Finally, my little exert from the LA river tour is done:
Los Angeles river
Jenny made her way down to the water, telling us that our job was to talk things up and get people into the water with us. It didn't take much. As other cars arrived, people made their way down into the river, a place surrounded by thirty feet concrete walls and bridges. The Los Angeles River has a Bad reputation for being an open sewer, a filthy wasteland and a place where gangs and thugs go to dump their victims. And yet, here we were, a group of forty or fifty individuals, wading out into the concrete trench.
What surprised me most, was the flora, that in some areas flourished so that it felt like being somewhere far less metropolitan. But even in that place, the confluence of the two rivers that promised to be a great place to settle, back in 1769, nature was revitalizing and throwing green shoots into the sandy bottom. Just up stream, there were concrete slabs someone had piled up; a rockstack for the twenty-first century.
A barefoot woman sat on a concrete slab, stroking her dog, Zoe. A plant covered in red flowers at her feet, and bright, clear water flowed around her small island. Lynn, of Hidden Los Angeles fame, has been working to make people more aware of the amazing things that go on in L.A. I stumbled across her website a while ago, and discovered an amazing city to explore. She helped organize this tour of the L.A. River.
As the group gathered in the river, Jenny Price, spoke of the rivers importance though the history of LA. In the thirties, the river flooded, which brought about the need to contain the river. The army Corp of engineers brought about the mighty change, by burying the river. Since then it has become forgotten and invisible; a catch basin for rain and anything that washes off the streets of Los Angeles during our winter storms. It all flows directly from street to gutter, river to the ocean; with almost no attempt to catch and reuse this water to irrigate out thirsty town.
There is a lot of effort to revitalize the river to make it green and a place for people (not just the homeless and miscreants) to gather. This effort seems to be slow to come to the downtown areas, that could benefit most by making these places public.
During one tour, Jenny's tour group was staked out by the LAPD who told Jenny that she was not allowed to bring tours to the river without a permit. Our tax dollars hard at work... No one could show Jenny the law saying that she needed the permit. In fact, our group gathered in a downtown portion of the river, (where the movie "Grease" was filmed) and was surprised to hear a fast approaching vehicle. Not sure who would be coming down the narrow ramp, we all scattered up the walls and out of the immediate path of what we soon realized was a sheriff's car.
As soon as boots hit the ground, the officer demanded that no photographs be take of him or his partner. Jenny showed her permits from two different agencies, which she had jumped through multiple hoops to obtain. But the sheriff was not interested in the permit, saying that she could do whatever she wanted in that location. Confusing. It turned out ok, with people making jokes and laughing to ease the tension.
We explored several places on the lower L.A. river that day, ate lunch in a little Mexican cantina and visited a bookshop that was begun as a lending library when the municipal library lost funding and cut it's hours.
Perhaps my favorite part of this day, was getting to peek inside the lives of a few individuals whose work is bringing about positive change in a place they love, by doing what they love. It was completely inspiring.
Yesterday, we spent the day wandering around LA looking for trouble and pastries with friend BC. We found Porto's and fell in love with their guava danishes (SMOKES!) Spent some time gawking at the Tim Burton Exhibit at LACMA. It was amazing, I felt overwhelmed by his doodles upon doodles--just focus and drive.
Plan for the week:
Monday: am: swim
Bike commute
PM: Clean the darn house
Dinner: caprese!
Tuesday: am: run
Bike commute
PM: Nike Training Club with weights
Dinner: beet salad with goat cheese and pickled onions
Wednesday: am: Swim
Bike commute
Dinner: pesto with whole wheat pasta and green salad
Thursday: am: Run
PM: Back Bay loop
Dinner: Chinese chicken and rice soup.
Friday am: club Nike fit
Bike commute
PM: swim
Dinner out
Sat: Run and prep for Zion Subway reunion dinner at our house! Yeepah! Lots of ideas about menu, but nothing really cemented yet. Pie might be in order.
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