Dear Editor,
Kat High’s beautiful piece on the passing of Old Bill is one for the books. The tortoise’s life with her father, then her, for roughly 108 years is not only remarkable in and of itself but also lends a perspective on time that is the antithesis of today’s short-termism. This was a bond for the ages.
Bless you, Kat for your keeping of Old Bill. I will miss him in the ‘hood.
-Susan Hanger
Dear Editor,
Thank you for your years publishing the poems from the boys at Pacific Lodge Boys Home. Every time they saw their work in the Messenger Mountain News [and before that, in the Topanga Messenger], they reacted as though it was the New York Times…and it surely was just as exciting.
Now, there’s a big change coming starting this month: After caring for boys since 1923, the facility will become Pacific Lodge Girls’ Home. Volunteers are merrily “feminizing” it, a challenge since the aesthetics scream “BOYS!”
The Home will care for girls, ages 12-18.
–Maggie Brammell (& Company)
The Editor replies: Thank you, Maggie, all the other volunteers, and the hard-working staff who helped those boys see a future for themselves. We look forward to publishing more poems—from a different perspective—in the near future.