Sidewinder's Last Ride - Rayford Miles, "The Savior of St. Andrews Park", Is Laid To Rest

 "So let the sideshow begin,... Hurry, hurry, step right on in...Can't afford to pass it by.. Guaranteed to make you cry" - 1974 R & B tune "Sideshow" by Blue Magic

There were two monumental funerals in the Southland this past week, one on Thursday and one on Friday.  One was for a white active cop and one was for a black former street gang leader. One arrested people for violent crimes for many years, the other was arrested for violent crimes many years ago. One was shot to death, execution style, the other died of cancer of the stomach.

They appeared, on the surface, to be about as opposite as two 50-something year-old humans could be in Southern California.

But, the bizarre thing about these two men is that they were very much alike and I believe if they had the chance to meet each other – at least in the 21st Century – they would have worked for a common cause, a cause they were both dedicated to; the well-being of young people. The copper and the gangsta mighta even been friends, or at least comrades in the never-ending struggle to help the disadvantaged youth.  

Now, just about everyone in town knows about Steve Owen, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s sergeant who was shot to death Oct. 5 while pursuing a burglar in Lancaster. Tales of him helping the downtrodden, of driving kids to school and making sure they had lunch money have been well-documented. His funeral was shown live on local television station who interrupted soap operas to broadcast it.

Unfortunately, not as many people – at least outside of the Westside of South-Central - knew about Rayford "Sidewinder" Miles, whose funeral Friday afternoon drew almost as many thousands of mourners as did Owen’s and should have been broadcast live, too.

So here’s to Rayford Miles, the co-founder of what became the 8 Trey Gangster Crips who himself transformed into "The Savior of St. Andrews Park" who died on Oct. 1st of stomach cancer.

How could, you might ask, the co-founder of one of the most notorious street gangs in the United States be remotely aligned or compared to a cop in someplace called Antelope Valley?  Read on and I’ll tell you how.

Rayford John Miles was born on Dec. 5, 1957 in Detroit, but by age three was living on the Eastside of the Southside of Los Angeles, around Main Street and Florence. He was by a sweet, loving child who relished putting together model cars, playing and watching sports and was a big fan of the local teams; the Dodgers, the Rams and the Lakers. He was also a “mama’s boy”.  

Back in the day, Sidewinder woulda probably kicked my ass from St. Andrews Park to Florence and Normandie if I ever called him a “Mama’s boy”, but his older sister Cynthia Miles Davis could get away with it, so I’ll put that claim on her.

“He was a mama’s boy,” said Cynthia, who spoke eloquently of her younger brother at Friday’s funeral at West Angeles Church of God in Christ on Crenshaw near 30th Street. “I would tell him that, even when he was older. He'd tell me "I'm not a little boy anymore, I'm a grown man."  I'm seven years older than Rayford, so I really didn't know his other side of him, because I got married and moved away,"

Judson Bacot, an original Westside Crip, said that when he went away to prison - for his role in the infamous 1972 “leather jacket murder” of Robert Ballou, Jr. at the Hollywood Palladium -  Rayford “was a boy playing sports in the park”

But, by the time Bacot was released 11 years later, Rayford had become “Sidewinder” and was “a for real Crip.”  He was given his nickname by two legends, "Big Hunchie" and Melvin "Skull" Farmer, because the way his mouth went to the side when he talked or smiled. Or looked hard. 

(Out of respect, I went to visit Rayford at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center a few weeks before he died and I got a dose of the "hard" and "soft" side of Sidewinder.   He wanted me to take a photo of him and put on Facebook to show his loved ones he was still battling.  The first two photos, he had  his thumb up and a fierce look. Even though the disease had taken close to 100 pounds away from his fighting weight, he still had the scowl.  I suggested maybe he could smile for the next photo.  He did. I showed him the three photos and he pointed to the smiling shot and said "That one.")

He had “hands” and a charisma that enabled him to connect with many people. But, by then, the original intent of the Crips, at least as espoused by the gang’s founder, Raymond Washington, to protect communities, had fractured.

Very briefly – without getting too far from Sidewinder’s funeral - when the original Westside Crips split up into various factions – most notably the Hoover Crips, Rollin’ 60 Crips and Original Westside Gangster Crips (which became the 8 Trey Gangsters - the sets got along. These were the days when Crips factions only beefed with various Bloods gangs. But, in 1979, said to be on March 8th, the shootings and killing began amongst Crip factions.

Since then, the street battles between 60s and Eight Trey have been among the deadliest in Los Angeles, if not America. .So, at the funeral, it was a sign of upmost respect when some veteran Rollin’ 60s showed up to pay their respect to Sidewinder.

"You don't find better people than Side," said original Rollin' 60 member Baby Face, who mulled about the church lobby with other 60s and Eighty Treys ."I have the up-most respect for him. He brought people together. Look around. I hope the younger people can learn from him."

