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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Blah Blah Blog



Warning: This is another gratuitous post about my love for my hometown.

Yeah, I'm in one of those moods today. The weather is getting warmer, the Dodgers are winning, and the Lakers have advanced to the next round. It must be May in L.A. Now don't get me wrong, I don't take for granted the fact that I live in the best city in the world that just so happens to be my hometown. I spend most of my days in the Marina/LAX area where I live and work - so I get more than my fair share of gray days from the marine layer but it always seems sunny to me. I could wax poetic all day about my love affair with my city and my teams.

The truth is...it really is that cool to be a Los Angeles native and grow up with the Lakers, Dodgers, Clippers, Kings, Rams, and Raiders (and to some extent the Angels and Ducks). Sure, they come and go (and fortunately the Lakers and Dodgers came and stayed) but they all bring back fond memories nonetheless.

Seriously, my childhood memories are like this: listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett, going to the Great Western Forum to see the visiting Harlem Globetrotters, the Rams lose every year, the Dodgers win a world series, the Lakers win again and again, the Angels change their city affiliation over and over (remember the Anaheim Rams, too?), and later on the Raiders win a Super Bowl.

I know, I know...I hear all the time from transplants how horrible we are and how bad our sports are. I don't care. If you don't like it, don't live here. The truth is, not everyone is a sports fan. We have so much more, uh, you know like the whole movie-making thing. Don't forget our awesome weather. We can surf, golf, hike, and do most every other outdoor activity just about 365 days a year. Oh, and snow is just a 70 minute drive for several months in the year too. We have world-class shopping and dining in nearly everything and every culture you can think of. If you're a history buff we've got museums and art exhibits galore. I don't blame my fellow Angelinos for not supporting our local teams wholeheartedly. The truth is that there is so much here to keep one occupied it can be difficult to keep up. For example, I haven't been to a movie in over a year. The last play I caught was one my brother performed in and I haven't seen a concert since...well...a really, really long time. I did catch the Japanese art exhibit at LACMA last year.

Some may call me out of touch.

I'm quite happy.

Do you love your hometown as much as I love mine?


Oh yeah, and don't forget the classic:

4 comments:

Carolyn Hastings said...

You couldn't write a blah post if you tried. :)

Have to say I love my adopted hometown as much as I think you love LA. And I love Randy Newman, too. Remember, he also wrote about Cleveland. In fact, two years ago he was artist-in-residence at U Akron; I saw him perform live. Cried and cried. If there isn't a Cavs game available, I turn to Randy.

Kobe dropped 40 last night? Seriously? Oh my. Let's hope he gets that out of his system before he hits the Q.

Apryl DeLancey said...

You are too kind!

Oh, and you have that wrong - Kobe needs to keep that up! Yeah!

Lindsay said...

Fargo has grown on me, which is why I haven't left in 8 years. My boyfriend would love to move to California (he's from there). I know we'd love all the endless outdoor possibilities. Something he brags about is how in California you can see dessert, the ocean and snow all in one day if you want.

The great thing about our current town is that it is small enough where you can do a lot of things without much competition (I'm the only one paid to run dogs, as far as I know). I also have a greater sense of community than I did in Minneapolis, but maybe it's because I've put more effort into making meaningful connections.

I do miss going to Timberwolves and Twins games, but that's about all I miss.

Apryl DeLancey said...

He's right about seeing the desert, ocean, and snow in one day - heck you can do all of that in one county here!