Thinking Out Loud

ICON_PREVIEW

November 24, 2023

Surviving in Suburbiaâ€¦ The Move, Part 2

While not exactly homeless, almost as soon as I was heartily welcomed in the new place, I was, putting it kindly, asked, to leave. What to doâ€¦? When the power goes outâ€¦ ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

November 10, 2023

Final Farewells

As if global chaos, murder and heartbreak werenâ€™t enough, all the while seeping into our bucolic little village and casting a pall over many of us, the recent ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

October 27, 2023

I love Wikipedia! And Google!

October 27, 2023 â€œThe Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced â€œSAH-winâ€), a pagan religious ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

October 13, 2023

Brags & Blessings

October 13, 2023 While we are acutely aware of Global chaosâ€”the surprise attack on Israel, now called the Israel-Hamas war; earthquakes in Afghanistan, at ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

September 29, 2023

TRANSITIONS

I love my job but even more so when a heartwarming story like the one in the photo above and on the facing pa ge 3 surprises us. It really is our reason for bei ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

September 15, 2023

Why Only 8 Pages?

Does this print edition of The Canyon Chronicle feel a little light in your hands? Seem a bit skimpy on content online? Thatâ€™s because it is a 50% cut-back o ... (Read More)

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

August 18, 2023

Planning Aheadâ€¦ Or Not

When you read the newspaper, do you ever wonder why that photo or that article is on that page? Of course not! You read it for the real estate ads and the cart ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

September 1, 2023

Spirits and Spirituality on Stage

The Lifespan of a Fact. The Topanga Actors Company (TAC) opens the 2023 fall season of three plays with a staged reading of the Broadway hit, The Lifespan of a ... (Read More)

ICON_PREVIEW

September 1, 2023

Overlapping Puzzles

As summer ends and fall begins, mid-August puts us on multi-tracks when summer activities and late-summer vacations wind down and school revs up. Heat waves tel ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

The Dog Days of Summer

Dog Days bright and clear Indicate a happy year; But when accompanied by rain, For better times, our hopes areÂ vain. Topangans love their dogs! They also ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Celebrating the Magic

â€œGood times, bum times, weâ€™ve seen them all, but weâ€™re here!â€ Anyone who lives in Topanga for any period of time finds it a mysteriously magical place. ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Nurturing Nature

The question of ground squirrels came up the other day talking to my neighbor, Allison, who huffed, rolled her eyes and glanced at her house. The critters are k ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Bad Days, Good Days, Mostly Good

Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea). What a way to start the summer. Who knew or even remembers this old-fashioned, actually ancient flower? Itâ€™s thought to have origina ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Put Your Hands Together...

Iâ€™m calling this our â€œComic Bookâ€ edition because itâ€™s loaded with picww tures telling the stories of Topanga Days 2023. We are also celebrating the 50- ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

The Many Gifts ofâ€¦

Sometimes production week comes easily and sometimes it doesnâ€™t. When it doesnâ€™t and the Muse has gone on vacation and nothing springs to mind to fill bl ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

A Lot of Existential â€˜Whysâ€™A Lot of Existential â€˜Whysâ€™

Americans killing Americans? Mass murder in our streets? Children gunned down in schools? Unbridled hate spewing forth on every line of communication 24/7? Why ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Canâ€™t Help but Smile

This may be one of the happiest issues of The Canyon Chronicle with events popping up like popcorn in a pot, the pot being, of course, Topanga. We gave a lot ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

The Spirit that Drives Us

Itâ€™s not just a Topanga thing, but a human calling to step into the breach when times are hard or something is wrong. We, here, probably have more chances to ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Spirit Abounds

Iâ€™ve been exploring my religious roots of late. The Topanga Christian Fellowship Church is conveniently close, just two miles down the road, and the Chabad of ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

The Greening of Topanga

Some folks are celebratinâ€™ â€œthe Wearinâ€™ of the Green,â€ but here in Topanga, Irish or not, weâ€™re all â€œLivinâ€™ in the Greenâ€ with the rains turning ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Invisibility

One of the jobs I had when I started to make my way in L.A. was as an â€œassistantâ€ in one of Hollywoodâ€™s literary agencies. Occasionally, I was asked to re ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Transitions

My little guy, Tippy, a Parti Poodle, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Thursday, January 9, after a long bout of metastatic cancer with ugly tumors erupting that w ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

January 2023 Has Been a Kick in the Pants

Has anyone else had problems easing into 2023? It better get better than this month was. Kathie Gibboney lets us know from her Corner of the Canyon that youâ ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Welcome 2023!

