The Day Before School Starts

Tomorrow is the first day of school for South Pasadena students. For some, like Little Bit, it's the very first day of school. Tomorrow, a new generation of intrepid five year olds will leave behind the soft blankie of early childhood for Kindergarten and all of its big kid wonders.

That means today is a special day. It marks not only the end of the summer of 2010, but the end of the preschool era and a moment for many parents to look at each other and say, "Wait... what happened to the baby?" It's an exciting and hopeful day, a day worthy of grand summer festivities involving water balloons, kites and ice cream. (Two scoops. Not one.) It's a day of little voices shouting big plans. ("I'm going to learn to be an astronaut, a ballet dancer, a movie star, an ice skater and a robot engineer!") It's a day of unscuffed shoes and unmarked notebooks, of slates that are blank and imaginations that are filled to the brim.

It's a day we probably won't remember years from now when we look at family pictures. Sure, we'll have the ones from tomorrow -- the one with the big smile and the new backpack, the one with the brave walk down that long school sidewalk. We'll always remember tomorrow. But let's remember today, too. That day when being little was still carefree. That day when fairies were still real and monsters were simply fuzzy creatures from Pixar, not mean kids on a school playground. That day in August when possibility stretched out ahead with an infinite number of beautiful, exciting, stupid, confusing, heartbreakingly wonderful choices.

We'll never know...

"I swear it's him."

A young woman standing on the train platform next to me ducked behind her friend.

"It's not him."

"No, I think it's him."

The friend took off her sunglasses and squinted.

"Huh. Maybe it is him."

"Ok, I have to hide."

The young woman moved behind a lamp post.

"Don't be so idiotic. It wasn't that big of a deal."

The young woman grabbed her friend by the arm and yanked.

"It. Was. A. Big. Deal."

The friend squinted again.

"Yeah, well I don't think it's him."

And then the train came.

On lost dogs, five year olds and philosophical ponderings...

"Can we keep him? Can we keep him? Can we keep him?"

Little Bit was jumping up and down. The him in question was jumping, too.

"We can't do that, " Jon said. "He already has a family who probably misses him. I'll go call the number."

"I'm not so sure Daddy's right," Little Bit whispered to me when Jon was out of earshot. "Maybe this doggie escaped from somewhere terrible."

"I don't think so," I said. "He has hearts on his collar. His owner must love him very much."

"Not as much as I do."

Later, as our fuzzy new friend was whisked away by a happy and relieved owner, Little Bit sat on the front porch steps and sighed.

"That doggy was lost and now he's found?"

"Yes," I said.

"But we lost him." She said. "It's weird how things like that can happen, isn't it?"

It certainly is.

Hot Tempered

After an unusually cool summer, excessive heat warnings were issued for Los Angeles County yesterday.

Just in time for my central air to go kerflooey.

As the temperatures inched toward triple digits, my brave little 110 year old house clung to an interior 88 degrees before finally collapsing into the nineties right around five o'clock where it remained until close to eleven PM. The repair guy couldn't schedule me an appointment until late afternoon today. He'll be the one knocking on the front door. I'll be the puddle on the living room floor.

Expect another scorcher today and tomorrow, then back to the odd summer chill over the weekend. That's good news for all Southern Californians, not just this cranky blogger. As 500 firefighters currently work to contain a wildfire in Kern County, I remember last year's fire season all too well.

The Play's the Thing

Arroyo Seco Park is one of South Pasadena's tucked-away treasures. It spans 19.9 acres of parkland and includes soccer fields, baseball diamonds, horse and hiking trails, picnic tables, barbecues, undeveloped wooded areas and a flood channel. It's a quiet, breezy getaway curving along the Arroyo Seco with the skate park, racquet center and wonderfully retro golf course on one end and San Pascual Stables on the other. You'll even find a tiny, underused river rock amphitheater behind one of the baseball diamonds. (Why underused, you ask? Well, although the stone stage begs for a Hamlet soliloquy, the poison oak warning signs behind it are a bit of a buzz kill...) All in all, this is a beautiful oasis ideal for taking a jog, kicking a ball or just stretching out under one of those heritage maple trees.

But seriously, what's up with the playground equipment?!

Garfield Park and Orange Grove Park have lovely, well-maintained playscapes that are not only safe for little exploring hands but challenging for little developing minds. By contrast, Arroyo Seco Park has a few tired swings, a jungle gym that makes you hope your tetanus shots are up to date and a slide that is to playground equipment what Charlie Brown's Christmas tree was to holiday decorations. Come on, South Pas! Who do I have to bug to make this playground fun for the preschoolers and worthy of the magnificent surroundings?

