Hotel California

Dinner with my Dad's stepbrother

After a long night of travel -- I took the red eye home from LA last night and my plane from Chicago to Madison was delayed three hours -- I was just pulling into my garage when the DJ aptly selected this number from the Eagles:

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

My Cal gal pal & me in Venice

Yes, find it there I did. A break from the severe cold we've had to endure this winter. An inspiring visit to a charter school network doing great things for kids. Time to reconnect with one of my oldest and dearest friends. Time to rediscover familial connections. Time to run on the beach in the sunshine. Time to run in the rain.

I'm grateful to be home, but there is also a part of me that is just fine with the fact that there is a part of me for whom home will always be California, no matter where I live:

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!"