Perspective

I'm tired tonight. It's been a long day. A lot of freeway driving and traffic, a friend's funeral, car trouble. All this took up the whole day. And tonight: leftovers.

My feet burn, my shoulders ache and my ears are ringing. I feel drained.

But I can look forward to a good night's rest. I can be glad of friends who shared the day with me, one who did most of the driving and another who backed me up when my car backed out on me. The leftovers weren't great, but they were okay.

And today I did not get my heart broken by the loss of a dearly beloved. The hardest thing for me about my friend's funeral was knowing how much harder it was for her family.

I have tomorrow.

Proportion

We've been talking about proportions, percentages, possibilities.

Like, pixels is size, yet proportion is something else. I wish, when I was young, math skills in girls had been encouraged.

Like, if my 7-year-old neighbor wants to be an astronaut, what are her chances of becoming one? What are her chances of living to be 100?

Like, what size jeans will I have to buy next year if I don't get my butt in gear this year?

Speaking of bridges, which we obviously were, because you have to understand proportions to build one, the Pasadena blogging community is invited to participate actively in Pasadena's 127th birthday celebration at the Pasadena Museum of History on June 22nd. This year's theme is Happy Birthday Pasadena - Celebrating Bridges. Part of the reason for that is this year is the 100th anniversary of the Colorado Street Bridge, and the bridge won't be getting its own party.

Here's what Jeannette Bovard, PMH Media Consultant, says in her invitation to bloggers:

We would like to invite the Pasadena blogging community to be a part of this event as featured participants in the "Bridges to Community" section. You are our eyes and ears; you share Pasadena-related thoughts, images, inspirations, and news from unique perspectives. We'd love the chance to introduce you in person and give you a chance to chat one-on-one with members of the community.

Happy Birthday Pasadena will take place from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday, June 22, on the campus of Pasadena Museum of History.  We’d like to schedule you for 1-hour shifts during the afternoon.  The birthday cake ceremony will occupy most of the attendees during the 3:00 hour, so there will be three shifts available, at 1:00, 2:00 & 4:00.  The activities are outdoors, however we will have you shaded, with tables and chairs and we are checking wi-fi availability in the location we plan for the Community Pod. 

To sign up to participate, contact Jeannette Bovard
at pasadenahistory@sbcglobal.net, 626-710-8639

or

Ardis Wilwerth at awillwerth@pasadenahistory.org, 
626-577-1660, ext. 15

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Like, if 300 people enter my Goodreads Giveaway and I'm giving away 20 copies, what are the odds of winning a free book? What are the odds 500 people will sign up and how does that change the odds of winning?

Must. Hike.

Some of us must hike, heat or no heat. The trails north of JPL have decent shade, and the streams still have water in them. The trails have recently been reopened after the Station Fire, though you'll find changes.

The cones on this bridge are lined up so neatly, don't you think? We couldn't figure out how they stayed that way until we checked. They're nailed down.

La Loma Rehab

La Loma Bridge has arched over Lower Arroyo Park since before it was a park. It's a lovely old thing. You can walk a path right up under it and look into its upper parts. Though lately I'm thinking that's not a good idea.

Built in 1914 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, La Loma's lived life to the fullest. She's pretty from a distance but close up, her wrinkles show. Time for rehab.

The La Loma Bridge Project is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed by September. Seems a short time for rehab, but what do I know? I'm just glad the bridge will be brought up to date to meet current seismic standards. As pretty as La Loma is, I wouldn't want to be under it during an earthquake.

Of course I wouldn't want to be under a house of cards during an earthquake, but that's just me.

Update on the Sierra Madre fire: Huge progress. 59% containment this morning, 700 people (out of 1000 evacuated) have been allowed to return safely to their homes. No homes lost, though a few came close to getting scorched. Public schools open today. Cheers to the firefighters!

Cathedral

This shot was taken underneath the onramp to the 134 Freeway that runs alongside the Colorado Street Bridge. Basically you're still in the Arroyo Seco here, but it's a secluded spot. Please do click on this one. It's better in larger format.

Bad Stunt Weather

I wish I could say I took this photo, but alas, I did not. It was taken by David Thomson of Sun Valley, who emailed it to me today along with this message:

"Attached telephoto I took of a movie crew working on top of the Colorado Street bridge yesterday, so the bridge was closed. I think they've been there for several days now. They removed sections of the fence to set up their shot. The fellow in the yellow jacket may be an actor or stunt man being photographed by the camera suspended overhead by 2 cranes - one on the bridge and the other below. All the harnesses etc. that have him strapped "safely" in place could be removed in "CGI" - post production digital work - if they want him in the shot. They were making lots of takes with just the camera being lowered into the Arroyo and back again...I assumed the camera was supposed to be seeing the point of view of someone jumping off the bridge."

David's an award-winning photographer and a member of the Cinematographer's Guild. He knows what he's talking about. Honestly, when I drove by I thought it was just construction.

David went on to say that a woman he spoke to said she thought the shot was for a Jim Carrey movie. In the Lower Arroyo Park today I spoke to a security guard protecting the film equipment. Indeed, the stunt (which the guard said isn't finished yet because of rain) is for Carrey's upcoming film, "Yes Man."

State of the Arroyo

I'm disappointed because I got home too late to attend the "State of the City" event this evening at the Rose Bowl. Not just at the stadium. Inside the new locker room complex. A female doesn't get a chance to visit those rooms very often unless she's a sportswriter or a cleaning lady.

Mayor Bill Bogaard will be speaking tonight, so I've decided to comfort myself with this photo, which was a contender for yesterday's post. I had the pleasure of being introduced to the mayor at the event for the Central Arroyo Stream Restoration. While Andy Byrne, Program Manager of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, made the introductions, Mayor Bogaard waited to go on and I snapped this picture.

The bridge in the background is not the Colorado Street Bridge. (That's behind the mayor in this photo.) The one you see here is merely an onramp to the westbound 134 freeway. If you think our freeways are pretty, wait until you see our alleys.

Wonder

I attended a civic function today on the Parker-Mayberry Bridge, under the Colorado Street Bridge. I had never been there before.

We were there for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the Central Arroyo Stream Restoration. To quote the press release, "Stream habitat enhancements, runoff treatment and devices that prevent trash from polluting streams are among the components of this exciting $2.5 million project that will turn [the] Central Arroyo into a model of what can be done in urban areas to help clean up waterways." The City of Pasadena loves to partner with organizations like the Arroyo Seco Foundation to do good stuff like this.

After the speeches, the mayor and other dignitaries planted a native oak and posed for photos while everyone cheered. In all the hubbub, I noticed this father and son across the Arroyo, standing under the Colorado Street Bridge and wondering what the heck was going on.

Ubiquitous

River rocks are everywhere. They seem to have always been basic Pasadena building material. Fences, walls, columns, fountains--all kinds of things are made of them. This retaining wall caught my eye while I stood on the Holly Street Bridge shooting pictures of the Rose Bowl the other day. I had never noticed the wall before.