CALIFORNIA

DON: Iwish I knew how to sum up my experience of these past 8 days in and around the Los Angeles area of California. I suppose the best and easiest place to start is to say that our time here with Mary Ann’s daughter, Sarah, has been wonderful. She lives in a very attractive 1 bedroom apartment in Riverside with “Ginger Ann,” her Husky/Shepherd mix. The four of us were joined on several occasions by an enjoyable young man who is not only a friend of Sarah’s, but was a delightful addition to our team as we took in a number of the things that this part of L.A. has to offer.

Our excursions covered the range from noisy and crowded to quiet and spacious. Sunday we headed for Newport Beach and breakfast at Mutt Lynch’s. Now, that’s a stand-out experience for this man who has had his AARP card for several years now! The place was packed with twentysomethings and conversations were held at shouting level. You had to elbow your way into a place in the crowd which was wholeheartedly engaged in a sense of camaraderie with those closest around them, and halfheartedly engaged in watching one of the five different Sunday football games shouting from boxes in the upper reaches of the room. I was clearly out of my element, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything! And besides, the food was extraordinary. Afterwards, we walked the beach, envying the surfers and the thrill of skimming along the surface of a white-capped wave.

Another day we opted for a moderately quieter outing to the San Diego Zoo. No wonder the place has been rated near the top of the nation’s zoos! One exhibit after the other gave evidence of a deep respect for the precious gift of the diversity and uniqueness of our world’s animal inhabitants. It reinforced for me the importance of doing what we can to reduce the things that harm those who share this earth-home of ours.

In radical contrast to the dizzying pace of Los Angeles, we headed east into the dessert and Joshua Tree National Park where the average rainfall is less than 5” per year. (They haven’t yet had one inch this year!) The dry and open spaces were stunning. Most of the few people who had joined us in the enormous spaciousness were there to climb the occasional and dramatic rock formations. Even wildlife was scarce but the silence was abundant.

In the middle of the packed and tension-filled freeways, the inextinguishable lights, and the constancy of the noise of Los Angeles, I found myself craving spaciousness and silence. What is the price that one pays for living with a constant diet of breakneck speed and nonstop sensory stimulation? How can you hear your own deepest inner voice in the middle of it all? I am in awe of those who can manage it, but I wonder what it does to the many who cannot. Which sounds or lights do you follow?