A New Den and Other Letters to the Editor

Carlos the Bear was pacing back and forth while twiddling his claws. He was worried but thinking objectively. He had time, having been verbally told the new owners wanted to sell and that he had until March 1^st to vacate the premises. Not a lot of time.

His needs were few. A place to hibernate, eat and sleep…

Oh, the things he’d accomplished in his furry life: building loudspeakers; working for a record label – they won a Grammy while he was there – and reviewing audio equipment. As sad as it was, Carlos knew those days were over. So, he packed up his test lab and stereo and began to clear house, not knowing where he would move.

Although a bit overwhelmed, Carlos knew there was hope.

Montecito had been this bear’s home since 1977, all his friends live here, and he didn’t want to leave without giving a growl out for new digs. So he put another ad in the MJ with hopes someone would have a den he could rent.

Michael Edwards, 
AKA Carlos the Bear
(805) 680-0239

Dear ‘Last Light,’

I’ve never written a letter to a Book before, but…

I’m enjoying each weekly chapter in the Journal, it’s great to see that the narrative has resurrected the ancient art of the interior monologue. 

It has made an otherwise “invisible” part of human existence – which we never actually see or acknowledge, either in ourselves or in others – now visible. 

Our internal struggles for clarity, in the face of our existential dilemmas, have no words, but only “pre-verbal” inklings. 

We can learn to speak these inklings aloud, of course, but only when no one’s around. 

Which I often do. 

External “actions,” based on our amorphous, internal decisions, are observable. One can see an “action” in progress.

But the silent conversations we have with ourselves are the winding, invisible roadmaps guiding us toward these actions.

We calibrate our compasses in such silences. 

Ursula Le Guin, the Sci-fi/Fantasy writer preceding the Harry Potter conglomerate, once wrote about what writing “is”:

“The writer’s job is to put into words what cannot be said in words.”

Thank you for reminding us of the invisible.

LeeAnn Morgan

Who Should Pay for Climate Disasters? 

So many climate disasters are happening, where we see the same story – families lose homes, roads are washed out, crops are destroyed, insurance rates spike, and taxpayers foot the bill, all while oil and gas companies rake in profits.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Climate superfund legislation – already law in Vermont and New York – would require the fossil fuel companies most responsible for this crisis to pay their fair share for the damage they knowingly caused. Instead of taxpayers shouldering the cost, the companies that profited from creating this mess would help fund the rebuilding of roads, homes, schools, and critical infrastructure.

That’s why I’m calling on local elected officials to support legislation to hold polluters accountable. This January’s Make Polluters Pay Week of Action is about shifting the cost of climate chaos off our communities and onto the polluters. It’s about fairness, because if you break it, you should buy it.  

Sincerely, Elizabeth Boyd