I'LL REMEMBER...

Watch, friends, as I brilliantly pull all of this together to fall neatly under the heading of my title...I'LL REMEMBER. I heard that song tonight; it came on as I sped past the Meadowlands about 11pm, windows down, intoxicating 80 degree air blowing in on me. It followed up Kid Rock & Sheryl's PICTURE, which I had been really enjoying, also, in my mellow yet happy mood. Both songs about reflecting on the past. I think I'LL REMEMBER is one of Madonna's best...that background music is just dreamy and oh-so-evocative. By the way, where the fuck has one of my faves, Tom Petty, been? But I digress. So it's a June Friday night, and i'm speeding down Rt. 3 on a perfect summer night, getting misty-eyed over these 2 incredible songs coming on in a row...after a day that continued to be ALL about, well, PICTURES. I concluded my "negatives and doubles" project today. EVERYTHING is in bloody order...but, of course. And I was ruminating on summers past...beach house summers past. The past, period. And one of my doubles was me holding the license plate of my first car...which got me wondering WHERE the hell is that plate?! I took to looking for it here...it's not here...didn't think it was. I PRAY dad has it. I'd really like to have it, dammit. WHY don't I have it?! Do you have to turn them in now? I don't even know. So while I'm briefly looking for it...what do I come upon but travel books from Texas, Arizona, and yes, CALIFORNIA. The TX one I ordered back in '98. The AZ one is from the Epic Trip. And the CA stuff...well, one thing is also from the epic trip...but stuffed into that is a write-up on LA from NEW YORK MAGAZINE from 1999. So, YOU SEE!!!...this obsession of mine is NOT a new one. It's not SO out of left field. It's good to clarify things for even myself sometimes. Hell, now I'm also reminded of my yearning to get to Texas. And I can't forget my Epic Western Trip Diary that I also briefly read through today...the official day is JULY 2, 1986...the first -- and only -- time I sailed into Los Angeles. Well, to really nitpick...that's the day we drove in our Avis rental to Norwalk, which is in Orange County, and also the birthplace of Tiffany. The 3rd and 4th we slept (and swam at night, I CLEARLY recall) at a Japanese Best Western (tres exotique!) in HOLLYWOOD!! The 4th of July was spent at Universal Studios. On the 5th, we said buh-bye to La La Land, but not before witnessing ballsy Jews KNOCK on Lucille Ball's front door in Beverly Hills. I have the pic to prove it. Lucy was accessible...no front gate for her, just a regular house, albeit a big one. So that's what happened today -- I obsessively organized my pics, came upon old travel guides of the West, re-read my West Coast Diary, had a nifty & productive few hours this evening, which included getting MORE pictures back from the developer (yes, no digital pour moi), and then heard these 2 perfect songs as I sped home. And now, AS I write this...God, this is funny...a report on Los Angeles on CNN. Yes (cue grating, Mary Alice voiceover), I'LL REMEMBER...