Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 26, 2013

5

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 26, 2013 


TO SLEEP WITH ANGER

By Christopher Nyerges

[Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Self-Sufficient Home,” and 
other books. He leads self-sufficiency classes, and does a weekly podcast at Preparedness 
Radio Network. He can be reached at School of Self-reliance, Box 41834, 
Eagle Rock, CA 90041 or www.ChristopherNyerges.com]

“What’s Going On?” 

News and Views from Joan Schmidt

FAMILY FUN IN DUARTE:

PAMELA PARK’S THE PLACE TO BE!

 
Way back at the 
end of ‘92 and early 
’93, Pamela Park was 
definitely not the place 
to be. That whole area of 
unincorporated Duarte 
was very dangerous. It 
took a lot of team effort 
from various LA County 
Sheriff’s Units and the 
community to make it 
safe. The Civil Gang Abatement, Operation 
Safe Street Bureau’s stings, use of cameras, 
then- Captain Tom Sams and members of 
the Special Enforcement Bureau as well as 
our local deputies, made many arrests and 
the Community’s Rally/March against drugs/
gangs began the transition. The worst problem 
was Goodall and its many outlets. But a road 
blockade was put up which reduced escape 
routes. Eventually the new gymnasium was 
built, and many events were held there. More 
people began to come to the Park. 

 Over the next ten years I attended various 
evening events and, once or twice, a party 
at the Park. Then I stepped down from the 
Town Council and was out of touch for 
several years. But I missed my friends and 
community involvement, so I resumed writing 
for a newspaper over a year ago, and attended 
community events. Every Pamela Park function 
reinforced all the positive stories of great 
programs: parenting classes, tutoring, teen 
volunteers, sports programs and much more.. 
Most recently, I dropped off papers at their 
office and noticed the great new playground 
equipment which has something for kids of all 
ages.

 Two weeks ago, we brought our New Jersey 
visitors, son Dan, daughter-in-law, Jess and 
two-year old granddaughter, Sam, and our five 
year old Chino grandson Jacob to Pamela Park. 
Over the years, Jess had won numerous medals 
as a gymnast, and she was so impressed with the 
quality of the equipment as well as the safety of 
the matting. The “Merry-Go Round” was on a 
slant and went fast! There was not just the usual 
climb up slide and tunnel, but a telescope, and 
binoculars! Everyone had so much fun that 
they all returned the next day with my son 
Rick and daughter Karen off from work. That 
Sunday we visited our daughter Kathryn. After 
hearing all about the Pamela Park equipment, 
she announced she’s be bringing our one-year-
old over there on her next visit! And this past 
Monday, when my son’s two older children 
were visiting, (They are eleven and thirteen), 
the entire entourage returned to Pamela Park 
and had a blast!)

 What I especially like are picnic tables 
with canopies over them, clean and accessible 
restrooms, drinking fountains and an office 
with worker/s if you needed anything. Also 
there are outdoor bulletin boards that post 
community upcoming events, programs, and 
classes. A visit to Pamela Park makes a great 
family day, and it is accessible by walking or 
car. We are on the other side of California 
Avenue and the easiest way to approach the 
Park is from California, then east on Pamela 
Road to the Park. See you at the park!


On Martin Luther King Day day at the annual WTI (a local non-profit) 
gathering, we watched “To Sleep in Anger,” a 1990 film directed by 
Charles Burnett. The film is about a black family residing in South-Central 
Los Angeles. One day, an old acquaintance (Harry, played by Danny 
Glover) came to visit the Gideon and his wife Suzie. Harry seems to be a 
good old friend, but always seems to stir up trouble. The family already had some conflicts but they 
seemed to get worse when Harry was there. 

Eventually, Gideon has a stroke, and Babe Brother, the younger son, is heavily influenced by Harry. 
Babe Brother is about to leave his wife. The older brother, Junior, confronts Babe Brother before he 
departs and a fight erupts – with a knife. The mother tries to break it up and her hand gets cut, and 
they rush her to the hospital. 

The incident brings many of the family’s conflicts to the forefront, and seems to unite them in a positive 
way once all recognize the negative influence of Harry, and Harry is asked to go.

 To me, “To Sleep With Anger” is a classic film, full of the issues that any family faces. Indeed, much 
of this reminded me of my semi-dysfunctional family with our many failures and some successes. 

