California

Had a nice visit with my parents and Grandma. Killed a bottle of cheap red vino with my Dad. Picked all the lemons in the backyard and made lemonade and drank so much of it my tongue was burning but it stopped my sinuses from burning, at least for a short time. Ah, allergies.

California
I would turn into such an alcoholic if I lived there.

California
Concertina wire around the top of the beauty salon to keep people off the big flat Spanish-style roof. The building had been tagged so heavily with red spray paint it looked like it was bleeding. Broken down burned out car in the library parking lot.

California
Cars and cars and cars so many cars. Gas stations and drive-thrus and car washes with 20 cars lined up. Car culture. Drive to work, work to drive. SMOG. And everyone drives 80 all the time, even on the city streets.

California
Big wide open but you can't see the horizon because the air is brown, and you can't have none of that land, that land was stolen a long time ago.

California
People I love telling me capitalism is good and it's okay their daughter is going to school to be a "worker" because we all have to work within the economic system and the economic system is doing great, nevermind what the experts say, life is good and anyone can be rich. Those damn spics have 20 people living in that house across the street and the old woman sells cotton candy on the street corner, does she have a permit?

California
Chlorinated flouridated recycled sewage water coming out the tap. But they don't let people swim in the reservoir anymore.

California
But there are good jobs here, nevermind the 4 hours you spend commuting each day.

California
I always find it interesting when people of northern European descent rage against "invasive species" like the eucalyptus trees that line most of the highways and provide necessary wind brakes.

California
Pollen and dust and smog, oh my.

California
They say you can never go home again. They're right.