Editor’s Note

DISCOVER OJAI MONTHLY

Bret Bradigan

THE BARN DOOR PROBLEM

''The cardinal sin, when we are looking for truth of fact of wisdom of policy, is refusal to discuss, or action which blocks discussion.'' — Sidney Bell Hooks

As this tumultuous summer proceeds, we see crisis after crisis come tumbling after us like boulders down a hillside. It feels existential. Even our lovely little town is not immune to the polarizing tendencies and arguments of proof by assertion and not facts, of finger pointing and accusations of ignorance without basis. And that's just the annual Fourth of July chairs controversy.

It gets nittier and grittier when it comes to Ojai's changing landscape. The El Roblar Hotel's return, the Ojai Unified School District headquarters future, historic preservation of our downtown, the climate crisis' dire impacts on our farms and the loss of citrus orchards — all of which have become so central to our identity — are just a few of the more proximate issues on hand. And the way we are talking to each other, as enemies rather than opponents, as bad-faith actors rather than holding differing points of view, of ignoring legitimate concerns and impugning motives, this just isn't the Ojai way. Social media is partly to blame, but the dark drift began even earlier. And yes, it's always been there. Just not so easily and eagerly spread around. We used to pride ourselves on our civility and fairness.

Human nature works both ways in these situations. I think about the tragic shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. And the solutions that came forward (is there a worse idea than restricting access to one door for a bustling school?) are all based on what happened, not what could happen. We are always looking to solve the problem that just happened. We don't admit that we don't know what we don't know. Worse, we don't even know that we don't know. Early in Nassib Nicholas Tassim's "Black Swan," he demonstrates this human characteristic with a thought experiment. Say sometime in early in the year 2000, the airlines decided to reinforce cockpit doors and require passengers to take off their shoes before boarding. Would the public lavish them with praise for the tragedy that was averted on Sept. 11th? Would they get any credit for something that didn't happen?

I call it the "Barn Door Problem." We are always looking to close the barn door after the horse gets out. Maybe there is an obvious fix to a problem, but problems are often "black swans." That things we've never seen cannot exist. We ignore evidence that contradicts our assumptions or beliefs. It refers to the widespread belief that all swans were white. Because no one had ever seen a black swan, they must not exist. Until the Dutch explorers reached Perth, Australia in 1697 that is, and saw that yes, black swans exist.

What this means for Ojai is that we need to worry less about planning for problems that may or may not come to pass, and worry more about building a robust social infrastructure that can deal with whatever problem comes our way, seen or unforeseen. Look at the community's response to the Thomas Fire. #OjaiStrong indeed. But that sense of resilience and unity has largely evaporated, and it would be foolish to think that those same underlying conditions of cohesion still exist. That we came together once, we will come together again. Look at those who bray the loudest and then look at those who do the most. They are seldom the same people. Those ideas of positive action and organizing must be encouraged, built and reinforced until nothing can tear us apart with anything like the energy that binds us together. Ojai, if anywhere, can build a better barn door.

Ladd & Kelsey, Architects - The Von Hagen Residence, 1975

22035 Saddle Peak Road, Topanga, CA 90290

Beyond the steel gated entry, a long private drive gracefully ascends through park-like grounds to a broad plateau atop the mountain summit. Like the adobes at Acoma pueblo, living and working spaces hug the ground, and flow naturally across the landscape. From this 13 acre site, the vistas can honestly be characterized as nothing less than exhilarating. From above Malibu, views sweep over the Santa Monica Bay, Catalina, Palos Verdes, Long Beach and downtown LA, and continue to the San Fernando Valley, across the Simi Hills and far beyond to the San Bernardino mountains.

The residence incorporates 4 bedroom suites, a kitchen, butler’s pantry, living room, dining room and den. Every room has views and direct access to the outside via tall glass sliding doors, except the living room which adjoins the dining room that opens to the ocean view and the atrium and pool opposite. The master bedroom suite includes a fireplace, luxurious large bath, dressing room, 2 cedar walk-in closets and a kitchenette. One suite has its own living room with kitchenette. The 4-car carport is attached. Across from the residence is a 3,300 sf. accessory building/showroom/ garage that lends itself to multiple uses. It includes a workshop, kitchenette, laundry, 2 baths and ample storage space.

Christina Hildebrand 310.890.3313 $11,995,000

Exclusively Representing

310.275.2222

William Turnbull Jr., FAIA - The Tatum Beach House, 1972

12 Potbelly Beach Road, Aptos, CA 95003

First Offering: Of the many reasons this ingenious structure won Architectural Record’s Record House of the Year, perhaps the most important in terms of its gifts to living is its consciously elemental nature. The honesty of simple raw construction materials, now weathered like driftwood, and its glassy openness, enhance the occupant’s direct connection to the powerful natural forces and elements of the beach environment. To quote Donlyn Lyndon in Buildings in the Landscape: “Bill’s approach to the landscape was not one of emulation, but of cultivation. The land, the family, the acts of building, the joys of inhabiting, all merged in Bill’s mind into homes for the imagination. They are buildings that honor human presence in the land.”

4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1,830 s.f., .29 acres $6,000,000

tatumbeachhouse.com

Crosby Doe 310.428.6755 Ilana Gafni 310.779.7497

EVENT

BENEFIT FOR UKRAINE

BY MICHAEL ESTWANIK

In February, Russia launched an unprovoked and merciless invasion of the sovereign democracy of Ukraine. The horrifying images of Ukrainians fighting for their lives were — and still are — heartbreaking. Millions have become refugees, leaving their families and friends behind to seek safety in other countries.

What could I — what could Ojai — do to help? I recalled this quote from Leonard Bernstein upon the occasion of the assassination of his friend, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

So that is what we are doing: 30 members of the Ojai community: actors, singers, dancers, musicians, crew, ushers, and other volunteers donating their wonderful talents and invaluable time to present a concert version of the Broadway musical “Rags” as a benefit for the American Red Cross Relief Efforts in Ukraine. This not-to-be-missed event will take place one time only on Sunday, July 31 at 2 p.m. at Matilija Auditorium, 703 El Paseo Road.

“Rags” is a powerful and timely musical about Jewish immigrants creating new lives for themselves on New York City’s Lower East side in the early 1900s. After fleeing from murderous (Russian!) Cossacks with nothing but the rags on their backs, these brave souls overcame countless obstacles in their quest to become “real” Americans. ''Rags’’ has a script by Joseph Stein (“Fiddler on the Roof”), music by Charles Strouse (“Bye Bye Birdie,” “Annie”), and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (“Godspell,” “Pippin,” “Wicked”). Its score of ragtime, Broadway, Jewish, Irish, and Italian melodies, patriotic (4th of July), klezmer, and jazz, is beautiful, romantic, funny, and life-affirming, evoking an era of tremendous social upheaval much like our own. Tickets are for Reserved Seats, a $50 tax-deductible donation: americansongbooktoday.ticketleap.com Donations: tax-deductible donations of any amount Venmo and Zelle @ americansongbooktoday

American Songbook Today‘s future events include: “A Songwriting Workshop” with Ojai’s own Amanda McBroom and Michele Brourman, an encore performance of 2020’s “An Evening of Oscar-Winning Songs” during Oscar Week, “An Evening of the Gershwins,” “Songs for Mothers and Those They Love” on Mother’s Day, and our monthly “Tuesdays at Twilight” open mics and audience sing-alongs of Broadway songs and standards.

For further info: michaelsongbook@ gmail.com

Michael Estwanik is the producer, director and founder of American Songbook Today, a 501(c)(3)