Moving Forward

So, the time has come.  In the previous thirty-something posts on this blog, we have looked into the sights ... that inspired the thoughts ... that set the tone ... that drove the action ... in my recently-released book, Deep Disparity.

For those who have already read the book, I hope that the photos embellish the story in your mind's eye.

For those who have not read the book, maybe the photos will entice you to read the story to linger a bit longer in the settings displayed by them.

In any case, for me it is the time to move forward.  To consider the next story, the next inspirations, the next tones, the next actions that will ensue.  The next book ...

I have made a start.  But the publication of more blog posts related to the development of the new story will wait for a time.  Most fiction authors say that, though they have the general concept of a story's progression in mind when they begin, the story and characters often develop lives of their own during the writing.  

Places expected and unexpected are visited, as a result.  For now, one small, pictorial preview for you of a place that will likely figure strongly in the next story:

TGV High-Speed Train, Gare de l'Est, Paris, France

I wonder where this train will take us ...

Peaceful Remembrances

Huang Sculpture Garden, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, California

The Memorial Day weekend is here.  Does it bring images of the repercussions related to soldiers, uniforms, weapons and military prowess?

Or perhaps, now and then, does it convey visions of peace, the sounds of gently flowing water, the caress of sun-touched breezes.  As here, in the peaceful sculpture garden at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.

Battlefields or peaceful gardens.  The eternal question and dilemma ...

Visitor's Visions

Aliso Creek Beach, South Laguna, California

A young visitor from Germany was amazed by this little beach, at the southern end of Laguna Beach.  How could it be so peaceful.  So empty.  So available to everyone.  

Day after day the visitor returned, eventually choosing one of the houses along the hillside as the one that she would choose as hers, if she had the opportunity.  Later, the young visitor's mother would paint a picture of that house, captured in her own view by her daughter's photo of it.  

How many visitors, one wonders, have viewed that same house with the same thoughts.  How many photos have been taken.  How many pictures painted.  Do the owners of the house realize the wonder ...

Museum -- Gone Global

Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, California

It began as it should.  Art and artifacts from the southwestern United States merged beautifully with similar objects from Central and South America within the spaces of the gem-like Bowers Museum.  

Little by little, it happened.  The world reached in toward Santa Ana's charming museum.  And the museum reached outward to the world.  The permanent collections grew and expanded in their geographic orientations.  Visiting exhibitions arrived from other continents.  A growing range of visitors accompanied these changes and they were accommodated as spacious, new galleries were built.  A peaceful sculpture garden was added.  Entertainment performances and educational presentations expanded the opportunities for an ever-growing audience.

That is how knowledge should be.  Growing, migrating, expanding and reaching out for new avenues.  People responding and reaching for the understanding paired with knowledge that improves us all.

Or should ...

An Impressive Playlist

Mockingbird in Springtime

"Oh!  I think I heard a robin!"

No, false alarm, it was a mockingbird.

High atop a tree or a chimney or a light pole, the mockingbird broadcasts his repertoire in a robust voice.  Segment after segment, each song is a replica of that of a different bird.  Then the same playlist begins again.  And again.

In Spring, the serenade may continue for hours -- sometimes with a brief pause around mid day.  Perhaps this is the time of the mockingbird's siesta?  Or maybe this is the time that he races to a nearby water source and wets his whistle for the afternoon concert.  

Surely his potential mates are as impressed as I am by his vocal prowess.  And as eager for him to return ...

Weary or Not

Harbor, Oceanside, California

A port is a delightful place of rest for a soul weary of life's battles.  (Charles Baudelaire)

At first glance, there is nothing weary about this little harbor area on a sunny morning.  Aromas of coffee emerge from seaside restaurants, padding feet clap briskly on the sidewalk, sunbeams reflect off the water.  

Maybe though, as Baudelaire suggested, it is the port itself that is the antidote for world-weariness.  Perhaps the disenchantments of the coffee-brewers, joggers and ocean-gazers simply disappeared, for a time, when they arrived at the little port.

