“The Bare Necessities of (beach) Life”

IN "JUNGLE BOOK" Baloo took little Mowgli around the jungle and explained to him life lessons for survival. Baloo’s message was given in the form of a famous song, and in my opinion somewhat describes the laid back attitude Los Angeles beach dwellers are known for, “look for the bare necessities the simple bare necessities, forget about your worries and your strife…”.

Today I visited Hermosa Beach, I stood there amongst what felt like an entire different world of people. These people weren’t rushing to work, sitting in traffic on the 405, or even glued to their phones shouting as if they were the only ones on the street. They seemed so relaxed and care free with their shades on, a latte in one hand, and a purse dog attached to a leash in the other. As I watched the resident pedestrians in their element I couldn’t help but wonder, don’t these people work or better yet have anything at all to stress about? Or, has Baloo made his way from the jungle to Los Angeles to continue and spread his life motto. It became very clear that he was here, traces of him were everywhere, and these people moseying down the street, on ironically for LA a rainy day, definitely forgot about their worries and their strife.

I can’t talk about LA without mentioning the weather, so I’ll set the scene for you, and you too can understand why this place and these people seemed so abstract from certain realities. It was cloudy and raining when I left LMU, and after a 20-minute drive on south Lincoln to PCH, and despite the clouds now traveling east, looking at the beach you would have thought LA was rounding off a beautiful sunny day. The sky was crystal clear, the clouds that remained looked snuggle soft and fresh out of the dryer. The ocean water was so bright it resembled that of drifting mirrors reflecting what was left of the setting sun. While I’m observing this shift in imagery, from inland to the coast, right by me walks a young woman obviously in her element and a resident of this picturesque neighborhood: Ponytail, Bermuda shorts, and of course the signature shades, latte, and puppy in hand. It’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon and putting all these puzzle pieces together I couldn't help but ask myself, at what point did she wake up today or better yet get dressed? Is it beach resident common knowledge that no matter how a day begins it will inevitably end requiring summer attire? Or, did she wake up, dress April shower accordingly, and race home to change into her “resident uniform” in time to catch the last of the visit from the sun. What’s even more interesting about this scenario is it wasn’t’ just her, everyone that walked past me was visually screaming August. I felt over dressed and all I had on was a light sweater and jeans.

Like I said, Baloo has no doubt paid a visit to Hermosa and made very clear that a stand by set of summer play clothes is to remain on deck. So it my intention to spread his news, that no matter how an LA day begins, if you find yourself near the beach or are wanting to move there, shorts my friends are the bare necessities of life.

-- Erin Golightly
(photo credit: the toe stubber, flickr creative commons)

Iconic L.A.: Road, Music & California Love

DRIVING TOWARDS THE beach meant double-sided cassettes spinning verse about “California Love”. Bass-treble gangsta’ anthems that inflated my brother’s bravado as he and his friends took in the babes and waves on either side of that caramel-colored Regal. Gustavo spent these days looking through his rear-view at the chubby mess of bashfulness sitting by the window. In his mind, the over-confident charm he and his friends worked over the sun-soaked girls on each of those trips were actually attempts to mold me. The Aztec gods, Olde English, black and white brown pride engraved on his arms, afternoon rides by the beach, and Tupac’s voice all seemed to influence me—this imagery would prove to shape my sentimentality of Los Angeles, whenever I would acknowledge its claim over my memories.

Tupac as a poet acts as a historian of my time in Los Angeles. His voice has the uncanny ability to surface images and senses that remind me of my first impressions of the city. Growing up I spent most of my time with my older siblings—hanging out, parties, fights, rides and rides and rides all took place within the limits of Manhattan Beach, Inglewood, and Hollywood. Tupac, as well as his friends in the genre Snoop, Ice Cube, Dre all seemed to come together to make a distinctive sound that makes me envision my family at a younger time in their lives. To me, Los Angeles represents my family growing up and driving through it with me. These times shaped my understanding and reinforced their memories with the music that surrounded. It has an aggression that represents the real struggle people face every day in this city, it illustrates the strength that people have developed after dealing with it, but it also reflects the excitement to be had within it.

Take “Dear Mamma” for instance. It reminds me of how my mom would take the bus home from work every day—trying to forget the tension in her soles with each glimpse of L.A. life on the way home. Then there’s artists like Ice Cube who remind me of fights breaking out at barbeques in Inglewood over the stupidest machismo reasoning. A song like “I Get Around” or “How Do You Want It” makes me smile at the thought of laughing with my siblings on the beach. My understanding of what makes Los Angeles L.A. is completely personal. I imagine this to be the case with any local. For my experience, I am left with songs and artists that really represent the impressions that my family created throughout the city. Even though my music taste has grown and developed on its own accord, I still keep these songs dear to my heart because they remind me of myself, my roots, and my relationship to this city.

-- Jesse Alvarez

(photo credits: bixentro, my_tats, didoro flickr photo stream)