Established
in 1937
Bob's Corner
It seems that the “best” columns are those written without regard for making a point, or consciously sweating to ensure that they are “really good.” Writing with intent doesn’t seem to work real well, most of the time.
So I’m sitting here just typing, not really thinking much (which is not unusual), wondering what words or phrases will emerge from my clunky, magical typing fingers somehow driven by a certain amount of brain power. (No jokes please.)
I’m looking at my list of possible topics, worrying about selecting one that will make a good column.
Here’s one: “Mission vision.” It refers to a time when I was a cub reporter in San Diego around 1965 or so, sent to get a story about some sort of observance at Mission San Diego de Alcala. It is the first of the 21 California missions, and known as the Mother of the Missions. It was founded on July 16, 1769 by a Franciscan friar, Junipero Serra. It was designated as a Minor Basilica in 1976 by Pope Paul VI, and today is an active Catholic parish in the Diocese of San Diego.
There I was in my reporter slacks, sport coat and tie, and carrying an official notebook, all the while searching for a new angle for my story. After all, a place that old has had more than a few articles written about it. I wandered around the place, accompanied by a Catholic priest, who was some sort of wheel there. He was describing the history and how so many people had lived, worked and harvested in connection with the site during its early days.
I found this quite confusing. Likely because Mission Valley already was about fully developed, with hotels, car dealers, restaurants and the like, not to mention a major highway. So while standing on the bell tower and looking across the valley, it didn’t jell with me.
My guide was telling me that the land area had encompassed 50,000 acres, and that there were harvests of corn, wheat, barley, kidney beans and chick peas. There also were vineyards and vegetable gardens. The mission owned 20,000 sheep, 10,000 cattle, and 1,250 horses. These are amazing statistics considering that the area was arid chaparral with no livestock when the Spanish arrived.
I just didn’t get it though. I looked out at the bustle of humanity, people and cars going this way and that, neon signs everywhere, airplanes flying by, and could not reconcile all that with the starkness and near-wilderness of the early days as described.
But as I stood on the bell tower staring across the valley, I suddenly got an image -- I hesitate to call it a vision -- of a great agrarian complex. I saw an irrigation system, horse-drawn wagons, people working in the fields; others dealing with animals. The trappings of modern society disappeared, and I saw what it was like long ago.
The picture lasted but a second, maybe less. But it was all I needed to finally comprehend what it had been like.
The image is still with me.
So there is one idea for a column I can cross off my list. Who knows what will come up next week?
P.S. After my experience with The View, the piece I wrote turned out right well. Probably better than this column, but that’s another story.
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