Candy Red...

... and just as sweet.

Just when I think I've photographed every vintage car in South Pasadena, I stumble upon another one. How is this for a delicious little bonbon?

Menchies

Where can you go to load up on a bowl of frozen sweetness topped with four types of chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, jelly beans and hot fudge ... and still rationalize that its health food? Welcome to Menchies, the frozen yogurt bar happily justifying decadent behavior on Mission, right next to Mike and Anne's.

For the angel on your right shoulder: it's an eclectic collection of wholesome frozen yogurt with all those live cultures your internist tells you your gut craves. You can pick from a huge selection of regular flavors or suit your particular dietary fancy with choices of low-carb, no sugar added and dairy free. Isn't that nice? Can't you feel your cholesterol numbers dropping? Not so fast, cowboy. For the devil on your left shoulder: let me introduce you to the toppings bar. Browse bin upon bin of sugary goodness including marshmallows, nuts, brownies, M&Ms, butterfinger pieces, Fruity Pebbles cereal, hot fudge and caramel. Oh, all right, tell that angel he can get the carob chips, fresh berries and no sugar added fudge.

Choose your pleasure and pay by weight so you can have as little (yes, Mr. Angel) or as much (right on, Devil Man!) as you want.

In a word? Yum.

Rash Decisions

On my 24th birthday my roommate organized a picnic with a big group of friends. It was somewhere in the Hollywood hills near Laurel Canyon. Or maybe it was off a trail somewhere near Patrick's Roadhouse up PCH. I forget. But I do remember the many bottles of cheap Chianti from Trader Joes and someone's bright idea to gather wildflowers from the pretty meadow. Gathering turned into drunken frolicking with attempts at weaving daisy chains and making leaf pile angels. The Smiths/Cure/Depeche Mode mix tape on the boom box was turned off in favor of a group rendition of Age of Aquarius, complete with choreography. We were modern day wood nymphs! We were one with nature! We were ... good lord ... covered in welts.

If only there had been signs.

Flashback

Do I have access to a time machine? Sometimes I wonder. I glanced out of my window while stopped at a red light on Fair Oaks and was instantly transported back to the 1950s. We know that living in South Pas is a little like living inside the set of an old movie. This shot proves it. I was beamed right into an outtake from American Graffiti. A vintage black and white Victoria right in front of the town's most beloved retro diner? It's almost too much. Wait... a straw fedora on the driver, too? It is too much!

Oh well, you know what they say: too much of a good thing is wonderful.

Market Analysis

Hey, someone took a bite out of my still life. (Can you find it?)

Late summer produce abounds at the South Pasadena Farmers Market, and some of it is as artistically inspiring as it is tasty. For 11 years the market has been a fantastic place for food (and creative inspiration) but now that the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce has taken over operations it just keeps getting better and better. The Chamber continues to add a broader selection featuring new farmers. (In addition to traditional produce like watermelon you can now find stonefruit and organic Asian greens. Take that other farmers markets!) The South Pas market has more certified organic growers than ever before with even more coming on board under the wise and watchful eye of market manager Greta Dunlap. Greta knows her business: she served as an advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture for eight years and is President of the California Small Farm Conference. Greta also is a member of the California Federation of Certified Farmers’ Markets, the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) and the California Alliance for Family Farmers. Read about her right here.

You'll find more and more community-oriented events in the coming months, too. Next Thursday, August 26th, the market presents a Back to School Safety Fair and Healthy Food Gathering. Count me in!

The Craftsman Challenge: Round 6

It's been a while since I've taken the Craftsman Challenge but this cozy, green wonder seemed to be begging for a portrait. South Pasadena has hundreds of Arts and Crafts houses and each one is an inspiration -- not to mention a tricky subject to photograph. (Those shadowy porches! Those blindingly reflective slanting rooftops!)

I've already waxed rhapsodic about this period of design, but I can't help repeating myself:

Simple. Beautiful.

Sunset Paparazzi

I often stop for the sunset along Arroyo Drive. This time, a film shoot forced me to stop. A production company was setting up one of those shots where a camera is mounted on the front of a car to film a character driving. I didn't mind the delay, though. It was a great excuse to enjoy the late afternoon view along with the gentleman silhouetted in the right side of this picture. Shortly after I snapped this, the man got up, walked over to the film shoot and climbed into the driver's seat of the car just in time for the director to yell "action!"

I'm not sure who he is ... but there he is!