Another triple OG 60 said the same. 

"I love him," said Robert "Slu" Addison. "Regardless of the beef between the two hoods, he was my friend."

Melvin Farmer, who with Shirley Matthews and the love of Rayford's life, Erika Gray, was at his side when he died, said he hoped the outpouring of respect would spread throughout the city. "We need to all come together." 

The funeral began with two scripture readings, one for the Old Testament,  Psalms 23, and one from the New Testament, Peter 5.  His obituary was read by Sil' Verr Loudermill and then a video was played.

Kleenex, the tissue company, did a very brisk business at Rayford’s funeral, especially during that video tribute which played Blue Magic’s 1974 hit “Sideshow” as background music.  When the lyrics at the top of this story rang out, there were some dry eyes in the church, but not very many. It’s always a memorable scene when men with 18-inch biceps who’ve done 18 years in Folsom or Pelican Bay or Susanville get teary-eyed.

After the video, heeding Rayford's last command, only two people spoke, a godson and a reverend.  

Reverend Joyce Reece Kitchen told the mourners that just because Rayford had died, did not mean his good work did, too.

“Alexander Graham Bell has long been in the grave, but the phone still rings. Thomas Edison is also buried, but the light still shines. And Rayford’s positive influences cannot be erased. Tomorrow, each of you should be Rayford to a child in need. If we all do that, Rayford Miles’ legacy will live on.”  

Rayford's godson, Philip Wiley, Sr., said he got lucky when his parents moved near the St. Andrews Park when he was a kid.

“We don’t get to choose where our parents move to, but in 1969 I was blessed to move to 83rd and St. Andrews,” said Wiley. “My parents didn’t know it because they died, but they moved me next to my guardian angel."

Wiley spoke lovingly of Rayford’s tough exterior and tender heart.

“He tried to have this mean front, but when you got to know him, he was the nicest man you’ve ever known. He taught me everything I needed to know about being a man. I was a knucklehead and he gave me a chance. Thanks to him, I earned a college degree. Three degrees. He was not only the best man at my wedding, be was the best man in my life. 

"When Rayford got out [of prison] I was all turnt up and ready for action.“ said Wiley. “But, Rayford said ‘No. We’re gonna change the whole thing at the park.’ Now, this is a park no one in the city wanted to go to. No one. Except the homies.”

But, under Rayford’s guidance and leadership, people, mainly kids, started going to St. Andrews Park and, well, making it what a park is meant to be. A place to play, a place to relax.  It wasn’t unusual for 250 kids to be at St. Andrews Park.  

“I hope tomorrow the homies pull in some kid, just like Side pulled me in," Wiley said.

The entire crowd suddenly rose as one and shattered the quiet of the church with a thunderous ovation.  

There weren’t any children playing in St. Andrews Park on Friday afternoon. Some were at the funeral. Some were home. But, today, Saturday, you can bet your last $83 dollars St. Andrews Park will be alive and well. 

Thanks to Rayford Miles. T,.I. P. Sidewinder.

Rayford "sidewonder" Miles is about to go on his final ride

Democratic Party To Honor Secret Agent Don Trump At Waldorf Astoria For "Royally Jacking Up" Republican Party

"Trump.  Don Trump"

Hailing him as the "second coming"  of James Bond, the Democratic National Party will honor secret agent Don Trump Monday evening  at a black-tie gala held in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Trump, who went undercover as "Donald J Trump" and infiltrated the Republican Party so deeply they actually - believe it or not - nominated him as their candidate for the President of the United States, was said to be thrilled that the 16-month-long charade was finally over.

"He is so totally unburdened now that it's basically over and he can really go back to being his cool, caring self and not the pure butterhole he has been playing since he announced last June," said Trump's fellow agent - and friend - Sam Johnson, who himself has been undercover as Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republicn National Committee. "I'm excited it's all over, too. Do you know how difficult it is to answer to the name Reince."

The Waldorf Astoria gala, which is a sellout at $120,000 an eight-top, will be emceed by actor Robert DeNiro, who not only was a vocal opponent of "Donald J Trump", but secretly coached him on the fine points of "pretending to be someone so unlike your real self."

"Don was a fast learner, but also a good ad-libber," said DeNiro, who called the "candidate" a pig, punk and idiot, among other slurs, earlier this week on social media.   "That bit about him admiring [Russian strongman Vladimir] Putin was all his own creation. Brilliant.  This agent coulda been another Brando."

Also being honored at the event will be secret agents Ralph Waxman, who posed as a community activist,  and Pat Asanti who posed as an actor and disgruntled Jets fan. Both Waxman and Asanti posted dozen of undercover Facebook commentaries pretending to deride the Republican candidate. 

