It’s a beautiful Life

Photos by Janet Davis

"There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere -- and of leaving it behind them when they go." ~ Frederick Wm. Faber

Someone mentioned how bad it was that Ed and I had to wait in Los Angeles for Ed to get a new lung--how we must miss our family, our friends, our neighbors, all the comforts of own home.

I laughed, thinking of the disaster we had had the week before when someone (in any of the two floors of apartments above us) had put something down the kitchen drain and plugged it up, and since the pipes of all three apartments on the three floors were connected and we were on the bottom floor, we had a flooded kitchen. Until we could get all the upstairs neighbors notified and the water turned off, everything coming down the drains was coming out in my kitchen. It was a mess to clean up the dirty mess, then I had to stay home the next day to wait for plumbers, the roto-rooter man and then carpet cleaners to fix things up.

It is true that I wished then for my own reliable kitchen that in 20 years had never flooded, and for not hearing whenever neighbors flush their toilets, and for not sharing hot water with who-knows-how-many apartments—just knowing that I wait until I know everyone’s gone before I try to shower or I get your typical “freezing/scalding” hot water episodes during your shower.

Yes, our wait that we expected to be less than a month that is now almost three months, with no relief in sight, seems forever, but it also is an adventure. We can’t go work in the garden, because for now we don’t have a garden, or as Ed keeps reminding me every day—we have no snow to shovel or ice to trip on. No windows to scrape the frost off, no cold cars to heat up before you can drive them. Ed has enjoyed every day of the warm weather here in Los Angeles, and reminded me of it every moment. Even the rain hasn’t bothered him because it isn’t cold and it can’t freeze.

We have had fun exploring the museums in the area; I love learning about Los Angeles’ history, and despite the history books that say that California history began with the 1849 gold rush (HA), a lot happened before then and it fun learning about it. I discovered where the city of Los Angeles began (and it isn’t near the ocean), and what the first Mission was.

There is a wealth of ethnic restaurants, so we have gone out to eat at a different type of restaurant every week, trying Bosnia, Indian, Thai, Brazilian, Mexican, Kosher, as well as good old American cuisine. We have a very valid excuse also. Ed is still under weight and needs to gain more weight, which he does better when we eat out. We’ve even gone to movies, which I used to have to drag Ed to, but here in movie town, he seems more willing, somehow, especially if we buy a bag of hot buttered popcorn. I am even taking a three-day intensive genealogy course this week that I am excited about; who knows if I would have found time back home to take it.


Maybe it is the impermanence that allows us to enjoy our stay so much; if we were going to live here forever, maybe we would get into a rut and quickly burn out, but for now, it is still an adventure. Once Ed has his lung transplant, I am sure that it will be a lot more tedious and difficult. But we’re enjoying it tremendously now.

Last Friday I was walking around my neighborhood photographing the beautiful spring flowers and I thought how wonderful it was that I was in such a beautiful place to take photographs of.

Then my sister Janet sent me some photos she had taken on her morning walk. The area she walks in is not nearly as attractive an area as where I walk; some would say there is nothing beautiful, or interesting at all there to photograph. But the photos she takes are breathtaking in their splendor. They truly illustrate that beauty is in the eye of the beholder; that an artist sees with an inner eye. For her photos are magnificent glimpses of life.Janet's photos and her life show it IS a beautiful life.