When I was a literature major at UCSC, I liked to get up early, go surfing for an hour when the swell was reasonable, and then head up to campus and read at the Kresge Study Center on campus. Most of the time I was the first person into that study room. I’d kick on the heater and pull up a big reading chair next to large panels of glass facing right into a wooded ravine. Many mornings, there’d be mist obscuring the view beyond the first few trees. This would make it easy to lose yourself in whatever I was reading that week. As a literature major, that was always something new.
I’ve been looking for a good photo of that room as it’s been 25+ years since I’ve been there. Unfortunately, all I have found so far is this uninspiring photo from the campus website.
This photo completely fails to do the room justice (although the tie dye does seem spot-on). It looks like it’s been renovated and not necessarily in a way that heightens the natural attributes. Clearly, digital cameras weren’t a thing when I was going to school at UCSC, but I would love an image shot from my reading chair in that room where I’d sit there alone to start the day.
Do you have a special place? One that’s important to you but you haven’t seen in a while?
Eric Frankl.in 