The Canyon Chronicle-November 11, 2022 (Vol. 3, No. 22 ) -www.thecanyonchronicle.com

Chaparral Peak Pool Home. Virtuoso Views.

This home has been distilled to its purest essence, and recreated as an exquisite, modern abode, wrapped in extraordinary views, with a highceilinged Great Room, redone everything, and a stunning Mod Pool, with windows on the view! Drive up your gated drive, to your gleaming home set on the top of a hill. The lofty great room envelops you in views, and comforts with a cement clad fireplace. You are irresistibly pulled through the glass doors to the steel reinforced deck, and the dazzling, rugged, rock formations of Topanga’s own Big Rock! The bright, new, open, kitchen, with CaesarStone counters and high end appliances, will be where your family and friends find you. The Main Suite, with glass doors to the front yard, eastern views of mountains and sunrise, glass walled closets leading to a sparkling new bath with a Live Edge counter and shower large enough for two, is your sanctuary. There are two other bright, sunny, bedrooms. Soak in the deep tub with a view, in your guest bath, with designer Italian fixtures. Downstairs, one bay of the 3 car garage is now your lounge or creative space. The story continues out front by the pool. Wild rock formations, distant peaks, sweet homes tucked in canyons, epic sunsets, all yours to experience in every mood of sun, moon, sky. Below, a wide flat pad used to house horses, and it could again, or perhaps an ADU, a hobby farm, a soccer field, the sky is no limit.

Ready to see how different the curated white glove Compass approach is to selling real estate? Utilizing the Wright Way Team and our access to Compass Private Exclusives, Compass Concierge, and many other amazing services, will change how you have ever experienced the real estate process. There is a reason why Compass has been the #1 Brokerage in Topanga 3 years running and why the Wright Way Team is the #1 team in Topanga. We are a local family team powered by a forward thinking, fast moving, high touch and high technology company, changing the industry for the better, leading from the heart, and delivering exceptional results for our clients!

@thewrightwayteam

NUMBER ONE TOPANGA TEAM. PASSIONATE LOCAL AGENTS. UNPARALLELED MARKETING REACH. INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY. RESULTS DELIVERED. AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER.

Adrian Wright 818.939.6415 adrian.wright@compass.com DRE 00935559

Jordan Wright 818.746.6987 jordanwright@compass.com DRE 01952694

Thinking Out Loud

Halloween on Bonnell Drive

Needless

Publisher / Editor

Flavia Potenza

Creative Director

Nira Lichten

Senior Reporter

Annemarie Donkin

Advertising Manager

Jenise Blanc-Chance

Creative Consultant

Eiffel Nazaryan

Contributors

Linda Ballou

Joel Bellman

Pablo Capra

Kathie Gibboney Paula LaBrot

Kait Leonard Amy Weisberg Kim Zanti

Copy Editor / Distribution Ellie Carroll

Contact US editor@thecanyonchronicle.com

General inquiries: info@thecanyonchronicle.com

Advertising inquiries: ads@thecanyonchronicle.com P.O. Box 1101

Topanga, CA 90290 (310) 460-9786

Follow us on Instagram @thecanyonchronicle, & Facebook and twitter @CanyonChronicle

The Canyon Chronicle is an independent community newspaper published bi-weekly by Canyon Media, Inc.©2020. All rights reserved. thecanyonchronicle.com

z

best one of all, Cinder.

—Flavia Potenza

Autumn Sunset at Topanga Beach, photographed by Erica Anderson. When the family visits, a trip to the beach is required and did not disappoint. We were transfixed as deceptively delicate pinks tinted clouds that would dramatically evolve as the setting sun made its fiery descent to the horizon.

Kris Lilliedahl (left) never thought that he would be on call every two or four hours feeding a newborn kitten, but here he was on Halloween not handing out treats because they were busy holding the now 8-week old Cinder, a pure black kitty who is inseparable from his “Daddy.” That goes both ways. The story of Cinder’s arrival went something like this: Carmen found him, showed him to Jane who said no, then to Aline, who said maybe, then asked Kris to kitty-sit, gave him formula and a syringe, and left to pick up her son from school. Kris’s wife, Kimmy, said, “Oh, no, you don’t,” but when Aline returned to take the kitten for the night, Kris had already named him and, anyway, it was time to feed Cinder, and that’s okay, “I’ll keep him for the night.” And forever after.

to say, Cinder was the real treat of the evening for the trick or treaters, who were more than praticed at snapping up treats and cuddling the

PHOTOS BY FLAVIA POTENZA

SCE’s Dave Ford Advocates for Early Detection and Cancer Prevention

By Annemarie Donkin

Dave Ford is the Southern California Edison (SCE) spokesman in Topanga for fires, earthquakes, downed trees, PSPS events and all things electrical. Yet, it was his personal fight against colon and prostate cancer that drove him to advocate for early detection and prevention, especially for men of color.

As Senior Government Relations Manager, for SCE, he is truly hands-on for Topanga. He participates in quarterly Topanga Emergency Management Task Force meetings, explains the details of SCE’s undergrounding project in Topanga while answering residents’ questions about downed trees, tree removals, pole replacements and PSPS events.

Ford also manages relationships with government municipalities, including federal, state, and county governments that include Los Angeles, the County Board of Supervisors, Metro, and helps develop strategic initiatives to promote awareness of a clean energy future.

