when i was fourteen, my next door neighbor jamie got her drivers license and one night, she told me we were going to go on an adventure.  we lived in the most north part of the valley, and off we went, down the 118, and exited topanga canyon. we took topanga from the point it starts at, all the way through the canyon, towards malibu.  i remember the weather was perfect, we had the windows down, and for years, in high school, jamie loved pearl jam and stalked john frusciante in their laurel canyon recording house — anyway, so we had the jeremy single on a cassette, this b-side single from ’92, and yellow ledbetter started to play. so the song starts to play and we’re speeding through the canyon and my hair was long and tangled and eddie was belting these lyrics and jamie was singing her little heart out.  we stopped at this little vintage shop and i bought a dress i loved so much but have since misplaced. we must have driven for two hours, just enjoying the freedom our age brought us.  it was dark and we headed back from the beach into the valley, and drove down Ventura Boulevard, and it was like seeing Sunset Boulevard for the first time, young and unknowing.  we stopped at some cafe to eat, and i remembering thinking, man, this is so great.  this is so great.  it should always be like this.

michelle