there are places that we keep in our heads: the statue of liberty, the white house, the eiffel tower. we don’t even need to have ever seen them, but when the image appears in a book, a movie, a video game we just know. and we share with everyone else–whether they’ve been there done that or not–a common understanding of what’s at hand.
i always thought that i would forever have the world as a picture in my mind. augmented by trivia facts that are words strung together that don’t do anything to make the picture any clearer: the eiffel tower is located on the champs de mars, buckingham palace has three rings surrounding a central courtyard.
this year, some of my facebook friends have shown me things i have only imagined: the inside of the new york public library (thank you john r. douglas), the topanga mountains (thank you jose rios), and the tower in providence, rhode island where superman leapt the tall building in a single bound. f2fb friend #177 balbinka kamila showed me the iconic hollywood sign on mount lee in the santa monica mountains. it’s forty five feet tall and three hundred and fifty feet long–way bigger than i expected. and i would have gotten closer but a) we were trespassing and b) i was wearing ballet slippers. better than heels at least.
balbinka is an actress and director. she worked with my son eastman on a movie ten years ago and we’ve kept in touch. she is well aware of the ironies of her business! after we hiked back to the car, we settled into her living room to watch “a modern day matchmaking affair” which she directed. brava brava!
and i’m grateful to all my facebook friends for what they share with me, whether it’s a place, an experience, a story, a skill. i’m a lucky lucky gal!
arlynnpresser 
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