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malibusurfsidenews.com sound off
Malibu surfside news | July 18, 2019 | 13
Ashley’s Angle
The rebirth of Malibu
Ashley Hamilton
Contributing columnist
Malibu resident
The day begins like a
flame.
The day begins
with zones of blue and
black, yielding to luminous
sections of yellow and
gold.
The day begins with the
light of promise and the
flicker of mourning, a day
in the life of life itself.
The day begins with
love, loss, suffering,
triumph and transcendence:
a constant cycle of
birth and burial in which
the noblest thing we can
do for ourselves is to be
aware of what we do, to
know what we plan to do
— to know what we have
done — so we may earn
forgiveness and achieve
enlightenment.
The day begins, in
Malibu, with the chance
to repair a portion of the
world.
If the days ahead are to
be glorious, we must make
them so.
We must restore the
wealth of nature, rather
than impoverishing
ourselves with material
riches.
If all we do is replace
one mansion with another,
fireproofing our homes
instead of fortifying our
souls, we will be even
more vulnerable to the fire
next time. If we ignore the
lessons of the Woolsey
Fire, we will continue to
incite the forces of Mother
Nature.
If we are to have an
everlasting name — if our
names are to rest beside an
eternal flame — we must
rebuild the best of Malibu.
By our acts future generations
will know us.
Neither the fondest
hopes nor the most fervent
prayers will save us. Not
when we alone have the
power to write the next
chapter of the history of
Malibu, and to write it
throughout the landscape
of Malibu.
What, then, shall we
write?
What, then, shall we
do to right the wrongs of
abuse and neglect against
Malibu?
We can start by cleaning
the air.
We can clear the air
of the chemicals that
turn day into night, that
threaten us with a permanent
midnight of heat and
smog in which it is safer
to stay inside than it is to
go outside.
We can purify the air.
We can free ourselves
from our air-conditioned
living rooms, so we may
live — and work — in the
fresh air of Malibu.
We can revive the canyons
and coastline, converting
ruins into habitats
of humanity.
We can do all of these
things, and more, if we
commit ourselves to the
hard work of renewal.
The work will test our
resolve and try our devotion.
The work will make
us cry and sweat, as we
struggle to refresh the soil,
as we labor to resurrect
the soil, as we strive to
replenish the soil.
The work is impossible
without a measure of suffering,
because the price
of greatness is sorrow:
the sorrow of trying to
conceive life, of bringing
forth life, of sustaining
life.
The work will harden
our bodies, not our hearts,
so long as we remember
to treat the day like we till
the ground — with awe
and reverence, and tenderness
too, recognizing that
our suffering is temporary;
that our suffering is necessary;
that our suffering is
just.
The work goes on, the
cause endures, and the
dream shall never die.
The work infuses our
lives with meaning.
The work begins the day
because we have promises
to keep, and miles to go
before we sleep, and miles
to go before we sleep.
Ashley’s Angle is a monthly
column from Malibu resident
Ashley Hamilton. Hamilton
is an artist and father who
seeks to express the truth
through his work. Ashley’s
Angle will cover issues and
politics which are relevant
to the Malibu community at
large. The opinions of this
column are that of the writer.
They do not necessarily
reflect those of the Malibu
Surfside News.
Poet’s Corner
Whenever Two Hearts Meet
Allen Waldman, Malibu resident
CWC
From Page 3
Sunrise is the energy
That starts the day anew,
Sunset the serenity
To know when to be thru.
The rustling of the leaves
When the winds begin to blow,
The rhythm of the waves
With the tide’s ebb and flow.
them to the center to recover,
Henderson said.
“However, some species
do not do well in care and
we make an assessment on
the beach regarding whether
to attempt to rehabilitate
an animal, or whether it is
more humane to euthanize
it because sometimes when
they are larger, their body
weight can crush their internal
organs and they suffer,”
she said.
Henderson noted that
“decisions to euthanize are
not made lightly and are
only reached after as many
experts as possible are consulted.”
CWC was established
in 1998 as a nonprofit organization
that provides
emergency care, medical
treatment and rehabilitation
to injured and orphaned native,
wild animals throughout
Southern California.
Since then, the organization
has served approximately
52,000 animals. Every year,
the center serves approximately
4,000 terrestrial and
marine animals and fields
approximately 30,000 calls
from the public, Henderson
stated, noting that some of
those calls are duplicative
reports of incidents.
“The center is a shortterm
care facility,” Henderson
said. “It only takes
animals in order to rehabilitate
them so they can be released
back into the wild.”
In addition to its efforts
working with the animals,
CWC also provides educational
outreach in the community.
“We want the community
to know that if someone
sees a stranded animal,
he should give it space and
contact us so that we can
come and render aid,” Henderson
said.
She and her team cover
the 26 miles of coastline
stretching from Topanga to
County Line, and they are
always seeking volunteers
We’re surrounded by their sights and
sound
And the pulse of Nature’s beat.
They all become so clear to us
Whenever two hearts meet.
Want to submit a poem to the Surfside? Email
Editor Lauren Coughlin at lauren@malibu
surfsidenews.com.
to prepare food, clean enclosures
and, after appropriate
training, help with
rescues. Marine mammal
volunteers can join from
January to July, whereas
those who want to work
with terrestrial animals can
begin training anytime.
“Donations are always
needed,” Henderson noted,
adding that people also can
go online and designate the
California Wildlife Center
as a recipient of monies
when they shop on Amazon
Smile or at Ralph’s.
Attendees were impressed
by Henderson’s
presentation.
“It’s fortunate that we
can learn about the animals’
patterns of behavior near
Malibu,” attendee Hampton
Smith said. “We can
become more responsible
with our relationships with
them.”
For more information
on the California Wildlife
Center, visit www.calwild
life.org or call (310) 458-
9453.
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