Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 17, 2023

11

OPINION

Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 17, 2023 

DINAH CHONG WATKINS

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 
OF THE WRONG KIND


RICH JOHNSON 

NOW THAT’S 
RICH

STUART TOLCHIN

MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS

NEWS

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

PRODUCTION

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

626-818-2698

WEBMASTER

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION

Peter Lamendola

CONTRIBUTORS

Stuart Tolchin 

Audrey Swanson

Meghan Malooley

Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Dinah Chong Watkins

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Rich Johnson

Lori Ann Harris

Rev. James Snyder

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

PUT THE LIGHTS ON


MY SEARCH FOR 
MEANING

STILL FATHERIN' 
AFTER ALL THESE 
YEARS

MOVIN' OUT

Ang Ngoc Tran works in the lux 
nail salon

Savin' her pennies for someday

Mama Duong left a note on the 
door

She said, "Honey, move out from the county"

Workin' with gels can give you

A heart attack (ack, ack, ack, ack, ack)

You oughta know by now (oughta know)

Why buy a place like a Foothills shack

Is that all you get for your money?

It seems such a waste of time

If that's what it's all about

Mama if that's movin' up

Then I'm movin' out

I'm movin' out

(Movin' Out/Anthony's Song with apologies to Billy 
Joel)

I stood out on the front porch, all my worldly belongings 
stuffed into an worn leather suitcase, a yard sale 
find for three dollars. I like to remember the moment 
as a single tear tumbling down my cheek as I hugged 
my mother goodbye. My dad, pumped his fists in the 
air and declared “I’m free!” He ran back inside the 
house, “If I Were A Rich Man” from the musical “Fiddler 
on the Roof” blared from the stereo. 

Suddenly, I was in a new city, new job and new bills. 
It didn’t take long for me to figure out rent, utilities, 
transport and food was more than I expected. Using 
my cutest baby-talk lisp I asked my parents for support 
but they weren’t buying it, they said I was too old 
for allowance - come on, I was still under 30. 

Since my job started at 4 am and ended at 2 pm, it 
was conceivable to get a second job. I got one call back 
from my dozens of résumé submissions. The hours 
worked and they wanted me to start immediately. I 
was elated, yes - I could afford toast again! 

It was with a Japanese company, a desk job with an 
import-export firm I hoped. Oh, after 8 hours on my 
feet from my first job how great it’d be to sit down and 
crunch numbers and seaweed crackers.

I arrived through the back door. The Japanese lady 
who greeted me didn’t speak English, we went to a 
tiny room. A neat pile of clothes lay on the table. She 
mimed putting the kimono on. It took 20 sweaty minutes 
to put on the beautiful but constrictive ensemble. 
I thought the coup de grace was the two-toed socks 
that split my first and second piggies from the pack 
but no, it was the 16th century wooden sandals. Three 
planks of hardwood cobbled together, there was no 
Skechers Memory Foam involved.

I followed her, wincing from the pain. A door opened, 
I found myself in a Japanese dining hall. Amongst the 
non-Asian servers, it was now clearly apparent why I 
was hired.

After a couple months of torturing my feet, I figured 
if I could get a raise from my first job, I could leave 
the sushi slayer. I managed to catch my boss on his 
smoke break, he was miffed that I was impinging on 
his 10 minutes. Using my cheesiest “I’m going to Disneyland!” 
smile I asked for a raise. He mumbled some 
stuff about how I was the worst worker on the line and 
fired me. 

Dear Mom and Dad, I’m movin' out - see you soon!

Dinah Chong Watkins column appears every 1st and 
3rd Saturday of the month.

Sometime last week I had 
told a friend that it was 
my intent to go to Israel 
before I reached eighty 
and he asked why I would do such a thing. 
Contrary to most everyone else I speak 
with I do not believe that life is primarily a 
quest for pleasure, or a quest for power, or 
a quest for the admiration of others. I am 
well aware that many people experience a 
kind of spirituality, frequently a deep religious 
adherence that guides them through 
life. Well, to put it bluntly that awareness 
has not been a part of my life experience.

 Still, being Jewish is a great part of 
my identity and I believe this identity includes 
perseverance in standing up to adversity 
and believing in the requirement to 
enjoy one’s life and one’s family and to appreciate 
the worth of others. My thoughts 
had congealed in the belief that I must go 
to Israel before I am eighty as a part of my 
quest. Before going any further in my plans 
I decided that it would be appropriate for 
me to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential 
Library which is presenting “Auschwitz. 
Not Long Ago. Not Far Away” featuring 
700 artifacts of immense historic value. (If 
you know little about Auschwitz there is 
much to learn and try to understand.)

