Dinner, Downtown...

Last night my partner Jon and I ate downtown at a cool barbecue "joint". Spring Street Smoke House is Located in the Chinatown area of downtown Los Angeles. It's cheap, fast and GOOD. A roll of paper towels at every table!? A loaf of white bread still in it's plastic bag!? Help yourself! It's effective and practical. Former caterers opened this place and serve their BBQ favorites ("Add two side for 2 bucks!). It was Dee-Lish.

Driving along Broadway we cut over and parked up the block ("There's Phillipe's!") and headed down the street. I was immediately drawn to the old signs in this area, some in Chinese, some in Spanish, some trilingual. Most of them were older than me yet still calling customers to long forgotten businesses...

I think of my parents when I see old signs from this era. Signs from when they would have been in their 30's. My age. I think of their adult lives that I will never understand. I think of their unhappiness, commitment and loneliness and hope there was more to their marriage than what I saw. I think there must have been a time when they were happy and fun and in love. I don't remember that at all really but I'm sure when they were in love, they'd go to some downtown, to some restaurant somewhere and have a nice barbecue dinner... with two sides... for two dollars.