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I grew up in the Pacific Palisades. As a teen I routinely went to the “show” on Saturdays to see a double bill with my best friends, and happily wander the small shops in the Village. The Palisades was a small town in a sprawling city where everyone had a sense of community and neighborhood pride, a place people loved. My old friend Bill Bruns, once a top editor/reporter for Life Magazine, ran the Palisadian Post with the same dedication he gave to his award-winning national assignments. His wife, Pam, taught journalism five days a week as a volunteer at the local high school, my high school. She inspired hundreds of kids. Their house is gone. So are the homes of dozens of my friends, too many to mention, but among the thousands lost from the Palisades to Altadena on the other side of Los Angeles.
Today I set aside my optimism to shed tears for my friends, my old town, and the planet. These raging weather events are part of a much bigger picture that we need to grapple with. Maybe it’s time to truly embrace a post-fossil fuel future and remember, we’re all in this together.
Thank you for being a Bluedot reader.
– Victoria Riskin
