The author’s former home in Altadena, CA, in flames, Jan 8, 2024. Video: “Vanguard Blacklight, ” (Screenshot)

Remembrance of things lost

News about the fire arrived in fragments. First, that the blaze in Eaton Canyon was spreading rapidly, then that a few homes in the foothills were consumed, then whole neighborhoods, including my former one on the southern perimeter of the Angeles Crest National Forest. The house I owned on Jaxine Drive, designed in 1959 by Randell Makinson, burned to the ground. The loss to the current occupant is obviously much greater than mine. I hope that she finds solace in the love of family and friends, and that she may rebuild if she chooses.

I haven’t lived in Altadena for more than 25 years, and most of my friends from there have also moved on. But the place still figures large in my memory. It was there that the sweetness of life in Southern California was revealed. Of course, the distance of time and space enhances flavors, so there may be some unintentional exaggeration in what follows.

Life in Altadena felt easy — il dolce far niento. My (former) wife Mary and I entertained friends – mainly artists........

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