Yet, for Ford, there is another serious cause that drives him.

Cancer—A Spokesman for Early Detection and Prevention

Ford’s personal battle with cancer began in 2014 when his doctor suggested he undergo a routine colonoscopy for prescreening and early detection. Instead of getting a colonoscopy right away, however, Ford waited three months. Unfortunately, during that time delay, Ford developed a tumor that ruptured in his colon.

To prevent the cancer from spreading, Ford had emergency surgery resulting in having 18-inches of his colon removed. From that point, Ford determined to make it his life’s mission, or as he calls it, his responsibility, to reach out to others who may be putting off prescreening for cancer.

Again, just three years later, during a routine physical, Ford had a blood test that indicated an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.

After a biopsy, the doctors confirmed he had prostate cancer, a type of cancer that, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), will be diagnosed in about 1 in 8 men, and resulted in about 34,500 deaths in 2022.

This time, Ford underwent radiation therapy, which was not necessary after his surgery for colon cancer. The treatment worked and he now lives cancer free. He credits the PSA test and his doctors for saving his life,

“I think that sharing my experience, and the more I reflect on my journey, that prescreening, and regular checkups help more people,” Ford said. “We are seeing a level of cancer that is becoming more challenging, especially during

COVID, that prevented people from getting physicals—cancer is significant among all races. Educating people on early detection will often lead to a better path to treatment, remission, or to eradicate it altogether.”

The American Cancer Society

After his battle with cancer, Ford was determined to advocate for cancer prevention. He joined theACS as a speaker to conduct further community outreach and regularly speaks on the importance of theses essential lifesaving procedures, especially for Black men. His leadership at the American Cancer Society includes:

• National Board Member, American Cancer Society—Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)

• Los Angeles Area ACS Board Member since 2019

• Co-lead, Southern California Edison “Relay For Life” Team with the ACS, raising more than $20,000 in 2022

• National Spokesperson for ACS, including national virtual panels and events from 2020 through 2022

“The American Cancer Society is honored to have a passionate advocate like Dave Ford who shares his personal cancer experiences and encourages people to learn more about cancer screenings that could save their life,” said Dan Witzling, ACS Senior Executive Director, Los Angeles area.

“Dave’s work is especially important for communities of color that often face additional barriers to cancer prevention and care due to health inequities.”

In addition to the ACS, Dave Ford is a member of several strategic and philanthropical boards, including the LA Philharmonic, American Association of Blacks in Energy, and the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber Educational Foundation.

“This is my engagement, talking to churches, community groups and local organizations about awareness, education and prescreening,” Ford said.

Throughout his career, Ford has applied these principles personally and professionally and was recognized as the 2020 Impact Maker to Watch. The Impact award is an annual distinction for those doing foundational work to positively impact Los Angeles.

Ford was also named to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s national board of directors in 2021 and continues to raise cancer awareness from his home in Los Angeles.

“I think the most important thing is love yourself, love your family and get prescreened,” he said. “That’s the gift that you can give to yourself and your family.”

SAGES Thank Tessa Charnofsky!

By Flavia Potenza

The November Senior Dinner at the Topanga Community Center was delicious and included one little surprise: a thank-you presentation of native plants to Tessa Charnofsky, West Valley and Mountain Communities Director for Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Shortly after she was introduced as Kuehl’s District 3 representative for Topanga, she showed up at almost every Town Council Meeting at the Topanga Library (on Zoom during the pandemic). During her tenure, she familiarized herself with the essential volunteer organizations created and developed by the community over decades, especially in fire prevention and protection. She listened, learned and responded to the concerns of community leaders and residents whose confidence in her leadership grew.

An avid and informed gardener at home, Charnofsky is also a current board member of the Theodore Payne Foundation and seemed almost to embrace the potted plants handed to her by SAGES president James Grasso and SAGES volunteer Tam Taylor.

Charnofsky thanked the group saying, “The uniqueness of Topanga, the passion and volunteerism of organizations in the canyon that focus on public safety, address fire danger, support older adults, and those incredible volunteers who stepped up during the pandemic, is like nowhere else.” With midterm elections just three days away, she also urged everyone to vote and “not to necessarily believe what some say are in a promise book. They should advocate for their needs, sit down with the next Supervisor and her/his staff to talk about these needs.” The group responded with a standing ovation.

The dinner was a hearty meal of roast pork with applesauce and/or horseradish, baked sweet potato with cinnamon and ginger, green beans with sliced almonds, red cabbage with onions and cornbread, all planned and prepared by Joe Grassi with the help of volunteer sous chefs and servers, and a homemade dessert of chocolate pumpkin cake by Karen Dannenbaum. It was perfect for a chilly late afternoon repast...outside in the parking lot because the hall was already set up with voting machines for election day on Tuesday.

Sadly for us, with Supervisor Kuehl’s retirement, Charnofsky will also be moving on. We can only wish her well and be grateful for her service to Topanga.

As we are to the SAGES.

SAVE THE DATE! The last Senior Dinner of the year will be on Sunday, December 4, 5 p.m., as part of the Community Center’s holiday festivities.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAVE FORD

Dave Ford at the White House spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris’ initiative of advocating for early cancer detection and prevention, especially among men of color.

