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Things at ranch quiet now
WILLIAM ETLING
SANTA YNEZ NOTEBOOK
The gate to Neverland Valley Ranch is deserted now. Not even one fan remains hoping for a last glimpse.
June 13 was a bit surreal around here. On the grainy Internet video, Michael Jackson's convoy of black sport utility vehicles approached the intersection of Figueroa Mountain Road and Highway 154. I looked up the street. Sure enough, they were turning the corner, off to Santa Maria and Judgment Day.
Two agents from Los Olivos Realty stepped out into the street and snapped a photo. A helicopter hovered. I waved.
Inside "R" Country Store, a small group of shoppers had collected. As new people would walk in, see the TV and realize what was going on, they abandoned their errands, stopped in their tracks, riveted to the screen. It was like video flypaper.
A girl from Getty Images was taking pictures, wrangling a bit with the man behind the counter, who insisted she ask permission of those in the shot. She did. Some opted out.
When the verdict was read, there was dead silence; only a few smiles from the deli-counter girls. On-screen, a lady launched doves. "What'd that cost us, $5 million?" wondered a veterinarian who manages Jackson's menagerie, shaking his head on his way out the door.
Some of the 70 or so workers who keep up the grounds at Neverland Valley Ranch come to this store for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jackson has spent big money at local galleries. He has donated to the schools, hosted numerous field trips, picked up a few antiques, used local contractors to build his fantasyland.
Economically speaking, his win was their win, but no one was cheering about it. There was only a general sense of relief that the circus was over.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, fans from around the world partied outside the ornate gates until twilight, when security guards suggested they go home. Michael Jackson did not appear.
As the Corner House coffee shop closed that evening, a Polish TV station wrapped up a final interview. Then, like all the other journalists who have made a pilgrimage to this quiet town since November 2003, they packed their gear and their memories and rumbled down the road, on to the next debacle.
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All aboard for Railfest: Susan and Ken Kelley will again host the 13th annual Railfest Train Show on July 10. The Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society benefit runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
An outdoor railroad featuring trains of the 1950s will start running at 10 a.m., while the indoor collection of pre-WWII trains and toys begins at 11 a.m. Narrative tours are held every hour, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Advance tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for children and free for those 5 and younger. They can be purchased at the Humane Society shelter, 111 Commerce Drive, Buellton, or at the House of Treasures Thrift Store at 393 Alisal Road, Solvang. Tickets are also available at the door.
The outdoor layout, the Santa Ynez Valley Redwood Railway, includes a reproduction of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads in the San Joaquin Valley. The radio-controlled outdoor elevated O-Gauge layout, with 600 feet of track, winds its way through a redwood forest.
The "Great Train Room" tours include a series of paintings depicting the Pacific Coast Railway, which terminated at Mattei's Tavern in Los Olivos.
Two dining tables are set with original railroad silver, tablecloths, china and menus from the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe railroads. Five operating layouts can be seen running Lionel Standard and O-Gauge model trains, dating from the early 1900s to pre-World War II.
Information: 688-8224 or www.syvhumane.org.
William Etling's column runs Monday. The opinions in this column are Mr. Etling's and not necessarily those of the newspaper. You can e-mail him at synotebook@ comcast.net or call 688-0500.
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