Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 31, 2021

OPINION 13 
Mountain Views News Saturday, July 31, 2021 OPINION 13 
Mountain Views News Saturday, July 31, 2021 
MOUNTAIN 

VIEWS 

NEWS 

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson 

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR 

Dean Lee 

PRODUCTION 

SALES 

Patricia Colonello 
626-355-2737 
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WEBMASTER 

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Stuart Tolchin 
Dinah Chong WatkinsAudrey SwansonMary Lou CaldwellKevin McGuire 
Chris Leclerc 
Bob Eklund 
Howard 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 

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STUART TOLCHIN 

PUT THE LIGHTS ON 
PERSUASION 


I want to be able to reach inside of people and yell 
‘DO SOMETHING”. I want people to drop their shields and 
allow for a kind of communication that reaches inside. As 
far as I can tell we, all of us, are in the midst of a climate 
crisis that threatens our very EXISTENCE. That is what is 
meant by an “existential” crisis. Existential, that is intended 
to signify a threat to our very existence; but it is an academic 
sounding word that we hear often and to which we are benumbed. 
As our existence is threatened it appears that we all 
are aware of the threat but do little but complain. 

What or who is to blame for this global paralysis in the face of possible or even 
probable annihilation? Just to show you how smart I am or would like to think I am, I 
blame our whole Western Education or lack of Education system. What we call education 
mainly consists of sitting quietly at our desks and listen or quasi-listening to what 
the adult in front of the class tells us. We are also asked to read books, another way of 
keeping many of us passive and controlled. We are then “tested” to see how much of 
this stuff we can regurgitate. This is not a system to educate, it is a system to maintain 
control and order. Individuals like me and probably you who were able readers went 
to school and to college and ended up with “professions” that lead to fairly comfortable 
lives that did not threaten the status quo. We think ourselves good citizens if we follow 
our diets, exercise regularly, keep our dogs on a leash and pick up their poop. Basically 
we are well-behaved benumbed robots. Of course there are a group of successful persuaders 
who have manipulated many of us to willingly pay $3.50 for a cup of coffee with 
a fancy name.

 Think of Richard Branson, who after his space flight, told the world that he 
dropped out of school when he was 15. This information actually penetrated me. There 
is a kind of person who is as able and talented as anyone else but differs in that they 
cannot tolerate being made into controlled passive automatons as they waste their teenage 
years sitting dumbly in nonsensical classes. These folk “drop out” and occasionally 
succeed in creating new exciting projects that often threaten the status quo but cannot 
be ignored. I think they are the potential persuaders. 

Sixty years ago I remember Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Babba Ram 
Das), Harvard Professors no less, advising, screaming that we should all drop out. Well, 
I like everyone else I know, ignored their pleas and I practiced as a lawyer for 52 years 
and supported my family and didn’t threaten anybody. Now as I see the entire planet 
being destroyed by the very projects and enterprises we were taught to follow in School. 
All I can think of is to follow the model of Bartleby the Scrivener, a character in Herman 
Melville’s last short story. Bartleby, who had the job of alphabetizing mail in the dead 
letter office prior to that mail being burned, finally simply stopped participating in the 
world and explained “I prefer not to”. This passive resistance caused the world to take 
notice. Maybe that’s all we can do now. Stop participating in a world that is destroying 
itself. Maybe ignore stop lights and cause traffic jams or stop paying bills or stop going 
to school or stop working, or putting our money in banks. Maybe if enough of us just 
STOP those in control will wake up and realize that it is now demanded that everything 
possible be done to save all of us. We can act by not acting, being so out of control that 
eventually those that can act to do something actually do it!! 

Maybe not acting is not enough but remember by not acting I do not suggest 
that that we stop being aware and stop being concerned. All I am asking is that we find 
a way to influence the controllers of the world to use their magic and PERSUADE all 
the rest of us to act in our own self-interest and preserve our specie. Sadly, this is something 
we were not taught in School, but I believe that there are others who learned how 
to do it along the way and we must reach them to stop selling us stuff and to use their 
manipulative talents for a global benefit. 

Maybe we can do it by tax breaks! 

DINAH CHONG WATKINS 


CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE WRONG KIND 
PREPPERS VS. HOARDERS 

That gap-toothed grin leered at me, jammed underneath 
the stubby feet of my dresser. I got used to its aggressive 

scent of pink bubblegum that hung about like a fog. I 
hooked my foot around its rounded body and pulled it out, a cloud of 
wispy dust bunnies swirled in its wake. It was a pretty good Halloween 
haul, the orange, plastic pumpkin still three quarters full even though it 
was now summer. My favorites were still there - miniature Kit Kats, Hershey 
Bars, boxes of Smarties, then the cheap fillers - candy necklaces, Bazooka 
bubble gum, lollipops, and rolls of tooth-chipping Sweet Tarts. My 
best find was lying at the top of the pile - a tiny bag of Jelly Babies. I ripped 
the package open and chose a grape-flavored baby to be sacrificed into my 
cavity-filled, Godzilla jaws. Alas, the soft and squishy Jelly Baby of October 
had hardened into this angry, chalky tike of July. That was my first indication, 
was I by nature - a Hoarder or a Prepper? 