The wonder cure, right there at the ocean's edge ...

The Fine Art of Listening

Salt Creek Park, Dana Point, CA

Soothing wisps of music float tranquilly toward me on the salty sea air.  To my left, and up the pathway, the Ritz Carlton Hotel gleams brightly beneath its palm trees.  To my right, a walking and jogging trail weaves gracefully through this public park and beach area.  But here, the gentle melodies hold my attention like glue.

Who is this guitarist who plays something classical -- by Albeniz, I think.  Is he a visitor from a faraway place, who couldn't resist the opportunity to deliver his music to, and commune with, the sea?  Is he a musician?  A composer? A captain of industry on a brief retreat from the big city?  

One could ask, between songs.  But that would risk breaking the mood, the charm, of the moment and the setting.  And so, I simply listen ... 

Beautiful Wordlessness

Flower Fields, Carlsbad, CA

Sometimes even those of us who love words must pause, surrounded by beauty that leaves us speechless.

Even these tourists seem to be lost in contemplation as they ride through the flower fields.  Wordless ...

Pacific Surflining for Beginners

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner near San Clemente, CA

Train travel, so well-known and widely used in most of the world, has become somewhat of a rarity in the United States it seems.  Train passengers, however, are not an endangered species.  From an observational standpoint, they are clearly filled with life and vibrant personality.

Or maybe it is just that the liveliness of the species is so well-displayed on certain routes.  In certain environments.  On a train trip that sends passengers gliding near the ocean, on a sunny day or better yet at sunset as the golden orb sinks into the western sky, who can resist the magnetic attraction of the Pacific Ocean views.  

Passengers raise their heads and leave nose prints on the windows, pointing out ocean-misted sights to their companions -- sometimes even to perfect strangers.  Could it be that, at least now and then, the handheld white screen has met its match?

Seeking Seagulls

Seagulls at Laguna Beach, CA

A raft of seagulls crowds the shoreline, running inland from the approaching plumes, rushing outward with the receding waves.  Over and over they go, back and forth.  Seeking something -- or nothing.  Is each one oblivious to its colleagues, caught up in the same cycle?  Are they more like humans than we think ...

Gone Fishing

Fisherman on Breakwater, Dana Point, CA

Early in the morning, the fishermen appear, walking confidently on the breakwater as if it presented no more obstacle than a sidewalk.  Well-practiced strides bear a touch of hope, at arrival.   Fishing pole in one hand, plastic cooler in the other, the fisherman knows that the expedition holds promise.

 At departure, who knows what rides in that plastic cooler.  Several fish, which will be eagerly greeted by a young family as it gathers around the dinner table?  Or perhaps nothing more than an empty water bottle, as a sport fisherman reflects on a time well-spent and fish released to their Pacific home?

In either case, that sense of "gone fishing" always makes me want to whistle a tranquil song, somehow ...

When Needed

It is sometimes said that cats come into our lives when we need them.  This seems especially true when a surprise, feline visitor shows up one day, peering in at you from your screen door.

Perhaps they know who is a cat person, and who is not.  Who wants them, and who does not.  Who needs them, and who does not?  

That extra sense, that they have, always guiding their way ...

Springtime Beauty

Beauty hovering over a parking lot

Is beauty a constant?

This tree, ablaze with the color of springtime, hovers over a parking lot.  Cars come, cars leave, doors slam, alarms squawk.  But the beauty remains, endures, enlivens.  As surely as if the tree displayed its wonders in a rambling garden.

Surely, some of the people from the cars notice Spring, on display here.  And smile.

A Beautiful Arrangement

Doheny Park Beaches, Dana Point, CA

Like a beautifully assembled floral arrangement, the view toward the beaches of Doheny Park rises before us.

In a floral arrangement, there should be something low -- here, the ocean and sandy beaches.

There should be something at the middle level -- here, the buildings overlooking the small road that edges its way below the coastal cliff.

There should be something up high -- the hills of San Juan Capistrano, in the distance.

