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...

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.