Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 11, 2022

OPINIONOPINION B5B5 Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 11,2022 OPINIONOPINION B5B5 Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 11,2022 
MOUNTAIN 

VIEWS 

NEWS 

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson 

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR 

Dean Lee 

PRODUCTION 

SALES 

Patricia Colonello 
626-355-2737 
626-818-2698 

WEBMASTER 

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION 

Peter Lamendola 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Stuart Tolchin 
Audrey SwansonMeghan MalooleyMary 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 
LaQuetta Shamblee 

Mountain Views News 
has been adjudicated asa newspaper of GeneralCirculation for the County 
of Los Angeles in CourtCase number GS004724: 
for the City of SierraMadre; in Court CaseGS005940 and for the 
City of Monrovia in CourtCase No. GS006989 and 
is published every Saturday 
at 80 W. Sierra MadreBlvd., No. 327, Sierra 
Madre, California, 91024.
All contents are copyrighted 
and may not bereproduced without the 
express written consent ofthe publisher. All rights 
reserved. All submissions 
to this newspaper becomethe property of the Mountain 
Views News and maybe published in part or 
whole. 
Opinions and views expressed 
by the writersprinted in this paper donot necessarily expressthe views and opinionsof the publisher or staff 
of the Mountain Views 
News. 

Mountain Views News is 
wholly owned by GraceLorraine Publications,
and reserves the right torefuse publication of advertisements 
and other 
materials submitted for 
publication. 

Letters to the editor and 
correspondence should 
be sent to: 

Mountain Views News 
80 W. Sierra Madre Bl. 
#327 
Sierra Madre, Ca.
91024 

Phone: 626-355-2737 

Fax: 626-609-3285 

email: 

mtnviewsnews@aol.com 


A member 
of the 
California 
NewspaperPublishers 
Association 

Mountain Views News 

Mission Statement 

The traditions of 
community newspapers 
and the 
concerns of our readers 
are this newspaper’s 
top priorities. We 
support a prosperouscommunity of well-
informed citizens. We 
hold in high regard the 
valuesoftheexceptionalquality of life in our 
community, includingthe magnificence of 
our natural resources. 
Integritywillbeourguide. 


STUART TOLCHIN 
PUT THE LIGHTS ON 
WHEN WILL THINGS BE ALL RIGHT? 


Or is the proper spelling “alright”. Of course none of us are sure 

and perhaps there is no correct answer and the only thing we can all

agree on is that right now things just ain’t right. I intend the use of the 

term “all right” or whatever to bring to mind Mathew McConaughey’s

favorite catch-phrase as I attempt to make some sense of what is going

on around us. If you don’t know McConaughey is a famous actor

from Uvalde Texas who was invited to the White House to make an 

emotional plea for sanity. At a time when we are all dazed, confused, 
and divided it was hoped that a presentation by the actor could reach everyone—clearly he wasn’tacting. According to NBC News his speech did what President Biden couldn’t do and madehands down the most powerful case for gun control ever presented in the “modern era” whateverthat is supposed to mean. Ironically the speech was given from the podium of the James S. Bradybriefing room in the White House - named after the press-secretary who was critically woundedin the attempt to assassinate then President Ronald Reagan. What a confused history we have. 

Certainly this country has a mental health problem. The Reagan assassination attemptjust over 40 years ago but so much has happened since that it seems like ancient history. The 
mental health problem is one that affects not only the “lone gunmen” or the people living on 
the streets, it is a condition that surrounds all of us. Last week a friend of mine was visiting hisfather in Tulsa Oklahoma and was sitting in a coffee shop across from the hospital when theshooting took place on the campus of the Saint Francis Health System. Of course there are so 
many shootings you may have already forgotten about this one, after all, it happened more thana week ago.

The facts of the St. Francis shooting were that the shooter had recently been operated onbut complained of multiple pains following the surgery. Last Wednesday, June 1, the shootercalled the operating doctor’s office seeking additional care and treatment for his aching back.
This was less than two weeks after the shooting in Uvalde that brought Mathew McConaugheyto the White House. On June 1 the St. Francis dragged himself to a gun store, the term “gunstore” actually sickens me. He legally purchased an AR15 style rifle. Later that same afternoon heentered the Medical office building and shot his surgeon and three other people before shootinghimself. A part of this horrible story that is particularly vivid for me is that the shooter obviouslydisplaying symptoms showing that something was wrong could simply walk into the store andlegally purchase the gun, no questions asked.

We all understand that the law requires bartenders and other servers of alcohol to refuseto deliver more drinks wen the customer displays symptoms of drunkenness. Sure that makessense and there are few complaints about such a policy. Aren’t there any prohibitions againstlegally providing customers with lethal weapons when there is obviously something wrong? To 
not have such required prohibitions is obviously crazy as is the fact that as of today there havebeen 233 mass shootings in the US this year according to the Gun Violence Archive quoted byCNN. 

For me it is clear that the main obligation of a government, any government, is to doeverything that can be done to provide a feeling of safety to it’s inhabitants. Right now I,and most 
everyone I know, are not feeling safe. There have been recent shootings right here in Pasadenaand my sister tells me that people are afraid to let their children play in their own front yards.
Every day the multiple block long lines of parents parked waiting to pick up their children fromschool is testimony that parents fear for the lives of their children as they walk home, To allow 
this situation to continue is to my mind insane. Certainly, there are many other problems inthis society but the absence of gun laws here, as opposed to the laws restricting or prohibiting 
guns present in almost every “civilized“ society, scream for something to be done. As Mathew 
McConaughey has made so clear, conditions here are not “all right “ no mater how you spell it. Ineed to stop now in order to watch the public hearings regarding the insurrection of January 6thpossibly, no certainly, describing actions by the elected President of the United States involvementin trying to overturn the government. 

