Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 6, 2019

4

JUST FOR YOU!

Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 6, 2019 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side by Deanne Davis


“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every 
July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file 
by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with 
family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets 
iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have 
overeaten, but it is patriotism.” Erma Bombeck

 

I’ll bring the hot dogs,

You bring the beer,

The Fourth of July,

Is finally here!

It’s our day to celebrate,

Our Nation’s story.

Is your hand on your heart?

Here she comes! It’s Old Glory!

Let’s walk downtown,

And watch the parade.

I hope we can find,

A place in the shade.

Here come our V.A. guys,

Standing so tall and straight!

Thank you, guys, for your service,

We think you’re just great!

Oh Look! Here she comes!

There’s a tear in my eye.

Let’s stand up and cheer!

Old Glory’s passing by.

We love those old cars,

Filled with folks that we know.

Hey! Throw us some candy!

How far can one little Tootsie Roll go!

Katrelya might belly dance,

The whole parade long, and

The Sierra Madre City College Band

Will give us a song.

The Fire Department won’t

Be spraying us this year.

Water in our town,

Right now, is too dear.

We’ll barbeque later,

A burger…or three,

And have potato salad,

Sure! It’s calorie free! (Not!)

We’ll go watch the fireworks,

Down at the park.

And count all our blessings,

There in the dark.

Be glad that we live,

In a land that is free.

To celebrate Independence Day!

To Celebrate…. Liberty!

 

July 4th this year was pretty much just like that. We always 
loved the parade, my best parade kibitzer buddy, John, and 
I. We loved seeing the kids from all the teams, the parents 
pulling wagons with little people looking bewildered. 
We admired the Search & Rescue Guys, we waved at the 
dignitaries smiling in the backs of open cars, trying not to 
sweat, wondering if they’ve got enough sunblock on, working 
hard to look responsible and re-electable. 

For more years than I care to count, I hosted the entire 
family at our house and did the BBQ-ing and now our 
middle daughter, Patti and her husband, Dave, host the 
July 4th festivities and our job was to show up with the 
aforementioned calorie-free potato salad (Repeat: Not!) 
and a cake. I realize I’m a little late for this year’s July 4th 
celebrations, but sometime this summer you’re going to 
need to be someplace with a cake and here’s a really easy 
one that people will absolutely love, and beg you for the 
recipe…

EASY APPLE CAKE

2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut in good sized 
chunks

1 cup sugar 

Place apples in a bowl and add sugar. Let stand 30 min. (That 
part is really important!)

Add: 1/4 cup oil

 1 egg beaten

 1 tsp vanilla

 

Combine: 1 cup unsifted flour

 1 generous tsp. cinnamon

 1 tsp. soda

 . tsp. salt 

Stir into apple mixture. Add 1/2 cup or so chopped pecans or 
walnuts and I like to throw in a handful of dried cranberries, 
too. Put into well-greased 8" square pan. Bake at 350, 45 to 
50 minutes till cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean. 
This cake doubles and triples beautifully! Cut in squares, dust 
with powdered sugar and enjoy!

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” is here! 

Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd

 "A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter"

is also available on my book page and the apple cake recipe is in 
there!


KATIE Tse....This and That

TERROR AT 30 FEET

 I hope you had a fabulous fourth, and that you’re 
having a fabulous summer overall! In an effort to 
better myself and keep occupied, I’m taking a creative 
writing class at a local community college. It’s pretty 
fun, but I always worry I won’t be able to come up 
with something for our daily assignments. So far I’ve 
been okay. But just in case I run empty one day, I put 
together a random little piece on escalators for our 
teacher’s reading pleasure. I share it with you now.

 I didn’t use to be afraid of escalators. It all started 
when we had a meeting for a kid at the school where I work. It was one 
of those meetings with a cast of thousands round the conference table. 
I’d finished my spiel and was admittedly dozing off just a bit when the 
discussion turned to escalators, and how the kid was afraid of them.

 Turns out he fell down one once. Mind you, this kid isn’t too stable on his 
feet to begin with. That’s why he gets PT and APE. (Physical Therapy and 
Adapted Physical Education.)

 Wait --he fell down one once? I’m waking up now. 

 Yup, his mom says. All the way.

 So now I’m thinking, given the kid’s history, that this seems like a perfectly 
reasonable and justifiable fear. The meeting goes on, but I’m still imagining all the horrible things that can go wrong on an escalator. 
Feet caught, ankles sprained, twisted wrists, you name it. Shoelaces getting sucked in, ripping off your foot in the process. But 
mostly I’m thinking about my hair.

 It’s long and I wear it down most of the time. The escalators I most commonly encounter are the ones at the racetrack. My 
husband and I spend a lot of the time there. Santa Anita was built in the 30’s, back before America became the nation of obesity it 
is today. So the escalators are slim and narrow.

 What would happen if I tripped and fell and my hair got caught? I wouldn’t be able to stop the conveyor belt of stairs in time. 
The emergency shut offs are at the top and bottom. What if I fell in the middle?

 The piece I originally put together explored this concept further in painfully graphic detail. But as I re-read it now, I think I’ll 
spare you. Besides, you’ve all got imaginations.

 So it’s that kind of stuff I’m thinking about when I should be focused on my handicapping. Because if you’re going to lose money, 
it might as well be a researched loss. My husband’s sitting next to me, pouring over stats in the racing form. I casually ask if he’s 
ever been afraid of escalators.

 “Nope.”

 Nothing phases him. He’s got no imagination for stuff like that. That, and his hair’s only a millimeter long. But today it’s fluffy. 
Today it’s a millimeter and a half.

 We’re up on the general admission side. We already camped out for hours in the clubhouse. And he airily suggests swinging over 
to the outside walking ring, down by the paddock.

 “Sure!” I put on a brave face and tie back my hair into a ponytail. Then a bun. A tight one.

 At least I can rest assured that my fingernails won’t get caught. Never had any of those. ‘Cause I’m the nervous type, you see.

*Check out my novel, “A Year at Apex.” In paperback on Amazon and ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (Barnes & Noble 
paperback coming soon). A classic love story between a school teacher and a one-handed plumber, Apex has it all --humor, 
romance, the human condition, and public education. Perfect for you and the educator in your life!


177 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 550, Pasadena, California 91105 
(626) 792-2228 | cliffordswan.com 
Providing Objective and Experienced 
Investment Counsel to Financially 
Successful Families since 1915 
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