[Photo: The author is sitting in the snow near Big Bear, just 25 miles from Redlands. The paranoid schizophrenic is keeping an eye out for stray meteors.]What am I going to do today is a question I often ask myself.
Living more than 60 miles from Los Angeles in the small 'burb of Redlands means that my options are few. Once every couple of months I go to LA, but it sure is a big pain because of the traffic congestion. Driving three to five hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic just to attend an LA event (like I have to do next month... again) is no fun. Traffic is insane here!
You may ask (or maybe not) what does this disgruntled Chicano do for fun in Redlands. Well, many days I just ride my bike to downtown. While in town, I generally order a decaf and peruse the LA Times. On the rare occasion that I feel adventurous, I drive to Riverside, San Bernardino or Big Bear.
In Riverside, I visit the handful of museums they have there. In San Bernardino, I meander into stores, looking at electronic products that I cannot afford (big screen TVs come to mind). At the lake near Big Bear, up in the mountains, I usually go fishing for trout. I am not very good at this, but I still love it.
If I were back home in San Jose, I would enjoy visiting family and friends. There I have brothers and sisters — daughters and grandchildren. I lived in Silicon Valley for more than 40 years and still have a precarious connection to the community. If I were back in the South Bay, I could enter into conversations and attempt to be useful. Here is Redlands, I don't talk or socialize much. Maybe I should try harder.
Luckily, I do have a computer to keep me company. I work on my photography and send plenty of emails. Today, I finished printing, matting, framing and packing an exhibition. Tomorrow I will prepare for a trip to Iowa. I will be visiting the in-laws. Why couldn't they live in Hawaii, instead of Slater, a town of less than 1,000 residents? During the growing season, fields of corn surround this hamlet. In November, all you see is miles of dirt or snow.
When I get to Slater, maybe I will come to the realization that I have it good in Redlands. Slater doesn’t have a bookstore or a coffee shop (they serve coffee only at the bar and at the gas station). In this oft frozen town, I would probably enjoy the warmth of a cup of java and a book. Please wish me luck as I come to terms with my life. The internal conversation continues.
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Living more than 60 miles from Los Angeles in the small 'burb of Redlands means that my options are few. Once every couple of months I go to LA, but it sure is a big pain because of the traffic congestion. Driving three to five hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic just to attend an LA event (like I have to do next month... again) is no fun. Traffic is insane here!
You may ask (or maybe not) what does this disgruntled Chicano do for fun in Redlands. Well, many days I just ride my bike to downtown. While in town, I generally order a decaf and peruse the LA Times. On the rare occasion that I feel adventurous, I drive to Riverside, San Bernardino or Big Bear.
In Riverside, I visit the handful of museums they have there. In San Bernardino, I meander into stores, looking at electronic products that I cannot afford (big screen TVs come to mind). At the lake near Big Bear, up in the mountains, I usually go fishing for trout. I am not very good at this, but I still love it.
If I were back home in San Jose, I would enjoy visiting family and friends. There I have brothers and sisters — daughters and grandchildren. I lived in Silicon Valley for more than 40 years and still have a precarious connection to the community. If I were back in the South Bay, I could enter into conversations and attempt to be useful. Here is Redlands, I don't talk or socialize much. Maybe I should try harder.
Luckily, I do have a computer to keep me company. I work on my photography and send plenty of emails. Today, I finished printing, matting, framing and packing an exhibition. Tomorrow I will prepare for a trip to Iowa. I will be visiting the in-laws. Why couldn't they live in Hawaii, instead of Slater, a town of less than 1,000 residents? During the growing season, fields of corn surround this hamlet. In November, all you see is miles of dirt or snow.
When I get to Slater, maybe I will come to the realization that I have it good in Redlands. Slater doesn’t have a bookstore or a coffee shop (they serve coffee only at the bar and at the gas station). In this oft frozen town, I would probably enjoy the warmth of a cup of java and a book. Please wish me luck as I come to terms with my life. The internal conversation continues.
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