DOUBLE CALIFORNIA
I was sitting inside the new IKEA on the far north side of Columbus. We had just walked through the bedroom displays, and we were eating late lunch/early dinner. I was drinking coffee. Here's a photograph of the moment the idea came to me:

I had a dream last night
(What did you dream about?)
California broke away
From the United States

That part wasn't so original. I've been hearing that California was due to fall into the Pacific Ocean any day now since I was a little kid.

While it floated in the sky
Like a cell it divided
Redwoods in the corners
Like a bunkbed, it reunited...




Yes, that part was inspired by educational films on cell reproduction coupled with the IKEA bedroom displays.

I had travelled to California for work a few times early in the year, and it was fresh on my mind. The first time was during the prolonged drought. The second time was after a lot of rain had fallen. Before, the landscape was semi-arid, but still beautiful; after, you could see why California has captured our collective imagination for so long.

People always talk about traffic in Los Angeles. In my limited experience going from LAX to Burbank and back, I can say that it really is not much fun.

Double the California girls,
Double the L.A. traffic,
Double the length of the Golden Gate
The sushi is terrific...



Now there's enough for everyone
Double California
Sun and surf and fun
Double California
Twice the G.D.P.
Double California
Enough for you and me
Double the California...

I have heard that California, if it were its own nation, would be the world's 6th largest economy on earth. So there's a sense that the entire United States is dependent on California, agriculturally and otherwise.

Double the fruits and vegetables
Double the wine and mountains
Double the number of celebrities
Begging for attention...

I've been thinking lately that the relationship between celebrity and fan isn't so much the fan worshiping the the celebrity, but the celebrity seeking out those to validate his/her sense of significance.

Now there's enough for everyone
Double California
Sun and surf and fun
Double California
Twice the G.D.P.
Double California
Enough for you and me

Double the California...