30 pm, May 5, followed by a potluck speech by me around 6:30 pm
at the Love's Alchemy Spiritual Center, the use of which being generously
donated by Stephanie Graham. Arizona is reasonably well developed, with a
potluck speech in Phoenix on Friday evening, May 7, and a funeral motorcade
in Chandler on Saturday afternoon, May 8, plus a probable event in Tucson on
Monday, May 10. Only Flagstaff seems to be dead issue, and likewise, New
Mexico seems to be a vacuum for both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. And while
Texas has supporters in all of El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and
Houston, only El Paso has been finalized, while the rest need more work.
Farther east, all of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are undeveloped, and
while Florida has opportunities enough for 7-8 events, and local interest
aplenty, nothing has been finalized either. The states after Florida, except
for sporadic and haphazard bookings, such as upstate New York and Ohio,
nothing has yet been systematically touched. Catherine took this all in with
calmness, but I could see she was beginning to see the scale of the problem,
though I could also sense her quiet determination to see it through to its
proper conclusion.
This being my last day with my blue Ninja motorcycle, and Catherine
having become "addicted" to it, we decided to go for a 60-mile return ride
from Santa Ana down the winding Santiago Canyon Road to the twisty Live Oak
Canyon Road and further the Trabuco Canyon Road. Steve and Julie Meskell
were excited to join us by Steve's SUV. At the spur of the moment, I offered
to give Julie a ride outward part way, since she had been on a bike only
once, and that was when she was 12 years old. With some reluctance, she
accepted. Our plan was to switch passengers to Catherine half way out, so
that she could ride the other half, and the whole way back. But as mistakes
would have it, I did not turn right from Newport on to Chapman, and by the
time I had turned back, Steve's SUV, with Catherine in it, was long gone.
With Julie holding on for dear life, I rode the bike down Santiago Canyon
Road, expecting and hoping that Steve would be waiting for us somewhere
along the road, but his golden SUV was nowhere to be seen. Presumably Steve
assumed that my bike had taken another route after the mistake and was ahead
of him. So, Julie, who eventually did relax, enjoyed the ride all the way to
the end, and part way back to Cook's Corner where Santiago and Live Oak met,
making unanswered cell phone calls during brief stops along the way. At
Cook's Corner, a biker's watering hole, I parked Blue Ninja in a highly
visible spot, and sure enough, it caught the attention of Steve and
Catherine as they drove by, and we exchanged hugs all around. To give
Catherine her due share, we went back down Live Oak Canyon Road and Trabuco
Canyon Road - the best motorcycling part of the route - with Steve's SUV
behind and Julie on the cam, Catherine finally got the ride of her life.
Near the end of Trabuco Canyon, we stopped for a bite on the tree shaded
patio of a lovely Mexican restaurant. I basked in the warmth and good cheer
of their company.
Catherine and I worked right through the evening. I meant to write blog
#12 on this day, but the reorganizing effort and parking down the trailer in
her backyard in Long Beach took up all the time, nor could I do so the next
morning, the 5th, when I left by 11:30 am to make Las Vegas by 5 pm, after
taking time to properly park down Blue Ninja in a side yard of the Meskells'
property with a set of instructions for Steve to start and run it once every
3 weeks or so, and a walk in the nearby foothills with Charlotte Cressey and
her smiling dog Teddy, joined by Julie, a small farewell gift from
Charlotte.
The drive to Las Vegas via I-15 was smoother than I had hoped for,
and I arrived at the Love's Alchemy Spiritual Center with time to spare,
where I was welcomed in by Stephanie Graham, a young Afro-American woman,
and embraced by the famous Chef Mayra herself, who gave me a glowing intro
at the video interview, and led me on with wonderful questions. After the
interview, a young Afro-American couple set to burning the raw footage on to
a DVD and gave me a copy of it to take away. Later, Catherine told me that
she watched the interview live on her computer, and said that it was good.
