Gosh, where does time go? It feels like 2025 just got here, and now we’re in the home stretch. Either way, here I am this morning, fresh from Thanksgiving weekend, the first snow of the season sparkling outside my apartment window. I spent the holiday in the warmth and sunshine of SoCal. Stepping off the plane and breathing in the pine and rosemary infused air for the first time since January made me determined to do as much as I could during my stay. Some current uncertainty regarding whether my family will continue to have a house in the Golden State left a simple but bittersweet thought in my mind: I don’t know when I’ll be back.
So I took it all in. I walked up and down the sidewalks and through the parks that I frequented while growing up in my hometown of Simi Valley. I went to as many familiar places as I could: my library, my favorite local bookstores, In N Out Burger. I drove through the many backroads and surface roads I took when commuting to school in Thousand Oaks. I took in the sight of every palm tree towering above me and pine cone on the ground.
I’ll admit, since SoCal was the only home I’d ever known up until January 2025, there was one strange feeling that followed me around the whole weekend. I was a visitor here now, rather than a resident, driving a rental car rather than a car of my own. That made things hit differently. Things I normally never took a second glance at while living there suddenly intrigued me. During our Saturday in Hollywood, we stopped into my favorite music store in the entire world: Amoeba Music. I haven’t been buying a lot of vinyl lately, so I spent my time in the movie section. I came away with a few great finds, including the Blu Ray of David Gilmour’s new live album, Live at the Circus Maximus, the 2021 King Crimson documentary, In the Court of the Crimson King, which I have yet to watch, and a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon sticker for my insulated water bottle.
As the afternoon went on, I found myself taking on a kind of tourist persona, slipping inside the souvenir shops and taking photos of as many landmarks as I could. Have a look!
Obviously, LA hasn’t slowed down. She’s just as vibrant and lively as ever.
So, of course, this is a blog dedicated to music and prog, so I saved that for the end. So, many of us know that, back in 2010, Rush received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Oddly enough, I had never been able to scope it out during my many visits to the area over the last 15 years. Saturday night, I was determined for that to change. After a quick search on my phone, I was stunned to realize how close I had been to it all along, outside the Musician’s Institute! I would have given the star a kiss but… germs! Yuck!
Speaking of Rush, here’s a hidden 2112 I came across during my journey back to Omaha yesterday!
Being back in Omaha now, the nagging questions still breathes down my neck: When will I be back in LA again? I guess no one can really say. But I went to bed happy that I seized each moment and went and did what I was hoping to. I think that’s the best anyone can hope for on a given day, that we lived in the moment.
The Girl in the Scarf 
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