Once upon a time, I hopped a flight to Cali. I boarded my bus, one of 2 passengers, not including the driver. We road into Port Hueneme as I sang quietly to Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing. The driver asked if I was a singer. I laughed and put my ear buds back in. I spent some time with my Auntie Darlene and Uncle Terry. They taught me a plethora about history. I travel to be a linguist. They travel to be historians. We talked about space stuff too, and more about history. They'd had alot to share about history, of different places around the world. It made me think twice about how I choose to travel on my next trip. We ate pasta, drank cream sodas, toured Port Hueneme, Malibu, Venice Beach, Lala land, Ventura, Hollywood, Santa Monica. I had a great conversation with one of my relatives about gentrification/over-development and real estate over an unexpected smoke. My cousin is a world renowned surfer and her entire family tandem surfs. She was even sponsored bySector 9 the longboard/skateboard company of my dreams. They let me long board a bit around their back yard.
Terry, Darlene and me listened to a lot of Beach Boys, Yardbirds, Smokey and the Miracles, Paul Simon, The Beatles. We watched a documentary about Both eras of the Bee Gees. Terry likes to play bass, Darlene had a Zither very similar to the one I had at home. We floated in and out of stores and beaches and talked to new faces. I exchanged information and climbed the giant sandhill off PCH near Mugu Rock. I gave away an American Spirit to some guy who serenaded Darlene and I with his own version of Sublime on the beach right before I stripped down to my bikini and dunked my head into the water as I balanced the soles of my feet on pointy rocks. There were times when I just kept quiet. And listened to Rhye on the roads while we road through mountains and valleys. My favorite memories were SLEEPING effortlessly and picking lemons from a lemon tree. The last photo I took was from a disposable at Ventura. On my flight back, I reread Khalil Gibran's, The Prophet. It's the only thing I've ever reread in my life. Upon landing, there was an elderly couple next to me holding hands as they slept and the plane jerked back and fourth.
It's amazing, the moments you capture without other people noticing. I like to notice people and places. I see things that I want to write down. I saw that in Southern Cali, the sun and the moon shine at the same time. No matter where you are.
I've noticed on every flight I've ever been on, whether it's east coast, west coast, China, Mexico, or Montreal, the weather will never change the fact that the sun and the stars remain glistening above the skies we think we know so well. There could be rain, sleet, snow, or lightening. We've seen it all. But some things will never change.