Due to financial arraignments with ABC and CNN, Don Trump will play the role of Donald J. Trump on Sunday night's debate. Watch closely for winks to him from Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president and - as shown below - a close friend of Don Trump.

Dario Cecchini Wins Guest of Year Award for Italy MMXVI, Americans File Formal Complaint

He walked into the backyard where I had a fire going, stared at the blaze, analyzing it like a grill master would and said - in his booming Tuscan voice - Perfecto!".   Dario Cecchini, arguably the most famous butcher in the world, the maestro from Panzano en Chianti, had arrived at the summer  home of Nancy Silverton in Panicale Umbria. It was time for a an unbridled carnival of beef.  

And Dario and his troops - Tommaso, Miles and Zac - and, most importantly, his storied wife Kim, had come prepared to feed Nancyville;  25 kilos of meat for 25 guests.  It doesn't taken Copernicus to figure out that's 2.2. pounds of beef a person. On top of it, a kilo of lardo, aka burro del Chianti  When it was over the festa was already being talked about as one of the great barbecues in European history, a rival to the legendary celebration Hannibal Barca hosted  2,233 years ago after destroying a Roman army five kilometers away at the Battle of Lago Trasimene .

For that single night. Dario Cecchini has been honored by Nancy and myself  as the MMXVI (2016) GOYA, Guest of the Year. Award 

Though the news sent a celebratory wave throughout much of Italy, the announcement was quickly met with controversy by some Americans . Silverton's very own sister. Gail,  and her husband, Joel, immediately filed a formal complaint with the Italian tourism board.  "How can an Italian be a guest in his own country?" asked Big Joel Gutman, who, sources say, was extremely upset he and his wife had to clean up the party for several hours. 

"Hell, Nancy and Michael would have woken to a den of iniquity if it wasn't  for us, " a sources quoted Gail as saying. "The place looked like Hannibal and his drunken army had trampled through it." 

Also, in an interview with the Perugia Times, Georgie Harris, the 10-year-old who helped Nancy set up the party expressed dismay with Dario's selection. "Shit, I was there at nine in the morning helping set up and I didn't get a goddamn vote." 

Kim had little sympathy for the complainers. "The sore losers can stuff it," she said   "Maybe with burro del Chianti."  

Still, everyone else - including town guests Phil and Monica Rosenthal (with daugthers Lily and Brianna) - agreed it was Dario's night and the night was so special - as is the man - that it merited the GOYA. 

Just go to his website and you'll quickly realize this is not a sane person. http://www.dariocecchini.com/dariocecchini/en/

The opening line is "Abandon all hope all ye who enter, For you are now in the hands of a butcher.", a rift on Dante Alighieri.

But truth be known, it was not for the meat he brought that earned Dario the GOYA.  It was for his heart.. Look below at him holding of a dear photograph of Dario and Nancy's dad Larry "Lorenzo" Silverton.  Look at that face.. That is why he won the GOYA.

It needs to be noted that for the third or fourth year in a row, the runner up spot went to Susan Swan, the African-American librarian from Oakland who is also the wife of photographer Steven Rothfeld.  She turned in yet another fine, graceful performance, but was simply unable to overcome Dario's tour de force and also lost points by association when she could not stop her husband from asking me if i was happy three times in a row when I was in a hurry to get to Pelicanos pizzeria.  

From Dante's Divine Comedy. The 1814 translation into English by the Reverend H. F. Cary is the origin for this phrase in English, although he gave it as the less commonly used 'All hope abandon ye who enter here'.

Through me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

To rear me was the task of power divine,

Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

All hope abandon ye who enter here.

Such characters in colour dim I mark'd

Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd:

Whereat I thus: Master, these words import.

PREVIOUS GOYA WINNERS

2015 - Leon Gold

2014 - (TIE) Hourie Sahakian and Tiffany Fox

2013 - Liz "Go Go" Hong  ( for her total disregard for the glory of Rome and utter fascination with Saldi ( Sales). 

2012 - Cast of "The Wire"

2011 - .The Berrettos (aka Oliver and his buddies) 

2010 - (TIE) Duke Feldmeier and Patsi Asanti

The Hijacker At Pump #4

Three weeks back I turned into the 76 station on Vermont south of the 10, pulled up to pump #4, killed the engine, grabbed my phone and replied to a text. 

While I did, I heard some man talking to a lady refueling at the pump on the other side of mine.  He was that gas station guy eager to wipe your windows for some change. Though I didn't look up, the man sounded quite pleasant as he complemented the woman and what I assumed was her child on their good looks. 

By the time I finished texting, the lady was gone and the guy focused on me.

"Wash your windows, young man?"

I was still fresh off the inspiration of Muhammad Ali's funeral, which had so many wonderful tales of The Greatest's kindness to strangers, that I felt the "Ali in me" and didn't brush this fella off.

