phone home
Thursday morning here in Shanghai, and I type this from the 48th floor Executive Lounge computer. The view from here is spectacular, although the weather is still dodgy...overcast and windy but at least no rain for the moment. My mind boggles at the concept of 14-20M people living within eyeshot of where I stand...buildings thick and deep, with new ones going up all the time, and the old smaller ones being leveled in the name of progress. This is a quite vibrant and kinetic place, although the sound of honking horns is truly annoying.
I finally was able to call back to LA and talk with my son this morning (last night for him). It was great to hear his voice, and he told me about the things he wants me to bring back for him. Evidently he was watching a Chinese language tv station the other day and saw an ad for a radio controlled plane...yellow. So he said since I was over here please find the yellow Chinese plane. Will do. He also wanted me to bring back some swords but I told him that I couldn't really bring them on the plane. "Ship them to me then." Methinks that 9 year olds are a bit too sophisticated these days. At least he didn't mention a specific carrier by name...he probably hasn't been able to negotiate a product placement deal with one of them...yet.
This place also makes me think about where I grew up (San Diego) and the rather unique nature of southern california. I thought that LA was crowded, but Shanghai gives you perspective. LA is not crowded. It just has a lot of people. But there still is space, at least in some neighborhoods. I suppose if you have money, you have space. Although one can quickly escape to the mountains outside of LA for a bit of peace and quiet.
But in the end, I think that SoCal is different than anyplace else on earth. It isn't urban like Shanghai or NY. It certainly isn't rural like most of the US. It is an interesting combination of everything and nothing. Cultured and not. Busy and not. Crowded and not. Perhaps this is why it is important to travel. To get perspective. I remember for years people would ask me where I was going on vacation. I was living in San Diego. I looked at them and said, "why in the world would I go anywhere?" Well, I can answer my own semi-rhetorical question now. To get perspective. To get some inkling about how and where I fit into the grand puzzle that is never finished because they keep making more pieces. But being able to put together a few pieces is key...as is being comfortable with the fact that some pieces will never fit, and I'll never really "finish" it. I do what I can, and pass it off to the next generation to explore.