Santa-John’s View from the Bridge
by SJ McDaniel

The View from the Bridge is an opinion piece which explores how political, societal, and other changes may impact the future.

Welcome Back, Actor-Artists of the World!

Welcome to this special edition of our newsletter, View from the Bridge. Consider this as our Christmas in July issue.

Messages from Santa John’s Guides…

1. The walls of Elysium have fallen! Check out the 2013 film of the same name. In the film, Elysium is an artificial satellite that the wealthy lived on, while the rest of the world’s population worked hard to support the wealthy. Sounds a little like Project 2025, or perhaps what we’ve been experiencing; the rich getting richer, and the poor remain poor. Quoting Ebenezer Scrooge – “Are there no workhouses?”
2. Kamala Harris will be the next President of the USA – confidence 100%. From my plumber friend, on the other side, “SH*T does not flow uphill. That’s all you need to know about plumbing for a toilet. And, by the way, I hear that J-Smith plumbing associates is really good at removing clogs.
3. The last point is that the star-seed that is currently incarnated as Kamala, was last incarnated as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In simpler terms, Kamala is a reincarnation of FDR. She is here to continue his work.

How is Santa John doing?

As I reported last time, our service dog Charlie is no longer with us. His passing remains painful for both Holley and me. I also know Chacha misses her playmate.

What we pointed out last time is that we’ve received a number of blessings shortly afterwards.

First, within a few days I had a doctor review my condition. He added me to a disabled Americans list which includes my need for an ESA, an emotional support animal. Furthermore, our 11lb Chacha is a suitable ESA for me.

Holley and I highly recommend investigating emotional support animals on the web.

The bottom line is that Chacha and Santa John are at home; and we have enrolled in training classes at the Oregon Humane Society campus in Salem, Oregon.

Incoming – August 1, 2024 – Residential Eviction Summons!

I expected this action from park management. There is a resident in the park who apparently owns the park– or is chairman of the company that owns the park. In any event, it seems what he says – goes.

This individual, unnamed at this time, is retired from the army. And, from reliable reports, seems to display behaviors which suggest an addiction to liquids with a kick.

For these reasons in my story, I will refer to him as General-Scratch, for a scratch he received while my dogs were circling him. One observer of the incident reported he was kicking at the dogs.

Is it possible he was expressing fear by kicking the dogs away? Was it possible the dogs smelled something on his breath? Dogs are employed to sniff out bad guys, drugs, guns, etc. Perhaps he was packing?

The other players in this story are the Alcoholic Abusers Ambulance Chasing Nitwit Lawyers. In my story, they are referred to as NWLs

So, who is a nitwit? I admit I’ve been one at times, especially when I was younger. A Nit is a shortened expression of a “Know it all”. You know, the person that comes in telling everyone how it should be done.

And then, when that A-hole realizes he or she doesn’t “know it all” their standard response is “Well I Thought_____” (fill in the blank). So, wit is the shortened expression for this response.

The reality is that if you thought, you would have realized you don’t know it all. For when these nitwits appear in our story, we’ve recognized their contribution as NWLs, Nit Wit Lawyers.

So, here is our families’ story…

Prior to moving into the Phoenix RV Park in Salem, Oregon, we were living in our land-yacht fifth wheel located in Albany, Oregon. At that time, we were looking for a church to attend. In our search, we were led to the Home Spiritual Center in Salem. Check it out.

For almost a year we commuted some 40 to 50 miles to attend services. This last spring, we decided to look for an RV park that was closer to the church. We prayed for the most benevolent outcome in finding an RV space that could accommodate our rig. The Universe led us to Phoenix RV Park in Salem.

The park is beautiful. It is one of the nicest parks we have ever stayed in. The park’s physical structure is definitely five stars. The onsite staff is excellent. The park owners, well I’ll leave that rating to you…

I am an 80-year-old disabled American citizen. I was born in Detroit, Michigan, on September 11, 1943.

