What the East Coast Snowstorm and 9/11 Have in Common

This past weekend, as I walked along the beach in 70 plus degree weather in my Southern California backyard, I saw the snow-capped mountains in the background and remembered that my former home, Washington, DC, was getting walloped with record snowfall. I suddenly felt out of touch with the East. Then I realized that on September 11, 2001, the shoe was on the other foot.

On 9/11/01, I was living in the DC area and working just a few blocks from the White House. I was personally affected by 9/11 in a big way, including losing a former girlfriend on one of the flights, wondering if we would be targeted again in DC, being from New York, having friends and family working in the World Trade Center that day, and having once worked there myself. After 9/11, I was a mess for months, at one point being so distracted that I smacked my car into a support column in the parking garage of the building where I had been living for years.

But that was not necessarily the case with everyone in California. One person out here had an idea of how I and others in the East had been personally impacted by the events of 9/11, yet seemed oblivious and barely brought the subject up. I was plenty pissed off about that, and it caused a strain in our friendship.

Now, as I live here near the beach, and the weather is nearly perfect, I can see how folks in California can lose touch with their compatriots in DC, and vice versa. All those homilies we heard about how 9/11 brought this country together, even for a moment, were greatly exaggerated, in my opinion. There is a vast physical distance, and often a wide gap, between East and West. I tried to bridge that gap yesterday, on long telephone calls with my best friend and my sole family member who live in the DC area, to see if they were having fun and getting along okay in the snow.

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My Earthquake Kit

While others obsess over phony health care protests, we in Southern California have a genuine health concern: earthquakes. Scientists predict that there is more than a 99 percent chance that a major earthquake will strike California within the next 30 years. I have felt at least four earthquakes in less than three years in Southern California and, in contrast to the reactions of many jaded natives, I do not find them amusing. Accordingly, I have done something to prepare for the next big earthquake.

In addition to the supplies I keep in my home -- water, canned food, candles, flashlights, hand-crank radio, simple plug-in telephone (note that cordless phones that require electricity will not work if the power goes out, even if the telephone lines still work), I have purchased a separate "earthquake kit" for my car. The kit arrived the other day from Emergency Essentials. I was most impressed with the very secure packaging in which the kit arrived. The list of the kit's contents can be found here.

Since the emergency kit seemed to be short on food, I also ordered a bunch of military-style Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) from the same company. Chicken and dumplings, mmmm. I also tossed in a jar of peanut butter, and will add some food bars and other snacks. My theory is that, in most cases. I will need no more than 3 days' worth of food and water for a couple of people (although I have considerably more water than that) before some help arrives. Emergency Essentials' website even contains a chart indicating how long the MREs can be expected to last in various temperatures. Even in the trunk of my car in California summers, I can expect the MREs not to expire for more than 4 years.

Hopefully, I will throw out many sets of expiring MREs before ever having to use them!

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Ground Zero in California's Cultural War

Today the news from California is all about The Fires! The Fires!, but there's something much larger, akin to a major earthquake, a massive fire, and a giant gathering snowball all put together, taking place here. Many Californians are taking to the streets and organizing boycotts to protest the recent passage of Proposition (Prop) 8, a statewide ballot initiative which changed California's Constitution by taking away the right of same-sex couples to marry. The scope of the fight over Prop 8 could well approach that of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and could dwarf anything most bloggers have seen in their lifetimes.

I want to focus on what I consider Ground Zero in the Prop 8 war, a historic restaurant in Los Angeles called the El Coyote Mexican Cafe. One of the El Coyote's managers and part owners, Marjorie Christoffersen, is a Mormon. Her Mormon Church was massively involved in the campaign to pass Prop 8, providing millions of dollars to the Yes on Prop 8 folks and asking the members of its congregation to do the same. So Marjorie answered her church's call and donated $100 to the anti-gay marriage cause.

When word got out about Marjorie's contribution, all hell broke loose. Protesters have been picketing and boycotting El Coyote. They even went to the Yelp restaurant review site and have been giving El Coyote the lowest rating of one star. Local blogs are on fire. It got so bad that Marjorie had to host an open breakfast with the community, where she tearfully, yet unsuccessfully, tried to explain herself. Then Marjorie caved and made an offsetting contribution to the anti-Prop 8 effort. Apparently, Marjorie has left town and is having a breakdown somewhere. But it may be too late for the El Coyote. Unless people flock to the El Coyote in support of Marjorie or Prop 8, the El Coyote could suffer permanent damage to its business.

