An Ode To Cali

From the blog www.blissanddrumming.com, Clementine reads this piece. *** It’s an intangible thing, this feeling of belonging to place. I have always reveled in being peripatetic, and my life as a musician is a glory to that. For years I have traveled down roads and spent time in cities new to me. I have played in all states but one, and as I arrive in each place my imagination runs wild. Perhaps this city will draw me in, ring a bell of familiarity and catch me mysteriously in its lovely web. The Carolinas, Minnesota, Sedona, Wisconsin, Chicago, Oregon… all have held this fantasy in my heart. What would be like to set down roots in a place in which I know no one, a place with no connection to any part of my life up until now? I admire the brave immigrant who moves to a place knowing nothing of it. I feel the thrill of discovery when I imagine that. Through all of that, sitting here, I realize how much I appreciate this land, this state, this coast as connected to something deep in my cells that feels like comfort. The light seems more golden and the window through which I see the world is clear and familiar. The air is softer and my physical being breathes more freely than anywhere else. I often have the thought that if every human experienced this light, this air, this landscape, this sky daily, there could be no question of war or of unrest.