L.A. was always a water mirage and there have always been droughts, but this was the truth of it: In the land that the original residents called “The Valley of Smokes,” the firemen turned on the tap but the reservoir was empty.

Soon came the thrill of hearing the announcement that “they’re dropping the Phos-Check now.” Has a ring to it, like Sig Alert, I remember thinking when the planes finally arrived after the damage was done…isn’t the poetry of L.A. grand?… I actually feel a heightened sensation when the jargon kicks in, and then a few days later when the Pacific Palisades had succumbed to the inferno, all that was left was the oddly soothing rhythm of the headlines. “There is now a red flag alert for all of Los Angeles…northbound and southbound PCH is closed…” read more on Substack