Please Play!

Well, Happy Weekend! It feels like we all really need this one, right? Walking along and thinking about what I'm going to get into this weekend, I took a turn down Marco Place and saw a whole bunch of little chalk messages left over from Easter, and a hopscotch type game going all the way down the sidewalk. The very first one said, "Please Play!" next to a heart with "Love" inside of it. I'm going to take these sweet little kids' advice and play and love for sure this weekend.

As you go along, you can see that the kids were trying to write a nice message to everyone along the way. One house got the "You have a cute dog" message ...

Another lucky house got told that they were liked and nice ...

It's kind of hard to make out what several of them said, but the effort remains adorable and who doesn't like a kind compliment every now and again?

These kids know. They can think of something nice to say about everyone. We would all do well to emulate the good observations and the positive attitudes of these Venice kids that clearly spent their day making the day of others. And having fun doing it.

Yes ... Please play!!

A Good Friday Wish

I've been having a bit of a hard time lately. I'm one of those people that really absorbs other peoples' pain, and lately it feels like pain is really beating the pants off of pleasure in the world. It took me ages to stop freaking out over 9/11 (and I'll still bawl if I really get talking about it or see old footage), until my brother finally said one day, "If you don't stop, people aren't going to want to hang out with you." That helped. I like to hang out with people. But lately, it's like everywhere I look it's anger and frustration and sadness and pain, and I really don't know what to do about it.

More terrorism in Turkey and Belgium. Innocent people killed while waiting to travel home to loved ones. The awful violence at political rallies, and the actual (public) re-emergence of the KKK?!?! I really thought we had made so much progress when we elected President Obama, and now it's as if we've back-slid as a country like 50 years. I can't stand it. So I freak out inside. I cry. I rage. And then I go for a walk. Natural beauty is often the only thing that helps.

Today is Good Friday. A time for us to pause and reflect and hope for a better future, with the hope and promise of Easter coming right up. I was consoling myself with thoughts like that when I saw a fuzzed up dandelion, and did the only thing one can do ... picked it up, blew, and made a wish.

A wish that love will conquer all. That everyone can just stop, breathe, collect ourselves, and look at the big picture. The picture that includes social justice for all, equal rights for all, good health and education for all, but most of all, LOVE FOR ALL. No matter where you come from or who you are, you love someone, and someone loves you. Everyone is like that, so why would anyone ever want to hurt someone that has love in them? I realize that this is a tall order, but I also realize that it's pretty much everyone's common goal for themselves. It just needs to be turned inside out to include the whole world. Seriously ... what is so hard about the very simple Golden Rule?

As if to reinforce this message I was thinking, I passed by a quaint wooden gate door, where someone had chalked a heart right across it. There you go. We can do this.

Happy Easter Weekend, to everyone! May all of our wishes come true.



*I just read a quote from Jack Kerouac that said, "Have faith and wait." So I am doing both.

A Venice Easter Weekend

Easter weekend 2015 was all about family, friends, and family friends here in Venice. I had my dear Krsniks/Hendricksons here and we did all the usual L.A. tourist stuff (and had an Easter miracle finding a lost purse - with cash and everything still in it! - at Hollywood & Highland. Good humans.) which is always fun to do with people ... and then it was time to simply relax (after all the cooking was done).

First there was some worship and gratitude, then Easter Bake and Monkey Bread were consumed Sunday morning. That had to be followed by a brisk walked to the beach to digest. There we saw the Venice Easter Bunny, delighting kids and me alike.

Danny Samakow was out and about, making sure that everyone was having a good time, and keeping the holiday spirit pumped up - as he does for just about every holiday.

People were lounging about on the sand, and displaying their own Easter egg hunt treasures by the graffiti walls, also looking as if it was post-brunch laziness for them too.

As it was both Easter and Passover this weekend, there was a lot to observe. At the beach, even the Hare Krishnas made a strong showing on a Sunday they might otherwise have been overshadowed by.

Then it was time for another holiday meal with dear friends, followed by another Easter egg hunt, with still more candy to be found.

We kept saying, "It's just once a year" to justify all the sweets and over-stuffing ... but still. When you see little faces looking this happy over some candy in a plastic egg, you just laugh and hope for the best.

With Easter 2015 in the books, Sunday night was pretty much all about crashing for everyone I know. I hope your weekend was spent with your dear ones too, and that none of us see another Peep for an entire year. Thanks Easter Bunny! Bawk Bawk.