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It was a well earned whirlwind being at home last week. I snuck into Orange County to visit family and friends, clean up my room and rest the soul a bit. It was all that and more.
I spent a lot of time on the freeway, zoning out and listening to music. I forgot what an essential part of life it had been. Each time I'm back I try to reconstruct myself for comparison to what the Dakotas have made me. My trips here are too short for music and even when I make a jaunt the landscape doesn't meld. A river of lights with G driving 90 mph over John Tejada versus cruise control at 82 mph while trying to stay awake and find something to look at.
I sang The Anchor Song for everyone as we sat around a bonfire at the beach. No freakish glances, no comments about "wierd music" - people either got it or listened.
"Underneath all currents
I drop my anchor... "
I found some time to wander around Pasadena. I couldn't stop taking pictures of all that was before me: old churches, grass, sand, tall trees, palms, buildings, people, cars -
In Dakota, Kathleen Norris spends time talking about how being in a place like South Dakota can make a city cause for a special type of sensory stimulation. When a person who is used to the still and familiarity of places like Dakota experiences it, I can now understand their panic. For me it is a return home, I devour.
I went to Acres of Books. It was a church like experience; I miss my shelves so much here - no one seems to empathize with the experience of wandering your shelves. As Dervala put it:
I ran my fingers across my shelves when I got home last night, reacquainting with my old friends and enemies...
... books are a map of mental furniture...
I'm better now than I was when I used to go back. I package up my experiences, my photos, and old books to bring them back. I miss living in California but it doesn't stop me from bringing things back and living while I'm away. Palm trees, old churches, bookstores, friends - never know when they'll come in handy. Maybe a place on the interstate between South Dakota and Iowa at midnight. | 
