Life of Wry

I was touched by a story yesterday.

A couple of police officers in Macomb County, MI are patrolling around and come upon a car that has pulled over on the side of a desolate, snowy road in the part of Michigan north of Detroit. They encounter a man who is crying and seemingly overcome emotionally. They ask if there is anything he needs, if they can help. He says he needs a hug. The distraught man climbs out of his car. A big burly officer gets out of the police car. The officer puts his hand on the guy’s shoulders and says something like he knows grief and they can get him some help if he needs it. The officer has a heavy midwestern accent. The distraught guy leans in and they hug. This is all caught on the other officer’s body worn camera.

I’m crying as I watch this.

They talk for 45 minutes (I think) and eventually offer a couple of numbers for the guy to call. As the story was reported, it sounds like the man was going through something bad… and was set on a better path by the organization he called. He might still be receiving some mental health services.

A good outcome.

I will just choose to hang on to the image of this.. the kindness; the lonely, sobbing guy on a remote wintry road; the large, burly, midwestern-accented officer who offered profound human connection.

This is the beautiful side of life and there is more of it than the other.

~~

Not unrelated… the footage and the stories coming out of Turkey and Syria after the earthquake a few days ago… there is just no way to wrap my head around the size of that disaster and the immense loss and suffering. I’ve been watching that coverage and am overwhelmed by the horror in every corner of the story. Between yesterday and today, I’ve seen some rescues that are simply miraculous. Small children being pulled out from under mountains of concrete, somehow still alive, even through the freezing temps, and absence of food and water. It’s beyond comprehension. I am in awe of the rescue effort. Deeply grieving for the lives lost.

If you’re reading this (in real time), and can, send money.

** One of my favorite songs of all time. Totally mushy. It’s really more about the era, the sound.. and a smidge about the romance of it. Youtube it… it’s really something.

The song was written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) and made famous by Herb Alpert. I’ve been known to play it on repeat while on a long drive (by myself, of course), singing for all I’m worth, crescendoing right along with the band, to the amusement, prolly, of people in passing cars.

Like I said: the era. Going down Burt Bacharach Youtube rabbit holes sent me to deep, nostalgic places. Nostalgia can be fun.. it’s sweet to hear Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Aretha.. Herb.. singing all those poppy 70s songs (Do You Know the Way to San Jose, Alfie, Walk on By, Say a Little Prayer for Me, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head… This Guy’s in Love with You.. for a few) some kinda goofy, most so perky, and all Oh. So. Singable.

Nostalgia can also be heart wrenching. Mostly in a good way, I suppose. But I also get overcome with sadness for what seemed a simpler time (right, aren’t they always simpler times?), not as cynical, full of passion.

I think of the records lined up in the wire rack beneath our Hi Fi Stereo, with the drop down thing and the swinging needle on the arm. All my parents records: Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Herb Alpert, Edie Gorme, Steve Laurence, Andy Williams, Sami Davis, Jr., The New Christie Minstrels, Burl Ives. I loved all of those. And then Jay’s and mine… all the 60s rock and roll stuff.. that is too long a list. And the sound track from Sound of Music. Thinking about all that.. music really did bounce off the walls all the time. My parents loved music, especially my dad. Jay loved music. I was a huge beneficiary of their choices (and had a bunch of my own favorites, too).

Listening to some of Bacharach’s music, which I haven’t heard for a while — not like 60s rock and roll which seems to be everywhere, all the time — zinged me back. Smiled a lot.. but also felt curling up and crying. What’s that?

Bacharach’s passing, at 94, made me wish I could call mom and dad. I felt like I wanted to reach back there, be back there…in those times. See my dad, see my mom.. put a record on and dance around the house. Have some toast, or eat a bowl of cereal.

Man.. did I just turn 67? How hilarious that doesn’t sound *that old.* And yet…. my old parents during all those music years were .. like… barely 40. Those youngsters, with a house full of kids..

Anyway.

[Deep breath.]

Thinking about an appropriate picture for this post…. going back to some old ones I might have of my mom and dad… hang on…

Well, okay.. I came up with a few, how about these to put us in the era… these are all probably 60s shots from one event or another:

And yeah… hand me a cigarette and a cocktail to go with that music….

My walk to the creek this morning with Janet.

I’ve been in Davis since January 1978… where’s my calculator… that’s exactly 45 years (and some change)! Clearly my home. I think of Palos Verdes as my hometown, and in so many ways, “my home.” (I remember it used to drive Jim a little nuts when I’d say I was going home to visit family… “Davis is your home,” he’d insist.) But let’s be honest, I’ve been here a whole lot longer, through numerous critical, life-shaping, life-defining phases of life. My life is far more defined by what I’ve experienced here: it’s where I graduated from college, where my career started, and where many relationships started (and ended). Most significantly, Davis is where my relationship with my husband started (and thrives) and it’s where my son was born (undeniably his home). Community and social roots are deep, I feel like I’ve grown up here — or at least matured here. I’ve spent damn near my entire adult life in this one place.

