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malibusurfsidenews.com Sound Off
Malibu surfside news | September 7, 2017 | 19
From the Editor
A gratitude that cannot be expressed enough
Lauren Coughlin
lauren@malibusurfsidenews.com
Our everyday heroes
are not thanked
and recognized
often enough. Of that, I
am certain.
Though, Los Angeles
County Fire Capt.
Mike Henry did note that
Malibu sure does love
its firefighters. And they
certainly should.
With brush fires, canyon
rollovers and plenty more
hazards, Malibu keeps the
fire service quite busy.
At Malibu’s Town Hall
meeting on fire preparedness
earlier this year, LA
County Fire Department’s
Anthony Williams highlighted
16 “significant”
fires that have occurred
from 1938 to 2007 in the
Santa Monica Mountains.
Lopez
From Page 16
mushrooms that grow there
are usually not the toxic
type. I usually inoculate
the compost with safe
eatable varieties. Buying
live compost has become
harder and harder over
the years. Storebought
compost is void of any
mycelium. They can be
inoculated, however.
I started to use what I
Malibuites likely don’t
need to be reminded of
the very real risk each of
these fires pose, as many
have seen their homes impacted
or at risk of being
impacted.
But what may be forgotten
from time to time is
that the men and women
with boots on the ground
are not immune to the
danger, either.
I’ll be the first to admit
it.
I’m the granddaughter
of an Army veteran who
became a state cop. I’m
also the granddaughter of
a Navy veteran, though
I didn’t get the chance
to know him as well as I
would have liked as my
dad’s dad died when I was
very young.
My mom’s dad was the
state cop, and the only story
I know of his service is
the one when he was shot
in the line of duty while
pursuing a suspect. I only
know that story through
my mom, who had to
hear the news of her own
father being in the hospital
on TV. He survived that
shooting and passed many
call “soil colonies”: clay
drain pipes that I add local
microorganism to along
with a support system of
rock dust. They are given
an environment which
allows them to grow
and spread out. I usually
planted these around trees
when I first started, as trees
are what folks would call
me to heal. I noticed that
the trees and everything
near these “soil colonies”
responded. I invented a
product called Superseaweed
(a microbiological
activator) which I add to
the tree vents to insure
the microbes live. I also
started spraying it all over
the properties.
Soon, I started placing
them around the entire
property. The tree vents
are covered with a grate,
and a drip head is placed
that allows for water. I
add a fertigation unit that
provides the tree vents
years later in 2003.
At home, my grandpa
was a golfer, a poker
player and a family man
who always had a good
joke and a kind twinkle in
his eye.
While I always knew he
was a cop, I didn’t know
the first thing about the
kinds of dangers he faced
every day on the job. I
also have absolutely no
idea what Sept. 11 was
like from his point of
view. He wasn’t anywhere
near the World Trade Center
that day, but I’m sure
the impact was profound
for every serviceman and
servicewoman throughout
the world.
I’ll chalk part of my
obliviousness up to me
being just 14 when my
grandpa passed, but, no
matter how close we are
to a first responder or
veteran, I’m not sure any
of us can truly understand
the courage these men
and women have, nor the
struggles that come along
with those guts.
We think about the risks
that these men and women
face on the scene of an accident
or fire. But we forget
that the weight is not
lifted when they leave that
scene, even if the event
has a successful result.
Imagine the macabre
scenes that the general
public often only has to
see on TV or from a safe
distance. We can look
away. First responders do
not have that option.
Henry, who I spoke with
this past week in regard
to his organization’s Sept.
11 concert (Page 4), called
firefighters “an Americana
brand.” He also noted that
they are one of the few
who help others “out of
pure humanity.”
We know there are a
lot of good people out
there who are not firefighters,
who have pure
hearts in other ways, but I
agree with Henry that the
humanity of a firefighter
— someone who willingly
puts their life on the line
for strangers each and
every day — is second to
none.
But everyone has a
breaking point, and, as
Henry also noted, suicide
among firefighters is all
with a continual source of
compost tea or Superseaweed.
All plant diseases start
in the soil. Make the soil
healthy, and you control
pests and diseases — just
like in our bodies.
City water is terrible
for the soil because of the
various chemicals which
are added to kill bacteria.
It’s a no-brainer that this
is bad.
Look at all the various
too common.
The data I included in
the Page 4 story bears
repeating. This year alone,
the Firefighter Behavioral
Health Alliance has
recorded 59 suicide deaths
in the United States. In
comparison, the U.S. Fire
Administration reports
that there have been 65
on-duty deaths to firefighters
in the U.S. in 2017.
Henry also shared that
he knew four firefighters
who had committed
suicide in the past several
months. Meanwhile, the
U.S. Fire Administration
has seven on-duty
firefighter deaths in the
state of California this
year (with two of those
individuals, Kelly Wong
and Jerome Boyd, being
with the Los Angeles Fire
Department).
Sept. 11 is designated
as our day to memorialize
the brave men and women
who selflessly protect us
in the most dangerous
situations imaginable. And
this year, Malibu will have
two memorial events that
surround Patriots Day.
One is the concert and the
tree diseases and pests, and
you will see something
they all have in common:
lack of healthy soil, and
lack of mineral availability.
Even in a forest, the trace
minerals are disappearing.
When we humans are
mineral deficient, we too
will suffer.
Any questions? Email me at
andylopez@invisiblegardener.
com.
other is the annual Ride
to the Flags, put on by the
White Heart Foundation
on Sept. 10 (more on that
on Page 3). That event
will raise funds for U.S.
Army Cpl. Zac Gore.
Per usual, Pepperdine
will also have its beautiful
flag display available for
those who would like to
visit for a quiet reflection.
However you choose to
spend your Patriots Day,
don’t forget that we all
owe gratitude beyond that
one day.
And to any of our brave
first responders who may
be reading this, thank you.
Malibu
Surfside News
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