louise on the left (coast)

And we didn't burn up, our neighbors did. And last night the show did go on.  And today it will, too. My daughter is more stressed by her homework than the air quality, so that is a pretty good barometer of how life just goes on in California. I should add that this doesn't mean I don't feel horrible about our neighbors houses going up in smoke, we all do. I find it horrific. And it's mind numbing. We go outside, cough, and try to ignore that we're inhaling someone's apartment complex on the way to work. We turn on the TV and watch the virtual fireplace in our livingroom, and have to work hard to keep in mind this is not fake, but, is, in fact, a very real part of our own county burning. It happens so often, here in California. Disaster seems like it's part of the culture here. "Oh, a fire is burning in so-and-so's neighborhood." "Oh, the ground is moving. So what? I've seen worse. See you tomorrow. same time, same place.&q

Here it is nearing the sad anniversary of Katrina and yet, I hear there's another new hurricane headed toward Louisiana. In any event, I've been thinking about our collective need for angels. Especially now. For reasons both deeply personal as well as global. I've been trying to define for myself what I think being an "angel" means, exactly. I've dug out Tony Kushner's script for Angels in America as well as put Jane Sibery 's timely, haunting song Calling All Angels into my cd player. (By the way, if you would like to hear more from this musician, I highly recommend her astonishing CD, Bound By The Beauty ) It appears that someone's done a nice job creating a video of it for YouTube, so if you've missed hearing this about a decade ago, you can hear it here. After all -- It's clear that right now there's practically nobody who is not in dire need of calling all angels .