Sixty-Seven

Study (after Watteau). Tara once told me that, having moved here from California where there are so many people and everything you need is right there, living in Albuquerque makes her more appreciative of things. Like when you find someone who shares an unusual common interest, such as Japanese tea ceremony, it feels like an oasis in the desert, precious and rare. It's true, we don't have the abundance of the Japanese gardens at the Huntington or Japantown in LA, so when you sip the green tea at Kokoro, sit by a stone lantern at the BioPark, or see the pink paint smear of cherry blossoms on the Japanese Railways poster at the Deco Japan exhibit, you feel almost giddy with gratitude.

For further ideas on how to pretend you're in Japan when you're really in the parched desert begin reading here. The story runs from March 18 - April 8. It's interesting to feel a longing and look back to discover you had the very same longing at the very same time, years earlier.