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Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 13, 2024 


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

[Nyerges is an educator and author. He authored “Extreme Simplicity” which tells his story 
about attempting to live self-reliantly in the city. More information about his books and 
classes at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com]

JAZZY

FEMALE TIGER-STRIPED TABBY

BORN APPROX. 8/2023

What do Dolly 
Parton and 
Jazzy have in 
common? Both 
have a marvel-
ous coat of many 
colors, but unlike Ms Parton, Jazzy’s bright 
hues are all natural, and she even has that 
rare "bulls-eye" pattern. Snazzy Jazzy is a 
very affectionate young girl who loves to 
be by your side, sprawling dra-matically 
in the sun displaying all her vibrant colors 
and patterns, and en-joys a lot of attention, 
quality time and neck scritches. She will 
want to know what you’re doing and want 
to su-purr-rvise to make sure you’re do-ing 
it right. She’s young and curious and would 
ideally fit in a home that can spend time with 
her and give her attention and lots of pets. 
Fun fact: she was an avid climber of lemon 
trees in her younger days.

So if you’re looking for some flamboyance 
and a chatty companion who loves a good 
snuggle session, this friendly little girl is 
worth checking out. She's a "must see" in purr-son! She’s spayed, current on vaccines, 
healthy, and chipped. Submitting the adoption application will facilitate that. https://www.
lifelineforpets.org/jazzy.html.

 
WHY DO WE COLLECT SO MUCH TRASH?

 

Los Angeles residents were a bit stunned recently when a home in a wealthy 
neighbor-hood was shown to be many feet thick with trash. Apparently, the 
man who lived there would just toss his white trash bags into the yard, and 
he’d also bring things home that he thought he would This was apparently 
the result of several years of neglect, and neigh-bors said the smell was 
terrible.

The situation was so bad with several feet of trash bags covering the entire property that the 
news media was called in, and finally Los Angeles Mayor Bass ordered the property cleaned 
up. Every one talked about the man who lived there, and whether he had a men-tal disorder. 

Without passing judgement on this man, I was visiting a client’s home shortly thereafter. I 
was indoors in the large spacious and beautiful house. I realized then that there are dif-
ferent degrees of “mental disorder” when it comes to our penchant to collect stuff we don’t 
need and will never use, and to pack it away wherever it will fit. Sometimes our amassed 
“stuff” is smelly and trashy, and sometimes it is exquisitely beautiful. Whatever the case, the 
collection of stuff way beyond any normal need is a mental disorder that af-flicts millions of 
Americans, yet it is rarely viewed in that light.

When I see rental storage units all over every city, it occurred to me that this is an out-growth 
of collecting and saving stuff. We have too much stuff, and we are willing to pay someone to 
keep our stuff, out of sight, out of mind.

Am I exaggerating? I know there are legitimate reasons to have a temporary storage unit, 
such as when you just sold a house and it is cheaper to store the furniture in one of these units 
than it is to store it in the house and keep paying the mortgage. But is that the norm?

I learned that investment in storage units is by far the best form of real estate invest-ment. 
There is low turnover with long-term rentals. You never really deal with evictions and there 
are no plumbing issues, and few electrical issues. Investors know that people will continue 
to pay for the storage of their stuff -- stuff they already bought and paid for – as long as they 
can. 

Those who are smart do some simple math and realize that after a few months, they could 
have purchased everything in the rental unit all over again, brand-new. But most do not do 
the math. It isn’t until a few years have passed that renters grasp that there is little value in 
storing things that they are not actually using, which is why they are in stor-age. Once you 
have paid the price over and over again of everything in the storage unit, you start to realize 
that it’s better to bail out, and simply get rid of all those great things that you thought you 
could not live without.

I’m not saying that you should just throw it all in the trash, though sometimes that’s an 
option. Find a charity and donate as much as possible so that they can help needy peo-ple. 
And if the charity tells you that they do not want what you have, that should be telling you 
something very loud.

I believe in minimalism, going back to my early days of backpacking. I realized that I could 
live and live well with very little when I was in the mountains. I wanted to bring that same 
mentality back home to my life in the city. Though I probably collect as much junk as the 
average person, I have found that I have learned to discipline myself. There is so much stuff 
that I no longer buy, unless and until I need it. I used to pick up “really good stuff” that 
someone set out to the trash, because I would think, “Wow, one day I really might be able 
to use that junk.” I do not do that anymore, since such stuff becomes the piles of good 
intentions.

When I look around at the stuff that people buy, and put in their homes, I often wonder why 
we waste our money on objects of little practical value. I don’t mean things like valu-able art, 
or quality tools. I mean trinkets and the stuff that represents nothing but clutter. We think 
we need these objects to be secure. Maybe we worry about shortages in the fu-ture. Maybe 
we knew that during a war-time or drought, it was hard to get stuff. Some of these concerns 
are valid, especially as it relates to food. But most of the time clutter rep-resents a false sense 
of security because we have lots of stuff, and then our life becomes about dealing with all that 
stuff.

I have gotten into arguments with people when I said that it was a social irresponsibility 
to even take the resources to 
manufacture much of the clutter-
stuff of modern life. One as-
sociate pushed back, telling me 
that the creation of that clutter 
was actually how the man-
ufacturer supported themselves. 
I understand that, though why 
not produce something useful, 
long-lasting, practical? That’s 
how I see this aspect of our ever-
worsening re-source crisis. 

We want more and more useless 
stuff that we do not need, and we 
justify it on the basic of needing 
to make a living. We need to realize that we are richer to the degree that we can do without 
the useless clutter of modern life, as Thoreau liked to tell us.


Pet of the Week

 Handsome Hawkeye hopes he can be the apple of 
your eye. Hawkeye is two years old, weighs about 60 
pounds and is such a good boy! 

Hawkeye got to spend a few days in a foster home, 
and he was an ideal houseguest. He is crate trained, 
housetrained and loved having someone to snuggle 
with on the couch. He walks well on a harness and 
seems interested in meeting similar-sized dogs. 

 He's also a ton of fun! He loves dissecting plush 
toys to uncover the squeaker, which he is convinced 
is the best part. He enjoys walks and trips in the car, 
so he would be a great hiking or maybe running 
buddy. 

 We have found that Hawkeye can be a bit shy with 
new people, but within a matter of minutes, he’ll 
attach his head to your lap for as many pets as he 
can get. 

 Hawkeye and all other dogs over 6 months old can be adopted for only $25 during the 
Love is Blooming adoption promotion at Pasadena Humane. The promotion ends on 
Sunday, April 14. 

 The adoption fee for dogs is $150. All dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, 
and age-appropriate vaccines. 

 All dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, and age-appropriate vaccines. 

 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 and schedule an adoption appointment at 
pasadenahumane.org. Daily adoption appointments can be scheduled online. New 
adoption appointments are released every Sunday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Walk-
in adoptions are available every day from 2:00 – 5:00.

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


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