I am getting ready to leave LA and head back home. I can’t wait to see them all, it seems I’ve been away for months. But there are things I will miss about LA. Driving around in my red convertible listening to 92.7 Jill FM for example. And just an aside, why is it songs you haven’t heard for years sound so much better when you hear them on the radio than when you buy the CD?
I will also miss the service here. There is no doubt the Americans have that sorted, unlike the French, who hate serving you and don’t try to hide it. I also like the familiarity of the Americans. When you walk into a shop or a restaurant they smile and say hi as if you’ve been wandering in there for the last seventy years. And the new friends I’ve made here have been incredibly quick to accept me and hang out with me. In fact I’ve made more friends in LA in five days than I have in the Languedoc in six years. Maybe that’s because they know I’m leaving soon.
But most of all I will miss my satellite navigation system. It’s amazing. I key in an address and this rather feisty woman says: “Please fasten your seat-belt” and then we’re off. “Take a right at Wilshire Boulevard, then stay left on ramp towards Santa Monica”. Wherever I want to go, she has the answers.
Wouldn’t it be brilliant if life came with it’s own sat nav system? You’re about to leave your job and the feisty woman says: “Do not leave job now. Your boss may be trying to sleep with you but the next one won’t even notice you exist, it’s not a good career move.” Or if you’re about to buy a dodgy dress. “Do not make this purchase; you look like an over-grown meringue in it.” Or you’re planning to turn down a date. “Recalculate:You should date this guy; he is going to be the next Bill Gates.”
Sadly we only have our own sat nav systems which often fail us. Like mine did when I booked my ticket and decided to have an extra day in LA as opposed to going home because I thought I’d come all this way and wouldn’t it be nice to just walk on the beach. Not as nice as it would be to see my little ones.
The final thing I will miss is my luggage. I have yet to fly Air France and arrive at the same time as my bags.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2007
Hels, I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the states and just a little annoyed that I haven’t been checking your blogs as I would have flown down to see you had I known that you were out this way. Those sat nav’s are great but I am surprised that you didn’t have one that you could change the voice. It is one thing to get directions but when it has a suductive tone to it you almost don’t want to leave your car.
Each time you mention the snoots and what they are upto I feel kind of homesick and wish that I could be there to see them again. Please say hi to them all and Rupert too.
Cheers,