Report From the Trenches #13

All prior reports in this series have been about battles with internal Resistance. This one’s about the real world.

First, thanks to everyone who has written in with kind wishes and good vibes. I never realized how many people were in my corner and looking out for me and Diana. Thanks to everyone!

Here’s what’s been happening and where we stand:

After most of a month in hotels and friends’ guest houses, Diana and I have found an Airbnb in Venice. We’re safe and dry. There’s a place to write and it’s close to the gym—my two big mandatories.

We’re here for three months, meanwhile looking for something to rent longer-term—a year or two. Our plan is definitely to rebuild. May be crazy, as these fires are becoming a way-too-regular thing, but we love the place and we’re gonna go for it.

The hell of it is the bureaucracy and red tape. Despite govt promises to streamline the process, the grim reality is everybody does have to rebuild safely, on cleaned-up sites, according to code, etc. and that takes time. One of the most frustrating parts (and I’m sure this was true for Katrina or Lahaina or any other natural disaster) is the roads are closed. It makes sense of course because the infrastructure rebuild is so massive—power poles, drainage, clearance. The topography of New Orleans or Hawaii or here is that there are only a few roads in and out.

We’ve been up to see our house a couple of times. Everything is ashes down to the ground. The good news is the trees survived. We have two sycamores, a great old oak, and a massive eucalyptus that mean the world to us. They are scorched but they’ll be back.

Diana and I feel the same. I must thank as well not just the firefighters and first responders, who believe it or not are still here working, but the insurance people (at least the ones we’ve dealt with, at the CA FAIR Plan) and the hotel folks and so many others. At one point we checked in to the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. The reception dude who helped us (Daniel from Honduras) was so kind that Diana just started sobbing. Almost without exception, friends and strangers have been generous and supportive.

And don’t let me forget the Goddess. The Muse is there for all of us and nothing in the material world can touch her or her gifts. Keep digging, brothers and sisters. That underground river keeps flowing for all of us.

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