PHOTO BY FLAVIA POTENZA

SAGES president James Grasso presents native plants to avid gardner Tessa Charnofsky, as volunteer Tam Taylor looks on.

My Main Dog, Livvie

Whether it’s the general stress of everyday life or the crankiness of middle age, sometimes there are just too many things to complain about. (Don’t even get me started about the people who speed down my street.) So, when somebody goes out of their way to do something nice, they really deserve to be mentioned. UPS driver Alex Flores not only brings my packages all the way up the steep steps to my patio, but always gives my dog, Livvie, plenty of attention and often a treat if he hasn’t given them all away to his other canine customers. She gets so excited when she sees him coming that she actually howls. This is the Topanga I know and love. Thank you, Alex!

—Katie Dalsemer Former Topanga Messenger Photographer

My Main Man, Miles

Pretty funny article (Long Distance Listening Party, Vol.18, by Miles Erickson, The Canyon Chronicle, Oct. 28,2022, Vol. 3, No. 21), but that list of jaded people is a long one that continues to grow and there is nothing quite like listening to “Walk On The Wild Side.” Nice.

—MF Anapol

Good News From Topanga Post Office

By Annemarie Donkin

In spite of persistent rumors, the Topanga Post office is staying open and is fully staffed.

After a rough few months with only one counter employee at the Topanga Post Office due to retirements and extended leave, we are pleased to report that the office is now fully staffed.

Postmaster Jose Sanchez was also assigned to Topanga, which should clear up some persistent headaches.

“The post office is not and has not closed,”

wrote a District 5 spokeswoman for the USPS.

Local residents brought the situation of the understaffed office to the attention of the District 5 Manager, who oversees Topanga. As a result, she worked to remedy the situation, so there should be plenty of counter staff, just in time for the holidays.

“The problems at the post office are now remedied,” wrote Tauni Brustin, who originally raised the alarm about the understaffing. “They have hired new people and things seem to be running a lot better. Thank you.”

Recognizing Innovation in Alzheimer’s Care

The 3rd Annual Maude’s Award Recipients were announced in Seattle, WA. Three organizations each received $25,000, and five individuals received $5,000 each including Mary Crescenzo of Topanga, California, whose innovation includes her pioneer work in arts engagement and dementia through her multi-disciplinary approach to “Care Through the Arts.sm.”

Mary Crescenzo

As author of “The Planet Alzheimer’s Guide: 8 Ways The Arts Can Transform The Life Of Your Loved One And Your Own,” and playwright of Planet A, a play about the inner world of Alzheimer’s, Crescenzo’s advocacy continues as a public speaker and in self-care creative writing workshops with care partners. Planet A was performed at the Topanga Public Library in a staged reading by the Topanga Actors Company in May. marycrescenzo.com

Maude’s Award was created to enrich the quality of life for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease

and related dementia and their care partners. It provides monetary awards to organizations and individuals for innovations excelling in one of four categories. Maude’s Awards was created in 2019 by Richard Ferry (Co-Founder of KornFerry International) in honor of his beloved wife of 65 years, for achievement and demonstrated success. https://maudesawards.org; @maudeawards; #MaudesAwards

“With the percentage of caregivers of older adults at forty million and rising, this guide could not be timelier. Ms. Crescenzo lays out in terms easily understood by those with no artistic inclination, methods and tools that can enhance the quality of life of someone with dementia. Her non-judgmental methods have been shown to strengthen or reestablish the bond between the caregiver, and a loved one suffering from cognitive impairment. I strongly recommend this book for any care giver.”

—Ed Friedman, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Lifetime Arts (Ret.)

Faculty Spotlight

Santa Monica College: Making Higher Education Affordable

Our three-acre campus—SMC’s first in Malibu— includes a two-story educational building with dedicated science and computer labs, a 100-seat lecture hall with sloped seating for music and film, an art studio, open floor spaces for dance and yoga, general classrooms, a conference room, a community room, outdoor study spaces, and an interpretive center to tie into the rich and varied coastal features nearby. SMC will offer courses in Art, Biology, Creative Writing, Early Childhood Education, Psychology, and more!

SMC will offer four types of classes at the Malibu Campus: Credit – Classes for credit that can be used toward an Associate degree or transfer to a four-year college.

Noncredit – Short-term vocational and workforce preparation courses and certificates.

Emeritus – Free noncredit and adult education courses specifically oriented to the interests of older adults.

Community Education – Low-cost classes, seminars, and workshops.

Visit smc.edu/malibu to learn more.

Lisa Adams

Emeritus

Professor, Art

Lisa Adams — whose artwork is in the collections of LACMA, the Eli Broad Corporate Collection, and the Laguna Museum of Art, among others — has led public art projects at the Chatsworth/Orange Line Metro Station, Fire Station No. 64 in Watts, and the West Valley Branch Library in Reseda. She has taught at the University of Southern California, the Claremont Graduate University, Otis College of Art and Design, and the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and been an artistin-residence in Finland, Japan, Holland, and Costa Rica. Her awards include a Fulbright Professional Scholar Award, a Brody Arts Fund Fellowship, and a Durfee ARC Grant. She is also the author of the painting how-to book FM* and the monograph Vicissitude of Circumstance

SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dr. Louise Jaffe, Chair; Barry Snell, Vice Chair; Dr. Susan Aminoff; Dr. Nancy Greenstein; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Rob Rader; Dr. Sion Roy; Catalina Fuentes Aguirre, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President Santa Monica College, 1900 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405

SANTA MONICA COLLEGE MALIBU CAMPUS OPENING SPRING 2023

Olivia Dalsemer would gladly be the co-pilot for UPS driver, Alex Flores.KATIE

Pole Dancing for Fitness, Strength

PHOTOS BY JILL SUTHERLAND

Strength and Self Respect

of movement that she had never given herself permission to explore before.

