I don't know if anyone will see this added comment. In case you didn't see my message about my accidental discovery of how to open up the posts to large text and individual pictures that fill the screen on your phone: try clicking on the tiny like heart" symbol at the very end of Chris's post. That did it like magic on my phone and has for each post since.
By the way, Suzanne thinks she can hide in the back of pics--a la the hiking club shot, but she can't. The ice cream image is lovely: dark eyes and mounded snow, volcanic depth and moon glow. "Oh! the places you'll go. ". Dr. Seuss knew a thing or two about editors, didn't he ?
I, too, prefer longing, whimsy, and oxygen in its many stereochemical isotopic manifestations to many other counterbalanced tableaus of experience...and the advice to writers mirrors my own daily slowing of time to ponder and parse its intricate mysteries, thus to experience the delights of granularities and the situational conveyance of them....and that "slow stroll through the human heart" is what every great playwright yearns to take with you, arm in arm.
I have noticed a certain palpable freeing of spirit--buoyancy, in your work since your change of venue. Perhaps it is due to a release of economic tension, but I like to think it is also the outcome of tangible evidence you are widely valued--even loved--for your writerly gifts and generous sharing of family and mind. There is a springlike, almost muscular--robust sweetness in this piece; the confidence of someone loved who knows it. To know you are loved in Spring is exhilarating. I'm not a list guy. It requires such agile spinning of the mental Rolodex just to keep up with its rapid scattering of attention (I'm nothing if not ultra slow and deep. I can ponder a dust mote). But this list is the finest of yours I have seen, to date. It far exceeds the boundary of my capacity for absorption...as is my habit, I bow low...
thanks chris ~ good list as always ~ and ~ I am glad to see Caroll is back ~ thought we lost her in the transition ~ ~ but ~ am wondering why I cannot see your photos full size any more ~ they seem to stay in the smaller collage view now ? carry on ~ and happy spring lilacs at descanso ~ ~
Great quips again sir. You keep knocking it out of the park. Schwing! Also, If I were to produce your next PBS show, it would be called "Chris Crossing L.A." (you're our next Huell).
What a wonderful list! Thank you, Chris, not just for the smiles, but for the reminders (I'm looking at you, Charles Schultz). I've never been to Duke's, but I have great memories of going to that spot in the 50s when it was the Malibu Sea Lion with a live sea lion in residence. My grandfather would take us out "drifting" along PCH, and turning into that parking lot was always a thrill.
I really enjoyed the quotes from famous writers, love the photos of your grandchildren and the one of Suzanne with a dab of ice cream on her nose. The first item about baseball being like church bells reminds me of something from a nonfiction book that I am reading about a woman who worked in France as a radio operator, a secret agent, for England during WWII. She had to give up her English watch to her handlers before parachuting into France. She was told that her "welcoming committee" would be giving her a French watch when she landed, and she never was given the promised French watch. Instead, she had to tell time by the sun and by church bells tolling the hour!
I am not sure if you are able to see my response to Sue Winer's request for the title? In case not, the title is "The Last Secret Agent: My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines" by Pippa Latour, with Jude Dobson. This woman kept her experience to herself until near the end of her life. She lived to be 102, and passed in 2023. What I am liking about the book is that it's about the workaday life of being a special agent behind enemy lines vs a spy thriller, which I also enjoy reading. This book is the nuts and bolts of the job, and not something to be found in most novels.
You have outdone yourself with this list. Such range, such puns! Love that chicken joint! I liked Steisand's tribute to Robert Redford. What was cringe in a funny way was the aftermath, with Jane Fonda trying to start a schoolyard fight over who should get to show her undying love for him in front of millions. It's fun to see famous people act like jealous junior high girls. I am sure Bob is up there laughing with the rest of us. Keep those pics coming! This is a beautiful bunch. Cakes is getting so mature and full of grace and poise! (Jane Fonda could take a lesson from her.)
Have a daughter & 2 granddaughters in Shoreline. They get their pastrami fix satisfied at Christmas I Pasadena. Plus the bonus of the fabulous breakfast burritos!
You can still get Milk Duds and Jiffy Pop!
(And grass stains too, if you really want them.)
I don't know if anyone will see this added comment. In case you didn't see my message about my accidental discovery of how to open up the posts to large text and individual pictures that fill the screen on your phone: try clicking on the tiny like heart" symbol at the very end of Chris's post. That did it like magic on my phone and has for each post since.
$30 a year? It’s like two buck Chuck! Happy to be on board.
By the way, Suzanne thinks she can hide in the back of pics--a la the hiking club shot, but she can't. The ice cream image is lovely: dark eyes and mounded snow, volcanic depth and moon glow. "Oh! the places you'll go. ". Dr. Seuss knew a thing or two about editors, didn't he ?
