OPINIONOPINION Mountain View News Saturday, August 1, 2026 
1010 OPINIONOPINION Mountain View News Saturday, August 1, 2026 
1010 
MOUNTAIN 

VIEWS 

NEWS 

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson 

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR 

Dean Lee 

SALES 

Patricia Colonello 
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WEBMASTER 

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION 

Peter Lamendola 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Lori A. Harris 
Michele Kidd 
Stuart Tolchin 
Harvey HydeAudrey SwansonMeghan MalooleyMary Lou CaldwellKevin McGuire 
Chris Leclerc 
Dinah Chong WatkinsHoward HaysPaul CarpenterKim Clymer-KelleyChristopher NyergesPeter Dills 
Rich Johnson 
Lori Ann Harris 
Rev. James SnyderKatie HopkinsDeanne Davis 
Despina ArouzmanJeff Brown 
Marc Garlett 
Keely TotenDan Golden 
Rebecca WrightHail Hamilton 
Joan Schmidt 
LaQuetta Shamblee 

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PUT THE LIGHTS ON

STUART TOLCHIN 


DO WE CHOOSE OR 
ARE WE CHOSEN 

My wife and I have been spending about six hours 
a day for the last couple of weeks in my son’s hospital room. 
Something is wrong and we wonder if he will be okay. Inside 
we all are terrified. This article is an example of my attempt 
to avoid my fears and get from one day to the next. I think 
that to distract myself, I posed the following question to my 

wife and son. Does a belief in God affect your experience of reality? 

Please understand that the three of us have very different life 
experiences. My wife is a Hispanic woman born in a house in Boyle Heights 
which was built by her grandfather. She attended a Catholic High School 
also attended by her mother and together attended with her cousins. She 
participated in Catholic choirs and attended church services. This is a verydifferent experience from my own and I cannot speak of her present state of 
belief or disbelief other than saying it is probably very different from my own. 

I was born in Chicago the son of a man who together with his mother 
and three siblings emigrated from the Ukraine fleeing a pogrom. My father 
had absolutely no religious training or education, but Yiddish was the language 
of his family, and he always identified as a Jewish man. Other than on the 
High Jewish Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur there was rarely any 
mention of ethnicity in our family. On the high Holidays my sister and I were 
forbidden to attend School. We never went to any religious services but myfarther who was diabetic would nevertheless walk to shul and frequently pass 
out along the way or faint after he arrived at the synagogue. I remember this 
happening several times and it is part of my experience of being Jewish. I was 
very attached to my father who was my family’s only source of livelihood. Myfather, because of his diabetes, began to lose sight and eventually lost his vision 
at about the time I graduated from High School. A great part of the activity 
of my father and I was hiding his ongoing visual loss from my mother. I recall 
going to the office of the DMV and memorizing the eye chart (almost seventy 
years later I still remember that eye chart) and going over it with my farther 
who could then pass the DMV eye test and continue to make a living. 

Why this is important today and why it is a part of this article I am not 
sure. I am certain that a huge part of my existence is a devotion to family. That 
devotion is my religion. For reasons that are almost inexplicable I became the 
single parent raising my son and daughter. Today and for the past two weeks 
my wife, who is my children’s stepmother and my daughter have all together 
spent many hours with my son in his hospital room. My son and my daughter 
were born two years apart, although they have the same birthday, they could 
not have more different lives. 

My daughter is a very busy, successful immigration attorney involved 
in a loving relationship with her own seven-year-old child. Still, she manages 
to come to the hospital almost every day. My son, exactly two years older than 
my daughter, is a neurodivergent person who lives alone but receives assistance 
from the Regional Center, a non-profit agency that coordinates lifelong 
assessments and support for individuals with developmental disabilities. 

My wife, the children’s stepmother, is an extraordinarily supportive, 
caring person who has been my wife for over thirty years and is a great source 
of comfort to all of us. 

So why am I reporting all of this to you. Frankly, I feel an almost 
religious obligation to continue writing my weekly articles as a way of keeping 
myself functional and of assistance to my family. I feel as if I have no choice in 
the matter and am grateful that my wife and I are retirees, both of whom are 
able to be present with my son. My wife and daughter are of great support and 
assistance to my son while I seem to just get in the way. 

