Letters From Hollywood

My dad is out visiting me this week. When I asked him what he wanted to check out while he’s here, he quickly responded, “Venice Beach!” Venice Beach?!? Really!? Just because it shares it’s name with a famous Italian city, doesn’t mean it’s anything special at all, I thought. But when I asked why, he responded, “I want to see the crazy people.”

Yes, crazies are one thing Venice has in abundance. Whether it’s the pot-smoking mime, the speedo-clad boombox break-walker, or the legless skateboard rider, they’re all just plain nuts in my book.

On the East side of boardwalk-lane lie legitimate typical beach storefronts. Places you can buy anything from cheap China made shirts to surfboard clocks. However, the West side of boardwalk-lane is filled with street vendors with (allegedly stolen) premium shade umbrellas. And by street, I mean, “literally-lives-on-the-street.”

When I think of Venice, I think of the original home of the all American beach bum, where you can live the American dream. You know, the one where you sleep on the beach, live off the spare change of suckers passing by, and drink yourself blurry. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill homeless though, no sir. From start to finish, Venice is filled with eclectic wanna-be Bob Dylan’s and Andy Warhol’s. And while that might sound sarcastic, it’s not … entirely.

Here’s the interesting part – at least for me. After we spent all Saturday morning and part of the afternoon in Venice, I wanted to know what Pop’s found so interesting about the whole shindig.

First off, apparently what I refer to as, “the boardwalk,” isn’t really a boardwalk at all. All the beaches on the East Coast have a walkway that’s literally made out of wooden boards. Not here. Ours is just a plain old cement path. This allows for lots of bikers and rollerbladers to travel the beachfront alongside everyone else. It’s something Venice in particular is famous for. Dad was blown away by just how many wheels were on “the boardwalk” with us. Personally, I never would have thought of it as out of the ordinary.

He was also surprised at the shear number of street vendors. Though, I would say that’s probably something that’s more exclusive to the hippy town of Venice than anything else. Apparently surfing is a lot more common out here than back East too. That doesn’t shock me though. He was also surprised to see a gym on the beach: Muscle Beach Venice Gym. Trust me when I say it’s not nearly as impressive as it sounds.

One of the other things he said he’d tell his friends back home about were the Tag Walls. A series of cement walls and pillars in which local graffiti artists are encouraged to spray paint with whatever their hearts desire. It was a project funded by the city to encourage local artists to constructively use their talents rather than deface public property. It’s a very cool concept full of very cool artwork. If you get a chance to look it up, there are some pretty interesting videos on YouTube about it.

So kites… yes, kites. It wouldn’t have occurred to me, but dad noticed it right away. Kite flying is a big deal on the East Coast. Here, you rarely see any kites at all. You’re lucky if you even find one of those legitimate storefronts selling them. Either we’re ahead of the trend curve, or behind it. You decide.

I have to admit that I am really surprised at how many things were different from back East. Everything seems so common to me that it took someone else pointing it out to even recognize them at all. Does that mean I’ve been California-ized? Maybe it’s more different out here than even I realize.

Until next time, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

Kemer