Fires, Tropical Storms … and Back to School

The devastation in Maui caused by horrific fires made many of us pause and give thought to the fires we here have experienced. To me, the Station Fire of 2009 is most memorable as it was raging the very week I launched the Crescenta Valley Weekly. In fact, due to so many streets being closed, I had to delay delivery of the paper by one day. The orange skies, smoky air and feeling of doom pervaded our entire area; I’m glad that nothing of that magnitude has happened again though I’m constantly leery of “the big one” – the earthquake that is predicted to arrive “at any time.” (To learn how to be prepared for natural and manmade disasters, consider taking a CERT class taught by Paul Dutton. I did and I feel that much more prepared.)

Then this Sunday Southern California may experience a bit of the wrath of Tropical Storm Hilary in the form of thunderstorms. Normally, I would find this rather exciting except on Sunday I’m hosting a wine and toffee pairing (wine provided by 8Wine8 and toffee provided by Kiwanian Cynthia Paez, owner of GG’s Organic Toffee) for the Kiwanis Club of Glendale. The event will primarily be held in our backyard so rain wouldn’t work out too well. But I’m optimistic – and prepared. I’ve order three pop-ups from Bonners Party Rentals.

Overshadowing everything, though, was the excitement surrounding back to school. Now my boys are all grown up and it’s my granddaughters who are off to school. I made my way over to the school one of my granddaughters attends to greet her on her first day. Like all local schools, it was crowded! Most kids were eager to either get out of their parents’ car or off the school bus to greet fellow students they hadn’t seen all summer. It was busy and exciting and I’m so glad that I was a part of it – even though only as a grandma.

Around the Valley and into Glendale and Burbank, school zones were buzzing with students returning to school. I haven’t seen examples of the careless driving by distracted students or parents, but unfortunately I have no doubt that will return soon.

In the meantime, to those who have to drive during those peak hours: please be cautious. Give yourself extra time to get where you’re going. The last thing you want to happen is to get into an accident, which includes injuring someone, or giving yourself an ulcer because you didn’t give yourself enough travel time.

With so much being outside our control it’s nice to know that we can control our driving patterns.