no longer with us

The bad
Jean-Marie Le Pen, 96, founder of the French far-right party, the National Front. Long since ousted in a party coup by his estranged daughter, who is alive and, well ...

The mixed
Peter Yarrow, 86, beloved folk-singer and unbeloved molester. His conviction on that matter is, I'm told, why Peter Paul & Mary originally broke up, but you won't learn that from my local paper, which deleted any reference to the matter from the obituary.

The good
Perry, 30, the local (Palo Alto) donkey who was the model, both in looks and behavior, for Donkey in Shrek. I've met Perry and can testify that the physical resemblance is precise. Though he didn't talk.

And now with us ...
Here's a detailed map of the new Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in far northern California. (You want the blue line; the green lines are national forest boundaries.) I've been to Lava Beds NM (the brown area at the top) but never within the bounds of the new monument, which has only a few back roads and is very remote.

Also with us
Wind-driven fires in LA. Some of my friends and acquaintances have, or might have, to evacuate, along with thousands of others. Thoughts and prayers. And water, lots of water. Where is Tia Pepa when we need her?