CITY OF ANGELS (continued from page 1) 

moment of time, I do believe it is in the eyes.

 I was both blessed and cursed to have a job where I could arrive 
in the early hours of the morning. Los Angeles is almost empty 
at 5:00 a.m., and one encounters a different face of the city at that 
time of the day. The automobile traffic is light, the sidewalks are 
vacant, and the hustle and bustle of society is still slumbering in 
bed. I was only a couple of blocks away from work as I exited the 
freeway. A gentle looking homeless man was off the curb, in the 
street. I could see an emptiness in his face, as though life and all 
of its joy and meaning were erased, and what remained were the 
great burdens carried alone without family or love. As I sat at the 
red light, I watched as he stared off into an invisible place and 
time that I could not fully see, where the hardships of life actively 
haunted him. 

The place he was occupying in the street, the tattered clothes that 
hung from his shoulders, the unshaven face of stubble, compelled 
me to think of him in a certain way, but even amongst the darkness 
of that winter morning, with only a dim light above, I was 
overcome by the bright and inviting light that radiated out from 
his eyes. They made me to think of Heaven. So I wondered, just 
maybe, this is an angel. I could not keep my mind off him that day, 
and I am sure I was supposed to say something to him – even if it 
was just a kind word to let him know that the world cared. I did 
none of that, much like the old penny of the street, so tarnished 
and dirty. I just “stepped past” him and kept driving.

Many years later, upon a mouse-like quiet morning, I motored 
through Los Angeles in those early hours when the moon was still 
in sight. My office was in a different location now, so it altered my 
drive from freeway to the city streets. The windows of the donut 
shops and coffee houses had their usual suspects clinging to their 
cups of caffeine. 

I was five minutes past Dodgers stadium as I turned in the direction 
of Santa Monica and the mid-city Los Angeles area where I 
worked. It was a pleasant and fairly straight ahead drive from here, 
and soon, I would be settling into my office chair. I had developed 
an odd habit of timing each of my trips going into work, and on 
some miraculous mornings, a vast succession of lights would flip 
to green as I traveled in some engineering feat that turned the city 
of stop-and-go into a journey down a country road. It was not 
uncommon, since the street I traveled on had two lanes on each 
side, to have another car glued to my door for several miles as we 
galloped through the city as one. So it was on this morning, block 
after block we went. 

I was out in front for a few yards, and then 

several blocks later, 

the other car took a small lead. Our industrial horse race sped 
past the houses, lights and buildings of the city. There was one 
section at the end of this drive that I feared. It is a poorly lit section 
of homes and the cross traffic would be traveling between 35-
60 MPH, depending upon the driver. One morning, I arrived to 
see the hedges were destroyed, fully knowing what had happened. 
Massive rocks were placed around that house on that corner a few 
weeks later and about a year after, as I passed this intersection, a 
fresh accident, with two cars resting against the boulders. I told 
myself, if I should die in my car, it would be in this place on some 
quiet morning.

I was also very intrigued by this place because I felt a great sense 
of pain or pleasure depending on the color of the light. This particular 
morning, I arrived at the top of a small hill where the 
road gracefully bent and straightened before me. I was not far 
from work now -- it was the home stretch. A quarter mile into 
the distance, the intersection’s light towered over the trees of the 
sidewalk. If it was already green, with the length of road I had to 
travel, I could not legally make the light. If the light was changing 
from red to green, however, I could catch the light with a second 
to spare. 

On the mornings I made the light, I had a feeling of euphoric 
victory, having beat “my opponent.” On this morning, I was in 
luck, as the light was just changing from red to green – “perfect,” 
I thought, I would definitely catch it. The other driver, still beside 
me, knew this as well, as he slightly darted a bumper ahead of me 
to make sure he would also catch the light. Then, in a flash, a person 
suddenly appeared in my lane. I hit the brakes and stopped. 
There was still 15 seconds left to catch the light, but I would now 
miss it. 

The homeless person bent down in the street in the full brightness 
of my headlights, and as he rose to his feet, he lifted up his hand 
to his face, and there, between his index finger and thumb, as one 
might hold a precious diamond, I could clearly see a shiny new 
dime. He looked into my window with those eyes of an angel, and 
then he stepped out of my way and onto the sidewalk. The next 
thing I heard in the distance was a tremendous crash, and as I 
looked down the street, I could see two cars beside the boulders. 
With the signaling light still showing green in our direction, it 
should have been three cars, had it not been for a precious dime. 

If we allow our eyes to see and our hearts to feel, we shall discover 
a great many things of Heaven and earth. Even in the darkest places 
of this city where others fear to travel, there are heroic people 
who are committed to kindness, and carry the healing words of 
hope to those who have none. The old tarnished pennies of Los 
Angeles are being picked up and polished, and with great effort, 
they are being restored. The saviors of the Los Angeles are performing 
their miracles every day of the year, since the homeless 
have never take a holiday off. The people of the streets are being 
brought back to life, and the joyous reunion is shared with family 
and friends. 

This city loves to celebrate its victories. We immortalize our heroes 
with statues or the retirement of their numbers, but we all 
know that some victories are harder to achieve than others, and 
those victories reign as the most eloquent and meaningful of all. 
To honor some of the noblest of this city, we might humble ourselves 
and take a knee to offer thanks. Maybe the use of our time 
is that which is required to make the world a better place. Maybe 
this is the day we will support the heroes of this city with our 
money. 

