Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 4, 2020

10

Mountain View News Saturday, June 6, 2020 


Pet of the Week

BOMBS BURSTING 

IN AIR

I come from a family of ancestors who traveled 
across the Atlantic Ocean from northwestern 
Europe a couple of centuries ago. They came 
here to find freedom and opportunity. There 
were countless obstacles and much to work through, to establish a new place to live. My ancestors were 
among hundreds who traveled across the sea. Pioneers in hopes of finding a better life.

Time went by (as it has a tendency to do) and as the newly arrived European folks dispersed into their 
resting and nesting places - primarily on the northeastern coast of this continent - battles were fought and 
much blood was shed in an effort to take the land from those who’d lived here for god-knows-how-long 
before the newcomers’ arrival.

Native people and their existing cultures were ripped and torn apart, and the technology of the time 
(forged metal - aka guns) took its toll on those less aggressive and less prepared to defend themselves 
and protect their territories. New settlements were settled, boundaries put into place, people suffered and 
died while others flourished. Animals suffered and died and I suppose a few may have flourished as well.

Let’s face it folks, much of this country’s past is no less than pure madness and mayhem. History took its 
course, as it were. But ultimately, America earned its reputation as a desirable destination to be sought 
after. Otherwise, none of us would still be here today, continuing to hash out our differences and defend 
our positions. The land of the free and the brave.

I do celebrate our country’s historical landmark events, not the least of which is the 4th of July, Independence 
Day. I won’t go into the specifics of how it came into play (Google it), but as most of us know, it is the 
set-aside day when Americans come together to appreciate the birth of our nation and the freedom we 
enjoy here. It IS indeed, a memorable moment in history, worth celebrating by those of us who reap the 
benefits of those before us who worked hard to bring it about.

So there’s that…the national holiday - the 4th of July, aptly called Independence Day. For most modern 
folks, it means not going to work (which was totally awesome before the COVID-19 Safer-at-Home 
mandates), and spending special time with family and close friends - jumping in the pool, grilling burgers 
on the barbecue and making amazing memories.

Then there are the fireworks. Ahh…those (apparently) beloved fireworks. Lady fingers, M-80‘s, black 
cats, roman candles, you name it, they got it. Loved enough by some, it seems, to be lit and shot-off every 
single night, as early as a month prior to and continuing a full month following the actual holiday itself. 
Those hearty handfuls of stinky bomb-poppers, tightly-packed & wrapped in thick paper, brightly & 
rustically inked with festive designs. Specimens of contra ban that somehow continue to be part of the 
celebration, much to my personal mystification. Illegal or not, folks (apparently & simply) cannot resist!

I have learned through life experiences that there are many things I’ll never understand or relate to, most 
of which I cannot change. While I do have control over my own thoughts, choices and behaviors, I can’t 
control what my “fellow” humans might decide to do. I MUST let it go, I know this is true. But I still 
needed to write this appeal to those humans, those different from myself. Those who cannot resist the 
urge to light a tight bundle of potentially lethal gun powder and shoot off a rocket loud enough to scare 
the bejesus out of their neighbors, and (more importantly) their neighbors’ pets.

I’m appealing to you lovers of loudness. Lovers of chaos. Lovers of illegal fireworks. You know who you 
are. You’re bored. You’ve been told to stay home. You’ve been told not to go to work, not to go to the store, 
not to go to the bars or the beach. You’ve been told you can’t do those things you typically do. And here it 
is, the 4th of July, Independence Day (Google it). And from what I hear nearly every night, you can’t even 
wait until the appropriate date. And here we are. It’s the 4th of July. Oh my.

Please stop. If you can’t care about your fellow humans, do it for the precious, innocent animals.

Animals abhor fireworks. It scares them to the core of their being. You don’t even have to be an animal-
lover or a dog-walker/pet sitter such as myself, to know that is so. It’s plain ole common sense. They 
absolutely despise fireworks. And the potential hazard of a forest fire will never be worth your (beyond 
me) personal desire to hear that obnoxious noise. No words can express how animals - both domestic and 
wild - hate fireworks and I echo their sentiment. PLEASE, stop the nonsense. Love and let live.

 Little Falafel came to us as a scared 
stray, but with some patience and love 
he has gone from hiding in the back 
of his kennel to snuggling in laps! 
This five-year-old dog is known for 
his “zoomies” around the play yard 
and taking dips in our doggie pools. 
Because Falafel may need some time 
to get to know new people, he would 
do best in a home with adults and 
older kids. A quiet, calm, and stable 
environment will bring out the loving, playful cutie pie that 
is Falafel!

 The adoption fee for dogs is $140. 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 at pasadenahumane.org and 
fill out an online adoption application. Adoptions are by 
appointment only. Pets may not be available for adoption 
and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone calls or 
email.

