I live in Los Angeles...like many Los Angelenos, I drive. Alot! If I'm taking my son to and from school on a given day, and then myself to and from work, I am in the car for a minimum of three hours. Two if the school run is eliminated. It's a lot of time with nothing to do but sit...and listen...and talk...and think. And I do it all. Anytime the boy is a passenger, there is only children's music, or reggae (thank god for his love of the reggae or I'd be left with only endless repeats of Ralph's World, Laurie Berkner, and They Might Be Giants (the latter being somewhat tolerable if you don't have to do the same disc more than twice in a 24 hour period)...Without the boy, I do a little BBC World News in the morning because British news is so much more interesting than local LA news...A good dose of NPR keeps me in touch with happenings of the world, and my town, and then there's music...Today I blasted compilation discs of punk and new wave from the late 70's until my ears bled...It shakes out all of the angst and eradicates the day of work from my brain...I can sing my little heart out and bop in my seat as I creep along the 405...Or I'll call my mom. Somewhere during the drive I check in to see how she's doing. She just moved back to LA after twenty years in the civil little town of Grants Pass, OR. Twenty years was just enough time to erase any memories of life and living in LA for her. She's experiencing some culture shock now that she's left her little town. I'm glad she's here and she's slowly adjusting so I take advantage of my hours in the car to check in with her so that I can devote my home time to the boy and the man...
The funny thing about the whole drive thing is that I hate driving, and I drive more than anyone I know! Thank god for diversions...like great music, compelling news, and my over active imagination...
