p13, v17.20 — Opinion — Mountain Views News

Opinion

Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 20, 2023

MVNews this week: Page 13

OPINION

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 20, 2023

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 Swanson

Meghan Malooley

Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Dinah Chong Watkins

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills

Rich Johnson

Lori Ann Harris

Rev. James Snyder

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

STUART TOLCHIN

DINAH CHONG WATKINS

RICH JOHNSON

NOW THAT’S RICH

PUT THE LIGHTS ON

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
OF THE WRONG KIND

STU'S DREAM

SONG TITLES & ALL
THAT JAZZ

SERVING THOSE WE
PROTECT

The late afternoon sun blazed down
as only a SoCal springtime can. As I
walked by the front door, I noticed - almost
imperceptibly, a white SUV outside
in the driveway. It must be Brett I
thought, he and my husband were having a Buds, Beer and
Burgers night out.

When I returned a few minutes later, a Sierra Madre Police
Officer was standing alongside the SUV, the driveway exit
blocked by the police cruiser. I went outside, Officer Yokoyama
asked me if I knew the driver.

“I've never seen him before.” I replied.

The SUV had nowhere to go. The officer circled the vehicle,
flashlight in hand, the bright beams breaking through the
vehicle’s dark tinted windows. Officer Yokoyama called for
backup.

It was a tense moment. Alone, by himself, I didn’t know if
my being out there was helpful or a distraction to the officer,
I went back inside, with my muscles of jelly, this was the safest
move for both of us. Soon after, additional SMPD units
arrived at the house. Calmly and professionally they fanned
out, taking up spots around the driveway and the SUV.

The officers closest to the vehicle drew their weapons. I
moved away from the front door in case something went
sideways. I had the luxury of that, the officers didn’t. The
driver, a burley man who had a serious set of biceps was ordered
out, he complied and was searched, handcuffed and
taken down to the curb. Relived, I thought it was over but
the officers remained in position, to my surprise another
even burlier man was ordered to step out, his bulging biceps
probably trained the driver’s biceps. Again, he was searched,
handcuffed and taken to the curbside. My nerves jingled jangled,
it was definitely time for a shot of Hershey's chocolate
syrup, but no - a third man was ordered to come out and he
then joined the others.

The officers searched the vehicle and found sturdy masks,
gloves and the type of tools often used in burglaries. Days
earlier, my neighbor a few houses away had their home broken
into. Fortunately, no one was home except their feisty
dogs and the security alarm that deterred the thieves.

As we found out later, with the recent break-in mind, Officer
Yokoyama spotted the white SUV trolling the area, his
instincts and experience of 30+ years of service in the LA
Sheriff’s Department and the SMPD, gave him pause. After
checking with his sources about the residents of the neighborhood,
Officer Yokoyama followed the SUV, which ended
up in our driveway.

It was the moment when the officers drew their weapons and
I moved to safer ground that for me, crystallized the courage,
bravery and dedication these men and women of the police
force embody day after day to serve the public. This was not
a cozy hour of watching “The Rookie” while simultaneously
chowing on a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, I was honestly
scared when the incident was going down and thought about
what might had happened if not for the SMPD.

“Heroes” is an overworked term these days, we applaud
imaginary characters onscreen, sandwiches, even showing
up for work on time as worthy of the title but amongst us
there are real heroes; who go forward when we fall back, who
turn to face the unexpected even while prepared for
the worst, who hold out their hand at the time we
need it most.

In the Foothill communities, we are fortunate and blessed to
enjoy the advantages and camaraderie of small town life with
the small town police departments that provide us safety and
security in our homes and on the streets. They are the bona
fide heroes, let’s give them a fully deserved measure of our
gratitude and thanks.

Dinah Chong Watkins column appears every 1st and 3rd Saturday
of the month.

