And as teenagers - which most of them look to be - they most certainly were.
Just call me Bucky.
The shadow is my grandpa.
I'm in the process of transferring hundreds of slides to digital files - all photos my grandpa took. I now have all kinds of new pictures of me when I was little, as well as photos he took in Algeria, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, London, Germany and the Sahara Desert.
What can I say? My grandpa was the best.
I met Renee on my trip to Jordan, and she is about to go to Namibia to study elephants for two weeks. Ever since she shared this story with us on our trip, anytime I see an elephant I think of her. Lately I've had to stop myself from buying every card, picture or carving of elephants I see, fearful I'll get an email or a phone call from her that says, "Enough already lady."
But here I go again - sharing a photo of one of four huge elephant sculptures that grace the entrance to the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen.
This is for you Renee!
I look at this photo of me and my grandma in Virginia Beach and I swear I can smell the ocean, hear the seagulls and feel the wind blowing across my face.
My favorite place on earth (besides my own home): Big Sur, California
How I feel: Hidden, safe, peaceful, quiet, still
What I smell: Wood, smoke, ocean, pine, green
Things I hear: Leaves dancing, ocean crashing, birds chirping, water trickling
What I do: Hike, sit, read, draw, think, rest
Things I taste: Coffee in the morning, red wine in the evening, oatmeal at the Big Sur River Inn, other delectibles throughout the day
Keanu Reeves was behind us in line for customs when my husband and I returned from our recent trip to Europe, and naturally I tried to think of the most obnoxious things I could say to him, such as:
"DUDE! Did just come back from an Excellent Adventure?"
or
"I know what you're thinking, 'cause right now I'm thinking the same thing...Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill?"
Of course I didn't say anything, but I was cracking myself up just the same.
I have Sirius radio in my car, and even though this affords me about a gazillion choices for music, most of the time it is locked on the 40s on 4 station. Driving around Los Angeles - where it takes a millisecond to have my entire day ruined* by someone honking, cutting me off or driving as if there were no one else in the universe sharing the road with them, it is so easy to let these annoyances roll right off my back listening to Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Edith Piaf and Doris Day.
How geeky am I?
* OK, maybe not my entire day, but at least a few minutes.
I know this sounds strange, but I have a soft spot in my heart for AC/DC's Back in Black. It was the first album (yes, album) I asked for that my mom was really appalled by, which therefore meant it was one of my first memories of feeling like a bona fide rebel.
My mom: AC/DC? Who are they? And why do they have an album cover that is entirely black? You crazy kids!
And later, when listening to it for the first time with me: Ewwww
I remember getting the album as a gift, tearing off the plastic wrap and immediately putting it on the record player. I remember placing the needle on the album and hearing the first sounds of a bell ringing - the prelude to the serious rock out of Hells Bells. I think that is when I officially became a teenager (years I don't especially want to re-live, thank you very much.)
I was stuck in stop and go traffic on the 405 the other day, and You Shook Me All Night Long came on the radio, and let me tell you, I suddenly couldn't have cared less about the traffic, but it was awfully hard not to crank up the volume, jump out of my car and go for it.
Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake. It dawned on me just now that I can create Sparklettes using just images. At first I thought they had to involve me telling some kind of wee story, which meant that when I thought of a good story I had to try to remember it, which usually didn't happen, so when I'd sit down ready to write a new Sparklette my mind would be a wide open, serene state of utter blankness.
But now, problem solved! (Is this what is known as a problem that didn't really need fixing?) Photographic Sparklettes!In any case, this idea was inspired by Brian Ferry, Forever is Today (which I found through Brian Ferry) and Mary Beth LaRue.
I'll still be telling stories, but when I'm stumped, I'll invite you to share any little thoughts, musings or stories that the images I post inspire.
This is my kindergarten picture, and it is one of the few school pictures in which I have a soft look. Most of them show a supremely sassy smile - energetic, playful and enthusiastic. But this one is soft, and - dare I say - composed and self-assured. I see a girl who is content with observing and sitting still, with lying on the grass and watching the clouds go by, with a deep understanding of life's simple joys. I want to sit with her and tell her how beautiful she is, and that life is always going to treat her kindly even through the bumps.
But I think she already knows that, at least in the moment captured above.
