america made beautiful

in case you missed it.

the mother road gives birth

“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” ~Alan Keightley

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” ~Frank Herbert

travel is my alarm clock. it buzzes in my brain and puts my feet on the ground. it removes the sleep from my eyes and brushes the stale taste from my teeth. each day on the road is like morning - dreams still weaving their way through your waking thoughts, coffee speeding your excited talk with old friends and new strangers. each day you decide where you will go, what you will do, and ultimately, who you will be. and often, the road will tell you otherwise, and then you get to find out who you really are.

I have been back a week now from an epically gorgeous cross-country road trip. I am not the same. I am never the same, the pillow doesn't feel the same, the muscles in my face have changed - so much smiling. I sent my mom a text message on the last day of our journey, I told her I was not ready to leave the road yet. she responded with a reminder of how nice "home" is. I told her, I feel more at home on the road. on the road everything is that vibrant mixture of familiar and strange, exciting and mundane. in between the opposites, your brain is called on to constantly work it out - how to feel, what to think. in this state of awareness, you are fully alive, you miraculously recover from the coma of routine and meet each sight, smell and taste with the wonder of a child.

and yes, of course it is exhausting. always being awake to life - but that is why hotel rooms have cable. you can pick and choose how much you are able and willing to take in. fortunately I was accompanied by two valiant road warriors on my journey. jg and heidi were right there by my side, ready to fearlessly face the unknown of a tennessee dive bar or, in heidi's case, the taste of memphis dry ribs after 10 years of vegetarianism. together we navigated through the colors of autumn. we met new friends and old friends along the way. kimberly opened her apartment and her heart to us in brooklyn and shared giggles with us on the air mattresses at night. ron and his mom made us laugh our arses off despite the dodgers loss while in phillies territory. sara was the best guide one could wish for leading us through the post-apocalyptic wonder that is detroit. the strangers sitting at the bar in the lamplighter lounge in memphis became quick friends as we sat sharing stories over pbr's. and two friendly baristas in fort smith, arkansas made our lattes and our night as they listened in wonder to the tales of our journey.

it's not the miles you travel, or the local fare you try, or the pictures you take, it's the people you share the ride with, and the people who share their homes with you, and the people you meet along the way. it's the people who take you as you are and give you themselves in return. I was lucky on this trip, the people were nothing short of beautiful. I am thankful for them, and the road.

gobama!

I'm nervous, I must confess. my hopeful nature is shivering like the autumn leaves aware of the approaching winter. but I do not want another winter for this country, we have been hibernating for far too long. obama is like that first day you can drive with the windows down. obama is like the first day you can smell the lilac bushes warming ever so slightly in the springtime sunshine. obama is sunshine and he will illuminate this great nation if only we give him the chance. please america, vote for the future this country was intended.

like whitney, I too believe the children are our future, but unfortunately they can't vote, 'cause if they could, they would vote for obama. do it for the children - get out there and cast their votes for the person that will help pave the way towards a future the kids and the old folks alike will be proud of. hope. change. obama. gobama!

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? ~Barack Obama

all this beauty

inspired by skl's beautiful blog, I decided it was a great time to make a (short) photographic list of some of the things I believe to be beautiful. times are hard - the economy, mercury's ass in retrograde, 3 more days till I get to watch the dodgers kick ass... but I look at these photos and I realize, even if a meteor were to fall from the sky and squash this little town, I would be blessed to have been a part of all this beauty. all that said, that meteor better not even think of heading this way until after the dodgers win the world series...

and now, in no particular order: beauty as told by b

clouds
good hair
the game
jG
32 years
music
sara
home
sisters
heidi
jamie
good men
michele
this day
laughing
family
more family
mary beth
kimberly
a road atlas
love

and that's not even the one/sixteenth of it.

astronaut wisdom

"We learned a lot about the Moon, but what we really learned was about the Earth. The fact that just from the distance of the Moon, you can put your thumb up, and you can hide the Earth behind your thumb. Everything that you have ever known, your loved ones, your business, the problems of the Earth itself, all behind your thumb. And how insignificant we really all are. But then how fortunate we are to have this body, and to be able to enjoy living here amongst the beauty of the Earth itself."

~Jim Lovell, Apollo 13

if you like beautiful 60's footage of space travel and astronaut wisdom, I suggest you get your eyes on In the Shadow of the Moon, an amazing documentary by David Sington where science is stranger than fiction. I was like a bright-eyed child amazed by what a miracle this experience we call life on earth really is. we forget easily, but watching this film is a nice reminder. look at life through the shiny eyes of those who have seen it from the moon and lived to talk about it. significantly more than 2 thumbs up.

spoon at the bowl

6 friends (jessica, jamie, keirin, jeremy, jg, and b)
3 bands (beck, spoon, and mgmt)
lots of food (cheese, salami, bread, hummus, carrots, beets, pickles, and more)
and some kitchen sink drinks (gin, club soda, lime, basil, cucumbers, and granny smith apples - yummers)
all in all, the hollywood bowl was nice and the bands were good, but the friends, food and cocktails won out.

missing michael

I miss michael phelps. that man was a big part of my evenings for a few magical days and I want those days back. watching someone who worked so hard and believed so much. someone who ate 12,000 calories a day and still had a six hundred pack. he was my modern day hero. I mean, the dude does wear tights. michael made me ask myself what 8 gold medals I would like to win? he reminded me that maybe I'm not supposed to eat a pound of pasta for lunch and be the fastest swimmer in the world, but I am supposed to put everything I've got into becoming the holder of the most gold medals in the history of me. into the pool of potential I must dive and butterfly myself to the other side. now if you'll excuse me, I better shave my legs.

be all that you can be in the LACC

who knew the treasures waiting for my shovel. in the mail a promise - "make new friends" the cover reads. in my hands the key to my unlocked potential - the los angeles city college fall catalog.

let the friend making begin.

but how does one choose which friends they would like to meet? what types take "BE YOUR OWN PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR" or "QUICK AND DIRTY SELF DEFENSE"? is a "BALLOON WORKSHOP" just full of class clowns? and should I be nervous in a classroom full of people studying "HOW TO GET A U.S. POST OFFICE JOB"? would I connect with the folks in the course that teaches you to "READ ALL DAY & GET PAID FOR IT!"? or would "SCREENWRITING WARRIORS" or "FRUIT & VEGETABLE CARVING" offer a more promising group of pupils?

as I read I realize that with a few hours time and hundred bucks or less, I could become anyone or do anything. "YOU'VE WRITTEN A SONG, NOW WHAT?" you mean for $30 you can tell me in one Saturday what I've been trying to figure out for over a decade? and after all the stuggle, in six days I can finally have "GUITAR MADE EASY" for only 70 bucks? and after all these years spent throwing money away on cramped city apartments, it only takes three simple thursdays and $95 to finally "LIVE - RENT FREE!!!"

the options, my friends, are limitless. who do you want to meet? who do you want to become? I suggest you grab your community college catalog and start registering for the future!

and then

and then for three long days we woke in the dark and spread out the substance of my family's discarded past and we sold it to our neighbors. good friends came over and helped and we rewarded them with donuts and mimosas. we drank, a lot, and we talked with strangers holding things we had once wanted. buying clothes we had once worn. skimming through books we had once read. we sold everything for pennies. thousands and thousands of pennies.

a 22 foot truck full of stuff

and after all the stuff was collected, we loaded it into a big yellow truck and we drove 1383 miles back to LA. 'cause we're crazy like that.