Messages from Pops Way: Malibu morning picture of the day

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Heavy rains are hitting the Greater Los Angeles Area today.

We were between raindrop episodes when I parked and took this picture. I liked this one because of the cluster of red lights only at the intersection of PCH and Malibu Canyon Road below.

As we commuters ascended to the highest point on the canyon road, pretty much getting close to the rainclouds, the scene in front of you disappears for all of the water hitting the glass. Once past the crest it became dry and calm. You have to love crossing very abrupt borders like that in nature. Of course it's very easy to attribute such crossings to supernatural interventions of gods, angels, or demons. But isn't that where good stories come from?

Saint Barbara, patron saint
of artillerymen;
most definitely cannon "canon"

I've been reading up on my study of Christmas lore. Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the Magi get at lot of focus this time of year, but there are certainly other happenings.

We missed it, but last Thursday, December 4, was St. Barbara's Day, and one of the things you do is go out and cut off a potentially flowering branch from one of your bare fruit trees, stick it in a vase of water, and keep it in the warm confines of your house. It tricks the branch into a false spring and should bud and flower by Christmas Day. If it's later than that, it's a signal of a poor harvest to come.

Saint Barbara is the saint (read folk deity for some of you) for fire and lightning. You can see (and hear) the connection to firearms, I'm sure.

They always show blondes in these
kinds of photos. Yay brunettes!

And of course, tomorrow is Saint Lucy's Day--northern-Euro-American girls' equivalent day to having your mother make you wear a yukata, hanbok, or cheongsam for an ethnic festival celebration. If you're a Nobel Prize Winner (and if you are a reader of this blog, I'm sure you were in contention ...) you know all about this.

Here's Saint Lucy. Yes, she is holding a set of eyes. She is the patron saint for the blind. As part of her martyrdom, her eyes were gouged out. Some depictions indicate that the eyes in the tray she holds are her own. But I decided not to go there. She is an obvious choice (her name means "light") for a saint to venerate at the darkest time of the year.

If you read up on both of these saints, they were basically protesting being treated as their father's property and rejecting arranged marriages, particularly to men whose beliefs were inconsistent with their own. This issue is an old one and still being waged today in various countries. Their struggles for self determination are definitely worth remembering, venerating, and emulating.

Have a wonderful weekend, all of you.

Love,

Pops

Middle-of-Day Update: about 11 AM

I don't normally repost, but things cleared up out here. When you took your coffee break did you get anything close to what I saw?