Capra is all about community. And I was going to talk about It’s a Wonderful Life this week. But I can’t get the girl out of my head.
She was young. She was walking down the road. And she was leading a horse.
I have family in Pasadena, and last year we drove through Altadena, high above Los Angeles, having just gone on a hike in the Angeles National Forest. It was ethereal, walking in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, minutes from a major metropolis, surround by cacti, pine trees, and nothing but the wind to serenade us.
As we drove back through Altadena, I noticed the historic cottages along the road. Modest, but full of charm, this seemed like the perfect combination of city and country combined. Indeed, locals refer to it as “paradise”.
And then I saw her, a young woman, walking a horse along the road. Clearly, for this community, this was the most natural thing in the world. A city girl myself, but from a very different city, horses are only seen in local parks.
As our friends in Southern California come together to process the infernos that have engulfed their communities, I wonder about the young woman and the horse along the road, and whether they are safe.