Wednesday, October 24, 2007

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU

DSCN3507
As you can see from this image when compared to the last posted image, the fire has not advanced towards our place. This is in part, because of the nature of the beast itself & a steady onslaught of water droppers.
I know I`d told you I would be just fine & had been through these fires numerous times, but it obviously didn`t allay your concerns, for which I`m grateful.
Then there`s the "Why didn`t you call" gang. All roads were shut down except in Malibu itself. All fiber-optic cables were burnt through, & having my phones & internet connected to these fallible devices did not permit me to contact the outside world. It also kept most people here, having to depend on CNN or outside news feed for information about what was going on a mile away. We had no local news only satelite feeds. There was no gas for anybody because the power was out at many locales, so gas could not be pumped.
For everybody who expressed concern, you have no idea how bad I felt knowing you would be concerned, & that I was OK but couldn`t let you know.
For those who know me personally like Evangeline & Landsailor, you all know there`s a special place for me to burn & it`s not here. I may have the hellfires out before the devil gets me anyway. There`s also another sad story here. One of our friends from the BooMan Tribune & his wife are here in Malibu for a family tragedy. I don`t feel like I could name them here but will ask them. Please say a prayer for their family. I have been in touch with one of them by phone & hope to meet them here today but it`s hectic for them & with the roads closed & the sadness involved it may not be possible. I do hope to see them though.
Everything is as back to normal as could be expected here, so please don`t fret, & say a prayer for those who need one desperately at this time. It`s too late for me, hah.
Tony

33 comments:

Family Man said...

Hey Head.

I have to admit, I was in the worried category, but I wasn't in the "why didn't you call" gang. I mean 2 minute updates, 24 hours a day would have would have been fine. :)

Glad you are OK and thanks for letting us know.

katiebird said...

Knucklehead! I'm glad to hear from you. But, I don't think I was in the WHY group either. I knew you'd be in touch when you could.

I'm with FM -- 2 minute updates would have been fine!

I'm GLAD you're back!

Unknown said...

Great to hear that all is well KH.

I've not heard from my San Diego crew since yesterday around 11AM when they were still at home.

They may have evacuated, so I'll see if I can send a message to their blackberry.

Knucklehead said...

FM & KATIEBIRD,
You`re too funny. You really don`t know how bad I felt about not being able to send out reports. I`m still trying to catch up with what`s going on around the state. I have to fix a flat tire on the main truck I use& have breakfast. Everything is back to hectic. That`s normal.btw, It was 98 degrees in the house last night. Humidity at 8%

Knucklehead said...

NDD,
I`m fine, Thanks.
I hope your friends in SD are OK.

katiebird said...

{{knucklehead}} One of the hard things about having virtual friends, is that if our virtual connections go down, we don't have ANY way to get in touch with each other.

And we knew that.

Still, I like to think our prayers didn't hurt....

Nancy P said...

Yay, Head & Terri, and girls, & furry, feathered, finny friends!!

Anonymous said...

Big sighs of relief. I figured you were fine, just cut off, but then again one never knows. I was worried about what would happen to your tanks if you had to evacuate.

Now we can point our energy toward others who have not been so lucky.

Knucklehead, thanks for letting us know. Big hugs to you and yours.

olivia said...

Heh ... welcome back online Head.

What, me worry ........

;-)

Knucklehead said...

Katiebird,
When it comes to prayers, why not take a chance.
Thanks for yours.

Knucklehead said...

Nancy P
Yay for you too. Thanks for the encouragements.

Knucklehead said...

Bethy,
First of all, I would never evacuate, & leave any living animal behind. That`s one thing about being charged with these animals. If I had to, the birds go with Teri in the car along with the dof & cat. The rest is up to me. It might sound stupid to some but I have worked out ways & means to protect the animals that can`t readily be moved that surpasses what any firefighter would be expected to do. I don`t mind being on my own at those times, but having to not worry about anybody else`s life allows me to concentrate on the task at hand, saving me & mine.
Please, & I mean this sincerely, direct your concerns to thousands of people who are in much worse conditions than I might ever be. I feel horrible for some of these poor souls who don`t know what tommorrow holds for them. At the same time thank you so much for your concern. Have a warm hug & enjoy your day.

Knucklehead said...

Olivia,
Thanks for the welcome back.
This is the first time I`ve not had a connection to the outside world since I was at sea, & didn`t communicate for months on end. Now that`s strange. Being in your own world as if there are no other planets is very strange. Re-entry is even stranger.
Evangeline, might have explained about the worry part. Not to, when it concerns me.

dada said...

welcome to re-entry, glad to know your karma's holding up and you and yours were spared.

figured you were completely shut down power-wise, and busy attending to the tasks at hand.

sending hope and blessings to all those who were not, and will not be, as fortunate.

peace

Knucklehead said...

dada,
I`ve been investing in Karma for a while now, not as a "for profit" endeavor, but as a way of life. It always seems to pay nice dividends though.
Thanks for the thoughts for those less fortunate than
you & I.

Unknown said...

FINALLY!!!!!
Around these parts we all knew you couldn't contact us. We were thinking about you and calling each other, asking for news updates. We were so worried about your beloved animals, (and a tiny bit about our beloved brother also....) I figure that you wouldn't leave them so my fear for you is justified.
Are all the girls ok?
Is your phone back to working?
I don't know the etiquette here re broadcasting in blogs, so I'll just say Salut mon frere de ta grande soeur, la gitane.Gypsygirl

Knucklehead said...

