Being alone and unemployed on Christmas Day in Canoga Park, California


For some strange reason, I've often found myself all alone, and unemployed, at Christmastime. It was usually a choice of mine, where I moved somewhere, or had just left a job. But it's still a strange feeling to be alone and unemployed during the holidays. Overall, things worked out just fine for me, and I'm glad that I did what I did, but waking up on Christmas Day with no one to share it with, and no prospects of finding a job, is a very vivid memory for me. And it's also kinda magical.

I've always enjoyed walking, so when I woke up on Christmas Day in Canoga Park, California (a suburb of Los Angeles), I decided to take a walk. It was many years ago, but even then the neighborhood was always crowded, cars were always jammed. But I saw a Christmas miracle that day.

It was early in the morning, but not really that early, and the streets were quiet. Very few cars were out and about. As usual, most of the businesses on Sherman Way were open, but there were very few people. In such a crowded area, that sort of thing made me feel as if I were "the last man on earth".

I walked to downtown Canoga Park, which is at Owensmouth and Sherman Way. It wasn't that far, just a few miles. I remember that I didn't walk on the sidewalks, I walked weaving through the parking lots. I was in no hurry. I would stop to listen every once in a while and it was actually fairly quiet. Car alarms always went off, of course, 24/7, but on Christmas Day there were definitely a lot less of them.

I've always liked to walk, and think. And on that day I thought about what the future would bring, what I would find. And it's true what they say that if you really want to feel alone, be in a big city. It seemed as if everyone around me had somewhere to go, something to do. I just walked.
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