Happy 2013 everyone! Instead of taking you down the Rose Parade as I had done in years past, this year I’ll show you the parade from scratch by actually volunteering to decorate one of the floats. I’ve probably wanted to do this since moving to Pasadena in 1998 but never got around to signing up for it. But as I …
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To My Father On His 70th Birthday
Weather lore has it that back in the early days of the Rose Parade, officials made a pact with the churches that if January 1st ever fell on a Sunday, they would move the parade to the 2nd so that no one would skip out on church service…in exchange for a sunny parade day. The “contract” must have been somewhat …
Secret Garden
 There are many charming small cities within Los Angeles County. And by small I mean it still takes half an hour to three times that long to get from point A to point B, depending on how lucky you are once you are on the freeway.  Past the 110 tunnels where the freeway dead ends to Arroyo Parkway, …
War of the Roses
In spite of the threats of mudslides, earthquakes, and hillside fires, waking up every January 1st in my house is a treat. From my living room window you can hear then see the B-2 stealth bomber fly overhead to open the Rose Parade. This is definitely the highlight of my day…except for the one year my neighbor decided to wake Pasadena …