This week marks the 38th anniversary of the original release of the movie Jaws. When it first hit the big screen I made every attempt to avoid it. I’d read the Peter Benchley novel. I like to swim in the Pacific Ocean. We have sharks off the coast. I was Not going to see the movie.

Of course, eventually I did, and I am NEVER at the beach that I don’t think of it. NEVER.

As police chief Martin Brody, played by actor Roy Scheider,  gets a better look at the shark circling the small fishing boat he’s on, he remarks in an understated tone, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” becoming perfect shorthand for bigger than anticipated life situations.

First thing Monday morning I received a message from my primary credit card company alerting me to fraudulent activity on the card. This is the card that gives me Amazon points, so I have every conceivable automatic payment associated with that card.

Last night we had an evening with Internet outages and combined with other interruptions to flow, I wondered…sun spots?

When things get a little crazy, I like to think about other things. So why don’t I tell you about our off-the-coastline Jaws story, just perfect for the movie anniversary.

Southern California has been called a “nursery ground” for mako sharks, but they are typically caught somewhere between 2 and 6 feet long. How about 1,323 pounds–caught off Huntington Beach? That’s a Jaws-worthy shark, don’t you think?

If you’re interested in some photos and a bit more of the story, go ahead and click HERE.

One of the last times we were at Huntington Beach we saw a small shark caught by a gentleman fishing off the end of the pier. There was quite a buzz with people lining up to have their photos taken next to the big guy.

There is a high demand for thresher steak, and over-fishing has led to a dramatic drop in the thresher population. I couldn’t help but feel a little sad…I’m more of a catch and release kind of person.

I didn’t share the photos at the time because for some, seeing a shark in its last moments of life is not  very pleasant.

So, here are the photos if you’re interested. Click HERE–they’re not that graphic, I promise.

And whether you look at the shark photos or prefer not to, don’t you still hear that deliciously ominous John Williams’  score playing in your head?

“Doo Dum doo dum doo dum“–scariest two alternating keys in moviedom.

There are so many wonderful things about the Southern California coastline. Just don’t think about what’s under the water–or try not to!

California Surfer Dude

And I do hope your boat is just the right size this week. Mine is getting back in balance. Just a temporary waylay.

PostScript:  Here I was so careful to link the thresher shark photos so that viewing them is optional, but I now see they are displayed as the primary photos on my blog page. I don’t know how to suppress the view, so I’m off on another learning curve. If someone wants to hand me the “how to” suppress linked photos from automatically showing, I’d be happy to learn! Sunspots, I tell you!

For those who enjoy paleontology and imagining what Los Angeles was like 44,000 years ago, I’ll have more photos next week.

As much as I love the tar pits and all the accompanying history and prehistory, bubbling goo isn’t all that beautiful. And going into the weekend, I’d like a few photos that bring to mind a breathe lighter moment.

I admired the gorgeous orange flower clusters on a tree I couldn’t identify. I pass the neighborhood trees every day, but I’d never before seen them with such a bright flame of color.

I was on a quest to identify the tree. I even flagged down a groundsman on the Country Club property, but he couldn’t help me.

My mom turned out to be the best detective! What a good idea–call the arborists responsible for tree maintenance. And so she did.

Grevillea robusta, or silky oak, is a beautiful tree, especially in spring bloom. Also called Australian Silver Oak, it is a native of eastern coastal Australia.

I think it’s beautiful. But apparently, not everyone is quite as fond. I found a review on one of my favorite gardening sites, Dave’s Garden. 

I’ll leave you with a little humor coming from someone less pleased with the aesthetic qualities of the silky oak.

“Hi, I live north of San Francisco , and I have to tell you this is a messy, ugly tree. I just had it cut down today! it was 45′ tall and just crapped all over my deck, and my neighbors deck, all year round. It drops leaves, it drops flowers, it drops seeds. And it almost never looses [sic] all its seeds, so, The tree looks so shoddy. I have lived at my house for 6 years and I wanted to cut it down after the first year. I truly despised this tree. And now its gone, good riddens [sic]. Please, think twice if you plan to add this tree to your property. Take a look at this tree before you buy. Or, if you buy this tree, buy a rake, you will need it.”

And here I thought it was a really beautiful tree.

