a little taste of California

I was meeting Brian and his friends last night at 8:30. I was running a little early, and I didn't want to show up before Brian, so I needed to kill some time. Across the street from the place we were meeting was a Unitarian-Universalist church, and I noticed that they were having a rummage sale, so I chuckled to myself, parked the car, and walked in.

I don't think I had realized, until that moment, how different things are in Cleveland. I guess that, because I grew up here, I dissolve right into the Cleveland mentality without even thinking about it. But it's really not who I am any longer. And when I walked into this church, I remembered that.

It felt like home. Just like our church in Berkeley. The rummage sale was really just a big pile of junk that people were hoping to get rid of. I suspect they sold all of their good stuff at a silent auction fundraiser earlier in the year, and we were now meant to pick through the scraps of what was left.

The lights were turned off in the bathroom, obviously saving electricity. Several committee meetings were listed on the activity board. They had posters on the wall with architectural renditions of what their new church building would look like. I imagined (but did not see) that there was probably a capital campaign going on. A picture on another wall showed a young girl next to a statement about how she values her church community.

Ahhh. That's more like it. Who would have thought I could find a little slice of home right here on the west side of Cleveland?

I'm not sure that I can describe this difference between Cleveland and California, or that I even want to try. It's just . . . different. And not necessarily good or bad, either. I still love Cleveland, and always will. It will always be my "hometown". I'm reminded of a line in that commencement speech that someone put to music a few years ago and played on the radio ad nauseum . . .

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Am I soft now? [pokes himself] Yeah, I guess I am. And I think I like being soft.

There is something to be said, however, for a well-manicured lawn. Or a street full of them. Haven't seen one of those in Northern California yet. Nice to be able to go out to the back yard in the morning and juggle on a nice carpet of fresh-cut green grass.

Posted: Sat - June 5, 2004 at 09:15 AM

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a little taste of California

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