Prior to our adventures at the Phoenix RV Park Nightmare Ride, my disabilities included: (1) heart disease, I have a leaky heart valve which needs to be repaired or replaced. (2) Poor Eyesight, I have needed eyeglasses since I was in junior high school, 1950s time frame. (3) Hearing loss, a recent hearing test revealed that I have significant hearing loss. I have a letter from my doctor, who reviewed my hearing test. That letter suggests the need for a service animal. And lastly, (4) I have arthritis stiffness and joint pain for which I’ve been prescribed medical marijuana.

To all of these prior disabilities, our encounter with the alcoholic boss of the Phoenix park added stress which led me to being recognized as a disabled American in need of an Emotional Support Animal.

My current spouse and life partner is Glenda, who is also named in the eviction notice.

Glenda is a 76-year-old disabled American citizen. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 17, 1948.

Prior to our adventures at the Phoenix RV Park Nightmare Ride, her disabilities included: (1) Hearing loss, for which she wears hearing aids. (2) Poor eyesight, she has had laser surgery to remove cataracts. (3) Pain throughout her body for which she also has been prescribed medical marijuana.

From our adventure at Phoenix, she cries frequently, especially at the loss of Charlie, our other emotional support animal. By the way, Glenda’s daughter, my stepdaughter, is a recovering alcoholic. She now leads an AA chapter in Ohio. We know the devastation of alcoholism and what alcoholic behavior looks like. Glenda lived with alcoholics for years.

Oh, and by the way, we both have disabled parking hangers for both of our vehicles. We had them in Arizona, for 12 years before we came to Oregon. We now have placards for disabled parking spaces in Oregon.

So, the characters in my story are Santa John, SJ for short. Santa John’s view from the bridge is a newsletter my editor and I publish on a monthly basis.

GSAA General Scratch Alcohol Abuser, who is the main character. And, GSAA’s hit squad, AANWLs Alcohol Abusers’ Nit Wit Lawyers. Shortened to NWLs

So, here is our story

May 15^th, 2024. We moved into space 60 at the Phoenix RV Park and Storage, Haysville, Oregon.

May 22^nd, 2024. GSAA has an encounter with our service dogs, Charlie and Chacha. I will let GSAA tell it from his point of view in his demand letter for the scratch or bite he believes came from that encounter. Here is a summary of his demand letter and supporting documentation.

Essentially, after the encounter he rushed to an emergency room for treatment, and the emergency room doctor prescribed some pain meds. All of that came to about $243.31. Then to that amount GSAA added 1k for pain and suffering. So, he demanded payment of $1,243.31 for a scratch (no picture) he apparently received while kicking at our dogs.

(Documentation available at State of Oregon, Marion County Circuit Courts Case #24LT16053)

This, to me, seems a little over reactive to a scratch. When my pets scratch me, a little antiseptic and bandage may be required in the worst of cases.

Those we’ve consulted with, who are familiar with long-time alcohol abuse, consider GSAA’s response in this instance as a fear response. When I Google alcohol and fear, I am immediately presented with a link to call 988, the suicide prevention hotline.

Next GSAA through park management required that we show proof of vaccination for the dogs. He wanted to see it in print. We had never met before, but he didn’t trust my word. We had become enemies. A Paranoid response.

When I Google alcohol and paranoia, once again I’m taken to a screen that suggests Help is available, speak with someone today, call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Next, GSAA showed anger. He wanted those animals removed immediately, if not sooner. He called the police, which referred him to animal control. Google alcohol and anger. Same referral to the suicide hot line.

A day or two after the incident, a lady from animal control knocked on our door. She interviewed Glenda and I, looked at the dogs, and concluded that what we were doing in training the dogs so they could be rehomed was all that was needed. According to her, we had correct resolution to the problem.

She said that she had interviewed GSAA, his scratch was minor and appeared to be healing nicely. He had the smell of booze on his breath, and she was not going to impound our dogs.

Of course, her decision did not sit well with GSAA, so he ordered his NWLs to order the dogs to be off property.

Did the nit wit Lawyers interview Glenda or myself to get our side of the story? No! I believe they thought we were typical old folks that they could bully into submission.

Furthermore, we had no money to resist them in court. They seemed to forget there are two courts, the court of law, and the court of public opinion. I also sense they wanted “deniability” “we had no idea you were so disabled”. And I suspect they intend to use the defense, “we were just following our client’s orders”. Perhaps they should consider how well that defense worked at the Nuremberg trials. Look it up.

