You Had Me At October
It’s hard to be a muckraking columnist when the curtain goes up and October takes center stage. All that outrage and frustration from our hectic summer invasion and national election nightmare evaporates like the morning marine layer. Gone is the gridlock of our collective frayed nervous system, replaced by the annual reminder of why we choose to bear the astronomical cost of living here: October.
You know the month. Crisp, sunny, cloudless days, unfiltered sun, translucent water, occasional south swells, followed by periods of languid, windless sea that caresses us and undulates like the wombs we all came from. Our Facebook and Instagram feeds jam with incomparable sunsets and postcard perfect shots of the coast. Yes, we have our town back. Traffic is light, parking is easy, beaches uncrowded, and the water still warm. Where else could you possibly be?
If you haven’t seen our October coastline from the sea at sunset, you are missing an eyeball massage of celestial order. The low sun bounces off the water, creating a golden patina on our hills that looks so profoundly heavenly it’s hard not to believe in a higher power. Schools of dolphin pay homage, grey whales hug the fertile coast, and sea lions frolic with joy.
Then there’s the view from our canyons. With cooler temps, the hikers and bikers come out in force, luxuriating in one of the last protected coastal wildernesses in Southern California. What a treasure.
It’s hard to seethe about the continuing erosion of our freedoms, like being prohibited from renting a room in your home to help pay the mortgage, finding a place to sit outdoors downtown, having a glass of wine on the beach, tossing a Frisbee, hanging there late at night, lighting a tiki torch in your backyard, remodeling your home, fishing our local waters, or visiting a local medical marijuana dispensary to peruse product and get consultation. No, not when the rapture known as October throttles you and says “shut your lousy trap and just dig on me.”
Just look at how our community “rockstober.” Our heroic little radio station KX 93.5 celebrates its fourth anniversary and begins the month with a gorgeous, star-studded musical fundraiser on the breathtaking grounds of their generous partner, the Montage. Then they bookend the month with their Nov. 1 Iron Butterfly concert at the Laguna Playhouse. They are a juggernaut in bringing more national musical acts to our town, showcasing local community voices, and sharing great, independent music.
The other bookend is Friendship Shelter’s annual gala fundraiser on Nov. 5, one of the great causes and events in our town. In between we have Laguna Live jazz concerts on the lawn at the Montage, the annual Aquathon, and the Brooks Street Surfing Classic. And then of course there’s the festival of festivals in Laguna, Halloween, with our joyous community converging on Oak and surrounding streets.
Could October be the catalyst in all of our new restaurant offerings? The food desert known as North Laguna just got alchemized with the openings of Jan’s Health bar, Asada and Reunion at the Boat Canyon Center, plus the reopening of a locals’ favorite, the Royal Hawaiian.
Not to be outdone, the French patisserie Moulin opened on Forest to rave reviews, and the great, indefatigable Alessandro Pirozzi of Alessa Ristorante is about to reopen Salerno on Beach Street. Plus the highly anticipated Harvest restaurant at the fabulous Ranch is minutes away from opening.
Finally, let’s not forget the annual visit and cultural exchange from our wonderful friends the Tibetan monks and their awesome, painstaking creation of a sublime sand mandala, only to be cast into the sea as an important Buddhist reminder of the impermanence of all things.
What have I missed about October? Plenty, I’m sure. But sometimes all the good news gets drowned out by the toxicity of elections, both local and national. Much as I try to engage in the circus, I am profoundly grateful that October has the power to remove the angst and put a serene spring in my step. Rejoice, people. We still have our problems, like drought, fires, congestion and pollution. They will visit upon us soon enough (in fact, I will be back at the throttle of politics on Monday, Oct. 24 when I host one of a two-part evening of candidate debates at 6 p.m. on KX 93.5). But for now I will bask in the seductive bliss that is October.
Join me for both, won’t you?
Billy Fried hosts “Laguna Talks” on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on KX 93.5, and can be reached at [email protected].