Have a wonderful weekend…with a good long exhale. Apparently Darwin needs one, too. I caught him hiding under the bushes this week.

He was so camouflaged I almost couldn’t find him. We’ll spend some time with him this weekend, and he’ll be good as new! That’s what a weekend can do for you…so enjoy!

The girls love both the indoor and outdoor climbing areas, including a 40-foot apparatus with a bird’s-eye view of the Arroyo Seco area, a water vortex demonstrating the science behind whirlpools and tornadoes,  water play, and time with small animals, insects and tons of freedom to touch and explore.

Even I climbed up the ant hill, a dark, twisting and rather small tunnel. I patiently followed two active girls while they climbed higher and higher on nets and platforms, chased along the nature paths looking for butterflies, and repeatedly circled the bicycle roadway.

While they lapped up the water play I dodged the giant water guns — protecting the camera. They were soaked!

And that wasn’t all. As we left Kidspace, we finished up the day at the Pirate Park, all a part of the beautiful grounds of the Arroyo Seco Natural Park.

And I was feeling pretty good about myself–keeping up with two very active little girls.

And then the moment…

Karina looked at me with those big brown eyes, and asked, “Nan? Are you REAL old?”

A four-year old keeping it real. I hope you’ve had some fun and laughter  this week. Humor–and not taking ourselves too seriously, keeps us young in spirit, no matter how old. Yep! That’s what I’m telling myself.

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.  ~Chili Davis

How about a dragonfly eating a fly?

These flamboyantly colored insects are all over our waterway performing their excellent function as natural insecticide. The pond mosquito fish help, but dragonflies give a nice assist.

I was so excited to see him zoom in and catch his meal. I hope next time Sophia and Karina visit we can witness similar excitement.

And speaking of meals, how about Darwin?

I think he was happy we stayed home. He enjoyed our company this weekend. I’m relieved that he is finally more comfortable with his diet. He now eats the grass without too much complaint. We had to curtail the too-rich  broccoli, but he still gets a little  treat of romaine with a light dusting of calcium supplement.

You’ll note his powdery nose…that’s the calcium.

But once again he thought he’d take his own road trip. I caught him sticking his head through the fence openings, but after several attempts he finally mosied off to munch on a bit more grass and then contentedly headed back to his bed for a little nap.

So another weekend comes to a close, but I don’t intend to just breathe lighter on the weekend. Let’s see what this week brings for me to enjoy. I do have a few mini-fieldtrips planned–oh yes, and then there’s work, but you know who’s waiting for me at work, don’t you?

Take notice…see how many ways you can enjoy some of nature’s best–even in a work week!

While getting a haircut this afternoon I overheard a woman telling others about the body found at the Tar Pits. It took all I had not to turn around and correct her, but she was having so much fun with the story I let it go.

No, there wasn’t a body. But there was plenty of activity. First, in case you’re unfamiliar with the tar pits, let me give a quick description.

I’ve previously shared quite a bit of detail about this 23-acre park in the heart of Los Angeles, and you might enjoy some of the links and videos previously posted HERE and HERE.

La Brea is essentially an ancient oil field. Over the past century paleontologists have found more than 3,000 specimens, mostly saber-toothed cats, and it is called by John Harris, chief curator at the accompanying George C. Page Museum, “one of the richest ice age fossil sites in the world.” It is the only active urban paleontological excavation site in the United States.

The tar pits are out in the open and accessible to anyone. They are surrounded by chain-link fencing, secure enough to protect the public from directly entering the dangerous pools, but small animals and wind-driven debris regularly get stuck in the muck.

It never occurred to me that this site would be an excellent place to discard a weapon!

Well, very early Thursday morning members of the Los Angeles Police Department criminal gang homicide unit and Long Beach police and port police gathered at the edge of the bubbling methane pools, complete with metal detectors, high-powered magnets and sonar to map the area.

One member of the police dive team, Sgt. David Mascarenas, entered the pools as part of a joint investigation into a murder case by local and federal law enforcement agencies, and by afternoon the evidence in question was recovered. Details of the evidence or the case involved have not been shared with the public.

