very California

one

Tamara and i went to the state park beach at Santa Cruz, known for its surfing breaks and laid-back attitude. we put our one bag down and immediately ran off to chase the waves in and out. soon a group of six adults and one little girl came and put their things just next to ours. they all took off their street clothes and went swimming in their underwear, except the blond child, who went naked, displaying a lovely allover tan. when they came out after a brief time--the sea was cold--they took off their wet underwear (bras, panties, jockey shorts) and put back on their street clothes, with no hurry or attempt to discreetly cover up their bodies in the transition. the little girl didn't bother with her clothes, but came over to play with tamara, now digging in the sand. her name was Indigo and her 4th birthday was coming up on the weekend. her attractive mom (in a wet sports bra and running shorts) invited us to Indigo's birthday party, to be held in a park in Santa Cruz. alas, it was too far to go from San Jose. the next two days Tamara ran around the house without a stitch on.

two

Walking in the early evening in San Jose, i could see in the living room window of an apartment close to the sidewalk. there sat a fairly large tv, tuned to some adult drama. right next to it on the same shelf sat a smaller tv, tuned to a cartoon. unfortunately, this may not be uniquely Californian, but i'm sure it is very American.

three

a friend who lives in a posh southern California suburb told me that her daughter, age 7, went to a day camp this summer where one day the children learned to make sushi. the kids looked so cute with those little sushi chef bands around their foreheads. i forgot to ask if they learned how to distinguish yellow tail from belly tuna. meanwhile, at Tamara's preschool, they had a project to make trail mix. the two sides of California.


four

a northern California friend referred me to the information on her daughter's upcoming wedding website (who knew? okay, call me old-fashioned. the attractive and happy couple tell the story of their courtship from each one's point of view, with photos of significant places in the progress of their romance. they will be married in Yosemite; guests will carpool in; sleep in tents ("let us know if your have room to share"); all food and drink will be local, organic, and vegetarian; gifts must homemade or those of time and effort; wedding rings have been made of recycled gold. yoga will be available each morning. their admirable aim is to have only one bag of trash to carry out from each group of 10 people leaving after two days. the timing coincides with a nearby music festival and it all sounds like it will be a lot of fun.