Somewhere the sun is shining......Somewhere hearts are light

And last week, I found that somewhere. It's in San Diego! What a great week of getaway for some much needed change of scenery.

I made extended eye contact with this big brute even though the sign told me not to. They find it threatening, or some such nonsense. I tell ya, he and I connected on some really primal level. Everyone else had walked on, and the Beast and I made goo-goo eyes at each other.

It was a week of sunny and windy beaches during the day, nearly non-stop witty repartee with the Hawkes', and evenings awash with martinis and wine. Ah, the good life.

We had dinner one night with Peggy, a friend from my first childhood, who remains one of the nicest and most pleasant people I know. We had dinner another night with Sheri, a friend from my second childhood, who continues to make me laugh after so many years. We dubbed the disembodied voice of the GPS, Sally, with whom we developed a real love/hate relationship. When she got us to where we wanted to go, we thanked her. And if we missed a turn, turned too soon, or tried to second guess her, we called her a sleezy bitch -- and worse. But all in all, we appreciated Sally and wondered how we ever got along without her.

We discussed politics, religion, marriage, family, business, literature, and art. We didn't always agree (the war in Iraq), we had spirited differences of opinion (Hemingway was an asshole), we supported each other's efforts (here dumbshit, let me find that knitting stitch you dropped), and we discussed at length the merits of grandchildren and the failings of old acquaintances.

But alas, the week ran out, and we returned to a snowstorm that started just after we landed in Salt Lake, and continued throughout the night. This morning we had about 5 inches of white reality and were forced to concede that winter's not over yet (which made last week's respite all the more memorable). We had a great time, but now it's back to the grind.