I had the nicest morning yesterday. I slept in late and woke up to a text from my friend Ashley asking if I wanted to go to the Brentwood Farmers Market with her and her boyfriend Steve. I pulled on sweats and my bright yellow flipflops and headed out to meet them.
It was beautiful outside - almost 70 degrees with a nice breeze. We walked to and through the farmer’s market, sampling pretzel bread and homemade hummus and St. Patrick’s Day-themed sugar cookies and admiring pretty jewelry and some gorgeous artichokes and a fantastic Dodgers birthday cake. I bought a bouquet of pink and white Gerber daisies (my favorite flower!) and a gorgeous white orchid for my living room. We stood in line at the Greek stand and got delicious kebabs and gyro pitas with fresh squeezed lemonade and sat on the grass and ate our lunch under the sun. I even rolled my sleeves up and got a little bit of a tan on my arms.
It was seriously so nice. One of those perfect LA days that made me so thankful to live where I live. And it reminded me of something that’s been on my mind lately...
I AM SO SICK OF PEOPLE HATING ON LOS ANGELES.
In the past few weeks, at least four people (some whose opinions I value and some - like my goddamn San Franciscan cab driver - I could care less about) have yapped my ear off about how much they HATE Los Angeles. And then on Friday I saw the new movie Happythankyoumoreplease, where one of the central story lines revolved around how much some girl DIDN’T want to move to LA because she would “never walk anywhere” or “do anything related to culture” ever again.
What is SO AWFUL about Los Angeles? I get that there’s a lot of traffic and it’s kinda smoggy sometimes and people spend a lot of time in their cars and sometimes the people who live here can be not so nice and kind of fake. But there’s also gorgeous weather year round and unbelievable beaches and some goddamn delicious restaurants and a million cultures living side by side and an entire industry that is solely devoted to providing the people of the country and the world with entertainment.
Los Angeles is like no other city on earth. But that’s what makes it LA! The things that make our cities different are the things that make our cities great. I love - LOVE - Houston and Dallas and Memphis and Austin and Miami and New York and Tucson and Las Vegas and a million other of the places I’ve traveled to because when I’m there, I love doing and seeing and experiencing and soaking up all of the things that I DON’T get to do when I’m home in Los Angeles.
So I’m sorry if I don’t understand the LA hate. I am proud of my city. It’s not for everyone. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a great place.
Sounds like a lovely day at the Farmer's Market.
ReplyDeleteI too heart LA and all of it's glory! Most of my peeps are out in the Inland Empire (OC's "valley") and don't come up to LA often. I work up here, in downtown, and la la love it! So much to explore and take in.
LA rocks and so do the girls that are tough enough to handle it! :)