Mary Novaria

I’ve tripped over dog leashes (not mine), dodged tackles from errant skateboarders, and nearly been clipped in the crosswalk—most recently by a motorcycle. But it’s the abject rudeness of pedestrians that’s got me throwing down the penalty flag. Yes, walking has become a contact sport... I’ve been double-teamed, blocked, and nearly tackled just taking an innocent stroll with my dog, Bella. Thank God she’s on my side, because I can use her to set a pick. Proper sidewalk manners have gone out the window in my neighborhood, where folks seem to find the very notion of keeping to the right abhorrent. It’s such a simple concept. Isn’t it one of the things we learned in kindergarten on our first forays down the corridors of grade school? Keep to the right! But here they walk on the left… they walk in the middle… and they must be willing to be hip checked because they do not zig, zag or make any effort get out of the way. Whether they don’t know any better, or simply don’t ...

I saw a dead man in the park this morning. He was lying on his side in the grass next to his walker and a sack of belongings. A fire truck had just arrived and I saw a few uniformed men prodding him with gloved hands as I approached. A moment or two later, one of the paramedics put his gear back in the truck—no need for resuscitation equipment. It shook me, seeing this person, or the shell of him anyway… alone… dead in the grass between the sidewalk and the street… for how long, I wonder, before someone noticed. Ten yards away, children squealed in the fenced-in playground under the watchful eyes of mommies and nannies. Dozens of homeless souls spend their days in the park that’s kitty corner from where we live. City ordinance forbids them from staying overnight, although I suspect some of them do anyway, if they can escape the vigilance of the local police. There’s a shelter quite a few blocks away for overnight stays, and some take their chances in the doorways of local retail ...

The following piece of mine appeared in the Huffington Post Religion section on December 6, 2012 8:07 PM  –  12/ 6/2012 Preparing My Heart for the Birth of Christ -- An Advent Reflection I saw firsthand today the goodness in people, which tends to happen if I stop thinking about myself and pay attention. What I saw today was exactly what Jesus would have done and it helped me re-form my Advent intention. I was walking in the park with my dog, Bella, as we do most days. We passed an old man, sleeping in the grass, which isn’t unusual in our city, where there is a sizable population of homeless people. The man was roused by the beep-beep of a horn as an SUV pulled up along the curb by the park. The two people in the car beckoned the old man to come over. As he approached, the passenger reached out and handed him one of those white, Styrofoam carryout containers, a sizable one, perhaps the only meal the old man would have this day.  And then they drove off...

When I walked through our neighborhood to church this morning, I saw a business that I hadn’t noticed before. It’s called First Century Bank. That seems very odd in this 21 st -Century world and it led to several strange images in my head. The first is Jesus and the moneylenders, so I saw Jesus walking into this bank on 4 th Street, all angry and turning over the desks. Later, I told my friend Cherie’ about it and she thought it was funny, too. So we wondered about the banking. Did people bring in fish to trade for shekels? It conjures up visions of a Vacation Bible School marketplace. How can I not love this? I got to church and leafed through the bulletin to see what hymns we’d be singing. None of my favorites, unfortunately. And we had incense since it was the Feast of All Saints, so people were already coughing and clearing their throats, even before the procession. Anyway, I looked at the schedule for Sunday School and the names of the classrooms got me giggling a litt...

Near Walking Lightly Ranch, Whitefish MT In the East and Midwest, it’s sometimes so chilly in October that you have to wear a heavy jacket over your Halloween costume. On the other hand, I remember a Missouri heat wave that lasted until Election Day. It was 86 degrees in Santa Monica today—as much as 20 degrees hotter inland. So for all practical purposes it’s still summer. Maybe it’s always summer here...I don’t know yet; I’ve only lived here five weeks. It’s not Fall in Southern California. I mean, obviously, it’s Fall, or Autumn if you prefer, according to the calendar, but there are no obvious seasonal changes as far as I can tell. It’s green and warm—hot even—and I haven’t even thought about pumpkins, gourds or goblins. I did see a home in our neighborhood with cobwebs strewn about the yard, but I don’t think it was intentional. It’s pretty eclectic here.  By the way, palm trees do occasionally drop their leaves; when they do, it's "look out below!"...

Years ago, just before our son began Kindergarten, we moved from the city to the suburbs—reluctantly, because we didn’t want to be one of “those” people. We also didn’t want our kid to be part of an experiment in a failing urban school district. Some friends in another city had done the same thing several years ahead of us and we asked them, “How long did it take you to get used to the suburbs?” The response: “About five minutes.” And so it was. Now, 18 years, later, we moved across the country to the Los Angeles metro or, specifically, Santa Monica. It didn’t take five minutes to get used to this. And after ten days in this community, it took  about five seconds to come up with ten things I love about it already. Ocean (Obviously). I can see the Pacific from the corner and walk there in 10 minutes. Air conditioning. Courtesy of Mother Nature and the above-mentioned Ocean. We may never shut our windows again. Mountains. Just a glance to the right while looking at ...