As I write there is once again, today, the not soothing sound of a helicopter hovering to "cover" a story is the accompaniment to my day. I am out most days, but today I decided to do a few things at home and have had the opportunity to watch a segment of the news gatherers, the ones in helicopters, do their work.
Endlessly. Last week, you may know, as it made national news, a water main, age 110 (when people actually built things that lasted), finally gave in and burst, flooding a major artery of Sunset Boulevard and a series of local buildings on Holloway and Palm Drives. Updating these pipes has been on the City of Los Angeles agenda (the damage was to West Hollywood, but the pipes are LADWP) for some time and getting it done was scheduled for some time in the indeterminate future. When the workers were able to shut off the water, and it could not be done suddenly, so the water continued to flow, some 200 cars were damaged or submerged in their car parks, and many who live on the ground floors of otherwise pretty lovely condominiums, had significant damage. A popular eatery was damaged significantly and a long time bookstore had to close for the foreseeable future. The apartment dwellers are now likely finding out that unless they had flood coverage (and why would they in this area of West Hollywood?) it is unlikely their home insurance or renter's insurance will cover. As to the cars, hopefully people have comprehensive coverage that includes flooding.
The location of this particular event was about a mile from me, literally a block from the parish I have attended for 43 years, that was happily spared. There was hope that after pumping the water and repairing the pipe and testing the output and strength of the repair, concrete could fill the sink hole and the area reopened by this weekend. However, as of today, in an area where concrete was already poured there seems to be. . .a leak. For the first several days, if I were on my terrace I could see helicopters arriving and hovering through the day. I was not too distressed by the noise, which was somewhat distant, and I was fascinated watching how long one of these vehicles can hover before it has to make a circle, or, running out of gas, which I assume they do, they leave and are either replaced or get a refuel. The last couple of days the amount of time spent watching the progress of the fixing and filling of the sinkhole has been enormous. And much like the skit by Monty Python and the dead parrot, there really isn't a lot to report. Every day, effectively, the word is "They are trying to fix it." or "They are fixing it". Or, "they hope to open the street soon." West Hollywood's version of Nancy Guthrie is still missing. It is truly amazing how the news can say so much about the same thing and tell you that it is is, well, "news".
So, today. I hear endless helicopter sounds upon waking up. It is closer than usual. I mean, nearly over my own apartment, but Google offers nothing. I ask whether there might be a new water main problem, because of the new one that was also found on Sunset. I go to You Tube and put in the following: "helicopter over Hayworth right now". And up comes the story. A new water main break on the block next to mine, and flowing to Santa Monica Boulevard (which also got hit a bit, further west, with the first one). Air 7 (I am sure among others) tells us that it was over the scene and there was "a significant amount of water percolating out from the ground and onto the sidewalk and street." A contractor they interviewed and filmed it said he was worried that these pipe problem "might become more common." Hmmm. A crumbling infrastructure, a feckless leadership that will be voted in in the next election, and earthquake country, I cannot imagine why anyone would be worried.
All day, a copter, the same one or different ones, I don't know, have been making regular trips to hover over the same spot to see what has changed. It stays for about ten to fifteen minutes each time (or it feels that long) and then leaves for a while. Sometimes I can see it from my terrace; sometimes not. Here's a pic where I could see it.
But even when I couldn't see a copter, it has been loud. And distracting. And, I know, one person's opinion, it's all brutally unnecesary in its repetitiveness. It's two thirty. They have been gone a while. Maybe they have enough shots to repeat and repeat and repeat with "new" commentary that repeats and repeats.
The exploding culture of obsessive observation for the news and for social media, and the noise just exacerbate the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness at the deterioration of all of California and the fact that endless money for endless needs, education, homelessness, repair of roads, of aged pipes, seem to go missing without anyone ever being held accountable. And those who perhaps should be held accountable (and I leave you to decide who those people are) get re-elected and tell you how wonderful everything is. The cognitive dissonance is nearly unbearable. My tack of late is to get just enough information to have a vague idea just in what details our world is crumbling but mostly close it out for day to day sanity. And prepare as best as I can for the Eschaton. Hopefully by tomorrow there will be a little less noise. But I am not counting on it.
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