Feelings

Every week last summer in Armenia, I walked up the street named after a celebrated Russian author to my local grocer. It was always a hot day, and the grocer was always dressed in a cut-off T-shirt, sometimes hauling in fruit, sometimes dangling a cigarette in this mouth, but always ready for a chat. If my appearance didn't give away the fact that I wasn't a local, my accent certainly did. Maybe that made talking to me more intriguing, but between laundry detergent and the best apricots I have ever tasted, he would ask about where I came from, and what I thought about living in Yerevan as he totaled up my bill.

Joyce Rudolph Chelsea Williams has high hopes for landing a record deal and becoming known all over the world. It's her dream. But for now, the 19-year-old Sunland singer/songwriter is enjoying success in her own backyard as one of several acts appearing in the Glendale Marketplace Summer Music Series. Williams, who accompanies herself on acoustic guitar, has more than 80 original songs in her repertoire. And she wrote them in a little over six years, she said.

Glendale Unified School District board members have been criticized recently for becoming emotional when being addressed by the public. One recent letter-writer went so far as to suggest that a board member's shedding of tears revealed a personality that was not "emotionally strong" enough to handle the issues facing the board. The writer's got it backward. Emotionally strong people are the ones not ashamed to show their feelings when appropriate, the ones who suffer no embarrassment from them, the ones who are comfortable being human.

Jackson Bell As Arlene Roach witnessed the small blaze outside her church, she released the memory of a painful relationship last year to make room a better new year. Roach participated in the annual Burning Bowl Ceremony on Sunday morning at her church, the Glendale Church of Religious Science, 2146 E. Chevy Chase Drive. The ceremony, conducted each of the past 10 years, allowed churchgoers to write down their unwanted feelings from 2004 on a small piece of paper, place it in one of two "burning bowls" in the church's foyer and watch it go up in smoke.

The Glendale Human Relations Coalition denounces the abhorrent attacks perpetrated on innocent people and our entire country on Sept. 11, 2001. We are proud to learn all segments of our community, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, religious and other backgrounds, have risen united as one voice to condemn these actions and to help the victims in any way they can. In these trying and stressful times, feelings of anger and retaliation are common and people often look for ways to express those feelings.

Just when we thought the Armenian Genocide flag lowering issue was finally over, here it comes again! I fully understand that many people have strong feelings regarding this issue. Although these strong feelings and opinions are fully justified, it is now time to realize that all sides have been expressed and that any more attempts to continue the issue are only detrimental to everybody involved. As a city composed of many different ethnic, economic and social backgrounds, we must realize that we are continuing (not to mention adding to)

"On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for him. Nobody can always have devout feelings; and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian love, either toward God or toward man, is an affair of the will. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, his love for us does not." C.S. Lewis Apparently, it is time for another change in my life. This time it's as minor as a new address for my P.O. Box, and you can find it at the end of the column.

Darleene Barrientos The holidays are known for happiness and joy, but for some, it is the loneliest time of the year. With pressure building to buy the perfect gift with little money or cope with grief over the loss of a loved one during the holidays, people easily succumb to feelings of sadness or depression. Anxious calls for help increase during the holidays, but the trick is to watch and know yourself, said Janet Richardson, the senior chaplain at Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

I was disturbed by James Brackett's letter (July 18) on the plight of the homeless, not because I harbor antipathy toward the homeless, but because of his unenlightening railing again those who do. As I see it, compassion for the homeless is based upon empathy, which requires the ability to imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes. But I would also like to see empathy for those who are unsympathetic toward the homeless. Without this kind of understanding, we are left only with the sort of invective that permeates Brackett's column.

In my letter published Dec. 15, it states "my country -- Turkey." I never made that statement. If my heritage were Turkish or Armenian, I would not be ashamed of it, however I was born in Wisconsin of Swedish and Irish parents. I read the News-Press daily, practically every word and am simply tired of the Genocide wailings. I lost three close family members in World War II and have a younger brother permanently disabled from his wounds in Korea.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Tuesday echoed President Obama's vow to bring those responsible for the deadly bombing at the Boston Marathon to justice. Speaking about the tragedy for the second time in as many days, Obama said the nation's prayers go out to Boston. The two explosions on Monday killed three, including an 8-year-old boy, and wounded an estimated 176 people, the L.A. Times reported. More than 50 people - from Burbank to Pasadena and the communities in between - were signed up to run in the marathon.

