We're getting to the scrambled eggs as I promised in my previous blog post, but I want to review what else I wrote that was and still is on my mind .....
One of California's largest ever wildfires grown now to over 114,000 acres has threatened for the third time the billion dollars worth of vital communication towers on historic Los Angeles area Mount Wilson but again was repelled. This Bobcat Wildfire is finally over 63% contained. The area air quality in my city is slowly improving.
Issues pressing on my mind continue to be associated with the U. S. Presidential election, the Supreme Court Associate Judge replacement situation given the tragic death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the ongoing corona virus threat, perpetual increasing environmental and climate change concerns to name a few matters occupying my thoughts.
"Executive order directs state to require that, by 2035, all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles. Transportation currently accounts for more than 50 percent of California's Greenhouse Gas Emissions."
I may well not be around then or driving a car. Self-driving vehicles may be most prevalent in fifteen years, or perhaps we'll have combo car/plane vehicles by then a la The Jetsons. I would be disappointed to miss all that which can be an ageing problem should the grim reaper pay me a visit inconsiderately causing me to miss everything.
The flying car that had intrigued me, the Terrafugia FX, ownership of which was acquired from the American inventors after the business was moved to China is no longer a U.S. option, unfortunately. The prototype I had seen in a video featured a sleek design with folding wings so the car could easily park in the typical 2-car garage.
However, we may have a flying car sooner than we think as the Japanese have announced having one by 2023.
On a different note, I've encountered another issue for consideration that has come to my attention. Who knew scrambled eggs were prepared differently by the French, British and Americans? I didn't, but perhaps you did. I assumed the way my Mom scrambled eggs as I have continued cooking them was the way everybody did. So, when I've been displeased with some restaurant's eggs, I've learned it may just be because they used a different cooking method.
Little did I know that my method and tastes for scrambled eggs has been for the British style. I thought those scrambled eggs I didn't like that I was served at restaurants were lazily prepared -- that they just dumped the egg into the skillet, when they actually were scrambling the eggs American style, but that doesn't make me like them any better.
The Insider article describes the British scrambled eggs as "dry", but I don't experience mine as dry at all. The American style is really dry, especially by comparison with mine, I think. As for the French style, I don't know if I've ever been served scrambled eggs cooked in that manner though they sound moist and tasty. I've not tried cooking any in French style and am not likely to do so -- sounds like more work than I like to do now, plus I want the minimum of cooking utensils to have to clean afterward, so guess I'm lazy in that regard. What system do you use for the basic scrambled eggs?
Meanwhile, in the White House, I wonder if our leader is coping with scrambled brain disorder that many of his appointees seem to have acquired also, given the thoroughly mixed-up approach to governmental administration to which we've been subjected for four years. At least one department head with little or no experience in the area to which he was appointed to administer has bowed to the Peter Principle effects causing him to take a leave of absence from his position. I can only wish his departure will become permanent and a few other unqualified department head appointees would join him, like the Postmaster General and the list goes on.
In reviewing the article about how efforts to overcome the PP issues in subsequent years evolved, the summary culminated in saying followers of such a leader must be "honest and credible" to compensate in order to help their leader overcome his shortcomings. Unfortunately, honesty and credibility are lacking not only in our leader but he demands his subordinates do and think as he does, so most eventually abandon those qualities to meet his criteria as expected for accepting their appointment by him.
As long as this federal government administration that makes no pretense about ignoring an ethical and moral, if not legal mandate, to represent all of our citizens, not just his supporters (cult?), remains in control of our U. S. government -- we can expect more of the same chaos and much worse. Voters have the power to extricate our nation from this quagmire by draining the current controlling administrative cesspool despite our leaders threats of not leaving office if he loses the majority vote.
SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY.....VOTE.....AID.....ASSIST..... ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO VOTE!
This was supposed to be about scrambled eggs but that will have to wait until next week ‘cause we had an earthquake, but first.....
Strong wind gusts have been picking up fanning the fires still raging east and west of where I live in Southern California, Los Angeles County. Wildfires have expanded into some new areas resulting in more families and animals having to evacuate, homes lost.
