Impasse

I walked out onto the Colorado Street Bridge yesterday to see a memorial. I had driven by earlier and seen flowers and balloons, so I went back on foot. Knowing someone had jumped from the bridge on April 12th, I thought it might be a tribute for him.

But now I don't know. Near where the balloons had become stuck in the cement columns, someone had taped a piece of paper. On the paper were photos of a young man who jumped a year ago, and a poem, and words of love and sorrow.

I took pictures of the memorial, or memorials. Then I sat for a while looking out over the Arroyo.

I decided not to post the pictures. But you could go and spend a few moments with this small tribute.

Here, Right Here

L.A. CO. F.D. Camp 2
To our brothers Art Ruezga and Chris Herman
who will always live in
our hearts and never be forgotten
August 20th 1993

Two firefighters died in the Glen Allen Fire on August 20th, 1993, in the steep canyon beneath the Altadena Crest Trail. Their colleagues are quoted in this LA Times article.

This memorial stands alongside the trail. If you look carefully, you can see a second cross in the canyon below where you're walking. The memorial is a heart-catching sight. It punctures the solitude hiking can create and makes you realize you're not alone.

The plaque (quoted above) doesn't lie; a couple of those fire station caps on the cross are brand new.

Sure, people have died here. People have died everywhere, we just don't always think about it. That's what a memorial is for.

Goodbye, Church of the Angels

Behind the Church of the Angels a crypt is built into the hillside beneath the rectory. Kelly, who guided me through the church last week, wasn't quite sure of the crypt's history. No mention is made of it on the church's website. Someone out there may know.
The story goes that Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Robert Campbell-Johnston were buried there together, at least for a time. But Pasadena zoning laws don't allow burials, so the bodies were eventually moved. This may or may not be the case.**
Web research turned up very little, except an intriguing bit from Brompton Cemetery in London. Click on the link and scroll to the caption under the third photo.
'Alexander Robert Campbell Johnston
Who served many years in China
Under H.M. Foreign and Colonial Offices.
He died at San Rafael Ranch, Los Angeles
January 21st 1888 aged 75
In beloved memory
This stone is erected by his widow and children
Also to the memory of
Frances Ellen Campbell-Johnston
His beloved wife
Who died at 84 St. George's Sq. London
November 21 1893 Aged 56'
It could be them. And it doesn't say they were buried there. Did she die so soon after he did? Did she spend so little time admiring the chapel she'd built?
I tried looking into the crypt. It's not like you can tell if anyone's there.
It's their place. It was made for them. I hope they were allowed to stay.*

 
**1/26/2012: Much later! Update on this crypt: 
*It was not made for them.
In a book called "Within the Vale of Annandale" by Donald W. Crocker, a relatively rare but not impossible-to-find book first published in 1968, there's a short chapter about the church with pictures, very interesting, pp 38-42.
On page 40, Crocker says the "...memorial vault which was later added to the church...bears the remains of two of the Campbell-Johnston sons, Alexander Napier and Augustine, and Augustine's wife, Alice."
The book was "A Fund Raising Project of Scout Troop 35." It's an entertaining history of the southwest side of Pasadena, and Garvanza. I found it by searching online sellers.