A few weeks ago, I answered my front door and saw a young man dressed as if he was going to the gym. He said my name and asked if that was me; when I replied yes, he handed me a stack of papers and said “I’m supposed to give these to you” and then promptly left. As I was trying to process what had just happened, I realized that I had been subpoenaed. The papers showed that someone was suing Disneyland and I had been called as a witness. What the h$%*! Actually, I just about crapped my pants when I first saw the papers as I thought I was being sued...once that wave of relief was over I started getting honked off. The next day, I called the Plaintiff’s Attorney’s office and found out that I would need to appear in Court in Santa Ana the following week. Making lemonade out of lemons, I figured it would be an adventure and that I'd get to shoot some photos of Santa Ana.
The case seemed a fairly uninteresting one, and I still know very little about it other than someone fell over a rope at the exit of the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction at Disneyland back in March 2008 (yes, the wheels of justice sometimes spin slowly). Why was I called to testify? Because of this photo on my website:
Serves me right for taking photos of obscure details at Disneyland! Superior Court of Orange County is just minutes away from Disneyland, and naturally, there’s a citrus tree in front.
My time in court was interesting; I’d never been on the stand testifying as a witness. The plaintiff’s attorney is known as “The Gunslinger” (am I painting a picture for you?). I was on the stand for less than half an hour, and was asked to give testimony about the photo I took, why I took it, and to point out some of the details.
Soon as my civic duty was done, I went over to the OC Historical Archives to meet up with Chris Jepsen.
For the next hour or so, Chris was my personal tour guide through Santa Ana, showing me some of the more interesting architectural details and giving me some of the background to buildings that remained and those that no longer existed.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present my visual nickel tour of Santa Ana in Orange County, California:
And my very fave shot of the day:
Many thanks to Chris for taking the time to show off some of Orange County’s finer historical details! See more Santa Ana photos at my main website.
9 comments:
What an intriguing post. As usual Dave, well done. It shows people are paying attention to your hard work!
When you told the "Gunslinger" about the photo and "why" you took it, did he seem to get it? I mean about why you take these photos.
Of course I understand completely, but it's always interesting to see the reaction of others when they hear how we spend our Disney-engrossed free time.
Amazing. "Why should I be responsible for my own carelessness when I can sue Disneyland for a lot of money?". Sorry you had to go through that, Dave. I have to admit that I am now dying to hear if the person actually gets any dough out of this ridiculous lawsuit!
Great photos of Santa Ana. I grew up there, went to SA High (class of '59), and Santa Ana College. All this while working at Disneyland.
Also: My Uncle was Mayor in the '50's.
I haven't been back in a really long time.
Well, I'm pleading the 5th on any and all photos I've ever taken at Disneyland and put on my blog. I can't even remember why I took my photos last week, March of 2008 is ancient history!
Boy you sure did make a good day out of it though, nice tour of OC - and a visit to the park
Thanks for sharing!
Holy crap, I can't believe they used your love of Disneyland for something ugly! Glad you got the personal tour, though. Awesome shots.
Glad you could come hang out in Santa Ana for a while. I've walked through downtown with a camera more times than I care to remember, but it was interesting to see how your "photographer's eye" saw things differently than mine. You noticed details (for example, the lion on the old First National Bank Building) that I've never noticed before. Nicely done, sir.
Dave, the best defense in these moments is ignorance. they can't refute "I don't remember".
Trust me, I know.
I am so sick of what this country has let itself become. Our future won't be pretty, but we will have deserved it.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures of Santa Ana. All I have ever seen of the region apart from D'land has been sort of stucco. those are nice buildings.
JG
There was a movie made in 1963 with Richard Chamberlain & Claude Rains, called Twilight of Honor. It took several long and loving looks at Santa Ana, and the Old Courthouse. I was in Memphis Tenn, in the Navy, when I watched it. It really made me homesick.
Just saw you in a photo over at O.C. Historical Roundup blog, did you wear blue jeans to court young man???
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