FIRST DAYS..PART TWO

I WAS TIRED AT THE END OF THE DAY FROM ALL MY WALKING. I FELT GOOD..TOOK A HOT SHOWER, DRESSED, AND MIXED A GOOD SCOTCH AND SODA WHICH I HAD BOUGHT ON MY TRIP TO MONTROSE...HILL'S LIQUOR..JUST TO THE WEST OF SHOPPING BAG STORE.  SO MANY THINGS I WANTED TO DO ALL AT ONCE.  IMPULSIVENESS WAS ONE OF MY GREATEST OF ENEMIES...I MUST MEASURE MY ACTIVITIES IN ORDER OF WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE REASON I WAS HERE....ME!  I CONTINUED TO ENJOY MY SCOTCH, AND NOTICED THE TELEVISION SET.  A LITTLE SCREEN ABOUT 14 INCHES WIDE.  I TURNED IT ON AND WATCHED WITH GREAT FASCINATION......SO NON VIOLENT...SO SIMPLE LITTLE THINGS.  I FOUND THAT THERE WERE ONLY THREE CHANNELS!  TIME FOR BEANY WAS ON....A PROGRAM USING PUPPETS....THERE WAS CECIL, THE SEA SICK SEA SERPENT AND UNCLE CAPTAIN.  I SEEMED  VERY RESTLESS, BUT TOO TIRED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.  I TURNED THE TV OFF. AND STROLLED AROUND THE BACK YARD.   A WELL MANICURED YARD WITH A DICHONDRA LAWN.  MANY CAMELLIAS AND ROSE BUSHES...ALSO, SOME NIGHT BLOOMING JASMINE...THERE WAS A CHINESE ELM RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YARD.  THE SAN RAPHAEL HILLS TO THE EAST WERE PAINTED WITH THE ORANGE LIGHT OF THE SETTING SUN.  I WALKED OUT TO THE FRONT YARD TO LOOK AROUND.  I FELT A MOMENTARY TINGE OF FEAR THAT I WOULD BE DISCOVERED, BUT REALIZED I WAS EIGHTY YEARS OLD AND NO ONE WOULD RECOGNIZE ME.....THIS WAS MY HOME.  ROSEMARY AVENUE!  MY HOME......I SAT IN A CHAIR ON FRONT PORCH AND JUST WATCHED.  I COULD NOT KEEP MY EYES OFF OF 3509 ROSEMARY, WHERE I WAS !  NO ACTIVITY...YET.  THE ORANGE LIGHT ON THE SAN RAPHAELS FADED AND ALL WAS BECOMING DARK.  THE NIGHT TIME...THE VERDUGO HILLS TO THE WEST BECAME ETCHED IN BLACK AGAINST THE LIGHT FROM THE CITY ON THE OTHER SIDE.  NOT A GREAT LIGHT, BUT IT WAS THERE.  I PONDERED THE FACT THAT I KNEW A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE ALL AROUND THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND KNEW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM.  I WAS NOT THERE TO TELL THEM WHAT NOT TO DO, I WAS THERE FOR ONLY ONE LITTLE BOY.  I FELL ASLEEP ON THE PORCH AND AWAKENED ABOUT TEN PM.  A FULL MOON WAS RISING, AND I HEARD THE COYOTES BEGINING TO HOWL AT THE MOON.  VERY FAINT, BUT I HEARD THEM...ONE BY ONE, THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN THE HOMES UP AND DOWN THE STREET.  I SAW A LIGHT GO OUT IN MY PARENT'S BEDROOM.  MOM AND DAD GOING TO BED.  DAD HAD SPENT A LONG DAY AS AN ACCOUNTANT WITH AMERADA PETROLEUM IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.  EVERY WORK DAY FOR SIXTEEN YEARS, HE HAD RIDDEN EITHER A BUS OR A STREET CAR TO WORK,,,THEN, HOME AGAIN.  MOM HAD FINSIHED HER WORK DAY AT PENNY'S AND PREPARING OUR MEALS,  DOING SOME WASHING, AND WORRYING ABOUT ME...I FELT SO OVER COME WITH ALL OF THIS, THAT I TALKED TO GOD: "OH GOD, YOU ARE A GREAT MYSTERY....YOUR CREATION AND THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN ARE A GREAT MYSTERY...SOMEHOW, I FEEL YOU KNOW LONLINESS....A SADNESS...I FEEL YOU MADE ALL THINGS AND THINGS TO HAPPEN SO WE MIGHT KNOW A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU HAVE FELT.IT IS SO CLEAR TO ME...YOU ARE NOT A MACHINE...YOU KNOW..YOU FEEL..AND YOU LOVE...AND, PERHAPS, YOU LONG TO GET OUR ATTENTION".....(TO BE CONTINUED)