Nov 6, 2018
This
episode is a little different than what you've heard so far.
Typically, I sit down and have a casual one on one conversation for
the entire 30 minutes. In this
episode, I've had similar, shorter conversations with
eleven desert women, asking them, in most cases, the same five or
so questions. As you listen to the episode, you'll get the gist of
the questions.
How
did this happen? Well, I sometimes bring the podcast to community
events. I set up a table, have some handouts and introduce the
podcast to people who may not have heard of it. Some folks have
never heard of podcasts in general, while some know many of the
people I've interviewed. Recently, I got the idea of not only
setting up a table with information about the podcast, but of
taking my recording equipment with me and doing 'woman on the
street-style' interviews. It turned out to be really
fun.
The
first four interviews in this episode were recorded at the
Covington Park Fall Festival in
Morongo Valley, on the further west end of the Morongo Basin. The
remaining seven were recorded at the Landers Bizarre
Bazaar.
Most
of the ladies, if not all, were not born here - they moved to the
area for various reasons: jobs, creative work, housing
affordability, a climate conducive to better health or just looking
for a place to quiet down to listen to their inner
voice.
They
give some recommendations about where they take out of town guests.
The most popular places being Joshua Tree National Park,
Pioneertown and Pappy & Harriet's, Landers and
La Copine.
And
when asked what their favorite thing about living in the desert is,
their answers ranged from being peaceful, calming and grounding to
the desert's amazing colors and wildlife, to the people and
activities and... the sky. The pictures of sunset and sky above are
my own and, if you ask me or anyone who lives here, they don't do
it justice.
Special thanks to the willing
participants: Donna Gowland, Kelly Moynihan, Mia Torres (stay
tuned for her full episode in the coming weeks), Susan Abbott,
Terry Burkhardt, Kim Fulleman, Jet Tucker, Debbie Solaris, Claudia
Bucher, Claude Fenton and Diana.
If you
enjoy this episode, tell me why and what you liked
best.