"Young man?" I said to the guy who looked a little like Dr. J, though not as tall. "I'm probably older than you.".

"I'm 71." 

"You look good. Where you from?" I asked.  You know - probably, maybe - that here in Los Angeles, those are the three most dangerous words in the English language.

But, the man simply said he was from a lot of places, including L.A.   "I lived here in 1971 and didn't come back for 35 years. Part the time, I was in prison."

"Oh. yeah? Where?” I asked, informing him – kind of proudly - that not even an hour ago I had sent two letters to two friends of mine in prison.

"I was at Soledad and Chino.”

All of this I have no reason to doubt. But, then he shifted gears.

"I broke out of Chino and went to LAX and I hijacked a plane to Cuba." He said it like he was describing going on a Sunday drive to Ojai. 

Oh, boy, Here we go. I got a real nut on my hands. By now, I'm at about 10 in the tank. Still, I'm enjoying the tale and so I encourage him.  

"Yeah, I got to Cuba and met up with Eldridge Cleaver and he helped me out."

"Good," I said, thinking I hadn't heard mention of the Black Panther leader for eons.  

He goes on. "Then I went to the Middle East and met Yasser Arafat. You remember him?" 

"'Course, I do." 

"I was with the PLO and,  after awhile,  I got shot. In the ass. Those Israelis don't play. But, I got away. Made it to Algeria. Then I went to Nigeria. But, the FBI finally caught up with me and brought me back and send me to Lompoc [Federal prison]. 

By then, I was screwing the gas cap back on. I gave him three dollars, shook his hand and asked his name. 

"Around here? I'm Joe Joe."

"I'll see you around." 

I drove off to West L.A. and after a few errands, went home.  An hour later, I thought about Joe Joe. What the hell? I looked up 1971 LAX hijackings 

I forgot - or probably never knew - there were so many airplane hijackings back then. About 15 for that year.  But, alas, none from LAX. This guy was a good story teller, but a better liar. 

Still, I gave it one more at bat, adding a couple more  words to the search, hoping, against the odds, for a hit.

Crack! "High fly ball into right field. She is........gone!" 

May 17, 2001 by Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer. 

"A Los Angeles man who escaped from a California prison and hijacked a jet to Cuba more than three decades ago agreed to plead guilty Wednesday in exchange for 12 years in federal prison.

Byron Vaughn Booth, 56, signed an agreement to plead guilty today to federal charges of interference with a flight crew. He initially faced more serious charges of air piracy and kidnapping, for which he would have faced at least 20 years in prison if convicted.

Booth was deported from Nigeria earlier this year, after being arrested by local police with behind-the-scenes help from the FBI."

My gas station guy said he was 71. The story is about a guy 56. It was written 15 years ago.

Further down in the story.  

In January 1969, Booth and fellow inmate Clinton Robert Smith Jr. scaled a fence and escaped from the California Institution for Men in Chino….Both were considered model prisoners.

A day later, Booth and Smith boarded National Airlines Flight 64, bound for Miami with a stopover in New Orleans. After the DC-8 left New Orleans and headed over the Gulf of Mexico, Booth, armed with a .38-caliber handgun, and Smith, holding four sticks of dynamite, ordered the captain to fly to Cuba, authorities said.

Once there, Booth and Smith were taken into custody but were quickly released with the help of Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver, despite demands by U.S. authorities for their return.

Joe Joe, or rather Byron was telling the truth. though i guess with the year off. I went back. He wasn’t there.

I told my girlfriend this and she thought it was great story.  But, she had an interesting question. A good editor’s question. How did I know he just wasn't assuming this hijacker's identify? I was temporarily taken aback. But, why would anyone take this particular guy's identify?  I had a plan. I'd go back again and when I saw him, I'd simply say "How you doing, Byron?"

I did. The look on his face, well, it was like his eyes were reviewing his life in a handful of seconds. It was him. We talked for just a few minutes. I told him he reminded me of Dr.  J.

“Who’s that?”

“Julius Irving?  The basketball player?” He shook his head. “I guess you weren’t around when he was playing.”   

Last week, in the mail, I got a $40 check from my old friend Saji Mathai, a highly-respected copy editor at the L.A. Times.  He knows I sometimes send some money to inmates in prison - or ex-cons trying to stay straight and in need of a break - and he wanted to play a role.  He said it was my call who to give it to.

Last Monday, around 2 p.m., temp about 87, humidity about 50, I went by the gas station on Arlington. Byron Booth was there, looking clean in a bright orange T-shirt. As I walked to him, a woman handed him some change, most of which spilled onto the concrete. I bent down and helped the former skyjacker pick up about 14 pennies. He smiled and said "You tell Hollywood about me yet?" 

No. Instead, I told him about Saji and pulled out that $40. He looked at it for a long time - several seconds - before he took it.  “Tell this Saji he made my day.” We exchanged numbers and talked for a few. A few minutes later, he was walking southbound on Arlington over the 10.      

