April 1, 2014 - Santa Monica, CA

I'll never forget April 1, 2014. It was a gorgeous day. The skies were clear and blue. The air warm but crisp with a steady breeze. I'd spent the morning with my college roommate - Michelle. She lives in Santa Monica, and we drove her gorgeous Audi convertible through the Pacific Coast Highway, top down, tunes blaring to Malibu - ('boo' is what the locals call it) for a hike in a canyon. The air smelled of mountain sage, and I picked some, rubbing it between my fingers.

She dropped me at the hotel around noon. I'd exchange a few dresses at Forever 21 on the promenade, grab some lunch and shower before she picked me up at 2. We were driving to Silver Lake that afternoon for drinks with another friend from college, Gary. :)

The elevator took me to the 4th floor and I grabbed my bags and receipts for Forever 21. My stomach was rumbling. We'd had a lot of wine, champagne, beer and smoke the night before. Belly laughs too. Michelle found a dvd of video from college. She studied television production at WKU. Her friends and roommates appeared in several projects and she'd carry around her 10 lb. camera to parties and the infield just for fun. We laughed for hours.

Anyway, I'd need to return these dresses and get something to eat quickly if I were to be showered and ready to go again at two. I grabbed my purse and glasses, closed the door to room 404, and proceeded to the 3rd street Promenade. It was right around the corner. The Ocean View, where we were staying, was on Ocean. I'd turn left on Broadway and walk 3 blocks to Third St. The Promenade was quickly recognizable with ivy dinosaur fountains spraying streams into wishing wells.

It was a gorgeous day. I was walking briskly. Just passed the Nordstrom's on the corner of 2nd and Broadway, Thai Dishes and the Ale House on my right. That's when I noticed something in the sky. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. Something large on the wrong side of a building. It was going over! Was some one throwing a large trash bag over their balcony?? I stopped and stared. He hit the pavement. It wasn't trash. It was a man. He was on the pavement, face down, arms and legs splayed like the letter X. Still.

OMG. OMG. OMG. Did that just happen?? Did anyone else around me see that?!? There were loads of people walking up and down Broadway. Surely one of them looked into that alley way. I stood frozen, talking to a young man looking at me. OMG. Someone just jumped from a building. I heard myself say. Did you see it? he asked. Yes. Have you called 911? I fumbled for my phone. I began walking through the alley, closer to the man. He still had not moved. On the other side of the alley, a woman in a red shirt with a large bosom and black hair in a pony tail ran towards the man. A man, maybe her husband, walked swiftly behind her, encouraging her to not go any farther. Some people had gathered on a balcony to my left. I'd later learn they worked in an office building next door. A young girl heard his body hit the pavement. Her eyes were filled with tears and she stood with her arms crossed, mouth open, eyes wide. I wish'd I'd gotten her number or name. She stood next to me. "Is he dead?" she asked. I'd heard a firefighter say, he's no longer with us. "Yes", I told her. He hadn't moved since we'd been there. Nothing. I'd watched as a police officer rolled his body to see his face. That was the first time I'd seen blood. It trickled from his long bald forehead down his face.

The phone rang 3 times before the operator answered. "911. What's your emergency?" "My name is Ann Douglas" I heard myself report. My voice quivered. "I just saw a man jump from a building". "What's your location?" There was a new energy in her voice. I looked up and there was a number on the back of the building! So thankful!! "1447" I said. We're in an alley. Behind Jinky's.

The operator asked me what I saw, what I heard, was there yelling? Did it appear to be a confrontation? No. He just fell from the sky. "I thought someone was throwing out trash," I heard my voice quiver. The operator took my name, address, phone number and asked me if I wanted to talk to someone, needed to talk with them. Please take down this number, she urged. Do you have a pen?

I took down the number on a weed card someone handed me on Venice Beach the day before. I used the pen I'd lifted from a bar on Venice Beach after a couple glasses of champagne and an order of nachos.

When will they be here? I asked. Any minute, she said, and to my left, a black and white police car was silently pulling up the alley way. They are here. I reported. So thankful to see the men in uniform!! :)

Night, by Ava Douglas

Last night Ava made a trip to my closet and came out with a little black hat and a red glitter scarf. She clicked around the house in little patent-leather heels; clipboard stacked with white paper in one hand, a purple pen in the other.