And higher still, as befits every beautiful nature scene, a vibrant blue sky provides the background.  

A beautiful arrangement.

Ramos House, Repurposed

The Ramos House Café, San Juan Capistrano, CA

In the city of San Juan Capistrano, we easily find visible remnants of its history.  Much of the credit goes to a persistent band of locals who did the work necessary and took the steps required to gain listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.  

Here on Los Rios Street stands a study in the age-old, now reinvigorated, concept of repurposing.  The Ramos House was built in 1881 by the Aguilar family but owned for many years by the Ramos family, one of the city's oldest and best-known families.  

Now a popular small restaurant, the structure stands proudly beside the railroad tracks that brought so much life and activity to San Juan Capistrano in past times.  Could those early travelers possibly have envisioned crab cake salad with remoulade or sweet potato hush puppies with pepper jam?  

Repurposing often requires reenvisioning to make it work!

Cruising Pacific Coast Highway

Yellow Cab on PCH in Laguna Beach

Pacific Coast Highway, CA State Route 1, and as the locals call it, PCH, is over 650 miles in length.  Parts of it run very close to the coast, as here in Laguna Beach.  These near-brushes with the ocean lend a touch of rejuvenation to the journey.  Even behind the closed windows of an air-conditioned vehicle, the hint of ocean air seems to breeze in and make me open my eyes a little wider.  

And marvel at the beauty nearby.

Sailing Into A Metaphor

Blue sky above, blue sea below.

It would be lovely to know, just where they will go.

Setting sail from the harbor in Dana Point, California on a sunny day is undoubtedly an exhilarating experience.  Here, safe in the inlet, within the protective barrier of the breakwater, who knows what lies ahead.  

A bit of a metaphor for life.  Sailing.

A World of Friendship and Peace

"Nakayoshi" by Anonymous Sculptor

On even the most-hurried visit to the Newport Beach Public Library, one has to smile back at the expressions on these faces.  Two children, good friends, exude happiness and contentment in this sculpture which was a gift from the city of Okazaki, Japan to the city of Newport Beach, California.  

Though the sculptor is anonymous, he or she has perfectly represented the idea of sister cities -- or as they are known in much of the world, twinned cities.  

"Good Friends" or "Nakayoshi" the sentiment is the same and a fitting reminder that peace on the macro level begins with good relationships at the micro level.  Baby steps toward a world of friendship and peace.

In the Details

Bowers Museum architectural detail

The beauty is in the detail, at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.  The architectural detail of the museum building is just the beginning.  A permanent collection of artifacts from California and the Americas and beyond, plus a constant stream of visiting exhibits, layers a mind-expanding and culture-evoking layer of detail on top.

Which makes one wonder about that old saying,

"The devil is in the details."  

Maybe it is time for an update:
"The beauty is in the details ..."

Ocean Lessons

Almost ready to roll, Dana Point, California

The ocean can be such a good example for all of us.  Huge ships and the smallest raft or kayak are welcome.  Red, yellow, black or white makes no difference.  Political attitudes are unimportant compared to nautical rectitude.   

The fresh air, wind and waves are great equalizers.  Surely.

Yet, do some sailors still feel they are more equal than others ...

San Juan Capistrano's Los Rios District

Los Rios District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Good things come in small packages.

The old adage is certainly true in the case of the Los Rios historic district of the city of San Juan Capistrano.  A walk here, on the shade-dappled street across from the train station, is a little history lesson in the people and past of the city and of the entire southern California area.  

So many lives, so many stories, over such a long time, spring forth or whisper gently as one strolls ...

Peerless Dining at the Pier

At the base of the pier in San Clemente, California, restaurant sounds clatter, almost sparkle, in the sunshine of the daytime.  And at night, the magic of candlelight and the warmth of outdoor heaters shimmer among dinner conversations.

Below, all is lively, during the daytime, or calm, in the night, as ocean waves tumble beneath the restaurant.  In such a haven, can intrigue exist?  Or will it be swept away by the great sweeper of duplicity ...