I’ve been thinking of Muhammad Ali almost as much lately as I did back in his glory days, those thrilling nights of title fights. I wish everyone in the world could see his funeral and get - or realize – the “Ali in me.”  Even if it’s only to talk a stranger at a gas station. They might not be an old airplane hijacker, but odds are they’ll have a story they’d love to tell. All you gotta do is supply the ears while you are pumping gas.

Saturday I went by the 76. Byron Booth wasn't there. But, as I debated If I should actually buy some gas, my cell light up. I had inputted him as "Hijacker".

He told me he wasn't as "the office" yet, but was on his way.  We made a quick plan to rendezvous close by, on Washington and 3rd Ave.  Two minutes later, I rolled the window down, shook his strong hand and gave him my novel. Inside I had stashed a few bucks. He appreciated. I told him I wouldn't see him for awhile as I was going out of town.

He asked if it was a road trip.  No, I said, I'll be flying.

He smiled mischievously and said "Don't get hijacked, man."

What could I say to that? I nodded with a smile and took off.

End of Part #1 of  "The Life of Byron Booth"  

Byron Booth at this office, the 76 station on arlington just north of the 10.

Court of Appeals "Tentatively" Rules In Favor Of Big Evil's Claim Of Vindictive Prosecution On Three Murder Charges

The saga of Cleamon "Big Evil" Johnson continues. 

The Court of Appeals has tentatively ruled in favor of a motion that argues Johnson is the target of vindictive prosecution, a claim that could led to three murders and an attempted murder charge being dropped against the infamous  89 Family Swans gang member.

Even if those charges are dismissed Johnson - and his co defendant Michael "Fat Rat" Allen - still face a retrial of the 1991 double murder of Payton Beroit and Donald Ray Loggins for which they spent more than 13 years on death row in San Quentin. That conviction was overturned in 2011 by the California Supreme Court which ruled that a juror, leaning toward acquittal, was wrongly removed by the judge, Charles E. Horan.

Johnson and Allen were sent back to the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail for a retrial  As they prepared to retry that case, the district attorney's office, aided by LAPD Robbery Homicide detectives, set out to find additional cases to pin on Johnson. Eventually, they filed the four additional charges.  This led Johnson's lawyers to file the claim of vindictive prosecution.  

A definitive ruling by the Court of Appeals is expected within two weeks.

When Johnson’s lead attorney, Robert Sanger, initially learned of the added charges, he was flabbergasted.

“After nearly 14 years on Death Row and the decision by the court to overturn the case, the addition of the three murder charges and one attempted murder was truly breathtaking,” Sanger said during the court of appeals hearing.

The prosecution argued to dropped the charges could lead to a dramatic change in strategy for other future capital cases.  

John Harlan of the district attorney's appellate division said that If these additional charges are not allowed to stand,  a so-called  “Kitchen sink” effect would evolve, meaning that prosecutors, fearing they would not be able to add additional charges later, would file every possible charge in the initial filing document.

Sanger countered.

“This [the added charges] would send a significant message to other people that if you attempt to appeal, you might end up with more cases. You just don’t pile on 187s (murders) and hope to get lucky on one.”  

According to a piece in the Yale Law Review,  legal "vindictiveness" does not refer to a prosecutor’s ill feeling toward, or even his desire to harm, a defendant. Rather, wrote Doug Lieb, a law clerk for the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, "As defined by the Supreme Court,vindictiveness means that a prosecutor has retaliated against a defendant for the exercise of a legal right, denying his/her due process."  

In addition to Beroit and Loggins - shot to death at a car wash in 1991 on 88th and Central  - the district attorney's office now alleges Georgia Denise "Nece" Jones, Albert Sutton and Tyrone Mosley were all killed or ordered killed by Johnson.  While Johnson was in Ironwood State Prison, Jones was shot and killed June 12, 1994 at 87th Place and Wadsworth Avenue in the 89 Family Swan neighborhood. Sutton was also killed in that neighborhood.  Mosley was shot and killed in September 15, 1991 on 97th Street and McKinley Avenue, a 97 East Coast Crips neighborhood.

Johnson, acting as his own lawyer,  was previously tried on the Mosley killing in 1998.. The result was a hung jury, well in his favor. 

If the vindictive prosecution is indeed granted, and the extra charges dropped. Johnson and Allen would be retried on the original double murder case.  However, that case was not a ":slam 'dunk" and relied much on the testimony of one Freddie "FM" Jelks, himself a gang member facing prison who was killed many years ago in an unrelated incident on the west side.. 

Sanger and co-counsel Victor Salerno were pleased as they left the courtroom. They were greeted by Johnson’s parents and his brothers.  Sanger was cautious with his optimism. Still, he admitted it was a good day in the court room, but the case was far from over.