Re: The March 30 front page photo, “Glendale Narrows gets a trail” of the new Bette Davis Park bridle trail fence, there's a back story on impacts to the Rancho's Garden Street, homes across from this Los Angeles park near Glendale Riverwalk trailhead, horse amenities, and to Rancho Avenue homeowners. The L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks just completed year-long irrigation system upgrades in the park's two sections that have long benefited from robust border resident stewardship, neighborhood watch and trash pickup.

As the L.A. area's beer scene continues to grow, the Glendale Tap makes a compelling argument that Glendale could be its ground zero. After all, the Glendale Tap is just a short drive to two of that city's most respected breweries. What Glendale Tap is a reversal of trends. The city has had no shortage of craft beer spots opening up, with many of them falling into the fancy-pants gastro-pub category complete with a burger that comes equipped with Gruyère cheese. At Glendale Tap, there are peanut shells on the floor, and you can get a pretzel heated up. Though only about 6 months old, Glendale Tap feels lived in. "We wanted to re-create a bar that maybe your dad or granddad went to. We want it to have an old look," said co-owner Glyn Samuel.

The final City Council candidate forum Wednesday was perhaps the most direct in calling candidates out on their perceived faults. From having Councilwoman Laura Friedman defend her voting record to asking longtime City Hall critic Herbert Molano how he could work with the very municipal employees he's bashed for years, several of the 10 candidates were forced to defend their reputations as they face the April 2 election. Two candidates, Chahe Keuroghelian and Zareh Sinanyan, were absent from the forum hosted by the Northwest Homeowners Assn.

MURRIETA - A mixture of frustration and satisfaction best summed up the feelings of Crescenta Valley High's Jocelyn Chia and Burbank's Irene Maemura immediately following the pair's season-ending efforts at Thursday's 2012 CIF-Women's Southern California Golf Assn. girls' Southern California Championship at the Golf Club at Rancho California. Both shot above the cut line of 72, which was par for the 18-hole course, and thus were unable to advance to Tuesday's state girls' golf championship at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga.

When Glendale Teachers Assn. President Tami Carlson approaches the podium at school board meetings, she likes to describe herself as representing “the best darn teachers in the state of California.” She means it. Still, there will be fewer Glendale teachers for her to serve next year as the district looks to address a $15-million structural deficit via a series of cost-cutting measures that most likely will include layoffs. Those measures will impact the individuals who lose their jobs, the teachers who remain behind, and, of course, the students.

Every week last summer in Armenia, I walked up the street named after a celebrated Russian author to my local grocer. It was always a hot day, and the grocer was always dressed in a cut-off T-shirt, sometimes hauling in fruit, sometimes dangling a cigarette in this mouth, but always ready for a chat. If my appearance didn't give away the fact that I wasn't a local, my accent certainly did. Maybe that made talking to me more intriguing, but between laundry detergent and the best apricots I have ever tasted, he would ask about where I came from, and what I thought about living in Yerevan as he totaled up my bill.

All boys do it. If they tell you they don't, they're lying. You know they're doing it when they sneak into the garage and hunt around in dark corners for things they know they're not supposed to play with. Yep. They're doing it, alright. Building obstacle courses. Kids will spend timeless hours constructing elaborate, imaginative courses on which to test themselves: A plank of wood and two buckets become a rope bridge over a pit of hot lava; a swing set becomes jungle vines high above angry headhunters; an overturned folding table is the impenetrable wall of Attila the Hun's fortress.

TAMPA, Fla. - Noting concerns about Tropical Storm Isaac, Republican officials announced late Saturday they would be severely curtaining the scheduled Monday programming - a decision that left at least one local delegate with mixed feelings. La Cañada physician Greggory DeVore, who specializes in fetal ultrasound, said he was disappointed that he would not be able to see Monday's keynote speaker, Ann Romney, and hoped she would be rescheduled. In fact, officials announced that Romney, the wife of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, would speak Tuesday evening.  In any event, DeVore said a shorter convention schedule might not necessarily be a bad thing.

La Cañada Flintridge residents and leaders said that they were disappointed but not surprised by regional transportation planners' decision Thursday to keep alive the prospect of a tunnel from the Long Beach (710) Freeway to the Foothill (210) Freeway in Pasadena, even as they eliminated several other alternatives. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency “knows what they want to do, they're hell-bent on doing it,” said Jan SooHoo, a La Cañada resident and member of the No 710 Action Committee.