YONDER BREAKS

I started a little blog series called Jah Works a couple years ago, where I wanted to recount all the times God has shown up in my little history of 30-something years. Though this blog in general is often about God and what he is saying/has said, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't done a "Jah Works" in 100 blogs! Crazy...well, no better way to mark 300 total blogs on YonderBreaks.com than do pick it up again. This one is about my complicated history with the City of Angels ...Los Angeles, CA. Los Angeles is a big part of our lives now, which is something I never expected. As a kid, and even through college, I always thought I'd end up in the mountains somewhere, North Carolina or Tennessee. I wanted a small town, just about as close to Mayberry as I could. Still, being a skateboarder , California always had its lure. I remember watching G-Rock as a kid, which was a compilation show of skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding and BMX videos with Christian punk, sk...

Since moving back to my hometown, I often drive by what used to be Hollywood Video on Highway 61. Right before that is the Blockbuster Video where I worked for over a year right after college. Immediately I am stricken with nostalgia, remembering the Friday nights where my family would often go out to eat, and then stop by the video store to get a game or a movie. I loved the unknown of the video store, not sure what they would have in stock, but hoping for something good. Hollywood Video in particular had an excellent kung fu selection, and was where I learned to love Jet Li's extensive repertoire, particularly this one : I lament the loss of these stores, and even more so the experience my kids will never have! Downloading digital copies or streaming movies just isn't the same, and removes the element of the unknown that is so exciting and in-the-moment! Of course this is a concept that we will become more and more familiar with, as Amazon Prime, rampant free two-d...