Amelia Earhart...What do you think of her? I think she's one of the first women to do something truly adventuresome. Heck, she did a transatlantic flight in not much more than a bi-plane. And she was truly famous. She even wrote two books about her life and her aviation adventures. And then that last flight where she mysteriously disappears. She just vanished somewhere. Now that's glamorous!!!
Little did I know that my gift of Amelia Earhart luggage from my New York grandfather had such a legacy. The one piece of luggage he sent me was bright red (won't miss that at the baggage pick-up) and had Amelia Earhart's name emblazoned on it. My dear grandfather was encouraging me to fly from LA to NYC. I was 12 years old. In two years I made the flight, and wow was it an eye-opener for my first time away from home.
NYC was nothing like LA. It snowed! Okay, it was December, but it snowed overnight. And there was so many more people and so much traffic. And everything was intense. Even the quiet museums had intense exhibits. Everything was just "One Big Wow."
LA might be mecca if you like good weather. But what I quickly learned from my NYC adventure was that the East Coast could be a feast for your soul if you were an intense type.
That Amelia Earhart luggage inspired me to do my own transcontinential flight. Thanks grandpa! Little did he know that I would move to the East Coast years later. I guess the trip made an impression.
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Coming Home
Sometimes it's hard to go back home again. And then again it's hard to come home again too. My recent trip to LA left me confused about where home was.
Once we arrived in LA, the very sunlight struck me as familar. Oh, how I remember that bright white sunlight that shone almost every day. I felt a string being plucked like my soul was a cello resonating some deep note. But then everything also had a honeyed/tannish cast about it. The colors of LA, its roads and its landscrapes, shook me up. I had painted for years but never with a Southern Californian palette. I guess I hide away these colors for a private inspiration or maybe as a source of grief.
I left California over 25 years ago with a heavy heart. My girlfriend and I couldn't afford to live in LA and finish our degrees at UCLA. So we chose to go to the University of Oregon to finish our degrees. We both got our degrees from the University of Oregon, but we didn't get them together. We had split up.
But of course I met another wonderful woman that I would share Oregon with as well as a cross country road trip to a life in Virginia. We were together for over 8 years and then we split up. I was left alone in Virginia. I called it home for a while even though I never really ever felt "at home."
Finally I met the love of my life, Kathleen. We set up house in Maryland. I was at loose ends for a long time in Maryland. Everything felt "off" and "odd". I was still very consumed by my former life in LA. My life in LA seemed unfinished, and I always wondered what kind of person I would have become if I had stayed there.
While DC has many drawbacks, and I've never felt appreciated here professionally, I've become a better person for working in the psychological field. If I had stayed in LA, I would have gotten sucked up into the Entertainment Industry. And then gawd only knows what the condition of my soul would be.
Now I've lived as many years outside California as I did growing up in California. And while LA can still tug at my heart and soul, I like living in Silver Spring with Kathleen, Perrier and Evian. Because with them I have a home.
Once we arrived in LA, the very sunlight struck me as familar. Oh, how I remember that bright white sunlight that shone almost every day. I felt a string being plucked like my soul was a cello resonating some deep note. But then everything also had a honeyed/tannish cast about it. The colors of LA, its roads and its landscrapes, shook me up. I had painted for years but never with a Southern Californian palette. I guess I hide away these colors for a private inspiration or maybe as a source of grief.
I left California over 25 years ago with a heavy heart. My girlfriend and I couldn't afford to live in LA and finish our degrees at UCLA. So we chose to go to the University of Oregon to finish our degrees. We both got our degrees from the University of Oregon, but we didn't get them together. We had split up.
But of course I met another wonderful woman that I would share Oregon with as well as a cross country road trip to a life in Virginia. We were together for over 8 years and then we split up. I was left alone in Virginia. I called it home for a while even though I never really ever felt "at home."
Finally I met the love of my life, Kathleen. We set up house in Maryland. I was at loose ends for a long time in Maryland. Everything felt "off" and "odd". I was still very consumed by my former life in LA. My life in LA seemed unfinished, and I always wondered what kind of person I would have become if I had stayed there.
While DC has many drawbacks, and I've never felt appreciated here professionally, I've become a better person for working in the psychological field. If I had stayed in LA, I would have gotten sucked up into the Entertainment Industry. And then gawd only knows what the condition of my soul would be.
Now I've lived as many years outside California as I did growing up in California. And while LA can still tug at my heart and soul, I like living in Silver Spring with Kathleen, Perrier and Evian. Because with them I have a home.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
I've Been Zapped
Every time I return from a trip to LA, I engage in a compare and contrast essay that usually lasts for upwards to a week or so. This is much to Kathleen's annoyance. My need to "process" these two coasts and two parts of my life and psyche can go on for hours (as my therapist knows oh so well). So I will be brief.
As an overweight middle-age woman living on the East Coast I don't get many men or women for that matter who look at me with a smile and sexual glint in their eyes. Over the years I've missed these everyday and playful flirtations that were so much a part of my youth.
Well I got zapped a lot while I was in LA. Getting zapped is when someone just says "hi" and flashes you with their eyes a look that says " I like you." I grew up with this kind of interaction all the time. It's great for the ego then and now too. (And it makes you believe you're a hottie even if you're not...which is worth millions!!!)
Sure, I know, that those young men and woman most likely thought that I might be someone who could help advance their careers in the entertainment industry. But maybe not. Maybe we we just wanted to get zapped and flirt a little. And really, couldn't the world use a little more playful flirting?
As an overweight middle-age woman living on the East Coast I don't get many men or women for that matter who look at me with a smile and sexual glint in their eyes. Over the years I've missed these everyday and playful flirtations that were so much a part of my youth.
Well I got zapped a lot while I was in LA. Getting zapped is when someone just says "hi" and flashes you with their eyes a look that says " I like you." I grew up with this kind of interaction all the time. It's great for the ego then and now too. (And it makes you believe you're a hottie even if you're not...which is worth millions!!!)
Sure, I know, that those young men and woman most likely thought that I might be someone who could help advance their careers in the entertainment industry. But maybe not. Maybe we we just wanted to get zapped and flirt a little. And really, couldn't the world use a little more playful flirting?
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