Sticky with the Sixties

Today, I followed my feet- as if they were a needle to my hearts compass; guided by unseen magnetism, toward one of my life-long dreams. I followed my nose- as if it were the snout of a bloodhound; trailing the scent of soul food. I followed my ears- they heeded the call of a soundtrack [posted at the bottom] of different tracks listened to throughout the afternoon that exemplified my mood. The below is a recounting of the sequence of beautiful events that ensued:

I woke up naturally around 9:27a.m. I opened my eyes to the bright glow of immaculately clear blue sky, highlighted by a vibrant sun shine; both were mellowed through my maroon curtains. Feeling unusually rested, & immediately restless, I moved about my room a bit... knowing not what my feet had planned for me, but understanding that they were acting of their own accord. First to the shower in an attempt to face the day as blank photo-paper; cleanse myself to make space available for the imprint of today to seep into my skin- develop me. Turn on iTunes: blaring "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santogold, my hands effortlessly picked the apparently predestined clothes for this day from my closet. Gray tank w/ teal peace sign, cut-off corduroy shorts (which frays tickle my knees in the wind), blue vans authentic's. Hmm... I want coffee.

Turn right on California St. in downtown Ventura. There's a public Polynesian festival radiating ukulele strums from Crown Plaza by the pier... good thing I brought my longboard, Zephyr (named for what I feel while gliding around on it: a slight breeze...& yes, my blog URL was named after my longboard... which was named after a breeze). Park Duke (my car, which was named for a famous founding father of surfing... also, a chain of tropical restaurants) in the structure, thus allowing Zephyr as my primary transportation. First, to Chill... Brianna makes me my standard white mocha & tells me they're looking for help (see you in the morning!)... Zephyr skates me down to the Polynesian fest... enjoy some music, dancing, & the rest of my coffee on the strip overlooking the pier.

Time to glide up Main St. where consumers are actively sustaining downtown businesses. There's a Hippie (whether he was homeless I knew not) sitting on the cool concrete of an abandoned entrance to a vacant shop window. He is weaving macrame; hemp bracelets. A small, old looking green ceramic bowl sis next to his hankerchief of a table-cloth on which his handful of creations are displayed... I dig into my pocket, stuck to my leg after a steadily pedaling uphill; I empty all my change into his bowl with a nod & "S'all I got, brother." He smiles in humble appreciation.

Then, my feet led me into the CSU Channel Islands art gallery on Main; for the first time, despite having the desire to explore it for months. [ "The Minnow & the Trout" is playing by A Fine Frenzy upon entering]. Spending more than 30min inside has left me in awe of the displays accumulated, from present students & some alumni; praising works that have oozed inspiration into me. [ During my perusing, I unconsciously hummed along to "The Scientist" by Coldplay, & "Better" by Regina Spektor] I have a lovely chat with the recent graduate girl, Bethany, at the front counter. We talked about A Fine Frenzy & art & the idea of taking my kids on a field trip there. Thank you! Nice to meet you, see you soon. I step outside, reach into the newspaper dispenser & retract an issue of the V[entura]C[ounty] Reporter: John Lennon coolly gazes out from its cover... Happy Birthday, John. Now I sense the invisible force guiding my body is the same essence of the man who stares up at me from the paper.

The urge to play in Santa Monica perfectly overcomes me & I make my way back to Duke. We blasted No Doubt's album "Tragic Kingdom" to initiate take-off... Perfect. PCH is beautiful. There's no traffic & the Pacific is so blue! Halfway there, cd switch - Nelly Furtado's "Folklore". YES... Perfection again. Oh look... Paradise Cove, so conveniently on my way to SM, invited me with a call I answered in search of where the song "Droplets" by Jason Reeves & Colbie Caillat was written/ recorded. That was a fun pit stop :)

Santa Monica is packed. It takes 20min to slowly proceed 4 blocks downtown through the 3rd St. Prominade foot traffic to the parking structure. It's an easy feat with the likes of The Who & Ted Nugent gracing my speakers. Stretching upon shutting the door & securely throwing my backpack over my shoulders, I spritely took the stairs to ground level, & reveled in the sound of Zephyr's wheels hittin' the pavement. Carefully weaving in & out of pedestrians along the sidewalk for a few blocks, I finally reached my starting point (in a sense). One of my favorite vistas in memory:

I carve the pavement in wide slalom-like motions given the wide berth of the path. Even around the frequent pedestrians, there is enough room for long pedaling strides. I stick to the sidewalk of Ocean Ave. for about 1 mile until I reach a parking lot I recognize from my childhood- one of which I can distinctly describe the memory of toting boogie boards & towels to the sand with my aunt & sister, though I can't exactly recall my age: a group of guys were on rollerblades playing street hockey in a somewhat vacant area of the parking lot. I wanted to play so badly to play (it must have been around the same time as "The Mighty Ducks" movie based on the hockey team). But as we neared the bike path I gawked at the traffic of skateboarders, rollerbladers, & cyclists alike, with whom I so desperately wished to join; all streamlining up & down this glorious path which parallels the great, blue, Pacific.

