I've heard a lot of stories about doing something "on a whim". Some people go to Vegas and get married, some people buy TVs that cost $8000, etc.
Well, it had never occured to me that I would have one of these "whims". It's hard to remember exactly what happened. All I know is that I got back from Convention and decided not to go home from the airport. Instead, I decided to head in the direction of Los Angeles, CA.
The drive to Los Angeles took about six and a half hours; I was able to make pretty good time since there wasn't much traffic, being that it was late at night. I actually arrived in Los Angeles city limits by 4 AM. I think I drove around for about an hour trying to figure out where exactly I would go.
I had a lot of thoughts going through my head as I drove to California that night. For one, I was thinking about everything that went down in the past week: my girlfriend dumping me, realizing that I was in love with my best friend; you know, all the usual stuff.
It was 5 AM on Monday and I figured I should probably find somewhere to crash. Afterall, I hadn't slept since Saturday night. I wondered whose house I could've gone to.
I have a ton of USY friends that live in Los Angeles, but I had just seen them. I couldn't very well knock on their doors and say: "Hey, I didn't get enough of you at Convention. Can I stay here for a long time?"
Then I remembered one very important person that lives in Los Angeles. My Grandma lives here. In fact, she lives on the beach in Malibu! Not a bad place to live, and certainly not a bad place to have a vacation. She had even given me a key during my last visit, telling me that her home was my home. The truth is, I've always seen it that way. I even have my own room at her place...well, it's techincally a guest room, but I am a very frequent guest!
I arrived at her place around 5:30 AM and I was starving. As soon as I got there, I was raiding her fridge, eating all the roast beef and turkey that I could stuff in my mouth. Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate.
602 555 6899
Oh great. My father is calling me.
"Hello?"
"MICHAEL ISAAC MACCABBI, YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF THIS INSTANCE!"
"Oh, yeah, I know I said I cleaned my room before I left for Convention, but I lied. I'm sorry."
"YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! DARRIN SAID THAT YOU'D CALL IN THE MORNING! WELL IT'S THE MORNING AND I DIDN'T GET A CALL!!!"
"Looks like you're ten steps ahead of me."
When I've been up driving all night, and I haven't slept in a while, I can be a bit of a smart-ass.
"WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU, MICHAEL?"
"Zimbabwe."
See what I mean? I usually find it amusing, but my father doesn't see it that way.
"WHY AREN'T YOU AT HOME? ARE YOU IN PRISON RIGHT NOW? DID YOU GET SOME GIRL PREGNANT? WHO IS SHE? DOES SHE HAVE AN STD?"
I figured I should probably inform my old man of my whereabouts.
"When we got to the airport, I didn't really feel like going home. I'm at Grandma's house."
"YOU DROVE ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA????"
"Listen, Dad, I think it will be a good opportunity to clear my head. I've saved up some money from working for you. I'm requesting some vacation time. Will you please calm down?"
"Why didn't you come home first?"
"I'm going to sleep now, Dad. I'll let you know when I'm coming home."
On that note, I hung up. I think he'll understand. Afterall, he should understand the need for a vacation. You see, before he was a rabbi, he was working 24/7 as a healthcare consultant. While he was great at his job, he didn't have much free time, and it caused a lot of stress which is what led him to land in a coma and then become a rabbi in the first place!
Before I knew it, I was in the guest bedroom, practically passed out on the bed. I don't even imagine that I was dreaming because I don't remember any dreams. I just remember falling asleep at 6 AM and then waking up at 3:00 PM.
I got out of bed and walked down the stairs into the living room. I noticed that my grandmother was sitting outside, looking at the ocean. She's a sweet old lady, much shorter than I with white hair and the kindest eyes you'll ever see in your life.
"Hi, Grandma," I said as I walked outside.
"Hi, Michael...MICHAEL???"
My grandmother jumped up and looked at me with disbelief.
"Michael, what are you doing here? When did you get here? Did you use my key?"
She sure did ask a lot of questions.
"I'm out of school now, Grandma. I wanted to see you, so here I am. I got here around 5 this morning, and yes, I used my key."
Okay, so she wasn't exactly my reason for wanting to be in California, but I couldn't very well tell her about everything that had happened to me in the last week. It was far too complicated for her aging mind to process.
"Do your parents know? You should've called, I would've made plans!"
Something you may need to know about my grandmother is that she always makes a big production out of everything. I mean, I love her dearly, but she can get a little neurotic sometimes.
"I wanted to surprise you, Grandma. I was thinking I could stay here for a while."
"Absolutely. There's nothing that would make me happier!"
The good thing about my grandmother is that she doesn't ask a whole crap-load of questions about my personal life and all that. I tell her what I feel is worth telling, and she respects that. You see, I have always had a special bond with her, dating back to the days when my grandfather was alive. He was such a great guy, so I guess behind every great guy, there's a great gal who takes care of him.
I looked at the waves that were crashing into the sand of Malibu beach and I began to think of the waves that had been crashing on my life recently. My recent break-up, my confusion, practically pushing the girl I loved into the arms of someone else, and realizing how stupid I had been for so many years.
I thought again about how people do things "on a whim" sometimes. I knew that this whole trip was decided on a whim, but I also realized how much I really needed this vacation.
Sometimes people do things that don't always make sense at the time. Going to California didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me until I was standing outside my grandmother's beach house, looking at the beach and listening to the tide roll in.
I had told my grandma that I would hope to stay there for a while. As I stood there, it occured to me that a while could be a long time. Maybe that was just what I needed.
Sincerely,
Mac-Attack
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment