Weekly Update 07/18/26 – 07/24/26 | Christmas in July, Storm Comes Home, and Saying Goodbye to My Childhood Home
This week has been one of endings and beginnings. Little Storm is finally home after surgery, I learned that my childhood home has been reduced to bare earth, and I found myself reflecting on memories stretching back more than fifty years. Along the way, I also share a unique Christmas in July tradition from Bryce Canyon National Park, an update on my office remodel, and what's happening at work.
First, an update. Little Storm is home from surgery. She did wonderfully with the surgery and is now recovering. She is a very little dog, maybe half the size Phoenix was when I got her, and now has a two-and-a-half- to three-inch scar on the left side of her chest. Frankly, I'm amazed that they could even do surgery on something this small. But she's doing well. I think the most painful part is still the bills to come. Of course, if you can do anything to help Dawn pay them, it would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to help with Storm's medical expenses, you can contribute here: Storm's GoFundMe
She still has a long recovery ahead of her, but we're all very happy to have her home.
Merry Christmas to you all!
I say this because, whether I was in the year between grammar school and junior high or maybe in junior high, and for several summers around that time, my family would take a road trip. Part of that trip was going to Bryce Canyon National Park, where we would visit friends of our family, the Kinsella family. Bob K., who was a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve and a high school vice principal, worked during the summer as a park ranger at Bryce Canyon, and we took advantage of that to visit him and see the park.
One evening during dinner, Bob mentioned that he would not be available the next day because it was a big day at the park: it was Christmas. It seemed that many of the rangers who worked there were permanent employees who had to be there all winter long. Because of the severe winters the park encountered, they could not keep their families with them, so they didn't get to spend Christmas together. In order for the families to celebrate together, each year on July 25 the permanent park rangers would take the day off and spend it with their families celebrating Christmas. The part-time rangers would run the entire park that day, so Bob would be busy.
The only way I know this was around 1975 is that I remember us kids playing in the backyard of the Kinsellas' cabin, swinging on the swings and singing "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" over and over again. We also sang "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," with the line, "Late last night, when we were all in bed, Mrs. O'Leary left the lantern in the shed..."
One of the pieces of news I got this week was about my family's home. Some of you may remember it. It was on Katherine Avenue in Sherman Oaks. My parents bought it in 1960, and it was sold at the beginning of this year as my mother moved to Ventura. The people she sold it to were developers, and the whole house is now gone, taken down to the clean earth underneath it. My sister drove by during the week, and the only things left are the pool and the items surrounding it.
The projection booth that my father had added to the back of the garage is gone. The 35mm projectors that were stored there had been moved long ago to his partner's business, where they were used on projects like Star Wars. My bedroom, with the murals of the Earth rising over the Moon and the Space Shuttle coming in for landing, is gone. The kitchen, with the large restaurant-grade Wolf stove that had six large burners, a huge griddle, and two large ovens, is gone. Everything but the pool is gone.
When I think about the house, I have many memories. Not least among them is my eighteenth birthday and the surprise party we had there.
When I heard something coming from the pool area, I went out to see what it was and found that all the guests were hiding. They jumped out, yelling "Surprise!" They had secretly planned a second party that night as a surprise birthday party.
I also remember the New Year's Eve parties we used to throw, taking advantage of the fact that my father was in the film industry and that we had a full 35mm theater hidden in our garage.
As you can see, I have many memories wrapped up in the time of my life that I spent in that house, and it is bittersweet to see it come to an end.
My office remodel is going along well... Amazon tells me it's out for delivery, so I hope to be putting it together soon.
I'm really starting to get an idea of what the new office will look like when I'm done.
At work, things are going well. Right now I'm working on some of the smaller aspects of the project as I await decisions on how to handle what they call multiple merchants. As soon as those decisions are made, I'll be able to make greater strides.
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Weekly Update 07/11/26 – 07/17/26 | Apollo 11, Thunderstorms, and a New Beginning
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