I was on the patio having a glass of wine with our neighbor, Jen. Her son, Hoben, practiced the monkey bars. Ava wrote this poem.

Night

Lola sitting,
parents talking.
Hoben monkey-barring
or at least trying.
Moon shining,
Night falling.

Lights on.
Trees dark.
Swings swinging.
TV on.
Kids sleeping.
Parents reading.

She read it to Jen and I and we were impressed! I asked to take her photo. She's so serious. It makes me smile. :)

"Fashion Show Play Date" starring: Ava sponsored by: mom's closet

The heels of my Sunday shoes are clunking down the hall. She's wearing a black and white nylon shirt with an elastic waist that cinches just above her knee. The way it hangs reminds me of a flapper. My silk rose sash drapes her neckline as she stretches an arm in the doorway, crossing a heeled foot over her leg.

"Take a picture. Send it to them. Tell them, "Fashion Show!! We're gonna rock!!"

I Say, 'Edamame'

J: What did you have for lunch?
A: Macaroni and cheese and Mama Eddie's.
Me: Mama Eddies...?
A: MOM!! It's the peas we have with sushi!! (like, duh!!)

You say Mama Eddie's. I say edamame.

Baby Alive

When I was a kid...I had a Baby Alive doll.

Oh, the joy.

I'll never forget the day she arrived. It was Easter Sunday, at my Grandma Clingerman's house. The Easter Bunny brought her. Her skin was soft, she wore a diaper, and when I fed her - REAL food (well, real to a 4 year-old, it came in packets in her box) she actually moved her mouth as she ATE the food!

The JOY!

So when I saw the NEW Baby Alive in Wal-Mart last Friday, I was hooked and thought, "Ava has to have one!"

These marketing folks are smart.

Luckily, she too, is as excited about caring for a baby as I was. That's the nice way of saying she is waaaay excited about feeding her baby and then changing her diaper, because yes folks, her diaper is really wet after you feed her.

So, in the end, everyone lives happily ever after...
Ava loves her too. And I know she's going to be a good mommy to her new charge. We cleaned out her toybox before our trip to Wal-Mart and boxed all of the soft toys she no longer plays with and donated them to the puppies in need of love at the Humane Society.

Life is good.

How to Make a Hillbilly Birdfeeder

First, gather your ingredients: pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed. Then test the peanut butter to make sure it's OK.

Smear the peanut butter on the pinecones. Ok, that's good...

Roll the pinecones in birdseed and shake off any excess.


Tie a string around the top of the pinecone and viola! You're ready to hang this baby on a tree and watch for squirrels and birds.

Under the Sea...

On a whim, Ava and I hopped in the car and drove to Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium. The day was beautiful and the drive, just right. Not too long, but far enough away to feel like we were on an adventure!

Our first exhibit was the Sea Horses. We took an escalator down to see them and Ava was so excited with the moving stairs, that after seeing one sea horse, she grabbed my hand and led me back to the escalators so we could ride up. I was afraid we'd paid good money to ride the escalators...

Luckily, there was a looooooooooooong escalator that took us way up to a rain forest. The chirping birds and waterfall enticed her into the wild and away from the moving stairs. We watched otters swim, she climbed rocks to peer at snakes and birds, and walked down some steps to see turtles and trout.

"Where is the baby turtle's mommy?!" she gasped, watching a little turtle swim in the deep water. We found it's mommy swimming not too far away, and she was relieved enough to go on to the Shark aquarium.


I had no idea she'd be so taken with sharks. She ran towards the glass and 'ahhhhed' over the hammerheads. We peered into the tank for what seemed like hours, watching the stingrays, the starfish, the sharks and other large, menacing bug-eyed sea creatures glide through the water.


After the excitement of the sharks, we got chocolate/vanilla swirl ice cream cones and enjoyed our walk to the IMAX theater. We had tickets to "Under the Sea" and Ava hoped we would see Ariel, since Sebastian the crab sings the song ('Under the Sea')in her favorite movie, "The Little Mermaid". We were excited when handed glasses, not knowing we'd get a 3D experience.


It was amazing! Ava reached to touch the coral and seals as they swam by. We made it through the whole movie. Afterwards, I gave Ava the choice of going back to the aquarium or going home. "Let's go home, Mommy."

Not more than 10 minutes into the ride home and she was asleep. It was a fun day together. We'll go back soon, to visit Camp Discovery and spend some more time under the sea!!