I am staring at a pair of well-worn tennis shoes that I have up on the chair across from me so that Cordelia doesn’t decide to drag one or both outside for a good chewing. These tennis shoes – gray Asics – with my socks stuffed in the tops are a little tattered and completely comfortable. I wore them today when Ray and I rode with Rachael out to Arcadia to have a short visit with Sarah and baby Luna. Rachael, Sarah, Luna and Gregorio are leaving early tomorrow morning to drive the four hours to Ensenada for a big party to introduce little Luna to all of Gregorio’s family. Ray and I wanted a little time with our granddaughter before she headed off for the next five days.
I hardly need to say again how darling this child is. I’m sure anybody who reads this blog is well aware of the love affair that is raging between this baby girl and me. Alas, I feel compelled to at least mention that she grows more adorable by the day. I will not go on and on though I want to…
Ray and I took the train back from Arcadia to Union Station. This is a treat for us since we have only recently been using any of the public transportation available in LA, a city where most people drive on streets that are filled to overflowing with cars. The train goes through a series of towns from Arcadia to downtown. The ones that come immediately to mind are South Pasadena, Highland Park and Chinatown. These are all very distinctive communities with completely different demographics and their own individual charm. Before riding the train, I had little idea of these communities, save a foray into Chinatown on a few occasions. So, this new traveling approach is widening my LA perspective.
From Union Station, we took the subway to Hollywood and Highland. Hence the reason I was wearing my trusty tennis shoes. From Hollywood and Highland I knew that I would be walking about a mile to St. Thomas the Apostle church where we had parked our car. The last time we rode the subway and parked the car at the church I was wearing heels for a trip down to Disney Hall. I can say now after recovering from those blisters – never again!
The walk from the subway to the church was on Hollywood Boulevard and I walked through a throng of tourists who had flocked to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Today, folks were out in force, probably because of Memorial Day weekend. At Grauman’s Chinese Theater, I passed costumed characters of Spiderman, Jack Sparrow, Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe as they posed with out-of-towners. The weather was a perfect 75 degrees and the open-air celebrity tour buses were full of people. I trudged the distance to the church at least two blocks behind Ray who was rushing ahead to meet Ian, our friend and priest, who was at the rectory awaiting our rather belated arrival. I arrived in time for only a quick hello before I drove home to meet afternoon students. Ray and Ian headed off to eat and then brought me food when they returned later to our house.
Tonight, looking at my tennis shoes on the chair across from me, I am aware that they, like me, are a bit past their prime. Still, I, like them, have lots of good wear left. They might not be as pretty as a brand new pair of shoes, but what they lack in looks, they make up for in comfort. All I have to do is think of walking in those horrible heels over a mile from Hollywood and Highland to the church to remind me of that truth. I have come to appreciate there’s a lot to be said for comfort in shoes and within oneself. The alternative produces blisters.
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