So, the dogs had to be gone by the 9^th of June. We had no way of moving our 5^th wheel home, no truck, nowhere to move it to, and no money for a moving company. We live on social security and a little income from writing. For us, there always seems to be more days in the month than money to cover them. We are not complaining; we enjoy shopping at Goodwill and dining at Meals on Wheels at the senior center.

Fortunately, for us and the dogs, we have a second smaller RV. So, as I was leaving the park, giving the park owners the middle finger salute, the dogs and I drove off and became homeless for the next month. All over a little scratch, per the Animal Control officer. How sad.

June 27^th, 2024 – Prince Charles Henry the 1^st (our golden shepherd ESA) was hit by a car, during training, and died. SJ decided, no more mister nice guy. GSAA is a coward. He pays his NWLs to protect him and carry out his commands, legal or not, and they comply. We were just following our client’s orders. (Nuremberg?)

SJ applied for and got recognized as a disabled person in need of an ESA, an emotional support animal. Documents are available.

So armed with this, Chacha and I moved back home on the 8th. This upset GSAA. He attacked me, once asking when I was going to pay his demand. Then on the second time he became physical and aggressive, demanding I pay his 1200-dollar invoice for pain and suffering.

His violent and aggressive behavior I reported to officer Dan at the police department. Dan took my statement and issued a case #24-37512. Of course, this really upset GSAA further.

In response, he demanded his NWLs come up with a solution and get us and the dog off his property. In response to his demands, they sent us the following letter:

This is where it becomes obvious that the NWLs think I need their permission for my service animal to be with me on site. I don’t see anywhere in the text assigning me a service animal that I need the park’s permission.

In addition, according to fair housing law as I read it, if a landlord and tenant have a dispute over rental housing that involves disability housing, the tenant may withhold rent payment until the dispute is resolved. Therefore, I choose to exercise that option. We will withhold rental payments until GSAA’s NWLs submit to the court a brief demonstrating that they have the right to deny me permission to have Princess Chacha McDaniel as my ESA, residing with me.

And as a final tribute to the stupidity of GSAA and his henchmen, is that they issued an eviction notice for non-payment of rent dated 7/31/2024. The fact is that our next rent payment was not due until 8/1/2024. Under Oregon law there is a 4- or 5-day grace period. So, by law we would not be late until 8/6/2024. It’s our experience that most landlords will work with us since they understand we are senior citizens living on Social Security.

In response to their rush to be rid of us, we request that the authors of the eviction notice produce documentation that demonstrates we were in rental default on 7/31/2024, while my rental agreement states rent is due on the first day of each month.

August 8^th, 2024 – now it’s up to the court what our next move will be. Stay tuned for the results.

In the meantime, is anyone going to help GSAA? Is everyone going to ignore the warning signs? “Help is available, speak with someone today, call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.” I am not a doctor, but my opinion is that GSAA needs help with his addiction. Prove me wrong.

John and Holley request you to join them in manifesting the Most Benevolent Outcome for all parties involved in Case #24-37512.

NEWS FLASH: We lost the case, but have received many blessings from the process. Details next time.

Summary

Everything is a creation of the One-Force. So, if you love God’s creations, be sure to include yourself in that love.

Do not fear the future. It’s being handled by forces much more powerful than any of our latest, greatest weapons.

During an election year, I ask any politician that asks for my vote, what’s in it for me and my friends struggling through this life. Why should we vote for you? What’s in it for us and the World we live in? Oh, and stop whining, just answer the questions!

For us, just get out the popcorn – watch the show – and vote! Be assured we are living in a Hallmark movie with a happy ending!

In Short

We know all things work for the good, even though we might not see the good at the time. We also know whatever we plant in this realm we will harvest. Plant corn seeds, harvest corn. Plant fear in others, harvest fear of others. Moral – plant and harvest Love.

For now…Thank you for your attention. Keep in mind that we don’t know what we don’t know. So, don’t take our word for it. Meditate and find what is right for you.

Sorry this article is so long. To quote Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” circa 1871.

For 2024 and beyond, we pray for peace.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, we will know peace.