Think of all the wildlife including birds and other living creatures that are able, some much too slow moving, those living below ground, all fleeing for their lives. Smoke at higher altitudes cloud level has been moving east across our entire country. Lower altitude skies allow the sun’s rays to filter through here with air pollution lessening somewhat now.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – Ray Conniff – a calming instrumental version.
Mount Wilson west of where I live sees the continued Bobcat Wildfire ebb and flow as more than 93,000 acres has burned in just the last thirteen days as of Saturday 9/19, fluctuating from 0% to 6%, then back down to 3% for several days and up to only 13% containment as I write this. Fire moving northeast through the mountains toward new populated areas is causing evacuations, more homes lost.
Fire has threatened the historic 116 year old astronomical Mount Wilson Observatory noted for the telescopes providing photographic plates Edwin Hubble used to discover the Andromeda Galaxy. Flames came on two occasions, the last time within 100 feet of that area. Additionally, Los Angeles broadcast towers for television, radio and government agencies are located on that mountain which are critical for enabling signal transmission throughout So Cal L.A. area including to my house.
The Eldorado wildfire east of my town rages on, burning over 22,000 acres endangering new areas there, started originally by that gender reveal celebration which has now resulted in a firefighter’s death. Palm Springs has also had a wildfire emerge causing evacuations.
As if wildfires aren’t enough, at 11:38 p.m. Friday 9/18 as I was writing part of this, we had a 4.5 earthquake with an epicenter west of my town near El Monte – the first quake I’ve felt in several years. Newscasters closer in toward L.A. reported feeling two large jolts.
What I felt at a greater distance east were slight jolts with a slow rolling motion, for about 10 seconds that made me wonder if a truck was going by on my street or Route 66 a block away, but I quickly realized it was an earthquake. I was given pause to wonder, as usual, if this was a foreshock with an even bigger quake to come.
As soon as quake shakes stop I usually immediately turn on the all-news L.A. radio station, KNX. Tonight since my television was on I found KABC-TV was broadcasting live quake coverage as they continued to do until 1 a.m.
They interviewed Dr Lucy Jones, Seismologist and public voice for earthquake science and safety in California whose reliable information and commentary is reassuring. Dr. Jones providing the factual truthful data even with unknown elements, including the possibility of a worsening situation does not incite panic in our cities.
Our actual non-panic experience contradicts the flimsy excuse our illustrious leader in the White House promotes trying to justify his lies and failure to tell us the truth about the corona virus beginning months ago when our having such knowledge could have allowed action to prevent thousands of deaths.
There’s a 1 in 20 or 5% chance a foreshock is preceding a bigger quake to come, but with each passing minute the likelihood of that lessens over the following 24 hours. We did have aftershocks of lower strength, but I didn’t feel any of them.
ABC newspersons also reported text messages from viewers who described what they felt where they were located. Because of the pandemic TV staff have had remote capability setup in their homes which allowed live audio/video interviews with many of them. All of this interaction and sharing of information served to reassure viewers as I, too, experienced.
We’ve had enough disasters here but consider this quake as a wakeup call reminding us that we do live in earthquake country and to be prepared. The ABC-TV News helicopter reported fire and police departments established there was no damage noted in immediate surrounding epicenter communities that might be most likely to be at risk for such.
We learned this quake has been felt all over Southern California as their TV coverage ended. This quake is pretty much out of our conscious concern now as occurs after most we experience that cause little or no damage -- until the next one.
Given the pressing issues of the day including those associated with ...the U.S. Presidential election,
...the Supreme Court Associate Judge replacement situation due to the tragic death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
...the need to save our democracy from what begins to seem like an autocratic capitalistic theocracy of our current leader,
...corona virus threat,
...environmental and climate change issues,
...the reminder of future earthquake potential,
...concern for my younger dear friend living some distance away who unexpectedly texted me from the ER late Friday night, during all this but before the earthquake she would have felt, as she waited for a hospital bed. They didn’t have a bed open, probably due to the virus, though her issues were other than covid-19.
All of this is just to name a few matters giving me quite enough to occupy my thoughts, many of which you probably share with me plus adding a few others of your own. Despite all, my spirits are upbeat and I hope yours are, too.
