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Michael Jackson's coffin not flown to Neverland
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The helicopter at Neverland on Tuesday (first photo in slideshow below) appeared to be too small to hold a coffin. William Etling photo
There was speculation that Michael Jackson’s body had been flown to his old ranch in Los Olivos after the memorial on Tuesday, July 7, but the chopper below us didn’t look big enough for a casket. We were high above the geyser-like fountains of the ghost ranch formerly know as Neverland when the helo pilot on the ground radioed up. Would we be around long? ‘Cause he was about to leave.
Like the t-shirt vendors at the Neverland gate sent home by the cops earlier in the day, we cleared out, thumping smoothly above the sere golden fields and classic red barns of the Chamberlin Ranch west of Neverland. Down Figueroa Mountain Road, Los Olivos was a green oasis, the flagpole at town center looking like a Google place pin.
Smoke from a manure pile that had spontaneously ignited in the summer heat drifted languidly off to the east as lush pastures of posh thoroughbred farms rolled away below us. Big things stood out: a private baseball diamond, a thirty-stall barn, a massive villa, a private pond, the casino.
The helicopter door was removed for photos. Ace pilot Ken Denton of Arctic Air Service, Inc. had suggested securing all camera equipment and buckling up carefully. He didn’t want loose lenses or loose passengers innocently exiting the craft as it angled about.
The headsets killed most of the roaring wind and rotor wash. It was windy but clear. Snugly buckled into our sleek plexiglass bubble we soared high above the scenic Santa Ynez Valley vineyards and thoroughbreds below. Soundman, cue up “If You See Me Getting Smaller.”
(All photos copyright William Etling 2009)
For more info: See "Sideways in Neverland: Life in the Santa Ynez Valley, by William Etling search.barnesandnoble.com/Sideways-in-Neverland/William-Etling/e/9780595811441/
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