New Year's Day, Old Traditions - 2012

“All that you touch, and all that you see,
Is all your life will ever be..." ...and so it goes as I drive north from Santa Cruz to meet my friend Mary for what has become a New Year's Day tradition for me, and lately for her, too.

Six or seven years ago, I drove up the coast to the Mt. Hope cemetery in Pescadero on a cool, crisp, sunny New Year’s Day. Parked my car, pulled out my iPod, and took in the sights while listening to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” And every year since, I’ve gone either there or to another for the same reason – to try and appreciate and better understand life, by reminding myself of its finiteness. It’s a wake-up call on the first day of the year to live each day to its fullest this year, and appreciate my health, my friends, my love, and my life.

“And then one day you find ten years have gone behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.”

After meeting Mary at Peet’s coffee on Piedmont in Oakland, we drive a few blocks to the granddaddy of them all – the Mountainview Cemetary : http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/

A beautiful, seemingly endless expanse of rolling hills, valleys, lawns, trees, gravestones, crypts, and mausoleum unfolds driving through late afternoon, and we find a spot to pull off and walk.

And immediately it hits me as I see a modest gravestone with the inscription “A FRIEND TO MEN.” And wonder what the inscription on mine might read…

The gravestones date back to the mid-1800s. From simple, humble squares, to majestic crypts, these weathered limestone icons, mottled with moss, tell many a tale for those willing to listen. From a cerebral level, it’s interesting to follow the family timelines, thinking about the 25 years that a widow survived after her husband’s death, or find the grave of a prominent businessman, performer, or politician, for example.

One such stone told the story of a famous Japanese-American named Korematsu, an ardent civil rights activist that fought against Japanese internment during WW2, and who Mary had actually met a few years ago.

And from an existential perspective, these silent sentinels remind one of the fleeting, temporal nature of our lives. How even these will wear away someday. And to me, how the contributions I make to friends, family, and this world are the important, lasting legacy that one leaves behind in the end.

“All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”

After sunset, we made our way back down Piedmont, had a drink at a fabulous place called Cesar, and then landed at the heralded restaurant called Commis for dinner. http://www.commisrestaurant.com/ . This is a place that needs no sign out front. It is a place that takes “food-as-art” to a whole ‘nother level. GQ Magazine has called it one of the "10 Best New Restaurants 2010 in America." The nine-course meal started out with a bowl of rocks – literally. But our waiter explained that we would find a rosemary/polenta version rolled in “vegetable ash” amongst them.

“Choose wisely,” he said, and walked away.

The sumptuous, liesurely meal was a feast for the senses, and a noble way to ring in 2012.

Lastly, we ducked into a nearby bookstore called “Owl & Company Bookstore” http://www.owlandcompany.com/ . You could tell looking in through the windows outside that this was a classic, old-school bookstore, with books from floor to ceiling along the walls, some over 100 years old, with that smell of old books – organic, slightly musty, and real.

 The owner, Todd, was sporting a day’s unshaven visage, blue jeans and a black t-shirt, and from our literary conversation about everything from Amazon.com to Rabindranath Tagore, his passion for books, knowledge, and visceral truth was palpable.

And so ended our beginning of this new year – 2012. Full of guarded optimism with the groundwork I’ve laid in these last few months, steeling and re-tooling myself to survive this economy, to stay close to family and friends, and to continue to build this awesome life together with Stacy. And full of hope for friends far and near, that this year will bring light at the end of the tunnel, peace, and prosperity.

 “The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.”