missing mementos - lost forever have yet to be counted. Let
us just say...it has been bad enough already. Whatever is
scheduled to follow adds needless insult to injury. How did
the Governor do? Very well....he has shown up and represents
the State of California in a sensitive and meaningful way.
What about President Bush and the Homeland Security people?
They all seem to be on track....the major media coverage seems
appropriate...the use of Qualcom Stadium in San Diego was a
nice touch. The national support for the victims seems to be
there as well. This giant human tragedy that has hit So. Cal.
has yet to be counted in its long term effects. The beautiful
homes in Rancho Bernardo and so many other places have been
slaughtered...much as a lamb without protection might be taken
for a sacrifice to the gods!
The object of this precipitous article however is to focus on
the "Arson of the Lambs"...rather than dwell in morbid self
depression. The Santiago Fire...which indeed has affected the
Orange County area more than the others....at this point is
under investigation for "setting intentionally by a person or
persons unknown". Would a "public execution" be great enough
to sauve the the people and victims involved in this disaster?
Years ago when the people of Newport Beach faced the loss of
arguably one of the most beautiful view planes on the coast
of California....the Irvine Company was able by "hook or crook"
reach a majority on the City Council to bypass the wishes of
people. Soon, the two by fours went up for Promontory Point...
just above Balboa Island. It obliterated the view of bay from
PCH and Jamboree - forever!
There was talk by two groups at the time that the Promontory
Point property might be a good target for Arson before the
drywall went up! Criminal acts usually have some genesis in
"Causes" or "Financial Rewards" that would result from the
process. This talk was soon put to rest when the two pertinent
groups started talking with each other. The first group was
the Environmental and Community Activists that didn't want
their City harmed. The other group were the developers who were
in fact building Promontory Point. When the developers revealed
that they had Fire Insurance and if the project was burned...
it would be great for them - with a slight delay..because they
could get paid to build it again! They even said they would be
glad to help the Activists if they were serious! Promontory
Point went up without major incident.
Last year some Earth First people were accused of burning up
a Humvee Dealership....and writing Environmental slogans on
the remaining vehicles that were not burned. Oddly enough
after the arrest of one of the suspects....he was released
due to lack of evidence. So, if the Earth First people did
not burn up those vehicles - who did? Back to the human
carnage we are now experiencing here in California. Were these
fires....simply acts of God? Was it purely two power lines that
should have be placed underground hitting each other in the wind
and causing "the spark"? Was it "Al Queda"? Was it greedy and
mean spirited "Developers" who needed work because of the sub-
prime credit crunch? Was it out of work "Illegal Aliens" - that
just needed work? Was it "Earth First"? Was it Firefighers that
didn't have enough equipment...or made poor decisions? Or, was
it simply two stupid construction workers welding in a 60MPH wind?
The things we know now, are that at this point, over a million
of our So. Cal. neighbors have been displaced in this process.
We know that the scope of this disaster was probably not caused
by "Global Warming" but probably rather through Greed, Arson or
Stupidity! We know that homes, memorabilia, mementos and those
endearing items for so many are now lost forever. "The Castle"
in Malibu is perhaps a microcosm of our grief. Items regarding
Elvis, Princess Diana and a plethora of movie stars and famous
personalities....are now lost forever. As, we watched the many
displaced families on television as they stood there with their
three kids and a wedding plate..saying they had lost everything
..it leaves us with this question: we all need to know..sometime
in the future....how did it really happen!
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