Parents leave legacies to their children. My mom's was never buy it unless 
it’s on sale. My dad’s was only buy multiples if you’re sure you’re going to 
use them all. So my heart flutters every time Vons has a sale on gallon jugs 
of Drinking Water. Living in a High Risk Fire Zone, we’re encouraged to 
have an adequate supply of water in case of emergencies. I load up the 
U-Haul and Crystal Spring my cabinets full. But let’s not forget that other 
vital necessity, what drives panic runs at the market and muscle-bound 
bodybuilders to shake in their knees at the thought of doing without - toilet 
paper. Not for me the amateur-level Mega or even Super Mega rolls of 
TP - I order the Charmin's Forever Roll, a tow truck wheel of toilet paper. 
Stacked together, a half dozen Forever Rolls and a fitted sheet can substitute 
for a Queen sized bed. 

Before Amazon, Google and Pinterest there was the mail-order catalogue. 
My favorite was from Canadian Tire, it was a department store for the 
rotary phone generation. Everything for the home, outdoors and tires to 
get you there. Religiously, I dog eared the camping section. Tents, portable 
cooking stoves, sub-zero chill sleeping bags, and the 8-in-1 Swiss Army 
knives with the metal toothpick appendage was on my Wish List. Wishing 
as opposed to Buying, because for me, a Holiday Inn Express was as much 
“roughing it” as I wanted to go. The thought though, of being prepared 
for any disaster, to shake off the modern-day comforts of running water 
and electricity for my sous-vide machine and face Mother Nature mano o 
mano was intoxicating. 

All I knew was I was going to need stuff. Survival stuff. Camouflage tank 
tops, cargo pants, a 10 inch Bowie knife and bandannas from the Rambo 
line of First Blood fashion goods. And from Prepper's Paradise, a 30 day 
supply bucket of MREs - dehydrated food packs with a 25 year shelf life. I 
plan on meeting Armageddon with a paper plate of reconstituted Creamy 
Stroganoff accompanied by a side of Cheese sauce. 

I prepare my Bug-Out bag of “Essentials” -moisturizer, rice cooker, pillows 
for my bed, back and butt. After adding the First Aid kit, dog dish, XBox, 
MREs and TP, I rent an additional U-Haul and park it in the driveway. 

The difference between Preppers and Hoarders is Preppers rotate their 
food supply every few years while Hoarders archive it, building a ad hoc 
museum for Teriyaki Spam in the crawl space. And while my husband is 
impressed with my forward planning when I bring a six-pack of flashlights 
home, he’s not so happy with the pallet of Q-Tips in the garage. 

Am I a Prepper or a Hoarder? The truth is - I like to buy stuff and not open 
the package. I like to prepare for something I hope will never happen but if 
it does, be confident in knowing I’ll have an ample supply of TP when the 
proverbial poop hits the fan. 

Email me at dinah@aletterfromabroad.comRead more at: https://aletterfromabroad.wordpress.com 

RICH JOHNSON NOW THAT’S RICH! 


AND NOW NOT STARRING… 

One of my favorite websites is Notstarring.com. 
Ever wonder what other actors may have been 
considered for the lead in a major motion picture? 
A terrific group of researchers wondered 
too. Thank you wondering social scientists! 

David Boreanaz star of Angel and Bones wanted 

to play Superman in the 2006 film Superman Returns. 
Jim Caviezel, star of The Passion of the Christ, was also considered 
but was considered too famous. Brandon Routh got the role. I 
liked his performance. 

Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars and The Good Place, was a contender 
for the role of Pepper Potts in Iron Man. Role went to Gwyneth 
Paltrow. 

Imagine Christopher Walken playing the lead in The Last Temptation 
of Christ? And director Francis Ford Coppola wanted Orson Welles to 
play Colonel Kurtz in the film Apocalypse Now. Marlon Brando got the 
role. 

Andrew Garfield auditioned for the role of Mark Zuckerberg in The 
Social Network. Mel Gibson, and Tim Curry auditioned to play Mozart 
in Amadeus. Mick Jagger wanted the role of Dr. Frank N. Furter in The 
Rocky Horror Picture Show. Jagger also auditioned to play Antonio Salieri 
in Amadeus, the part that went to F. Murray Abraham. Speaking 
of Mick, he also wanted to be Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror 
Picture Show. Tim Curry got the part. 

In the Batman movie, The Dark Knight, Paul Bettany, Adrien Brody, 
Sam Rockwell, and Robin Williams applied for the role of the Joker, 
which ultimately went to Heath Ledger. 

And the wonderful 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood starring 
Errol Flynn had originally planned to star James Cagney (Wouldn’t that 
have been different?) Douglas Fairbanks Jr., also turned down the part 
because his father had done a silent version in 1922. David Niven had 
been intended for the role of Will Scarlett but was off vacationing. 

And finally, it is always fun to enlighten you to the actors considered for 
the lead in the movie Patton. Of course the Oscar winning performance 
went to George C. Scott. The actors who turned down the role include, 
Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Telly Savalas and Rod Steiger. John 
Wayne wanted the role but the producer turned him down. 

I thought the role of Patton should have gone to Captain Stubing, aka 
Gavin MacLeod of Love Boat fame. 

Then again, what do I know?