Charlie
Sprinkle, The Goatman of Ojai.
It happened on the lovely road that
connects Ventura, California to Ojai, that famous, slightly inland
village where such famous world figures as Krisnamurti and Annie
Besant held forth in the early 20th Century, changing the
direction of spirituality for the Western world. Originally called
Nordoff, for Charles Nordoff, the author of “California: A Book for
Travellers and Settlers,” published in 1872, the bucolic
settlement's name was changed to Ojai in the early 20th
century.
Theosophy and other inquiries into
Eastern philosophy still persist there along with health spas and
golf courses. Serious movements happened there; the residents
expected it.
In the early 1970s the Movement to
Restore the Constitution was born anew there. Before that morning in
early June the focus of those involved had been the IRS; on that
morning its directions changed and multiplied. After that day what
happened to the Constitution is better understood and so better
challenged.
That magic spark was struck in front
of Dahl's Market, which still sits on what is variously known as
Ventura Street and Highway 33, on the road to Ventura. The moment
came early on that June morning and it was started by a feisty man
named Charlie Sprinkle. Charlie had moved to Ojai from Virginia,
having spent time in the U. S. Air Force. Sprinkle liked to fly. On
that morning he was driving his newly refurbished Volkswagon Van,
with a 40 Horse power engine, gliding along the road, minding his own
business. He had had the van lovingly repainted a shiny white.
Charlie was going into business selling Amway, then a new enterprise
that Charlie felt held great promise. Just that morning he had
picked up his vehicle at the mechanic's, carefully going over the van
before accepting delivery. Charlie was, himself, a mechanic.
The van's paint job was intended to
keep the Amway product line as cool as possible. His Amway signs were
affixed to the shiny doors. The windows were tinted to further the
protection of Charlie's stock, carefully arranged in the back.
Tooling down the road Charlie approached the front of Dahl's Market,
heading towards Ventura. There ahead of him was a traffic stop,
manned by six California Highway Patrol Officers, stopping all
traffic going towards Ventura. Charlie came to a halt, watching the
line of cars in front of him. It looked like slow going up there.
45 minutes passed. One of the
officers told Charlie this was a safety check, a service provided by
the State of California to ensure that drivers were not endangered by
malfunctioning vehicles. Ungrateful, Charlie pointed out that the
safety check was costing him money; he was told to be quiet.
Charlie is not the kind of guy who is naturally quiet. Nearly as
soon as he moved to Ojai he had joined a group protesting the IRS and
was then planning to make his point in the Ojai 4th of
July Parade which would take place in just less than a month. MORE
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