so i skedaddle
today i went to venice beach, which has been near and dear to me since i first moved here in the early 1700s.
it’s weird, im weird, we get each other.
i haven’t smoked weed in a while so smelling the second hand smoke was so nice.
there were a lot of aromas i smelt, but did not dealt.
one was the scent of da club. not sure how that wafted, but it did.
on the way over i stopped off at this japanese market place called Mitsuwa and picked up a Bento Box
ate it while i watched 5×5 street ball on the venice courts
they were so bad i was thinking about going out there but ive had my day
these seagulls were hovering around me because someone left a half a plate of french fries but i was too near them so they hovered, squawking at each other
be cool, hes leaving, I SAID BE COOL
but i wasnt leaving.
drank my water, watched them play. there was a young lady out there. she wasnt bad. they didnt talk trash to her. but they did put their worst guy on her.
so many mistakes.
one guy could dunk.
gave $5 to this dude who plays the piano. he smelled of piss. like real bad. hes homeless.
tunes his piano and plays really fast, missing lots of notes, adding a few to even it out.
hes half deaf.
hung out with this south american dude who sells dollar cokes
we bumped fists. somehow he remembered me from the last time i was there, months ago.
had this awesome flashback when i passed the post office that it used to be a safeway in the ’80s.
LA has been so good to me, you have no idea.
me.
stranger in a strange land.
me. fucking nobody with three cents to my name.
driving home took forever. west side. like what are people doing?
ohio, santa monica, wilshire. all jammed even at 4pm. no way around it. nearly got on the 10. next time i’ll try my luck with olympic. west siders dont wanna go through the hood so maybe Adams.
on the way in i had to write a piece for Los Angeleno.
they hit me up last night about a piece about Angelenos nominated for the Oscars.
right up my alley. i was honored theyd even think of me.
so i drove to Culver City and asked Waze where the nearest public library was.
turned out it was 3 blocks away. such a nice little library. everything was clean and nice.
but then one little girl kept repeating the same phrase over and over in the childrens section.
i was trying to do my magic AND I WAS SOMEHOW but this lil angel kept with her bullshit
i turned around to give her the evil eye but neither her hot mom nor she picked up on it.
how am i gonna fertilize an egg if i cant put up with that, i thought?
she soon left and i got back to my masterpiece.
then a different little girl ran over to this wooden kitchen and opened and slammed the doors over and over and over
why is there a kitchen in a library? i wanted to say as loud as humanly possible.
but childhood is precious so i kept my trap shut as this 2 year old banged away as her mom browsed her phone.
the old man sleeping in the chair next to me did not wake up.
the librarians, of which there were far too many for this little place did not shush her.
i was clearly the asshole, once again.
but heres the crazy thing, i got my work done.
i wanted out of there, i wanted to be at the beach, i wanted this assignment behind me, i wanted food, i wanted the boardwalk.
it was a great motivation. and im telling you i knocked that article out faster than i have done in a very very long time.
maybe ever.
weed is not the reason im a professional writer.
the angels who whisper funny jokes in my ears are.
and they wanted to go soak in the 75 degree temps on 2/10/22 too.