Hey Gypsygirl,
How`s things back there.
All the girls are fine. Candice was over with Jackie & Chloe last night for a few hours. We had a great time. Not to worry about me as you well know. Get a hold of the other members of the tribe, & let them know I`m cool.
Rolly (Landsailor) is on the road to Arizona I think & I don`t know where our international older one is. Let him know how he`s being bragged on. Surreptitiously of course. Phone is back on.

Larry Kollar said...

You'd mentioned the power kept going out, so I figured the best case was you were fine but couldn't get a signal out to the rest of the world. Now that you've confirmed best-case, I'm relieved & happy to see you're back on Da Toobs for a little while.

Keep us posted!

Knucklehead said...

FAR,
The power wasn`t so much of a problem except it`s periodical interuptions at first, but when the fiber optics went out, local TV & the internet connection was lost to the whole area of Malibu. My phone is a Vonnage system phone that works on the internet, so both were lost to me even thought (thank god the power was restored for the duration after the small period of Sunday morning.
We are all out of the woods here for now, & the winds have died down. Southern areas & East of us seem to be still in a dangerous situation & my heart goes out to the poor souls who may have nothing to look forward to but their lives which is all one arrives on this planet with in the first place, & as I always say,"no one gets out of here alive".
Thanks for your concern Far.

Anonymous said...

I understand re-entry, after 100 days at sea. We had contact with the outer world, and did stop along the way, but trying to get used to THIS country again was a trial. I'm still not completely back, two years later.

I will no longer be concerned about you, knowing all of this. And appreciate and understand your commitment to the animals. Lots of energy going out to those people who will indeed return to devastation, and having to figure out how to rebuild their lives. The tragedy continues.

AndiF said...

I'm very, very glad you are okay. However, I think I'll just keep on worrying about you until I start to hear that these fires are under control.

NewNewYorker said...

Hello Knuclehead,

I tried to reach you by email only to get a deamon response. I became more worried and sent a query to Evangéline. She gave me this connection.

I am very relieved to know that you and family are out of danger's way. À bientôt mon frère

NewNewYorker

NewNewYorker said...

Did you receive my previous messages? In any case, I am relieved that you and family are safe.

NewNewYorker

boran2 said...

Glad to hear that you're okay, knucklehead!

Knucklehead said...

Hey NEWNEWYORKER,
C`est pas mal que tu est ici.
Glad you came by to check up. I hope you`ll come by often. It`s one way to know things are well. I just got the connection back a minute ago. It may go back off shortly, mais j`en profit. Salut, puis reviens souvens bonhomme. C`est un bon nom aussi.

Knucklehead said...

Yes NEWNEWYORKER.
I got the message but didn`t know until a minute ago. Are you settled in & where.
You can email me for personal details.
Candice & ther girls were over last night for a few hours. They always ask about you & Landsailor.

Knucklehead said...

Boran2,
I`m impressed by how many people voiced concern. Thank you very much. The heat here is still quite oppressive though. It seems like the sun is heating up the ground & the smokey haze doesn`t allow it to rise, so it`s like a slow bake oven. I think we`ll have an onshore flow by morning.
I`ll see you again on Sat. at the Palooza.

Knucklehead said...

Andif,
Thanks The only thing to worry about now is that I don`t melt.

Knucklehead said...

Beth,
I just noticed my spelling error. I would never be so presumptuous to call you Bethy. I`m sorry about that.

Evangeline said...

Hi KH,

So you're back in business! I love your bearded dragon. Quite the stylish critter. And that photo of the little girl with her kittens is quite a nice surprise. Must date back to the late thirties. Agnes in cyberspace.

Evangeline

Knucklehead said...

EVANGELINE,
NICE COMMENT.
Sometimes cyberspace jumps to another page without one realizing it. Cest drole comme ca.
You had me confused also but just for a minute.
How do you like NewNewYorker?

R Casey said...

Hi, Head,
We're back in motor city now. I'm sad that Teach and I weren't able to see you - but the circumstances were pretty bad. We are glad you are safe, and we hope the beasts around you are also ok.

My brother did die (not sure if Teach told you that), and with Malibu evacuated, we were shuffled around. Hard to believe he went down so quickly, less than a week from teaching his last class. I know that people are much more important than animals, but the cat crawled up into my brother's chair and howled at one point once we got back into the house.

We saw some terrible fires - best view, ironically, from the hospital. We did make it into Malibu via Kanin, eventually. Fire came down about 50 years from their house, but not much was hurt.

Still, a downer trip all the way around.

It's been a hard fall - I'm not coherent yet from loss of sleep, and Teach is as demoralized as I from various vexations locally.

I do enjoy your pictures and comments. Thanks for the beauty.

(Oh, it was fine had you used our names when you mentioned us a few days ago. We know most of the folks who comment here one way or another.)

Knucklehead said...

Thank you so much Kidspeak,
I wanted to protect your privacy. I know many of the people here & I are all mutual friends & always have thought highly of you both. I`m also sorry we didn`t meet, especially since we were so close geographically. I`m very sorry for your loss would not know how to even feel if I lost one of my brothers. I`ve lost the mother of my daughter when she was almost three & time does temper things, but again, that was many years ago. My daughter is now 26. It doesn`t go away though. Good memories are a big help in overcoming sorrow.
May we sometimes meet. Maybe on a moonlit night. I think of you guys everytime I see your flight overhead. "Kidspeak`s Flight".