The energy crisis across the west coast continues to be met with mixed messages surrounding solutions. "The problem is that we do not have the infrastructure in place to accommodate so many people. People think that they can simply use less energy on average and this crisis will sort itself out, but that`s simply not the case." Professor Woo at LA University has studied environmental sciences for decades and thinks we need a more radical solution. "The California government needs to do what they`ve been promising us for the last fifteen years: actually invest in proven energy alternatives. Solar energy needs to be a right, not a privilege of the wealthy few able to afford the panels and installation. In an ideal world, the government would be producing solar panels and installing them for free, making use of every rooftop systematically until the city can sustain itself on solar power alone."

　　However, there are obstacles at the government level to creating affordable, clean power sources. I interviewed a well known politician that requested to remain anonymous. He told me that power companies funded a significant percentage of his election campaign, and he now feels the pressure to kick back favors for their support. "I think it`s safe to say that most power companies are threatened by the idea of clean, local, free energy taking over the grid. The hard truth is that it will hurt their bottom line," Professor Woo explained when I asked her about what hold-ups were preventing implementation of the new Clean Energy Bill California naively passed last month. "We have a population demanding sustainable energy sources from a government being manipulated by big energy and politicians bending to traditional energy lobbyists."

　　"It`s all lip-service to appease the masses!" That`s Moses Franklin, a clean energy activist with a massive following on his TikTok platform breaking down the energy crisis, energy laws, and practical, everyday solutions to help ease the blackouts. "This is a bill without an actionable plan, and it is far too little too late. We are fighting power grid blackouts now. This bill promises vague energy alternatives` in the next seven years. But what energy sources are they going to tap into?! How are they going to mass produce that energy? Where is the money for this project coming from?"

　　The lights flicker in the small coffee shop I`m sitting in with my laptop plugged into a wall outlet so I can piece this report together. For a moment, the room stills and looks up at the lights, a collective sigh of temporary relief when the energy stabilizes again. "It`s scary," Janet, the middle aged woman at the table to my left tells me, "my mother is in the hospital right now with pneumonia. Last week she needed some extra help breathing, so they put her on a ventilator temporarily. We were lucky that we weren`t hit with a blackout that day, but I`m at least aware of other patients who haven`t been so lucky."

　　A quick google search confirms the validity of Janet`s fears. During the last blackout, already depleted hospital generators at two separate hospitals couldn`t keep up with demand. Twelve patients in critical condition- on life support, on the operating table- died, dozens of other patients saw their conditions worsen without the life sustaining machines functioning properly. For now, Los Angeles continues to hold their breath, counting down to the next blackout, and to some of them, it feels like marking time.

　　I`m Elaine Arlington for NPR news.

　　The radio plays transitional music as the next news story is introduced and as I fight a heavy writing desk and hutch away from the wall and into the middle of the room I`m working in today. I think this room was once a formal sitting room of some sort? I`m careful to take pictures of each room before I shift things around too much. A large, brick fireplace is the focal point here, the knick knacks on the mantle long ago stolen, knocked off, broken or otherwise gone. A built-in bookcase fills the wall to the left of the brick chimney face, this heavy desk the occupant of the space to the right.

　　& this week when we will come together to explore the lasting effects of schoolyard bullying on the adult brain. I`m Vaughn Harding. Join me at six on Wednesday evenings for A Beautiful Mind`.

　　I like listening to the radio while I work. It gives me something to think about and keeps my mind active. This energy crisis in California has been interesting to track. As a member of an older generation, the crisis, for me, is less about clean energy sources and more about having enough energy to power the things that are important- hospitals being just one such example. Living here in Soward`s mansion for the last few days without reliable electricity, I can attest to the fact that it is an uncomfortable adjustment returning to burning wood for heat and cooking. But the problem in Los Angeles is a faulty grid system trying to support too much infrastructure. The last news article was operating on the premise that the only solution to the LA energy crisis was a "clean" one. It`s not that I am opposed to clean energy, but clean energy takes time, and there is a catch-22 in the way politics deals with problems and the nature of transitioning to clean energy. The government will never be sufficiently proactive to implement clean energy solutions before an energy crisis or air pollution becomes a sufficiently critical issue. But clean energy takes years of work to make it sustainable, and the crisis is urgent. They need a patch solution- fix the current, dirty energy grid to address immediate needs while building up clean alternatives. But who listens to me? I`m just glad Raesport is not in California.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it`s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