As we consider the real meaning of Christmas and the story of 
the world’s greatest gift, let us count our blessings. Let us open 
our eyes and our hearts to the knowledge that it is an expensive 
endeavor to feed and shelter thousands of hungry people every 
day. It takes many dimes and dollars to care for the less fortunate 
of our city. 

The power to change this world and to leave it a better place is in 
our hands and in our hearts. There are many fantastic organizations 
in the Los Angeles area that are worthy of your time, talent 
and money. One of the special ones, the Union Rescue Mission – 
www.urm.org -- is an organization that has been making miracles 
happen in Los Angeles for more than 100 years. Some of the people 
on the streets tonight were once in the military, fire or police 
department, sworn with a solemn oath to protect its citizens. It 
has now become our duty to protect them. We love to identify this 
glorious place where we live as the City of Angels. 

A true angel is always looking out for others and sharing the kindness 
of Heaven with earth.

May your Christmas and Holidays be filled with joy!

Craig Hakola


4

Mountain Views News Saturday, December 21, 2024


Weather Wise

WALKING SIERRA MADRE -

 The Social Side by Deanne Davis


6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.

“Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard, or too sad when you’ve got 
a Christmas tree in the living room.” Nora Roberts

“Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. 

To an opponent, tolerance.

To a friend, your heart. 

To every child, a good example. 

To all, charity. To yourself, respect.”

As I’m writing Walking Sierra Madre today, it has just dawned 
on me that Christmas is Wednesday! I’m decorated. I put all 
the Christmas ornaments the children made in Sunday School 
through the years right at the front of the tree. The little hands 
pressed into plaster of paris, are there, too, along with the pictures 
mounted in bread dough frames, the bead ornaments.

Leah made one year, the red globes that date from the beginning 
of our marriage, some fifty+ years ago…I guess they are now valuable 
antiques. They are also somewhat cracked and crazed (which, 
occasionally, our marriage was, too) but they are precious in my 
sight. I don’t do nearly as much baking of bread and cookies as I 
used to, but I am making Christmas Jam. This is easy, looks spectacular 
and if you want to whip up a batch to give to special friends 
and family, you still have time.

 

CHRISTMAS JAM

You will need 6 half-pint canning jars. Fill them with hot water 
when you start making your jam. When you’re ready to fill them, 
dump out the hot water and up-end them on a clean towel. Put the 
jar lids in a bowl with hot water until you’re ready to seal your jars. 
All this makes sure you get a good seal.

3 cups fresh cranberries

1 orange peeled and seeded

10 oz. frozen sliced strawberries, slightly thawed

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 pouch liquid pectin (this comes in during the cooking process)

Combine the cranberries and the orange in your food processor, 
pulsing till coarsely chopped. Add strawberries, cloves and cinnamon 
and process till mixture is finely chopped.

Toss all this in a large pot and add:

4 cups sugar

½ cup water

Blend, and stirring constantly over low heat, cook for 2 minutes. 
Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a rolling boil; stir in the 
pouch of liquid pectin. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil again 
and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, skim off foam (if there is 
any, usually there’s very little). Ladle mixture into hot jars leaving 
¼” headspace. Wipe rims and put on the lids. Let the jars cool, test 
the lids to be sure they are sealed. If you press down on the center 
of the lid, you’ll find there’s no give to it.

Let them cool right out in plain sight in your kitchen and label 
them with YOUR name and what’s in the jar. Be extremely proud 
of yourself. It’s so satisfying to create beautiful jars of good-tasting 
things purely for the joy of doing it and giving them as gifts.

 I’m ready for Christmas and I’m sure you are, too. The picture is 
baby Jesus, the real Reason for this delightful season.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping 
watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to 
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were 
terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you 
good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the 
town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord...
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the 
angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:8-13

“On a night like this, centuries ago,

A brilliant star rose in the East,

To show the Wise Men where to go.

They set out on a journey,

To find an unknown King.

Their hearts were filled with happiness

And praises they would sing!”

(“A Night Like This” from “Star of Wonder – A Christmas Musical” 
Book & Lyrics by Deanne Davis, Music by David Wheatley)

Merry Christmas, dear friends! May God bless you and keep you 
and make his face to shine upon you, give you peace...and joy, 

“Christmas, it’s almost here! My favorite, favorite time of year!”

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Christmas is just a few days away and my books:

“A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” and

“Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope”

Would be really nice gifts for everyone you know.

You can find them on Amazon.com

“Star of Wonder” a delightful Christmas Kindle story is there, 
too.

If you’d like a little preview, take a look at: https://youtu.be/

 Sun Sunny Hi 60s Lows 50s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 60s Lows 50s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 60s Lows 50s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 60s Lows 50s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

SIERRA MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL MEETING

January 14, 2025 5:30pm

THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD 
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS!

As part of the City of Sierra Madre’s 

COVID-19 transparency efforts and The 
Brown Act provides the public with an opportunity 
to make public comments at any 
public meeting. Public comment may also be 
made by e-mail to PublicComment@CityofSierraMadre.
com by 3:00 p.m. on the day of 
the meeting. 

Emails will be acknowledged at the Council 
meeting and filed into public record. The 
public may also comment in person at the 
meeting.

The meetings will be streamed live on Foothills 
Media website at foothillsmedia.org/sierramadre 
and broadcast on Government 

Access Channel 3 (Spectrum)..

1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts for 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. PSAs 
will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 24/7 and can 
be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have their 
event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre Community 
Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra Madre, plus 
surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event and 
e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 


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