Dripping with the past

"Silent Serenade'' (charcoal and chalk pastel), by LESLEY COHEN, in her "Presence and Absence'' show, April 29-May 31, at the Bromfield Galllery, Boston. She explores memories of childhood in her work.

It's  curious how some of those memories, especially the bad ones, get stronger as one goes deeper into old age. I think of this as I look across from the patio here in Los Angeles to a yellow, parched, steep hillside with $2 million houses teetering at the top and flocks of gray parrots swooping in on palms with excessive force.

My memories of New England are usually of wet and cold, as it was  here in LA  of all places yesterday. So the line from the "The Lady Is Tramp,'' by Rodgers and Hart, can be accurate briefly:

Hates California, it's cold and it's damp.

That's why the lady is a tramp.

-- Robert Whitcomb