Another reason Los Angeles in the spring can be so wondrous: bougainvillea in full bloom everywhere, both cultivated and wild. This photo doesn't convey the vivid, soul-stirring, neon purples, pinks, yellows and reds by half.


[Photo © 2008 ApartmentTherapy.]

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If you've never visited Los Angeles in the spring, you might not realize that at night the air is scented. The blooming jacaranda trees are among the reasons why in this impossible metropolis, at night, perfumed air washes over the city. Glorious. I've said it before, but there are moments when Los Angeles really does feel like paradise. The blossoms are large and sticky and Angelenos are fond of complaining about the residue left behind on our precious cars. But I love driving around the city as carpets of electric purple blanket the sidewalks and berms.

[Photo © ScribblesFromLA.]

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I've never been more proud to be a Californian than I am today: "California's Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down"

And yet, the gay-hating wingnuts have managed to get a proposal on the November ballot that would alter our state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. So the battle isn't over. It shouldn't surprise me, and yet it does, that so many people fail to understand that I can't get married if I so desire. I pay my taxes, I don't break the law, I am a productive citizen of this city, state and country. And yet because it makes too many straight people uncomfortable to think about it, I can't get married. What I have available is a hodgepodge of this-and-that, and the option of "civil partnership" or whatever the straights have decided doesn't make them feel all oogy to think about.

But, starting tomorrow, if I had a guy I wanted to marry in my life, I could do it. Yes, it's 2008, people. Yes, it could still be taken away if the wingnuts win this battle. No, my marriage would not be legally recognized anywhere except Massachusetts. We have a ways to go yet. And I'm not sure marriage is even something I want for myself! I don't lie awake at night and dream about a white wedding. I don't have any romantic attachment to the idea.

And, really, you know, it's never been an option! Why fantasize about something I could never have? I grew up in a world where gay people weren't allowed to legally marry! So, yeah, I get a little teary-eyed when I realize, well, shit, I could if I wanted to now.

So today is a good day.

[Photo © Getty Images via CNN.com.]

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"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life—happiness, freedom, and peace of mind—are always attained by giving them to someone else."
— Peyton C. March, general (1864-1955)

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My beloved Irv's Burgers (the link is three years old and references a battle to save the wondrous Route 66 burger shack from Evil Developers—A BATTLE WE WON) has been referenced in a new book called Hamburger America: A State-by-State Guide to 100 Great Burger Joints by George Motz. Go buy the book, even if you're a veggie, and donate it to a library or something. Cheers.

[Photo © AHamburgerToday.]

Deflated

I spent most of this week grappling with a flu bug that stuck like tar. I couldn't shake the little beasties and their sinus-attacking brand of pestilence. It didn't affect my appetite at all. Of course not! I could be riddled with leprosy and debating whether to call the Thai place around the corner or the Chinese place I have to drive to that has the orange chicken I like.

Yesterday it felt like the flu bug wasn't done with me, but I awoke this morning feeling human. However, one of the side effects of this minor disease is a cold sore on my lower lip. Ugh! This time it wasn't so bad, and it's mostly healed except for a small scab. Whatever, I felt fine as I set about my morning constitutional. In fact, I felt great. I walked and walked. I came 'round a corner at one point and some Gays were having a yard sale, except all the stuff looked expensive and all the tables were covered with white tablecloths and they had water with lemon slices available to slake one's thirst. One of the Gays looked over at me, cocked his head and smiled. I smiled back. He strolled up, studying my face. He was lean and rangy, with dark curls, and tanned golden-brown; his teeth glowed like a pack of fresh Chiclets.

"I'd like to ask you a personal question," he said.

"Okay," I replied, tremulous and dazzled. He grinned magnificently.

"I'm part of a research group testing a new medicine for herpes. Are you having an outbreak, or is that just a cold sore?"


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Crafting aphorisms is a delicate task. Like haiku, you want to distill big ideas into as few words as possible to create a pithy reduction, something that resonates and sticks to your ribs without seeming oblivious or lurching into sappiness. You also want it to feel universal, and yet leave room for debate. The following are all from Yahia Lababidi, whom I wrote about yesterday (buy his book):

"Jokes permit us to be reckless with the truth, confessing more than we would ordinarily dare."

"Things are at their most comfortable, before they collapse—be they armchairs or relationships."

"To hurry pain is to leave a classroom still in session. To prolong pain is to remain seated in a vacated classroom and miss the next lesson."

"We all have handicaps. The difference is that some of us must reveal ours, while others must conceal theirs, to be treated with mercy."

"Marrying for looks is like buying books for their pictures - a good idea, if one cannot read."

"The notion of family is merely a comforting fallacy. In truth, there are only relative strangers."

"Impulses we attempt to strangle only develop stronger muscles."

"The harshest critics are those denied access to the work; it is the same with life's critics."

"Intuition: generous deposits made to our account by an unknown benefactor."

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