The Happy Ones

Everyone says moving away from the Westside you find happier, friendlier, more multi-dimensional people. Our first walk into Trader Joe's and I could not believe all the hipsters - way edgier than me and yet still willing to smile at a stranger.

Yet, since we moved east, we have not yet found the warm, neighborly feel we had at 11284. Part of this is simply the floor plan, I am sure - there is no center courtyard to pass each other in.
Our neighbors walk past us - heads down with quick steps - at odd hours. This means most discoveries about our new house and hood come from first hand discovery.

In 4 months, we've found some great walks and hikes, an excellent bookstore, an authentic French cafe, 3 good places for brunch, 6 great places for dinner, our grocery store, our target, etc.

My mom says she thought the fountain on Los Feliz at Riverside being the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen when she was little. I did not believe her that it lit up with colors until one tired night, I drove down Los Feliz Blvd. and saw a burst of pink then blue from the fountain. Now, I think of her every time I drive past it.

My best friend says she remembers her grandmother telling her about going dancing at the Derby or the Dresden - she always gets them confused. So do I.

When I first moved here, I WIKIed some information. My favorite fact is that Los Feliz is loosley translated to the happy ones. So far, so true.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Los Feliz was home to many early movie studios, including the first Disney studio (now a Gelson's supermarket).

The neighborhood has historically been home to movie stars, musicians, and the Hollywood elite. It boasts some of the best known residential architecture in the city, including two homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Ennis House and the Hollyhock House, and Richard Neutra's Lovell House.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, it is estimated that there were 40,573 people residing in the Griffith Park/Los Feliz area. The ethnic or racial makeup of the area was 70.54% non-Hispanic White, 3.77% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 8.61% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 2.37% from other races, and 6.45% from two or more races. 16.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median income for a household in Los Feliz was approx $97,104.

May 2007 fire

On May 8-9, 2007, about 800 acres (3.2 km²) of uninhabited terrain in Los Feliz and Griffith Park, including the famous Dante's View, were destroyed in a wildfire. In light of the event, Los Angeles city officials have pledged millions of dollars in aid to reconstruct the parts damaged by the fire over the coming years.

Here's what we know of our neighbors so far. Our neighbor across the hall: looks like Judi Dench without her make-up on, is British, smokes, hates it when we leave the hall light on because it attracts mosquito's, hates our landlord, and has lived here 30 years so we estimate she pays about $5.35 in rent each month.

There is a man, who wears mostly a bathrobe and looks a lot like the Dude from Big Lobowski. When we first moved in and it had not stopped raining for a week, there was a small mudslide in our parking lot. The Dude approached MJC and said - "Hey, your the new guy. The way I see it - you are the one who should be calling the landlord about this mud. Your the one who is paying a hell of a lot more rent than any of the rest of us." He laughed maniacally then turned away.


And then we know of our downstairs neighbor, Gigi, mostly just because she lives downstairs.
She has 2 cats that sit in the windows, her walls are painted in a delicious mint green and a deep crimson, she seems to wear primarily athletic clothes and she has an old truck that shakes the entire building and sounds like a semi idling when she starts it in the morning or pulls in late at night. Gigi looks a little like Charlotte Gainsbourg mixed with someone else I can't decide.

MJC and I were sitting on our back porch* last night drinking a beer when we noticed our downstairs' neighbors lights were on her car. The night before, we'd had the same experience with a different neighbor and different car. After chasing her down the driveway, she tersely replied that they turn off automatically. I could see her forcing hard not to roll her eyes at me.

Despite the previous burn, I ran up the driveway to tell Gigi her lights were on. She was was appreciative and sweet and we sat there for maybe 2 hours talking and learning about each other. Maybe we'll be friends.

MJC and I were hiking two weeks ago in Griffith Park, looking at the remnants of a fire and not knowing much about what happened. Also, Joe Pesci said good morning to me. He was wearing baggy basketball shorts, no shirt and I think a few chains around his neck. I did not know it was him until he did the same smile he did at Kevin in Home Alone when he posed as a police officer.

I digress,It's amazing to think of what the hills that loom at the top of our street would have looked like blazing orange. I started looking online for more information and picked up the Los Feliz Ledger, not knowing we were approaching the one year anniversary.
http://www.losfelizledger.com/

Online, I found first hand accounts from neighbors I may or may not know, about coyotes and deer fleeing the park . In my westside bubble I heard about the fires in Griffith Park last year. I remember smelling the smoke and seeing ash as far as downtown, but I was horrified to see Colin Brown's photos just last weekend on After the Fire.

http://griffithparkfirephotos.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinbrown/sets/72157600221916384/


* a shabby chic we wooden bench we dragged out of our laundry room and onto our back driveway


Ahhhh! So much more to say, but MJC is hustling me out of the house.