Each day

comes bearing its own gifts.

Untie the ribbons.

~Ruth Ann Schabacker

     I know my blog kind of veered off track in the last few days. M&I are back home after having been flown to Hollywood to shoot part of a commercial for American Express. We walked into the life of about a hundred people who live , breath, and sleep Media production, acting and the fast track of Hollywood. It's almost impossible to express what we saw, what we learned, and most importantly the interactions we had with these people from so far away.

 

     The thing that really got to us was that everyone from the sound people to the paid actors wanted to know " How did you get this job?"  Well,,,,, we weren't sure how to explain to them that for us it wasn't a job. We have a job. We own a small business in Pennsylvania, and we actually like it and are happy. It just happened to be the type of small business that American Express wanted to showcase in one of their ads. On our first day there, we were driven by Limo into the middle of a working set and had to get out of the car (Like,,,, Um,,, Ummm  Hello folks?") In the real world of Hollywood, we got to walk in as Rock-Stars and do our thing, and then go back to our normal life. Who gets to do that???,,, We are still swirling in a cloud of surreal and as the retired LA Police officer on the set said we will be talking about this for the rest of our lives.

 

     We learned so much about their world, but went away with a feeling of loss for a few of them that we got closer to because we won't have the opportunity to show them our world. You see,,, N, the wardrobe boss lady really needs to be in my kayak with a glass of a nice Pinot. She could glide along beside me and M when he hooks up a huge Bass and gets all excited. She was one of the only California natives that we encountered. N has just worked too hard for too long and needs to find the thing that recharges her batteries. Most of the people that you encounter in California still feel that they are from somewhere else? 

Nothing relaxes the soul and can feel like home, except home itself.

      The Big Boss director can actually play the piano and zoned out at one of the very tense moments of the shoot and lost himself in some songs.  He needs a few buddies who would jam with him on a week-end and everyone could let it all go. The other Director at M's suggestion got a new Harmonica from some of the crew members because they heard him and M talking. He (The Director) had mentioned that he regretted that his parents had not made him keep playing an Instrument when he was a kid. M instantly suggested the harmonica because he could begin to play again while driving to all of his jobs. During the lunch break, some of the crew went to a music store and bought him a sweet new harmonica because they saw the glow in his eyes. It was a nice moment and we knew then that we were just in a different place with some really nice people. One of our Limo drivers really should own another motorcycle. He got sparkles in his eyes when he talked about the older days of riding. If we had been there much longer,,,, M would have him riding again. All of the people in the amazing Hollywood glamor jobs were working such long hours that they were missing the small dreams that one actually lives for.

Life becomes more narrow as you age. It's so important to find and do the things that you love.

 

     When we got home, our sweet neighbors had made (sidewalk chalk versions) of the Hollywood walk of fame. Our front door was spangled and there were impromptu trophy plaques in our honor. We were back to a world that we could not really explain to the folks in California. The bay was calm and the sun set as we told stories and laughed with our friends.

Would we go again,,,  Yep in a minute,,,,

 

but,,,,, Ohh,,, there's no place like home....there's no place like home.

Good friends are like stars....

You don't always see them,

but you know they are always there.

~ unknown

 

Comments

[Jennifer White]

"Life becomes more narrow as we age" ... Linda, this resonates with me! You are dead on with this statement...I'm fascinated by your trip out West and am anxious to hear when the amex commercial is running. How amazing to be part of something like this and share your life. I'm still in search of the things I love most, being that I've recently relocated from my home in Milwaukee, life seems to be pretty uncomfortable away from friends and everything familiar.

I love coming to visit your amazing photographs as well as your stories of travel and home... thank you for these small escapes... xo