Three Weeks Left

I leave for my new life three weeks from today. The other night, I watched 'Ornamental Hairpin,' a magnificent film made by Shimizu Hiroshi in 1941. In it, Miss Emi, a Tokyo 'kept woman' played by the incomparable Tanaka Kinuyo, has taken refuge in a mountain spa. When confronted by a figure from (what she now considers to be) her past, she explains:
I don't want to go back to that gloomy life. That's no way to live. I didn't want for money. I could sleep when I wanted, get up when I wanted, wear what I wanted, eat what I wanted, see what I wanted--but that's all. I want more meaning in my life.

[spoiler] She doesn't go back. And neither will I.

Three weeks.

Today's photo is of Hidden Beach, mentioned in last Saturday's post.

Very, Very Tall Trees

Phil Connors predicted warm weather, gang wars, and some very overpriced real estate for California, and very, very tall trees for the Pacific Northwest. Being from Punxatawney he, like most Easterners, failed to realize that the "pacific northwest" extends as far south as northern California. This very tall tree stands alongside the Miner's Ridge Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State (and National) Park.