Thanks for this, TS! This is the best thing I’ve read about the shock, awe, and punishment that Los Angeles is suffering. And you write in the hellish middle of it, where hundreds of people I know for 40 years are living through a 21st century classic Greek tragedy.
You have written a new poet’s Inferno:
“May the work of the soul be the most important thing in your life, because the "stuff" of it can be snatched away in an instant.”
“May there be some tiny speck of freedom in the shocking immolation of your worldly possessions.”
“… it wasn’t time for writing. It was a time for awe and witness.”
I hope LA has been through the worst of it. I can’t imagine the attempt at recovery.
Peace and love Trules. I can't imagine the recovery either, but like tragedy, recovery is a staple of the species. Appreciate you, as the athletes say.
These poetic sentiments are the ones I was called to (as well). Thanks for sharing your lens, Tommy. Holding in my heart the Angelinos that are up close and personal to the awe ❤️🩹💓.
Thank you Tommy for writing this, for being a reliable witness and providing an accurate, first hand account of the devastation and horror that is happening right now in L.A. No one could bring these scenes alive the way you do, and all I can say is -my thoughts are with you now, and all those who have suffered. Your final line alone is so real and stark and shocking:
It all finally hit me. “Oh my God. My city has been burned to the ground!”
Just an idea: would you consider doing a follow up to this at some stage? I would like to read what happens afterwards - people trying to rebuild their homes, their lives, maybe.
A somber, sincere offering. Thank you for being witness and bringing the depth of your reflection to the devastation. And this statement is profound, not the usual hopeful “toxic positivity” but a moving perspective: “May there be a boon in having the unthinkable come for you that hard, and surviving. May there be some tiny speck of freedom in the shocking immolation of your worldly possessions.”
This is so accurate. I broke yesterday and even through Covid, cancer,and loss I never broke. Yesterday 5 security guards in bulletproof vest escorted me out of Cedars. I’m a 62 year old 5’3 woman-harmless. I say this to you because you know what confession is worth. “My city,” I wailed.
I remember saying to a very anxious patient a long time ago that having a nightmare is yet being able to dream, to process and metabolize the unbearable. You're dealing with unimaginable excesses . LA will need to be grieved, witnessed, dreamed of. Thank God for those who can lend their words to those in need. Words are fire resistant.
I'm not in LA, but thanks for your kind words. The amount of tragedy we, humans, are and will be experiencing in our days will require more words than we can think of. Kindness is certainly a fine way to articulate them.
I’m not a fireman, there’s nothing I can do, but a big part of me wishes I was back in LA right now helping, commiserating, doing something, anything, being there for my friends who have lost it all. The trails I ran to stay sane as a kid on the east side are scorched. The trails I ran as an adult to stay sane on the west side are obliterated. The future of LA is going to be different in a different way than we thought. The last house I stayed in when I was last in LA burned to the ground at the waters edge. The ocean couldn’t save it. The feeling of powerlessness is heavier than the knowledge of powerlessness. It's insane.
I’m so very sorry for your loss and for the suffering of so many. Your witness and your writing are a glimmer of beauty in all this destruction. Thank you. Yes to this: “it wasn’t time for writing. It was a time for awe and witness.” And this: “This is incredible, I thought. We have people in place whose job it is to run toward disaster. Who organized all this?”
Glad to know someone who knows how to put it into words on paper as another being seeing this unfold in real time….it’s UNREAL~RIP to LA as we knew it… 🫣💔
Terrific piece. And it's not over. Where i am the winds were strong today and they will be present until Wednesday, they say. Yes, the soul. Thank you.
