Thanksgiving in Paradise

As I was waiting for the walk light to cross the corner of San Fernando and Verdugo with Jenny Lind after our walk, a man beside me started up a conversation.

"My father, in Armenia, was a very religious man, but he thought differently from others. He said, 'I hear people talk about paradise and hell, but I've never talked to anyone who has come back to tell me what it's like. Here's what I think. They say hell is down there,'" and my new friend pointed to the ground, "'full of heat and unhappiness. So going up from hell, where to you arrive? Right here!'" And he spread his arms to embrace the world around us.

"Look at those plants, look at all the colors, look at the sky - it's paradise," my friend exclaimed. "And yet there are people who don't smile, and who complain. We are an hour and a half from the ocean, and people sit on the beach and complain. And they are already in paradise!"

I thanked him for his Thanksgiving message and we parted ways, he to his 92-year-old mother, me to take a bath and get ready to go to friends for dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!