Malibu morning picture of the day - The Eleventh Day of Christmas, Monday, January 5, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

A Happy New Year to you all! Here's your picture.

I wish like anything that I could have had a motion picture camera set up on a tripod and just kept it going from 6:45 to 7:30. The oceanscape went through at least seven distinct color transformations during that time as the sunrise occurred while I was on the bus.

 But here is the snap at 7:30. The wind is blowing hard out of the canyon and I am sure it will be crystal clear blue later today.

You've seen these guys before, the wild parrots of Malibu, but they let me get close today. The rising sun made the branches red today.

Hope you had a great holiday season. Me? Mine was crime-ridden. I got burglarized on Christmas Day and had my 30-year-old mountain bike stolen (which I had just refurbished) and somebody got ahold of one of my credit cards and started to go on a fast-food buying spree--$41-per-bite purchases done at consecutive eateries like McDonald's, Fatburger, and Burger King. Oh, and lots of parking meter hits--I figure this was a "Ha-ha, in-your-face" move since this was a Sunday and parking meters are free.

Apparently $40 is the amount a vendor can take from a credit card pull without requiring ID. My thief was not a very imaginative fellow--I'm guessing it was a kid. Anyway, you learn something new every day.

It was not the first time I've gotten ripped off in this life and it's not the last. I've received unintended benefits too, so it I figure it evens out a bit.

Further on the topic of unevenness and imbalance, I visited a person yesterday that I had not seen in years who is now in hospice dying of breast cancer now metastasized to her bones--she has lots of pain and struggles to breath. Even with all of that, her face was serene and beautiful, and her hands surprisingly warm--she is a person of great religious faith. It made me stop complaining about my arthritic knees and my broken car door window--at least for now. Laura is an inspiration.

To all of you, may the worst of your hardships in 2015 be ones that can be solved by time, effort, and money.

Love,
Pops