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Winds of Change

How do I summarize the cataclysmic wildfires in the Southland? It's January 15, 2025, five days before the worst possible electoral outcome for the American people is official and eight days after the worst case scenario for my neighbors and friends.


We were evacuated through a hale of embers from exploding houses at 4am. I put my back to a hurricane blowing tactile winds full of soot and debris. We drove slowly through heavy fog-like smoke that choked and burned our eyes. The eerie glow of fire bouncing through near zero visibility was surreal to the nth degree. Our neighbors, much wiser than us, left already save a brave, or foolish, few. Power lines were already down and poles lay across the roadway making a very routine drive anything but. We said au revoir to our neighborhood with all homes in tact and disbelief in our mouths. Six hours later we were one of four families blessed by God and His divine intervention.


Wednesday January 8, 2025 we snuck back through a loose blockade to utter destruction. Dare we hold out hope? we asked as we walked up our quiet little street at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains. It was nothing like we imagined, could have imagined. It was much worse. Our neighbor to the left, across the street, up on the right...gone. Down the street, up the street, either side...gone.


When we saw our house practically untouched we were overcome. It was nothing short of a miracle. Of course we were elated, but it was tempered by the inexorable reality that our lives, the lives of our neighbors, the fabric of our neighborhood would never be the same. We pray the homes lost will be rebuilt, but we can't be sure.


Eight days later the blockade is much less porous and we haven't been able to return. We know the house still stands because it was on the news via a flyover of some kind. But, I can't help but feel a wellspring of mixed emotions. I won't belabor them, they're just mixed.


At church on Sunday I was asked to share our experience. I started by saying something like "We're the lucky ones." And, it's true. We are staying with family, safe and sound. Inconvenient? Of course. I look forward to getting out of their way and giving them back their routine. But, we have the option. We're lucky.


Everything you have heard about these fires is true. Every request made is earnest. If you can help, do. If you can donate, do. And, above all, if you can pray, please! Maybe not so much for us (though we appreciate it) but for the hardest hit. We're praying too.


Let us begin this year in steadfast recovery. Undaunted, unassailed and undeterred. It will take time but LA will recover. Let's hope the criminal element assuming the White House is dealt with more expeditiously. Above all, keep hope alive (thank you Barak Obama).


I wish I were a better humorist and could bring something funny to this post. We all need humor in normal times, even more so now. But, I'm going to have to leave it as is.


Until next time, God bless you.

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