Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 17, 2015

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Mountain View News Saturday, January 17, 2015 

Walking Sierra Madre�The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

THE LONG GOODBYE

Sierra Madre, CA. � � Get your 
copy of the classic detective novel, 
The Long Goodbye by Raymond 
Chandler, Sierra Madre Public 
Library�s 2015 One Book, One 
City pick. Then join in a month of 
exciting events celebrating Chandler 
and the LA Noir genre starting 
Saturday, January 31, 2015. All 
events will take place in the Sierra 
Madre Library.

Week one includes:

- Sybil Anne Davis, a long-time 
Sierra Madre resident who will kick 
off the month of events on Saturday, 
January 31, 2015 at 1:00PM with 
a talk entitled �Just call me Ray: 
personal reflections on my life with 
Raymond Chandler�. Ms. Davis�s 
mother was Chandler�s personal 
assistant while they lived in La Jolla 
in the 1950�s and Sybil spent many of her formative years 
in Chandler�s company. She has been the steward and 
curator of interesting Chandler memorabilia including 
books, scripts, and personal artifacts. An author, Davis 
is currently preparing a memoir of her years with 
Chandler and has many fascinating anecdotes to share. 

- Following Davis�s talk, the library�s teen history 
docents will take you on a virtual tour of the Red 
Line on our digital storyboard. Their presentation 
will include descriptions of transportation in Sierra 
Madre and the Los Angeles area during the times when 
Chandler�s novels took place.

- If you fancy yourself a sleuth in the Philip Marlow 
tradition or a writer in the style of Raymond Chandler, 
then you�ll want to visit the library for information on 
how to enter two contests beginning January 31. A 
scavenger hunt during the month of February will have 
you tracking clues throughout Sierra Madre to qualify 
for some fun prizes. To celebrate 
the wonderful first-person narrative 
style of Raymond Chandler a �Write 
Like Chandler� contest is being 
held through February 13, with the 
winner receiving a dinner for two 
at a local restaurant and the finalist 
entries published in �The Mountain 
Views News.� 

More fun scheduled throughout the 
month

- On Thursday, February 5, 2015 
at 7:00 PM join a lively panel 
discussion on Chandler, LA Noir, 
and Los Angeles in the 1940s. 
Led by historian Tom Tomlinson, 
panelists will include mystery 
writers and editors from southern 
California. 

- Two weeks later, on February 19 at 11:00 am, the 
Library�s Third Thursday Book Group will be discussing 
The Long Goodbye and all are invited to attend.

- And what would a celebration of the hard-living 
Marlowe be without a Scotch tasting? Sponsored by 
Bill Sullivan and the Bottle Shop, the event will be on 
Friday, February 13, 2015 at 7:00 pm. in the Library. 
Tickets are $15 and will be available at the Library or 
the Bottle Shop for those 21 and over.

- Bloody Oranges! a murder mystery readers� theater 
farce by Phoebe Conn, will include guests at the event. 
Join the crowd on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 7:00 
pm. The event is free, but reservations must be made by 
February 24, 2015 to guarantee a spot at the affair. 

 Read, Discover, Connect @ Sierra Madre Public 
Library, 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre 91024, 
626 355-7186, www.cityofsierramadre/departments/
library


�Success�What�s Your Definition?�

 �Success,� according to Michelle Griep, 
a fellow author whose blog, Writer Off The 
Leash, is one of my daily habits, �is harder to 
pin down than simply slapping a dollar sign in 
front of a number and then running headlong 
toward that amount. There are other things to 
take into consideration when defining if you�re 
successful at any given task, things such as:

Contentment

Joy

Contribution to Society

Knowing you�re doing what God wants you to 
do

Putting a smile on someone�s face�

The Christmas decorations are finally actually 
packed away, not just tossed in the basement. 
The lights are down and we miss them. The 
Christmas wreaths are off the front gates and 
the front door is again sporting its usual Spring 
look. The rain has been such a 
wonderful thing. Everybody 
who threw rye grass on their 
pathetic, sunburnt lawn, hoping 
it might make it look a little 
better, is glorying in bright 
green grass, watered by God, 
and not our sprinklers. The 
two rose trees I put in, thanks 
to my horticultural walking 
buddy, John, who gave them to 
me for Christmas, are putting 
out tiny little hard red buds 
and daffodils are poking their 
spears out all over the place. My 
daughter-in-law, Michon, who 
lives in Huntington Beach, put a picture up of 
her former home, Billings, Montana, featuring 
icicles 5 feet long on one of the main streets 
there. She also mentioned 40 inches of snow. 
She did not say she was missing it. No daffodils 
there, shorts-wearing friends and neighbors!

