It’s 2025 and the future is here!
New year, new me…is something I won’t be saying any time soon.
It’s more along the lines of new year, same me with a few modifications but none that you’d actually notice. And if you do notice, I’d rather you not say anything.
If anything, January started with a rather terrifying jolt. I lived in Los Angeles for a long time and watching the fires rip through the Palisades, Malibu, Brentwood, the Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, Altadena and beyond, has been absolutely heart-breaking.
Many of my friends were forced to evacuate. One, who lives near Runyon Canyon, was in very real danger of losing her home.
I remember watching her son take his first steps in the kitchen.
We put the world to rights over Chinese take-away around her dining table more times than I care to note.
I taught her how to make a decent cup of tea on her stove using a proper kettle.
The idea that her home, her family’s safe place, and somewhere that holds so many memories, could be lost so violently and so quickly was just too much to bear.
I spent almost 24 hours on email, on the phone and on social media - specifically Tik Tok - watching lives from around the county, trying to monitor how close the fire was getting to her house. She was one of the lucky ones. Her home is safe for now.
Another friend, a teacher, no longer has a school. I don’t think any of the schools in the Palisades survived. Four of their teachers are homeless and so are many of their students. Everyone is, as you can imagine, utterly devastated.
Now, the scramble is on to find accommodation, food, clothes, pet supplies and just…well… anything. They have no things left. One guy on social media, who had to flee from a burning home, said: “I no longer own a pair of jeans”.
That, for me, summed up the desolation.
It’s a huge misconception that the people who live in and around the Palisades and Hollywood are all billionaires or millionaires, who can easily escape to their second or third homes, or rebuild with ease. Most are people are like you and me. They are teachers, beauticians, engineers, below the line industry workers, nurses, etc. And you know what, even Paris Hilton, who can literally turn up to one of her namesake hotels in almost every city around the world, has still lost a home that contained unique memories, treasures and keepsakes.
California is an incredible place to live but there was always a tinge of worry when it came to the next natural disaster. I, too, experienced the effects of raging fires in the mountains (that weren’t a big) but which left the air over the city brown and acrid. We’d watch day after day, as the plumes of smoke filled the sky, over the Malibu horizon, so goodness knows what everyone is breathing in right now.
I also viscerally remember the shock of various earthquakes, and being flung around the room as the building lurched from side to side, and also, odd bursts of torrential rain, which were terrifying in another way because there’s no real drainage.
Cars would hydro-plane on the freeway; that happened to me once and all I could do was lift my hands off the steering wheel, and hope for the best. Thankfully, the car found traction and I was able to steer myself to safety and the off-ramp. California is not for the faint-hearted.
It’s going to take a miracle to rebuild the community, especially in the Palisades, but if they want to - and from what I see they do because why would they not - they will. As someone commented on Threads: “We are a city full of producers, production managers and production coordinators, we will get his done.”
Seeing hundreds of people gather at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, and all the other locations to donate clothes, food and pet supplies has been heart-warming. My Facebook timeline is full of people offering rooms, clothe, pet food, dinners, school supplies, everything. The city is by no means out of danger but the signs that life will go on, are most definitely there, albeit, changed in so many ways forever.
My thoughts remain with everyone in the city.
This week, also sees my writers group reconvene at our local book shop. We have a handful of new members joining and I can’t wait to hear what everyone is working on this year.
A large part of why I love this writers group, apart from the writing, is the sense of community, and I know I’m sounding like a broken record in some respects, but as the world gets crazier, the more important it becomes. Community is not an optional extra. I really do believe that the more we can surround ourselves with good people, the better off we will all be.
Hyper niche friendship groups are the future. And it seems as if the future is here.
So have a great week everyone. Or as someone said to me earlier today, have a magical week.
I like that.
Let’s make the magic happen.
Lisa
Lordy. Hope everyone remains OK x