Marina Del Rey—Saturday, December 6
Last year on November 22nd, the Malibu Fire burned from Pepperdine down PCH with mandatory evacuations for everyone on my bluff. I drove through the fire…my car was wounded…but I found refuge on Mount Washington with my sister friend and her husband.
We had had warnings for this one. I had loaded my car with my dearest treasures…my father’s briefcase and hand written documents on his life work, my mother’s diaries from living in Paris in 1938, Indian paintings, significant thises and thats, Norman’s poetry, my daughters’s childhood creations and on and on. My car was loaded and I was safe.
We all returned to our homes several days later…put our households back together, sighed a sigh of relief and welcomed the holiday season.
Hanukkah, Christmas, my birthday and New Year’s came and went with gratitude and joy.
And then. The morning of January 7 I went out on my bluff and looked down at Pacific Palisades…the smoke…billowing out over the ocean…but it was TEN miles away….surely we were safe…surely they would put this out before it reached us.
Two hours later…at the door of my home…frantic knocking…’IMMEDIATE EVACUATION’ no time to grab a single thing….I scooped up the dragon rug from my kitchen and a pile of laundy on my dryer and ran…drove through a fire….and back to Mount Washington.
And the rest? You all know. The fire wwas mighty and every single thing turned to ashes.
But now?
My friends who had sheltered me were in the midst of a move themselves…hence I stayed on Mount Washington for several weeks and then moved with them. They had bought a magnificent home in Long Beach that included several rental units in the back garden. One of these wee units has been my home for these months….with loving support.
I am well. I am flourishing in a new way. I have mourned my losses and the sadness has become a part of my life story but does not overpower the beauty and joy that I experience daily….and yet…to be here at this very time of year….there is a vibrational traumatic response to the air…to the light….to the fire….but again…this does not overpower this sacred time of year…another year…to be here on this earth with the love and camaraderie of my family and friends.
THANK YOU ALL….and LOOK at those smoke filled clouds….whew….life on earth.