The Western Company Salt Works still in operation after nearly 100 years, has played an important role in the solar salt industry in Southern California. The site retains a high degree of integrity and has changed little since its reconstruction following the great flood of 1916. By 1922 the Salt Works grew to nine buildings and thirty-two salt ponds and levees. This complex of early 20th century industrial works conveys a sense of function and industry that is unique. During the late 1990's a move to incorporate the Salt Works as part of a National Wildlife Reserve was proposed and finalized by 1999. Deemed National Register eligible, this property should stand as a testimony of purpose and longevity. [San Diego SOHO 2002

No, wait. Later in the interview, he starts talking about transfiguration again, and he presses the point. He brandishes a dog-eared copy of the book Hell’s Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club. He cites a chapter in the book that recounts how Robert Zimmerman, the 21-year-old president of the San Bernardino chapter of the Hells Angels, who lived on Walnut Street in San Bernardino, was killed in a 1961 motorcycle accident in Madera County. That accident was a precursor, Dylan believes, to his own motorcycle accident in 1966 near Woodstock, N.Y. The two events were directly related and they completed Dylan’s transformation into a new person, he says.

He can’t be serious about this, right?

Wait, he really is. He goes off on it for a third time during the course of the interview. “I’m showing you a book that’s been written and published. I mean, look at all the connecting things: motorcycles, Bobby Zimmerman. … And there’s more to it than even that. … I’d always been different than other people, but this book told me why. … I didn’t know who I was before I read the Barger book.”

Reporter: What did you think of your first night in Paris?
Dylan: It was very dull.
Reporter: Why is the puppet here?
Dylan: It followed me.
Reporter: Is it a mascot?
Dylan: No, it’s a religious symbol.
Reporter: What religion?
Dylan: It’s a symbol of the religion of tears.
Reporter: How much are you getting paid for your concert in Paris?
Dylan: 350 million dollars.
Reporter: Tomorrow is your birthday - how do you feel about that?
Dylan: It’s a crime to talk about it.
Reporter: Why do you sing?
Dylan: Because I like to sing.
Reporter: Do you want to express something with your singing?
Dylan: No.
Q: What do you think about death?
Dylan: Very exciting.
Reporter: Which song will you open with tomorrow night?
Dylan: ‘Hello Dolly’.