Dana in L.A.

Today is my last day in So-Cal, but I've been here for a week now so I feel that I have thoroughly observed the native culture. Sure I've spent many weeks here over the course of my life, but I hadn't been back for five years or so, so I feel as if my impressions this trip were nearly those of a first-time visitor. Without further ado, here they are...

1. Wherever you go, they're filming a movie.
So far I've walked, run, or driven by three different filming projects. One was going on at a house just down the street from my grandmother, so I drove by it several times a day. Never once did I see an actor-type person. The windows of the house were covered with block cloth and the tiny lawn was cluttered with lighting and sound equipment. But the food service alone seemed to require the labor of 50 people or more.

2. Little boys have long hair.
I'm not talking mullets here. I'm talking ten-year-old boys in designer jeans with golden locks brushing over their shoulders. Sure it's not every ten-year-old boy, but I can't think of anywhere else in the country where such youthful, stylish males sport this kind of hairstyle.

3. There are 8 million freeways.
... that all seemingly lead to three locations. My aunt and uncle, after marveling over the perpetual parking lot that is the 405, remarked, "Thank goodness for the 105." Apparently, this second highway runs parallel to the first through much of L.A. The only conclusion that I can draw from this example is that many of the highways have become so crowded that a second road alongside the first has become necessary. Which leads me to wonder, who are those suckers still sitting on the 405? My mom says they're from the Valley.

Tomorrow I return to the windy city, where a movie being shot in town is cause for great excitement, the only men with long-hair are aging rockers, and the two main arteries intersect at a right angle just south of the Loop. Though I look forward to returning to my home in the heartland, what I will miss about L.A. is the abundancy of interesting salads on restaurant menus and the distinct lack of humidity. It's enough to make a person kind of soft.