Saturday, January 11, 2025

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2004. Mattie was two years old. Every August, I would take Mattie to Los Angeles to visit my parents. Mattie loved LA, because he was happiest being outside and exploring. That day we took him to Griffith Park. A Park filled with everything from a Zoo, playgrounds, trains, pony rides, and a Dentzel carousel. This Park wasn't far from my parents home and literally every time we visited, we went to this Park. It is so special, it has something for everyone, and you just can't get tired of seeing the amazing terrain and landscape. 

My parents moved to California from New York in 1984. So I lived there while going to high school, and though I moved East to attend college, I naturally visited Los Angeles often to connect with my parents. To this day, we have many friends who live in Los Angeles. 

Quote of the day: Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us. ~ Oscar Wilde

If you have turned on your TV, then you maybe like us..... glued to the devastation occurring in Los Angeles! Though I only lived in LA for three years, my parents lived there for over 30 years. So in a way it was a second home for me. Over the course of this week I have had the opportunity to connect with a good friend and my dad's caregivers. They all sent me photos of the horrors they are seeing outside their windows. The images are horrifying. In fact, one of my dad's caregivers had to take her son to the ER, from breathing issues that resulted from smoke. All of the people I am talking with have made a to-go list and have begun packing, in case they have to evacuate. Can you imagine the fear and anxiety of living on the edge wondering if you will have to leave your home? The anxiety that life as you know it may end, that your home maybe destroyed, all the things inside your home maybe consumed by fire, and not knowing whether you are going to be physically safe! To me these fires are personal as these are people I know and care about, and this is a location I am very familiar with, as LA holds a piece of my history. 

As you may know the Palisades fire started on Tuesday, January 7, near Los Angeles. So far it has burned more than 21,300 acres, including homes and businesses in Pacific Palisades and along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is 8% contained. In addition to that serious fire, there are others around Los Angeles:

• The Eaton fire also began January 7 and has burned more than 14,100 acres. It’s now 3% contained.
• The Hurst fire also began January 7 and has burned more than 770 acres and is 70% contained.
• The Lidia fire broke out January 8 and has burned more than 390 acres and is 98% contained
• The Kenneth fire began January 9 and has burned more than 1,000 acres. It’s 50% contained.
• The Sunset fire broke out January 8 and became fully contained January 9. It burned 43 acres.

 

I did not post any of the photos my friends sent me (for their own privacy). So I went to the Internet to capture some images. This is fire burning near the Hollywood Sign. This sign is not far from where my parents used to live. My dad's caregiver told me today, that when she saw the fire was near the Hollywood Sign, she immediately thought that she was happy that my parents are now living with me. 

This is a photo of the Hollywood Sign that I snapped from the airplane during our 2015.

One of the first areas impacted and devastated by the Palisades Fire was Malibu. I can't tell you how many times we went to Malibu as a family. In fact, whenever people from the East coast came to visit us, we always took them to visit Malibu and the famous Gladstone's Restaurant. 

This was my dad and me in the parking lot of Gladstone's Restaurant in 2011. In fact, Peter's mom wrote to me and said, she will never forget our adventures in Malibu and at this restaurant. It has been a landmark for 50 years. I believe unlike other Malibu restaurants, Gladstone's is still standing, but partly burned to the ground. 

When I was in college, my parents introduced Peter to Gladstone's! I just can't believe what is happening to LA and though I am not personally affected, I feel like memories are tied to this region. Like so many of my memories, they are literally being erased.

Mattie and me in March of 2008, at the LA Arboretum!

My mom and dad with Mattie in August 2006, at Griffith Park.

My parents, Mattie, and me in August 2005, at the George C. Page Tar Pit Museum in Los Angeles. A favorite museum of Mattie's!

Mattie and me picking fruit at my parent's house in December 2003. 

LA is part of my life journey. It is a place I took Mattie to for countless visits, starting when he was only 11 months old. It saddens me to see the beauty of LA being ravaged and to know those I care about are living in fear. I know these LA visits meant a lot to Mattie, and I view LA as one of the places that hold Mattie's legacy!