I, too, prefer longing, whimsy, and oxygen in its many stereochemical isotopic manifestations to many other counterbalanced tableaus of experience...and the advice to writers mirrors my own daily slowing of time to ponder and parse its intricate mysteries, thus to experience the delights of granularities and the situational conveyance of them....and that "slow stroll through the human heart" is what every great playwright yearns to take with you, arm in arm.
I have noticed a certain palpable freeing of spirit--buoyancy, in your work since your change of venue. Perhaps it is due to a release of economic tension, but I like to think it is also the outcome of tangible evidence you are widely valued--even loved--for your writerly gifts and generous sharing of family and mind. There is a springlike, almost muscular--robust sweetness in this piece; the confidence of someone loved who knows it. To know you are loved in Spring is exhilarating. I'm not a list guy. It requires such agile spinning of the mental Rolodex just to keep up with its rapid scattering of attention (I'm nothing if not ultra slow and deep. I can ponder a dust mote). But this list is the finest of yours I have seen, to date. It far exceeds the boundary of my capacity for absorption...as is my habit, I bow low...
Can't believe I navigated this!!! I loved this column......one of the best -- do please keep it up and congrats!!
Everyone has random thoughts. Thanks for recording them for those of us who don’t.
thanks chris ~ good list as always ~ and ~ I am glad to see Caroll is back ~ thought we lost her in the transition ~ ~ but ~ am wondering why I cannot see your photos full size any more ~ they seem to stay in the smaller collage view now ? carry on ~ and happy spring lilacs at descanso ~ ~
I concur, I liked the expanded size of the pics.
Now I get it. I get the Substack post through email, not facebook. Loved these random thoughts.
See? Even easier, Susan. Thanks for rolling with the changes.
Great quips again sir. You keep knocking it out of the park. Schwing! Also, If I were to produce your next PBS show, it would be called "Chris Crossing L.A." (you're our next Huell).
Sell it, Steve. I'm in!
What a wonderful list! Thank you, Chris, not just for the smiles, but for the reminders (I'm looking at you, Charles Schultz). I've never been to Duke's, but I have great memories of going to that spot in the 50s when it was the Malibu Sea Lion with a live sea lion in residence. My grandfather would take us out "drifting" along PCH, and turning into that parking lot was always a thrill.
The Sea Lion was our special celebration restaurant back in the day when I was a young-un.
I really enjoyed the quotes from famous writers, love the photos of your grandchildren and the one of Suzanne with a dab of ice cream on her nose. The first item about baseball being like church bells reminds me of something from a nonfiction book that I am reading about a woman who worked in France as a radio operator, a secret agent, for England during WWII. She had to give up her English watch to her handlers before parachuting into France. She was told that her "welcoming committee" would be giving her a French watch when she landed, and she never was given the promised French watch. Instead, she had to tell time by the sun and by church bells tolling the hour!
Sounds terrific! Do you recall the title?
I am not sure if you are able to see my response to Sue Winer's request for the title? In case not, the title is "The Last Secret Agent: My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines" by Pippa Latour, with Jude Dobson. This woman kept her experience to herself until near the end of her life. She lived to be 102, and passed in 2023. What I am liking about the book is that it's about the workaday life of being a special agent behind enemy lines vs a spy thriller, which I also enjoy reading. This book is the nuts and bolts of the job, and not something to be found in most novels.
Title of book please
Ah, yes. "The Last Secret Agent: My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines" by Pippa Latour, with Jude Dobson.
Thank you.
Love your one-liner list!
Thanks. They take me three times as long. But I think it's nice to mix it up like this every five or six weeks.
What a beautiful way to start my day. I may not love baseball, but I so appreciate people who do.
Miriam, that's a lovely way to look at it!
You have outdone yourself with this list. Such range, such puns! Love that chicken joint! I liked Steisand's tribute to Robert Redford. What was cringe in a funny way was the aftermath, with Jane Fonda trying to start a schoolyard fight over who should get to show her undying love for him in front of millions. It's fun to see famous people act like jealous junior high girls. I am sure Bob is up there laughing with the rest of us. Keep those pics coming! This is a beautiful bunch. Cakes is getting so mature and full of grace and poise! (Jane Fonda could take a lesson from her.)
Thanks Caroll. I think it's the best list in a while. They are better when I'm in a bouncy mood, and spring does that to us all. Cheers!
Your baby grandson looks just like Smartacus! What do you think?
Yes, I see a lot of that too!
I live in heaven! Lucky Boy’s & the Original Trader Joe’s are in my wonderful old neighborhood!
Then I must be in hell, here in Seattle, because pastrami is a lost art and the nearest TJs is 15 miles away.
Have a daughter & 2 granddaughters in Shoreline. They get their pastrami fix satisfied at Christmas I Pasadena. Plus the bonus of the fabulous breakfast burritos!
Totally!!