If there is any message to my readers contained in this article, it is 
that you are who you are. That I do not believe is a matter of choice. Do the 
very best you can within the parameters of your own existence and realize 
that is not just your choice but is your gift presented to you by all of the other 
influences and experiences of your life and heritage. 

I hope to be around next week to tell you that all is well, and I hope that 
you are all well. 

HOWARD Hays As I See It - Seeing It Clearer 


"250 years ago we declared independence from a king who ran the colonies as a family business. In 
just 18 months, the Trumps have made King George look like an amateur." – Hunter Biden on X 

Coming into August, here are some favorite posts from this past month:
Jamie Bonkiewicz asks: “Anyone else remember being taught that America was a melting pot and 
that it was something to celebrate?” 

Dr. Maalouf posts a pic of 9/11 with: “How the hell does the city that faced the biggest Islamic 

terrorist attack in history vote for a Muslim mayor?” The response: “But if you blame all white 
people for slavery they get really mad”. 

Olivia Julianna on the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE: “I’m tired of people acting like somebody’s life mattersless because they weren’t an American on paper. He spent 35 years here, raised three American children, and built his 
life in Houston. He was an American in every way that mattered.” 

In response to another killing: “It doesn’t matter if the man killed by ICE in Maine was authorized to work in the UnitedStates or not. It doesn’t matter if he had a social security or not. ICE should not be killing anyone. Period.” 

From Grace Hall: “An ICE officer is trained for 71 days. It takes 150 days to become a certified pet stylist at Petco. One 
grooms dogs . . . the other carries guns. This is what’s wrong with our country.” 

Leading Report posts: “(White House press secretary) Karoline Leavitt says Gen Z has been born with ‘silver spoonsin their mouths’”. Political Punk responds: “Karoline Leavitt went to an expensive private high school, then worked for 
the White House immediately out of college, then married a billionaire her daddy’s age. What kind of spoon is that?” 

James Tate observes: “Republican Rep. (Tom) Kean (NJ) voted against 40 hours of paid medical leave for workers, then 
took 4 months paid leave himself.” 

Eric notes: “Canadians will wait in line for 12 hours at an ER, then look you straight in the face and say Canada is better 
than America”. The response: “In America you wait for 12 hours and then owe $35,000”. 

Muhee observes: “The wildest part about POVERTY is how much time it steals. Waiting for buses. Calling assistance 
offices. Comparing grocery prices. Fighting insurance. Sitting at laundromats. Being poor is a second job nobody 
pays you for.” 

From House Republicans: “Every communist regime promised to abolish class. Instead, they ended up with two 
classes: the ones with power, and everyone else.” The response: “Yes, thank goodness America doesn’t have two classes, 
the ones with power and everyone else.” 

The White House posts: “The United States will NEVER be a communist country.” nyara responds: “You freaks 
consider free healthcare, affordable housing and earning a livable wage ‘communism’.” 

“Every time I pay $400 for groceries, I just have to remind myself to be grateful for the new White House ballroom andthe war in Iran”. 

President Trump states at the NATO summit, “We had 111 missiles shot by The Islamic Republic of Japan”. Ron 
Filipkowski posts: “Biden is old but he never accused Japan of being an Islamic Republic shooting missiles at us.” Mike 
Nellis adds: “Call me old-fashioned, but I think the President of the United States should be able to remember the name 
of a nation he’s been bombing the (crap) out of for five months.” 

Trump asserted that “Most people don’t know that Dumb has a B in it.” Michael Freeman responds: “I’m going to 
venture that this is the first POTUS in our nation’s history to marvel incessantly about learning how a four-letter wordis spelled.” The Lincoln Project adds: “Has the nuclear codes, by the way.” 

Vice President Vance is quoted: “We have got to have a governor who takes fraud as seriously as the president.” Jamie 
Boskiewicz reminds: “Donald Trump has pardoned more than 70 people convicted of fraud.” 

As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posts, “Donald Trump is releasing unverified, meaninglessdocuments to appease his own delusions about an election he lost resoundingly, all while continuing to withhold 3million pages of the Epstein files”, hasanabi wonders: “so elections were rigged under his watch but then Biden fixed the 
election rigging and that’s how trump won?” 

