A Very Normal and Wonderful Independence Day Breathes Life Into Oppressive California

As I have reported before, living in downtown Sacramento for more than 30 years hasn’t always been a picnic. I frequently write about encounters with homeless vagrants in downtown, as well as in the park near my house. I also chronicle the escalating crime and violence in Sacramento – murders are now a regular event week in, week out.

A moment of relief was on July 4th in Plymouth, CA at the Trucks, Tractors and Trikes parade. And what a delight it was.

July 4th Trucks, Tractor and Trikes Parade, Plymouth. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)

Plymouth is at the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, the wine country of Amador County.  There are forty-two wineries located in the heart of the celebrated Sierra foothill Gold Country. And the small towns, Plymouth, Amador City, Drytown, Fiddletown, Pinegrove, Pioneer, Volcano… are nestled into the hills, mountains, near rivers and lakes. And wineries.

July 4th Trucks, Tractor and Trikes Parade, Plymouth. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)

When you enter the region, it’s as if you’ve stepped into a portal back to the old west and historic gold country. The towns have maintained and accentuated the old town appearance. And the people are genuine and the nicest.

The July 4th parade opened with the National Anthem. Then the fire trucks rolled through, followed by decorated pickups, tractors, more tractors, kids on tricycles, go-carts, vintage trucks, a Tesla truck, Shetland Ponies, horses and a really big goat.

Parade goers cheered. Adults enjoyed pomegranate mimosas and breakfast burritos from the Tin Roof Wine Cafe – and cold beer – plenty of cold beer.

July 4th Trucks, Tractor and Trikes Parade, Plymouth. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)

While to many this sounds mundane or a little ho-hum, it’s not; it’s normal. Really normal. And that’s the point.

The gaslighting of the people by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrat Supermajority is breathtaking. Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person (politician) causes someone to question their sanity, memories, or perception of reality.

The way Gavin Newsom talks in absurd soundbites about California, you’d think the streets were paved of gold and the 40 million people are all successful venture capitalists.

We know California’s cities are a hot mess – and dangerous – even deadly.

Elderly Asian women aren’t brutally attacked in Plymouth or Sutter Creek the way they are in Oakland and San Francisco.

The streets of cities and towns in Amador County are not lined with squalid homeless tent camps. No one is pooping on the sidewalks in Amador City or Jackson the way they do in San Francisco (home of the public defecation map), Los Angeles and Sacramento.

There are no organized smash-and-grab retail thefts in Sutter Creek or Ione.

People are not pushed into oncoming trains the way they are in San Francisco.

Plymouth has no homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny-theft, arson, or even shoplifting to speak of.

This is not to say that it’s all roses in Amador County. But it’s normal. And we Californians need normal again.

California used to be known for its gorgeous weather, Hollywood movies, high tech, and for growing and providing beautiful agricultural products for the rest of the world. Today, California is known for its crazy Left wing politics, and for its crime and homeless epidemic. Yes, many parts of California are stunningly beautiful, but they aren’t in the dangerous big cities.

Whether you are forced to check the public defecation map to navigate the streets of San Francisco, are on the 57 freeway in Santa Ana looking at miles of homeless tent cities and camps, or you are dodging heroin-addicted homeless zombies around the State Capitol and on residential streets in Sacramento, the results are the same — Nearly one-third of the nation’s welfare recipients and drug-addicted homeless population lives in California.

Make California normal again.

All it will take is for voters to get engaged and vote. Find citizens to once again represent you – oust the career politicians who have facilitated the Golden State’s decay and degradation.

July 4th Trucks, Tractor and Trikes Parade, Plymouth. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)
July 4th Trucks, Tractor and Trikes Parade, Plymouth. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)

Help make California normal again. And tell your children and grandchildren about Former President Ronald Reagan, who always seemed to remember the bravery and courage of the original representatives from the 13 colonies, meeting together at a Continental Congress in Philadelphia, to draft and sign the Declaration of Independence, after being declared “traitors” by King George:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

…And seek out California’s normal again with fervor.