Back in the days when I always lived within ten miles of an ocean, I actually remember laughing outloud the first time I heard the term "Inland Empire." In part, because I spent too many hours working on death penalty appeals in the grimmer parts of San Bernardino and Riverside County and that name and the images in my mind were so incongruous.
Now that I live here in Pomona, it is clear to me that we are halfway between the two evils of L.A. and the Inland Empire. While I don't often hear us referred to as East L.A. County, which would be accurate, I do often here us lumped in as part of the Inland Empire, or referred to as generic "Inland Valley."
From my limited research on the subject, we are technically in the Pomona Valley. Perhaps at one time the Pomona Valley was more popularly used. But let's be honest, If you tell someone who doesn't know where Pomona is that it's in the Pomona Valley, they still don't know where Pomona is. Oh and for those that followed the above link, did you notice that Wikipedia considers PHillips Ranch to be a separate city than Pomona.
Maybe it's just an L.A. thing, that anything east of HERE is one big THERE, yet L.A. does recognize the San Gabriel Valley. Us being in the 909 area code doesn't help us differentiate from the vast I.E., especially when it's like pulling teeth to get L.A. friends out here to visit. I'll admit to still holding on tightly to my 323 area code cell phone number.
Okay, so what's my point here? I often play word games while I am driving in hopes of coming up with a new and improved name for the region. I figure that if the new name takes into account all the cities that make up the Pomona Valley, maybe the new name could finally release us from the grip of the Inland Empire.
Problem is the best name I've been able to come up with is "Curved Slomp":
Claremont - feed their ego by putting them first so they'll sign on
Upland
Rancho (and the Cucamonga is covered by the C two letters up)
Verne
E for good measure
D for Dimas
San
La (Verne to follow)
Ontario
Montclair
Pomona
Okay, so here's the first contest on this blog. Can you think up of a better name using the above letters? And if so, you get to do a guest post on the blog! Or not, your choice.
6 comments:
I don't think Rancho or Ontario belong in the clubhouse -- they really are solidly Inland Empire.
While I refer to our area as the West Inland Empire, I don't mind CLUMPS (Claremont, LaVerne, Upland, Montclair, Pomona, SanDimas).
Eastern Washington state also calls itself the Inland Empire -- very confusing.
Interestingly, Wikipedia considers Chino Hills to be in the club too. I've added that link to my post, as I can't do links when I use a flickr image (unfortunately I was not the one to shoot this photo on my way to Honolulu!).
As for ONtario, I needed the "O."
We could always boot out La Verne and be CHUMPS!
An anagram web page (http://wordsmith.org/anagram/) came up with, among others:
Clover Dumps
re: Clover Dumps...
That one is actually kind of catchy! Can anyone top Curved Slomp, Clumps, Chumps or Clover Dumps (as in land of ramshackle trailer home parks full of people of Irish descent?) Anyone else? This thread will remain open for a few days.
I like Clover Dumps. Your interpretation is charitable, though... to me, it conjures up images of what you need to sidestep when walking through a recently-grazed pasture.
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