 In order to attend it was necessary 
to purchase the tickets on line. My wife 
followed the complicated instructions while 
adamantly explaining that she had no interest 
in accompanying me and was very worried 
about my driving. I went alone, which 
I take as a statement of my commitment. It 
is a long automobile trip but the beauty of 
the mountainous scenery of the Simi Valley 
is an experience I deeply appreciated. My 
wife also helped me to find directions to a 
famous Jewish Deli where I eventually enjoyed 
cheese blintzes of a kind I had never 
had before. Good food and appreciation of 
natural beauty are unquestionably, along 
with a helpful supportive wife, contributors 
to a deep meaningful experience of life 
but of course I am searching for something 
more. Did I find it at the Reagan Library?

 I came away benumbed by the experience. 
There was no weeping, no Yiddish, 
but rather an extremely ordered progression 
through well described pictures 
and drawings. There were postcards and 
letters describing the horrors but there was 
no stench of death. Perhaps that is what I 
expected. I was affected by the pictures and 
descriptions of the Auschwitz death dealing 
employees, who on their breaks between 
murders, would go out together and party. 
This, to me at least, said something very sad 
but truthful about human beings. (Oy vey! 
A Yiddish expression signifying dismay 
and grief.) The experience taught me that 
there is a kind of pain inside me that I am 
as yet unwilling to touch. Upon leaving the 
exhibit I purchased a copy of the famous 
Viktor Frankl book “Man’s Search For 
Meaning” which I had heard of all my life 
but don’t remember ever reading. I placed 
it into the large colorful tote bag picturing 
Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy which 
was given free at the Library.

 The irony of this juxtaposition appealed 
to me and upon returning, after an 
almost 2 hour drive, I tried to discuss my 
experience with my wife. First, she was absolutely 
appalled by the Ronald Reagan tote 
bag and immediately wanted it out of her 
sight. I asked her to be careful of the book 
inside the tote bag. She patiently explained 
that she was familiar with the book as it had 
been assigned as required reading in her 
Catholic High School.

 My search goes on attached now to 
a more informed understanding of myself. 
I understand that the quest remains as an 
individual, internal search relieved occasionally 
by reminders of my own ignorance 
and fear. I will read Frankl’s book. Next to 
my wife’s bed I just found an opened pack of 
Tibetan Buddhist Cards. 

Perhaps many of us are searching for meaning 
and its best to be quiet about it. 

Live and Learn. 

Well, at last count there are, hmmm, still 4 or 5 
achievements of significance I have attained in 
my years on this planet. Achievements defined 
as accomplishments one takes pride in.

Without a doubt my greatest achievement was 
the successful creation of two wonderful kids, 
Alex (34) and Olivia (32). Let there be no misunderstanding: 
I share credit fully with my ex-
wife Helen. Fortunately, our kids inherited her 
classic good looks. From me, however, they inherited 
the somewhat dubious ability to “sling 
the bull.” At least I know my son Alex has inherited 
it as he, at the approaching of middle 
age, still slings with reckless abandon. My 
daughter Olivia, on the other hand, is far more 
cultured and refined than the two male bozos 
in the Johnson nuclear family. This, of course, 
makes it difficult to ascertain her bull slinging 
aptitude. One can only hope. I am very happy 
with who my children have turned out to be.

If you are lucky enough to be a father, cherish 
your children. If you have no children, rent 
some. Become a big brother. Whatever it takes. 
Tell them often you love them. If they want 
something from you try to say yes more often 
than you say no (particularly when your no is 
motivated merely by a desire to not be inconvenienced 
at the moment.) If you say yes often 
enough you will really shake up your kids and 
get their attention when you do say no.

Someone once said, “Why are men reluctant 
to become fathers? They aren’t through being 
children.” There are elements of truth in that 
statement and you can understand my belief 
that being a father and a child is not mutually 
exclusive. Be a father when there is fatherin’ to 
do and be a child as often as you can the rest of 
the time. I miss getting up on Saturday morning 
and watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 
Cartoons with my youngin’s.

I have been privileged with the addition of another 
daughter. Her name is Brooke. No, I did 
not come by her through the standard biological 
process. Brooke, approximately six years 
ago, found herself keenly interested in Alex. 
And Alex felt likewise. Brooke is a wonderful 
addition to the Johnson family.

I would like to close off this column with a 
quote from Clarence Budington Kelland. Mr. 
Kelland was a prolific writer in the first half 
of the twentieth century. He’s particularly remembered 
for seeing his stories turned into 
movies. My favorite was “Mr. Deeds Goes to 
Town” starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. 
(“Mr. Deeds” was also redone in 2002 by Adam 
Sandler.)

Anyway, Mr. Kelland (referring to his father) 
once said, “He didn’t tell me how to live; he 
lived, and let me watch him do it.”

I hope, with all my design flaws, my kids are as 
gracious in their remembrances of me. I love 
you Alex and Olivia...and Brooke.

And Happy Father’s Day good friends!

-Rich

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