I awaken each morning
with the hope of making a contribution
to the betterment of the
world around me including myself---
but, of course I don’t know
what to do. My first thought is to
feed my dog. He sleeps in my (actually
our) bed and reminds me when it is time to get
up. We go downstairs and I open the front door to let
him do his business and I look to the East to see the
rising sun and to feel the temperature. There was a
time, probably decades ago, when after going outside
I walked the circle around our house and reached a
point where I could watch the sun rise. As it rose I
would do some sort of simple calisthenics like “jumping
jacks” and experience a kind of bonding with the
universe as we began the new day together. Now my
jumping jack days are pretty much over. I content
myself with leaving the front door open until my dog
leads me back into the house. I walk across our entry
room to the West side of the house and pull back the
curtains which my wife has closed sometime during
the night. I look across at the Mount Wilson trail to
see if there are already people climbing the trail and
there generally are.

I feel a connection to these people and I continue
that feeling by bringing my dog fresh water and
spreading his food on his dish. There came a day
when my son and I, contrary to the wishes of my wife,
went to a dog shelter in Pomona with the intent to
bring home a dog. We saw the little dog which had
been found abandoned the day before and were allowed
to buy it. As a part of the purchase I was asked
to name the dog. I thought for just a moment and
said “Dreamy” and presto- our dog D r e a m y” was a
reality. Only days later, or perhaps after even a week,
did I realize that the letters D R E A M were the very
same letters contained in the name of our city, Sierra
MADRE, which for me is a kind of mystical discovery.

Our ability and willingness to dream is our
connection to the future. It is the realization that
somehow we fit in to the ever-changing, unexpected
dynamic miracle of existence. One day I realized that
my own name STUart is the manifestation of another
almost unrecognized connection. Those letter S T U
are, as far as I know, the only 3 consecutive letters in
the English Alphabet that combine to form a proper
name, my name. When asked to spell my name my
3 and a half year-old granddaughter will recite the
whole alphabet beginning with the letter A and continuing
to the letter R. She then pauses and recites S
T U and looks at me and says “that’s you Grandpa!”
Somehow this is the realization of a dream I did not
know I had. Names are important!

Life is a mystery, a continuing mystery, and
the more we through the efforts of our most brilliant
scientists try to understand and explain the more
the deeper the mystery remains unsolved. The term
“random autonomous movement” is bandied about.
To me this implies that any attempt at explanation is
limited but the point is that it all keeps moving and
we and everything else are parts of that movement.

Perhaps, that is a roundabout way of talking about
God and understanding that God is in all of us which
to me means that we are all a part of the Big Dream?
Referring back to my earlier paragraphs, the sun may
well rise without us but we can help it along by being
aware of it as much as we can and beyond dreaming,
doing what we know must be done like pulling the
curtains, putting on the lights, and feeding the dog.
There is a kind of connection; a kind of autonomous
universal Justice operating our creation and existence.
By the way, can you guess or dream my granddaughter’s
name?

Song Titles and All That Jazz

In addition to being a member
of a very, very good rock and roll
band…he said humbly, I have
also written a number of songs
over the years. And a question that, on occasion, comes
up, “Rich, which came first, the song, the music, or the
title of the song”.

Good question. The simple fact of the matter is sometimes
the music comes first, sometimes the lyrics come
first and sometimes the title comes first. If you asked
me if I have a preference, I like to write the song, lyrics
and music first, as the title might not fit the song when
finished.

That got me wondering if there were famous songs out
there that originally had different song titles. So, I consulted
the cosmic oracle and this is what I came up:

“Yesterday” by the Beatles. Paul McCartney came up
with the first three notes equaled 3 syllables. As he was
crafting the song, he didn’t know it would ultimately
become “Yesterday”. His working title was…are you
ready…“Scrambled Eggs”.

The other half of the famous songwriting duo “Lennon
& McCartney” was working on a song titled "Keep Your
Hands Off My Babe”. Ultimately we grew to know the
song as “Help”.

You all remember “Fly Me to the Moon” Frank Sinatra
(and many others) recorded it. Original title was “In
Other Words”.

Scottish rock and roller, Sheena Easton, had a hit in 1981,
with a great tune called “Morning Train”. Original title
of Sheena’s song was “9 to 5” but Dolly Parton had a hit
song (and a movie) in 1980 with the movie (and song)
title “9 to 5”.