Life in Southern California right now makes it impossible for me to ignore the wildfires that national and world news are also reporting.Beginning this past weekend and daily now the sun has only rarely broken through the smoke blanket covering our skies at higher altitudes.Earlier this week there was a darkness when I looked outside which was unusual.
Gazing out my windows in daytime now the air can seem clear at ground level but generally there’s a slight haze present.Local news tells us microscopic lung-damaging particles permeate our air. They are not filtered out when we breathe even with the masks we wear to protect us from Covid-19, so we’re told to stay indoors.
Last week forest wildfires erupted in the mountains many miles east and west of where I live during our record setting high temperatures. Fires causes are reported in one instance to be accidental as a consequence of an ill-advised gender reveal event; another due to arson. At least one small town is gone, other homes have been incinerated and lives have been lost with threats of more losses continuing.
Some residents in our city, perhaps in fringe wooded areas, reported receiving alerts to prepare for possible evacuation though they were not threatened nor is our city. Some local areas experienced a rain of ashes but I’ve seen none where I live below the foothills.
We’re sandwiched between two only slightly partially or uncontained wildfires but great distances apart with no likelihood they will join together. The San Bernardino Mountains wildfire named the El Dorado is many miles east of here with many cities in between. West of here, but closer is the Bobcat wildfire in the Los Angeles National Forest, also separated by many cities. Fortunately, the unpredictable treacherous Santa Ana winds have not whipped up in late afternoon, evening or night to completely alter the fire’s direction and volatility as can occur. Regardless, my city and I remain quite safe.
News accounts and photos of Northern California, smoke-filled orange and blood-red darkened San Francisco fires are awesome to view in photos but are indicators of the devastation that is occurring elsewhere. Oregon is experiencing incredible losses with dangers continuing. Smoke is coming our way from those areas and now heads east with reports of being present as far as midwest Great Lakes state Ohio.
This climate change so many choose to deny or even recognize as a need to address is only just getting started. Future years will be no less better and are expected only to worsen.
Will we humans accept our responsibility for how we’ve corrupted our environment, continue to do so, and undertake to correct our planet’s self-destruction – if not for ourselves, at least for our children, grandchildren and future generations? May all reading this remain safe, staying healthy as I am.
Earlier posts beginning the previous month may be of interest since they reveal the start of this tale in which I describe my strange on-the-job training experience you can click on in Parts 1 and 2. I was employed in production for a TV station live talk show where I spent an interesting decade during which my personal life also went from single to married though that’s not part of this tale.
My saga related here just seems to have taken on a life of its own, evolving by triggering one TV show-related memory after another. Though there are other tales, some of which are best left unwritten, this is definitely the final unusual experience in this saga which has become an unexpected and unintended epistle that has taken on biblical proportions.
Continuing with an account of my friend, Jack Denton, the former TV show host’s career in the entertainment world, one of his acting roles I eventually learned was in a pilot for a new TV series years ago. One night, I was just surfing the channels, was surprised to hear his voice and see him, so stopped to watch the show. This was a detective story starring James McEachin.
McEachin was a former police officer, also an award-winning author, the first black man to have his own series on NBC called “Tenafly” but was cancelled after four episodes aired. This series had it survived the ratings cut could have offered a potentially worthwhile actor’s career opportunity, possibly providing some regular financial security if Jack could become a regular character on a long-running series though he had so far appeared in only one episode.
Coincidentally, shortly after the brief time “Tenafly” aired, early one evening my mother, my young children and I spontaneously stopped at a nearby local coffee shop as we were returning my mother to her home. Once inside we discovered it was very crowded so rather than wait for a booth we sat down at the counter. I looked up from perusing the menu and noticed at the opposite far end of the counter what seemed like a familiar face, but I couldn’t place it which drew me to periodically glance at him trying to trigger my memory.
Apparently, he noticed my looking and soon the waitress informed me that gentleman wanted to pick up our bill. I’d never had that happen quite like that before in a coffee shop, and didn’t exactly know how to react, concerned he might have thought I was flirting. I decided I felt safe with my family present and at that locale, so I nodded, mouthed thank you, having decided to risk graciously accepting his generosity as his smile wasn’t lascivious.