After the potluck, my dear friend Michelle Marchese ("mar-KAY-see"), who
had just aced her final exam in Environmental Studies, she believed, gave me
another glowing intro, describing me as "the rock star of the animal rights
movement",
after which I made my "Homo Sapiens! SAVE YOUR EARTH!" speech which again
change the worldviews of those present, I do so believe.
At the end of the talk, I asked the audience for a place to stay, and a
hand shot up from a man in the front row. His name is Greg Lewis. I GPSed my
way to his place, which reminded me of my own residence in Vancouver - a
modest house shared by several young people, including another man named
Dale Gilbert who was also present at the potluck talk. Dale offered me his
own room, while he went to Greg's room while Greg went to his girlfriend's
place for the night. Hospitality comes in a broad range of variations.
The next morning, the 6th, I was treated to coffee and a light brunch by
two young women. Michelle came by after work around 1:30 pm and took me to
Las Vegas's only vegan restaurant the Red Velvet Cafe on E. Safari and
Buffalo. I remember the streets not for no good reason, which I will reveal
in a moment. I ordered a delicious vegan pasta with veg "meat balls" and a
salad, and we had our first in-depth conversation since we first met at
AR2009 in LA. Before I left CA for Las Vegas, Paul Fusch, who was a good
friend of Michelle, told me what an amazing activist she was, often holding
demos all on her own, saying that she wanted to be "the next Anthony Marr",
and that, before meeting me, she had studies my work, and subsequently had
the cause to write me directly, saying, "Anthony, I find you to be one of
the most amazing, intelligent, compassionate and kind people I've ever had
the pleasure of knowing. Meeting you was the highlight of me going to the
conference last year." During the lunch, she in turn amazed me by her own
intelligence, energy, sincerity, compassion and wit. I had planned to start
driving for Phoenix by 3 pm, to arrive by 9 pm. But by 3, I discovered that
I had left my car key in the ignition. AAA took a good 20 minutes to verify
my policy, and the tow truck took another 30 minutes to arrive. So, Michelle
and I talked some more, during which time she mentioned a friend who lived
in Albuquerque named Adriana who was at the Animal Rights Forum, and who had
told Michelle that of all the speeches she attended, mine was the most
astounding and left the deepest impression. Since New Mexico was a vacuum on
my itinerary, I asked Michelle to ask Adriana whether a potluck speech could
be arranged for May 15, Saturday, the day before the El Paso speech arranged
by Greg lawson for May 16, Sunday, and Adriana enthusiastically agreed. In
Michelle Marchese I do believe that I have made another devoted friend for
life. Speaking of life, how strange it unfolds sometimes. Maybe I should
leave my car key in the ignition more often.
By the time I left Las Vegas, it was past 5 pm, and my GPS showed an ETA
of past midnight. I called my Phoenix host Michelle Andria who told me that
she would leave the door unlocked for me. I fought Las Vegas's rush hour for
a bit, but once out of town, the freeway was mine. I took a bit of time
taking pictures at the Hoover Dam and of the new bridge under construction,
which brought the ETA even later, but since I did not feel rushed, I took my
time.
One thing I could not miss was how low the water was in the reservoir.
After sunset, I abided by my night-driving formula to pick a fast car to
follow, and settle for a truck going at 80 mph, which did happen to be going
to Phoenix. At this speed, I beat the GPS ETA by a full hour, arriving at
the Andrias' home shortly after 11 pm, by which time the house was dark,
quiet and serene.
Anthony Marr, Founder and President
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC)
[email protected]
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.ARConference.org
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.YouTube.com/AnthonyMarr
www.myspace.com/Anti-Hunting_Coalition
www.facebook.com/Anthony.Marr.001
www.facebook.com/Anthony-Hunting_Coalition
www.HomoSapiensSaveYourEarth.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com (search for �Anthony Marr Heal Our Planet Earth�
Touring cell: begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 216-386-7362
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