[hello from ca]

Just a quick note to say that I am home in Marin County, CA, with my crazy family, enjoying the lush greenery and remembering why I choose to live three thousand miles away. It's Passover, an adventure in eating, and the jet lag didn't help me get through last night's Seder, which lasted until 1 a.m. Tonight I get another chance. Ugh. All we do on these holidays, it seems, is eat, sleep and pray. I'm bored of all three, and there's another day to go.

Still, home is home, warts and all, and it's good to get out of NYC and away from the pressures of work. And mixed in with all the eating, sleeping and praying, there's also been a little walking around in beautiful Lucas Valley, and even a dash up the hill, knee deep in wild grasses, to a knoll I used to climb when I was a kid.

Tonight is another Seder to get through, with even weirder people than last night's. Wish me luck!

[mortality]

I just received the startling and sad news that one of my high school classmates, Robert Paoli, has passed away.

I was never close to Rob. I remember him as a very big guy who played football and wore shorts all winter. In the years since I last saw him, he rose to captain of the volunteer firefighter corps in Marinwood — the fire department that would put out the grass fires that broke out on the hills around my Lucas Valley home every summer. He also went to Louisiana to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In my memory, Rob was never unkind. His obituary makes it clear that he was loved by many. It's a sad loss. He is survived by his wife and his five-year-old daughter. A trust fund has been set up for the family, and the information for donating is in the article.