Good enough, on Top of the World

We best serve the world when we invest in nurturing our own culture. I’ll observe and participate in the TLC from where I belong: at home plate. Don’t worry, I’m not alone at base.

Hey. You. Guuuysss: Be someone’s saucy Star of the North with healthy protein and zest.

This star-crossed friend will join you under California’s oceanfront night sky. Kisses for the more-than-a-friend cuddles.

Join me after your time at Bird Rock in Laguna Beach.

I’ll join you for a snooze button morning in your feather bed, anytime.

Start the day off with an unexpected adventure.

I’ll start our day fielding a few dreams.

Spend a moment vying my for kitchen attention, I’ll gladly let you win. What would you like for breakfast, babe?

I’ll spend a moment vying for your vocal attention. Read to me from McLean County years past.

Wait for me if I write when people seek it, or when I feel it, all the rest of our days.

I’ll wait for you when the undemocratic Lighthouse Loungers come in to steal years of science and life. We’ll return for that Minneapolis visit after I tell them “I told you so, find courage.”

I’ll wait for you even if the world has to experience an Inferno as it comprehends, defends and upholds democracy.

Take me to visit the Carlsbad Craftsmanship Museum on our way to Laguna Beach.

I’ll take you to the Friends of the Viking Ship in Geneva, Illinois, for a day of replication admiration. That an 1892 work was designed from the Gokstad is legit. That it crossed an ocean and the Great Lakes to get from Norway to Chicago is awesome. Let’s visit, and Geneva has plenty of shops, lunch, dinner and evening walk options for intimate chill. Geneva is as calm and pleasant as our days in Minneapolis.

Admire Escondido’s unique Civic Center designs, and educate me on the names of these styles.

I’ll admire the walkable, clean Maple Street Plaza. Space is so lovely.

Check out some Random California art and I’ll check it out with you.

Accompany me to Lakeview Park in San Marcos.

I’ll accompany you to Lakeview in Chicago, where we can walk and talk with Starbucks in hand. Feel free to re-read my Birds of Paradise LinkedIn post. I so very much keep that good heart for Jay Cutler, just as I knew I would.

As heartbreaking as 2017 was, it pales in comparison to watching the Minneapolis riots. Minneapolis was where I fell in love with some of you, where I wanted to re-visit with you one day, where everything felt safe and clean and okay to step in to the worldwide spotlight asked of me. Minnesota, a first in my heart.

I’ll accompany you back one day, and this should be priority. Life is short and, like all medicine, the faster that healing is initiated, the greater the likelihood of successful treatment.

(Hi to my puppies, they aren’t lost, never will be, feels good to know another is aware of permanent love.)

Marvel at how all the universities in Southern California remain so well kept.

I’ll marvel at the structures chosen for preservation. Let’s visit the Adobe in Vista soon.

Take me to Chin’s for dinner.

I’ll take you to Bob Chinn’s in Wheeling once the wheels are down in Chicago.

Pop in to the Scotland Yard Pub with this sleuth in tow.

I’ll pop in a second time for a second walk through. Elementary just comes natural.

Keep friendly with the sharks.

I’ll keep friendly with the the tank view as well. Down deep, a friendship without agenda is so fucking refreshing.

Acknowledge the misspellings with me right away, so nothing snowballs unnecessarily.

I’ll acknowledge how to heat any frosty bitter cold, including my own, including others who would need help with emotional de-escalation.

When we love one another to the moon and back, we step in to de-escalate them.

Take in the colorful Random California Art.

I’ll take random art in with you, from all sides. Oceanside is cool; it reminds me a little of the beach cities.

Be with the me where the wild things are in San Clemente.

I’ll be wild with you anywhere our Republic calls us. Even surfing www.

Enjoy the historical La Cristianita grounds.

I’ll enjoy beyond the fountains and entrances, once it is open for our visit. And we can talk about Buckingham Fountain until then.

Relax near the landscapes and small paths en route to the beach.

I’ll relax with you at San Clemente Pier. 10,000 ocean views could never get tiresome.

Bring about your most favorite coffee order. En route to the University of Minneapolis work, I would sometimes pick up a second cup of coffee. The coolest of shops accommodated, with the best of art.

I’ll bring about some spare change, with the best of lake art, while we stand in line. No early morning nursing today.

Have fun with me in downtown Capistrano. Trading posts remind me of The Revenant. While at the Marriott and happy for Mr. Dicaprio and his speech on opportunity, I was hoping my opportunity for a free life would prevail. It did not.

(Oh, Justice Department. How difficult culture change around mistakes and ego can be…and how necessary. No one will hand out awards for these major shifts, yet integrity was never in want of a trophy anyway, so keep me posted.)

Have fun with me as we trade movie takes — and hi to Mr. DiCaprio. Gilbert Grape, the Departed or Basketball Diaries was where that Oscar should have been applied. Industries have a way of working these things out though.

I’ll have fun with you as we walk and talk and consider how U.S. intelligence, like Academies and other industries, can’t trade off doing the right thing forever. I’ll have fun awaiting over here with the Goodfellas.

Brand me what you will.

I’ll brand you my teammate for life.

Serve me up some hometown Creek love.

