S'mores!

Yesterday during my fifth period class, my student Hasmik returned from the restroom and pronounced Los Feliz was on fire. I ran out of my classroom and sure enough, POOF. Smoke everywhere. I could see it was just north of Los Feliz Boulevard and already HUGE. There were helicopters everywhere. It was INSANELY close. One more hour and we could go home... sigh.

Traffic was a mess of course ("Thanks a LOT fire!") so after school I decided to head home via Silver Lake (the actual reservoir, not the new "cool" area where you can have an old Mercedes converted to run on french-fry oil while you grab a 3 piece across the street at Pollo Loco)... I always listen to NPR on the way home as I like to just decompress and zone out. An interview with Bjork? Perfect. I used to really love Bjork, then I kind of hated her, then I... HOLY SHIT! From the actual "Lake" I had the PERFECT spot to watch Griffith Park incinerate. I pulled over and stared at the growing, breathtakingly beautiful flames.

Fire has always lulled me into a self-indulgent daze. With Bjork droning on about her collaboration with Timbaland, I started thinking of my early LA days in Los Feliz. I met my partner Jon in the Fall of 1997. We were both in relationships with other people and met while he's was working out of his other office up in San Francisco. Jon's a banking lawyer and would work in the Bay Area a few times each month. As it's a small gay world, we kept meeting up. After a few months, things sort of clicked and I came down to visit him. By Sunday, we knew we wanted to be together so I broke up with my partner and he did the same. Something I'm proud of? No. Something I regret? Absolutely not. He's the love of my life and I am the love of his.

I can still remember the unusual torrential rains that January weekend. Exploring the incredible architecture of Los Feliz, driving through Griffith Park, stalking Jon's new neighbor Madonna... it was all too good to be true. After 6 months of commuting between LA and San Francisco, I moved down full-time and became an all too common "Accidental Angeleno". I hated LA pretty quickly thereafter. I was always lost, had no sense of the city and missed my life. I ached to go "home" to the Bay Area. My only solace- my beloved Astro Diner on Fletcher. I'm a soup man, plain and simple. I eat soup everyday if possible and they have it. Spinach Meatball, Split Pea (had that today in fact), Tortilla, the de rigeur Vegetable... all good and all soupy.

After a few years even the soup lost its appeal and Jon agreed to move to San Francisco and head up a new division within his bank. He did this for me. I was back up north all of two months when I realized I had somehow become an Angeleno along the way. I secretly missed Southern California but never said a word. Since Jon had to work in both cities from time to time, we took an apartment near his office in Downtown LA. He'd use it when working down here and I could come down to see my friends.

Downtown had not really been discovered yet and there were no lofts or cool conversions. Just LOTS of rats and lots of crack deals. The building was incredible though. We had one of the three penthouses of the grand central market building at 3rd and Broadway. Before us, Nicholas Cage had all three penthouses knocked together and would throw some pretty amazing parties from what I hear. The caterers had to sign privacy agreements but as we all know, they ALWAYS blab. Thank god. Let's just say people wore a LOT of latex clothing there...

One weekend down in LA, we were having dinner at Houston's in Pasadena. The beans were spilled: I wanted to come back to LA. Like a Perry Mason courtroom drama, it all came out. Jon also wanted to come back, ("Yeah...um... I HATE San Francisco...") and within a few months we were back, living in our dream house in Mt. Washington. A fully restored 1912 Craftsman "Society Bungalow" on 7/10 of an acre.

LA is EVERY cliche' you see in bad teen movies from the 80's (think Valley Girl). Vapid, self-important, pretentious. I love it. It's also chocked full o' wildlife and nature and trees... Watching Griffith Park being destroyed, I dreamily thought to myself, "I love LA". And I do. Bjork? I'm on the fence.