Months earlier, as we were building the lineup for the first issue of 2023, we had hope and some indication that weâ€™d get rain this winter but not quite like ... (Read More)

Paula Labrot

By Paula Labrot

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Making a Listâ€¦

Last issue we observed, with reverence, the spirit of the holiday season. Production week rolled around and my list for the lineup was pretty skimpy. No cover, ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Itâ€™s Official! The Winter Holidays are Upon Us!

Nothing could have been more festive than this yearâ€™s Sages Holiday Dinner to officially begin the many ways for us to celebrate the season of light and joy. ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Off-the-Wall Thanksgiving

National Day Calendar (NDC), where we often go for details about historic national days, surprised us this time with National Absurdity Day (November 20). I ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Cinder Finds A Home

The adorable story of Cinder, the kitten whose arrival we published in our â€œThinking Out Loudâ€ Halloween montage (â€œHalloween on Bonnell Drive,â€ The Cany ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Halloween on Bonnell Drive

Kris Lilliedahl (left) never thought that he would be on call every two or four hours feeding a newborn kitten, but here he was on Halloween not handing out tre ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Daylight Saving Time Ends Nov. 6, 2022

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months (the second Sunday of March) and b ... (Read More)

By Adrian Lacey

ICON_PREVIEW

When deemed appropriate, this space welcomes comment from the community.

Whatâ€™s Happening with Our Post Office? I am a Topanga resident for 45 years and have a mail order business. I ship almost daily at our local post office and I ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Frogs in a Political Pot of Hot Water

Hey, Mama Frog, look here! This looks like a great place to raise our pollywogs.â€ â€œYes, dear, but look over there. It looks like the neighbors are trying t ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

To Every Thing There is a Season

...A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is plantedâ€¦ (Ecclesiastes 3, King James Version) In 2020, somebody thought it was time to pluck up ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Of Life and Labor

Our cover and center pages honor the passing of Henry Smith, Jr., Beloved Elder of the Lac Court Oreilles Band of Ojibwe, born into the Bear Clan at dawn on Jun ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Butterflies & Dogs. Life is Good!

Thatâ€™s pretty much what this edition of The Canyon Chronicle is about, except for Tom Catâ€™s point of view (above). Butterflies because Butterfly Day at t ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

A Happy Memorial Full of Laughter

Dick Shermanâ€™s memorial on Sunday July 24, was carefully planned, a labor of love especially for Serena Wiley, who went to work for him when she was 18, and J ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

FIRE! FIRE! THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION!

What would you do if you had five minutes to pack up and get out of the canyon? Every year around this time, The Canyon Chronicle publishes the voices of our ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Eclectic Topanga

Itâ€™s true. The reason we can have a newspaper at all (let alone two) is because there is so much going on in our mountain hamlet and the community is so engag ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

The Art of Receiving

Lunch, dinner, chicken soup, groceries, dog food, cat food, laundry, dog walking, errands, trips to the doctor, advocates who know how to work the medical syste ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Wishing that the week that was...wasnâ€™t... but then again...

A tree falls, a beloved friend dies, you total your car. Sadness, grief, and a body slam, all in a close time frame. The 300-year-old oak tree falling was sad t ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Topangaâ€™s Rich History

Art collector John Brewerâ€™s Zoom presentation for the Topanga Historical Society (THS) on May 18, tapped into an obscure gem of Topangaâ€™s history. Were it n ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Fun, Frolic and Intimations of 2022 Political Season

Mothers Day has come and gone but we canâ€™t help but mention the annual spectacle that is Lexi Pearlâ€™s MOMentum Place. To watch her warm up the audience stru ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

The Merry Month of May

Remember the May Day tradition of leaving baskets of flowers on neighborsâ€™ porches? I propose reviving the May Basket and maybe celebrating some of the monthâ ... (Read More)

Kait Leonard

By Kait Leonard

ICON_PREVIEW

APRIL FOOL LETTERS!

