Monday, July 5, 2010

Internal Oregons

Ever wonder if certain parts of your life were real or just a dream? Well, after two years in Boston, I tried curing this "nostalgia" by learning how to text. When that didn't help I tried watching reality TV in an attempt to help me understand what "reality" really means. That didn't help either (thanks a lot for NOTHING, "America Broadcasting Company" and "Women's Entertainment" channels).

So I found myself back in Oregon. When exiting the plane, I stopped to inhale extremely deeply, coughed because most of the air was jet fuel, and got asked to please move by the line of people behind me. All the restrooms in the airport were closed except for one, which didn’t have ANY paper towels. Towels weren’t even an option. On the way out of the airport I spotted a man with dirty dread locks wrapped in a bun on top of his head, dragging a rainbow suitcase. And thus I welcomed myself back.

Kim, Lia and I were like The Three Musketeers picking up where we left off after only five minutes of separation, rather than what it really was - the better part of two years.

In Eugene, we stood in front of our former dorm, remembering the times we had while growing up: our first encounters with the “drunk” type of people, the guy who tested his pellet gun on us from the third story window (the first time I helped get someone evicted), the pumpkin left in the stairwell for months until it was finally removed by people wearing masks…and it all pulls at the sinews of my heart like a multi-ton colonial cobble stone.

The yard sale we later encountered had things like used bottles of hair dye and dolls without eyes to name a few - your basic essentials. I’ve missed being exhilarated by things like this. It made me actually consider buying some hair dye and trying it on one of the dolls. The truth is that those Saturday nights spent at Walmart were better than any night at a big city night club.

The yard sale.

Seeing more old friends over Mexican food made me feel so happy I just about felt nauseous (that plus the margaritas).

The way the University of Oregon campus now looks, the things about it that were in the back of my mind but I haven’t thought about, and fully realizing how much I had been through since I was last there, was quite intense.

Then, put a stop on all the emotion, it was time for a road trip. We stop in the small town of Astoria, Oregon (the temporary settlement of explorers Lewis and Clark).

(Lewis and Clark's original cabin)

There were also shops with things like humongous and dirty stuffed panda bears turned on their side in the display window,

or the B&B with possibly the most floral room that ever existed.

But it was the NATURE that was the most striking.

After visiting the beach, we sprinted up 160 steps to catch the last few minutes of this sunset. It was worth the ruptured lungs.

Among the top 5 sunsets I've ever seen:


A little weary from the sprint, with a red glow from the sunset:

After that, we found ourselves more north in the rural forests of Washington to see where Lia just earned her first job running a high school music program. To see her accomplish this after years of hard work and in these economic times is inspiring. I am very proud of her, as I am of Kim, who is on her way to doing the same thing!

Then it was further north, back to civilization in Seattle.

The GPS telling us to drive through the water:

Two years ago when I left Oregon, I didn’t allow myself to feel the emotion as much as it was there, for the purpose of keeping my eyes on the very unknown road ahead. But after the time away, I was hoping this visit would calm down my nostalgia. TOO BAD.
Really, this trip has only made my emotional state worse, but only for more love for the place and for the people in it. Along with the sadness that comes with change is happiness in knowing that this is where I spent some of the best times of my life.

After that I connected with the old Judaism at a Bar Mitzvah in the Bay Area to see more people I hardly ever get to. It isn't how often you see people that matters, but the love you share that outlasts any amount of time or distance.


Here is some brief video footage of my recent performance in at the Los Angeles Colburn School of Performing Arts as part of the masterclass for teacher Jim Walker (http://www.beyondthemasterclass.com/).