David K - 11-12-2003 at 08:03 PM
Choral Pepper was the publisher of Desert Magazine in the 1960's, traveled with Erle Stanley Gardner and dicovered cave paintings and lost missions.
Choral gave Jimmy Smith his famous nic-name 'Grinning Gargoyle'. She also wrote many books, including history books on Baja and the desert. Painting
was another of Choral's great talents... Her family considered the Baja Dreams painting one of her best... and I am so proud and greatful to have that
painting hanging in my home.
Here is the link to that photo, taken just months before Choral left us... http://choralpepper.com/page7.html
Photo posted below also...
[Edited on 2-3-2005 by David K]
David, thanks for sharing that......
Debra - 11-12-2003 at 08:21 PM
I remember when I was at her home, and so in 'awe' of what a welcoming woman she was......(she was 'famous' living in a mutimillion dollor home, and
she met us at the door in jeans and bare feet) I liked her in a heart beat! , what a down to earth woman! )I was looking around her home and gazing
at the paintings and realized they were her own (while you and she were doing, what?) LOL! Then she appeared with her latest book to give to me, and
asked me to visit again with a hug.....I thank you David, I (as you know) was in pain from my accident at Punta Cabras, and I didn't want to go for a
visit, I thank you for talking me into it, it was a great experience. RIP Corke!
jimmy smith - 11-12-2003 at 08:22 PM
Ole Corky was indeed a pretty and talented lady. We were on the outs for about 35 years but because of David K's efforts, we kissed and made up.
Well Jimmy......
Debra - 11-12-2003 at 08:32 PM
She did call him the "Baja Connection"
and rightly sooooo.
So, Jimmy? How are you going? I'm hoping to come down this spring for another visit. And this time maybe get to know Lupe, and Sally? How did all
those birds of yours deal with the hurricane?
Hope you are doing well and nobody has smuggled you any cigars!
David K - 11-12-2003 at 11:21 PM
Thanks for saying those nice things Debra and Jimmy. When I first met 'Corke' (pronounced like Cork, silent e) I was warmly greeted as a long time
friend. Even though I may have been half her age, she treated me as an equal, a fellow Baja explorer/writer.
The 'Baja Connection' nic-name she gave me was after I brought her and Jimmy together (in emails) after 35+ years since she gave Jimmy his nic-name
(Grinning Gargoyle)!
She wanted very badly to attend my Viva Baja-2 and 3 gatherings, but her advancing cancer prevented any long duration events. Choral wrote a wonderful
message for me to read to my guests at Viva #2:
_________________________________
Dear Baja Buffs,
Behind his back, I call David "the new Erle Stanley Gardner." His love for Baja shares the same dedicated clarity and eagerness to share it as did
Uncle Erle's. I am fortunate enough to have been one of those recipients in both cases. Erle shared it with his books. David shares it with his Viva
Baja adventures.
I have reached a stage in life in which there is more to look back upon than forward to. It is not depressing. What I have to look back upon was so
filled with adventure, learning and beauty that nothing in my limited future could surpass it. There are very few places in the world that I did not
explore during my exciting years as a nationally syndicated travel columnist after selling Desert Magazine, but of all the places in the world, Baja
stands alone. Not just because it was more isolated in those days (places like Yap and Zamboanga were isolated, too), but because there is a spiritual
quality about Baja that seeps into the very soul of those who respond to it. Everyone doesn't., but you who are here at David's Viva Baja event
tonight know exactly what I mean.. We Baja buffs share a space foreign to superficial types unaware of the peninsulas unique nature, mysterious
history, and tantalizing lore.
During my early days of exploring the desert, I found that the public can be induced to respect such backcountry areas as Baja -- not by rules and
regimentation, but by education. And the education begins by making its history exciting and adventurous. When someone goes looking for a lost
treasure, for instance, they are forced to thoroughly research the area. They aren't just spinning wheels over meaningless, empty land. With
knowledge, comes respect. You all who participate in David's Viva Baja are doing your part to insure a secure future for Baja. I salute you and would
love to be sharing this evening with you
Sometimes when you are out there trampling through dry, rock-studded arroyos or watching the moon rise above a cardon forest, send a thought to me.
I'll be sharing it with you in spirit.
Choral Pepper
_________________________________
Choral did enjoy my fellow Baja friends joining me when I visited with her. The first dinner party she invited me to was also attended by Neal and
Marian Johns. I brought Graham Mackintosh with me... What a great evening, and wonderful food (Choral/Corke was a gourmet and authored cook books,
too).
Other visits to her Coronado condo, I brought other Baja amigos who may wish to say something like Debra did...
Choral passed away after Viva Baja 3, and her two adult children (Trent & Ming) gave me large boxes containg books Choral wanted me to have and
hundreds of photos and papers from her trips with the Gardner expeditions. Then the wonderful painting you saw in the photo... I was so honored.
Her many photographs will soon be available for you all to see in a web site.
Choral Pepper's final book manuscript, 'BAJA's Missions, Mysteries, & Myths' is also in my posession awaiting publishing... Dr. Jackson
('academicanarchist') has provided great assistance in editing her manuscript.
Thank you again for letting me share a little from a tremendous life of desert and Baja exploration and adventure that was Choral Pepper. Several
photos of Choral appear in Gardner's 'Off The Beaten Track In Baja', and 'Mexico's Magic Square' which showed Choral riding in the first blimp to fly
in Baja! What a wonderful life she had, and she loved it, greatly!
[Edited on 11-13-2003 by David K]
David K - 2-2-2005 at 10:59 PM
Here is the photo of Choral by her 'Baja Dreams' painting...
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