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Local News for a Global Village | www.VoiceSB.com
February 25, 2022
Discovering Collateral Value – Even In Bad Times “routine life,” that we assumed to be stable, taken away. Shutdowns and stringent public health orders prevented us from experiencing the structured existence we had grown to expect and enjoy.
By Angel Iscovich, MD, Special to VOICE
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EGARDLESS OF WHAT CAMP YOU FALL INTO — or even if you think COVID has wrought nothing but misery — there is collateral value, not just damage — to what we have been experiencing since March 2020. We have learned many lessons by having our
Now we can take these lessons and make them part of our life and routines. Routines in themselves give us stability, balance, and physiological homeostasis.
Courtesy Photo
Unable to partake in eating out, many of us learned to be better cooks. Economically, this was a boon for producers of appliances like grills and frying pans. Cooking and eating at home also meant more togetherness with loved ones. In fact, so many families took up the art of baking, it led to a flour shortage in the U.S. according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens has a range of walks and hikes for the whole family or a solitary stroll, as do our 50 plus local parks, the beach, and Los Padres National Forest.
When indoor fitness venues, gyms, and yoga studios closed, it forced many of us to find new ways to become and stay healthy. We started walking and getting more fresh air. We took to hiking trails with loved ones, which allowed us more time together, strengthening familial bonds while enjoying nature. Golfing made a comeback. And much like the flour shortage, we saw the same trend with the run on bicycles. We saw swimming pool sales exploded in the past two years and home improvement hit
Harbor VOICE
record heights. Backyards were transformed into oases for social connectivity — even if for only a small number of family and friends. We also witnessed a surge of pet adoption leading to greater companionship between human and critters alike. COVID shone a spotlight on how adaptive people are by nature. Now that some of the pandemic restrictions are lifting, we can continue to utilize the routine lessons we have learned. You might consider: • Start the day with a positive daily affirmation • Cook, prepare, gather for one meal at home every day. • Participate in one outdoor activity daily. • Schedule and organize days with family and friends to strengthen bonds.
ROUTINE
LIFE via Zoom, but in-person. Bereft of so many physical experiences we counted on as part of our routine, we have come to appreciate the people in our lives. Perhaps this gratitude will continue and even increase long after we regain normalcy. It’s my hope that in spite of so much disruption, you find what is most valued and meaningful.
• Take daily time out in the afternoon for a moment of “quiet time.” Ultimately, the disease’s long-term effects on the economy, politics, and mental health remain to be seen. For now, let us acknowledge that even something this seemingly negative and disruptive offers benefits. It’s how we are wired. Most of all, it’s encouraging to witness an increased value on presence, not just
Angel Iscovich, MD
Angel Iscovich, M.D., is a long time Santa Barbara resident who has journeyed from philosophy, to psychiatry, to emergency medicine, and from the emergency room to the boardroom. He is the author of The Art of Routine. www.angeliscovich.com
They Came, They Saw, They Shelled
Photo by Sigrid Toye
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Photo courtesy of goletahistory.com
however, the psychological damage stunned an “Submarine Shells Southland already frightened nation with ramifications Oilfield,” and “First Attack that resonate to this day. of War on Continental U.S.” Think what it must have been like that This was also an exaggeration, winter evening around 7pm when families who as there were several other lived in a scarcely populated area of Goleta attacks after the first during heard explosions and saw flashes of light. Seated the War of 1812. Needless around the radio listening to the second of to say, rumors intermingled President Franklin D Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, with truth regarding the they were hearing news of the war. Just off the Ellwood attacks and remain coast, a Japanese submarine known as the I-17 a curiosity as I write. “The was in the process of opening fire on the nearby more I research this topic the By Sigrid Toye, Special to VOICE oil fields hoping to destroy its installations. more I learn,” stated Graffy at The entire episode only the end of his talk. “New facts HE YEAR 2022 IS ONE FULL OF involved the firing of a and interesting stories always ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS! Photo showing the damage from the shelling couple of dozen shells reveal themselves with the Stearns Wharf, the city’s magnificent that damaged a storage passing of time.” icon, is celebrating its 150th year, as facility, shattered an oil derrick, and splintered The Ellwood Beach shelling remains a blip in the history books. is the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Big plans a small portion of Ellwood pier. It was over in But like a small stone in a pond, its wake has made its way into the are being made in partnership with the 20 minutes. 21st century. On its face, the shelling of submarine I-17 was certainly Waterfront Department. In this season of The incident and resulting confusion at not one of World War II’s major events. It caused no injuries and anniversaries along our California coastline, Ellwood gave rise to conspiracy theories, some only $500 damage. However, Executive Order 9066 had just been there is yet another one not well known, of which are indeed interesting. Curiously, authorized four days before on February 19th, 1942 by President but impactful with deep historical roots unlike other oil fields that existed up and down Roosevelt relegating thousands of individuals living on the West marking its 80th year... this week! The Santa the California coast, the Ellwood Oil Fields Coast to internment camps throughout the country for the duration Barbara Maritime Museum hosted historian had little military protection, making it an easy of the war. The fear and terror generated by the Ellwood attacks Neil Graffy for a webinar titled They Came, target. Goleta did have a Coast Guard patrol hastened the roundup of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry (most They Saw, They Shelled. Graffy regaled his boat stationed nearby, a Marine fleet of patrol of whom were U.S. citizens) and others from countries with whom virtual audience (of 200!) with the story of bombers stationed at the Goleta airpost, army the United States was at war. Over 2,000 residents of Santa Barbara the 1942 attack by a Japanese submarine on troops spread along the coast as shore patrol, County, community friends and neighbors, were transported from Ellwood Beach shelling exhibition at the oil fields at Ellwood Beach, the present the SB Maritime Museum plus two howitzer cannons were at the ready, their homes to inland camps. As Neil Graffy pointed out, the story location of The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa one at Ellwood. Mysteriously, all of these defenses were relocated just continues to be revisited today with the longer view that the passing Barbara and the Sandpiper Golf Course. And what a story it is! days before this attack! Gives one pause, indeed. of time allows. An exhibit with Ellwood Oil Field artifacts can be The surprise attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on December Graffy revealed that the I-17 was not the first submarine to found at the Maritime Museum and the webinar is available on their 7th, 1941, only six weeks before, clearly demonstrated that United cruise the waters off the California coast. A total of seven Japanese website at www.SBMM.org States territory could be assaulted and the threat of war brought to submarines actually patrolled the West Coast after the attacks on the American homeland. An uncertain nation found itself once again Pearl Harbor. They sank two merchant ships and damaged six Sigrid Toye volunteers for the Breakwater Flag Project. She is on the board enmeshed in another global conflict leaving the entire nation jittery, of directors of the Maritime Museum and participates in Yacht Club more, skirmishing twice with U.S. Navy air or sea forces. Although especially those living on the West Coast. The shelling of the Ellwood activities. An educational/behavior therapist, Sigrid holds a Ph.D in clinical this was a little known fact - or perhaps not revealed - the Ellwood Oil Fields and the surrounding area on the evening of February psychology. She loves all things creative, including her two grown children Beach attack rattled the national psyche with headlines screaming 23rd caused minimal material damage – estimated at a scant $500 – who are working artists. Send Harbor tips to: Itssigrid@gmail.com