Los Angeles, CA – “Snapshot at a Quarter Century ” – January 6, 1999

Photo Credit: Heidi Wild

It’s the day before my 25th birthday and my moods are as tropical as a pina colada.  I cannot stand the way I feel in my skin.  I look fat and bloated especially when I smile which makes me frown and feel worse.  My eyelids feel too heavy to open and my hair feels like straw.  

The fact that it’s a glorious day and I’m in a green Mustang convertible, sipping a mocha frappuccino outside a Starbucks on Sunset Strip just proves that happiness is not contingent on external circumstances.  Joy is an inside job. 

Let’s see, how can I summersault myself into a different way of metabolizing this moment….

I’m wearing my tight red sweater.  Golden, shoe-string braids hang lightly over my shoulders. The breeze is cool on my cheeks and life is actually pretty sweet.  I mean fuck it,that my new barrettes flew out of the window as I cruised down the 10.  Fuck it that my pants feel tight around my waist.  I am a totally powerful babe and pitying myself for being a woman is not, and has never been helpful.

There, that’s better.

Dad called while I was grabbing breakfast at “The Firehouse” in Venice.  Over an egg white omelet and hot coco, he congratulated me on making it to a quarter century.

“You’re half my age and you’ll never be younger than half my age EVER again!” He reported enthusiastically which I thought was a very dad-like calculation to have made.  I thanked him for inviting me to this life and letting me tag along for a while on his.  He liked that.

“That’s a good thing for you to say my Sal.”

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6 Replies to “Los Angeles, CA – “Snapshot at a Quarter Century ” – January 6, 1999”

  1. Becky Koenig March 15, 2024 at 7:57 pm

    The last third of your post is just so much…I won’t even try with words. Well maybe some…it makes me think of how, given normal life spans, we will lose our parents and have to navigate life without them. It’s in the design. But I really don’t like it!!! Who thought this was a good idea? “Tagging along for awhile” is a lovely way to see it. I love your family in that “you think you know singers” way because of how much they reveal in their music. Really enjoying the daily reads. Thanks.

    1. Sally Taylor March 17, 2024 at 6:32 am

      Thanks Becky. I agree. The life braiding overlaps of parents, children, grandparents and grandkids if a terrible design for the heart to navigate. Thanks for reading and being in the braid with me.

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    1. Sally Taylor March 18, 2024 at 6:45 pm

      Thank you for the complement Madeline. I’m not sure what you mean by “is it a paid subject matter?” but I appreciate the comment.

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