Mary + Her Mental Health

Today I am really missing California. I miss CA sometimes, but today…I miss it a lot.

California is over-crowded in most places, governmentally gridlocked, crime-ridden, environmentally messy, earthquakey, brush-firy, mud-slidey, and houses some of the most materially corrupt with their white teeth gleaming on the dashboards of their BMW’s. I forgot to mention their public educational system is abysmal, and the state university system is turning into a joke.

Let’s just put all that aside for a second…

I ache for Yosemite and the Central Coast, the Redwoods, Jamba Juice, In-N-Out, and 6-lane stretches of highway. Monterey Bay Aquarium, La Jolla San Diego, San Luis Obisps, Santa Babs, clam chowder from the Pismo Beach boardwalk, the elegant lines of the Golden Gate and the sexiest smells floating like sheer silk from Ghiradelli Square.

I ache for my little home in the land of Clovis, in the heart of the San Joaquin (aka Satan’s Lair) where temperatures rival the Mojave. The Sierras to the east are so close, when the smog and heat aren’t hiding them from view. Where your summer weekend plans can include a movie, bowling, or watching heat rise off the pavement. But it’s mainly the people there - - Mom and Dad, my sisters, my brother, my new nephew whom I haven’t even met yet, the devoted members of the Nice Girls Club (Mary and Terri, I miss you!)

This week I finally found a decent airfare. I call up Mom.

“Mom. I found a ticket. $350 round trip direct into Fresno.”

“Let me get the credit card.”

Mom aches for me too.