I read a great interview with Josh Radnor while sitting in the doctor’s office the other day. I wasn’t so much interested in Radnor (star of How I Met Your Mother), as I was in what he had to say about Los Angeles. Turns out, he loves it for a lot of the same reasons I do.
“It’s this blank canvas, and it reflects you back at you.”
I’ve always felt that L.A. is not one city, but thousands of them. You can find anything you want here — any kind of people, any kind of life. You just have to find the right city, the one made for you.
No one is a freak here, because we are all freaks.
The article ends with a great take on what I’ve always called LA’s “background noise of hope”:
They say a place is infused with the character of whoever settled the land. Utah is always going to have a Mormon feel to it. Wisconsin is always going to be Protestant and liberal and cheese-y. And California is gold rush territory. People came out here looking to find that opportunity. It’s a great place for dreamers.
People here don’t dream about a promotion or a new car, they dream about incredible fame and profound love and saving the world.
Of course, that’s just the Los Angeles I live in.
I live in your L.A.!
I still love quote on Angel from Lorne (one of my favorite characters): "You know where I belong? L.A. You know why? Nobody belongs there, it's the perfect place for guys like us."
When I lived in the midwest, I dreamed of palm trees and mountains. I never felt comfortable.
Russ and I went for a walk the other night and passed by a dance studio where a bunch of 50-60 something chubby women were taking a belly dancing class. They wore identical black bikini tops attached to see-through netting that covered their ample bellies, and dangling coin belts around their hips. All were as serious and focused as a group of hardened martial arts students in a strict dojo. The windows were opened and the music was loud. Only in L.A.