Greetings from Los Angeles

Greetings from Los Angeles — we’re heading back home to Macon today (11/28)! I hope everyone enjoyed a warm and uplifting Thanksgiving break. I thought I’d share a thought
with you in the few minutes before all the hectic pre-flight craziness kicks in…

This idea, strictly speaking, isn’t an Israel-related post. Of course, Israel is on our mind (how could it not be?!). But sometimes — as we all know by now — we have to take a breather from it all.

Long Strange Trip It’s Been…

Yesterday, we got a little hike in. Steep road in the Valley leading up to a breathtaking 360 view taking in a slice of the Pacific Ocean, city skyline, the San Fernando valley, and its gazillion (that’s an approximate number) residents. For those of you familiar with Tom Petty’s tune Free Fallin’ — all those referenced street names in the song pretty much provide the coordinates of where we were walking.

OK, now for the weird Sci-Fi bit… a dystopian relic from 1958-1968, the first decade of my life. A Nike missile silo where US army sentries patrolled the Los Angeles skies, on the lookout for Soviet incoming rockets. Ten years later, the newest addition to the arms race, IBM’s, rendered the Nike missiles obsolete. Nature is slowly but surely taking over the site. Now imagine visitors from 2023 describing the newest wars fought with drones (and on social media). Imagine us handing the incredulous sentries our iPhones… sleek portable slabs that do things that would blow their minds… The world in which we live (for better and worse) far outpaces fiction.

I’m saddened when I hear of young people who have decided against bringing children into this world. I’m not judging them. They’re in such a tough spot. The world we’re handing them comes with a daunting See-Click-Fix agenda. And for those who — in spite of it all — are rolling the dice on parenthood, that’s really courageous. The missile silo atop the ridge bears witness to a frightening Cold War reality. Honestly, 2023 has been pretty dark. Send out your best prayers for 2024. But even more important — commit to doing something. Each of us has the power (and responsibility!) to make a positive mark, to mend a broken heart. A brighter 2024 is Up to Us! Let’s plant those seeds together ?