“It wasn’t until I was willing to move my body in a sensual way that I found my true power,” she says.

Herbert’s vision of the pole cabin is a space where people can support, challenge and empower each other while growing, learning and laughing… in their underwear.

“I have made such dear friends and feel free, held in a circle of love on an ongoing journey and adventure,” Leanne says. Carol echoes the sentiment

“On a journey of courage, self-discovery, sexiness and bonding, my life opened up again at 55 to see myself anew,” she says. “There really is nothing more powerful than a bunch of women in delicate lacey separates talking their way through the steps of a new move, each other’s love lives, or the problems plaguing the world.”

Herbert’s mission is building a community that supports its members as well as those who have inspired the art form. Part of her mission is to donate proceeds from the class fees to non-profit organizations such as For the Child, which is dedicated to the rehabilitation of abused children. To date, this number is $40,000.

By Stacy Mahoney

In Topanga at the end of a long driveway, down a hill marked by railroad ties and a view of where the mountains meet the sea, is a cabin nestled in the sagebrush where all are welcome...well, that is, if you want to learn how to pole dance.

Owner/instructor of the Topanga Canyon Pole Dance Club, Hilary Herbert, will meet you with humor and a refreshing directness that will allow you to shed your clothes (to your skivvies) and any preconceptions you may have about dancing on a pole. She’s tall, beautiful and very strong. Her lithe figure spins high on the pole with the grace of a prima ballerina and she descends to the floor and gyrates with sexy splendor.

People of all ages are attracted to the cabin for numerous reasons. MC, 62, and Herbert’s first student, “started classes as a fun way to get back into shape in order to develop my upper body so I could be strong enough to surf,” she says. She never did pursue surfing, is in the cabin one to three times per week, and definitely has her body back!

Whatever lands you on the doorstep, once inside, you will be pushed physically, mentally and emotionally back into your body where you will inhabit new spaces or old ones that just need some dusting off. It’s usual for students to emerge with a new respect for the sheer difficulty, an awareness of their own limits, and often a path to surpass them. Leanne, 57, has been dancing in the cabin for 10 months and describes the process: “As we learn to move with control and strength...and sass...we learn to confront our limitations and observe and shift our habitual ways.”

As a teacher, Herbert is firm when you need a push and fun when you need to laugh. She will play to your strengths, explain why it’s important and how to work through your weaknesses.

MC likes to say, “The big draw is Hilary herself; her choreography is beautiful and inspired and to see her move is pure artistry.” Leanne says, “She is a true mentor, a brilliant teacher, a shining vibrant light, part therapist, part comedienne, part dominatrix, a powerful and beautiful guide.”

As a new dancer, you need that type of guidance because the tips for the tricks can sometimes feel like a physics problem. You will get yourself upside down, gripping the pole with your thighs…then you have to engage your shoulder to support and leverage your weight so you can simultaneously hook your heel, release a leg with a coquettishly bent knee, perfectly pointed toes and all the blood rushing to your head. That’s called “Butterfly” or “Pixie” or “Jasmine.” Don’t let the cute names of the inversions fool you; you will be bruised and possibly missing a layer of skin on your forearms, thighs or feet. The pain is subsumed by the exultation of attempting something new and very difficult. The bruises fade faster than the rewards of pushing and challenging yourself. Leanne likes to refer to her hard-earned contusions as “pole kisses.”

From my own experience, it’s evident that how you relate to the pole is how you relate to challenges in life. Sometimes you hold on too tightly and don’t move, you get stuck. Then you learn to let go and find the balance and the rhythm needed to progress and move forward. The dancers get through it because Herbert knows what it feels like, has been where they are and promises the rewards of one who has persevered.

A performer since childhood, Herbert danced, sang and acted her way to a BFA degree in Theater. She chose to perform in theater and, ultimately, pole dancing as she worked through childhood abuse and lifelong addiction. After the birth of her son, she explored pole dancing as a new form of self-expression and found that setting goals and developing the discipline to achieve them creates a profound confidence, especially the confidence to explore pathways

Regular classes are available in six-week sessions. In addition, drop-in classes are offered for various levels, no previous dance experience required. MC likes to emphasize that “there truly is the perfect class for anyone at every level and for every interest because of the many choices from low-flow, to aerial, to strength-and-conditioning classes and heels.”

In celebration, there is a bi-annual performance party for all those who benefit from the activities proffered in the cabin. It’s the hottest ticket in town and getting your name on the list can be tricky. It’s unlikely to be there, unless you have heard Herbert encouragingly yell, “burn it out ladies” with the insistence of one who knows the pain and what’s on the other side.

“My passion and journey in pole has been so powerful that the joy of being able to share that with others gives me a sense of purpose,” Herbert says.

