Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 7, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 7, 2019 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side by Deanne Davis

“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, 

we learn that life is short and there is no time 
for hate.”
—Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason 
Dahl, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in 2002

“...Names of citizens, workers, mothers and 
fathers,

The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son. 

Names lifted from a hat or balanced on the tip 
of the tongue.

Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of 
memory.

So many names, there is barely room on the 
walls of the heart.”

Excerpts from “The Names” 

by Billy Collins after 9/11

So, another anniversary of 9/11 is this Wednesday 
and, like December 7, 1941, this is another ‘date 
which will live in infamy.’ Almost 3,000 people 
died on 9/11. I remember vividly where I was 
when I heard the news; home sitting on the couch 
drinking coffee. John had been out running and 
bumped into one of his fellow runners who told him what had 
happened. He raced home, told me and I turned on the TV. I 
couldn’t believe my eyes as the video of the plane crashing 
into the World Trade Center was played over and over. The 
following piece came from my heart just a day or two later:

9/11 - The Day Our World Changed Forever

September 11, 2001...a Tuesday. Nothing particularly special 
or interesting about it, except that three airplanes have been 
hijacked. Two of them were crashed into the World Trade 
Center Towers in New York and one was crashed into the 
Pentagon Another plane crashed outside of Pittsburgh and 
it, too, was hijacked by terrorists. Todd Beamer will live on 
in our memories as an amazing hero. We won’t soon forget 
his, “Let’s Roll!” as he and others on that plane tried to save 
everyone on board.

I watched the World Trade Towers fall to their knees, implode, 
and collapse into dust and debris. I was reminded of the 
Temple in Jerusalem, which was going to stand forever, and 
just seventy years after Jesus came to save mankind from our 
sins, not one stone was left standing on another.

On Tuesday, 9/11, thousands of people died and were standing 
before God’s throne. People who had intended to live many 
more years, who had plans for their lives, children to raise, 
homes to buy, 40lK plans to augment, maybe even plans to 
get to know God as their Savior. But now there was a long line 
of people suddenly finding themselves before God Almighty, 
some prepared, some not. Once again, I realized there’s no 
time to waste, we are but a heartbeat away from seeing God 
face to face. I want to be ready, my soul clean, my heart 
ready, my affairs in order. My affairs aren’t based on my 
worldly things, but whether I’ve set everything straight with 
those I love, that I’ve set everything straight with God.

It was a sunny, pleasant day, this Tuesday when our world 
changed forever, and watching the coverage in New York, it 
seemed to be a beautiful day there, too. How can people hate 
so much to want to murder thousands of people they’ve never 
even seen? It brings me to my knees to realize that evil is on 
every side. But God will overcome all this. He is stronger 
than all the evil, all the hate, all the terrorism. He is GOD. I 
will keep my eyes on Him in the midst of this shock that never 
goes away. I will lift my prayers to Him, asking for comfort 
for those who have lost loved ones, for those who will have 
to somehow clear up this disaster and carry on, for those who 
waited too long to decide. “......and there will be wars and 
rumors of wars.....”

Something else happened on 9/11, but this was 9/11/2008, 
when Jessie came into our family. Ten months old, a foster 
child who badly needed a home. The picture is her adoption 
a year or so later. A day of celebration. She is 11 now, not 
without problems, but she is our joy.

Speaking of joy, congratulations to Susan Henderson for 
another wonderful year of the Mountain Views News. It is my 
joy to be able to write this column every week. You are doing 
a great job, Susan! Keep on keeping on! 

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” 

is a great gift for yourself or someone you love! 

Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne 
Davis 

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

is also available on my Amazon book page.


The Scarecrows Are Coming

The shortened days and lengthening shadows portend the transition from 
summer into all things autumnal. Before the pumpkins are carved, the 
leaves are raked and the masquerade begins, crows begin to descend on our 
fair village and reside on low-hanging branches, on top of walls, and along 
fences in places high and low. A scourge to some, at Creative Arts Group 
we prefer to pay homage to these raucous ebony-winged messengers, 
inviting all Sierra Madreans to join in the festivities by creating scarecrows 
to be vigilant gate-keepers and take their place along the streets and alleys, 
in front of homes, businesses, schools, churches and shops. To that end 
Creative Arts Group is pleased to present the 8th Annual Sierra Madre 
Scarecrow Festival. Pertinent dates are as follows:

IMPORTANT DATES

Please find important dates for this year’s festival. For more information, to 
register and see past years scarecrow’s please visit www.creativeartsgroup.
org/scarecrow-festival.