"This might end up in the Supreme Court."

The above photo is many years old. Johnson is now 48 and that goatee is salted with grey. 

Redemption For a Nation - How Donald Trump Can Make America Great Again

Redemption. It’s right up near “imagination” on my list of favorite words. Redemption is the tale of failure followed by a triumphal comeback. My favorite movies – “On the Waterfront” and “Casablanca” – my favorite novel – “Les Miserables” – are about redemption.

The best sports stories – Muhammad Ali’s three-and-a-half year banishment for refusing to be inducted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and his loss to Joe Frazier, then titanic victories over George Foreman and Frazier; Sandy Koufax’s refusal to pitch on Yom Kippur in the opening game of the ‘65 World Series against the Twins then winning Game Seven with a three-hit shutout – are filled with redemption.

Redemption is usually and most famously served individually.

There have been incidents of mass redemption, but never before has the United States as a whole had such a royal chance to achieve redemption as it does this election year.

And your boy, Don Trump, is the man who can give the United States redemption and - in his words - "make America great again."  I don’t get Democrats, my fellow Dems, who go on Facebook and rant against Trump. They don’t realize he’s the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party since Watergate. He's accomplished something Democrats have only fantasized about; royally jacking up the Republican party.  Yet,  for my Democrats, the prospect of a Donald presidency is pretty much the end of civilization. For me, Don Trump is the person who can restore America to greatness.

All America adults have to do is vote him in as president. Do that, and America will – after a shaky start - be “great again”.

I’ll spill on how this works, but bear with me for a few graphs.

Donald Trump, as it stands right now, is a force in American politics. Whether you like him or hate him, whether you think he's the savior to rise from these streets you've been waiting for or Attila the Hun on his wedding night, he is a force. There is clearly a large portion of the country that want him as their leader. And even if he loses in the general, he will be - and remain  - a force.

But, if he is elected to become president, he won’t be a force for long. Why? Here’s why and here is where redemption comes into this play.

Vote for Trump. Elect Donald Trump president and then, as every petrified liberal Dem believes, he messes up. I mean he fucks up in a grand way that makes that debacle at Nakatomi Plaza seem like a smooth day at the office. And then, he is impeached.

That simple. Elect. Impeach. Redemption.

Yes, we will have to weather some rough - and I’m sure embarrassing, maybe even scary  - months. Hopefully not as frightening as some fear. Boy won't be walking around alone with a nuclear briefcase. Maybe he'll fire someone about to investigate him. Still, waiting for his downfall, that will be the difficult segment where you get the opportunity for redemption. That is imperative for redemption. You cannot have redemption if you go sailing along in smooth seas.   . 

But, Don leads the country on a path so wacky, that Republicans and Democrats actually come together as - like that Pledge says - one nation, indivisible  and unite on something. Throwing him out.

We admit to the world, “Okay, we went a bit daffy. Not a bit daffy, Straight out. We overdid our utter disgust with bullshit politics, our loathing of politicians, made some adjustments, returned to our senses, got up off the canvas and are fighting back.”  Can collectively say - as Ali famously said to George Foreman in the 5th round after taking a pounding in Kinshasa  - “Now, it’s my turn.” Three rounds later, it was over. Ali had his glorious redemption.

And now it could be America’s turn. Elect Trump and you’ll see.  He will screw up. He can’t help it. Fool's running around with blinders that make it seem like Seabiscuit had on wide-angle night vision googles.  

Look. We put up with George Bush and Dick Cheney with their tragic catastrophe, the war in Iraq.  That seems to be forgotten and okay with everybody. Clinton got some oral and there was impeachment hearings.  Cheney and Bush start a war of untold casualties, no impeachment chatter.  Why? I have no idea. But, that was the supercharging of our decline and can – if we elect Don – lead us to an actual knockdown which is imperative to the Redemption of America tale. And our return to greatness.

And greatness, -beloved greatness -  cannot be accomplished without failure.  

It’s called “weathering a storm”. It’s like you go on vacation. You come back and the first – and best – story you tell is the most disastrous part of the trip. My gal and I went to Southern Italy a few weeks  back and, in search of a David Rosoff-recommended two-star restaurant, I turned down the wrong street – or“strada”  - in a little town south of Naples. This street gets narrower and narrower. To the point I pull in the mirrors. And it gets even narrow. “Is this a street or a funnel?” I ask Nancy. She gets out and actually puts my Michelin map of Italia Sud against the car’s right door to act as the world’s worst buffer from a wall scrape. We’re stuck. Backup attempts are futile. Finally, a local man of 70-something shows up and helps us back out. First story of the trip? Not the pizza at Pepe in Grani. Not the foot-stomping drive along the Amalfi. The funnel street.