I’ll serve you up some jazzy new music takes. In Minneapolis, I went to this cool after-hours show and I haven’t forgotten it. Everyone felt so relaxed, open, vulnerable and connected to one another. Let’s return to experience those shows together.

Travel with me to Dana Point, another of the thousands of ocean viewpoints along California’s southern coast.

I’ll travel the Dana Point’s identity in art alongside you. They took the time to add those sailboats.

Roar the waves of the ocean when you’re moody, I won’t mind.

I’ll roar an invisible wave, particularly when others do not knock before entering a circle of trust.

Feel the salt on your skin with every West Coast step.

I’ll feel the sun warm my future, just as it did when I strolled in to LA, 2016.

Wear your beards with pride for as long as you want.

I’ll wear the truth without prejudice: it’s good to be clean shaven for a reset, and you are in immediate need of a reset. Don’t map out others’ routes until you map out your own barbershop, maybe with some PJs on.

Bring along the sponsors when they are interested in our treasures.

I’ll bring along our sponsors when the real treasures are how we value volunteer health equity.

Quietly find peace at Bird Rock.

I’ll quietly find peace alongside you, for life.

Work these unique leaves and branches into an art piece sometime. Loving these guys’ flexibility with gravity.

I’ll work the sterling beds of roses virtue back into your hearts.

Help me remember the timber and wolves and everything about my every day Whole Foods resets.

I’ll help you remember the ways you couldn’t wait to transform your companies, your service, your entertainment industry teams, in late 2015. Good mocks are such a strong force that they will always be the high target for nasty parasites. They are always going to be the most threatened. Good mocks will always be a magnet for miserable others’ highjacks. And they are worth getting back to.

I’ll help you remember that good mocks are worth the risk of being the target center, and you are happy here with me. Let’s navigate our sail for return.

Appreciate the rocky shore tributes. Laguna Beach is truly a beautiful place.

I’ll appreciate the tributes of the Des Plaines River. This is Illinois, Chicago. Illinois has so many people to house, communities to support and life to accommodate, and yet rivers and lakes are embraced in weave still.

Look out and see the vast endless summers, protected by the most professional of lifeguard experts.

I’ll look out and see the Chicago harbors, Lake Michigan and all the professional first response that work together for Illinois aquatic safety. Our first response has unit responsibilities a little different than the West Coast. It doesn’t make either better, it makes both admirable in their own. And I share mad love for Chicago’s aquatic first response: modest, necessary and valued.

Say good morning to me over Laguna Beach breakfasts.

I’ll say good evening to you over a delicious Greek dinner. No need to paws for white table clothes, yet that works too.

Tell me you want a little extra Illinois flavor after our evening date.

I’ll tell you to stop at WinCo, because they sell Kronos (Opaa) Tzatziki sauce.

Oh, you meant….? Oops.

I’ll tell you that Illinois flavor keeps our hearts and minds healthy. You never know where the windy gales will turn. Best to look out for all and, yes, I have pita at home.

Promenade me around Laguna shops and squares. Outdoor shopping here is so naturally sunny.

I’ll promenade you around Oakbrook Shopping one day. If we go at Christmas time, you can treat me to a hot chocolate with extra whip.

Keep your assets tightly close. Any asset worth her weight is empathetic to your brain and its previous experiences, and she won’t mind the grip.

I’ll keep your closeness in check with accountability to our National Treasures.

Popcorn, anyone?

Sail me away to the adventures under abandoned restaurants, a fine art all their own. No need to keep the Fratelli’s daggers out.

I’ll sail you away to other adventures, and please don’t mind if they involve a beloved Bennett family. We choose characters in mirror.

Pay tribute to the those who would stay along side us, even in icy turbulence.

I’ll pay tribute to those who would stay alongside me as I share the West Coast ocean view.

Here, at the Top of the World lookout, Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park.

Return down the hike with honesty to yourself as you continue your love for Southern California hometowns.

I’ll return down the Laguna Beach path with honesty to myself, as I continue love for tall ships and Chicago hometowns. Isn’t it such a beautiful Midwest that our country has? Such a wonderful, diverse culture of community.

Save some time for a second outdoor shopping experience in Laguna.

I’ll save some time for a brew at Laguna Beach Beer Company and your first Ruby St. is on me.

Mention that you appreciate the bridge-less walks along Southern California communities. We can get from park to park without much bridge navigation.

I’ll mention that I appreciate bridges and walkway design. Perhaps this is why I miss those connected shopping centers in Minneapolis, where one can happily move from building to building. Where one can relax back down to herself with Aveda, with nail care, with city overlooks, with you at the forefront of mind. Perhaps this is why I miss those connected designs at Woodfield Mall, where one can happily move from shop to shop for gifts for others. Where one can happily move about, making countless treasured memories too rich for any marble bag.

Keep your one-eyed favorites as a compass for due North.

I’ll keep our Liberty in vision, a statue as cherished as its words. You know all about cherishing words, you supported my Minneapolis ‘About Our Neighbors’ LinkedIn post as you stepped in to good mock.

I’ll keep your abilities in mind, too. May the digital borders you crossed in the fall of 2015 be a compass for your real-life step into my life.

You ‘R’ Good Enough, so when it comes to the due North, Minneapolis and Chicago visits together, Never Say Die.