When I was a kid, the season from Thanksgiving to Christmas was usually cold, rainy, foggy, and kind of dreary to look at. Everything was brown and gray, all the leaves were out of the trees and covering the ground, water dripping off the branches…in a way, it’s incredibly beautiful, but it isn’t hard to visualize how it could quickly turn depressing as hell. And did. And as a kid, you’d turn on the TV in December and see things like the Rose Bowl or the parade or something from Disneyland, and everything was clear and bright and sunny and green and lush. And there were palm trees. It was like another world. Something amazing and exotic and so, so much cooler than what was there in front of me.
Yesterday, I drove in a slow rain to the airport, past barren trees and muddy yards. I got on an airplane and flew back here. And this morning, I got up late, went down to the car about 10 AM, and went for a drive. Sonny and Sam on the satellite radio. Sunroof open, windows down, cool breeze and bright morning sun shining down. Green on the hills, palms swaying in the breeze down around Sunnyvale…
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the strangest feeling that something’s not quite right when I look in the mirror. Something has changed, and I can’t quite put my finger on what. But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s got something to do with the idea of what it means to finally, genuinely be a Californian.
In any event, I made it. I survived the week, I returned in one piece, I’ve had sleep and coffee. It’s 1 PM, Sunday November 29, 2008. Ladies and gentlemen…welcome to Christmas. =)
Welcome home, honey. I’m glad you feel like this is home for you. I know it is for me because you are here.