Mascarenas stated this was by far the “craziest thing” he’d ever done, noting the dark pools included protrusions of tar resembling small mountains. He also suffered brief bouts of sickness from the methane. At one point his fins became stuck in the bottom, and much of the equipment used in the evidence recovery was ruined by the thick and oozing petroleum.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood at the edge of these tar pits and thought about the thousands of Pleistocene animals that were trapped in the tar, and I never once imagined a human being entering those dark and smelly waters!

I will leave you with this short news clip to give you a little more of the story directly from Sgt. Mascarenas.

Today was Sophia’s last day of Kindergarten, and her mommy and daddy promised a trip to the Tar Pits and Page Museum next Friday. I was quick to invite myself to tag along! So I’ll have more from  La Brea next Friday, but we won’t be getting too near the edge!

I hope the weekend offers you a good opportunity to breathe a little lighter. I know I’m ready, so all together now…exhale!

I started thinking seriously about what facts I thought I knew about D-Day as I listened to two radio commentators, just about my age, wondering how long it would be before remembering June 6 as a special day would fade into obscurity. Did young people today–and they didn’t say how young–know anything about D-Day?

That thought stayed with me today and I decided to see what I could find to possibly answer that question.

I found the results from a British survey of 1,000 children aged 11 to 18. I must admit that in the interest of time I have rather hurriedly reviewed the results and some of the cultural references used in the survey questions will probably not be familiar to all Americans. I will link to the survey HERE if you are interested in checking it out in more detail. You might want to see if you could answer the questions.

Here is  a small sample of the survey results.

• Only 1/5 of the children had some idea of what happened on D-Day. Most thought it was the day the war ended.
•  I’m afraid I don’t know about Churchill the insurance dog, but 92% of the children could identify the mutt, but only 62% could identify a photo of Winston Churchill.
•  Nearly a third were unable to give an explanation of why Britain had fought the Second World War.

Believe me, my British friends. I am not in any way critical of the young students. I am sadly confident that American students in the same age group would have fared even more poorly in answering questions related to D-Day and other primary aspects of World War II.

Worse yet, I fear that most Americans under 60 would have a difficult time with this survey. Thank you Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for at least giving us an epic movie providing us some graphic images of the horrors on Omaha Beach. Personally I could hardly make it through those first 20 minutes, but I’ll never forget it. I think that was the point.

I could load you with some powerful facts and interesting data related to D-Day that would send sober shivers up your spine, but you can do your own research as you feel you need to.

I’d rather give you a resource you might not know.

If you love history, you must take some time to familiarize yourself with Awesome Stories. I’ve linked to the Invasion of Normandy page, but please do spend some time with all aspects of this site. It’s a goldmine–a veritable treasure trove of stories, links, photos, and videos, covering topics ranging from sports to world history to major disasters and so much more–for children!

Don’t be put off by the idea that it’s designed for school children. Teacher/student materials can be the best learning tools. This site is perfect for sitting down and just reading a little at a time.

Do yourself a favor and spend time today really considering the historical impact of what was accomplished on the beaches at Normandy.

Before the invasion began, General Eisenhower said to the troops, “You are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you…I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.”

Now I want to conduct a poll to see if high school students recognize President Eisenhower.

Photo credit: 
http://www.historylink101.com

Related articles

• Lest we forget: The Normandy campaign 69 years on (independent.co.uk)
• Day to remember: Veteran keeps alive D-Day memories (news-journalonline.com)

She does her best performing before daybreak, but just for me, she stayed up long enough to give me a beautiful Saturday morning showing.

My Brazilian beauty, Arthrocereum glaziovii, is a threatened species, but in my backyard, she is the star of the show.

Olà linda!

She loves to tease! She knows her prickly cactus exterior doesn’t appeal to everyone. She just waits, knowing what she has to offer if they don’t look away.

But for those who know…

I have witnessed her spectacular drama before, but never quite like this! The bees were lured by her strong and extravagant fragrance.

Had she not chosen a weekend performance I might have missed her. You either catch her in the act, or you don’t even know she came to town.

And when she’s had enough, she gently bows, then makes a quick, but quiet retreat. She knows enough to conserve her star power for the next big show–perhaps a few months from now.

She’s only on stage for a brief, but lovely, 24-hour cycle. It’s a rare showing, but so worth waiting for.

At the end of the day, she closes her beautiful petals, but she leaves an impression, softly saying,

“Boa noite meus amigos”.