Starbucks and the Topanga Library! What fool endorsed this one? Who is getting paid off? I hope we Topangans get to vote on this crap!!! â€“Joe Futterer ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Better to Light a Candle

The last time The Canyon Chronicle referred to the adage, â€œBetter to light a candle than to curse the darkness,â€ was during the dark days of the COVID-19 pa ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

â€˜When Will They Ever Learnâ€¦?â€™

War is not the answer. Tonight as I write this, the sixth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine dawns and promises to worsen before it gets better (please, Go ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

Caught in the Web of the Unpredictable COVID

Ugh! Despite two vaxxes and a booster, I think a tribe of variants has found its personal petri dish in my body. I say a tribe because it feels like a rolling ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

THINKING OUT LOUD

Letâ€™s Create Sweet Memories for 2022

Letâ€™s Create Sweet Memories for 2022 What sort of year do you think weâ€™ll be looking at this time next year? Itâ€™s bound to be a rowdy year with conten ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Right as Rain

Our stalwart Fernwood Rain reporter, Eric Fitzgerald is happy to be back in the game again with this photo he captured in Dix Canyon. â€œYou should have seen Ow ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Happy Christmas and Good Tidings to All for 2022!

The Canyon Chronicle sends a heartfelt thank you to the Topanga community for seeing it through its infancy and wherever we are on the growth scale a year and a ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Arthur Nissmanâ€”1939-2021

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of th ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

The Sacrifice of Thankfulness

It's nice having a little country church just a couple of miles down the road. It's also nice that the Chabad of Topanga is just up the street and I can walk th ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Veteransâ€™ Dayâ€”A Time to Honor the Warriors, Not War

Yesterday was Veterans Day, a day to honor those who went to war because their country called. On page 5, we have a heartwarming report on the community effor ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Finding Home

Itâ€™s been almost three months since the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan amidst chaos and criticism. It has fallen out of the 24-hour news cycle but pres ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Responsibility

After days of observing and reliving the horrors of 9-11 20 years later, I vividly recall seeing the smoke billowing out of the north side of the North Tower af ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Remembering Mary

The day seemed full of itself, a fiesta of California sunshine and gentle breezes that set the scene for Mary Colvigâ€™s memorial on Saturday, September 25, at ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Investing in Loss

Topanga has lost so many good souls this year. So has the country with more than half a million deaths from COVID-19. To be precise, as of this writing it was 6 ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Ups & Downs

Since our last issue, weâ€™ve had some excitement, some good, some not so much. For those who follow those things, space flight took offâ€”Sir Richard Branso ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance. A state where you are constantly scanning your environment for any signs of danger. The pit bull running in and out of traffic on Topanga Can ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

https://vm.tiktok.com/ ZMdf8Pbs4/

Monday, June 21, was the solstice, the first day of summer, and Topanga opened its doors to 44 bands and musicians throughout the canyon from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Night Blooming Cereus and the Computer

The brilliant pink Night Blooming Cereus blossomed the day my computer crashed. This plant, has moved and lived with me for a long time and I never bothere ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

There Are Wars and There Are Wars

Welcome to Memorial Day weekend where, with full hearts we pause to honor and remember those who have fallen in the Great Wars, as well as those who fought and ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Escape to the Farm

As long as Iâ€™ve lived in Topanga (45 years) and as much as I love it and the community it inspires, once I was fully vaccinated and received an invitation to ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Families and Friends

This is the last, but not least of our month-long poetry slam, to which weâ€™ve dedicated three pages. The response from our local poets was so prolific that we ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Earth Day

Topanga celebrates Earth Day year-round, donâ€™t we! It is nice, and likely necessary that we get a jolt once a year to take stock of how weâ€™re doing. The ear ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Stating the Obvious and the Marvelous Mundane

Spring came in hot on the heels of autumn, stepping over winter as if it never happened, and teased us with early blooms and glorious days. Winter did give us a ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

COVID-19 Diary

In Praise ofâ€¦ Sometimes, it feels right to give over this editorial space to community voices because someone said, better than I ever could, what needs to b ... (Read More)

