A Little Anniversary Graffiti
Margaret Magnus
By Margaret Magnus
One day while working at Meher Mount, I heard Sam Ervin call to me, “Margaret, come look at this.”
Feeling it wasn’t something I wanted to see, I said, “No.”
Sam replied, “Yes, you have to come look at this.”
Again, I said, “No.”
He insisted, “Come look at this.”
After seven months of repairs, clean-up, and small fix-it jobs turning into big fix-it jobs following the December 2017 Thomas Fire, I just didn’t want to discover one more item that needed attention. But, I knew I couldn’t escape. I went to take a look.
There was a major leak in the agricultural water tank about halfway up the tank.
THE LEAKING agriculture water tank at Meher Mount. (Photo: Sam Ervin, June 26, 2018)
One more fix
Just as we were counting down and ticking off the “to do” list in preparation for the August 2018 anniversary celebration of Avatar Meher Baba’s 1956 visit to Meher Mount, there was some new problem to fix.
The first step, turn off the water to the water tank. The second step, drain the tank by watering all the plants around the Visitor Center and filling the pond and bird baths. The third step, a trip to Aqua-Flow Supply in Ojai to buy a new tank.
Those were the easy steps. Removing the leaky tank and replacing it with the new tank took knowledge, skills and equipment.
To put the new tank in place and hook it up, Sam called Hansen Well-Do Service. The company had spent quite a few hours recently getting Meher Mount’s well pump operating again after the Thomas Fire.
They came, unhooked the old tank and moved it out of the way. Then, they put the new tank in place and hooked it up making sure everything was working properly. Interim Caretaker Cassandra Bramucci reported success in plenty of time for the anniversary celebration.
THE OLD agricultural tank waiting to be cut up and disposed of. (Photo: Sam Ervin, July 9, 2018)
A Little anniversary graffiti
Getting rid of the old tank took a little longer. That meant it was going to be on display during the Anniversary Celebration.
“I love Meher Mount very much and feel happy here,.” - Avatar Meher Baba at Meher Mount, 1956. (Photo: Margaret Magnus, August 1, 2018)
I don’t remember where the idea came from, but Cassandra and I decided we should write some graffiti on the tank in the form of a quote from Meher Baba.
Cassandra just happened to have a can of orange spray paint in her RV that she didn’t need. We agreed on the quote, and she handed the paint can to me.
I took the spray can and wrote, “I love Meher Mount very much and feel happy here.” - Avatar Meher Baba, August 2, 1956.
Being a graffiti “artist” is a little harder than one would think. Even so, it seemed a fitting quote for the anniversary celebration of Meher Baba’s time at Meher Mount.
Within a week or so after the August 4, 2018, celebration, the old tank was cut up and taken to a trash collection site. There’s no more graffiti at Meher Mount.