Across the Pond

Romantic getaway? Poster in a thrift store in Bakersfield. Want to spend a weekend for two in California? Your options are many. You probably know them: Yosemite, Napa, La Jolla, San Francisco, Big Sur, Mendocino... My husband and I, for a romantic getaway in July, picked - Bakersfield. What? my friends asked, Bakersfield? Did the hotel have a pool? (It did not.) For those of you who are not from California, Bakersfield is a hot place. In July which is the warmest month highs average 96.9 °F (36.06 °C). Then again, Bakersfield is not what you'd call a hot spot. The apparently once beautiful historical town center was almost entirely destroyed in an earthquake in 1952 (actually an aftershock to a shaker a month earlier); bland looking buildings replaced the ruined heritage (though some are rather colorful); malls and marts went up on the outskirts and drained the inner city of life (a fate Bakersfield shares with many cities in the U.S.). According to the...

So L.A.'s much announced Carmageddon didn't happen; the closure of a ten mile stretch of the 405 freeway from Friday night until mid Sunday did not bring gridlock and mayhem to this city of ten million car addicts. Instead, those who were out and about found streets and highways more empty than usual. L.A. officially thanked its residents for being cooperative and keeping the car parked. As of lunch time on Sunday the electronic signs along the freeways which had been warning drivers to expect big delays during the weekend showed a new message: "405 open. Thank you Los Angeles". Very nice. You're welcome. The Carmageddon that wasn't reminded me of Y2K, another catastrophe averted. Both not-events show that preparation is key. The blow we can see coming will not throw us for a loop as easily as the one which takes us by surprise. In Los Angeles, proof of this is one major earth quake away. As far as the addiction goes - does the fact that we can leave ou...

Does anything bring out the truth about people more than a crisis? Images and reports from the earth quake, tsunami, and radioactivity stricken Japan show a stoicism in those affected that is rare. When I first came to live in L.A. in 1999 the comparatively light Northridge earthquake of 1994 which registered as a 6.7 was still fresh in people's minds. It was then that I learned how Californians deal with the constant threat of a major shaker: they accept that the big one is getting ready to rock us and prepare for it. Schools drill children on earth quake safety, residents keep earth quake kits in their garages and cars. Such preparation is sensible and it calms the nerves. It makes us feel we have control over what will happen. It takes some fear out of life. Does preparation ensure that we Californians will respond as stoically as the Japanese when our time comes? No. The culture on this side of the Pacific is different. We see it every year when the wildfires burn out ...