THE COOL KIDS...

The sun was high in the sky this particular Spring day in Los Angeles with not one cloud to find like one big lemon drop in a big blue ocean. I walked the streets of Hollywood with old friends I had not seen in some time, not since I left the brick laid streets of Baltimore in search of a passion I could not let go of... They often advertise about Dreams and how far they can take you, but they never really mention, that they also can take you far away from people you care about, people you love. After hours of marching through the tourist crowded streets of Hollywood and Highland, laughing at poorly dressed street performers, smiling at the hands in the concrete of the stars who's legacies were cemented in eternity, and jumping back from the people draped in live pet snakes, we made our way to a quiet back street in a tucked away place that only few knew about, those who needed to know. As we came off the elevator to the roof top level the sun seemed closer, the breeze warmer, and the smiles brighter. The people there were fabulous of course, with their designer shades too big for their faces and brimmed hats of exquisite detail. Beautiful women in sundresses and shorts too short to show off the long and luxurious legs they had sculpted. They lay lazily on the over-sized couches that stretched along around the bar. Gentlemen wore the latest fashion in jeans tattered and torn, tee shirts with cool phrases, denim jackets and stylish boots, and hair laid perfectly in place. The air carried a mixture of scents with sun tan lotion and barbecue, perfumes and cologne's, and of the best crisp cut French fries for snacking one could ask for. A couple, tucked away in a shaded love seat built for two, cuddled up nicely as the sun continued it glorious stretch over the Hollywood Hills. They weren't speaking, just breathing together in perfect harmony. "That looks familiar", I thought, remembering what it was like to have someone you just loved to be with. Another couple were joined by their puppy, a cute little French Bulldog named Charles who was allowed to be off his leash and roam the new wonderland that surely carried so much amazement. Charles was the coolest of them all, getting hello's and belly rubs from every couch that he visited. We took too many selfies and posted too many scenic shots, we drank wine, we drank bourbon, and we drank it all. We tried to recapture the moments we once lived, and tried for a day, to catch back the time that had gotten so far ahead of us... It's amazing how easily you can forget that while you are living your life, so are they. Pictures of kids I have never met being cared for by the people I had experienced the best and worst of times with made me happy for them, and yet still, left wondering what my life would continue to develop into. I spoke of the places I want to travel, the nomadic lifestyle that I may not have chosen, but more so seemed to have chosen me. I assured them that my absence was not intentional, but just a side effect of life and its pursuits. We made friends with our neighbors and said hello to strangers, people said "excuse me" and "pardon me", all of using our best manners as we partook in our worst behaviors. The sun was high in the sky this particular Spring day in Los Angeles with not one cloud in the sky, and we spent it on the rooftops of Hollywood, wrapped in love, sheltered by laughter, and clothed in friendship..... and amongst all of them.... The Cool Kids.