Memories

I spent quite a bit of time tonight trolling around Facebook. Some time ago, I started a group for my high school class, and the classes within a few years of my graduation class.

Tonight, I landed on a profile of someone I ran parallel to in HS. He was sort of a cool guy then, but not one of the "popular" guys. I didn't have a crush on him at all, but I did really like him. He had a cool car, an old yellow car with a black strip on it. I think it might have been a mustang, but I can't remember.

His best friend lived in my neighborhood, and so I ran into him quite a bit, but just in passing. We knew each other in that acquaintance sort of way.

I'm digressing. I spent a ton of time looking at his "Flicker" photos. It turns out he's been married over 20 years to a very pretty Latino looking woman and he has a beautiful young son. They live in the Santa Barbara/Ventura area of California, and are both college professors.

So there you have it. I wasn't really thinking about him so much, but soaking in his photo's of Southern CA. I spent so much time driving to Ventura/Santa Barbara when I was a kid. I loved that area. That is where my dad usually took me to the beach.

I remember driving on those narrow roads, surrounded by orange and lemon groves, rich in Mexican culture. Everything was vibrant and it smelled good. The trees were really green, with a back drop of sandy colored hills. I haven't been there in years, but I still remember stopping at roadside Mexican food places and having taco's. What I would give to have one again.

It was always just so pretty, so warm and inviting in that way that Southern CA back then was. It was oranges, yellows and greens. It was the smell of Mexican food mixed with frying shrimp, clam strips and the salty sea air. It was usually just my dad and I. We had good times then, but we always had good times. He indulged my love of the ocean from the time I was a kid. He wasn't crazy about it, but he sensed that I "needed" it and took me.

Looking at this man/boys photo's tonight reminded me how much I sometimes miss THAT Southern CA. It is not the same place it is today, not by a long shot. It was wonderful. Tonight I'm so homesick for that place, and that time I almost find myself weeping from it. Weeping from the loss of it, and weeping because I REMEMBER it all. I'm grateful for that.

Growing up in Southern California did have it's appeal. It really did. I can't explain it at all.

I remember it by smells, nuances, and dreams. It's hard to believe it was so long ago.

Suffice it to say, I am homesick for my place.

Peace and Happy New Year,

OC