Walkin' in LA Walkin' in LA, nobody walks in LA
Walkin' in LA Walkin' in LA, nobody walks in LA (Walking In LA, by Missing Persons)
I actually was walking in LA on Saturday, April 28, well, to be precise, I started out in LA, but once I walked up the hill at La Cienega Blvd, and arrived at Santa Monica Blvd, I actually found myself walking in West Hollywood. I was headed to the gym, which for me is a 20 minute journey, and on really warm windy summer like days is either business as usual or an eye opening experience. If you are traveling from the East on Santa Monica Blvd, once you arrive at the intersection at La Cienega, you have made it to the heart and soul, of grand, great and Gay WEHO. On the south side of Santa Monica at least 20 some feet high is yet another HUGE billboard not actually welcoming you to WEHO, but reminding you that you have entered a city of pretty or is it petty i am still not sure. For the past few weeks, this HUGE billboard had a picture of Kylie Jenner’s face with the words KYLIE’S LIPS. If you actually stood a hundred feet away from the billboard you could see those pumped, puffy perky artificial lips, so imagine the view just a few feet on the other side of the street. So, much to my astonishment, on the Saturday i was heard to the gym, i noticed, that no longer was there anything about Kylie’s Lips, but instead, there was a new improved billboard, showcasing not only Kylie’s LIPS, but now we saw Kylie’s rounded cheeks, and of course Kylie’s new and improved cleavage with just enough skin hanging out of he lacy under garment, and the words of encouragement now read KYLIE SHOPS! As has been typical in my neighborhood, tourists and sadly lots of locals have become Paparazzi like, so this new billboard of Kylie generated tons of excitement and dozens of assholes standing in my way were taking pictures of KYLIE SHOPS!
Walking in LA, as sadly is the case in most cities now a days, the pedestrian encounters many homeless people. In West Hollywood, many are just lying on the sidewalks, some trying to find shelter from the heat, and others hoping that the spot they found will keep them safe for the night. Walking in LA, as often and as regularly as I have, I have noticed some of the same homeless individuals. i try my best to provide them cash, or food, but many times no matter my resources, it is never enough. I am sad, I am disillusioned, and I am angry that a nation supposedly as grand as America no longer says “Give me you tired, your Poor.” Yesterday, on my Saturday walk to the gym. A female who has been on the streets for at least 8 months, an individual who I once tried to give some money as she was drinking out of dirty cups found in a very disgusting garbage bin…and who screamed at me to get out of her space and who do I think I am to be in her space…was also crossing the intersection of Santa Monica and La Cienega. This person carries at least four large garbage bags over her shoulders, she wears flip flops and goes about her necessary needs to stay alive. her bags must have been extra heavy or her flip flops finally wore out…she was crossing Santa Monica Blvd half through the street, now directly facing the KYLIE SHOPS sigh, when she stopped. her bags fell or her flip flops broke, but she needed to reload…as she did two cars honked their horns, a third car sped around her. Some of the people taking photos of KYLIE SHOPS were calling her an idiot, and of course laughingly taking pictures of this woman’s distress. The lady would let no one assist her, and while all the cars were honking their horns and some of the drivers calling her names, she DID regroup, and crossed the street. I walked in LA, on Saturday, April 28, and these were the things I saw.
