Lost In L.A.

Some very sad news tonight…GRIFFITH PARK has been burning all day & hundreds of acres of this precious oasis are now lost! Estimates as of 11:00 p.m. have 200 plus acres (out of more than 4,000) scorched, with the fire only 25% contained. Gone is the famous DANTE’s VIEW a lush hilltop garden, but the GREEK THEATRE & THE OBSERVATORY, seem to have been spared! Thank God! If you’ve ever seen the JAMES DEAN classic, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE you will recall the final scene with Dean, Natalie Wood & Sal Mineo that helped make the Observatory famous! Early reporting has the fire “man made” but they cannot determine arson or an accident. Still sad!

Nearly as sad, is this AP report that has PARIS HILTON petitioning Governor ARNOLD SCHWARENEGGER for clemency! Urging supporters via her MySpace page to sign an online petition addressed to the Governator seeking a pardon from her 45-day jail sentence for a probation violation.
"My friend Joshua started this petition, please help and sihn it," the spellcheck-challenged Hilton wrote on her MySpace blog. "i LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!"
The petition, looking to appeal to "all fans and supporters and all that are outraged by injustice," describes Hilton as someone who "provides hope for young people all over the U.S. and the world. She provides beauty and excitement to [most of] our otherwise mundane lives."
In exchange for her global good deeds, the petition contends, she should not be locked up.
"Please allow her to return to her career and life," the petition reads. "Everyone makes mistakes. She didn't hurt or kill anyone, and she has learned her lesson...She is distraught and understandably afraid."
If she didn’t, as previously reported, fire her Publicist…she now should!!

Ten years ago today I lost my Dad, at age 64, after a brief illness. Charlie Trainer, Sr. was a sweet, complicated, quietly strong man who battled depression (we now know) for most of his life. Though he would never bill himself as a “gardener” it was from my Dad that I learned the value of & joy to be had in, a well-cared for lawn, and ever-changing flowerbeds! The best thing about living in the Northeast region of the U.S. is the amazing flowers that can be had there: hydrangea, forsythia, peonies, lilacs, and lilies-of-the-valley, all of which my Dad grew with seemingly little effort. I said at his funeral that my 6 siblings & I were especially fortunate because, while every lucky parent gives their children the 5 basic senses; my parents gave us three bonus ones as well: A Sense of God, and His Hand in all things. A Sense of Occasion, in that you could always find something to celebrate everyday. And most importantly, a Sense of Humor! It’s been my privilege to know many, many, funny people, including several professionals who were paid to be funny. But to this very day, there is no one on earth who can make me laugh like my family. Wherever you are Daddy, I hope you are in some beautiful garden somewhere, with tears of laughter falling from your eyes! I miss you!