“Whenever Superman wants to get away from it all, he retires to his secret sanctuary, the Fortress of Solitude, the most glamorous hideaway in the entire universe!” 

In Superman’s words, “This is the one place where I can relax and work undisturbed. No one suspects its existence, and no one can penetrate the solid rock out of which it is hewn.” 

There has been a lot on my mind lately (so what else is new.) I have been finding a getaway spot, a place where I can be alone with my thoughts. The other day I went to Golden Gate Park and wandered for a little while. Last night I rode my bike around for about forty-five minutes, enjoying the fact that I was pretty much the only person out on the road, with the sound of the wind howling in my ear. Then I went to the park by my house, and sat on a bench. 

It was the middle of the night, so peaceful, so quiet. And in that silence I realized that there were so many noises to be heard. I was away from all the distractions of the world, just to realize that I was once again surrounded by more distractions. Not bad ones, but good ones, like the sound of the ocean, the wind rustling in the tree leaves, the sound of various items blowing in the wind. It was so peaceful. I just sat, and stared at the stars, the clouds, and the sky. I identified a few constellations and couldn’t think of a better place I would rather be. 

That park is my fortress of solitude. For many years now when I want to get away from things and get my mind right, I seek refuge at that park bench. As I was resting my weary self upon that worn out seat, I remembered a few of the other moments I was in that exact same place. Some from years and years ago that I had pushed way back in my mind. Others were more recent, but they all came flowing back. It was then that I came up with the decision to go to Children’s Playground the next day. 

Children’s Playground was absolutely delightful. It brought back so many more memories from my childhood, when I used to go there and play on the slide (the concrete slide where you get cardboard and sit on it to slide down) These were the times when I would run around just having fun, without a care in the world.  It is sometimes a wonderful thing to re-visit places of your childhood. When you can return and see that they are the same as they used to be, except that it is smaller. Not smaller because it’s smaller, but it is smaller because you are bigger. The fact that there are some things in life that you can go back to see that they still remain. I hope that place remains for many, many more years to come. When I have my children, I am definitely going to bring them to that playground. 

Just because I do enjoy time alone does not mean that I am being antisocial. This is a point in my life where I want to decipher who I am and what I truly need in life. 

So afterwards I ventured to Sausalito and had a lovely dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, and wandered around the city and it stirred some more memories. It was night time and the town was deserted, as usual. 

It was a wonderfully fun night full of new memories to add to my vault, and reminiscing into the file cabinet of old memories. 

I think that I rely heavily on my memories. They are a link to the past, and a bridge to the future. They are the greatest accomplishments and the harshest struggles. They are my life at its finest, and also my life at its worst, but in the end, it’s my life, and that’s what matters!