When we arrived in October the view from our back deck was all leaves. Our little low stone wall was the boundary and beyond that a densely wooded salt marsh. As the leaves have steadily fallen over the course of the last few weeks we started to see the lights of other houses shining through the trees at night. Then gradually in the mornings we could see cars leaving for school and work, and people walking dogs across the way. This week's gusty winds have brought down most all the remaining leaves, and we now realize that we are surrounded by homes forming a mini canyon around the salt marsh. It's kind of nice, just as the weather is getting dark and cold, to see the lights around us.
In our PO box yesterday we got an 'emergency preparedness' packet from the town. Besides information about what to do in various emergency situations, it contained a detailed questionnaire to return about special needs we might have in an emergency---whether we would need transportation, help with pets, medical needs, etc. It also asked if we would be able to take neighbors into our home. The Angeleno in me is relieved and amazed that page one of the packet is a
Thunderstorm Safety Checklist...but I'm also impressed by the obvious sense of interconnectedness.
And we don't even own a piece of the island!
(Excuse me but I just figured out how to comment, so I can't help but--you know-- comment on everything.) During the lock down and curfew during the riots in LA, Dan insisted on driving out to Ventura to get something to eat. Coming back, we were one of the very few cars on the road and I remember thinking that if there were ever an evacuation order, the whole place would become one huge parking lot. There would be no way for people to get out.
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