Sometimes the world doesn't give me both rain AND sun. Sometimes it's just sun, in which case I head over to the Sierra Madre Pool. What a great amenity the City provides for us! (I read on The Tattler that they want to cut the Parks and Recreation Department. Please don't, City of Sierra Madre. What would I do with my days when there is only sun?)
Other days the world provides me with only rain. Those are the days that I like to go to the Sierra Madre Library. Another great Sierra Madre treasure! (The Tattlers REALLY want to cut the library budget. Please don't, City of Sierra Madre. What would I do with my days when there is only rain?)
Only Dallas Raines knows if there is going to be the magical combination of both sun and rain to make rainbows over our beautiful mountains. I heart Dallas Raines! (Dallas Raines' son took full advantage of both the pool and the rec center. I am pretty sure he would be really sad if the Parks and Rec budget were slashed. Don't know that for a fact, so I'll have to ask him...)
As for unicorns? I'll see what I can do about that. I like little projects like that :)
27 comments:
Face it, you're obsessed with the Tattler. Please, go shave and then get a life.
Hear, hear for the Tattler Tattler!
How mean and immature the first comment is. If you have a point please say it without resorting to nastiness so you don't reflect so poorly on the "Tattlers", who indeed do have some valid points if you can get past the crazy ones.
Thanks for making me smile!
John Crawford is posting so many more of our comments. It's great. Thanks for what you are doing.
Please excuse the delays in posting comments. I spent the day with my family spreading good cheer, hand-delivering Christmas cards to friends and neighbors. Didn't want to spend my day hunched over a screen. I have gotten a lot of good suggestions from people and appreciate the positivity that is coming out.
@1:28pm @1:28 Hear, hear for the Tattler Tattler. And Yo-Yo Ma. And Boutros Boutros Ghali. Maybe we could all get together and eat cousous and mahi mahi :)
Cheers!
Somebody's claiming to have posted this on my blog and saying that I am not posting it. I promise you, it was not posted on my blog.
It's VERY well-written and I agree with most of it.
I am going to copy and paste it here. (So I guess I should credit John Crawford's site for this.) I currently have only one un-posted comment, which Sir Eric has claimed (although he posted it anonymously, which I think is weird. Sometimes he posts as himself. Sometimes anonymously. I wonder if he does that on his own site...) The un-posted comment accuses me of taking a name-brand controlled substance. I don't want him using my site for product placement :)
Anyway, here is the quote:
Lives that a lot of us lead are very busy. When you have a few minutes to get some facts where do you go, I go to a place where I can read the facts that are affecting the way of life here that I work to preserve. A lot of money comes into Sierra Madre that is spent to change us into a high density place like Pasadena and Monrovia. Those who want to change our way of life for profit are are all very nice and sweet people but they distort the facts to suit them. Most home owners don't have time or get paid to attend club meetings with the local politicians, we earn our living at other work. If I don't want sweet distorted info I read John Crawford's work for the bare facts, facts that are in line with Preserving our way of life here. Think about it, why is a lot of out side $$$$$ spent in Sierra Madre to change it? If you don't get out of town much to see the tough world we live in then your life is looking threw rose colored glasses. There are some uninformed and mean people here that are all smiles and sweetness that will do your family and our city harm, it's good to know who they are.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree with the general gist of your comment. I am genuinely interested in discussing this topic.
Is there a happy medium between low and high density? Like medium density? All joking aside is there any way for Tattlers and Tattler Tattlers to come to a reasonable compromise? Do you have any thoughts or ideas on this?
I REALLY did not get your comment, and I am very interested in getting a healthy dialog about this. So please try posting again.
Alrighty, a comment was just posted. And the commenter is not following the directions. My comment area clearly states: Watch the snarkiness. I have edited out the really mean parts, but here are some parts of it:
"7:29 Sierra Madre Tattler Tattler is Stuart Johnson, of sierramadretattler.com, and First Investors Corporation alta dena (sic) CA. Also the host of the Pasadena cable access talk show “Conversations”. Stuart this is... (insert mean words here) The sierramadretattler.com (I think the commenter meant sierramadretattlertattler.com – the name makes people smile and this person DOESN’T want to smile), is a lame attempt to pull real hits from a site with a real writer. This is (insert more mean words here). I will be posting this on the REAL Sierra Madre Tattler when I am finished here. So much for the name de plum, the fact you picked a female persona is revealing as well.
