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)
