Yesterday I made my maiden voyage on freeways  to Marina del Rey and  Irvine from Moreno Valley and back. Fluffy white clouds in the skies. Dry roads from two to seven lanes wide...each way. Moving cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Exits galore. No wrong turns except into the parking lot stairwell. No exits from the stairwell...yikes. Saved by the cellphone, kind metals salesman, and car lock key button to locate my stranded spot behind the black door adjacent to my car parking space 12.

Worth the trip for a Roth IRA transfer to metals and a working lunch with faculty buddies at statewide conference. First time for having fun making financial choices.

Christmas Treat Tonight for my daughter Roxanne,  son-in-law Don, and me:

Barbra Streisand outdoor concert at Hollywood Bowl with warmer air and less breeze--her first Hollywood Bowl dates in 40 years.  Tonight marks my second in-person encounter, the first being Barbra as intermission act for a Liberace concert in Reno or Lake Tahoe. She wore an orange tent-dress as she belted, "Cry Me a River." What range and volume and emotion. She began her climb to the stars so many years ago.
Great anticipation!

Today my journey took me back to early days of teaching English at Enterprise High school, Redding, CA.
Reviewing attendance and counseling notes, I recalled many name while some  brought faces to memory.
You can handle tripping  backwards just so long...had to take a break.

In that ziplock of stored memories was an unmailed, unsigned card for my first great granchild Marty. In the card however was a photo of him and his passifier. Now that's he's four and ready for kindergarten this fall, I wonder how he may react to that picture and whether it brings a memory to him.  I'll plan to find out just that information upon our meeting Thanksgiving in Moreno Valley, CA.

To families fighting colds and bronchitis, good luck in getting well and having quick recoveries. Deep sigh.
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