Why I Believe in Magic

As well as freebies, Disney & small acts of kindness

I don’t know about you, but it feels like every good person I know is currently not only heartbroken by the state of the world, but is also going through some sort of personal tragedy while every evil person I see is gleefully dancing (without good rhythm) on a pile of blood money. Sure, the horrible monsters are comically unattractive but that’s not enough. Like most people with a soul I want justice, accountability, karma!

Other than sobbing while scrolling, my current coping mechanisms are 1) doing whatever positive action I can (sharing helpful information, donating, being extra nice to my fellow humans) and 2) having as much fun as I can (hanging with people I love, saying yes to almost every invitation, making fun of certain elected officials lip injections). Occasionally I feel guilty about the fun. But it’s the fun that refuels me to take action. It’s the fun that gives me hope. It’s the fun that often leads me to magic.

I really believe that if you allow yourself to appreciate magic in the middle of mayhem, it helps keep you going. At least that’s what it does for me. To me magic is coincidences, surprises and miracles. Magic is an old friend texting when you were just thinking of them. Magic is when you’re about to give up and the perfect opportunity presents itself. Magic is meeting that friend, partner, mentor who changes your life. Magic is the kindness of strangers. Magic is surviving. I think it’s more important than ever to keep believing in magic, it’s one of the only things that no one can control with laws, force or fear. In an effort to share light in the dark, here’s some magic I experienced recently.

Thrifting

God, I’m so good at vintage decor

For years my husband has wanted a bar so I began keeping an eye out for one at estate sales. A few weeks before my husband’s birthday I saw a neighbor dragging this stunner to the curb. I stopped my car and asked what’s up and learned the bar belonged to my neighbor’s dad who died two years ago. The neighbor was finally cleaning out his father’s house and was giving away the bar for free because he and his dad had matching ones and he didn’t need two.

It reminded me of this blue vintage track jacket I used to love and borrow from my college roommate Heather. Seven years after graduating when I was living in Greenpoint Brooklyn I woke up one morning randomly thinking “I want that blue track jacket from college”. As my then boyfriend and I walked toward Bedford Ave to get bagels I said “I have a weird feeling someone on the street is going to be selling a blue track jacket like Heather had in college.” When we got about a block past McCarren park there she was, the jacket, hanging on a fence as part of a woman’s sidewalk sale for $15. The zipper is broken and there’s a small burn hole on the sleeve but I’ll never get rid of it because it reminds me of magic.

I screamed “my husband’s dad also died two years ago this is meant to be!” Despite my aggressive yelling about dead dads, the neighbor kindly drove the bar to my friend’s house where I kept it hidden before giving to my husband as a birthday gift. Here she is surrounded by other vintage treasures, including my amazing father-in-law’s BAR OPEN sign.

Tasting

Was trying to look sorta sexy here because it was my first time wearing something tight post reconstruction then realized I’m a middle-aged mom at a kid’s amusement park.

When I emerged from my deep dark cancer-induced depression I jokingly/not-jokingly said to my sister that I deserved a free trip to Disneyland. A month later a friend said to me “I have a free Disneyland ticket hook up if you ever want to go.”

Magic.

So on Saturday my family and I went to Disneyland. It was my third time going as a grown-up and after years of judgement, I totally understand Disney adults now. Like, of course there is a whole demographic of Goofy hat wearing dorks riding It’s a Small World every weekend, Disneyland is an incredible escape from reality! Everyone is nice, being corny is celebrated, and there’s a non-political parade every five minutes. The best part was I didn’t look at social media or the news at all that day so I blissfully had no idea Los Angeles was being “taken over by violent protestors” until I got home that night to not-a-war-zone-as-portrayed-on-the-news Los Angeles.

My favorite thing I ate at Disney was the Ronto-less Garden Wrap from Ronto Roasters located in the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge area. It’s a pita filled with Impossible sausage, spicy Kimchi slaw, sweet pickled cucumber and Gochujang sauce. I’m not vegan but recommend it even if you eat meat. I didn’t take a photo of it because as I’ve said before I don’t like my food getting cold because of a photo session so instead, here’s a pic of me slowly morphing into a Disney adult. And if you’re like me and have a princess loving kid (despite trying to teach them that there are other “jobs” to aspire to) and can swing the fee, I strongly recommend the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where they give kids princess makeovers. I don’t share pics or videos of my child online (because her cuteness would BREAK THE INTERNET) but trust that I did squeal with joy the entire time she was getting her glow up. We lucked out and got a last minute walk-up appointment (magic) and as we were leaving my daughter met the number one character she wanted to meet, Ariel (magic). I asked if they do adult makeovers and was told “we used to but then the adults were taking all the appointments leaving none for kids” which made me laugh very hard because I think I would’ve asked then to turn me into Tinker Bell.

Toking

A few days ago I finally stopped by my new cool chef friend Wendy’s stunning garden/event space to hang and scope it out for a new live show my husband and I are plotting (oooh suspense). Before we left Wendy gave me this bottle of Emerald Bay Extracts Glitter Bomb tablets which contain RSO aka Rick Simpson Oil has some cancer-related health benefits including reducing inflammation and possibly (keyword POSSIBLY, there needs to be way more research on this) slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells. I was a bit confused by the dosing since 25mg seems like a lot of THC for one tablet especially for a medicinal product. That night I tried half and felt nothing. The next night I took a whole and within thirty minutes I was like- welcome to another episode of oops I’m way too high. Thankfully my only plans that evening were watching Love Island and staring at my ceiling. It was a good reminder to revive my weed journal, a little notebook to jot down what type of weed and how much of that weed does what to me. I especially suggest doing this if you’re a newbie because different strains and doses do different things to different people and knowledge is power. This type of kindness especially from once strangers, is magic. I had only met Wendy once briefly at a party years ago and when she heard I had cancer last year, she thought to give me this bottle.

Another example of kindness from strangers I experienced recently was on Tuesday when I posted this idea on social media- if you live in Los Angeles & are doing well financially, go to a Home Depot parking lot & pay day laborers to go home. Not only was the response wildly more positive than I expected and people are actually doing it, but some even people sent me, a total stranger, money to distribute. Happy to say I’m going back to HD today to give away $1000. Thank you to everyone that contributed, I’ll keep doing this as long as I keep having cash to give (reach out if you want to contribute).

Can LA be an annoying place where out of work actors loudly discuss headshot options at a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf? Absolutely. But it’s also a place where during the fires, strikes and now a brutal tax-payer-funded raid on the most vulnerable human beings, I have seen incredible care, connection and kindness. And I know that this same type of community love in times of need happens all over the country and world. Not everyone is bad, in fact I think most people are good. We just have to look for the good. We have to demonstrate the good. We have to appreciate the good. We have to believe in magic.

Stay safe. Love hard.