From Ashes to Art Shows

“Just gimme a sign!” LIFT. Yes, please. WAY OUT. I could definitely use that one! As we headed back to London, six months ago, I really took notice of all the signs. English signs are so different from American ones. BE CAREFUL. Always. DIVERSION. Got too many of those. It got me thinking about signs. That’s all people ever want. Signs. “Just gimme a sign!” Until they get one. It’s amazing how many people wait for a sign before they take action. They want some sort of reassurance or else they’ll stay put. Fear of failure kills so many dreams....

Section 6, paragraph 2 of the Dad Code states that “every good dad must embarrass his child at least once while in full view of the public.” I got my chance just outside the Cathedral in Bath, on April 15, 2023, at 3:50pm (I know this because we were waiting to get into the 4pm queue to visit the Roman Baths). Getting any teen’s picture is tough enough, but getting THE TEEN’S picture is nearly impossible. In fact, there’s a few-years gap of formal pictures. All I have are stolen snap shots while he wasn’t looking. On the other hand…...

The thing I love about Bath, and England in general, is how it carries its history alongside its present. It carries its weight like an old sweater. It’s something you don’t see much of living in Los Angeles. “Old” is 1950; not like the cottage we stayed in, that was built in 1750! The accommodations had all the modern accessories, conveniently stuffed into the rickety corners. I was in love as soon as I turned the smiling knob and stepped inside. Staying there made me acutely aware of the passage of time. I imagined all the people who stayed there...

Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. Not in a Jason sort of way. More like in a I-didn’t-win-the-1.7-billion-dollar-lottery kind of day. It’s all good though. Luck comes in many forms. Looking back on the events of April 13, I can really see that I’m the luckiest guy in the world. There I was, high above London, riding the London Eye with my son and his friend. We actually made it! And I actually caught him smiling (granted I had to sneak the picture, but it did happen!) How lucky is that? Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Luck is what...

Usually, my mind is all over the place. Either I’m reflecting on the past, or racing ahead to the future to calculate all the alternate timelines that lie ahead (Ironically, I’m doing that now, aren’t I?) The drawback to this is that I often miss the present moment, until I’m thinking about it later. The evening of April 12 was different. Several times during the art show at the Brick Land Gallery, I reminded myself to pause… to look around… and take it all in. “You made all this happen,” I told myself. The art, the trip, the life I...