Talk to Me of Mendocino

I bid farewell to the state of old New York
My home away from home
In the state of New York I came of age
When first I started roaming
And the trees grow high in New York State
And they shine like gold in autumn
Never had the blues whence I came
But in New York State I caught 'em

- Kate McGarrigle (Talk to Me of Mendocino)

The photo above is of the Kodak Park complex on the north end of Rochester. My father worked here for nearly 40 years until he retired around 1975. Winter can be a cruel time in upstate New York, as I well can attest. It's a good place with fine people for sure - but it takes a certain heartiness to outlast the winters and a lively mind to ward off the depression that months of clouds can bring.

But I love this song; it's another I've listened to for years, and I finally now have it on my IPod. It took me a long time - about 30 years - to make the same journey as in the song, from New York to California. But what an interesting trip is was. I want to say it was a long, strange trip...and parts of it were. I didn't make it to Mendocino, but I'm close enough.