Patience and kindness

Here's a picture of Annie and me taken by my old high school buddy Nancy when we were visiting her down in L.A. She did something graphic- artisty (yeah, she's one of those computer whizzes) to make it look kind of like a cartoon.

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There are horrible fires burning in the Santa Cruz Mountains again. A bunch of people in the little town of Bonny Doon have been evacuated. My friend Stacey lives there. I've been trying to get ahold of her but can't...I'm worried...

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And to add to the apocalyptic feeling that can be on the flip-side of summer's joy: As I was driving to the store this afternoon, I saw that a nearby street was barricaded. Many cops . . . a couple of people on the side of the road in tears . . . and shoes and clothes in the road.

When I came home I checked my neighborhood listserv, and the tragic message was indeed posted:

A middle school girl was riding her bike in the bike lane away from the nearby school (today was the last day of the school year) when she was hit by a 4x4 truck that was making a turn. The driver was apparently watching for an opening between oncoming cars (familiar scenario?) and didn't see the bike rider. She hit the girl head-on and dragged her and the bike under the vehicle. The child was taken to ER in critical condition, but she didn't make it. The woman driver and possibly her daughter were sitting in one of my neighbor's driveways sobbing for two hours.

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Be patient on the road. Be kind to one another.