Stuart Johnson - you sound like a guy I'd like to meet. I really do NOT care about "hits." I have actually explained to John Crawford how "hits" work, but he doesn't want to let his Tattlers know. They really mean nothing. Anybody in the technology industry knows that, but he's in the music industry or something like that, so maybe he honestly doesn't know. I think that Sierra Madre City College will be offering a class on how to accurately report on how many people are actually visiting your site.
Going out for the evening to a holiday party to enjoy people in person - rather than through a computer screen. Cheers!
Hi Susan.
Here's something I just posted to John Crawford. I am just going to assume that he won't post it.
You didn't put the whole quote re: Johnson. Did you edit it to make yourself look as nice as me? There were meaner things in it than what you want to share with your readers. Why don't you show them how spiteful you are? When you comment as "The Moderator" you act calm and reasonable. When you post anonymously, your true colors come out (and they're not ROYGBIV!) I knew you were deceitful, but I never could have dreamed of the ways that you have tricked your readers: I've caught you posting "anonymously" on your own blog, with information only John Crawford could know. I've called you out on it, and you've removed some of your more egregious errors. You lie to your readers about how many people read your blog. You lied to your readers about a comment that you claim to have posted on my blog but NEVER did. I have a whole history of all the comments made on my blog. Why are you lying to your own people? Someday your own readers are going to get poked by your nose, which grows with each lie you tell them.
Who cares what you say, Susan? Nobody reads this site, and the only person you are talking to is yourself. You are quite obviously insane.
I sent this on December 17th.
@5:27 You are being mean. So many people in town knew this guy. Everyone is HORRIFIED by it. Do you think they are ALL part of the pornography ring? Or just the people that you don't like. I know that Caroline Brown knew him. Is she part of the ring? Are you not going to post this because it is identifying someone you like as part of the ring? Are you going to consider this slanderous against her? But not against the people that you are slandering.
I am so confused by what is going on. I am so saddened by this whole Bob situation. I tried posting this on the Tattler and thought for sure that John would post it, and he did not. I am an old-timer in town. I knew and was sociable with Matheson. Who didn’t? I am an old friend of Lew Watanabe. I don’t always agree with him, but why did he put a picture of Lew on his website? He is not in political office. That is not necessary. That is just mean. I know John Capoccia and Chris Koeber will think this is not nice to. Hereis what I said to John late yesterday.
I knew Matheson, and it is so sad to think he was doing those awful things. It is really jarring. I am willing to admit I knew him, which I think is healthy. It just goes to show you that these awful people can be anywhere. That is an important message to get out. Another important message to get out is that it is NOT ok to try to tie other people to his deviant ways. I read all of the comments here, and I feel like you would say the same thing about me being a part of those vile things, and I know there are pictures out there of me with him, and I am going to be a big supporter of Capoccia and Koerber. So please be careful of what your doing.
Why do you only mention the people that aren't Tattlers as friends of Matheson? Why don't you talk about Diane Sheridan or Heather? Just wait 'til Lady Elizabeth starts publishing the pictures of them with Matheson. Everybody knew this guy. It's awful. Everybody's world has been rocked by this. Don't politicize it!
I would never post those types of pictures. @11:51 I was deeply saddened to see John Crawford post the photo of Lew too. I am going to post an excerpt from Bill Coburn's San Gabriel Menus that gives some of the reasons why Lew is a real Treasure of Sierra Madre. (Bill, if this is not ok, please let me know.) I heart Lew Watanabe!
Restaurant Lozano is known for showcasing the work of artists, usually local artists, on the walls. The art is available for sale, and changes on a regular basis. Last night, when I went in, I noticed that the walls were adorned with photos of work done by Lew Watanabe, a local landscaper who frequently incorporates granite sculptures and water sculptures into his work. In this age of stress, he has created settings for meditation and reflection, serenity and peace. His work literally lives at Descanso Gardens, Sierra Madre School, and Sierra Madre Memorial Park, and in the garden of the Frederick Weisman Museum on the Pepperdine campus in Malibu, to name a few.
Lew Watanabe is an integral part of what I fell in love with about Sierra Madre. Lew was always there as a volunteer, to help any organization, whenever they needed him, and he didn’t seek the limelight. He did the landscaping at Kersting Court, the main square in town, without a big deal. He helped make sure there was a Christmas tree there each year, as well. He contributed in one way, shape, or form, to most of the non-profits in Sierra Madre. He was named Citizen of the Year in 1995. And rest assured, the few things I’m mentioning here, are a pittance in comparison to all that Lew has done for the City of Sierra Madre and its residents. I also feel fairly sure that there are many things he has done outside the city that we’ve heard nothing about. That’s just his nature.
