Skip to main content

travelin'

It's funny the things you miss about a place. For me, there wasn't much to miss about Southern California when I left there, other than good friends (I know, that's huge), the weather and In-And-Out Burger. I definitely have not missed the smog. Yesterday, it was completely obscuring the San Gabriel Mountains from the San Fernando Valley. When I first moved to CA many moons ago, it was several months before I knew those mountains were even there. Then one day the wind blew, the air cleared and, as if by magic, they appeared. They really are beautiful.
After visiting the dentist in Encino yesterday morning (and leaving him with more money than I can make at the winery in three months), I went on a one hour search for a double-double, fries and vanilla shake. I found it. Yay! Yummy! They really should probably rename the place. It should now be called In-And-wait just a little while-just a few more minutes-almost ready-Out Burger. It's not so fast as it used to be and much bigger with full on seating inside. The seating is actually nice. The old In-And-Outs had just a walk up window, a drive up window and two picnic tables outside, if you were lucky. The lines would often circle the building. Now, you can stand in line inside, in the comfort of air conditioning. There's even a bench to sit on while you wait for your number to be called. It's just as tasty, however, and that is what really matters most. After an artery-clogging lunch, I high-tailed it back to LAX and jumped another plane to come to Denver. Within minutes, I remembered something that I had hated about this place. Don't get me wrong. I actually really like Denver. It's a city with lots going for it. There's just this one thing that really bugged me: static. No, not on the radio. It's the static electricity that's generated when you slide your okole across the car seat while exiting the vehicle. You inadvertantly touch the metal door and youch! Shock! Sparks fly! It's so irritating.
It's a fabulous, sunny day here in Denver, with fall colors just beginning their display here in the flatlands. I'm looking forward to seeing the show as I wind my way to higher elevations enroute to beautiful, sunny Gunnison.
The hotel's computer will, for some reason, not read my photo card, so I am unable to upload my photos just yet. Stay tuned. I'll figure out a way to have some eye candy for you with the next post.
A hui hou. Aloha.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Born and bred

The creature stared at me, wide-eyed through the florescent glare, Saran Wrap stretched tight across its broad back. Alone in the seafood cooler, he was the only one of his kind, there among the farmed, color-added Atlantic salmon and mud-flavored tilapia, perched on a blue foam tray, legs tucked 'round him like a comfy kitten. He didn't blink. He was dead, red, cooked and chilled, ready to eat. Such a find is rare in the City Market fish department in Gunnison, Colorado. What if nobody takes him home? I thought. This beautiful animal will have died needlessly, ripped from his home, family and friends (Dory, Nemo, Crush and Gill?) only to be tossed in the trash when his expiration date came and went. I lifted him for closer inspection, checked that date, felt the heft of him, scanned his surface for cracks and blemishes. The creature was perfect. I lowered him back into the cooler, nodded farewell, turned to walk away, took one step, and stopped. Shoppers strolled past, stud
4 comments
Read more

General goofiness

I was driving home from an abbreviated shift at work last night when I turned on the radio and heard Bob Dylan singing Everybody Must Get Stoned .  I was reminded of a placard I once saw at a Dairy Queen in Colorado that read, Everybody Must Get Coned .  So it occurred to me, there navigating through the misty darkness, that with a slight modification, this could be a great slogan for a number if different businesses.  Here's my list. Telecommunications company: Everybody must get phoned . Cutlery shop and knife sharpening services: Everybody must get honed . Credit Union: Everybody must get loaned . Brothel: Everybody must get moaned. Winery: Everybody must get Rhoned . Fitness Center: Everybody must get toned . Local planning commission: Everybody must get zoned . Bio-research company: Everybody must get cloned. Doggy daycare: Everybody must get boned. Manufacturer of modern, unmanned spy planes: Everybody must get droned . Reader of corny mottoes and slogans listed on a chees
2 comments
Read more

Re-writing Twain: Adendum

The best thing about rants, at least among the civilized, is that someone smart always makes a valid point to the contrary. My fellow University of Alaska Anchorage classmate, Wendy, directed me to this column, written recently for the New York Times by a writer I admire, Lorrie Moore . She's on both sides of editing Twain issue, and for good reason, posing the notion that maybe Mark Twain was never intended to be children's literature and that that is the problem. Give it a read, then tell me what you think, if you're so inclined. It was Flannery O'Connor who said, "The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information to last him the rest of his days."  No matter how idyllic one's childhood, no matter how hard grown ups try to protect their young charges, trauma happens, sometimes the likes of which no child should endure. Stories that reflect this are often the fodder for great literature, stories not necessarily suitable for y
2 comments
Read more