That experience periodically kept coming to mind the following days – who was that person and why did his face seem familiar? Suddenly one day it hit me -- that was James McEachin who I had happened to see on my TV for what I thought was the first and only time not too long before in that one episode when I discovered my friend Jack had a bit part on his now defunct TV series. In retrospect, after reading McEachin’s credits for this story I probably had seen his face at least once before in Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut movie, “Play Misty For Me”.
I wish I had made the connection then as I would have made an effort to speak to Mr. McEachin – could have laughed with him about the coincidence that Jack was on his show. Of course, he didn’t know that when he picked up our coffee shop check. He must have thought I recognized him from his short-lived TV series, may have thought I might even be a fan. Likely he was pleased to have found a viewer many miles east of L.A. in a coffee shop on famous old Route 66.
I never happened to talk with Jack about that coincidental serendipitous happening with James McEachin either which he would have appreciated hearing. A current internet search with links on his name earlier here reveals Mr. McEachin has led a very interesting life, had a close call with death in the military, is aged 90 years now.
When Jack suddenly died years ago due to a massive heart attack, I was shocked, not believing it when I first received a written notice, since I had never before been the recipient of a reproduced form in the mail announcing a person’s death which is what I received.
In fact, I thought it was one of his quirky humorous acts and the ‘death’ was of his professional name, Jack Denton, his way of saying he was retiring. I rationalized that he was still alive under his birth name. I learned I was wrong but only after phoning his number. When he didn’t answer the rings I left a somewhat joking questioning message, then asked him to call me, a call which wasn’t returned. As time passed and I didn’t hear from him I wondered if he was still angry I hadn’t attended his FDR appearance in “Annie”.
I finally phoned Jack’s attorney I had never met, an old friend of his from another state where Jack had a radio show before coming to TV, though this was a Los Angeles area phone number on the notice I received. He explained Jack had really died. I schizophrenically began recounting my last memories of Jack to his old friend, in my effort to process the reality of his death. The attorney then informed me Jack remembered me in his will. He had willed me an item I realized had significance to both my husband and I who had met as a consequence of the TV show.
Jack’s attorney initially told me thathe had in his possession the item willed to me, which was one of two trophy statues sitting on his desk, that he was looking at as we talked. He wondered if I remembered what it looked like, which I didn’t exactly. When I asked, he said I didn’t need to be present for any reading of the will, didn’t say when it would be read, but then I never heard anything further from him. Maybe it had already been read as I thought about it later.
Finally, I called to make arrangements to take possession of the trophy, but the attorney declared he didn’t remember or even know what happened to it, so I never received it. Given their long-standing personal relationship I have found it hard to believe that the attorney didn’t remember or know what happened to the trophy. I also think he should have made more of an effort to let me know I needed to arrange to retrieve the trophy before he disposed of it in some manner. Knowing Jack, I think he would have been highly displeased his wishes weren’t respected.
I don’t think the attorney would have kept the trophy for possible monetary value, but I could only vaguely recall seeing it when it was presented to Jack on one of the shows – though on second thought, there could have been some valuable signatures on it. Thinking the attorney might have just kept the trophy for himself, I called the state Bar Association to query what recourse I might have to obtain the item but they offered nothing, so no satisfaction there. Decades later, recounting the story to another attorney friend who had known Jack, he commented he wasn’t surprised I didn’t get the trophy statue as he said that all attorneys are crooks. That’s certainly reassuring.
Perhaps the attorney took it upon himself to decide Jack would have changed his will to exclude me given his angry outburst that I had shared in my shock at learning Jack really was dead. I don’t think Jack would have done that. Had he lived, having gotten out of his system whatever prompted his extreme reaction toward me as I described in this saga’s Part 2, I believe that eventually Jack would have resumed contact with me. However, just knowing Jack sensitively remembered me in his will with a meaningful item both my husband and I could appreciate is emotionally touching and sufficient for me to hold in my memory bank.
I wonder if others have had at work or in other settings experiences that they thought of as unusual, strange or even bizarre as I described my week-long on-the-job training experience at the beginning of this saga, or maybe subsequently you’ve had other thoughts triggered.