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges


SEEKING THE FRAGILE BALANCE: 

The Meaning of Life vs. Virus Protection

[Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Self-Sufficient Home,” and others. His latest book, “An Urban Survival Guide,” will be released later in 2020. More 
information, and his schedule of classes, is at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]

Tony Brown (of Tony Brown’s Journal on public TV) once stated that “if it seems that I’m 
placing a high priority on the need to have money, it’s because I consider it as valuable as 
oxygen.” His discussion program was all about the need especially for black families to do 
whatever it takes to increase their cash flow in order to elevate their overall quality of life. 
He was encouraging his audience to start their own businesses, and buy their own homes.

Tony Brown made me think deeply about money. I grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood in a big family. 
Whenever I, or any of my brothers, asked my mother if we could do something, she’d nearly always say, “Yes, 
just go out and earn the money so you can do it.” We learned all the legal ways to hustle and earn money to buy a 
bicycle, or go on a trip. Our basic needs were always met by two working parents, and I’ve learned to live frugally 
life-long. But I have never been desperate due to low income, or no income, or social discrimination that would 
inhibit my ability to work and be a part of my society.

Tony Brown pointed out that he was not just talking “economically.” When we have a job and work for income, 
we turn our time, our life, into a medium of exchange (i.e., “money”) which we then use to create a meaningful 
life. The life that money can provide gives families the means to have a home around which the family can gather, 
the means to live a healthy life, and the means to get an education that allows one to create the job and career that 
gives life meaning.

In other words, the ability to earn income in our society relates to the ability to live a quality life, and all that that 
entails.

Thus, more to my point, it is a false argument when people say that we should not “re-open” our economy, but 
we should keep most things closed for the presumed health reasons. One such proponent for the “stay closed” 
scenario is Bill Gates, who is openly pushing for everyone to get vaccinated. (Hey, is it true that Gates is heavily-
invested in vaccines?)

“You care more about money than people,” one old-time friend challenged me.

“You’re wrong,” I told him emphatically. I told him that I care deeply about the total health of people: mental, 
spiritual, physical, and psychological health. I think it is a false idea that you must choose one over the other.

A man or woman who works at a job they love tend to have a good immune system to fight disease. They wake 
up looking forward to something, hopeful for the future. It’s not just a job where they earn something for their 
labor. For most people in western societies, it is the idea that their life serves a purpose, while interacting with 
others and keeping busy. 

Such a mental and psychological posture impacts the health of the body. Someone who is happy, who laughs, who 
has hope, who strives to get up in the morning, has a better immune system than someone who is gloomy, fearful, 
desperate, worrying, forlorn, wondering when their government check will arrive because the government won’t 
allow them to work.

Yes, I know that various surveys have shown that so many Americans hate their jobs, but they would still rather 
work than not work, and have the ability to find another job that suits them better.

I have so, so many questions about the reasoning behind why some businesses were told to close, and others allowed 
to stay open. I wonder, for example, why golf courses were told to close. Don’t the spaced-out conditions 
of the golf course seem like the least-likely place to spread a virus? And you can’t sell clothes, but if you have a 
dry cleaner, you can stay open and clean clothes. Churches, temples and mosques are forboden, but liquor stores 
are considered “essential.” Really? 

My preference is that government entities stick to governing, and medical authorities stay out of politics, and 
rather than constantly talking about vaccines that may or may not work once they get developed, if they get developed, 
they should talk loudly about doing all the things that improve our immune system! That’s right! Rather 
than discuss the drug of the week, what about getting into the sun, exercising, taking vitamins, sleeping well, finding 
ways to feel happy and uplifted, and improving our diets so that our food helps our immune systems? Isn’t 
that the sort of thing that medical authorities should be telling us at this time? 

With suicide rates up in the last two months and mental depression at a high, don’t world leaders grasp that this 
is not about money vs. health? The issue is about protecting the life we want to live, from a virus that will get 
some sick, and kill some. In the U.S., according to math, about 1/300th of the population has gotten infected with 
Covid 19. Of those infected, 0.5% (approximately) will die. Maybe more, probably less. 

Can’t life go on, obviously modified for a bit, so that the vast majority can continue with their livelihood, yet still 
find a way to protect the sick?

Once, many years ago, a fire inspector was inspecting a one acre wildlife preserve where I was one of the caretakers. 
The inspector wanted the plants radically cut down. “You’d be happy if we cemented everything over,” I said 
cynically. “Yes, I would,” he replied, fully honest. 

You see, to the fire inspector, the whole world is about fire safety, and everything else is subservient to that goal. 
Things such as wildlife homes, oxygen production, aroma, beauty, vibrant gardens, permaculture, et al, are less 
than meaningful concepts. Everything is about fire-safety.

I fear that in the zeal to protect people from the novel Covid virus, our “leaders” have become that fire inspector, 
with the belief that everything is suddenly subservient to the goal of virus protection and reduction, even those 
things that strengthen our immune systems and give us reasons to live. I fear that our “leaders” have become like 
the medieval doctors, who giddily declared, “The surgery was a success, but the patient died.”


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