louise on the left (coast)

- over the river. and through the woods. to grandmother's house we go suburb. Fair Oaks. We started in the day before Thanksgiving post-fire rainstorm. Car packed to the gills with too many clothes and car-fun items. Too little sleep. Family gathering of 35+ await us after spending the day on the 5. The way to Grandmothers house was strewn with doll parts. Cactus plants. Power lines. Cars. Peeing in soggy, crowded Del Tacos. Homeless lying impossibly under rain-soaked blankets in the back of fast food restaurants somewhere south of Gilmore. Anderson Pea Soup. Almost there. But not quite. Patience is a virtue. Patience. Like the farm animals who still nibble for something green at the foot of scorched hills. Blackened posts man fields of barren land. Lone power lines the only sign of life past the grey smudge of a horizon. We note the amount of drivers who brazenly talk on cell phones while driving. We count Obama stickers. Note the absence of McCai