Mammoth Bones

Enormous 'elephants,' actually Mammoths, stand recreated from casts made from their bones in the Page Museum. Another, smaller Mammoth, animated, is in the grasp of a sabre toothed 'tiger,' that has vaulted upon the poor creatures back: it too is animated, made so realistic that my middle son, aged 5, expressed some fear he might be next; he was led on by his brother, Ten yesterday, who during our visit play-acted extreme fright, a thespian display I did my best to photograph for the family albums, and to mail to relatives. (I've gotta learn how to post photos here.)

The history of the Mid-City LA area is most fascinatng. Mr. Hancock, whose business acumen, and riches from oil and real estate financed the beginnings of the museum, receives and deserves a great deal of credit and gratitude. Hancock Park today is a residential area for the rich, but it is not in any way gaudy or in bad taste, unlike tawdry Beverly Hills, and vulgar Malibu. Hancock Park is where many Hollywood tycoons lived in the early days; Budd Shulberg, author of What Makes Sammy Run and the screenplay for Kazan's On the Waterfront, grew up in Hancock Park.

Our visit yesterday strengthened my total belief in Evolution as God's method of creating life forms on Earth. If one grasps that in the greater scope of creation 40,000 years is a very short time ago, and therefor it's astonishing that all the creatures whose bones were found at the la Brea Tar Pits, with the exception of one human, a woman, from only 9,000 years ago, are now extinct, then one can move on to contemplate the entire magnificent plan of creation that God has shared with us by leaving plenty of evidence of how the feat was accomplished, and over what an enormous span of time, perhaps a billion years or longer. Quite complex creatures existed in the oceans 530 million years ago.

There is an explanation in Physics for how ever more complex molecules could be formed by the slowing down of the universe's speed of expansion. But to repeat the explanation is beyond my powers having almost zero math.

From the tar pits we went to Venice Beach to shop and eat. Being a weekday it wasn't too crowded. Next time we go we'll take two bikes attached to the back of our wagon, and while the children's Mom and the two youngest shop till they drop, my oldest and I will ride the bike path to Will Rogers State Park Beach, surf, then ride back to Venice. Summer Fun.

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Next journal entry I'll try and get into the subject of our seeming to make gods out of celebrities. In typical primitive fashion we kill off those 'gods' when a 'better' god comes along. 

Barry