Sting, bass player and lead singer with “The Police”
wrote a song originally titled “I’ll Be Watching You”. We
all know and love it as “Every Breath You Take”. Interesting
side note on this song. Sting chuckles when he thinks
about how this song has become a favorite wedding
song. According to him, and he should know, it was not
written as a love song. It was a song about a stalker lol.

Barry Manilow’s first hit was the song “Mandy”. The
song was originally titled “Brandy” but a group called
the “Looking Glass” beat Barry to the punch and had
a hit with a song you may remember, “Brandy (You’re a
Fine Girl)”. Oops, new name needed Barry.

If you’re old enough to remember the 1963 song “If You
Wanna Be Happy” recorded by Jimmy Soul, you may be
surprised to learn it was written by a Trinidadian calypsonian
named “Roaring Lion” and recorded in 1934. The
title of the song back then was “Ugly Woman”. Hence the
first verse of the song is:

“If you want to be happy for the rest of your life

Don’t a make a pretty woman your wife

So, for my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you!”

Want to know what the longest title of any commercially
published song is? Written in 1947 by American Composer
Hoagy Carmichael, here goes:

“I’m a Cranky Old Yank, in a Clanky Old Tank, on the
Streets of Yokohama, with my Honolulu Mama, Doin’
Those Beat-o, Beat-o, Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito
Blues”.

Speaking of rock and roll, my band, JJ Jukebox is playing
Saturday night, June 10th at Nano Café. 6:30-9:30pm.
Come have dinner, adult beverages and dancing to vintage
rock and roll. Call (626) 325-3334 to make reservations.
No cover. Just good food, friends and music.

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DEAR "YES ON MEASURE M VOTERS"

Dear “Yes on Measure M” Voters,

You did it and Sierra Madre is the winner! Congratulations and thank you for your
commitment to civic duty and your “yes vote” for the Measure M Special Election
on 5/9/23.

This was a community collaborative effort. Some of you authored articles/letters
published in the “Mountain Views News” and “Colorado Boulevard” and endorsed
our “Yes on M Sierra Madre” campaign to get the word out, as well as attended the
Measure M Debate. Others wrote on blogs and posted on Facebook with researched
and accurate facts to answer the “No on M” misinformation posted on Facebook,
mail ads, and elsewhere. You posted the Yes on M Sierra Madre yard signs to show
your support. You donated funds, delivered signs, flyers, and door hangers, spoke
with your neighbors and friends, and made phone calls.

Your support has upheld the integrity of the Planning Commissioners’ careful deliberations
and the Sierra Madre City Council Members’ approval process. You endorsed
the Mater Dolorosa Passionists’ property rights to submit a plan and have it
evaluated, discussed, shared with the community, and approved.

More importantly, you voted!

You showed the true character of the people of Sierra Madre to come together to do
what is right for our beloved City. The Yes on M Sierra Madre campaign was one
that we can all be proud of.

Now I hope that we can all put our differences behind us and work together for the
good of Sierra Madre.

Thank you, thank you, thank you,

Pat Alcorn, Chairperson,

Yes on M Sierra Madre Committee

P.S. No thank you would be complete unless we acknowledge the Editor of the
Mountain Views News, Susan Henderson. Susan not only published the official voting
information, including voting sites and ballot arguments but also allowed both
sides of the question to present their views about the project and the referendum
itself. Her “conversation” pages appeared weekly throughout the campaign and the
articles/letters were printed without editing. Thank you Susan for giving us all a
voice in this important discussion. P

LEGAL NOTICESLEGAL NOTICES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2023-
101514

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: ALTAMIRA
CURBSIDE TRANSPORT, 1968 NEW AVENUE C, SAN
GABRIEL, CA 91776. Full name of registrant(s) is (are) JUAN
J SUAREZ ALTAMIRANO, 1968 NEW AVENUE C, SAN
GABRIEL, CA 91776. This Business is conducted by: AN
INDIVIDUAL. Signed; JUAN J SUAREZ ALTAMIRANO/
OWNER. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of
Los Angeles County on 05/08/2023. The registrant(s) has (have)
commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name
or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE- This Fictitious Name
Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office
of the County Clerk. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement
must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does
not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business
Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or
common law (See section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions
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