Sierra's Walk (With Accompanying Soundtrack)

I am blessed to live in a place like Signal Hill: a location full of amazing plant life, rolling hills, and extraordinary views of downtown Long Beach, the city of Los Angeles, and the massive Pacific Ocean and accompanying coastline. Each day -- sometimes twice a day -- Sierra and I embark on a walk down, up, and around Signal Hill. It is often the most special and enjoyable time of the day for me. It is a time to reflect on life, to admire the beauty that surrounds me, and get in shape ... those hills are steep!

Sierra has just eaten her third meal of the day, her diaper has been changed, yet she's still a little cranky. She just needs to go for a walk. I pick up her flopping little body and place her in the car seat that fits into her stroller. She knows where we are about to go and she immediately settles down. I strap on my iPod and head out the door. It's a bright, sunny day, much like every other day for the past 4 months here in Southern California. The first song begins to play. It's Vega 4's "Life is Beautiful." I begin pushing the stroller and look down at my beautiful daughter. I smile.

Life is beautiful, but it's complicated,
we barely make it.
We don't need to understand,
There are miracles, miracles.

Stand where you are.
We let all these moments pass us by.

It's amazing where I'm standing,
There's a lot that we can give.

Sierra and I begin our trek on 20th Street. She is so alert now, looking up at the birds and planes that pass overhead, the palm trees swaying in the afternoon breeze, and the bright red flowers blooming. She absolutely loves the outdoors. To our right are the same construction guys we passed yesterday and the day before ... and earlier this morning. The younger guy shakes his head and smiles. "You walk more than anyone I've ever seen," he says. With a daughter like mine, there is no other option. We cross Temple Street and then turn right as we continue on 20th.

We are now in a small neighborhood with beautiful homes. Large, southwestern style homes with stunning facades speckle the street. I can hear my brothers now, laughing at me for even thinking the phrase "stunning facades." Oh well, we continue on. Chrissy and I always talk about what our home is going to look like in Cincinnati. We both agree that we like stone on the front and a lot of green plants. We'll bring a little piece of California back home to Ohio. Just as I begin thinking about moving home next year, Simon and Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" begins playing in my headphones. The scenery here in California is wonderful, but nothing compares to the Midwest, to Ohio.

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.

At the end of 20th, we take a left onto Obispo. Nothing much to see right in front of us, but off in the distance is a beautiful mountain range. It's hard to look away from it because I haven't been able to see it in weeks due to the midsummer haze that blankets our region. The snow still caps these mountains despite the hot weather we've been having lately.

We continue down Obispo, past the dusty vacant lot, past the horse head oil machines, and down past the flowering rosemary buzzing with dancing honeybees. Sierra dozes off to sleep and then shakes awake with every crack in the sidewalk. Her pacifier hangs out of the corner of her mouth, her eyelids lazily blinking closed.

Up ahead lies Hill Street. This street is extremely steep, so much so that I won't take my 1995 Ford Clubwagon up this hill for fear of the engine dying and the van hurtling backwards like an urban bobsled. I get to the bottom of this hill and stop. I've got to pick the right song to inspire and motivate me up this behemoth of a hill. I spin the dial on my iPod, coming to my Ultimate Rocky Soundtrack. I flip the wheel to Survivor's "No Easy way Out" from Rocky IV. I take a deep breath, and begin trudging up Hill Street.

Some things are worth fighting for,
some feelings never die.
I'm not asking for another chance,
I just wanna know why.

There's no easy way out,
There's no shortcut home.
There's no easy way out,
givin in, givin in, can't be wrong.

Instead of giving in to this hill, I watch a mother pushing twins pass me on this hill. Ouch. I think to myself, "do I feign injury?" or "do I return back down the hill and go elsewhere for fear of ever seeing this woman again?" The unthinkable passes my mind. It's the choice I have to make. It's the only option to save face here. It's also the most painful option. I pause and turn my iPod to the instrumental from Rocky IV, "War." Because this is most definitely war now.

