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July-August, 1999
Modern Teen Mag
Many Countries - Many Traditions Summer is coming!
July and August
in the
"Big Enchilada"
based on the American English expression, "The whole enchilada". It means it has everything all at once. That is Los Angeles, alright!
click here to know more about LA's best Margaritas and Enchiladas
Summer Vacation!
Cheering students left school at the end of June. Teachers heaved a sigh of relief. What a school year it has been! Full of ups and downs, new government standards, and social change. Many of us wonder what the tragedy of Columbine has done to trust in school and our youth. On a lighter note, many of us wonder what the new millenium will bring, especially the "class of 2000".
For most of us LA school-folk, however, summer vacation brings much needed time to forget discipline and just "kick-back". Of course we think of our adult colleagues and young friends sitting in air-conditioned (at long last!) classrooms for, gulp, summer school. But, for the most part, this is the time to hang-out, discover free time, and count our blessings. At least until September approaches out of the blinding LA sunshine.
July is the kicker. Our big, noisy Independence Day Holiday. August is quieter with Americans taking their long vacations and running all over the country. I will be staying in-town, myself as I believed I have earned a well-deserved two-month haitus from thinking.
So what will we do for summer?
National Independence!
First, we will celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Our founding fathers--Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison, and the bunch (including Mr. Ortiz' ancestor, Carter Braxton of North Carolina), had no air-conditioning on July 4, 1776, yet they produced a document that would change the world.
In 1776, it was a statement that democratic government, only written about by English and French men of thought for the one hundred years before the American Revolution, was not only the best thing for a nation, but would actually be attempted. In today's world, we see that many people have come here to enjoy the principles signed into effect on that hot, sweltering, summer afternoon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Still, in our modern world, more than half the nations of the world now are struggling to allow popular rule to become the standard of life for their people. It is not an easy thing to do. It takes practice, and tolerance (as Monsieur Voltaire reminds us). Our technology has made us a "global village" and people in one corner of the world find it possible to communicate and care for "neighbors" in remote parts of the globe. Communication and concern for the rights of others are keystones to democracy. The new millenium has much to keep us busy if we are to build a better world for our kind.
Wow! Did I pontificate, or what? How about celebrating? What do we do in LA. and the United States to show our pride and to have a good time? Well, we call it the "Fourth of July Holiday". Here are a few glimpses.....
Flags, banners, and other decorations!
Picnics and Barbecues!
That's really about it.....we go out and play, play, play.....eat, eat, eat. The staple food is the hot dog. Then, as night draws near, we launch the rockets and light up the sparklers. Of course, here in LA county, we let the city officials do the launching. Here in my hometown of Burbank, we have a volunteer group--the Arson Watch team of the Community Disaster Volunteers (CDV)--watching the brush covered hillsides, working with the Fire Department and Police. The fourth should be bright and noisy, but safe as well.....
Here are some traditional ideas from a family in South Carolina
And some more thoughts from the Reader's Digest
Extravaganzas!
ABC News has some interesting events from around the nation:
food contests........
ballooning..... waiting.....
buying fireworks Special Olympics
Fireworks!
An American tradition, but very dangerous in fire-prone Los Angeles County.
Summer School!
There are usually two reasons for taking summer school. Some students failed a class and want to take it again to earn their credits. Others actually want to take a class so they may earn their credits earlier and graduate earlier.
Teachers are selected on the basis of whether they worked last summer and whether their discipline needs them.
No matter what the reason for working or attending, it is now so much easier to study since the district put in air conditioning. The San Fernando Valley is sooooooo hot in July and August, sometimes reaching 110 degrees.
Hot Days!
Now, after I said how hot it gets here, I have to tell you that this weekend did not even get up to 90 degrees. Can you imagine, summer without the scorching heat? Well, we are a bit confused too, yet, I must say the weather is perfect. We will count our blessings as the fire season encroaches upon us.
Good News!
courtesy of ABC News
Bald Eagle No Longer
Endangered
Bald Eagle Stages Comeback:
Administation Drops
Species from ESA List
President Clinton meets Challenger, a
10-year-old bald eagle at the White House
prior to the species being removed from
the endagered species list. (Susan
Walsh/AP Photo)
The American Bald Eagle, our national symbol, has been on the endangered species list for several decades. Want to know what the Endangered Species Act is? Does your nation have one?
Anniversary
This marks the 30th anniversary of the first manned landing on the Moon!
Salutations to the NASA team and astronauts who went farther than any humans to expand our knowledge of ourselves and the space we inhabit!
Want to know more about California? Los Angeles?
Then check out Huell Howser of KCET; LA's premiere public television station.
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