For more information, the Topanga Canyon Pole Dance Club is on Instagram: @ topangapoledanceclub.

As a victim of childhood abuse and a life of addiction, Hilary Herbert chose a new path through theater and, ultimately, pole dancing. Proceeds from class fees are donated to non-profit organizations that are dedicated to the rehabilitation of abused children.

One Liners

By Miles Erickson

The average person swallows eight spiders a year. Most people swallow 0 spiders, but Robert Green of North Carolina eats like 40 spiders a day so he’s been throwing the whole average off.

Yesterday I was looking for my sunglasses and opened a cupboard that was full of COVID masks.

Relics of an ancient time. It got me thinking, do you think in the year 2050 people are going to be saying, “Look, the CDC said that the nuclear holocaust is dying down. We can all stop wearing our gas masks now.” I know they said that the irradiated air levels are going down, and that the risk of turning into a radioactive mole person is the lowest it’s been since World War III started, but honestly, I didn’t do my makeup today so I’d rather just keep the gas mask on.

Imagine a board meeting where everybody is arguing about how they actually get more stuff done when they’re working from their thermonuclear bunkers.

My cousin is in town and asked me to take her to a psychic. My family had a long history of both: people who patronize psychics and people who believe they are psychic. I always found that interesting because you’d think if they were actually psychic they’d be able to tell that everyone in the room is thinking about having them committed.

I watch this show on TV called, “Love After Lockup,” about couples who met while one of them was in prison and moved in together after their partner was released. There was a guy on the show doing 15 years for negligent homicide. His girlfriend’s

justification was that he didn’t stab or shoot anybody, he just ignored somebody to death.

You can make the argument that Charles Manson didn’t personally kill anybody, and that’s a decent argument if you’re in a court of law. But that doesn’t mean Charles is an eligible bachelor.

Long Distance Listening Party Vol. 19

This playlist is available on Spotify, search my username, Mileserickson-354, New songs will be added every two weeks.

• No Waves, FIDLAR

• I Say Fever, Ramona Falls

• Pressed 2 Death, Illuminati Hotties

•

•

No Waves, FIDLAR. I rediscovered this song in a playlist called Punks Not Dead, accompanied by a picture of Tom DeLonge looking like he’s old enough to have stormed Normandy. I’ve never talked about FIDLAR before because even admitting you listen to them is something of a red flag. This is one of those bands that really defined my taste in music, and it’s a hard pill to swallow when your favorite album from high school celebrates its tenyear anniversary. FIDLAR is sort of like Blink-182 for the 2010s—angsty, kind of raw and extremely catchy. I

Topanga Symphony Resumes Nov. 20

By Jeanne Mitchell

Still feeling the warm embrace from the Topanga Symphony’s 40th Anniversary celebration sponsored by the Topanga Historical Society and a supportive community, we now embark upon the next 40 years of free classical music concerts with a concert to be held at the Topanga Community Center on Sunday, November 20th at 3 p.m.

The program will begin with Celebration Suite for Strings by composer Bill Marx; Concerto for Flute and Alto Flute by composer Barry Brisk, who will conduct soloist Rhondda Dayton, for whom the piece was written; and Symphony #39 in E flat major, K 543 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Bill Marx, a native of Los Angeles, studied composition in New York at the Juilliard School of Music, has written many concert works and has received world-wide exposure, including concertos for violin, alto saxophone, flute, piano and two harps. He has also composed for motion pictures, television, theater,

and ballet. Marx has produced, arranged for, and performed as a pianist as well with many top jazz and pop artists including Doris Day, Joanie Sommers, Stan Kenton, Allan Sherman, Groucho Marx, and two albums with his father, Harpo Marx.

He wrote the Celebration Suite for Strings, at the behest of Topanga Symphony Music Director and Conductor Jerome Kessler, in honor of the 70th birthday of Marx’s mother, Susan Fleming Marx.

Composer Barry Brisk’s original works have been performed on the Topanga Symphony stage throughout his many years with the orchestra. The elegance of the lovely gentle alto flute is featured in his Concerto for Flute and Alto Flute. Conducted by the composer, this special performance will shine with elegance and the virtuoso skills of both composer and performer.

Rhondda Dayton is currently Principal Flute with the Westlake Village Symphony, the Moorpark Symphony Orchestra, Ventura County Gilbert & Sullivan Repertoire pit orchestra, and Five Star Theatricals pit orchestra. Rhondda has been

a featured soloist with various LA area orchestras and was principal flute for the internationally televised Hour of Power Orchestra at the Crystal Cathedral, the Haydn Festival Orchestra (Vienna, Austria), the Global Community Orchestra (Hawaii), and Beach Cities Symphony. Rhondda has performed several world premieres at various National Flute Association conventions throughout the US with the Professional Flute Choir, Pipe Dream Flutes (of which she is Artistic Director and Founder), and Wind Advisory Wind Quintet. She recorded several CDs with the National Flute Choir, Celine Dion’s “These are Special Times” (vocals), The Professional Christian Wind Ensemble, and on many Terence P. Minogue CDs.

After a brief intermission, a chance to enjoy the beautiful Topanga Community Center surroundings, refreshments, and friendly conversation, the orchestra will perform Symphony #39 in E flat major, K 543 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This symphony was completed in 1788 and is one of the last symphonic works by the master composer.

imagine this is how Nirvana fans felt once the 2000s hit and they realized the revolution was over.

