Los Angeles

The city groaned. Traffic was stuck. Taillights lit up the night time like the day. Red-colored anger and rumbling engines. Los Angeles is a land of make believe all right… Just don’t be in a big hurry to get anywhere. I drove in on Friday night. The skyline glimmered. A lie. The tall buildings scraped the stars. The downtown spoke to people crawling by on the freeways. It whispered, “Come. Come and live your dreams. It is all here for you.” Nimbly moving through a tangle of off ramps, I smirked into the darkness. There was very little salvation to be found in that distant shimmering wonderland. I knew. Hardship. Unrealized ambitions. This is mostly what would be found and people found out soon enough. I drove the side streets to a friends house and parked the truck. I walked.

City life. Neon and chrome. Dirty sidewalks. Sirens. A broken body huddles on a set of steps. The man mumbles and he reeks of piss. I leave a crumpled dollar bill in his hat. The evening passes as all things must and soon the sun burns the sky orange. Dawn. Another chance to get this thing right. Drinking coffee, I am listening to a program on the radio. It is entirely made up of 1940’s music. I find it possible to close my eyes and go back in time… Was the world a better place? Less hate? More tolerance?  I wonder… I meet up later that morning with MRZ and Patrick Ryan over at our friend Arto’s.

We sweep the pool out and soon find ourselves skating together. The distant crowding of the city, its dirt, problems and cluttered highways soon fade from our minds. Fun is found. I am reminded of a quote that my friend Melanie recently read to me. It is from Albert Einstein.  “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” Sometimes, I just need to look for the good. I think that pretty much sums it all up… Thanks to MRZ for the images. Skate and look for the good. - Ozzie