I take a deep breath and begin running. I can hear my calves screaming. My lungs are now pulsating to the beat of the inspiring music. I look ahead and see my target in the distance, motoring up this hill. Sierra now begins to giggle, most likely at the wheezing sound of my deep breaths. Somehow this is all amusing to her. But I tread on. I pick up speed. I am picturing the fight between Rocky and Ivan Drago. I am the Italian Stallion and this mother of two ahead of me is the giant Russian I must chop down. I am now putting all physical anguish on the back burner at the risk of suffering mental anguish later. I am closing in on this woman, huffing and puffing all the way. The top is coming closer. This is it. I have to make my move. She and her double stroller are on the far left side of the sidewalk. I can do it. I head to my right and fly past the Russian, not even looking at her. I just keep running in agony until I get to the top of the hill. I want to weep and cry out, "Yo Adrian, I did it!" Instead, I take a right onto Temple and try to hold off the dry heaves as I retreat to a slow, walking pace.

We are now up on the sidewalk, overlooking Signal Hill Park. I watch as a pair of young boys battle each other at one-on-one on the basketball court. Two others are playing catch with a baseball in the field and several others are playing soccer with makeshift nets serving as the goals. It's nice to see kids out playing sports rather than inside playing sports on a new, top-of-the-line video game system. It reminds me of when I was a kid, playing two-on-two with my brothers and my dad. It reminds me of when I would pitch a simulated game to my dad, who acted as a catcher and umpire. I yearn for those days, but at the same time, I look forward to taking my young daughter to the park for a game of catch or for a game of H-O-R-S-E. How blessed I am to have such fond memories and to have a future with my wife and child to look forward to.

Gathering my strength back, I begin to pick up the pace. Up Temple Avenue and then up to Skyline Drive. The jets come in for an eye-level landing at the Long Beach airport. The busy 405 freeway is humming with cars at the onset of rush hour. I see the big blue pyramid of California State University, Long Beach, and the white VA Hospital nestled between smoke stacks where Chrissy works ... although today, she is in Irvine. I miss Chrissy during these daytime walks. I think about her a lot. I think about how I never would be out here in California, enjoying these beautiful sights, enjoying this wonderful walk with my beautiful daughter. Just as I think this, Norah Jones's song "Come Away With Me" starts playing. This was the song Chrissy and I danced to at our wedding.

I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come

Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you.

We get to the top of the street and head into a gated area atop the hill. This part of the walk is named Panorama Promenade. It's a stunning elevated walkway looking down on the city below and mountains off in the distance. It wraps around the hill and leads up to aptly named Hilltop Park.

Up here at the park, I can glance to my left and gaze upon Long Beach, the port, the Catalina Islands and, on clear days, the coast that outlines the border of the country, fading at about Newport Beach. To my right, I can see the mountains looming, the highways leading to and from our city, and the city of Los Angeles itself, nestled in the Hollywood hills. When up here, I think about my college days, listening to the Counting Crows ... a California band. I often wonder what lead singer Adam Duritz's inspiration was. But sitting here, looking down upon Los Angeles, I get a small taste.

I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean...I guess I should."

From the top of the hill, we begin our decent back home. Sierra is long asleep by now, pacifier now resting on her blanket-covered legs. Her eyes flutter, she sometimes squeaks. Who knows what she's dreaming about? What an angel she is, sleeping there so innocent, so sweet. I only hope I can give her a life full of the memories that enrich my life now. We walk down Skyline, pausing for a moment to look out over Signal Hill Park again. The kids are still playing, bringing a smile to my face.

Down Temple we go, past the beautiful houses, past other mothers and fathers walking their children, past palm trees and lush plants. What a wonderful walk. Someday, before we move back to Ohio, maybe little Sierra can walk this walk with me, hand in hand.

Wouldn't change the course of fate, but cuttin' the grass just had to wait
'Cause I've got more important things like pushin' my kid on the backyard swing
I won't break my back for a million bucks I can't take to my grave
So why put off for tomorrow what I could get done today

Like go for a walk, say a little prayer
Take a deep breath of mountain air
Put on my glove and play some catch
It's time that I make time for that
Wade the shore and cast a line
Pick up a long lost friend of mine
Sit on the porch and give my girl a kiss
Start livin', that's the next thing on my list

Raise a little hell, laugh 'til it hurts
Put an extra five in the plate at church
Call up my folks just to chat
It's time that I make time for that
Stay up late, then oversleep
Show her what she means to me
Catch up on all the things I've always missed
Just start livin', that's the next thing on my list.