Have a nice week. 

TOM PURCELL 
LEARNING TO ENJOY LIFE’S REAL 
AGITATIONS 


Americans are so angry about so many things — with partisan politics topping 

the list. 
Politics is important, to be sure, because as we know from experience the ideas 
and policies implemented by our highly fallible government leaders can have 
beneficial and/or grave outcomes. 

But in the social media era — as we carry our angry politics on our smartphones 
in our pockets all day — it’s taking up much more of our daily lives, and making 
us more miserable than ever. 

As I get older — as I realize I’ve taken politics a little too seriously over time — the real agitations of 

everyday life are becoming much more noticeable to me. 
For example, I love banana cream pie, but few restaurants serve it because the bananas turn brown 
before all the pie is sold and people who don’t know their bananas won’t buy it. 

Which means I must go without it. 
How about parking tickets? 
I’ve had far too many for one man. Lots and lots of them. 
I can afford parking tickets, but, boy, do they fry my bacon — especially when the meter maid is sticking 

the ticket under my windshield wiper as I walk back to my truck. 

I especially dislike how “squeeze” mayonnaise dispensers stop dispensing when only half of the mayo 
in the bottle is gone. 
While we’re on condiments, I really hate how that vinegary water comes out of the yellow mustard 

bottle and saturates your burger with ick before any mustard ever comes out. 
Or how about coffee? 
The first cup every morning is glorious, but why is the second always a monumental let down? 
And why do they put cotton in my vitamin bottles that my fingers are too fat to remove?

Same with texting. My fingers are too big to text — so I use voice translate, which mangles my words 
and leaves my friends and loved ones in a perpetual state of confusion. 
A few more daily agitations I’d like to point out: 

– Summer goes by way too fast every year. Why doesn’t winter do that? 
– I used to think that computing power and access to endless information would make us all smarter,
so why are they making us less nimble and much more rigid-minded? 
– Why is it so that in a large, wonderful country like ours, a handful of people too often have way too
much power to influence what we think and do by restricting what we read, see or say on social media? 
I love freedom, but the trouble with freedom — real, genuine freedom — is that when you truly embrace 
it you unleash all that is good in the human heart as well as things we may find unpleasant. 

I am sorry so many humans are suffering in our world and that troubles me most of all. 

We may try to blind ourselves to it, but it does have a way of clarifying your mind and making you 
realize how good we have it. 
It’s a realization too few of us are able to have even though we live in a free, prosperous place, albeit one 

with imperfections that need to be worked on. 

In any event, there are a lot of things more agitating to our daily lives than the improper place we give 
to hyper-partisan politics. 
How much better off we’d be if more people put on their curmudgeon glasses and started enjoying real 

agitations as I am learning to do! 
Because real daily agitation abounds, people. Now open your eyes and enjoy it like I am learning to do! 

Tom Purcell is an author and humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Email him at Tom@
TomPurcell.com. 

RICH & FAMOUS 


WHY WE DO 
WHAT WE DO? 

I apologize for our 

absence from the paper

last week. I’m certain 

cyber terrorists from 

the planet Goulash 

intercepted the column 

somewhere in the ether. We did receive 

word the Goulashian’s intentions were honorable. They seekto build a new society drawing from the profound and brilliantutterances of Famous, counterbalanced with the lunacy for whichI, yours truly am known for worldwide apparently throughout theuniverse. Here is last weeks column. 

The Mountain Views News writers surrounding Famous and Italk about important serious, and vital stuff. So, as many of youknow, Famous and I prefer to counterbalance important anduseful with unnecessary and feckless. This is done in the hopesof lifting your spirits in these trying times…and rebuildingcrumbling interplanetary societies. 

French writer Colette, best known for her play and film, “Gigi”
said, “I’ve had such a wonderful life. Too bad I didn’t realize itsooner.” Famous and I hope you realize the good in your life nowand enjoy it. 

Now, onto this last week’s cornucopia of useless information.

1. Who was the first primetime television couple to beshown in bed together? Fred and Wilma Flintstone 
2. What was the first novel ever written on a typewriter?
Tom Sawyer
3. Are there any national monuments that move? Yes, SanFrancisco Cable Cars 
4. What do you get when you multiply 111,111,111 times 
111,111,111? 12,345,678,987,654,321. (We tested this one)
5. What do bulletproof vest, fire escapes, windshield wipers,
and laser printers all have in common? They were invented by 
women. 
Now, you know you are living in the 21st Century when… 

1. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years. 
2. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your familyof three. 
3. You get up in the morning and go on-line before gettingyour coffee.
4. You text the person who works at the desk next to you. 
5. You forget your cell phone at home, panic, turnaroundand go get it. 
Some of my favorite headlines (actual):

1. Nine Volunteers Put in Church Furnace 
2. Stolen Painting Found by Tree 
3. Man Found Dead in Cemetery
4. Tokyo Train Crash; 4 Killed, 3 Seriously
5. Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop: Find Weapons 
6. Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures 
7. Police Help Dog Bite Victim 
8. Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge 
Tombstones Suggestions:
“What are you looking at?”
“I told you I was ill!”
“Over my dead body!”
“Does anyone have a shovel?”
“Been Better!” 
“Pardon me for not rising.”
“Kaput.”
“Offline.” 
“Go away-I’m asleep.” 

And mine (pending)? “The shell is here, the nut is gone.” 

JJ Jukebox, my 50’s, 60’s and 70’s funrock band will be performingFriday evening, June 17 at the Saltner Wine Bar in Monrovia from6-9pm. A week later, we will be playing Saturday, June 25 6:30 –
9:30pm at Nano Café in Sierra Madre. Reservations recommendedat Nano’s (626) 325-3334. Hope to see you at both venues! 

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