So.. yeah.. my home.

All of that is my way of saying I love this picture. Betsy took it a couple weeks ago on a walk (of course) in the arb. Classic Davis.

Sometimes just cozin’ around the house is all I wanna do. Better still, having a long conversation with an old friend. I was so appreciating the view I snapped a pic.

We are working our way through these. Fortunately, I had a great excuse to bake them (Elliot’s birthday!), and, unfortunately, I never need an excuse to eat them.

How could I resist?

Oh, these are chocolate-almond cookies. You beat eggs with sugar for about ten minutes — until it starts to form ribbons — then add melted dark chocolate and butter, and finally some ground walnuts (I ran out of almonds). That’s it. The dough sits overnight because it really has to be hard in order to roll into balls. The balls get rolled in granulated sugar and baked for 12 minutes and are then dusted with powdered sugar as they are cooling. That’s it! Chewy, light, deep chocolate flavor.

You’ve been warned.

I hear that Uncle Chris and Pam, joined John and his three kiddos at the Long Beach Aquarium today. Here are a couple of pictures that Pam sent me…

River and Magnolia at the hands on tank:

And Juniper riding atop Chris’s shoulders (so cute).:

I was reminded of a time, 19 years ago (!), when the young John accompanied Jim, Peter and me at that very Long Beach Aquarium. John was 18 years old then, Peter was 5:

Today was my approximately semi-annual trip to Berkeley to have breakfast and a walk with my buddy Elliot. It’s a good tradition, and usually celebrates our mutual birthdays (when we meet in January… or this year February). As usual, much ground was covered — both conversationally and literally. (And come to think of it, this may be the first time — ever — that we didn’t talk shop! Starting our friendship as colleagues, work was always high on the agenda… and funny… work now’s been overtaken by kids, grandkids, hearing aids, recent vacations, latest tech-whiz discoveries on our digital devices…)

Fortunately, and hilariously, we both enjoy doing a lot of this:

Here are some of my favorites from today:

Flower ballet:

Elliot getting eaten by a blow-up dinosaur, using the aforementioned, newly learned & mastered tech-whiz technique of blanking out the background:

I just love the variability of the stone size around this window. SO appealing! This was, by the way, a gem of a horseshoe street off of Claremont. To a house, charming!

Got a kick out of their sign, “Since 2017.” A very sweet little cafe, though. On College Ave, I believe.

A Calla Lily to be… and very dewy:

And whatever this is…. the plant seemed very confused to me, part cactus, part flower, part orange tongue:

My god, that trunk!

After saying goodbye to Elliot, I met up with Monica and we headed to an art exhibit by Lucy Ames. En route … on San Pablo… Patti’s Auto Care:

Here is one of the many walls in the exhibit of Lucy’s colorful tree art…

And lucky me! I found one I like and bought it!

I have to wait until the show’s over to collect it, but I have the perfect place picked out; stay tuned for a pic of that in a couple months.

Jim and I are big fans of Sam’s Mediterranean Cuisine at the corner of 3rd and B. It’s a decades-long love affair, pretty much our go-to for take out and one of our favorite bleacher dinners during Little League years. There is one dish that we order there — provided they haven’t run out of rice, which happens a bit too often — the chicken shawarma (over rice). The chicken is roasted on a spit and whatever Sam does with his seasonings, it works for us. It sets the standard for chicken shawarma, and none other has ever come close.

When I was down at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa last week, I bought a few jars of sugars and spices from the Whole Spice folks. (They are a local business and have some great looking stuff… like, for example,. vanilla sugar and cocoa sugar, which will be great sprinkled onto the frothy milk layer of my coffee in the morning!) But I was most excited about this:

I’ve never made shawarma before and hoped it might be as good as Sam’s.

It wasn’t.

However, it was good! I made some greek tzatziki to go with it (I improvised with some yogurt, garlic and cucumber), but have since found a recipe for shawarma yogurt sauce (yogurt, tahini, garlic, dill, mint, lemon, salt) and will try that next time.

Looks a little lacking on the plate, but, again, it was pretty edible. Forgot vegetables! Next time a cucumber and tomato salad. Here’s a close up:

So.. it’s thinly sliced chicken breast, marinated in a mix of olive oil and the shawarma spice. You saute some chopped onions in olive oil, then add the chicken and saute it until done. That’s it. I served it with basmati rice made with onion, garlic and pine nuts.

We might try concocting our own version of shawarma spice. Or…. just go to Sam’s.

Apropos of nothing.. I like this:

Honestly, though… such a sweet way to convey a lovely thought, and always a good reminder.

And actually… maybe it is apropos of something. I’m at an all-time, non-pregnancy weight high. I kinda need to do something about it, but I may as well like myself in the meantime. Right?

Right!