I Say Fever, Ramona Falls. I was somewhat surprised to see this album was released in 2009 as it feels far less contemporary. Taking clear inspiration from bands like Television and Echo and the Bunnymen, it seems out of place in the era of Usher and Katy Perry, still a few years away from the early 2010s and everyone’s wierd folk rock phase. Also, this guy recorded some of the fantastic soundtrack for Q: Into the Storm, an HBO documentary about Q-anon. I love the Patti Smith-esk guitar, and if you’re in the mood for more songs where somebody pulls on the EM string like a dentist trying to extract a tooth, then I’d recommend Patti’s cover of “Smells like Teen Spirit.”

Pressed 2 Death, Illuminati Hotties

“Pressed 2 Death” is like Daddy issues meets Band On The Run. Usually, if I’m comparing anything to Wings, I mean it as a terrible insult, but this song kind of grew on me. The song is pretty short, almost feeling more like a proof of concept. Or something that they came up with when they only had about five minutes of studio time left after spending the day melting adderal pills in an Easy-Bake Oven and huffing the fumes.

Miles Erickson is a recent graduate of CalArts, published author, and currently enrolled in a prestigious, four-year, student loan repayment program. Long Distance Listening Party’s vague intention is to discuss topics framed in the context of what I’m currently listening to.

Resuming the schedule of three concerts per year due to our COVID “hiatus,” the Topanga Symphony is happy to be bringing the amazing musicians back to the community house stage. There are still some protocols that are in effect at the Topanga Community Center (TCC).

Reservations are required. RSVP at topangasymphony@gmail.com to make your free reservation. The TCC also requests a liability waiver be signed that will be provided upon the request for reservations.

Become a Friend of the Topanga Symphony

Please consider becoming a “Friend of the Topanga Symphony” by going to the website, topangasymphony. com, and selecting “Donate.” All ages are welcome and encouraged to enjoy the thrill of live classical music in our own community.

September Again, September Again

Nurse Ratched, Cherry Glazerr

Rhondda Dayton in the studio

EVENTS

n

Thursday, November 17, 9:00 a.m to 4 p.m.—“Exploring Water Quality Impacts of Creek Restoration.” Part 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Watershed Coordinator Melina Semphill Watts, author of “Becoming Tree” and “Tree,” will facilitate this two-part Zoom panel presentation and in-person tour by experts in the field of watershed preservation and restoration. The morning panel features Keynote Speaker Dr. Erica Gies, author of “Water Always Wins.” After a lunch break, Part 2, from 2 to 4 p.m., is an in-person tour led by City of Calabasas officials following the Las Virgenes Creek restoration.

Friday, November 18, 10:00 a.m. to 3:15 pm ., is a Santa Barbara Creeks Division in-person tour starting at Arroyo Burro County Beach Park , 2981 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara.

For Details: Melina Semphill Watts Consulting and watershed coordination. melinawatts@gmail.com; (310) 383-9978.

Holiday Happenings

n

Sat. & Sun., Nov. 12-13, A Christmas Carol—Experience the spirit of the season with a performance of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Topanga Youth Services will present the timeless classic on Saturday, Nov.

12 at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Topanga Community Center, 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga CA 90290. $15 suggested donation, volunteer to get in free. For more information or tickets, tys.topangacommunitycenter.org or: tys@topangayouthservices.org.

n

Sun, Dec. 4, 2022, 5:30 p.m., Sages Holiday Dinner—The Topanga Community Center, 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290. Location phone: 310) 455-1980. The Canyon Sages was established in 2009. Join the ‘Sages for All Ages’ at monthly dinners held on the first Friday of most months. To donate a dish or to volunteer to help with decorations, prepare and serve the dinner, call (310) 455-5567.

n

November-December 2022, Teens4Teens 10th Holiday Drive —Since 2012, 17-yearold Topangan, Lorelei Darling, founder and president of a small nonprofit called Teens4Teens, knew she wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids just like her. After four years of hosting annual toy drives, collecting gifts for foster and lowincome youth, Lorelei was about the age of 12 when she realized just how little the teenagers in foster care were given. From that point on, Lorelei changed the Toy Drive to Teen Drive.

Lorelei writes on her website: “Every year, my Teens4Teens helpers and I host a Teen

1126 Mohawk, Topanga

Darling, founder of Teens4Teens

Holiday Drive, collecting essential and gift items for youth aging out of foster care. When a teenager in the foster care system turns 18, they often are kicked out of the system, due to becoming a legal adult. This causes most teens to end up homeless, in prison, or dead within their first year outside foster care, with no family or other support system.

“The holidays are a time to feel seen, loved, and supported. It is a time to be with your friends and family. We hope that with support from our Teens4Teens community, our plans for making this holiday season magical for Transitional Age Youth can come to life this December!”

Donate through teens4teensla.org/teenholiday-drive and fulfill their Amazon Wish List or ad gifts of your own.

Gorgeous newly built 3 bedroom, 3 bath, plus a bonus room home in Topanga Canyon. Enjoy panoramic Canyon and City views from the over 900 sq. ft.

