Back to California

The house where my Dad grew up

On Claremont Ave in Berkeley

I used to come to Northern California at least once a year to visit my Grandmother, whom I loved dearly. But after she died, I didn't have as much reason to come back, especially not to Berkeley.

We loved this lemon tree as kids!

But Berkeley is where my Dad grew up, and where my Grandmother lived for most of her adult life before moving to Oakland when she sold her house.

When I learned about the yoga retreat in Berkeley, it just felt like it was time to go back.

Back to California:

I've been feelin' down in Atlanta
Immobile in Alabama
I'd rather be in traction
Than to be here where I am
Oh, you Georgia red clay
And green Virginia pines
I've got to make it home somehow
Before I lose my mind

So won't you carry me back to California
I've been on the road too long
Take me to the West Coast, daddy
And let me be where I belong

Pain of my Ancestors: It's for real

Hey now, Philly, you street city

Been down by the railroad track
I know you can be a sweet city
But I won't soon be back
Haystack towns and smokestack cities
Are nothin' I want to see
My own house on high ground
Is the only place I want to be

So won't you carry me back to California
I've been on the road too long
Take me to the West Coast, daddy
And let me be where I belong

I do feel like I belong here, but in some ways it was hard to come back. As soon as I arrived at my Dad's house, the tears started flowing, and I had the distinct feeling that they were not my tears, they were my Dad's. So I let them come, hoping that to feel them would help us both heal...