pB:6, v17.17 — Opinion — Mountain Views News

Opinion

Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 29, 2023

MVNews this week: Page B:6

OPINION

Mountain View News Saturday, April 29, 2023

RICH JOHNSON

NOW THAT’S RICH

STUART TOLCHIN

MOUNTAIN
VIEWS

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PUT THE LIGHTS ON

SHARED BIRTHDAY
CELEBRATION

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Why do children ask questions? I have faint memories of asking
my Mommy questions at a very young age. The exchange
typically went like this:

Richie: “Why?”

Mommy: “Because!”

Richie: “Why not?”

Mommy: “Because I said so!”

I don’t fault my mom. She had a tough slug: She gave birth to two sets of twins in 13
months. (My twin sister Ruth and I were born on Halloween. My younger brother
Roger and his twin Elizabeth were born on Thanksgiving a year later.)

Now don’t get me wrong…Mom did have help. (No, not Dad, he took off.) Mom enlisted
my older half-sister, Cheryl. Cheryl was 8 when Ruth and I were born. Tough
years for Cheryl lol. She had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. (Kudos to Martha and
the Vandellas!)

Back to questions. Questions were not encouraged in the Johnson Household. Though
I remember my mom often staring at the sky and asking God, “Why me?” She was
probably joined by my older sister. No answers came forth.

I don’t blame mom. And fortunately, I never forgot and committed to answering questions
asked not only by my kids, but by every child I had the pleasure to engage in conversation.
I also discovered there’s enjoyment and humor in engaging in conversation
with children. As old time television host Art Linkeletter said, “Kids say the darndest
things”.

In fact, it’s been a few years since I reprinted my favorite column entitled “First Graders
Take on Proverbs”. I visited a first grade class at Bethany School in town, had the
students sit on the floor with me. I recited the first part of a proverb and asked them
to finish it. The results:

Better to be safe than…………………….punch a 5th grader!

Strike while the………………………….bug is close!

It’s always darkest before…………….....daylight savings time!

Never underestimate the power of………termites!

Don’t bite the hand that…………………looks dirty!

A miss is as good as a……………………mr.!

You can’t teach an old dog………………math!

If you lie down with dogs, you…………..will stink in the morning!

Love all, but trust………………………...me!

An idle mind is.…………………………..the best way to relax!

Where there’s smoke, there’s…………….pollution!

A penny saved is………………………….not much!

Two is company, three’s………………….the musketeers!

Children should be seen and not………….spanked or grounded!

If at first you don’t succeed………………get new batteries!

You get out of something what you………see pictured on the box!

When the blind lead the blind…………….get out of the way!

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you. Cry and…….you have to blow your nose!

God gave us two ears and one mouth. I think God was trying to make a point as to the
recommended ratio of listening to speaking. Greek philosophers Epictetus, Diogenes
and Zeno also chimed in on the importance of the ration.

Speaking of chiming in, listen to the sound of me chiming out…Have a wonderful
week!

P.S. My half sister Cheryl is still around and yes, she still takes my calls.

Isn’t that right Cheryl? (sound of crickets emerges amidst the silence lol).

April 26th is my 79th Birthday and I have decided
to share my celebration with you and share the history
and pleasures of where I am fortunate to live. Sierra
Madre is the unique small town of about 10.000 people
in which my home is located. Actually, I live in what is
known to locals as the lower canyon which is an area hidden in the foothills
that is the home of about a thousand people. This lower canyon is a wonderful
place, hidden in the foothills which when I moved here about 43 years ago was
peopled by scientists, writers, artists, and professors. .

I learned much of the history, some of which might be mythic, from
older residents who have now passed away. From Old George, who lived most
of his ninety years in this canyon I learned that at one time certain “mafia”
people were residents who had managed the construction of underground hospitals
to secretly treat injured personnel (if that’s the proper word) who needed
medical help. Additionally, he told me that some of the churches and religious
schools located in the flatlands of Sierra Madre Made were constructed to hide
from the public eye the nefarious activities that were going on above.

The reason so many interesting people gathered here was the proximity
to so many unique places of interest. From the corner of the street I can look
down and see the famous Santa Anita Race Track. When I first moved in, before
the existence of IPhones, I met a man standing on the top of the hill with
a view below who participated in what I believe is called a ”post result betting
system” relying on information signaled from below to someone higher on the
hill who would signal the confederate up here. That person would be on the
phone with his bookie during the race and would make a large bet immediately
after already knowing the result. Who knows—maybe they made money?

The explanation for the unusual select population that lived in the
canyon was not only its natural beauty but also its proximity to some rather
unique places. My home is within fifteen or so minutes away, not only from
the Racetrack, but also from Cal Tech, JPL, the Arcadia Arboretum, the City
of Hope Hospital, the Huntington Library, and just a little further away is the
Rose Bowl, the home of UCLA Football. Over time I had neighbors who wrote
television shows, were epigenesists at the City of Hope, wrote novels, were busy
inventors, and College level coaches. Many are still my friends,

Over time the increase in residential costs has resulted in newly arriving
wealthier residents. That doesn’t bother me much but I believe these newer
residents have caused the end of a unique Sierra Madre traffic condition which
was and still sometimes is a source of great amusement for me. This is the delay
at a 4-way stop sign at which all true canyon residents attempt to waive the
other cars to proceed rather be the first one across the intersection. Nothing
could be further away from the typical behavior in West Los Angeles, where I
had formerly lived, where everyone is in a great hurry.

Before I finish I want you to know what might have been what first
attracted me to Sierra Madre. Driving up Mountain Trail, the street that allows
one to enter the Canyon, I was surrounded by beautiful Jacaranda purple
leaved trees. This only occurs at certain times during the year but I remember
thinking living here “I could never be unhappy again”. Of course this was a bit
over optimistic but I put such language in one of my articles and a few months
later a neighbor quoted that language back to me.

A final word. At my age no home could be more convenient than the
one I have which allows me after going down the hill to turn left on Sierra
Madre Blvd. to reach the low-priced golf course, or to turn right and arrive at
Kaiser Medical Center.

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