One of the my habits, when I work in a place with a walkable, entertaining area around it, is to wander around at lunch. Sometimes such wanderings turn into blog posts.
This is another.
I have had the opportunity to wander about in Downtown San Diego (near the Gaslamp Quarter, and near Santa Fe Station), Downtown Los Angeles (near Central Library), Ojai (there’s not much in Ojai so it’s easy to walk that), and a little Mid-Wilshire in L.A. for a while. When I worked as a Respiratory Therapist taking a walk on a lunch break was really not feasible, since I was usually on a pager and needed to be available for emergencies.
I really appreciate the opportunity to take a walk. Now that I’m working in Hollywood, right on Sunset Blvd, I’ve had the opportunity today and yesterday to do a little wandering. I even got to visit my favorite newsstand for decades (yes, decades) World Book & News. I passed at least 3 dozen places that will sell you a lovely postcard of the Hollywood Sign or a portrait or Marilyn Monroe. I also passed a bunch tattoo parlors, wig shops, g-string vendors, and storefront electronics shops. I also passed an official Scientology place where I could have had a free (imagine!) personality test. I heard several different languages: Japanese, Spanish, Russian (pretty sure), English of course — often these voices belonged to folks taking pictures of the Stars on the sidewalk. Jimi Hendrix was one I saw some tourists being photo’d with. It was a pleasant walk.
I was not asked for any dough from panhandlers, though I saw a few such unfortunates. Also unfortunate were some teen runaways, distingusihed by rather dirty clothes and a vacant or stoned look in their eyes. Sad, and a Hollywood tradition.
I wandered about, enjoying a Tiger’s Milk lunch and a Mountain Dew, and made my way back eventually. It’s a bit less tasty than the free lunch they provide at the dayjob, but it’s probably net better for me to take a walk accompanied by some sugar and caffeine than free food+sitting. Maybe. In either case, walking around is fun.
Title of post from The Mikado, Act I, Part II