Don Trump can be our own national funnel street.  Leading us down a path that gets narrower and narrower, darker and darker until we all team up and get back on the right strada.

don trump with the greatest

*For the record, on his wedding night, legend has it the normally stone-cold sober Atilla the Hun got drunk and died.

Fugitive Dominique Crenn Named "Best Female Chef in the World"; FBI Names Elizabeth Falkner As "Person of Interest"

In a move that infuriated law enforcement agencies around the globe, the World's 50 Best Restaurants organization has named fugitive San Francisco chef Dominique Crenn the "best female chef in the world", setting off both raucous celebrations and angry protests in her native France and adoptive California.

Crenn, who has been on the run since 2014 after a well-publicized felonious incident in Los Angeles, has managed to elude authorities despite making occasional public - albeit unannounced - appearances. More alarmingly, she has somehow been able to orchestrate Atelier Crenn, her two-star  Michelin restaurant in San Francisco while on the lam 

Meanwhile. the FBI today named chef Elizabeth Falkner as a "person of interest" in the case of the hunt for Crenn. A law enforcement source, speaking on the condition of anonymity,  said the FBI thinks Falkner, known for her unique ability to crash at various pads throughout Europe and America, could be aiding and abetting Crenn's unlawful flight. 

When asked point blank about the "Crenn / Falkner" connection at a news conference in Los Angeles, the FBI was vague.

"Let's just say Crenn is getting help from someone," said FBI special agent Efram Zimbalist, III, special agent-in-charge of the Los Angeles field office. "She can't be out there all alone. We know she's popular woman, almost like a beloved outlaw in that wacky chef community. So she has many friends. We also know for a fact that Crenn was recently seen in public with Falkner.  So, Elizabeth Falkner, if you read this, you need to contact us immediately." 

Photographs of Crenn and Falkner partying in Los Angeles in mid-April at various sites went virile on the world wide web when they were posted The two were seen in Century City, Paramount Studios and Connie and Ted's restaurant in West Hollywood. 

Connie and Ted's owner Michael Cimarusti said he had no knowledge that either Crenn or Falkner had been to his restaurant. Mysteriously, when the FBI asked to see security tapes, Connie and Ted's manager, Murray Rubinstein, told agents the cameras were turned off that day in honor of the birthday of Philadelphia Flyer hockey great Bobby Clarke.

"That didn't make any goddamn sense to me," said FBI agent Zimbalist III. "What would Clarke's birthday have to do with security cameras being on or off? To make matters really fishy is that Clarke was born on a August 13th."    

Rumors flew that Crenn was not only with Falkner. but fellow chefs Brooke Williamson, Antonia Lofaso,  Johanne "Fetunta" Killeen and a woman known only as "Miss Florida".

Reports surfaced at press time that even the legendary Nancy Silverton was with the outlaw and the crasher.  When this reporter went to Silverton's house Sunday in the Windsor Square sector of Los Angeles she denied having seen them, but only seemed to deepen the mystery.

"I havent seen either of them," said Silverton. "But i just got home and, for all i know, if she's with Falkner,  well, they could both be upstairs sleeping in the guest bedrooms."

Crenn is nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the West. The ceremony is Monday May 2,  Will Crenn be there?   

Authorities are not taking any chance. Security around the Lyric Opera House where the awards will be held is said to be the highest in Chicago since the 1968 Democratic Presidential Convention.  

#####

Previous winners of the Best Female chef include Helene Darroze, Helena Rizzo, Nadia Santini and Elena Arzak

To see the original article about Crenn's felony assault of fellow 2-star Michelin chef Josiah Citrin, check this link.

http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2014/3/23/chef-dominique-crenn-wanted-by-police-flees-to-france

For more on Falkner's dubious past, check this.

http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2014/8/1/chef-elizabeth-falkner

An Oasis Blooms In Watts; Dorothy Sampson and Her Roses

More than 19 years ago, I was H2H, ( heading to a homicide) on 102nd and Grape when I noticed a profusion of color to my left. Hundreds of rose bushes were in full bloom near the corner of Grandee Avenue and Century Boulevard. It was the rose garden at the Watts Senior Center. I went back later and talked to the caretaker of the garden, the lovely and spirited Dorothy Sampson.

Yesterday, I stopped in on the way to Jordan Downs and learned Dorothy, now 82,  had retired two years ago. In 2007, the city council voted to renamed this oasis as the Dorothy Sampson Senior Center and Rose Garden.Rose.

I wrote the story below that ran in the Los Angeles Times on January 1, 1997.  

###

Today in Pasadena, hundreds of thousands of people will watch the nation's best-known celebration of the rose. On Thursday in Watts, one person will continue her work on a quieter tribute--the smallest nationally accredited rose garden in America.

Dorothy Sampson will don overalls, grab pruning shears and lovingly tend the Watts Senior Citizens Center Rose Garden.

