Oh Los Angeles, we leave you now

At the setting of your skies

As we leave the comfort of your ground

With your angels we will fly

And you held us in your city lights

When our eyes had lost the stars

And we made our peace with lonely nights

And you healed our broken hearts

Well they say the big one's gonna come

And you will fall into the sea

We will know that then your work is done

And your angels will go free...

And your angels will go free

{Peter Bradley Adams- "Los Angeles"}

Family Legends

I visited my grandparents last weekend. Grandma says, "Remember when you stole the onion? Remember what happened?"

An ONION?

Why would a 5 year old whose mother forbade sweets steal an onion? I say, "Grandma, it was a sucker. I remember."

"No," she says. "It was an onion."

I know this legend and I've referred to it often. I've even told my students about my act of "deviance" in sociology class. I was wearing a dress with pockets in the grocery store. I knew better than to ask my mom for candy, so I slipped one sucker into the pocket of my dress. Clearly, I don't have a very good innocent face, so Mom caught me with the contraband and made me go back inside to confess. Here's where things went a little out of control. The cashier yelled at me about THIEVES and PRISON and THE POLICE. Even my mom apologized to me afterwards, I think she would have rather reprimanded me herself.

But here's my quandary. Do I trust my own memory? Was it a sucker, was it an onion...or did I shoplift on TWO different occasions?

August 1969

I love, love, LOVE these two pictures of my parents in the late 1960s. They were married in August of 1969. I see all four of us girls in their faces...

Hair Color is just for fun!

Here's my myriad of hair colors from the past six months ....there are actually even MORE colors (the dryer lint/purple color and the bright yellow I did not record, probably because I was crying too hard). Sometimes I scare myself.

Lessons Learned

Leaving for home tomorrow!

Here are some things I have learned.

I pack too much.

But I never pack enough t-shirts.

New Yorkers are not any ruder than any other people.

Subways and busses are fast, efficient, safe and cheap.

Panhandlers who are passed out get more money than those who are not passed out.

I confused the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building the whole time I was here.

Confronting my own loneliness was THE most painful part of my whole experience.

I love love love weird, obscure research.

(the moon out my window 8-10-11)

The thrift stores here are especially filthy.

The churches are gorgeous.

I love riding the subway!

It's hard to find a V8.

It's easy to find Nutella.

There are bags of trash and the smell of trash everywhere.

I'm not sure I'm any better at yoga, even after doing it 2-5 times per week.

I HATE hot yoga, even lukewarm yoga.

My favorite thing about NYC is the normalization of walking everywhere.

I've not had one good night's sleep since I've been here, with the exception of when James and Zack and my sisters visited.

Nearly every eating spot has some sort of award or Food Network appearance poster in the window.

Filene's Basement is not actually in a basement.

I had brought books and knitting and the "good" camera....never had the time.