Register online creativeartsgroup.org/scarecrow-festival/workshop/

September 16 – Enter the Contest (be sure to have name & backstory ready)

Register online creativeartsgroup.org/scarecrow-festival/contest/


October 1 – Voting begins. Online and printed Map/Ballots will be available


October 4 – Kickoff Party at Creative Arts Group! (7 to 9pm)
Join us to celebrate with refreshments, treats for kids & more

October 15 – Voting ends at noon 

October 19 – Awards announced in Mt. Views News, CreativeArtsGroup.
org & facebook.com/creativeartsgroup.sierramadre

Sponsored By

Arnold’s Frontier Hardware, Canyon Canine, Dilbeck Real Estate, GEM 
Plumbing, Kiwanis Club of Sierra Madre, Mountain Views News, Sierra 
Madre Chamber of Commerce

For more information visit CreativeArtsGroup.org or call (626) 355-8350 

Creative Arts Group, 108 N. Baldwin Ave. 91024

CELEBRATE NATIONAL LIBRARY 
CARD SIGN-UP MONTH AT THE 
SIERRA MADRE PUBLIC LIBRARY

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and Sierra Madre is celebrating. 
Stop by for a visit and cool off among the stacks, find a Toy Story Character 
and get a treat at the front desk, and more. Events include Coffee Cupping 
with Jones Coffee, Saturday Morning Fever: Preschool Movement Program, 
College Scholarship Workshops and more!

The Sierra Madre Public Library saves our members over $1,450,000 by providing 
books, tablets, robotics and more. Libraries are part of the sharing 
economy, which is good for your wallet, and for the environment.

Enjoy free, high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access, an oasis from the heat, and 
nourishment for your mind and soul.


KATIE Tse....This and That

DINNER AT 30,000


I hope you had an exciting, newsworthy week. Mine was fine, but couldn’t be described using either 
of those adjectives. Shucks. Good thing I have my mom’s friend, Florence, for times like these. 
Specifically Florence’s daughter this week. Can’t remember if I’ve written about her before. We’ll 
call her Lori.

Lori, like Florence, goes in for thrills. She and Florence slid down that clear fiberglass slide attached 
to the outside of an LA sky scraper a few months ago. More recently, Lori and her husband did 
“Dinner in the Sky” in London.

For the uninitiated, including myself, Dinner in the Sky is everything the name implies. A group of 
about 20 people get strapped in at a table, served by harnessed chefs, all suspended from a crane 50 
meters above the ground. If that doesn’t get your taste buds revving, I don’t know what will.

This was all the brainchild of Belgian companies Hakuna Matata and The Fun Group, the latter specializing in incorporating 
cranes into, you guessed it, fun. Like, “Amusement parks are fun, but they’d be so much more so with cranes!”

This duo has put on all sorts of exciting events at shockingly great heights above the pavement --weddings, corporate 
meetings, piano concerts, opera, poker games, even movie showings (‘cause you know if you’re prepared to splash out that 
kinda’ cash, you can afford to look at the screen and not the view).

One intriguing item involved French can-can dancers. I understand that the chefs are harnessed within 
an inch of their lives, and I assume the dancers would be, too. Not sure exactly how all that would work 
with spinning around, bending over, and kicking up your heels...

But as far as I know, Lori and her husband just did dinner. And really, at 50 meters, dinner should be 
enough of a thrill in itself. It does sound exciting, but at the end of the day, I’d say better her than me. My 
husband and I aren’t big fans of heights, nor are we the kind of people who easily make small talk with 
strangers for hours at a time. 

Of course this is the sort of event where you’d want to go with a big group of friends. But you wouldn’t 
expect the kind of people who are intimidated by small talk to have a group of friends that size. All I can 
say is if you can afford to do this kind of thing, and you have a friend base who can afford to do it with 
you, you’re all doing something right.

But it’s not just the small talk I’d have a problem with. This arrangement brings up all sorts of possible 
snags. What if you have to go to the bathroom? What if you drop your fork? What if there are high winds 
that day? Heck, what if there’s rain! I’m sure they plan for all these scenarios, but still.

Apart from all that, I’d say the biggest drawback to simply enjoying the experience would be the elaborate 
harness. “Dinner in the Sky” reassures us that safety is their top priority. That’s reassuring. But at the 
same time, I don’t know how comfortable it’d be to have all your movements constrained by straps and 
belts. 

Maybe if I were to ever do something like this I’d practice at home first, with a couple belts strapped 
across my torso and interwoven through a dining room chair. At least the Dinner in the Sky chairs swivel. 
Maybe I’d use a computer chair. 

But more likely not. Not only ‘cause we don’t have the money for that kind of stuff. Mostly just because 
we’re introverts. And introverts by nature aren’t thrill-seekers. At least none of the introverts I know.

* Speaking of thrills, check out my novel, “A Year at Apex!” Just kidding, it’s not a thriller. But it’s got 
humor, romance, the human condition, and public education. Just the kind of thing that’s perfect for you 
and the educator in your life. Paperback and ebook available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

 
Walter Cailleteau, DVM Free Exam!
927 N. Michillinda Ave. For New Clients 
Pasadena, CA 91107 Bring this coupon to save! 
(626) 351-8863
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