Biking from Venice Beach to Santa Monica, Moonshine, Walter White and Looking for a Job

I actually rode my bike with Henry and D from Venice Beach to Santa Monica this afternoon. It was completely overcast when we started, as the summer beach often is, but after lunch and before we biked back to Venice, the sky had opened up to a glorious blue.

Outrageously tiny skaters were racing, jumping and otherwise defying death at this skate park.  It made me want to watch Lords of Dogtown again. Have ya'll seen that? Along with my desire to come back in another life as a surfer is the desire that I have a child who competes in the X Games. Don't tell Henry or Oliver that.

We jumped off our bikes somewhere along the way in Venice Beach, and Henry entertained us in feats of athletic skill. Even at 15 years old, though, he was no match for a guy who looked at least fifty, sported tattoo sleeves, a long ponytail, purple shorts with a spiked belt and was about as agile as a monkey.

I can't figure out how to upload this video properly, but that guy in the beige suit and fancy dress shirt walked up the boulevard screaming for the salvation of our souls. He carried a Bible and was seriously loud. Proselytizers are so interesting to me, and I often wonder how effective they are. As I sit here at my desk at 8:30 in the evening, the sprinklers hissing on, my legs sore and my feet still sandy, I hear his voice shouting Hallelujah, The Lord Jesus Will Save You! in my head, and I wonder what he's up to right this moment.

Ouch.

Tongva Park, Santa Monica

When I got home and Saint Mirtha had left, I lay on my bed with Sophie and read magazines.She slept and occasionally jerked in what I thought was a seizure -- many times -- but then decided was not. Sigh. I read an interesting article in MORE Magazine (for women over forty, ONLY) about a woman in Asheville, North Carolina who produces the best tasting moonshine in the country. Her company is called Troy and Sons. The story was fascinating and very inspiring as she is the mother to three sons, two of whom, now in their mid-twenties are severely disabled. Most of you out there in extreme parenting land know how difficult it is to have a job and take care of your child. Those of you not in extreme parenting land should know that many of us would have a job or wanted to have a job or a career but are unable to do so given the demands of extreme parenting. This is no argument between women who work and women who stay at home -- have I told you before how much I despise that discussion and find it so boring it makes me cry?

Anyhoo.

I'm currently looking for a job, as the big contract I had with a national organization is finished, and the other contract I have with an organization that helps children in foster care, doesn't have enough work for me. Did you even know that I actually have a job and have been working nearly thirty hours a week, off and on for over six years? I like to work, and I need to work -- both because it's stimulating and because I need the money. These jobs have been perfect because they're flexible and allow me to work, for the most part, from home. I get to do what I do best -- write and inspire and advocate for children with special healthcare needs. When Sophie isn't doing well, I can take care of her and stay at home. After reading that article about the woman who makes kick-ass moonshine, I felt inspired to get creative. I'm never going to support myself baking cakes, but there must be something I can spin my skills toward and make a living.

Wait, isn't that what Walter White thought when he broke bad?

CicLAvia

 A very cool event is held a few times a year in Los Angeles, where they shut down a main street for miles and miles and everyone comes out on bicycles and skateboards and just rides through our beautiful city. It's called CicLAvia, and today Henry and The Husband rode all the way downtown while Sophie and I strolled a few miles on Wilshire Blvd, right down the street from where we live.  Here's Sophie watching the folks roll by:

It goes on for hours and hours and hundreds and hundreds of people participate. Wilshire Boulevard is an historic street in Los Angeles, lined with palms. Many years ago we stood on Wilshire and watched the tens of thousands of protesters walk by during some of the immigration wars of GW Bush. But today, it was peaceful and a lot of fun.

Sophie and I shared a frozen lemonade. Sophie can't sip through a straw, so I sucked up the stuff, held the top of the straw with my finger and put it in her mouth. She loved it.