When I walked outside this morning, my eyes stung and my mouth tasted like ash. From our front door, which faces east, I could see that the La Crescenta Station fire had turned the blue sky into a dull beige dustbowl. I sighed as I prepared to take one of our cats to the vet. Given that all three of our pets have skin allergies, I should be happy they are not doing worse given the current climate. …
life lessons
A letter to my 16-year-old self
To me, sixteen is an age when we think we know everything, yet we know almost nothing. Many years ago, I read an excerpt from the book Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self. One of the funniest bits of advice was musician Alice Cooper telling his younger self, “Trashy girls are exciting for about five minutes … keep your eyes out for a really good lookin’ church girl.” When actor …
Meeting Willy Loman
I remember reading the play Death of a Salesman in college, but I never thought I would meet Willy Loman in person. Truth is stranger than fiction In the spring of 2011, I was living in the blue house on Valley Street in Burbank, California. One day, my doorbell rang and an older gentleman stood on my front porch. While I opened the front door, I left the screen door, which was composed of …