It's My Birthday Too, Yeah!

My friend Dixie Jane, mother of Laurie over at Glimpses of South Pasadena, wrote this lovely poem for me today, and I just had to share!  
Thanks again, DJ!


Let the celebration get started
And the banners all unfurl
Tomorrow is a day to remember
It's the birthday of Mister Earl.

Dixie Jane would not find a new beau
She's just not that sort of a girl
But she would fly the miles it would take
For a dance with Mister Earl.

It's memories you'll make
With champagne and cake
As we give the dance floor a twirl
Happy Birthday, dear friend, and many, many more
To the man we call Mister Earl.

Save Hahamongna

On July 12, the Pasadena City Council will consider whether or not to build soccer fields in Hahamongna Watershed Park. We oppose the building of these soccer fields. Hahmongna is a watershed that should remain in its natural state. Soccer fields can be placed anywhere. A watershed like this cannot be replaced.

For more information please look at these websites:

http://www.savehahamongna.org/index.htm

http://fohwp.org/index.html

Many bloggers all over the San Gabriel Valley agree that Hahamongna must be saved. Here are the links for some of them:

Altadena Above It All
Altadena Hiker
A Thinking Stomach
East of Allen
Finnegan Begin Again
LA Creek Freak
Mendolonium
Mister Earl's Musings
My Life With Tommy
Pasadena Adjacent
Pasadena Daily Photo
Pasadena Latina
SaveHahamongna.org
Selvage
The Sky Is Big In Pasadena

Webster's Fine Stationers Web Log
West Coast Grrlie Blather

Fifth of July

looking out the fishbowl
at this beethoven bust
ever since the canine
no one's looking at us
but i bet with a running start
we could leap out of the water
a two foot drop to the oriental rug
and no one would be bothered
we could flip and flop across the hardwood floor
hold our breath through the lawn
the bust now sits where a globe used to be
canada should be at the end of this street
and lake louise is where i want to be

it's the fifth of july
feeling independent
please step aside
the celebration's over
we're now on our own for the first of our lives
on the fifth of july
now what

looking out the kennel
at the dying oak tree
ever since the newborn
no one's looking at me
but i bet with these incisors
i could gnaw through this lead
a two mile run to the county line
a two state run to the sea
i could run through the briars and the brambles
where a rabbit wouldn't go
so fast the hounds couldn't catch me
like a johnny horton show
and anywhere is where i wanna be

it's the fifth of july
feeling independent
please step aside
the celebration's over
we're now on our own for the first of our lives
on the fifth of july
now what

one if by land
two if by sea
three if by phone or facsimile
four if by plane
five if by boat
six if bilingual
seven by goat
eight by ten glossies of me

looking out the bedroom
at the snowy tv
ever since commencement
no one's asking 'bout me
but i bet before the night falls
i could catch the late bus
take small provisions and this beethoven bust
i could find work in the outskirts of the city
eat some fish on the way
befriend an old dog for a roadside pal
find a nice couch to stay
a pull sofa, if you please

it's the fifth of july
feeling independent
please step aside
the celebration's over
we're now on our own for the first of our lives
on the fifth of july
now what

FIFTH OF JULY

by Eddie from Ohio - A folk-rock band from Virginia

Artwork by Suzanne Thiel, Lansing, Michigan

Fourth of July

Comerica Bank Restoration Update

The bank as it looked from circa 1960 to 2009. The clock, over what once was and is now again the main entrance, continued to operate. This was a branch of Security Pacific Bank at some point, but I don't recall that it was used for anything but a furniture store since I arrived in South Pasadena in 1981.

In this photo, taken June 20, 2010, the restoration is complete, and the palm trees have been planted. The one thing they didn't get right in the restoration is the ATM machine, which was much more understated in the 1920s.

In 1920, the First National Bank building on the corner of Fair Oaks and Mission in South Pasadena looked like this. Notice the streetcar tracks in the middle of Fair Oaks:

A careful examination of the back of the building reveals that the stonework is a facade. I presume the original stonework was a facade as well. The folks at the bank say they will display a photo of the 1920 bank on their wall soon. Comerica is only using the front portion of the building. They plan to lease out the rear portion, although from the looks of the raised concrete slab and the concrete room in the center of the rear space, the lessee will have a lot of jack-hammering to do.