Oh Tommy I applaud your enormous gift of using words to conjure feelings and images. The way you document this tragic event is simply brilliant. This quote really sums up the absolute truth of the matter. “May the work of the soul be the most important thing in your life, because the "stuff" of it can be snatched away in an instant.” In 1993 a raging fire broke out in Malibu. I had to evacuate. I only took my pets, a few items of clothing, my photo albums and a couple pieces of art. I was most concerned with picking up my 2 children from school who were 8 & 10. It becomes crystal clear what is important. I left my home not knowing if it would be there when we were allowed to return. Oddly enough, It was an unexpected liberation. Since that time, I don’t place much value on things. This current wildfire triggers the trauma and also causes me to be in gratitude. Thank you Tommy. Your words somehow always soothe my soul and help me sense of the senseless.
Yeah. It's madness. My whole family is down there. An aunt in Pacific Palisades (non-white and working-class, former employee of SMPD living in a rent-controlled apartment she's lived in from age 25 to 85), an aunt and uncle in Santa Monica, and my sister, bro-in-law and 17-year-old nephew in Westlake Village. All have been up and down on EVAC orders. The Pacific Palisades aunt barely escaped her building burning down. I was born in Ventura, grew up in Ojai, but now live in Portland. In the 2018 Thomas Fire my parents nearly lost their house. It's all terrifying. And to see the failures of Karen Bass and the city in general, and then on top of that to see idiots on X and even Substack saying "let California burn"; well, it seems we've reached a new low.
My heart goes out to every single person involved in the fires the past week, rich or poor, Black, white and brown, male and female, trans and nonbinary; everyone. It's terrible.
Thanks for this, TS! This is the best thing I’ve read about the shock, awe, and punishment that Los Angeles is suffering. And you write in the hellish middle of it, where hundreds of people I know for 40 years are living through a 21st century classic Greek tragedy.
You have written a new poet’s Inferno:
“May the work of the soul be the most important thing in your life, because the "stuff" of it can be snatched away in an instant.”
“May there be some tiny speck of freedom in the shocking immolation of your worldly possessions.”
“… it wasn’t time for writing. It was a time for awe and witness.”
I hope LA has been through the worst of it. I can’t imagine the attempt at recovery.
As we used to say back in the day
Peace and Love,
Trules
Peace and love Trules. I can't imagine the recovery either, but like tragedy, recovery is a staple of the species. Appreciate you, as the athletes say.
These poetic sentiments are the ones I was called to (as well). Thanks for sharing your lens, Tommy. Holding in my heart the Angelinos that are up close and personal to the awe ❤️🩹💓.
Thank you Tommy for writing this, for being a reliable witness and providing an accurate, first hand account of the devastation and horror that is happening right now in L.A. No one could bring these scenes alive the way you do, and all I can say is -my thoughts are with you now, and all those who have suffered. Your final line alone is so real and stark and shocking:
It all finally hit me. “Oh my God. My city has been burned to the ground!”
Thanks Martin. Good to you have you there to read and muse and play a duet with me like you do.
Just an idea: would you consider doing a follow up to this at some stage? I would like to read what happens afterwards - people trying to rebuild their homes, their lives, maybe.
"May the work of the soul be the most important thing in your life, because the "stuff" of it can be snatched away in an instant." Beautiful, Tommy.
Thank you for witnessing.
Can I get a witness. Hope you listened. Had you in mind when I read, Starley.
I did listen. And as always, I was glad you recorded. Thank you. 🎧
A somber, sincere offering. Thank you for being witness and bringing the depth of your reflection to the devastation. And this statement is profound, not the usual hopeful “toxic positivity” but a moving perspective: “May there be a boon in having the unthinkable come for you that hard, and surviving. May there be some tiny speck of freedom in the shocking immolation of your worldly possessions.”
Thanks Kimberly. Appreciate the way you read and what you say.
This is so accurate. I broke yesterday and even through Covid, cancer,and loss I never broke. Yesterday 5 security guards in bulletproof vest escorted me out of Cedars. I’m a 62 year old 5’3 woman-harmless. I say this to you because you know what confession is worth. “My city,” I wailed.
I do know what confession is worth my fellow 62 year-old. Surprised it only took five of them.
beautifully written
Thanks Adam.
3000 miles away and yet ...right there next door, cuz your words are potent. Fire resistant as another fan aptly says. Great piece, Tommy.
