A walk towards a dead end

Hope's dead end, Los Angeles, Ca c. 2009

Whenever I have some spare time on the weekend, I like to visit the Central library on Sunday afternoons. It has been a pastime of mine over the last 13yrs or so. When I was younger I'd enter through the south side of Hope since it was near the metro station. Since I started driving however, I choose to park in front of the fire station on 1^st st simply because the parking meters aren’t turned on Sundays.

I know this parking spot is a good 5 blocks away from the library but I enjoy the walk. Uphill on 1^st, turn right on Hope, past (sometimes through) the Disney concert hall, down the flight of stairs near the library tower that lead directly to the 5^th street entrance. I enjoy the light exercise and I like to notice new details along the familiar path.

The northern side of Hope St is so peaceful on the weekends. I definitely understand why Downtown L.A. is such a popular location for film production companies. I’ve seen countless commercials and film scenes being shot in the area.

A couple of Saturdays ago I went the library to work on some pictures on my laptop. The library doesn’t have the fastest wi-fi but it’s better than using the public computers. I went late in the afternoon and I thought I was running out of time until I noticed a small sign nearby concerning a change in the library hours. The library now closes at 6 on Saturdays instead of 5. That was a pleasant little surprise. I had an extra hour before I left.

There were more things I wanted to work on and I had every intention of returning the next day, my preferred day. As I went to the bulletin to confirm the hours of operation on Sundays, I then read that the library is now closed on Sundays and Holidays. An adolescent "shut UP" escaped from my mouth.

I understand the state and the city are in some serious debt but I immediately blamed our elected officials. I thought of our mayor offering to pay for Michael Jackson’s funeral service at the staples center last summer. I wondered how much of the city’s money had been misappropriated to get us in a mess where public libraries are taking the hit.

To me, libraries are a place of hope. THIS library is a place of hope. I think it’s interesting that this library is located on Hope St’s dead end. A place where kids want to learn, & where adults want to expand their knowledge even further. With this change, limits have been set even further. Honestly, I wish the library was open all night. I’m sure many of the homeless folks that I see take literal and intellectual refuge would agree.

Time escapes so many of us due to the responsibilities of life. With a weekend day stolen from Los Angelenos, we must now pencil in time to learn and juggle anything else beating down on us . I guess all I can hope is that Saturdays aren’t stripped from us either. At least for the time being...

A walk through hell on the 6th St. bridge

A while ago I was on a class assignment to find hell on earth. I didn’t have anything specific in mind as I walked along the 6th street Bridge. I hoped I would think of something, as I looked wish fresh eyes along the bridge.

A storm had recently passed over the city so I was happy to take advantage of the bright blue sky as a backdrop. I walked along on the right side of the bridge facing east. As I reached the middle I noticed two clumps underneath the first arch. It didn’t take long to realize these were dead baby birds that were blown away from their nest that was built inside the arch.

While I was kneeling on the floor, a foul stench reached my nostrils. I took a few steps forward and saw a strange pile of dirt. It actually looked like topsoil. Once again, it didn’t take long to realize this wasn’t a pile of dirt; rather it was a pile of fragmented human waste.

I had seen literal piles of shit along the 4th street Bridge, which naturally grossed me out and surprised me. Call me naïve but I thought if people are going to shit near a bridge it would be underneath it, not on it.

I could only hold my breath for so long before I took a step away from the pile and ended up underneath the second arch. In one of the inner spaces I noticed someone had stored some garments and a book. I’ve seen the homeless use these gaps as public storage before but the sight of the book fell heavy on my heart. I didn’t open the book. It didn’t occur to me until I got home. Even though this was stored in a public space, I felt I would’ve been intruding on this person’s property. Maybe this person defecated near his things to keep people away.

I returned home completely humbled. I’m not sure what made this inanimate encounter different. I’m not sure why the evidence of homelessness affected me more than usual.

This began as another mere walk on the same ‘ole bridge and I came away with yet another perspective of it. That certainly was a glimpse of hell on earth.