My thoughts about California's Prop 8 cultural war are the following:

1. As a history major, I learned that "revolutions of rising expectations," which occur when the government takes away a right that people already have, can be much more powerful than when the fight is over whether to grant a new right in the first place. That's part of what is fueling the battle over Prop 8 in California.

2. How pathetic is it that churchgoers like Marjorie lose their minds when their church asks or tells them to do something? How awful is it that churches are pressuring their congregations to give money for political causes, especially when some members are then caught between their conscience and their church? For that matter, why are churches involving themselves so heavily in political matters? What happened to America's separation of church and state? Hasn't the Mormon Church just disqualified itself for tax-exempt status?

3. While protests and boycotts can be very effective tools, and while I'd be plenty upset if I found out that the money I spent at a business establishment was used in a campaign to take away my rights, it's important to pick one's battles and choose one's targets wisely. I don't get the protesters' obsession with El Coyote, given Marjorie's modest $100 contribution involved there. Other individuals and businesses donated hundreds and thousands of times this amount to Yes on Prop 8.

4. Would state-sanctioned civil unions for same-sex couples, with the same rights as a marriage (inherit money, jointly own property, hospital visitation, insurance benefits, etc.), but without the label "marriage," be a compromise that everyone could live with? I suppose that, if I wanted to marry someone and was told that I could not do so for whatever reason, I'd be incensed, and might find the offer of civil unions to be half a loaf. I might just fight for it all.

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Hair Wars: DC vs. California

Of all the cultural differences between Washington, DC and Southern California, one of the most striking is guys' hair. I'm sure the women's hair is very different too, but their hairstyles vary so widely that I have not yet gotten a handle on them. For the guys, however, the hairstyle differences can more easily be gauged. Here's what I have found:


The most prevalent hairstyle for men in DC that I observed is the Republican "Family Values" look. Epitomized by well-known Washington Republicans such as columnist George Will

and former Senator (now lobbyist) Trent Lott,

nothing says "I hate Social Security," sidewalk wheelchair ramps and other forms of socialism more than this look, especially when it is accompanied by the ubiquitous striped repp tie. If a guy under the age of 30 sports this 'do, chances are he will retain it, along with his political beliefs, for life.

Ironically, the Republican hairstyle, parted on the side, with short sides, and longer, but perfectly-in-place top, seems to be a vestige of Democratic President John F. Kennedy.














But current Democrats would no more be caught dead sporting the Kennedy haircut than they would be caught voting for permanent tax cuts for the rich. Rather, the Democratic look is typically longer, more coiffed (often at a pricey salon rather than a Republican barber shop), and combed or brushed either forward or back, but not harshly to the side. Some well-known Democrats who sport this look are former President (and now campaign meltdown king) Bill Clinton,











and almost-President-if-not-for-voting-machine-cheating-in- Ohio-now-back-to-Senator John Kerry.








So much for Washington, DC. In Southern California, rather than politics, the key industry is show biz, a/k/a film and television entertainment. The people who work in this industry, other than the "suits" (lawyers, accountants, agents) are supposed to look creative. This means that, as far as men's hair, anything goes.

The most popular hairstyle I see in Southern California for guys aged 11 to 30 is the long "shag" parted on the side. It's popular among some actors, notably whiny-voiced funnyman and failed suicide Owen Wilson.



















Another popular look for men in SoCal is the buzz cut. Soccer player David Beckham, newly arrived in L.A., is well-known for his buzz cut.



















Also prevalent in Southern California is what I would call the Short Shag. Usually it's neat on the sides and messy on top. It's good for those windy days by the beach. Here's one of Brad Pitt with said look.


















So, you may ask, which one of these haircuts do I have? Well, I tried to grow it long, but it ends up looking like the guitarist/lead singer for Wolfmother, a/k/a the Sixties Afro:













That works great if you're the guitarist/lead singer of Wolfmother, especially when paired with giant 60s "mutton chop" sideburns, but not so great for everyone else.

I guess the haircut I have currently is more like the short shag. Yeah, I now expect to get stopped on the street and mistaken for Brad Pitt.

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