 Have you noticed how many succulent 
gardens are showing up all over town? I have 
a bunch of containers filled with them and 
even part of our front yard. These things are so 
cool, I just break pieces off of one that�s already 
doing well, stick them in somewhere else and, 
voila! they grow. I actually started with a 
couple of tiny pots from Home Depot and now 
they�re everywhere. I�d really like one of those 
Golden Barrel Cactuses like they�ve got at the 
Huntington Library Desert Garden but I�m a 
little concerned that somebody might fall into 
it, most likely me.

 I�m sure you�ve read one of those adorable 
books that well-meaning people write for 
children about crickets and other unpleasant 
varmints? Tailored, of course, for the well-
meaning people who buy them for children 
because they are so adorable�the varmints, 
that is�well, the children, too. The Very 
Quiet Cricket, Oscar and the Cricket, and, of 
course, that all time favorite: Cricket on the 
Hearth. Obviously, these authors, sterling folk 
though they may be, have never actually HAD 
a Cricket on their Hearth, in the bedroom or 
in their kitchen. Did you know that you can 
actually buy Cricket Cages on Amazon.com? 
I suspect these cricket cages were created for a 
darker purpose, such as keeping crickets alive 
so one can feed them to a larger, quieter and 
more sinister pet.

 My husband and I have had, on more than 
one occasion, a cricket in our bedroom and 
the little creep could drown 
out a helicopter. Here�s some 
extraneous information you 
can consider while wishing you 
didn�t have a cricket anywhere 
near you: Did you know that 
they make their chirping sounds 
by rubbing their wings together, 
and that only male crickets 
can chirp? Fascinating, huh. 
Especially at 2:00 a.m. when you 
wonder what God was thinking 
on this cricket thing. Trying 
to find a chirping cricket is an 
exercise in futility. 

 Bears occasionally wander 
through our town, as do deer, coyotes, 
raccoons, skunks and we even had a fox living 
under our garage for a while. He (or she) would 
venture out each evening around cocktail time 
to see what was going on in the neighborhood. 
The day a very large bear walked down our 
driveway, stepped over a four foot gate like it 
was a stepping stone and proceeded through 
our yard was memorable and a little terrifying. 
But I�ll take the bear in our pool yard over a 
cricket in my bedroom any day of the week. 
Here�s to a cricket free week!

 Happy New Year, dear Walking Sierra Madre 
friends. Hope to see you out and about in 2015. 

Check out my book page on Amazon.com: 
Deanne Davis@Amazon.com


THE FRIENDS OF THE SIERRA MADRE LIBRARY

The Friends of the Sierra Madre Library announce that 
their next Best Used Book Sale will take place Friday, 
February 6th (3-7 p.m.) and Saturday, February 7th (10 
a.m.-2 p.m.). This sale will feature VINTAGE and 
COLLECTIBLE books. Available will be editions 
of classic literature titles, early editions of children�s 
books, including Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twin books 
from the 1930�s and 1940�s. Several collectible sets are 
also featured, including The New Nature Library from 
the early 1900�s with wonderful vintage illustrations. 
There also will be a shelf of collectible books signed by 
authors, including David McCullough. 

 Large-scale �coffee-table� books will be shown on 
the table in the basement. They include wonderful 
volumes on history, cooking, culture, and art. 
Contemporary fiction and non-fiction, many best-
sellers, will also be available on the table.

 The parking lot will feature a large, new donation 
of paperback thrillers which will sell for 25 cents each 
or 5 for $1.00. Children�s books will sell for 25 cents - 
$1.00 and of course, we will have our Bargain Books 
(fiction and non-fiction) for $1.00 each. 

 The sale will be held at the rear of the library located 
at 440 West Sierra Madre Blvd. Come early to stock up 
and save. Mark your calendars for The Best Used Book 
Sale on Friday, August 1st, from 3-7p.m., and Saturday, 
August 2nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. sponsored by 
the Friends of the Sierra Madre Library. All proceeds 
benefit the programs and resources of the Sierra Madre 
Library. For more information on the Friends� group 
please contact the Library at 626-355-7186 or on the 
Friends� website at sierramadrelibraryfriends.org

Submissions are due by February 6th, 2015.

