The Other OTHER Big News in Burbank

You may have heard that it snowed yesterday in Burbank. Yes, snowed. Burbank. Los Angeles-adjacent. Snow. The last time that happened was in 1949, so I guess you could say it was due.

Here I am making a snow angel:



But the thing that really captured my attention happened right outside our door. We live right next door to a freeway onramp for a major interstate (can you live next"door" to a thing that doesn't have doors?). We frequently hear, besides normal traffic sounds (huge motorcycle engines, truck brakes, horns honking, squealing tires) all sorts of things you dread hearing, let alone being involved in. For example, when the squeal of the brakes is quickly followed by a loud thump-bump-crash-bang-THUD. That's the sound you don't want to hear.

We hear that sound a lot. And have gone up the onramp (or offramp, depending on the direction) several times to offer assistance.

Last night we didn't have to go very far to offer assistance. One driver was starting to make a left turn onto the freeway onramp and met someone else going straight. The guy going straight somehow did a complete u-turn and ended up on the sidewalk in front of our house, facing the opposite direction, neatly parallel parked between a light post and fire hydrant.

Needless to say, both cars were disabled, and traffic patterns were quickly frustrated on our usually busy street.

Here are some photos from the night's events

(Don't you like my mad Photoshop skilz in blacking out the license plate numbers?)




Seriously -- I have no idea how he managed to avoid all property other damage other than probably some tire marks on the wet grass. Pretty amazing.

Best part of the night? Chatting with the very good looking Burbank firemen!

Spotted at Disneyland

What you should NEVER do with a light saber:


It's either going to do some serious damage to important body parts and organs, or take someone else off at the knees. Either way, it's not very attractive.

The Mozart Season

I just finished reading a beautiful book and wanted to tell you about it. No, I'm too lazy to do a book report or anything fancy or formal like that, but too often I read a book that I enjoy, put it down and move immediately to the next one in my stack. This one was too lovely to do that to. So if anyone's looking for a good book to read, go to your local library and check out "The Mozart Season," by Virginia Euwer Wolff.

I thought at first I wasn't going to like it, or worse, would be bored by it, since the protagonist is a 12 year old girl, which seems a young age to have anything compelling to share. But the prose of this author make this girl mature even as she grows into her own maturity. It is insightful and philosophical and haunting and quite frankly, brought tears to my eyes more than once, but in a good way.

Go. Read. Then let me know what you think about the steel fountain impromptu concert in the rose park.