Digital Ink Los Angeles

The Cherokee word for “Fire” is a-tsi-la

Northern Los Angeles is on a-tsi-la right now.

The Los Angeles Times coverage has been pretty good.

Thanks to the LA County Fire Department for saving lives and risking their own.

Michael Martin Murphy had a big hit in the 70s called Wildfire — even though it’s about a horse named Wildfire lost in a blizzard , it still seems appropriate at this time.

Smokey the Bear‘s been around for 65 years.

Smokey Bear’s message “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” was created in 1944 by the Ad Council. In a recent study, 95% of those surveyed could finish the sentence when given the first words.

The heat and dry air in California‘s definitely a scary proposition for Smokey and his shovel.

California‘s unable to pay any of its bills, so fire preparedness is not too good right now. Only who?

The 30-year anniversary of the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown is today, March 28th.

Not that this has stopped the nuclear-power industry, because there were 65 nuclear reactors then, while there are more than 100 today.  Though, there are numerous regulations and a real oversight of the new construction and operation of these plants.  The U.S. gets an estimated 25% of its power from nuclear power plants.

With recent economic calamities, and the stark division of partisanship in certain areas, many people are fearful of our future.  There are a few people who have taken to buying guns, gold, and a safe to put it in.  They think Armageddon is nearing, and we certainly have some indicators to this proposition.

Recent films, like “I Am Legend,” “No Country for Old Men,” “28 Days Later,” and the upcoming “The Road,” from the 2007 Pulitzer winner of the same name. have focused on the “end-of-days” phenomena.

I’m a naysayer, in that I think we’ve just gotten a wake-up call.

In fact, I think the wake-up call has been set upon us to pull our head out of our figuratively shaded nether.  There are many things to prompt fear, as is the case every time one enters the fast lane on a Southern California freeway.  You never know what might happened.

China is our debt collector — to the tune of approximately 3 Trillion Dollars!  Iran — who now possesses their own nuclear capabilities — acts like a psychopath ex-girlfriend who’s bent on putting us in our place.  India and Pakistan can’t see the forest for the trees.  And the U.S. is more embroiled in debt, drug-addiction, and a penal-system overload than any nation in the world.

So, on this 30-year anniversary of the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown, I propose we take a moment to reflect on the close calls the U.S. has been lucky to survive.  Consider the past 200 years of this nubian nation as a swing and a miss.

This is why I’ve posted the photo of Muhammad Ali ducking a Joe Frazier punch.  We are still fighting, that’s for sure.  But boxing aficianados will let you know it was later in the famous 1971 fight that Joe Frazier landed the same punch, and put the undefeated Ali on his back.  Some people will say it was 9/11 that put us on our back. Well, either way, I think we’ve still got some fight in us.  Makes me think of the Obama HOPE posters.