Thank you.
Tommy, incredible time so well captured by your words.
Thanks Lisa.
I remember saying to a very anxious patient a long time ago that having a nightmare is yet being able to dream, to process and metabolize the unbearable. You're dealing with unimaginable excesses . LA will need to be grieved, witnessed, dreamed of. Thank God for those who can lend their words to those in need. Words are fire resistant.
Beautiful, glad I wrote, just to get that back. "LA will need to be grieved, witnessed, dreamed of." Love that.
Greetings Marcia, “Words are fire resistant” is truth and thank you for bringing these words into my heart. Stay safe, Geraldine
Hello Geraldine,
I'm not in LA, but thanks for your kind words. The amount of tragedy we, humans, are and will be experiencing in our days will require more words than we can think of. Kindness is certainly a fine way to articulate them.
I’m not a fireman, there’s nothing I can do, but a big part of me wishes I was back in LA right now helping, commiserating, doing something, anything, being there for my friends who have lost it all. The trails I ran to stay sane as a kid on the east side are scorched. The trails I ran as an adult to stay sane on the west side are obliterated. The future of LA is going to be different in a different way than we thought. The last house I stayed in when I was last in LA burned to the ground at the waters edge. The ocean couldn’t save it. The feeling of powerlessness is heavier than the knowledge of powerlessness. It's insane.
Yes and yes...and yes.
I’m so very sorry for your loss and for the suffering of so many. Your witness and your writing are a glimmer of beauty in all this destruction. Thank you. Yes to this: “it wasn’t time for writing. It was a time for awe and witness.” And this: “This is incredible, I thought. We have people in place whose job it is to run toward disaster. Who organized all this?”
Thank you Julie.
🙏📖✍🏻🔥💯😶🌫️🫣🤯🔥💔🌆😥🥵
Glad to know someone who knows how to put it into words on paper as another being seeing this unfold in real time….it’s UNREAL~RIP to LA as we knew it… 🫣💔
Agree.
Your words are helping me grieve
Good. I'm glad, Leslie.
Terrific piece. And it's not over. Where i am the winds were strong today and they will be present until Wednesday, they say. Yes, the soul. Thank you.
Yes, the soul.
Oh Tommy I applaud your enormous gift of using words to conjure feelings and images. The way you document this tragic event is simply brilliant. This quote really sums up the absolute truth of the matter. “May the work of the soul be the most important thing in your life, because the "stuff" of it can be snatched away in an instant.” In 1993 a raging fire broke out in Malibu. I had to evacuate. I only took my pets, a few items of clothing, my photo albums and a couple pieces of art. I was most concerned with picking up my 2 children from school who were 8 & 10. It becomes crystal clear what is important. I left my home not knowing if it would be there when we were allowed to return. Oddly enough, It was an unexpected liberation. Since that time, I don’t place much value on things. This current wildfire triggers the trauma and also causes me to be in gratitude. Thank you Tommy. Your words somehow always soothe my soul and help me sense of the senseless.
Thank you Pattie Lee. Make sense of the sense of the senseless. There's some small bit of hope in that.
Yeah. It's madness. My whole family is down there. An aunt in Pacific Palisades (non-white and working-class, former employee of SMPD living in a rent-controlled apartment she's lived in from age 25 to 85), an aunt and uncle in Santa Monica, and my sister, bro-in-law and 17-year-old nephew in Westlake Village. All have been up and down on EVAC orders. The Pacific Palisades aunt barely escaped her building burning down. I was born in Ventura, grew up in Ojai, but now live in Portland. In the 2018 Thomas Fire my parents nearly lost their house. It's all terrifying. And to see the failures of Karen Bass and the city in general, and then on top of that to see idiots on X and even Substack saying "let California burn"; well, it seems we've reached a new low.
My heart goes out to every single person involved in the fires the past week, rich or poor, Black, white and brown, male and female, trans and nonbinary; everyone. It's terrible.
It is madness. Glad your aunt's building made it though.