 Sometime in the mid-1990s, I went to a viewing of this film at CalTech where filmmaker Burnett was 
there to talk to the crowd and answer questions. It was a wonderful event. I’d already seen the movie 
but was compelled to see it where I could talk to the writer and director.

 I asked him about some of the little details, like the young boy trying to play the horn, and the boy 
who fed the pigeons. These were little details that added a depth to the movie, though they had nothing 
to do with the plot. Mr. Burnett told me that that boy represented him, which made me smile. 
Watch the movie, and see how the boy and his horn practice somewhat frames the movie.

And Harry – who does he represent? You have to see it and figure it out for yourself.

 The movie won several awards, but I had never heard of it before a friend pointed it out to myself and 
Dolores back in the mid-90s. 

“I think this is a great movie,” I told Mr. Burnett. “So why do you think it’s gotten so little attention?” 
Burnett’s answer was quick, and initially surprised me.

“Because there are all black actors,” he said matter of factly. “Really?” I said. Well, in fact, there were 
a few token whites in the movie, like one of the paramedics. Still, the movie was so good, capturing 
“family-ness” so well, that I just naturally assumed people would be color-blind and go see it and 
benefit from it. 

If you haven’t seen it, it can be rented or purchased at video places. I hope you view it and enjoy it 
like I did.


COMMERCIAL ASTEROID HUNTERS

Commercial Asteroid Hunters Announce Plans For New Robotic Exploration Fleet

Deep Space Industries announced Jan. 22 that it will send a fleet of 
asteroid-prospecting spacecraft out into the solar system to hunt 
for resources to accelerate space development to benefit Earth. 
These “FireFly” spacecraft utilize low-cost CubeSat components 
and get discounted delivery to space by ride-sharing on the launch 
of larger communications satellites.

“This is the first commercial campaign to explore the small asteroids 
that pass by Earth,” said Deep Space Chairman Rick Tumlinson 
(who signed up the world’s first space tourist, led the team that 
took over the Mir space station, was a Founding Trustee of the X 
Prize, and Founded Orbital Outfitters, the world’s first commercial 
space suit company.) “Using low-cost technologies, and combining 
the legacy of our space program with the innovation of today’s 
young high-tech geniuses, we will do things that would have been 
impossible just a few years ago.”

FireFlies mass about 55 lb and will first be launched in 2015 on 
journeys of two to six months. Deep Space will be building a small 
fleet of the spacecraft using innovative miniature technologies, and 
working with NASA and other companies and groups to identify 
targets of opportunity.

“My smartphone has more computing power than they had on the 
Apollo Moon missions,” said Tumlinson. “We can make amazing 
machines smaller, cheaper, and faster than ever before. Imagine a 
production line of FireFlies, cocked and loaded and ready to fly out 
to examine any object that gets near the Earth.”

Starting in 2016, Deep Space will begin launching 70-lb 
DragonFlies for round-trip visits that bring back samples. The 
DragonFly expeditions will take two to four years, depending on 
the target, and will return 60 to 150 lb. Deep Space believes that 
combining science, prospecting and sponsorship will be a win/win 
for everyone, both lowering costs for exploration and enabling the 
public to join the adventure.

“The public will participate in FireFly and DragonFly missions 
via live feeds from Mission Control, online courses in asteroid 
mining sponsored by corporate marketers, and other innovative 
ways to open the doors wide,” said CEO David Gump, whose 
earlier ventures include producing the first TV commercial shot 
on the International Space Station for RadioShack as well as co-
founding Transformational Space Corp. (t/Space) and Astrobotic 
Technology Inc. 

Bringing back asteroid materials is only a step on the way to much 
bigger things for DSI. The company has a patent-pending technology called the MicroGravity Foundry to transform raw asteroid material into complex metal parts. The MicroGravity Foundry is a 
3D printer that uses lasers to draw patterns in a nickel-charged gas medium, causing the nickel to be deposited in precise patterns.

“We will only be visitors in space until we learn how to live off the land there,” concluded Tumlinson. “This is the Deep Space mission—to find, harvest and process the resources of space to help 
save our civilization and support the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth—and doing so in a step-by-step manner that leverages off our space legacy to create an amazing and hopeful future for 
humanity. We are squarely focused on giving new generations the opportunity to change not only this world, but all the worlds of tomorrow. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?”

Video of the announcement: http://www.deepspaceindustries.com

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com. 


951 Gaspar Photo courtesy NASA