Give us a sense of where you are, what's visible, how you feel about what's out there.
When we first arrived in the OC, several years ago, Nikita and I lived in Costa Mesa.
For a while, during this time, I attended a Writing Group at a Barnes & Noble in Mission Viejo, the leader of which recommended some writing exercises.
What follows is my answer to this exercise at that time:
The 1st thing I see, sitting at my small, round, table near the window of my 2nd floor apartment is the walkway outside, then a small section of a metal railing that's designed to discourage the taking of a shortcut to the parking lot 1 floor below.
I look at this and smile because I picture the neighbors cat, walking along, and being so spooked by something unexpected that he forgets where he is at and dashes between the rails and over the side.
It's bound to happen sooner or later and I just hope he lands on all fours. :-D
Beyond the parking lot my view encompasses 15 of the 44 magnificent cypress trees lined up as a windbreak at the southern boundary of the property.
2 to 4 stories tall they sway gracefully in the wind whenever it blows in from the ocean.
On the phone lines, above, crows will sometimes alight, but there are none around at the moment.
Today is a clear day and I can see the tops of several buildings a mile away.
By the simple act of stePping beyond my door, and onto the walkway, I can see the shopping center across the street, to the west, and the street itself.
The street......
It is the starting point of my own personal Yellow Brick Road across the Land of Orange County to a better life.
Like those magnificent trees, out there beyond my window, it will take more than the clicking of heels, and 3 times repeating a wish, for me to take myself to greater heights.
Proper nourishment, physically, emotionally, and intellectually, will help me get to where I want, and hope, to go.
I feel opportunity awaiting me beyond that window, and just around the corner from this, my new base of operations, and now that I've made it through my 1st 2 months here it's time to look and see what's out there.
That's what I saw and thought of, as the sun set over the Pacific on a hot early July evening in 2003. ;-D
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