A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere

2007 was a bad year, and it wasn’t even the one where I lost someone vital to my life.

It was the sense of foreboding, that instinctual recognition of a storm on the horizon, that plagued me that year.  After so many terrible events, after so much struggle, I was broken down, tapped out, crumpled in a heap.  And yet, I knew more would come.  I needed to find salvation, to find strength.  I had none left to give.

A pilgrimage became my raison d’etre, all of my remaining energy siphoned into its pursuit.  I like to believe that the universe listens, that it cannot always give you everything you want, but when you are truly in need, it will provide.  It sent a quiet angel who provided me with all I needed to make my journey possible.

The water is special to me, and California stole my heart in 2000 in a scant few days.  I needed to return in 2007, and did so for my birthday, a day I hate for its winter weather and bad associations.  During that time of limbo, that fervent hope and need, this song was a constant fixture, a mantra.  To this day, it immediately evokes the first steps on the beach during that trip, a sunset walk along the water.  I collected sand in a small bottle to take home as a souvenir and inhaled the salty air until I was revived.

“They say California is a recipe for a black hole
And I say, ‘I got my best shoes on.  I’m ready to go’…“

Pictures Of Success – Rilo Kiley