"I love this place," said Sampson, 63, the gardener at the center, pruning her way through the 480 rosebushes.

The rose garden near the tracks of the Metro Blue Line grew from a dream that germinated eight years ago.

In 1988, Dolores Van Rensalier, then the director of the center, took a group of seniors citizens to Exposition Park's rose garden near the Coliseum. A member of the group, Arvella Grigsby, taken by the beauty of the roses, sadly remarked that it was "too bad there will never be a beautiful public rose garden in Watts."

"I said, 'Why not?' " Van Rensalier recalls. "From that moment on, I was determined to have a rose garden in Watts. Everybody laughed at the idea. They thought the roses would be stolen. Even Arvella patted me on the back and said, 'That's OK, dear.' "

*

But it wasn't OK with Van Rensalier, a native New Yorker who vowed to create a place of beauty in a neighborhood too well-known for its negatives.

"It doesn't take a lot of people to make a difference," Van Rensalier said from her office at City Hall, where she works for the Department of Recreation and Parks. "Just a few people is all it takes."

Thanks to Van Rensalier, Sampson and crews from the parks department, Watts now has a true garden spot at 1657 E. Century Blvd.

The first roses were planted in 1990. By 1994, the garden was given national accreditation by All-America Rose Selections, based in Chicago. The organization usually requires a garden to have a minimum of 800 bushes before it is accredited, but waived that for the Watts garden, which at the time had fewer than 300.

"We think that a garden is such a wonderful place to reflect, especially in an urban environment like Watts, that the community deserved accreditation," said Patti Tobin, the organization's director of communications. Being accredited allows the garden to receive about 40 of the year's top-rated new roses from the accrediting group.

Today, the garden still has fewer roses than any of the nation's more than 130 other accredited gardens. Nonetheless, there are 480 rosebushes and 25 varieties at the Watts garden, which is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

One month after the first bushes were planted, Sampson was hired as the full-time gardener. She had developed an early love for gardening while growing up in Louisiana. Her father would come home from his day job and work on his plot until dark.

"I'd hear that old hoe go 'chomp, chomp,' and I would have to go out and help him," Sampson said.

Sampson married a man who didn't care for the outdoors, so they made a deal: He'd make the breakfast, she'd work in the yard.

"It worked out fine, until he had company over," she laughed. "He would say, 'Look at you, look at you.' "

After she retired in 1983 from her manufacturing job, Sampson began to work as a professional gardener. Not until last year, at 62, did she stop cutting lawns. Now she has only roses to tend.

"It's nice to go by and see this," Juan Mendoza, 19, said as he strolled by the garden on his way to a market.

Mendoza remembers the plot of earth before the roses bloomed.

"It used to be bunk. Now it's cool. The guys around here respect this place," he said, gesturing at the graffiti-scarred neighborhood, a stark contrast to the clean walls of the senior citizens center.

There were a few thefts of rosebushes during the early years of the garden, but they have stopped, residents said.

For motorists driving down Century Boulevard near the Blue Line tracks, the garden provides a stunning splash of color most of the year. This week, however, Sampson is finishing the yearly pruning of the bushes, and soon nothing but bare canes will be on display while the roses rest for two months.

As lovely as the garden is, Sampson is not quite satisfied. Many of its older bushes are not the top-performing varieties, and Sampson longs to replace them. However, there are no funds to buy new roses.

*

The rose she yearns for the most is Double Delight, one of the world's most beloved flowers: intensely fragrant, with a brilliant red edge and a creamy white center.

She grows dreamy-eyed when she talks about the flower.

"That's my favorite rose, but we only have one," she said.

On Monday morning, with the cloudy skies threatening, Sampson was out in the garden pruning. She came across the one bush of Double Delight, graced with one last strikingly beautiful rosebud. She cut the bloom, took a long whiff, gave it to a visitor and shook her head.

"God, I love that rose," she said.

2 More L.A. Gang Killings; Man Beaten to Death 83rd & Western, Man Shot to Death on 105th & Lou Dillon in Watts

A 31-year-old man died Thursday morning from the injuries he suffered in a relentless beating by several men on Western Avenue and 83rd Street and, in Watts the previous evening, a 28-year-old man was shot to death.

James McDonald was beaten by up to six black males, ages about 20 to 30, Wednesday night, transported to a local hospital where he died today.  No arrests have been made as of Thursday afternoon. It was the 20th homicide of the year in LAPD's 77th Street Division, traditionally the city's deadliest division. 

Wednesday in Watts,  shortly before 6:30 p.m., the 28-year-old, a Hispanic, was standing at 105th Street and Lou Dillon Avenue when an unknown suspect in a dark gray or blue SUV fired on him, The man, whose name was not released, was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department responders

Both incidents are gang-related.  Anyone with information or either killing can call LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (323) 786-5100