Entertainment deck! Beautiful spacious chef’s kitchen with custom shaker cabinets, large center island, quartz counter tops, and stainless appliances. Gated community features a pool, spa, gym, recreation room, and a playground. Located just minutes from shopping, restaurants, hiking trails, and Malibu’s most beautiful beaches!

Lorelei

The Big Digital Coin Trick

By Paula LaBrot

Iam a firm believer that all students should study magic. Magic is especially effective in teaching students to recognize the technique of distraction. This is important when huge, paradigm-shifting policies are being initiated while being obfuscated by a national press more concerned with producing click-bait headlines than keeping its readers informed.

One policy that is advancing without much notice is President Biden’s executive-order for the federal government and Federal Reserve to lay the groundwork for a potential new U.S. currency, a digital dollar. There are some words you need to understand before we go further.

Vocabulary

• Fiat Currency: Governments give these currencies value and make them legal tender. They are not based on the existence of a commodity like gold or silver to give material value. The value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand and the stability of the issuing government, rather than the worth of a commodity backing it. Most modern paper currencies are fiat currencies. The U.S. dollar is a fiat

currency and is controlled by the Federal Reserve. The danger is that the Fed can print too much currency, pushing the economy into a state of hyper-inflation, accelerating the devaluation of the currency and creating unsustainable price increases. Sound familiar?

• Stablecoins: Coinbase describes a stablecoin as a digital currency that is pegged to a “stable” reserve asset like the U.S. dollar or gold. So, a stablecoin pegged to our dollar is backed by an account of equal dollars or dollar-dominated assets of at least equal fair value. Stablecoins are designed to reduce volatility relative to unpegged cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin which can fluctuate wildly in value and trades like a commodity.

An asset that’s pegged to a more stable currency like the dollar or euro can give buyers and sellers certainty that the value of their tokens will not rise or crash unpredictably in the future.

• Cryptocurrency: According to Kapersky.com, cryptocurrency is any form of currency that exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to secure transactions. Encryption in cyber security is the conversion of data from a readable format into an encoded format that can be sent safely over the web and then is privately decoded at its destination. Units of cryptocurrency are created through a process called mining, which involves using computer power to solve complicated mathematical problems that generate coins. Users can also buy the currencies from brokers, then store and spend them using cryptographic wallets. P2P—peer to peer—transactions using crypto currencies are very useful for moving money fast and globally and gives the most power to people using this form of trade.

The Fight for Control of Money

First, you should understand we are in a huge struggle over the control of our financial system right now. This is a result of the development of cyber currencies. These currencies have made it possible to move “money” between payers and payees without going through a central bank. People can store funds in their own digital wallets and pay out or receive funds

directly from there. Since digital transactions are encrypted, it makes it hard to track funds that exchange hands. That makes it harder for governments to control money.

There is a big push to do away with cash, which is also hard to track. The present push is toward a USDC—a United States Digital Coin—a new currency for the United States. The exact order from the White House directs the U.S. Government to assess the technological infrastructure and capacity needs for a potential U.S. Central Bank Digital Coin (CBDC). What this could mean is that our financial institutions and government could monitor and control all our financial transactions.

All transactions—all spending— would be trackable. There would be no privacy in your financial record. Also, your money could be turned off by a central authority. Remember last year when the truckers in Canada created a Go Fund Me site and collected $10 million publicly donated dollars to support the truckers? Then, Go Fund Me decided that the funds were not going to a cause they believed in, and they froze the funds and said they were going to distribute the money to organizations they felt were worthy? Imagine if the Federal Reserve abused that kind of power with your money.

Don’t be Distracted

Justin Haskin writing for Newsweek says, “Digital dollars could easily be tracked by banks, federal agencies and the Federal Reserve (no financial privacy). They could also be programmed to control the kinds of things people can buy, how much could be purchased at a single time, or any number of variables. The development of a national digital currency should worry Americans everywhere, regardless of their ideological and political views. Once a national digital currency is in place, government and/or Federal Reserve officials would have more power than ever to control, track and coerce individuals and U.S. businesses—likely without needing new laws approved by Congress.”

Distraction is a tool of magicians. Keep your eye on the coin trick!

Vamos a ver!

Photo by Miriam Geer.

By Kathie Gibboney

There is a tree that grows aslant the creek over on Valley Drive just off Old Canyon. I frequently park beside it, yet never truly saw it until a friend mentioned, “Doesn’t it look like a fairy house? Can’t you imagine it having shutters and a little chimney?” And I could, oh, I could.

In this time of world upheaval— pandemics, climate calamities, local politicians unworthy of office, angry adults behaving like junior high bullies utilizing hate as patriotism, polluted seas, sad-eyed, lost people, Hannity’s bad hair style, poisoned pills that look like candy, my own mortality, and the lack of really good donuts—I now feel the pull of the tree, ever stronger day by day, an invitation to step into the opening in its trunk and disappearing into the Fairy Realm.

Ah, to hear the music and elfin laughter, to be light of heart and foot, to dine on honeysuckle. To live among the Fairy People, never aging or caring one lick for the troubles of the mortal, weary world left far, far behind! But I know the price of Fairyland, where passing years seem but minutes to a mortal. I wrote a story about it once, maybe as a caution, to keep myself from slipping away, as Yeats wrote in his poem, “Come away with a fairy hand in hand, for the world’s too full of weeping for you to understand.”

