I take off from LAX at twilight, totally sleep-deprived. The SCBWI Conference in LA was a blast, as usual. So many magic moments, all of them lasting until 2 or 3 in the morning. And now it’s time to settle into my seat and put on my headphones, turn up the music and lay my head back…and sleep. Right?
But I can’t. Because I’m a sunset magnet. I can’t not watch. Especially from an airplane. It’s the latest kind of sunset where the sky is an indigo and the ocean barely has any color left to it at all and the sunset-striped sky fills with reds, oranges, tangerines, golds, electric aquas, and a kind of purple that meets with the darkest of blackest blue sky. Orange lights glow in the colorless sea. In my half-awake state I think them rather large stars, sort of pointing the way. But, they aren’t stars. They are lights on off-shore oil rigs, just to the south of Santa Barbara. And the night is clear. Beautifully clear. And the colors of the sunset intensify. The off-shore-derreks march south as I fly up California’s coast. And the sea lights up in spots, literally. Tiny galaxies beneath the sea churn, glowing white, yellow, gold, reddish-orange and aqua. Continue reading
