Saddlerock Ranch Insanity

The creation of this ephemeral under-clicked content required 27 hours so I’m not going to talk about it. Enjoy!Except, well… here’s a great detail that did not make it in the mini-doc: After annihilating the federal parks budget, President Ronald Reagan was so desperate to dredge the money to purchase Saddlerock Ranch that one of his aides actually wrote a letter to Saudi Arabian billionaire Sheik Mohammed al-Fassi asking for a donation. The sheik did not reply. His bro-in-law sent $200. And another: When owner Ronnie Semler rejected Reagan for the last time, he was sitting in federal prison, having pleaded guilty to selling helicopters to North Korea. He was especially touchy at the time because his latest bid for early prison release—starting a non-profit program for disadvantaged children with learning disabilities (LO f****n’ L)—had been dismissed by the courts.In other life affirming news, the large and thriving brewery I’ve worked at for the past too many odd years closed last night. I made an uncharacteristically vulnerable and heartfelt post about it on Instagram yesterday. I’ll have more to say about the closing of Angel City Brewery in the future. Its unnecessary death is a serious loss to the city of Los Angeles. This hundred-year-old JA Roebling warehouse was a major communal space in the historic core of Los Angeles, blocks from El Aliso, and like that tree the brewery remained a central pilgrimage point for people from all over the planet and all throughout the city and SoCal. Hundreds of times, if you’d flown in from Sweden or Brazil, or Japan, landed at LAX, and Googled ‘brewery’, you were standing in front of me ordering an IPA an hour later.Pasty boomer men terrified of white replacement and urban spaces, convinced of the ‘American carnage’ and the post-apocalyptic hellscape of Los Angeles and Gavinor Gruesome would order a pint from me and I’d tell them about P-22, El Aliso, etc. and encourage them not to be a pussy, score some PCP up street on Skid Row, and finish things off with a quick stop at The Slammer in my hood. I have to believe some of these people, while they will retain the stain of MAGA hat hair for the rest of their days, found themselves enjoying better beer and a broader mind after leaving our brewery. I was an ambassador… for craft beer, for a brewery and brand, and also at times the city, and civilization itself. I will miss this. F**k my life. If you know anybody hiring for something better than Walmart greeter… please drop me a line. I start work at the Walmart Supercenter in Lancaster on Valley Central Way next Tuesday. I’m excited but also a little apprehensive. I’d love to find something better, more adapted to my strengths, which are researching and weaving stories, selling alcohol, telling stories, and selling alcohol, and having conversations, and not selling writing. Big thanks to Etan Rosenbloom for encouraging me to visit Saddlerock Ranch. If you’re not familiar with Etan or his blog, Etan Does LA, Etan is an insane man (and passionate historian) visiting every single LA County landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are 625 such places. He is rapidly nearing his 300th visit and post. If there is anything I should be researching and reporting on that I don’t know about or something that you specifically would like to see me founder upon, drop a comment or DM. And please, if you like those posts, go to Substack and like them, and share them! Dumpster Fires is beacon of light in a world of trash and sorrow. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Dumpster Fires at dumpsterfires.substack.com/subscribe