Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Grocery Store Nostalgia

The grocery store in town was playing old songs (and by "old" I mean from the 90's) on the intercom last night, and as I scanned the isle for a good caesar dressing, I suddenly got very nostalgic for California. I think it was because the radio stations out there have a funny way of playing songs from my youth...my sister and I had a good time listening to songs we hadn't heard on the radio for over 10 years being played like they were new hits on the west coast. Grocery stores also make me nostalgic. I missed Albertson's. It was a little known fact that every isle in Albertson's grocery store contained at least one cute single guy doing his weekly shopping. A guy once asked if we would give his cute friend a birthday smooch. That stuff only happened at Albertson's. Then I started missing Henry's because they had really good dried apricots, and it's winter here, and I'm not eating enough fruit.I spent a few minutes on CamZone this morning watching tiny surfers glide into the Pacific waves. It's a selfish outlook, but I always feel weird knowing that a place goes on without me. I remember feeling the same way about Gloucester when I moved to California...I felt like the seasons must have stopped; all the people must have frozen in time. I'm reading "The Lovely Bones," and when Susie watches people on earth go about their lives from her perch in heaven, it reminds me of this. The world continues whether you move 3,000 miles away if you leave the planet for good.Even though it shouldn't be, it's strange to imagine the marine layer over La Jolla right now, pelicans flying over the pier, cute boys grocery shopping, buying the apricots I'm craving. We move in and out of places, changing ourselves and leaving little footprints where we were, and while these places don't freeze in time when we leave, memories of them freeze in our minds and have a funny way of surfacing. I blame winter. This is what happens. One second you're picking out hot pockets in the frozen food isle and the next your daydreaming about enjoying a cup of gelato in the sun.

2 comments:

  1. "Love me Love Me sayyy that you LOVE ME!"

    What you SHOULD miss more than Alberston's AND Henry's (the grocery store AND the bar) is EL PASEO GRANDE <3 though I haven't driven down in it months anyways.

    Also if it makes you feel any better it was gorgeous out earlier but after 3pm the storm finally hit and it's been raining ever since :( Lame.

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  2. Sounds to me like a 90s dance party is in order :)

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