The White House posts about the “New Air Force One” being taken out of service to be “Maxed Out”. The Lincoln 
Project responds: “American service members are dying in a war you still don’t know the reason for, and he’s postingabout planemaxxing his jet from Qatar.” Adds Brian R. Kline: “This is the most embarrassing White House ever.” 

Gunther Eagleman asks: “Why do Republicans never riot or try to burn (stuff) down? Why is it always the democrats?” 
Grace Hall responds: “January 6????” 

And another from Hunter Biden: “I am officially nominating Donald J. Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. No President 
in History has ended the same war so many times. Our Dear Leader has ended the War with Iran at least 38 times byCNN’s count. No President has ever done this before. And he is nowhere near finished ending it. It’s a record worthy 
of the Nobel committee’s recognition. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” 

RICH JOHNSON 


SONGS SUNG BLEW 

The title of this column is a takeoff of the classic Neil Diamond 
song, “Song Sung Blue”. A confession by our “solitary man” that 
sadness is normal. Turning that pain into music is an antidote 
that can heal us and, hopefully, make us feel good again. 

We all have songs that travel with us through life, bring us back 

to both ecstatic times of wonderful joy. And they attach to tragic moments of 
pain and suffering. It helps us feel and show joy, sadness and excitement. Music 
actually triggers good brain chemicals like dopamine. In fact, people who know 
these types of things know music activates many parts of the brain at the same 
time. (I’m still working on mine. I think the batteries are dead.) 

Our little community gave us Van Halen AND Mercy and the Merkett’s, and 
least I forget, JJ Jukebox, (playing this upcoming Saturday night, August 8th at 
Nano Café. 6:30-9.30pm) 

Now, where was I? Song titles run the gamut, aka the entire range or scope of 
a particular subject. And it isn’t strange that the original purpose of the songis confused. “Every Breath You Take” by the Police sounds romantic, but Sting 
told the BBC when he wrote it, he was dealing with jealousy and obsession over 
the collapse of his first marriage. “I’ll be watching you” takes on a whole new 
meaning lol. (I wonder if Sting is watching me?) By the way, Sting is mostly over 
it. Maybe because he typically receives annual royalties for that one song totaling$730,000. 

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was written for Nirvana by Kurt Cobain. The tune was 
written based on talking points for a deodorant commercial aimed at teenage 
girls. 

“Respect” became a very important song for women and it was the first number 1 
song for Aretha Franklin. The song was written by Otis Redding which is perfect 
because respect for each other is everybody’s business. “Respect” is also ranked 
fifth in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. 

Interesting “quirk” about rock stars. Van Halen had a very special request when 
performing at various venues. He wanted there to always be a big bowl of M&M’s 
in their dressing room waiting for them. But he said, there was to be NO brown 
M&Ms. Before you think he was a few M&Ms short, he had a purpose. He 
wanted to see if the organizers were reading the requests sent to them in advance 
of a concert. 

Here’s something you can mention at your next social gathering. DID YOU 
KNOW…that termites consume wood twice as fast if you play them heavy metal? 
Talk about important to know. 

The National Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Monaco has 
more members than their army. (Now that’s a priority).

Bob Dylan’s epic song “Like a Rolling Stone” lyrics were originally six 
pages long. (the FM version might be that long.)

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s band is named after a high school gym teacher, Leonard 
Skinner coincidentally, who constantly suspended members of the band for 
having long hair.

Paul Hewson (AKA “Bono”) got his famous band name from a hearing-
aid, medical supply shop in Dublin named “Bono Vox” which means “good voice” 
in Latin. P.S. Bono: Have you found out what you are looking for? Someone 
wants to know. 

Talk about being underpaid. Paul McCartney performed at the opening ceremony 
of the 2012 London Olympics for a fee of one British pound (equivalent to US 
$1.35) 

Now wonder I didn’t get the gig. Speaking of gigs, remember this Saturday night 
at Nano Café. Songs we do include “Born to Be Wild” or is that “mild”, a variety 
of the Doobie Brother, Creedence, Moody Blues, Beatles and other better known 
groups lol. 


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