Night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

Goodnight weekend…

I can almost hear narrator Ron Howard trying to “explain” George, Lucille, Buster, Lindsay and Tobias…if you’ve never seen episodes from the critically acclaimed series  Arrested Development, I think it’s worth a peek simply for the combination of an excellent cast and comedy of the absurd.

I’m not current with the series, but I have seen enough of the shows to know that the family’s Original Frozen Banana Stand is its own character.

And this weekend, as part of the publicity tour for the release of 15 new episodes to Netflix, the Bluth banana stand will make its way to Balboa Island, home of the fictional Bluth family. We don’t live on Balboa Island, but we’re frequent visitors–and one week every summer is spent in Newport Beach/Balboa.

So I’m very tempted to make another visit.

The Bluth’s won’t be selling any actual frozen bananas this weekend, but there are other places to purchase the iconic treat.

I am so tempted to be a part of this zany banana stand tour, but my experience on Marine Avenue on any given weekend without the hype of a publicity stunt, tells me we’d have difficulty finding a square inch of parking.

Of course, we could park on the peninsula and take the ferry over to the island…

Or if the ferry is busy, there are some interesting yachts. I wonder if we could borrow this one?

Once we get there, other delights tempt us unrelated to the Bluth’s Frozen Banana Stand.

Would you like to join me? There are lovely places to eat and spots to sit and people watch, and if you’re inclined, you can shop till you drop!

I guess I’m always on the go…June 1st is summer on MY calendar.

And there are 1,100 miles of beautiful California coastline, so I plan to use long summer days to visit many little beach pockets similar to Balboa–although I don’t think I’m going to be able to get to the Bluth Banana Stand this Sunday. Still, I am so tempted!

I have other things tempting me even more. It’s been a year since I’ve seen Balboa Island from the sky. I’m “home” sick.

Related articles

• Photos: Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand Passes Out Treats In Culver City (laist.com)

But today is special. I hope you’ll indulge me.

Our youngest grandchild, Karina, is four years old today.

From the time Karina was no more than about 18 months old I have been calling her Sarah Bernhardt. I could probably benefit from updating my list of famous actresses by about 90 years, but somewhere in my youth I read a biography of the French actress, and remember, “The Divine Sarah,” as “the most famous actress the world has ever known.”

By and large we aren’t a limelight seeking family.  In fact, we tend to be comfortable in our supporting roles–behind the scenes players. Karina, on the other hand, was made for the stage.

From the time she was teeny-tiny she’d make eye contact with strangers, batting her eyelashes and charming anyone who’d notice her. And if they didn’t notice, she’d make any necessary adjustments, including throwing a fit–Aha! They’d notice then, and with the skill of a seasoned actress, as soon as heads turned, she’d quickly be all smiles.

Before she was two she copied dance routines seen on television. I remember her mommy calling to tell me that she had tried to “dance up the wall” like the performer. I’ve also caught her studying an actor’s facial expressions and trying to copy them in a mirror.

She loves to tell stories, embellishing them with hand motions and wild facial exaggerations. Her creativity in story telling frustrates her sister. Sophia pulled me aside the other day to suggest, “Don’t listen to her. She tells folk tales.” I think she meant tall tales, but you get the point.

At a recent preschool talent show we were entertained by the Divine Miss K. She topped all previous performances.

As soon as she took the stage with the other children she turned on the attitude–and also turned her back on the crowd.  She channeled her inner diva, making sure she got the laugh. She did.

As one of the group songs came to an end, she did a hair toss, turned on her heels and to our surprise, made an overtly dramatic exit.

I’m not sure what others thought, but I’ve watched her study other performers and become absorbed in a character.  And if you’re on a stage, don’t you become someone else? It’s hard to know what role she thought she was playing, but it was a stand-out performance!

This weekend we celebrated Karina’s birthday and she wasn’t playing a role. She was just one happy little girl. She’s been anticipating her 4th birthday for months, even choosing her own birthday cake from a children’s cookbook.

Happy Birthday, Miss Karina. You are one precious little girl.

Oscar Wilde  coined the nickname “The Divine Sarah,” so I will use another of his famous quotes as my birthday wish for our sweet Karina. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken,” and if that includes being a little diva…well then,shine!