TODAY IS A NEW DAY ... hopefully

...but yesterday was a crazy one, let me tell you. It began with my going to a funeral. My friend's mom died. It hurts my heart to see my friend grieve so deeply. My friend's mom was a strong, opinionated, loving, Italian lady from Brooklyn. She gave her kids a sense of strength, identity, purpose and a place to belong. Family was everything to her. I walked away yesterday from the service hoping and inspired to be even a fraction of what this woman was to her family, friends and those around her.

Meanwhile, while I was at the funeral, my sister watched my kids. My sister and the kids were nestled away indoors playing happily. But outside our place there was a flurry of activity that she was completely oblivious to. Cop cars dotted our neighborhood. A paramedic truck parked statuesque curbside for hours a block away. A fire truck held it's presence for some time as well. My sister learned from the police man at our door that there was an attempted kidnapping on our street. A school age kid was walking to class when a 17 to 20 year old man tried to kidnap the child. Luckily someone intervened and rescued the kid. Thank GOD! So the kid is safe now. Before any reports of the attempted kidnapping surfaced, my next door neighbor was on her morning walk. She saw a 19 year old guy looking suspiciously down driveways and alleyways. When he saw her, he started to follow her instantly. When she crossed streets - he followed her. When she turned a corner - he followed her. Her heart was racing. She did not know what to do, she told me. She finally saw a man walking his dog. She stayed close to the dog walker and the shady guy fitting the description of the kidnapper disappeared. The attempted kidnapping happened shortly after her walk. The whole neighborhood is in an uproar. We live in a pretty safe part of LA ( so we think anyway) so this is all a HUGE shock. The attempted kidnapper is still at large. I am keeping the kids close and we are avoiding any leisurely neighborhood walks for the time being that is for sure. I am a bit unsettle, to say the least.

Then on my sister's way home from my place, she saw columns of smoke billowing out of the middle of the city. GRIFFITH PARK WAS ON FIRE!!! She lives very close to the park. If your are not familiar with Los Angeles, Griffith Park is a beautiful park that houses the Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Observatory, the Greek Theater which is an outdoor theater where we have seen Death Cab for Cutie, Radiohead and others. The Gene Autry museum also resides in Griffith Park, as well as a historic merry go round, a golf course, historic trains, pony rides, sprawling green picnic areas, playgrounds and vast hiking trails that jet you up above the city. As you can tell it is a significant and special place for many Angelenos. The park serves as a refuge for many in the city. The perlious of the park is populated with home after home after home. So to hear that this great enormous park was on fire sent me into alarm. I LOVE this place, not to mention it is smack dab in the middle of the city. If the fire is not contained it could easily spread into the city. We have many friends and family who live in those communities surrounding the park. This is all hitting just bit too close to home.

Well, as of this morning many homes have been evacuated in the area, but the fire fighters are saying that the fire is 40 % contained. It looks like all the Griffith Park attractions are safe for now. They say the neighborhoods are safe for now too. But temps are expected to soar into the high 90's again today which does not bode well for fire fighting so we will see what the day brings. The good thing is though, that the winds have died down today, which obviously helps keep the fire from spreading quickly and erratically. Let's hope and pray the winds stay calm today and that the firefighters are able to contain the fire completely.

On a much needed good note, long time friends of ours, birthed a healthy baby boy yesterday. Congratulations Goodies! Ahhhh.... brand new life.... it brings much hope!