"I just missed Britney by a hair"

This past Friday, in my effort to return, in person, a rolling briefcase I'd purchased online for Joe, a friend and client, I made my way to Lazars Luggage on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. Playing it safe, I left Long Beach at 10 a.m. figuring I'd capitalize on the whole traveling on the 405 between 10 and 2 is your best option philosophy. Although I'm still here to talk about it, what would normally be a 45 minute or so drive, turned into an hour and a half.

So, here I am an hour and half and really needing to pee later, stumbling and stuttering my way up Ventura Boulevard looking for Lazars Luggage. I don't know; I guess I went about a mile and a half when I spotted it, so as soon as I found a parking space, several doors down, I pulled over and parked my car, paid my visit to Lazar's Luggage and then headed on over to the Monte Carlo market in Burbank where I purchased supplies for the making of two pizzas. I love living in California; however, pizza like I was raised on in suburban Chicago is hard to find.

Enter the Monte Carlo. It's a little Italian market that, prior to a remodel, was like walking into a little deli in the heart of Manhattan or Chicago; even now, with its updated interior, I can't refuse to stop by when I'm anywhere near Burbank. Why is it so incredible? Because they make their own marinara (with or without meat) and sausage, and they have dough and shredded cheese ready and waiting. No sooner do I get the ingredients home, I'm browning the sausage and spreading the dough and then before you know it, I have pizza reminiscent of my suburan Chicago upbrining the likes of Chuck's or John's in Addison or the Pizza Palace in Elmhurst. Can you say comfort food? Mhmm, I knew you could.

Okay, well, I've gotten a bit off track. Anyway, so it's Saturday or Sunday when I catch-wind of the news that Ms. Britney Spears has gone and chopped off all her hair as well as added a tattoo from a tattoo parlor in where? None other than Sherman Oaks. So I says to myself, self, I do believe you parked in front of a tattoo parlor on Ventura Boulevard when you went to Lazar's on Friday; sure enough, it was the very same one. Had I been just a few hours later maybe Britney and I could have got matching tattoos or, at the very least, sat down and had a conversation, over a drink or two, and discussed the pros and cons of wearing under garments, but we definitely would have had plenty to talk about given our now similar hairstyles.

Having now lived in Southern California for over 19 years, I've had my share of chance, celebrity meetings --some good; some bad. What I've come to learn for myself is that worshipping or adoring someone whom you do not know is really kinda weird and not only that, but I think it's a way for us to hide from ourselves to some extent. As a kid, in Illinois, for me at least, part of the"Hollywood" allure was the glamour, but it also contributed to my not necessarily connecting with my own reality and what I now know as giving up my own power to someone else and that's not to say that admiring or looking up to someone else is a negative thing, I just think we have to learn how to look up to ourselves first and then we can truly connect with others in a more genuine, honest and pure way.

Nowadays, celebrities are not all that glamorous to me; I see them as real people with real problems and, in some cases, as we see in the news, can live through very unhappy and difficult times just like us. Will I watch the Academy Awards on Sunday, yeah, probably, but I do so now from a completely different frame of mind in that I don't feel bad about who I am in comparison.

Over time, what I have attempted to do with my life is to truly honor it. And by that, I mean, getting to know msyelf flaws, attributes and all and then on top of that, the bonus feature attached to my, little, life film is that I know the people in my life are truly loved and cared for by me, because I truly love and care for myself and that's not something I could have said in my thirties or prior.

Sometimes, this whole maturity, life is a journey thing, can get a bit, well, irritating. Yes, when one door closes, another opens but this does not necessarily happen simultaneously. Lord knows, there's been times I've had to 'bout jiggled the knob off the door trying to get the damn thing to open; while other times, I've whipped on in and slammed the door behind me so fast I could've hurt myself but that's life and life is filled with choices, and my choices have lead me to where I am today and from this vantage point, I honor and respect them.

Just recently, I came across a quote from Marianne Williamson. Now, I'm not a religious person so I change a few words around for my own benefit, but I connnected with it and just thought I'd pass it along; it goes like this:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

For now, nuf said.