California Summer

Summer at the Beach in LA seems like a Paradise! The day starts slightly overcast in the morning with the fog burning off and languishing into the mid 70’s. The lovely sweet days last until past 8pm with plenty of time for returned Peace Corps volunteers to take long walks on the beach or in the canyons on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The birds seem abundant and more defined in our focus after two years in a bird lover’s haven, South Africa. Formations of brown pelicans swoop along the bluff looking for a fat savory fish. LBJs (little brown jobs) and lovely cream chested songbirds make our backyard their home.

Green may be the buzzword for vehicles but green is not loved in Rancho Palos Verdes. During the past two years the trees and shrubs in our yards have overgrown. All is not perfect in this paradise as a lien on our home was threatened by the City Attorney’s office due to three trees obstructing a neighbor’ s view. Due to irregular mail service and poor forwarding to South Africa we were not notified of the pending legal troubles until March 2008, with the final deadline for trimming Jan. 2008. The packet of mail included notices starting in July 2007 with photographs showing the offending foliage. Unfortunately the photo was reversed, making the identification of the violative trees difficult. A late night call to the City Attorney asking for a delay in the tree trimming until July when we would be home was rejected; he stated that the trees must be cut within 10 days. A plea for mercy based on our inability to manage the tree trimming and our remote location as Peace Corps volunteers working with TB/HIV patients went unheeded and we were forced to scramble around to get the trees trimmed in the 10 days allotted. (Ironically, a few weeks before we joined the Peace Corps the complaining neighbor visited our home and we agreed to trim the offending trees if they would pay the cost but they declined and instead filed a claim. Such is life in Southern California!) From this end, life at the Salvation Army TB/AIDS Hospital was much simpler in spite of the hardships and deprivations.

We are enjoying the ease of living in America (in spite of our tree woes).. If we need something we just get in the car and drive to the store-no two hour trip in a taxi with a 4 km hike down the dirt road. Hot water is plentiful as is electricity. Television is a pleasure for image starved PC volunteers who have not had TV for 2 years. Plus there is a plethora of programs, movies, political commentary, cooking shows, talk shows, etc. Cooking is a breeze with counter space, equipment, gas burners, ovens, a real kitchen and all the ingredients. Friends and family are readily available for a few laughs and support as we recreate our life in America. The process has not been cheap as we have had to purchase cell phones, a washer, garage door opener, a bed, a computer, and equip our kitchen from scratch plus pay for our furniture to be moved into our home from storage. Thanks to our sisters and son who returned our cars in better condition than when we left! We are missing our Zulu friends and feel their pain as they face the cruelty of AIDS and its impact on a daily basis. Life truly is unfair - it is so easy in America to forget the world’s suffering and the orphans left behind.