Smiling with nostalgia, I step back on my board & zoom down the driveway's hill, waving to the lot attendant/ toll guard as I roll onto the smooth concrete of the path that curves along the beach... It was at this moment exactly- simultaneous with my first giant pedaling stride in the south bound lane- that the realization of a life-long dream had just occurred. I was now among the streamliner's I had dreamed of joining 15-or-so years ago. I embarked on my sidewalk surf-session with no need for headphones. I was enjoying the music of the world, the many sounds carried by the sea breeze: laughter, street performers, battery-operated boom-boxes, bicycle bells, seagulls, intermittent beach restaurant patio chatter, the light crunch of sand under my left shoe with each push for inertia. All of these sounds came together in a symphony of public collaboration to the drum of the faint crashing tide some yards away. I couldn't stop smiling: at people, at life, at the sky & the trees & the curb-squatters & the lot-rats of the parking spaces, at children (not in a creepy way... but more in that won't-you-let-me-share-my-exuberant-happiness-with-you sense).

Following the lovely path with the beach on my right & the pleasant knolls of comfortable looking well-kept grass separating me from the Venice boardwalk of legitimate business vendors & street peddlers on my left, I took notice of a girl. I recognized her face, not as someone I know, but more with regard to her expression & following movements: with large, but fitting, sunglasses & little more than a picnic-checkerboard bandana for a top paired with her brown gaucho pants & golden brown skin... she lifted each eyebrow as she slightly peeked from left to right, checking her surroundings atop her red blanket (strategically placed on a down-slope of the lawn). She peacefully raised both her hands to her mouth as if in prayer, cupping something small that made a clicking noise. All of this in a span of 7 seconds as I rode past her releasing an approving, "Yeeeeah, girl." that was only audible to her. Looking up, she exhaled with a funny sputtered laugh & quickly called after me as I rolled by, "Want some!?". I raised my arm, thumb up, u-turned my board 10 yards away, & skated back to introduce myself to Jennifer. "Nice to meet you! Glad you stopped.. Hey man, gotta share!" With her stoner laugh through a dolphin smile of perfect teeth, she handed me her pipe. It smelled rich & fresh; I thanked her after my hit, relinquishing her piece. "Nah, girl, you can have another. It's so beautiful today, I can't help but spread the love... That'll have you feelin' good!" We parted, both thanking each other for sharing such a lovely moment with equal understanding.

Now, seemingly floating about 50 yards along the path, my ears perked up with excitement as I looked out across the sand to witness a medium sized circle of people. They had gathered in kindred spirits playing drums of all sorts (accented by a harmonica or trumpet here or there) with a central dancing man- he looked of Mayan or some ancient Latin heritage. The man was glowing with the warmth of the sun as sweat covered him while he danced; non-stop with vigor, pounding his feet, waving his arms, & simultaneously shoveling sand out his dancing pit with his toes. Amazing.

After my brief enjoyment at the drum circle, I continued my skate journey. After a few minutes, I recognized I had entered Muscle Beach (a famously historic location in Venice, Ca). I skated through the basketball courts where several pick-up games were in session, past the boxers using the punching bags & pull-up bars, zig-zagging through the far walkway that led back to the bike patch after observing all the athletics. I greeted a homeless squatter burning incense under a blanket while following the maze with an, "Evenin'!". His reply was, "hey, wha'ss happ'nin, slim!" in a voice reminiscent of an smokey jazz lounge skeet guy. Awesome.

I turned around after the next parking lot, beginning my 4 mile trek back to West Santa Monica. This time I traveled along the Venice boardwalk, weaving again through pedestrians (offering skate-by-high-fives to those I could feel would reciprocate) & street performers & vendors haggling sunglasses or t-shirts, (& in some cases "medical marijuana") as residents in their studios above the street businesses looked down. They watched at what I can only imagine to be a daily environment in amusement. Being too crowded for my desired cruising speed, I jetted across an open quad area back to my previous path, this time heading north. As it was now close to 5pm, the wide path was nigh empty but a few cyclist's far between... giving me room to really sidewalk-surf-slalom around the white dashes dividing the lanes as I was dropped almost knees to my board, leaning slightly for my quick in-&-out motions (this earned a few impressed hollers from surfers packing up their trucks in the adjacent lots... which, truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed).

Back up on the 3rd St. Prominade, I was direly parched with an inescapable craving for lemonade. I sauntered up the walk & waited in line at an outdoor cafe. In my peripheral, I noticed an amazonian-height black girl with a deliberately messy fro; strategically placed fluffs & bangs & tufts stuck out through a presently-fashionable thin indie headband... She was being followed by a camera man, though I did not distinguish whether he was filming or taking photographs; I kept trying to remove myself from any shots of which I was clearly in due to the angles he was planting his self in... But alas, he re-aligned his angle to include me in the background (it felt more like I was the intended back drop). Another customer asked her why she was being photographed & apparently she is a musician with a website whence she posts various daily activities. Maybe I'll check back to see if I'm in any photos... can't help it :
http://margoworld.com/welcome.cfm

By the time I reached my my car, I was slimy with sweat & sticky with the sixties-esque air I had been sailing through all day. It didn't take me long to be free of Santa Monica traffic calmly enjoying the sunset along the Pacific Coast Highway. Even still, it felt like my smile would be permanently affixed to my face as I headed home to Ventura toward the setting sun.

 

SOUNTRACK to SATURDAY:
1) l.e.s. artistes - santogold
2) paper bag - fiona apple
3) the minnow & the trout - a fine frenzy
4) the scientist - coldplay
4.5) better - regina spektor
5) different people - no doubt
6) sunday morning - no doubt
7) powerless - nelly furtado
8) com uma forca - nelly furtado
9) picture perfect -nelly furtado
10) santa monica - everclear
11) baba o'riley - the who
12) stranglehold - ted nugent
13) it's dare - the gorillaz
14) bigger than the sound - yeah yeah yeah's
15) two tickets to paradise - eddie money
16) gimme some truth - john lennon

c.marie