June went by fast despite having to work extra hours while I could still get them.  Here are a few things that I did this month.

Cafe Orleans, Disneyland

June 1 - Having a annual pass is the coolest, unless one can't get away from work to hang out at Disneyland.  The end of June marks the time when my pass is blacked out during the whole summer.  So I decided to try and go to Disneyland one last time before I couldn't.  I mostly go to Disneyland for the food these days.  They have the BEST Monte Cristo sandwich I've ever had there.  A few months back I went to the Blue Bayou to eat one, but now I just go to the Cafe Orleans.  It's faster, cheaper, and outside.

Holly's art

June 6 - The now monthly meeting of my coworkers from San Marino too place at a place in South Pasadena named Carmine's.  I bought a drink and lasagna.  The meal was too big for me to eat, so I asked for a to go box.  Well, that's when the good time began.  I ended up paying $40 for a $21 meal.  Holly, my co-worker, drew all over my to go box, and the alcohol I inhaled went straight to my head.  What more could I ask for?

Monte Cristo Sandwich

June 8 - Disneyland redux My friend from school Jonathan also has an annual pass.  He heard me bitching about wanting to go to Disneyland and asked when I was free.  Since I was picking up an extra shift for someone the following Monday I decided that June 8th would be the best day to go to Disneyland again.  Yes, only a week after having gone before.  Jonathan also like the Monte Cristo sandwiches at Cafe Orleans.  We both had one, but I was so full afterwards that all I wanted to do was sleep.  I fought off the food lull to get on a few attractions.  We went on Splash Mountain.  I sat in the front and got soaked.  When I got home around 8 p.m. I was still wet.

Cause for Celebration

June 12 - My friend Robbin invited me to a party at her apartment to celebrate the achievements of her friends and herself.  I was invited because I got into the Masters program at my old school of Library Science.  I'm fighting the urge to fall for Robbin, because of my track record with women as of late.  But, as a friend of mine has reminded me lately, "Fortune favors the bold." It IS time to be BOLD.  She ordered six prints of my photographic work.

RIP Michael Jackson

June 25th the world lost a music icon.  Growing up I had the privilege of being his friend.  What I will remember most about Michael is his kindness.  One criticism made against him was that he was a Peter Pan, a man-child, unwilling to grow up.  But I can't blame him for not wanting to "grow up." Grown ups discriminate, they hurt and murder others, and they stop caring about the wonders of the world.  Growing up we see the world with wonder and awe, everything new and a chance to explore.  Along the way most people "grow up" and forget that awe under a deluge of responsibilities.  The reason why we love Michael's music is because it was not bogged down by all those things we consider bad about growing up.  It was pure, and celebrated the wonder of the world.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't Pollyannaish or unrealistic, it was optimistic.

That's the Michael I knew, full of wonder and glee.  I can still remember hanging out with him at a local bowling alley by my house.  He was the biggest star in the world and I can remember the whole alley staring at us throwing one gutter ball after another down the alley.  I could hardly pick up the ball, let along throw it.  When we left the alley he stood at the door and made a dance move, exclaimed "woo!" and quickly left in with a smile on his face, laughing.  He gave me a tape of his "Off the Wall" album.  I nearly wore that thing out playing it over and over again.  I remember crying while listening to the song "She's out of my life," because he was crying by the end.

That was the power of the man, his ability to connect to everyone individually and collectively.  I haven't seen him in something like 15 years.  I wanted to contact him over the years, but I was always afraid of calling the phone number he left me.  Call it crazy, call it growing up and having that awkwardness that comes with that.  Whatever you call it I feel bad that I didn't contact him, because I still considered him a friend and both of us had been through some hard times over the years.

We never think that hour heroes and love ones will die someday.  Then we reach an age in which we experience their deaths.  They become more human, and not super, like the way we worshipped them growing up.  Such is the nature of things, to be in awe of them and then to lose them.  They are still awesome and wondrous in our hearts, where they will never grow old or feel any more pain.  Rest in Peach my friend.

I decided to create a book with some of my favorite images off Vista Drive.  To buy a copy click on the link.

Vista Drive 20...

By Eric G. 

Book Preview