Laughing Bear, All I have ever wanted in my visits to DCHS is to have a relaxing time and see the many good people I know there all getting along in a peaceful manner. We will always have to endure a given amount of negativity from some folks who come to DCHS who do not respect nature and the land. Besides this source of negativity, by my experience, another source has made its impact on the DCHS community in the form of the negative acts that have occurred in the years Mike Castro has resided at the Bowen Ranch. I have heard story after story after story of the negative confrontations or other negative behavior endured by various DCHS visitors in regards to Mike Castro and his actions. The many, many stories told have come from a wide range of individuals who in many cases don't know eachother or Katrina. These things taint the peace of these springs we love. In my opinion, these special springs don't deserve the kind of negative activity that has gone on around the Bowen Ranch, and I'm not talking about the occasional criminaly minded person that will at times be part of the visitors for any given day. My mission is about peace. I have no mission to kick Mike Castro off his property or to deny him his reasonable rights. I have never shown Mike aggression and would never suggest to anyone that they do anything illegal to Mike Castro or his property. To do things like that would not be the way to a path of peace. I have never contacted any agency about Mike Castro's income at the Ranch or about the condition of the property as it relates to Code Enforcement. I have expressed many of my thoughts here at the DCHS forum about what I see to be unjust behavior. However I know that there are folks that are pursueing the goal of having various agencies take a closer look at Mike Castro and the legality of his property and business. These people are proceeding in a legal manner. If Mike Castro thinks they are not acting legaly then he can go after them with his attourney and the law, not with his gun and his aggressiveness. I just keep hoping that somehow, someday, this history of negativity coming from the Bowen Ranch will stop, its high time. I am not one to hold a grudge, life is short and I just have a hard time staying really mad at anyone for an extended period. Sycamore I think can see this in me. It doesn't mean you forget the past and what it has taught you but if all past grievences are held onto and stored for good, to me it just becomes a burden that eventually drains the goodness out of life. Look at Isreal and the Palestiniens, endless conflict, despite who is right or wrong it becomes endless grievences carried through each consecutive generation. I have to let the anger about things from the past go at some point. For me its like the concept of forgivness. Each day offers us a new opportunity to find a more worthy and more peaceful way to live. I just try, as much as I can to give others an opportunity to find a more peaceful path too, and not carry blame against them to my grave. Other people will have to aproach these things in the way that feels right for them. This endeavor to find peace is not something that will be achieved for all people, at all times. It is a jouney, a path towards an ideal, it brings meaning and purpose to my life, even though I realize there is no final destination at the end, no promised land, just the journey.
