Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 28, 2020

MVNews this week:  Page 3

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 28, 2020 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis


“Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart 
be light.

From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.” Ralph 
Blane & Hugh Martin

Remember that? Judy Garland singing to Margaret 
O’Brien in the 1944 movie, “Meet Me in St. Louis.” You 
probably do as this is a perennial favorite Christmas 
movie, along with “Miracle on 34th Street,” “It’s a 
Wonderful Life,” and about 17 different versions of 
Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” My least favorite version: 
Bill Murray in “Scrooged.” I am admitting publicly that I 
like “Home Alone” from 1990 with Macauley Culkin as 
the little kid who gets left behind when his family goes on 
vacation, but he takes on New York, various villains, and 
wins! “The Polar Express” with Tom Hanks is wonderful 
-of course, anything Tom Hanks does is pretty much
great. I liked the first “The Santa Clause” with Tim Allen
(1994) but #2 and #3 were pretty lame. My all-time
favorite is “A Christmas Story” from 1983 where the kid gets his tongue stuck on the flagpole
as he was double-dog dared to do it. You remember - Ralphie wants a Red Ryder Air Rifle and
everybody keeps saying, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!”

I’ve been decorating and you probably have, too. That thing about waiting till after Thanksgiving 
to get out the decorations just doesn’t seem to apply this year. Like I said last week, “We need a 
little Christmas…right this very minute! So, the lighted houses are up on top of the bookcases and 
the two reindeer are brightly shining and slowly nodding their heads up and down out in front. 
John wouldn’t let me have those while we lived on Alegria but now that he’s celebrating Christmas 
in heaven, they’re out there lookin’ good. The neighbors across the street have a gorgeous display 
of lighted trees, deer and this snowman and we’re the most festive folks on the block. The star 
shower goes out today to light the front of the house and there’s another one shining on my tree. 
Real trees aren’t possible anymore for me, but the one I got from Michael’s Crafts a couple of years 
ago does a good job and all the ornaments we collected over the years look great on it. I miss that 
great Christmas tree smell, though. 

I’m about to put my CD of Star of Wonder – A Christmas Musical in my CD player, put the tree 
skirt around the bottom of the tree and open the ornament box. Hope yours is being ‘a merry 
little Christmas’ this year, in spite of the pandemic, and that your heart is indeed light. 

Walking Sierra Madre a few years ago, John and I, found a piece of paper on the sidewalk and 
this is what it said:

A Child’s Prayer of Thanks

Dear God,

I’m thankful for all You give,

For food,

For love,

A place to live,

I thank You for my family too,

And I want You to know

That I love You.

Amen.

I have kept this in the kitchen ever since and think it expresses pretty much everything for which 
we can be thankful. Sierra Madre is such a beautiful place, with our own personal mountains 
available for good long ‘look’ moments. Friendly people who smile and say Hello! when you pass 
them in front of Beantown or Starbucks socially distanced, of course. There are lovely homes on 
every street, trees galore, and the Christmas tree, crèche, menorah and dreidel in Kersting Court 
are more beautiful than ever this year. 

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of family, and we are better 
throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” 

Laura Ingalls Wilder

One of my favorite Christmas songs...written by me and my writing partner, David Wheatley, is 
“Think Joy!” from Star of Wonder – A Christmas Musical. The first and last verses are below here. 

“Christmas! It’s finally here! My favorite...favorite time of year!

Think mistletoe and holly...children’s faces jolly!

Carols on the radio...happy smiles each place you go,

Presents piled beneath the tree...some for you and some for me!

Best of all...the Christmas story,

Jesus left behind His glory!

A bright new star up in the sky,

Shepherds see and wonder why.

Angels sing of peace on earth,

It’s time, at last, Messiah’s birth!

A stable filled with heaven’s light,

The world will change this Christmas night.

Christmas! It’s almost here!

My favorite...favorite time of year.

Think....Joy!

Think....Peace!

Think....Christ!”

“May the simple joys of Christmas warm your heart, fill your home and last a lifetime.”

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Christmas is just a few short weeks 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/Ka1KYrONrd0


Don't Miss Sierra Madre's Version of 

The Academy Awards!

Winners will be announced at the Virtual Event.

Deadline for NOMINATIONS AND/ OR RESERVATIONS is 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2020!


December 5th Best Used Book Sale

 The Friends of the Sierra Madre Library are gathering books and 
DVDs for the December Drive-Thru Book Sale. It will be held on 
Saturday, December 5 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the parking 
lot at the library, 440 West Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre. Featured 
will be large grocery bags filled with books from the genres of 
History, Biography, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Home and Garden, Mystery/
Thrillers, Kids and Young Adults for only $5.00. In addition, there will be some DVD bags with 8 
films of Romance, Action, Drama, Comedy or Kids, also for $5.00 each.

 Enter the library parking lot from 440 West Sierra Madre Blvd. and give your order to the friendly Girl 
Scouts under the canopy. Drive on to the large container where masked and gloved volunteers will fill 
your order and load it. No need to leave your car! Exit the lot on Montecito Ave. It’s that easy.

 This sale is sponsored by the Friends of the Sierra Madre Public Library. All proceeds will be used to 
support programs, services and acquisitions for the library. For more information, please visit us at our 
web site www.sierramadrelibraryfriends.org., our Facebook page; or call 626-355-7186.

See you at the sale and thank you for helping the Friends support our wonderful library.

SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

 


November 15, to November 21, 2020 During this period the 
Sierra Madre Police Department responded to 164 calls for 
service.

Attempted Burglary 

On 11-17-20 Officers responded to the 00 block of S. Baldwin 
Ave regarding an attempted burglary. An employee discovered 
suspect(s) attempted to force open the doors of the 
building leading into the annex room. Case to Detectives

Phone Scam 

A resident in the 100 block of Mariposa Ave. filed a report at the station that she believed she 
had been scammed out of a large amount of cash by a person she meet on an online dating 
service. Case to Detectives

Thefts from Vehicles 

Sometime between 11-17-20 at 6:00PM and 11-18-20 at 8:40AM, unknown suspect(s) entered 
an unlocked vehicle in the 200 block of E. Sierra Madre Blvd. ransacked and took several 
personal items. Case to Detectives

On 11-18-20, officers responded to the 00 block of Esperanza Ave. regarding a vehicle burglary. 
The vehicle was parked inside an enclosed parking structure. The suspect(s) shattered 
the passenger side back window to gain access and took two suitcases. Case to Detectives

A woman called to report a theft from her unlocked vehicle in the 100 block of E. Highland 
Ave. Between 11-19-20 at 5:50PM and 11-20-20 at 6:50AM. Unknown suspect(s) stole cash 
along with several bank cards and attempted to use the cards at multiple locations.

Case to Detectives

Grand Theft 

On 11-18-20 a resident in the 300 block of Old Ranch Road received a fake email from 
suspect(s) pretending to be from Amazon. Suspect(s) convinced the victim to send them gift 
cards worth several thousand dollars. The victim also gave out personal information.

This investigation is ongoing


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