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Young men, enjoying the sun and coffee at the Carmel Plaza
An older couple, enjoying coffee and sun at the Carmel Plaza
I ended my second day in Carmel by driving down Highway 1 to
an outdoor shopping center at the base of Carmel Valley. Despite
all the multi-million dollar homes and wealthy people who reside
in Carmel, there are others just trying to survive along the margins
of society. I parked next to a run-down old truck and noticed an
older fellow dead asleep inside.
Woman with dog, and man praying. Carmel, CA. Photo: John P. Weiss
I ended the day back in Carmel, where I shot the below self-
portrait in the public restroom on the third floor of the Carmel
Plaza before I enjoyed dinner at a local establishment.
Inclement weather may have prevented me from driving home to
Nevada, and at first, I felt inconvenienced. But as my wife often
says, "We do not live in a coincidental universe."
Maybe things happen for a reason. Perhaps, after eulogizing
someone dear and mourning with friends, I needed this time in
Carmel. I needed to be alone, to reminisce, and to mingle among
strangers with my camera, documenting the beautiful stories and
rhythms of everyday life.
Home is people. Not a place
As luck would have it, the roads home were finally opened,
thanks to the hard work of emergency responders and CalTrans
workers. It felt good to be home again, with my wife, son, dogs,
and spoiled cat.
This brings me back to today, sitting at my mother-in-law's
vacation home, ruminating about all the past homes I've lived in.
I thought about Hidden Drive, where I grew up with my sister in
my parents' home. I used to build tree houses and fasten rope
swings and pretend to be Tarzan in the woods.
There were my dorm rooms at University. Each one was
distinctively mine, but temporary. And yet they hold pleasant
memories of late-night studying, beer busts, and laughter.
There were a few rented apartments early in my police career,
and eventually, a lovely condo that is still perhaps my favorite
home. My wife and I raised my son there and enjoyed birds,
squirrels, and raccoon visits on the deck. And later, when my
mother moved to assisted living, we sold the condo and moved
into her house.
Later, I retired from the police department in California and we
moved to Southern Nevada, into our current home. My mother
followed us, finding a wonderful assisted living nearby. Home for
my mother was wherever her family was.
“Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the
people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there
anymore.”—Robin Hobb, Fool's Fate
Turns out I was never stranded.
My time in California was an important reminder that while we
can never quite go home again, we can certainly visit and
remember. We can help old friends in their time of need. We can
wander the Carmel streets we enjoyed with our parents, and
smile at the memories.
And even when the time comes to move on from one home to
another, we can rest assured that we are never really stranded so
long as we have our loved ones around, either physically or in
spirit.
Change is one constant in an ever-changing universe, but so is
the love of family. And wherever your family resides, that's home.
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Like 12
Comments
Posted by Ashleigh To
(https://johnpweiss.co
Posted by Stuart E
Ward
(http://3819Germantow
· via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 1 day ago
Posted by Kathy
strickland
(http://Tait.com) · via
johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 1 day ago
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189875) Thought-
provoking,
hopeful and a bit
melancholy, I
enjoyed my brief
visit to the snowy
west coast this
morning. Thank
you. Over here in
the mid-Atlantic,
we've been
experiencing an
exceedingly mild,
snowless winter.
Curious about
you posting the
entire article in
email. Is that's
new? As a
designer who
publishes a
monthly blog,
isn't the aim
always to have
people go to your
website?
Genuinely
curious about
your tactics as
you've written
about trying
varied strategies
in the past. Good
luck with selling
your home.
Posted by Evelyn
Powers
(http://2649N.UpshurS
· via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 1 day ago
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189877) I do believe this is
one of your best!
But there have
been many bests
in my following of
your writing. This
resonates with
me because of
my age (73) and
having only
moved a few
times but within
my hometown
area and
adjoining county
as well. So not
far! But what you
talked about is
such good
advice. We take
with us all that
has transpired in
the past. We left
nothing behind!
We have it with
us in our
memories and
our hearts. Thank
you for the
reminder.
Posted by Marsha
Hamby Savage
(http://www.marshasa
· via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 1 day ago
Posted by Janet
Kerrigan · via
johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 1 day ago
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189882) So beautifully
written! Once
again, I felt that it
was what I could
appreciate most
at this time. We
are also in
transition to a
new home, so tha
Thank you for sha
creativity. I live no
memories and tee
newer places. In g
wife's saying "We
Posted by Ivonne
Schulman · via
johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 1 day ago
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189889)
John, thank you for this beautiful prose and for sharing all those
wonderful photos. Good luck in selling your house and I wish you
good health and happiness in your new home.
Posted by Richard ·
via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189893) Remembering
past for me is
fun, but I do
forget the pain of
sometimes. Is
that just me
getting old?
Thanks for
helping me to
remember past
times John.
Posted by Charles ·
via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 21 hours ago
Posted by carol
grigus
(http://www.carolgrig
· via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 18 hours ago
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189898) Beautifully
written as
always. Home is
where we are tog
Posted by
vikingz2000 · via
johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 17 hours ago
(https://johnpweiss.com/comment/189900)
I enjoyed this post and last week's written while stranded. The
imperfection of last week's piece was actually rather refreshing. And
it was enjoyable to hear the story behind the images this week.
Thank you.
Posted by Debbie
Boxer · via
johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 15 hours ago
Posted by Peter
Parfitt
(https://peterparfitt.su
· via johnpweiss.com
(https://johnpweiss.co
· 11 hours ago
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