60th floor C.2007 Los Angeles, CA

6^th and Hope. I first made my acquaintance with this area en route to Garfield High after my family moved out of East L.A. It was my connecting point from the Redline (our subway) to the Eastbound line 18. A very friendly homeless Vietnam Veteran was always at this corner. He had crutches and always greeted me with a smile every morning.

The bus stop was near the corner which also happened to be near rat infested bushes. The bushes would always rattle from their movement and it was incredibly gross. Because of this the buses seemed to take even longer to arrive in the mornings. Time really is relative.

The area around that bus stop has been renovated for several years now. Its all cleaned up with places to eat and all. The rats have relocated to the bushes around Pershing Square which is about a block down the street.

I think about the friendly Vietnam Vet from time to time. I hope he eventually relocated to a place he can call home.