Yesterday was my last morning in San Diego, and I had six more miles to walk with my backpack, violin, and giant baseball piñata. So off I went, from Point Loma toward the Seaport district. Soon I was hot and hungry, wishing I had water and a bag of fresh cherries. Too bad – the harvest doesn’t begin until April.
The thing that stood out as I walked, still on the lookout for the Great Spirit, was the homelessness. Tents and sleeping bags were everywhere, tucked behind shrubs and recycling bins.
Leaving with the baseball piñata, thankfully empty.
A tent along the waterfront.
A shelter hidden between some shrubsSomeone sleeping on a cardboard boxA tent hidden in front of the USS Midway. What kind of country are we that we spend hundreds of billions on the military, and nuclear weapons, but a pittance on housing, drug treatment, etc? Our democracy, and capitalism itself, has lost its way.
Suddenly, I saw a flash – a ponytailed man raced past me on a recumbent tricycle! Or perhaps he was the Great Spirit? I started to give chase, but he was gone.
A flash, and the tricycle vanished.
I imagined a future with recumbent tricycles zooming across Southern California, not a car in sight. A pipe dream? Probably, but a cool dream nonetheless.
I took a breath.
The rest of my journey was uneventful. I saw sailboats, took the bus to LA, then the train to North Hollywood. I walked around for a bit, then was picked up by my brother-in-law, Sang Yoon. He was impressed by the giant piñata. So was Joe, at our party in Northridge.
Carrying the enormous piñata across San DiegoThe tuna industry in Sam Diego seems to be doing wellSpanish landingDedication to the SpaniardsAnother dedication to the Spaniards. How about a dedication to the Native Americans who died?Dedication to the soldiers from WWII. What about preventing WWIII, triggered by Russia/Ukraine? It’s almost as if we want a big war, to distract ourselves from COVID and our floundering democracy. Yes. At LA’s Union StationLet us now praise famous men… look at the music staff / note tattoo on this sleeping gentleman’s neck. Amelia Earhart, vanished on an around the world flight,1937. Perhaps she was carried away by the Great Spirit. Success with the Piñata!A gourmet Korean mealLemon treeThrowing candy back into the piñata – why? Because it’s fun!The piñata never actually fell. I had to climb a ladder, to take it down. Acorn, hanging out with Jae, Sang Ah, and Joe. That is a cool dog. Sang Yoon, taking us back to Ktown. He is an amazing driver.
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Thanks for visiting my website! I was born in 1980 in Columbus, Ohio and live with my family in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. My training is in internal medicine, public health, and infectious diseases. I am an advocate, writer, and musician, and recently I completed my first marathon.
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On Sun, Feb 27, 2022 at 5:09 AM Health and Healing wrote:
> Philip Lederer MD posted: ” Yesterday was my last morning in San Diego, > and I had six more miles to walk, with my backpack, violin, and giant > baseball piñata. So of I went, from Point Loma toward the Seaport district. > Soon I was hot and hungry, wishing I had water and a bag of fres” >
Philip A. Lederer 
Acorn
Thanks
On Sun, Feb 27, 2022 at 5:09 AM Health and Healing wrote:
> Philip Lederer MD posted: ” Yesterday was my last morning in San Diego, > and I had six more miles to walk, with my backpack, violin, and giant > baseball piñata. So of I went, from Point Loma toward the Seaport district. > Soon I was hot and hungry, wishing I had water and a bag of fres” >
Thanks for your posts.
Kea
thanks!