　　My body is still adjusting to the physical demands of this new normal. Yesterday, I was so achy, I had to take a recovery day. It was nice to sleep in and not move, but I doubt that it honestly helped all that much. I`m still sore and achy, though perhaps less overall tired, but I do miss the old "normal". I worked at a bank throughout my adult life. I retired last year when my life circumstances took an unexpected twist. The banking staff was ready for me to retire; I`d already trained up my replacement and he was eager to see me move on so he could take the promotion and accompanying raise. And then he quit because I didn`t move on quickly enough for his liking, so I trained up a new replacement. And she quit for similar reasons. Life found it fitting to shove me out the door, so the next person I trained only had to wait two months from the end of his training until I "made room" for his ambition. I found out three weeks ago that he too quit when the branch manager reached out to ask if I`d like to return for six months to train up this new gal they`ve hired, but I already had my sights set on this new challenge at that point and declined the invitation.

　　Speaking of challenges, with the furniture all heaped in the center of the room, it`s time to pull out the sledge hammer. The chinking of plaster-covered wood splintering and chipping away has become a very satisfying white noise. I`ve discovered for myself that maintaining a steady swinging rhythm helps to keep my momentum and motivation so I don`t tire out so quickly.

　　Chink&. Crack&. Thunk&. Snap&.

　　"I`ve been working on the railroad,

　　All the live-long day.

　　I`ve been working on the railroad,

　　Just to pass the time away&."

　　Pop&. Thunk&. Thunk&. Pop&.

　　"I`ve been living in the boxcars.

　　I`m a hobo now.

　　I`ve been living in the boxcars,

　　Which the yard bulls won`t allow.

　　Brother, can you spare a quarter?

　　Buy me something good to eat?

　　Brother, can you spare a nickel,

　　Till I`m on my feet?"

　　An interestingly relevant verse after my regular musings about that one homeless man on the corner near the Food Box. He was there again yesterday, though he`s been joined by another waif. I still don`t know how to respond to beggars. I`d feel less disquieted if they were doing something with their time besides begging. Homelessness is homelessness. It happens, sometimes as a result of circumstances that we can`t control- unexpected job loss, health or mental health struggles, insecure housing arrangements to begin with, abusive home relationships&. There are a lot of reasons why someone might become homeless. What gets me is that lack of perceived options. Or perhaps the actual lack of options for someone in such circumstances. That`s not right. There should be an obvious support system in place for people experiencing homelessness. Giving away change is a band-aid, temporary fix, not a long-term solution. It`s the whole give a man a fish or teach a man to fish thing. Really, the man needs both: something to care for his current, immediate needs, and the education and skillset that allows him to fulfill his future needs himself. Maybe I can solve all the world`s problems while demolishing these walls. The thought makes me snort. The theoretical is very different from actually creating working solutions.

　　Click&. Snap&. Bang&. Bang&.

　　"I`ll be owner of this railroad

　　One of these here days.

　　I`ll be owner of this railroad,

　　And I swear, your pay I`ll raise.

　　I`ll invite you to my mansion,

　　Feed you on goose and terrapin.

　　I`ll invite you to the racetrack

　　When my ship comes in."

　　I guess it`s time for me to start feeding people goose and terrapin here in my mansion, though I can`t say that eating turtle as a delicacy has withstood the test of time. Goose, maybe, if done right could be considered a delicacy. I can`t remember if I`ve ever had goose, and the only place I`ve even seen turtle served was this one restaurant in New York that served it more as a novelty than anything else. I didn`t try it. Maybe I should have just so I could say that I did.

　　Thunk&. Crack&. CRASH!

　　Well, that`s one section down, and I need a new song. Uncle James used to teach me the old songs he hammered to in the mine. He managed a mini crew of four other miners, five if you include himself. It made my mother so mad when he taught me those songs. They were usually vulgar, tragic, or plain inappropriate for a younger me to be learning. Looking back, I completely understand why my mother got upset, but those are fond memories with Uncle Jack. When the mine collapsed, Jack lost two men on his crew. He was never the same after that. He retired immediately at just fifty-five years of age, and his mental health tanked to the point that he was unrecognizable. He finally drank himself to death in 1997, just four years after the accident. It was merciful for everyone when it finally ended; he was an angry drunk.

　　Chink&. Chink&. Bang&. Crack&.

　　I subscribed to the newspaper yesterday while I was out. It`s a habit formed over decades to check the front porch every morning and read the news over breakfast, and I`ve been missing it. It`s funny to me how such things make a difference in turning a house into a home& or at least a tolerable living space. I`m looking forward to my first delivery tomorrow. Small things.