I'll Have the Short NoFoam Extra-Dry Life, Please

I don't know about you lot, but this Pasadena smoke is putting a damper on my plans for "going outside and getting some fresh air".

I know you are all wondering about another item as well, but the jury is still out on what caused the power outage in my neighborhood last night. It could have been the copious amounts of air-conditioning that L.A.'s Westside was gulping but does not typically require. One nameless theorist suggested the Pasadena fire as the culprit (although it's many miles away).

But I like the idea that the lights and the DVD player and the TV flickered off just after Phillip Seymour Hoffman's and Laura Linney's characters asked their Dad what to do if he was in a coma. My roomie and I were watching The Savages and it was a gripping scene. The three characters are in a coffee shop and the father yells, "Unplug me!" People at the neighboring tables turn their heads toward Hoffman and Linney and their father. Within seconds, our whole neighborhood was blanketed in darkness.

Perhaps we'll never know, but odds are, some idiot was talking on two cell phones while leaning over to pull something out of his ass the glove compartment and plowed into another car which, in turn, smacked into a power pole.
And walked away from it.
And did not have a valid driver's license.
Or insurance.
And will not suffer any consequences as a result of his or her bad (let alone illegal) behavior.
And will do it again in the future.
And will probably kill someone next time.

Tune in tomorrow for my lecture on Optimism: The Secret to a Long Life.
Unless of course, I should meet my demise before then, in which case, you're all on your own.