Wiggle Waggle Walk

photo by John Sandel

Every year, the Pasadena Humane Society's Wiggle Waggle Walk unites families and dogs to raise funds in support of dogs that don't have families. There will be a fashion show and a look-alike contest.

I don't much resemble Wilma except in lounging posture, and neither of us is ready to be in such a big crowd. However, you can see by the photo above that Wilma wags in support of this cause. What you can't see is how her whole body wiggles when she wags. I've started wiggling and wagging right back at her. I think she gets it.

My friend Paula Johnson is heading up the Rose City Sisters team (a.k.a. pack) for the Walk. Here's what Paula says about the event:

I am thrilled to help support the animals at the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA by participating in the 16th Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk on Sunday, September 28, 2014 in Brookside Park in Pasadena. Your donation will help provide nourishing food, safe shelter and medical care to over 12,000 animals this year! Your contribution will also help fund the low cost spay/neuter program, the adoption program, wildlife services, humane education programs and more. Help the animals by making a gift today.

If you're looking for a team, you can join Paula's. If you can't make it on the 28th you can still donate money via her team, or anyone else's.

We have always had shelter dogs. They require dedication, just like any relationship, and like any relationship, the dedication is worth it. I suggest you don't make physical resemblance to you a requirement when adopting, but there's something for everyone.

Here are some photos from the 2013 Wiggle Waggle Walk. And check out this video, made by a favorite local celebrity in 2012.

On Colorado Blvd.

I want to share a music video with you. A night shot would have been better but I didn't have one, and there are plenty of night shots in the video.

The song is On Colorado Blvd. by Steven Rue. ("Rue" means street or road in French. Coincidence?)

The singer is Liela Avila. What a voice, huh? I haven't heard her sing anything else, but I think she's fab.

This building must be historic, but I couldn't find any information about it. Perhaps you know something? The Kate Spade store is 39 W. Colorado Blvd.

Thanks much to Paula Johnson's flash fiction site, Rose City Sisters, for the song.

Belinda's Birthday

I am going boldly forward into the self-publishing world! So boldly, in fact, that I'm following in Margaret Finnegan's footsteps. It's like when you walk behind someone in deep snow and place your feet in the footprints they made. Bold! Forging behind!

One of these days I swear I'll come up with ideas of my own, but right now I'm thanking Margaret for the courage, and for this sentence: "Just start with a short story." So I've started with Belinda's Birthday on Smashwords. I first published the story on Paula Johnson's The Rose City Sisters (now at its fancy new WordPress location). Belinda's Birthday was a runner-up for story of the year on that site in 2009. Perhaps you've already guessed the winner.

Finnegan's a damned marketing genius. How can I compete with that? I can't. She makes cake with cocoa frosting. I make lentils. We do what we can with what we have.

I hope you'll download Belinda's Birthday for FREE, and maybe even give me a 900-star review. (Or whatever. I don't think  Smashwords will let you give me 900 stars, but I'll take as many as they'll allow.)

This is the first step, of course, to publishing my novel, Camelot & Vine. Camelot, here we come!

Local Literary Lights

Before I moved here I didn't know many published authors. But in Pasadena you can practically see at night by the literary lights.

First I'll tell you about Roberta Martinez so you can immediately mark your calendar for an event at Vroman's Bookstore tomorrow evening. Roberta and her friend Patrick Conyers will present and sign their books. Roberta's book, Latinos in Pasadena, "chronicles the legacies of Mexican Americans and other Latino men and women who lived and worked in Pasadena. The Latino community has been an integral part of the San Gabriel Valley, and here is a book that gives it its rich due."

Full disclosure: I've met and enjoyed a lively email exchange with Roberta Martinez. I haven't read her book (yet), but with over 200 vintage photos it's just my thing and it's on my Christmas wish list. Roberta's got about six brains. And I know and she knows and you know that Latinos in Pasadena are people whose time has come.

I don't know Roberta's co-presenter Patrick Conyers, nor have I read his book, Pasadena 1940-2008. However he co-authored the book with Cedar Phillips, who wrote Early Pasadena. (Gotta love Arcadia Publishing for going with a good idea.) John gave me Early Pasadena for my birthday this year and I devoured it. (That's a figure of speech. I didn't actually eat it. I read it voraciously.) I'm a happy reader when you give me archival photos and accompany them with historical information.

And if you do those things with style you might just be Michele Zack, who recently published Southern California Story: Seeking the Better Life in Sierra Madre. Disclosure again: I know Michele. I haven't read her latest book (yet) but I read her previous one, Altadena: Between Wilderness and City (published by the Altadena Historical Society). I loved that one, too. Michele has a knack for digging up juicy little (or big) secrets a town might want to forget but really, really, ought to remember.

I think I could feature a local author every week and never repeat myself. Pasadena's crawling with 'em. Someday I'll even feature myself.
...

Hey, why not today? Full disclosure: here comes a plug! My story, Belinda's Birthday, is in the running to be Story of the Year at the Rose City Sisters Flash Fiction blog. The story with the most unique page views wins, so go take a look. In fact, three other local bloggers--Susan Carrier, Desiree Zamorano and Margaret Finnegan--have published wonderful stories at Rose City Sisters. All are bright literary lights with whom I'm proud to share a similar flash fiction url.

Leave a comment if you've got something to say. And thanks for supporting your local literati.

Stylin'

My young neighbor and I share a name: Celeste. She has the stronger claim on it, as it's her first name and my second one, so I let her use it.

Celeste has a new bike. Look at those white tires with the pink sidewalls! I like the little clips on the spokes, too. They make a soft buzzing noise as she speeds down the sidewalk. This is a special edition "Slumber Party" bike, with a zipper bag on the front to carry her treasures.

Celeste has been riding that thing up and down the block every chance she gets. Her brother Cesar got a new scooter. He wouldn't pose, which is his prerogative. But I'm grateful to Celeste for letting me take her picture.

A bit of business:
I'd love it if you'd read my story at the Rose City Sisters Flash Fiction Blog. It's short! Leave a comment even if you don't like the story (writers had better have thick skin). Then read the guidelines and submit your own story to the Rose City Sisters.

Did you miss out on the Eateries Handbook? Here's something I can offer all Pasadena Daily Photo visitors: a discount at Whooga.com. Nice boots, $30 off when you enter the code PASADENADA into the box in the cart. I've checked it out and it's legit. Let me know what you think of offers like these. Good? Smarmy? More? Fewer?