'Tis the Season

So, no sooner do I lament my lack of celeb sightings than Bubba and I get our first. An A-lister no less. Whilst shopping at the local Whole Foods, we see none other than Kirsten Dunst. We were looking at some flowers outside, and I saw her out of the corner of my eye. Not convinced because she was dressed down, we naturally followed her. We did the requisite, “pretend we’re reading the ingredients” of whatever it was we were shopping for, while altering our path to intersect with her in the next aisle. It was her all right. Tiny little thing. Also remarkably UN-spectacular. I called my boy Z, another New York transplant who’s been here about 7 years now. I said, “Z, she looked nothing like a movie star.” He said, “None of ‘em do.” I wouldn’t even paid her a second glance had I not seen her before. I felt proud because my wife DID (and does) look like a movie star.

<>
It’s Christmas time, which I remember only because I happened to glance at my calendar. Nothing about this place says Christmas. Not the weather (even though it’s been unseasonably ‘cold’ here), and certainly not the atmosphere. Very few folks have the lights or lawn ornaments I’m accustomed to. Understand, I grew up in North Jersey, and bodacious displays were commonplace. Palm trees. Just palm trees. So, like they say, “when in Rome,” etc. To get into the “spirit,” Bubba and I decided to go full California throttle for the holiday, so we got a 7-foot tall, artificial, palm Christmas tree. Something like 650 lights on it. Good stuff. I miss the pine smell, and sticky sap and all, but this one has its own charm to it.

Unlike New York, where it’s every man for himself on the streets, both in a car or on foot, I HAVE to say, I’m VERY impressed with the road etiquette around here. The cars, for all of the congestion, function very politely. In the midst of total gridlock, they’ll always leave just enough space and not block the box, for cars to turn. But the best part is, pedestrians have carte blanche to act the fool. There’s crosswalks mid-street all over the place. I accidentally started crossing in the middle of a light cycle, completely oblivious to the world around me for a second. EVERYONE stopped on cue. Fantastic. I wanted to test how far I could take it so I pulled a Letterman. The same way Dave Letterman’s band is always on alert for Dave’s random cues for a drum hit, I started dashing in and out of the crosswalk. Back and forth. They always stopped. It’s good to know that I’m void of responsibility whenever I opt out of driving. I guess they figure, no one drives ANYWHERE, so we want to make it comfortable for anyone with the chutzpah to walk.