One of my favorite things about living in a city are all the rooftop views. Whenever I travel somewhere new my first desire is to get to the nearest lookout point so I can take it all in. I wasn’t aware of this fact until, while traveling with a friend, it was pointed out to me. After arriving in Florence, Italy late one day, I insisted on getting to a look-out point. It was getting dark but it had to be done. A little resistant to such a venture at sundown, my friend commented on my need to get an overview of each place we visited. She’s right, I thought, I need to see the view. Perhaps it’s the Capricorn in me; a goat who needs to climb to the top of the mountain.

When I was a teenager I would climb on the roof of our house just to get away from it all and look out over the fields behind our fence. There were two fields; a softball field and a eucalyptus grove. One open and free, the other tangled and mysterious. So many emotions were felt looking out on those two fields. My mother constantly yelled at me to get off the roof but I never listened. I needed the view. I think it was my way of trying to lift myself out of what was troubling me or find a way of distancing in order to get clarity. Sometimes getting a different perspective has a way of giving me an answer that I can’t see from where I usually stand.

Some rooftop views here in L.A…