The human carnage, the broken hearts, the lost animals, the
missing mementos – lost forever have yet to be counted. Let
us just say…it has been bad enough already. Whatever is
scheduled to follow adds needless insult to injury. How did
the Governor do? Very well….he has shown up and represents
the State of California in a sensitive and meaningful way.
What about President Bush and the Homeland Security people?
They all seem to be on track….the major media coverage seems
appropriate…the use of Qualcom Stadium in San Diego was a
nice touch. The national support for the victims seems to be
there as well. This giant human tragedy that has hit So. Cal.
has yet to be counted in its long term effects. The beautiful
homes in Rancho Bernardo and so many other places have been
slaughtered…much as a lamb without protection might be taken
for a sacrifice to the gods!
The object of this precipitous article however is to focus on
the “Arson of the Lambs”…rather than dwell in morbid self
depression. The Santiago Fire…which indeed has affected the
Orange County area more than the others….at this point is
under investigation for “setting intentionally by a person or
persons unknown”. Would a “public execution” be great enough
to sauve the the people and victims involved in this disaster?
Years ago when the people of Newport Beach faced the loss of
arguably one of the most beautiful view planes on the coast
of California…..as the Irvine Company was able by “hook or
crook” to bypass the wishes of people and the two by fours went
up for Promontory Point…just above Balboa Island. There was
talk by two groups at the time that the Promontory Point property
might be a good target for Arson before the drywall went up!
Criminal acts usually have some genesis in “Causes” or “Financial
Rewards” that would result from the process. This talk was soon
resolved when the two pertinent groups started talking with each
other. The first group was the Environmental and Community
Activists that didn’t want their City harmed. The other group
were the developers who were in fact building Promontory Point.
When the developers revealed that they had Insurance and if the
project was burned…it would be great for them..because they
could get paid to build it again! They even said they would be
glad to help the Activists if they were serious! Promontory Point
went up without incident.
Last year some Earth First people were accused of burning up
a Humvee Dealership….and writing Environmental slogans on
the remaining vehicles that were not burned. Oddly enough
after the arrest of one of the suspects….he was released
due to lack of evidence. So, if the Earth First people did
not burn up those vehicles – who did? Back to the human
carnage we are now experiencing here in California. Were these
fires….simply acts of God? Was it purely two power lines that
should have be placed underground hitting each other in the wind
and causing “the spark”? Was it “Al Queda”? Was it greedy and
mean spirited “Developers” who needed work because of the sub-
prime credit crunch? Was it out of work “Illegal Aliens” – that
just needed work? Was it “Earth First”? Was it Firefighers that
didn’t have enough equipment…or made poor decisions? Or, was
it simply two stupid construction workers welding in a 60MPH wind?
The things we know now, are that at this point, over a million
of our So. Cal. neighbors have been displaced in this process.
We know that the scope of this disaster was probably not caused
by “Global Warming” but probably rather through Greed, Arson or
Stupidity! We know that homes, memorabilia, mementos and those
endearing items for so many are now lost forever. “The Castle”
in Malibu is perhaps a microcosm of our grief. Items regarding
Elvis, Princess Diana and a plethora of movie stars and famous
personalities….are now lost forever. As, we watched the many
displaced families on television as they stood there with their
three kids and a wedding plate..saying they had lost everything
..it leaves us with this question: we all need to know..sometime
in the future….how it really happened!
In the end, it all comes down to prevention. We can learn to harness our natural resources to reuse them as energy to fuel our modern needs. And So. Cal is wealthy with sun, wind and water.
Mother Nature is a constant. We know the path of the Santa Ana winds. We know the time of year they occur. Maybe part of the answer would be to create “wind dams” to harness this natural energy in the same way we collect water in reservoirs.
We could also be more respectful of Mother Nature. She will constantly remind us She needs breathing space — survival of the fittest. So, if we cover the earth with manmade “everything” including “ticky tacky houses”, nature will just vomit or shit it out.
We could also have more scientific minds and start believing in Her rather than Him. Then maybe we can be a more harmonious world.
Mary
I see Ron and Anna have had their evening cocktails while watching CNN. A piece of advice: Blogging with comprehension is usually best done before consuming the first fifth of vodka for the evening, not after. Also, you mean ASSUAGE, not “suave” ; the article is not precipitous at all (look up the word); Bush has not done jack squat for San Diego (or New Orleans, for that matter); and there has not been a million people evacuated or displaced – figures are roughly half that, which is bad enough without the hyperbole.
So like what was the purpose of THIS rambling ode?