a dream fulfilled...

st. joachim stands guard at the san joaquin catholic cemetary gates where jake's relatives are buried in stockton, Ca.

winter in stockton

i almost didn't take a single picture of the barren winter orchards of stockton until jake decided to turn around and help an older italian gentleman with a flat tire on the mercilessly busy waterloo road.







the drive home to LA redeemed itself as the worst traffic occured right at sunset. the slow pace afforded us a brillaint view of the sun's descent over the coastal mountains.

the bell ringer...

mr. chuck poland has been ringing the bell for the salvation army for 21 years at his yearly post in front of long's in the crossroads shopping center in carmel. he had officially retired after last year's holiday season to focus on caring for his ailing wife of 60 plus years, but returned because as he says, "there are just so many needy folks out there...they need me this time of year and i couldn't stay away".

for an older gentleman who occasionally stumbles in his cowboy boots and kicked the official bell across the pavement rather than bend to pick it up, chuck is still a firecracker and has something to say to everyone. chuck is so effective at getting people in the giving mood that his payloads are legendary. we donated a children's book about farm animals because of the goat on the front and chuck repaid the kindness with a kiss on my cheek.

carmel friends and fam: part I

richard and allie



tender shoots, carmel CA

la bamba cob

12.12.06
cob discovers his la bamba 45 buried in one of the boxes littering our office. the very same album that he says prevented him from boarding an airplane before he conquered his fear of flying.

trashcan bob

don't even ask me what bob thought she was doing sitting atop the trashcan. proof that the animals really are the ones in control.

i've got 'roids

circa 1996...

there's a tree in my house

for the first time ever, i have my own christmas tree. i spent 3 hours shining up the 26 silver bells that my grandbear (aka grandfather) gave me annually until his death in 2001. the ritual filled me with a bit of nostalgic remorse...remembering the years that this was done with my mother, while i sometimes complained that there seemed to be so many to shine. this time around, each bell was a reminder of years gone by and those golden memories filled me with warmth. even the animals approve.