Chris has a way of writing that just makes me feel better, in these times of pandemic. Thanks so much, Mr Erskine, for letting me feature this lovely column here.
My penpal Ted, a Times subscriber since 1964, worries that the world is getting more miserable and less delightful.
“True dat,” as the kids say, though I sense the world will make a comeback, rally in the fourth-quarter, like at Lambeau, when the game is on the line and the crowd is clapping in their hunting gloves.
This is hardly the Dark Ages, or even World War II. After a couple of cruddy months, we’re on the road to a slow recovery, a vaccine, and better times.
In fact, when I rise at 5 a.m., a ridiculous hour for anything except writing and letting the dog out, the sun is already starting to rise.
The light at the end of a very long tunnel?
I predict that by the solstice, June 20 this year, that this pandemic will no longer taint our every thought. By summer, we will be living a little.
Lived a little yesterday, in fact. I decided recently that I would re-visit some hidden gem once a week – my mid-week church. Last week, the fetching harbor town of San Pedro. This week, Palos Verdes Estates.
With traffic still so light, it is now possible to get from the foothills to the sea in about 30 seconds. Suddenly, places you shunned for decades are extending a tanned hand.
As you know, Palos Verdes Estates is where you go when you want to see some bluffs. PVE is California’s jutty broken jaw. The waves smash it every day. With its misty hi-res panoramas, it reminds me of Big Sur or North County.
Malibu is similar and spectacular. But Palos Verdes is greener, less blanched, and a better blend of land and sand.
PVE is L.A.’s best unbeaten path, and a rustic reminder of why we’re here in the first place.
We lingered in the mid-day light. Fred Rogers is famous for saying, in times of distress, to “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
I say, look for the light – the warmth, the sun, the stars and especially the sparkling smile of the thrashing sea.
Oceans like this have carried troubled souls to better places for thousands of years, literally and otherwise.
I see something inherently hopeful in the Pacific -- an eternal Irish wink.
Or maybe the light at the end of a very long tunnel.
Hope you enjoy my pics.
.Chris Erskine is a nationally known humor columnist and editor for the Los Angeles Times. He writes for the Sports, Travel and Saturday sections and edits on the paper's Features staff. ... He is best known to readers for his weekly humor pieces on life in suburban Los Angeles.
コメント