The original definition of the word glamour is to be spellbound, eyes splayed with enchantment, enraptured, bedazzled, blinded by the light.

Glamour

She closed the book, leaving it on the table and walked back out that golden door. The sudden, ordinary light was harsh and hard. The smell unsweet: cows, wet sheep, and earth. The sound was quiet, no, not quite for there was the caw of the raven and maybe thunder. But the sound was empty, somehow hollow, missing something. She realized there was no music filtering through the air, lifting one’s feet and heart. Wind blew and for the first time in many years, (how long?) she felt the cold and nodded, remembering. Only one thing was given to hide the rough stones and sorrow-covered hills. The shimmering green of Ireland still held.

She did not want to look at her hand. “Just walk,” she thought but her legs staggered under her and her dancing shoes, so silvermoonshine delicate, soon tattered, turning to dust as she walked down the road.

She hoped he had returned the secret book. He was brave and right to have left it for her to find. Reading the words written in that beautiful scroll was almost like reading music. That was, of course, the problem. It was all too beautiful. Somehow, she

already knew in her soul as the book pronounced a truth, “After some time dwelling herein, the human heart will fade and forget.”

And she heard his voice whisper, “Go back.”

Dear Elf, she thought. It was then she looked at her hand. It was just bone covered with flesh, wrinkled and aged with discolored spots on which her tears fell, tears she had forgotten, and she was glad the elf could not see her, for he did not like to look on ugly things.

It was not much farther. Strange the Fairyland door opened so close to that other far-off land. Maybe in the end they are not so different. She did not know how long she had been gone. There were new gravestones with dates far beyond the days she knew. To count the missing years hurt her head and she gave up. “It was just a day or two…” she spoke in a voice unrecognizable.

They had taken her long ago as she lay there crying. They had comforted her, taught her dancing, and dressed her in silver. “Just a day or two more” they always said. “One more dance,” they enticed. “The door’s right there you can always walk back through.”

There is no time in Fairyland. Maybe now and then she had remembered something of the other life and for a moment the air left her and it felt like falling. Then the music would start and the golden, glimmering sound captured a joy not to be denied so she shook her head hard, to clear away remembering.

OF THE CANYON

and loved by many. He would tease her, calling her a pretty word she later learned meant clumsy, and bring her flowers in colors she had never seen. They laughed together but sometimes there was something grave in his eyes. Then he left the book because he couldn’t tell her himself that a human with a broken heart will always have a broken heart if they don’t cry. A human will lose their soul if they don’t ever die. Although she didn’t see, he watched her leave.

So came she to her Michael’s grave and fell down weeping until she died there, under the clumsy stars.

The End

November brings a certain melancholy, a winding down of life, the starkness of the raven against the gray. It’s a tempting time to ponder that enchanting netherworld just behind a door, in a tree, or in my muddled mind. No more to witness dastardly political campaigns, the sorrow of loss, the DMV, or laying out fifteen bucks for a margarita. And yes, someday I’ll walk through that portal, but not yet, not yet.

There’s still a sort of gallant glamour in being on this plane, living, clawing, and loving in the hardscrabble hope of the here and now.

He was her favorite amongst all the Fair Folk, tall, light on his feet

PHOTO BY KATHIE GIBBONEY

The Fairy Tree.

Ghouls for School

By Pete Samson

Hundreds of canyon residents devoured the chance to eat, drink and be scary at this year’s annual Topanga Halloween Carnival. Attendees were treated to a spooktacular set from rockers Kummerspeck, an annual event that raises funds for Topanga Elementary School. After two years of Covid lockdowns and restrictions, the carnival was back to its bewitching best with locals ready to have a ghoulishly good time.

Each class at the school designed, built, and managed their own carnival stall, which included a Transylvania Tic-Tac-Toe game, a photo booth for frightfully fun family photos, and a “Floor Is Lava” obstacle course. Topanga Enrichment Programs, the school’s booster club that raises funds for resources LAUSD doesn’t pay for, organized the party, which was hosted at the Topanga Community Center. The proceeds will go towards enrichment education at the school, including class aides and specialist science, art, and physical education teachers.

The event would not have been possible without the support of its generous local sponsors: The Wright Way Team with COMPASS; The Spirited Man; Elise M Lefranc at Life Coaching for Moms; Chryssa Lightheart with Pritchett Rapf Realtors in Topanga; and the Reggae on the Mountain Music Festival.

Above: Talk about #SquadGhouls!

Topanga Elementary students (L-R) Mina Ronen, Vicky and Sasha Mangul, and Mila and Leona Paradiso arrive at the carnival.

Left: Jenny and James Atkins with their kids, student Luca and second grader Evy, got into the spirit of things with their “Beetlejuice” inspired costumes.

“This was our first time attending and helping with the carnival,” said Jenny.

“We’re incredibly happy to be part of this big Topanga family.

Zoia Comarova, pictured here with her two-year-old son Misha Mangul, enjoyed the event. “It was so fun to play at the stalls that were created by the students and their families. We love living in such a creative

blessings.”

PHOTOS BY MARTINA PARADISO Topanga Elementary principal Kevin Kassebaum—aka Mr. K—rests in peace after a busy start to the school year.