Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 26, 2019

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Mountain View News Saturday, October 26, 2019 

CAT OF THE WEEK


NO TRICKS, JUST TREATS!

Sweeten up your life with 
BLINKY & RAVEN, age 4 
years. They are two inseparable 
little loves that will bring 
somebody much joy! Blinky is 
the cuddly and petite female, 
while Raven is her playful 
BFF. They may be a little shy 
in a new home at first, but it’s 
worth the wait, just watching them interact. They are both 
madly in love with each other, having grown up as babies. They have silky fur coats and beautiful 
golden eyes. They will come fully vetted, chipped, and neutered. Call 626-676-9505. See more 
pictures, videos, adoption information and application at www.lifelineforpets.org. 

Good news: Adoption pending on Bear, one of the 3 black kittens!

Pet of the Week

 
Hello! I’m Daphne, and I get to tell you all about ME! I’m a 
2-year-old puppy and I'm kinda shy around new people, but 
I really like them! I love sunshine and cuddling and yummy 
treats. OH! And I really love small dog playgroup time! It is 
sooo fun. It’s where I, Daphne, get to play with other small 
doggies. We run around pouncing, barking and sniffing! 
We play bow and of course we take turns being chased and 
being the chaser. I’m super good at playing! Let's become 
forever play friends over a game of hide-and-seek!

 The adoption fee for dogs is $140. All dogs are spayed or 
neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated before going to 
their new home. 

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-
wellness exam from VCA Animal Hospitals, as well as a 
goody bag filled with information about how to care for 
your pet.

 View photos of adoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org. Adoption hours are 11 a.m. to 4 
p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone 
calls or email.

LOOKING FOR A 
BEST FRIEND?


MR. WIGGLES

 Meet Wiggles, an adorable 3-year Boxer mix with a smooth 
white and brown coat, bouncy ears, a short lively tail, and 
cute gray pepper spots scattered across his coat. This 
55-pound young pupper is as animated and as fun as he 
looks! Wiggles is a goofy pooch who shows off his classic 
Boxer pep in his step while on walks, though he does well 
on leash and is very attentive to his walking companion. 
This sweet boy enjoys his cuddles as much as his treats and 
does a terrific job entertaining his groomers by playing with 
bubbles in the bath. He is a loyal and friendly pup with 
people. If you would like to give this sweet boy the loving forever home he truly deserves, 
then please stop by and meet Wiggles! His adoption fee is $145, which includes neuter 
surgery, microchip, first vaccinations and a free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian.


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges


“HIDING OUT IN A SMALL TOWN”

[Nyerges is the author of “Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City,” “Self-Sufficient 
Home,” “How to Survive Anywhere,” and other books. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-
Reliance.com]

During the days leading up to Y2K, when irrational panic overtook otherwise 
calm people, I received a phone call from a man who spoke to me in a choppy, 
breathy tone. 

“Christopher, can you help me?” he asked. “I need someone to help me survive 
Y2K.” I didn’t know the man and had never met him. It was the first time we’d 
ever talked.

The man told me that he was afraid of the impending doom, civil unrest, and the loss of everything 
he’s worked for. He wanted to know if I could help him dig a hole in the desert.

“Excuse me?” I asked, waiting for the punchline. “Why would you dig a hole in the desert?”

“I’d live there,” he told me, matter of factly. The man sincerely believed that digging a hole in the 
desert and hiding out in some remote desert locale would be his passport to survival.

I knew that I would not be digging a hole with him in the desert, and I asked him, “Have you ever 
camped out at night? Ever slept in the outdoors, ever?”

“No,” he told me.

“So, what makes you think you would enjoy living in a hole.”

He told me that he wasn’t sure he would enjoy it, but that he was certain he would survive better 
in a hole in the desert than he would in urban San Diego when western civilization began to collapse 
with Y2K. In our conversation, I learned he was affluent, ran a business, and felt that he had 
a lot to lose as society collapsed. He also told me that he didn’t know any of his neighbors, and he 
regarded them more with fear than with friendship.

I suggested that the man get to know his neighbors. Join some social group, or start participating 
in Neighborhood Watches. Get to know his actual neighbors and begin to interact with them. But 
he told me that he didn’t really have time for that.

“You want to dig a hole in the desert, but you don’t have time to get to know your actual neighbors?” 
I asked, waiting for his response. He was quiet, thinking about it.

“Here’s what I also suggest,” I told him. “Take a trip. Go to the desert if you want, but drive through 
some of the rural towns in California, and maybe Arizona, and Nevada, and Utah. Get to know 
the world beyond your little world. Stop places and have lunch in little cafes. Talk to people. Go 
shopping in little stores, and talk to people. See what makes an impression on you. If Y2K spelled 
the death of western civilization, little towns take care of themselves better because that’s what they 
do all the time.”

The man made a few comments and said, “Yeah, I like that idea. I might try that. I think it would 
be good to disappear into a small town.”

It was clear that he believed he could live in a small town and no one would know him.

“Oh, that’s not going to happen,” I told him. “No one knows you now because you live in a big 
city. That’s how it is in the big city. People don’t know each other because they want it that way, 
or because it’s just too big. But in a small town, everyone knows your business and who you are, 
eventually.”

“Really?” he asked. I could tell that this man had never ventured far from the confines of his own 
home and business.

“Yes, really! No one hides out in a small town. All everyone does is talk, and they will know everything 
there is to know about you, sooner or later, whether it is true or not.”

I told him the story of when I lived on my grandfather’s farm after high school, in a town of about 
3,000 population in northeast Ohio. My brother and I had painted the kitchen of the farmhouse 
with flat paint, not glossy, and one of my uncles felt that that proved we were urban idiots who 
didn’t know the first thing about paint. Later, when we went to family gatherings, cousins would 
say, “Oh, you’re the ones who painted the kitchen with flat paint.” In one case, a woman in a store 
in the town center said the same thing, as if that’s all there was to know about me!

During the next few conversations with the frightened man, he seemed increasingly calmer. I don’t 
know what action he finally took because he stopped calling. 

People who have never lived in a small town probably cannot fathom a place where everyone 
knows your business, which can be a very negative feature. But a small town is also like a large 
family, and everyone realizes that their fate is tied to their neighbor. In this sense, for the health 
of urban America, and the sustainability of our cities, it’s necessary to become a part of the larger 
community, to take action, to get involved, and to get to know your neighbors for everyone’s mutual 
benefit.

Sierra Madre is not what I call a “small town.” A small town is typically rural, with a population of 
3000 to 5000 people, spread out over a large area. But Sierra Madre is not a big city either. Sierra 
Madre is somewhat in-between those two extremes, where you can have the best of both worlds if 
you know how to navigate your life here. 


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