Lisa P Writes

I sometimes see a gray-haired, hunchbacked man walking down the street in front of my house. As he walks, his back is rounded over but he holds his head up, kind of like a turtle with a quick gait. He occasionally puffs on a cigarette. His clothes are youthful, usually jeans and a trendy sling shoulder bag which I assume he’s on his way to the train to go to work. He looks like he could be retirement age. I make up stories about him that maybe he lives alone in an apartment, his children live far away so they only visit once a year. He doesn’t visit them because he’s too busy working in advertising. His wife divorced him because he didn’t contribute to housework and refused to give foot rubs. He eats fortified cereal for dinner. Why do I go to the depressing side? I don’t know. . .

Last year, I did the vegan cleanse twice, in the spring and in the fall. I’m on my third time and it’s day four. I eliminate not only animal products, but also sugar, gluten, alcohol and caffeine. The things that I eat are fresh, from nature – fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, etc. and soy products, rice and corn. Now that I’ve done it a couple of times, I see that my food choices are opening up even more. The first time it seemed impossible but now I’m trying even more delicious, fresh meals. There are four things I know for sure will happen on this 21-day journey. . .

Ahhh, I just love sunny So. California. The photo was taken a couple of years ago in Ocean Beach, a neighborhood in San Diego. I always think of this magical place, but more specifically of my friends Anne Marie and Thomas who live there, when I begin my vegan cleanse. They are vegan. Anne Marie told me that it was a gradual change from meat eater, to vegetarian and now vegan. She said that once they bought their place in Ocean Beach, they became vegan. It started because they had access to a delicious vegan deli at a co-op grocery store called People’s. And they’ve maintained a vegan lifestyle not only because of animals but because they feel terrific on that kind of diet . . .

“Did you know that when you live in a warm climate, like in Phoenix, you lose track of years? You know, like you don’t have the weather reference like you do in Chicago,” Christina mentioned after the customer left. “I know that I got my dog in high school in the winter because it was so dang cold out when he had to go pee.”
“Yeah but that could be now because you still live at home . . .

Christina rubbed the red lipstick off her teeth and smiled into the mirror. She glanced over her appearance and smoothed her straight blonde hair. Round brown eyes gazed back. She smiled again into the mirror and then growled. The lipstick had stained her front teeth again. She reached for a brown paper towel and rubbed the lipstick off her lips and teeth. After she applied a new coat of clear gloss, Christina headed out of the bathroom pulling a small, black rolling bag behind her.
As she wandered down the expansive airport corridor taking in the sights and sounds around her, she noticed the vibrancy of the passengers . . .