Flight part 2 (H-Bomb)

Picking up where I left off... Last Sunday I was in LA housesitting for Traci and contemplating my navel. That afternoon I drove over to Santa Monica to visit Bob & Susan at their lovely home. I've enjoyed many happy gatherings there over the 10 years since they returned to LA from horrid Salem. (I worked for Bob at Rykodisc in Salem, MA from 1994-1996.) Last Sunday was no different, although there was a certain sadness because Roscoe their beloved elderly cat is in declining health. (The cat on the table is not Roscoe; I think his name is Big Boy.) As we sat in their lush back yard sipping wine we tried to cover the past 3 years of life developments without rushing too much. I always enjoy hearing about Bob & Susan's interesting careers at the tippy top of the music industry. Later on we dined at The Boarder Grill on delicious Oaxacan fare. The margaritas were pretty wonderful too!
On Monday I drove over to the enormous Hollywood branch of Amoeba Music and spent oodles of time flipping through their extensive used CD selection. Their used vinyl room was humongous, arguably 2 times the size of my house. I didn't come prepared with a wish list which was a mistake; you know how awful my memory can be. I left with (in no order):

• Brazilian Girls / Brazilian Girls
  
• His Name Is Alive / Always Stay Sweet
  
• Danger Mouse & Jemini / Ghetto Pop Life
  
• Junior Boys / So This Is Goodbye
  
• Hot Chip / The Warning
  
• Ben Kweller / Ben Kweller
  
• Yo La Tengo / I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
  
• Iron & Wine / The Creek Drank the Cradle
  
• Greyboy / Soul Mosaic - I think this one was a mistake. I must have confused Greyboy with someone else.
  
• dios / los arboles
  
• Belle & Sebastian / Push Barman to Open Old Wounds - Try as I might, I can't get this 2CD compilation of 7 EPs into my iTunes, grrr.

Later that afternoon Alma and Amanda picked me up from Traci's and took me over to their Village Green town home in Culver City at the edge of the Baldwin Hills. We took Amandita out to one of the common greens so she could ride trikes and play in the mud with two of her friends.We had a quiet night at home after picking up a loaner car from Bob. (Thank you Bob!) Adam was at a night class for his arts management masters program. Tuesday morning the big excitement was getting Amanda ready for the Halloween party at her montessori school. She was lovely as a flower and let her Tia Heather take lots of photos.After Alma and Amanda left, I headed over to Santa Monica to meet Matthaeus who had a break between teaching video production classes at the Art Institute of California. We had lunch at Zabrie's neighborhood cafe, where they knew what he liked to drink and let us order salads that weren't on the menu. Matthaeus is a dear sweet friend from our days at UVA and my brief stint as a LA resident in 1994; he is always so kind and supportive of me. We email a few times a year and reconnected over the phone this Summer when I really needed his wise counsel. Over lunch we talked about my life in C'ville and the script he started writing during a Summer retreat in NC. He's excited about finishing it and getting it into production. I can't wait to read it... and to see it on the big screen!Mattheaus headed back to his doughy students and I scooted over to Hackmart to meet up with Traci who was just back to town from a trip East. We only had a little while since she was at work but she told me about the business of creating "Essentials" for iTunes. We had loads to catch up on, but not the time in which to do it. Since she was at work, I didn't embarrass her by whipping out my camera. That evening Adam, Alma, Amanda, and I had a relaxed and delicious family dinner and afterwards Amanda opened the gifts I brought for her. Here she is modeling a moon & stars bathrobe:Wednesday was my last full day in LA and I spent the early part of it puttering on the computer (lame!) and loading music into Adam & Alma's iTunes while the contractors banged away on some tile repairs. In the afternoon I met up with Adam at the construction site for the Madison Project, a new performing arts facility he has been instrumental in launching. It's quite impressive. They are expecting to open in Fall of 2007. Hard hats are the new black.Afterwards I walked around the 3rd Street Promenade which I found rather depressing. Take the Charlottesville Downtown Mall and replace all of the independent boutiques, cafes, book shops, and blue grass musicians with chain retailers and buskers covering James Taylor and Jimmy Buffet. I did see this rusty old beach bike with some extra gear attached for carrying a surf board. That made me smile.That evening Bob & Susan hosted a gathering for Carol & Thane (of Daily Lott Photo Caption Contest fame!), Traci, and me. The hummus Bob whipped up on the spot featuring Moroccan spices was fantastic and I couldn't get enough! While the wine and conversation was flowing, Bob prepared a fabulous meal of grilled pork served with sauteed peaches and onions and roasted fingerling potatoes and other vegetables all fresh from the farmer's market. We've all known each other for at least 11 years so the conversation was all over the place. It was comfortable and I was very happy to be there. Thane took us over the edge with the chocolate mouse deserts his "friend" Victor prepared. My jeans are tightening up just recalling the decadent pleasure.Sadly, it was all over too soon. Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before we're reunited. I'm going to try to be a better correspondent and maybe The Daily Lott will give us an opportunity to stay in touch as a group.

Thursday morning came very early. Adam was kind enough to take me to the airport at 7am and Alma got up to wish me safe travels. The flights were uneventful and I landed in RIC flooded with melancholy and painful nostalgia. Hearing Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" over the PA was a minor consolation as it took 35 minutes for the luggage to appear on the baggage claim carousel. I finally made it back to C'ville to pick up the baby dog from Kyra & Eric's and enjoy their hospitality for a tasty supper. Lottie clearly had a great time with them and was super comfortable at their house. Thank you Kyra & Eric!One last note about my trip. I forgot to mention that on my flight from Dallas to LA, a young couple sat down in the window and middle seats next to me in the aisle seat. The woman exclaimed when she saw me "well thank goodness she's not a great big woman!" Yeah, thanks, I think.