"CONTEMPLATIVE" VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
Blurry eyes and clouded mind, I made my way to the restroom at my mom's house yesterday morning. 4:30am. Holy crap! Way too early for me. But I needed to give myself a wake up call before making my trek back home, all in preparation for the start of another school quarter. I dreaded the thought of driving nearly six hours but more importantly, I dreaded driving down one of the most boring corridors of California, the Central Valley. I travel the roadway simply because it is the quickest route to get to Southern California. The Central Valley happens to be all farmland, for those of you who may not be familiar with California, and occupies some 200 miles of my usual trip.
So with reluctance I hopped in my Nissan Murano, said my farewells to the S.F. Bay Area, and commenced with the driving. I hit that marvelous corridor at about 5:30am. Then it struck me why I did 'like' this portion of the trip. Yes, I know I am contradicting what I just said but I am getting to the point. This is always my quiet time. Time to put on some mellow music - something that moves me, something that gets to the depth of my emotions. It's one of the few times that I have to ever really let my mind go and contemplate what's transpired in my life in the past, recently, and what may come of it in the future.
Early yesterday morning was no different. The setting was perfect. The beginnings of daylight were just striking the darkened, starlit sky and the east horizon. The lights of the few cities in the area were peeking through in the distance. I love this time of the morning. It's so quiet and peaceful. I am always overcome by a feeling of new beginnings, even in the worst circumstances.
And so I let my thoughts go. I thought about how lucky I am to have the family that I do have. I thought about the comment my mom had made to me on the way up to the San Francisco Bay Area a week earlier. She had mentioned that my 4 year-old niece and 6 year-old nephew had told her, "Uncle Tony doesn't spend time with us like he used to." A child - always so blunt. Ouch! That one hurt. I felt bad. So my thoughts were geared to trying to figure out how I could ensure time with them once school starts.
Then thoughts came pouring out about the past three weeks of my vacation break. A grin a mile wide came across my face. I had such an incredible time. It was an opportunity to see new sites and make new friends, one of my New Year resolutions. First, 6 glorious days in New York City. It was my first visit. I was lucky to have arranged to meet Pete, who blogs under The Shortbus. We spent the entire time cruising the city and sites, time enjoying the varied culture and the theatre. What an incredible person and one who has become a very close friend. Then Easter with my entire family, all making the trek down to southern California to enjoy the holiday and to celebrate my nephew's 6th birthday as well as my 46th.
And finally the big Blogger's PowWow in San Francisco (4/20-4/24) and the housewarming/graduation party for another dear friend and blogger, Roblog. I must have smiled bigtime for at least five to ten minutes as my mind ran through all the events of that weekend. I met so many bloggers. So many new friendships forged. My big thing was to meet up with BrettCajun. It happened. Another fantastic, genuine 'southerner' with a mildly devilish twist - someone who I value as a friend. I am hoping he feels the same. If you are curious about the blogger gathering you can click here.
My last thoughts fell upon my mom and my dad. A moment to realize that mom is doing fine without dad now and letting her children and grandchildren consume her life as usual. Then a moment to wish dad was still alive so that he could see his newest grandaughter and the other two granchildren due in October. Well I won't go any further on this thought as it's always emotional for me and one I'll blog about in the future. Damn, I wish I had stopped by his gravesite to 'talk' with him before I had left the Bay Area.
Well, I exited 'Contemplative' Valley at around 9:15am and the usual frenzy of the Los Angeles traffic took up its place as the norm. Back to reality! Back to realizing why I hated that trip through the central corridor.
So with reluctance I hopped in my Nissan Murano, said my farewells to the S.F. Bay Area, and commenced with the driving. I hit that marvelous corridor at about 5:30am. Then it struck me why I did 'like' this portion of the trip. Yes, I know I am contradicting what I just said but I am getting to the point. This is always my quiet time. Time to put on some mellow music - something that moves me, something that gets to the depth of my emotions. It's one of the few times that I have to ever really let my mind go and contemplate what's transpired in my life in the past, recently, and what may come of it in the future.
Early yesterday morning was no different. The setting was perfect. The beginnings of daylight were just striking the darkened, starlit sky and the east horizon. The lights of the few cities in the area were peeking through in the distance. I love this time of the morning. It's so quiet and peaceful. I am always overcome by a feeling of new beginnings, even in the worst circumstances.
And so I let my thoughts go. I thought about how lucky I am to have the family that I do have. I thought about the comment my mom had made to me on the way up to the San Francisco Bay Area a week earlier. She had mentioned that my 4 year-old niece and 6 year-old nephew had told her, "Uncle Tony doesn't spend time with us like he used to." A child - always so blunt. Ouch! That one hurt. I felt bad. So my thoughts were geared to trying to figure out how I could ensure time with them once school starts.
Then thoughts came pouring out about the past three weeks of my vacation break. A grin a mile wide came across my face. I had such an incredible time. It was an opportunity to see new sites and make new friends, one of my New Year resolutions. First, 6 glorious days in New York City. It was my first visit. I was lucky to have arranged to meet Pete, who blogs under The Shortbus. We spent the entire time cruising the city and sites, time enjoying the varied culture and the theatre. What an incredible person and one who has become a very close friend. Then Easter with my entire family, all making the trek down to southern California to enjoy the holiday and to celebrate my nephew's 6th birthday as well as my 46th.
And finally the big Blogger's PowWow in San Francisco (4/20-4/24) and the housewarming/graduation party for another dear friend and blogger, Roblog. I must have smiled bigtime for at least five to ten minutes as my mind ran through all the events of that weekend. I met so many bloggers. So many new friendships forged. My big thing was to meet up with BrettCajun. It happened. Another fantastic, genuine 'southerner' with a mildly devilish twist - someone who I value as a friend. I am hoping he feels the same. If you are curious about the blogger gathering you can click here.
My last thoughts fell upon my mom and my dad. A moment to realize that mom is doing fine without dad now and letting her children and grandchildren consume her life as usual. Then a moment to wish dad was still alive so that he could see his newest grandaughter and the other two granchildren due in October. Well I won't go any further on this thought as it's always emotional for me and one I'll blog about in the future. Damn, I wish I had stopped by his gravesite to 'talk' with him before I had left the Bay Area.
Well, I exited 'Contemplative' Valley at around 9:15am and the usual frenzy of the Los Angeles traffic took up its place as the norm. Back to reality! Back to realizing why I hated that trip through the central corridor.
posted by Tony @ 5/02/2006 02:08:00 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Tony I saw the city like I never have before. You truely gave me memories that will last a life time and which I am still talking about today. I would do it or another city again in a heartbeat with you.
As well I too made a great friend in you. Thanks for everything.
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