A Symmetrical Walk

c.2011

On a warm December Sunday I took a walk through the fashion district in Downtown L.A., better known as the Santee Alley. Somewhere along the maze of product stands and sidewalk stores I began to head west, towards the financial district. I was walking with my camera in hand and looked around for something to catch my eye. It had been awhile so I was feeling a tad rusty, photographically speaking...or so I felt. At the same time, I walked right past a city bus that was on layover. I stopped to take a picture of a payphone that happened to be in front of the bus when the driver came out and called me over. He asked what I was working on and before I could respond, he asked that I take his picture. I smiled and agreed. I only had a fixed lens at that point so I couldn't zoom in or out. After I snapped a quick one I asked him how long he'd been a bus driver for. He then countered my question by asking if I knew what the stripes on his sweater sleeve meant. I told him I wasn't even aware the stripes meant anything. He said each one represented 5 years on the job. His sleeve had 4 stripes. I smiled, congratulated him and began to walk away. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked. I explained I was on a time limit and pointed towards the sun. It was later in the afternoon and winter days are so short as it is. Winter days in downtown with all of the buildings blocking the sun make the days even shorter. I thanked him for teaching me something new and continued on with my walk. 

As I thought about the sun and the buildings in my race against time, I happened to look up while waiting for a green light. All I saw were lines. Perhaps it reminded me of my drawing classes in college, but I couldn't help noticing all of the lines that were intersecting in an orderly fashion, right from where I was standing. From that angle, everything made visual sense. Normally I don't like to stand under wires due to my fear of earthquakes...well, my fear of falling debris that could kill me. But I didn't mind standing underneath all of those electrical and brick hazards. I suppose I have that bus driver to thank for making me look up and continue my race against the premature sunset of the downtown skyline.

No no, thank You