In 1931, Japanese families in Sierra Madre built a Japanese garden on the grounds of the new elementary school. With two Japanese lanterns, a bonsai tree, a cement bridge and a koi pond, the garden was a gesture of goodwill to the community that had been their home for decades. The garden was vandalized in 1945, the year World War II ended and many Japanese families returned home from incarceration in government internment camps. In 1995, Lew was instrumental in making the dream of a group of sixth-graders come true as he and his employees helped them to restore it.
In April, 1999, the quite, moving, Weeping Wall Memorial was dedicated in Memorial Park in Sierra Madre, as a remembrance of those who served our country and gave their lives. The plaque reads: “Dedicated to all the armed forces veterans of Sierra Madre…who served our country in peace and war…who helped preserve peace and freedom for our city, country and the world. The wall weeps not with sorrow…but with pride. God bless them all”
On March 4 2003, Lew fell from a ladder while working on a project. He suffered a concussion, and cervical compression of the spine, which caused him to lose the use of his limbs. On March 20th, after swelling had subsided sufficiently to allow surgery, he underwent a procedure to help restore the use of his limbs. In the time since, he has been through a tremendous amount of physical therapy, and Lew has surpassed every medical expectation and recovered to a remarkable extent. With the help of friends, and with the love of his wife Joyce, plus daily physical therapy, acupuncture with electrical stimulation and deep tissue massage, Watanabe has regained range of-motion and some fine muscle skills and is back to work on landscape projects.
March 4, 2003, could have been the blackest day in Lew’s life. But Lew and his wife Joyce will tell you that it was the beginning of a series of miracles. That day, it didn't look as though Lew would make it. Today, he continues to recover. Each day, he gains more strength, greater mobility and flexibility. The Lew Watanabe Benevolent Trust was established, and has purchased a van to increase Lew's mobility and paid utility bills and other cost-of-living expenses. But these expenses will continue for the rest of his life.
Which brings us back to Lozano’s. Kathy Childs of Sierra Madre heard that Lew had mentioned that many of the landscaping works he had created were not being manicured as Lew would like. She, with some talented photographers, visited many of these works, and while they are not manicured as Lew would like, she felt that nature adores his work, and the plants that frame his stone pieces are magnificent. She has published a book featuring the works of those photographers, a biography of the artist, and a step by step look at the creation process of one of his works.
On Saturday, November 19th, as part of the Dickens Village festivities that ring in the Holiday Season in Sierra Madre (sledding on “snow”, mule and carriage rides, holiday open houses at local merchants, Christmas tree lighting, and Santa’s arrival), there will be a book signing to benefit Lew Watanabe and help pay for continuing costs of his care. The community has rallied around him, as he so often helped it...
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a restaurant website featuring more than 140 restaurant’s menus, as well as downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant business, and has been eating for much longer than that.
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' " — Isaac Asimov
tonight was fun,lovely ,happy, but i didn't see any of the tattler people....hmmmmm
And this comes from someone who takes liberties with anagrams. I had a little tit for tat going with John Crawford last night about this. But he still won't post any of my comments :( Here is what I told him (just a summary because we had so many phenomenal exchanges, and I forgot to copy and paste them.)
You are not allowed to take liberties with anagrams. That's the whole point, silly. That is like saying "John Crawford is kind and honest" is a palindrome. Or "No sir, away a cumquat war is on" is a palindrome. (And if you're not an expert in palindromes like I am, I'll tell you it's supposed to be papaya.) I think that last one made him really mad because he stayed up all night posting anonymously on his own blog.
The candlelight walk was beautiful as always. The drizzle in the candlelight looked like glitter from heaven. Anyway, I hope the Tattlers' vigil at Liliano is As magical. It's actually a sweet idea - if their intentions are true, which I really hope they are. It is not all unicorns and rainbows when kids are getting hurt. Nor is it unicorns and rainbows when innocent people are being tied to the crimes of a sick person.
@12/18 Please accept my apology. That apparently wasn't John Crawford. A pegasus just flew by and gave me a heads up. Can you give some context to your quote? And yes, sorry for the delay. This blogging thing is hard to squeeze in between candlelight walks, caroling, and general merry-making.
Also, I have been given a shout out by the Congregational Church, which is really supposed to ruffle the Tattlers.
Solstice and Festivus coming up this week. I have been doing push-ups for the past three months in preparation.
I posted this at 8:30 on 12/18: I heart Sierra Madre, I heart John Bucanan, I heart Josh Moran, and I heart Nancy Walsh. Thank God for them! They know the unbigoted definition of a family.
i just love the power of prayer and fairies! may there be much glitter to you!!!!
Thanks @1:43!
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