By Jean Colonomos

ICON_PREVIEW

Life Goes On

Residents on Bonnell Drive are fortunate to have a little park with its own weather. Nature is a bit off kilter these days, like us. It drives the seasons in it ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Mary Colvig 1949-2021

A leading light in Topanga has gone out. Mary Colvig passed on January 26, 2021, of cancer. Hers was a gentle but steadfast light that brought a heart of gold ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Harbingers of Spring

When the daffodils along my neighborâ€™s fence popped out overnight, It suddenly changed everything that is changing anyway. It feels as if the COVID cloud is l ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Hate and Hope

It seems that the best and worst of America, is right here, in our face, so close we canâ€™t turn away from staring at the carnage. If your equilibrium feels ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

Hate and Hope

It seems that the best and worst of America, is right here, in our face, so close we canâ€™t turn away from staring at the carnage. If your equilibrium feels a ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

Year-End Giving TWC

Topanga Womenâ€™s Circleâ€™s (TWC) current Challenge Grant 2020 campaign is more important than ever and they are counting on the generosity of those who suppor ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

ICON_PREVIEW

Joy in the Shadow of the Virus

Days before Governor Gavin Newsomâ€™s stay-at-home order in response to the dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases in California, I admit I ventured out of my house o ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

Building a House

Topanga Elementary Charter School became part of the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1962, when it made some changes to conform with the larger district, ... (Read More)

Amy Weisberg, M.Ed.

By Amy Weisberg, M.Ed.

ICON_PREVIEW

At 91, Professor Charles Quigley Celebrates with a Hike

Early morning hikers in Topanga State Pa rk at Trippet Ranch probably have met Chuck Quigley on the East Topanga Fire Road. Quigley starts every day with a hike ... (Read More)

By Richard Hoops

ICON_PREVIEW

How I Became A Volunteer

As an unincorporated mountain community, in order to meet its needs where the County canâ€™t or doesnâ€™t, Topanga has always been a community of volunteers. Th ... (Read More)

By Stacy Sledge

ICON_PREVIEW

Everyday Hugs

What people yearn for the most in this extended lockdown, they say, are hugs, so here are some Everyday Hugs that might prompt you to find your own. One Ever ... (Read More)

Flavia Potenza

By Flavia Potenza

ICON_PREVIEW

â€˜From the Heart of a Horsewomanâ€™ by Lynnea Paxton-Honn

In the 1960s, a group of girls in Lower Topanga roamed the land on horseback, riding in the creek, on the beach, and all over Sunset Mesa before houses were bui ... (Read More)

By Lynnea Paxton-Honn

ICON_PREVIEW

At 91, Professor Charles Quigley Celebrates with a Hike

Early morning hikers in Topanga State Park at Trippet Ranch probably have met Chuck Quigley on the East Topanga Fire Road. Quigley starts every day with a hike ... (Read More)

By Richard Hoops

ICON_PREVIEW

How I Became A Volunteer

As an unincorporated mountain community, in order to meet its needs where the County canâ€™t or doesnâ€™t, Topanga has always been a community of volunteers. Th ... (Read More)

By Stacy Sledge

ICON_PREVIEW

This is Who We Are

Saturday, November 7, Topangans awoke to a light rain that brought in a cold snap and a Double Rainbow (above) that Eric Fitzgerald captured from his deck at ab ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle

By The Canyon Chronicle

11-8-20

The day after Bidenâ€™s president-elect speech a certain tension, held unknowingly, in my body, had relaxed. The effort of plugging a hole in the dike was ... (Read More)

The Canyon Chronicle | Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud

All things connected

MY CORNER OF THE CANYON

Topanga historical society

WORSHIP SERVICES

WOMEN TAKING CHARGE IN CHANGING TIMES

SHOUTING OUT LOUD

GOVERNMENT AT WORK

HOLY DAYS OF RENEWAL

LONG DISTANCE LISTENING PARTY

RUDE INTERRUPTIONS

SCHOOLHOUSE SCOOP

TO LOVE AND BE LOVED

Theatre & Dance

TOPANGA BEFORE TODAY

WHATâ€™S HAPPENING?

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