Thursday, March 20

A good day, indeed. After some healthy eating and equally restorative conversation with Tina, I slept well and woke up early. In retrospect, I farted around too long at Tina's that AM, putting me in the teeth of rush hour traffic.  Ouch.  Rookie mistake, one that I made again only hours later.  Hmmm.  This sounds intriguing.

Sorry, I was playing the movie back in my head...

I got to Santa Monica High School just after the first period bell. The security guards think I still work there. The ladies in the office thought I was there to sub. It is always a pleasure to visit :)  I got a hug from the world's greatest hugger, visited with a retired and rehired legend, saw the institution himself, found out that 40% of my successor's students passed the AP exam (vs. 50% for my class), visited with the campus conscience, the dancing queen (I mean that in the most affectionate way possible), the coach, the librarian, the boss, my mentor, and many others... So uplifting to see such good people.

Next stop - Coffee, Bean, and Teal Leaf at the corner of Michigan and Lincoln. Anyone familiar with Samohi knows that the road to Samo leads through CBTL.  I, for one, visited with Leily and her band of merrymen and merrywomen practically daily during my two years at Samo. I got to know many of the baristas and was happy to see Oscar there when I poked my head inside. I did not, however, get to see Leily. She had followed her lifelong dream and moved to Paris. The one in France. Wow. Way to go, girl! And a special thank you to Oscar for hooking me up with your e-mail.

A quick trip down the 405 to Redondo Beach and the next thing you know I'm sitting in the kitchen of the man himself - Mr. Jerry Heidler.  (Sorry, Terry, I had to...)  After some excellent refreshments, I'm northbound on Sepulveda to Venice Beach, specifically the bread pudding shop near Muscle Beach. Damn, that was some good bread pudding, but the company was even better. It was very relaxing hanging out with Julian and Isa, but the drive back to Culver City during rush hour was less than swift.

Thankfully, Tina and I were able to relax and unwind in her Jacuzzi and all was right with the world...

Friday, March 21. 

I'm homeward bound, and as much as I like to go, do, eat, drink, visit, hug, laugh, remember, see, be...  I love going home even more...

First, a visit with the super smart and awesome Emily B., in town for a quick respite from UCSB.  Then, a quick re-visit to Oakley (looooong story), and a hasty exit to nirvana.  It was a good 4 day trip. I got to visit several friends (I'm going to attempt a count, hold on a minute - I counted 35. Seriously; 35.)  Good for me. I am a lucky man.

The next week, I visited Santa Barbara, where I got to visit with some of the world's best people. Gioia and Mark, your hospitality is worthy of a royal visit, I always feel like family when I'm with you. Lisa, you are one of the strongest, sweetest, level-headed, hard-working, positive people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Thank you for being my friend. Fight on, kid!

The rest of the week is a blur, so I don't know what else to tell you.

Fast-forward to the present (I think I write more lucidly when I focus on what's in front of me presently. Well, not right this instant, mind you. What's that? Oh, you insist? I see. Okay. But you asked for it...

I'm sitting on my one remaining decent camp chair, the previous most comfy one splitting the last time I tried to sit on it. Of course, when Charlie visits, she gets the good chair. [Note to self: Get new chair.] The night air is crisp - the coolest it's been in a while. I can hear the dogs barking from the neighbor's house, some quarter mile away, and from the east, coyotes. My small fire is begging for more wood (pardon me, while I indulge it). The wine is red, the smoke is Dominican, and moon is almost full (waxing gibbous, if memory serves...) The music is provided by Buffalo Springfield, and my the laptop sitting on - well, my lap - is a Toshiba.  And me? Well, that's a long answer, let's move on to another paragraph, shall we?

The me that sits here with this wine, smoke, fire, music, laptop, etc. is not the same me that sat out here one year ago. What a journey it has been. I want to thank (oh, shit, this already sounds like an academy award speech, but I do want to be direct about this entry...)  In fact, let me start over...

I really want to thank my family, especially my kids, Grant, and Stella. Your unconditional love is much appreciated - especially on those days I may have left you shaking your head...

To my friends, especially Tina, Mandy, Dawn, Gioia, Lisa, Victoria, Terry, Joel, Casey, and John. (Damn, I already know I am going to miss someone really important...) Thank you so much for inspiring me, moving me, challenging me, entertaining me, and mostly for being patient with me. Thank you.

My classmates from Stillwater and St. Paul's: It has been so much fun connecting with all of you. Whether it's my all-time 'besties' Billy, Harpo, or Joe or some my newly rediscovered (thanks to Facebook) friends from Sister Francine's class at St. Paul's-Assumption, 1972. I can't wait to see you all at our next reunion. The love and support from all of my friends have lifted me on so many occasions, I dare not count... Thank you.

To Kellan: Thank you for pushing me and challenging me. For asking me to ask the difficult questions. For being patient and really LISTENING. For inspiring. For motivating. For accepting. For the understanding. For the freedom; the freedom to be me. Thank you.

To Charlie: Thank you for the unrelenting positivity, the hope, the kisses, the smiles, the laughs, the bounce in my step, and the glow in my heart. You presence in my life is like the biggest cherry on top of the best sundae that one could ever ask for... And we haven't even gotten to all the nuts!  THANK YOU to all those iconoclasts, anti-establishmentarians, anarchists, dreamers, poets, loners, lovers, and deep thinkers. Thank you for paving the path to individualism. I humbly walk in your footsteps.  (There, now, we've addressed the nuts...)

So, Charlie, I know that you read and comment on this blog regularly. Just know that you are always in my thoughts. Thank you for all that is to come.

Good night, all.  I am going to live in the moment and enjoy the fire, the wine, the smoke, and the lunar eclipse.  I did mention that I was a very lucky guy, I hope.

Good night. I publish this post without editing. (Something I rarely do, but the fire is more important than and dangling participles...)

Carpe Diem.  CARPE. DIEM.