Mike Matthiessen, President of the 2016 
Tournament of Roses, announced the Official 
Theme for the Rose Parade on January 15th. The 
parade theme is:

�Find Your Adventure�

�This theme has grown out of a unique 
relationship between the Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses and the U.S. National Park Service. The 
2016 Rose Parade will help shine light on the 
centennial celebration of our nation�s national 
parks. As proponents of the American spirit, we 
encourage people to find beauty in the landscape 
that builds the backdrop of their lives. From 
coast-to-coast, we will add stories of adventure 
to our collection while protecting our unique 
heritage and looking to the future.

 The 2016 Rose Parade has grown out of a unique 
partnership between the United States National 
Park Service and the Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Association.

Both organizations aim to:

� Celebrate history

� Create awareness

� Encourage individuals to get engaged

Whether visting or learning, everyone�s 
definition of �Adventure� can be different:

� Educational

� Environmental

� Wellness & Recreation

� History

� Community

 

So put on your thinking caps and put your 
thoughts to paper!! 

Go to SMRoseFloat.org and download the forms.

CONTRIBUTE A DESIGN FOR THE

2016 SIERRA MADRE ROSE FLOAT


Sierra Madre Police Blotter

During the week of Sunday, January 4th, to 
Sunday, January 11th, the Sierra Madre Police 
Department responded to approximately 358 
calls for service.

Monday, January 5th

 At 3:43 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded 
to the 400 Block of Santa Anita Court 
regarding a residential burglary. Upon arrival 
Officers were informed by the victim that, 
she entered the residence through the locked 
front door with the young boy she baby sat at 
the residence. Shortly after being within the 
home, the victim noticed the rear exterior 
door was open and the window to the door 
had been smashed with glass scattered all 
over the kitchen floor. The victim notified 
authorities, and Officers cleared the residence 
of any suspects being inside. As Officers 
investigated the home, they discovered the 
master bedroom had been ransacked. Upon 
notifying the home owners, they informed 
Officers that the home was last locked and 
secured earlier that day around 11 am. Several 
items including a guitar, jewelry, and watches 
were stolen from the property. Officers were 
able to determine the residence was broken 
into using a rock to break the glass, and a 
sharp object to cut the screen open. This case 
has been forwarded to the Detectives Bureau. 

 At 4:58 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded 
to the area of Lima St. and Highland Ave. 
regarding fraudulent soliciting in the area. 
Upon locating the suspect, he informed 
Officers that he was soliciting magazine sales. 
When asked by Officers where the proceeds 
went from the sales, he informed Officers that 
they went directly to him. When questioned 
if the suspect had a solicitors permit from the 
City, he informed Officers he did not have 
one. The suspect provided receipts of each 
sale, which amounted to over $350. Due to the 
suspect not having a business license from the 
City, the money and receipts were collected by 
Officers and were later distributed back to the 
rightful owners. The suspect was informed of 
the solicitor law within the City and sent on 
his way. 

Tuesday, January 6th

 At 10:46 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded 
to the 2000 Block of N Santa Anita Ave. 
regarding a theft report. Upon arrival, Officers 
were informed by the victim that she recently 
had been expecting a package to arrive. When 
she noticed a delay in the delivery, she notified 
the delivery company that she had still not 
received her package. The company informed 
her that on December 11th, her package had 
been delivered to her front door. The value of 
the package was placed at $80. This case has 
been forwarded to the Detectives Bureau. 

 At 4:53 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded 
to the 400 Block of E Grandview Ave regarding 
a burglary investigation. Upon arrival, the 
victim informed Officers that earlier that 
morning she left her residence locked and 
secured. Upon returning later in the day, she 
entered her residence and soon realized the 
rear kitchen door was wide open. She exited 
her home and notified Police. After clearing 
the residence of any suspects possibly still 
inside, Officers noticed the master bedroom, 
and the family room had been ransacked. 
Various purses, jewelry items, video games and 
a game system were reported missing. Officers 
determined the suspect used a prying tool to 
attempt to open the door, but eventually used 
blunt force to open the door. Officers canvased 
the area for any possible witnesses, and were 
informed by the nearby resident of description 
of the suspect and vehicle. They described a 
male Hispanic aged teen to late 20s, 230 lbs, 
clean shaven with short dark hair. The second 
suspect, which was not seen easily, was driving 
the vehicle which was described as a brown or 
reddish brown 4 door sedan. This case has 
been forwarded to the Detectives Bureau. 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com