California fusion

Being in Los Angeles this week has been like going on a world tour without once having to take off my shoes at a damn airport or wonder if the water is drinkable although, for the most part, we're not drinking the water at the condo because it is discolored when we first turn the tap on in the morning. Anyway, fusion. It's what America (was supposed to) be all about.



M. Lee had another great day all mapped out this morning and off we went. We started at the Sunday outdoor Farmer's Market on Melrose. Needed vegetables. Not to knock RFD, but we overdid it there on the grains this week. We couldn't resist their veggie TV dinners and seitan steaks, true comfort food, but three nights in five was overkill. As usual, we only realize enough is enough when it's become too much.



So today, top of the list, we went in search of fresh veggies and fruit for tonight's dinner. The people watching at the market was okay but definitely not equal to Venice Beach although Brother Root was pretty interesting. He was an ENORMOUS black fellow dressed in a brown caftan over white pajama pants. He had long black dreadlocks and a pure white beard and it was instantly obvious to me that he is an ambassador sent by the root world to minster to the human world. He was selling oils, lotions, sage and well, I suppose, roots. Brother Root. He himself looked like a gigantic root in human form sprung from a mysterious healing tree whose trunk and branches grow downward into the loamy darkness of the underworld.

Brother Root

After the market we went to Ikea in Burbank. We need chairs for the game table we got at Christmas. Didn't find any. One way or other we're determined to rope some of our friends into regular game nights. Board games that is. So we need comfortable chairs. Being in Burbank got M. Lee and his mom talking about Roy Rogers, as it is the home of The Croonin' Cowboy Corral. Naturally the conversation drifted to Trigger, Roy's horse, and the fact that Roy had him stuffed and mounted after he died and that he's in a museum somewhere. The thought of seeing Trigger's corpse started me wondering once again about just which side of the river are we actually on. People, horses, bugs, everything and everyone in this world dies... leaves, goes poof or whatever you call it. Disappears.



But the corpse remains in our world. I don't know. I'm not trying to figure it out. Don't want to know and, more importantly, don't want to THINK I know. But it's one of my favorite themes. I like the sense, the suspension of ordinary reality, such musings evoke.

Lunch was at a vegetarian buffet in "Little India" (Artesia) at a place called Woodlands. Yelpers give it 4.5 stars. The house specialty is the tasty dosa. For all my years in the Krishna movement, I never had one before, never even heard of them, which M. Lee was only too happy to point out. I don't mind. I can be humble.


On our way to Artesia, he explained to us that the town not yet been awarded a "Little India" sign by whatever branch of government is in charge of doing such things and people are disgruntled. I was inclined to sympathize. After all, LA is crammed with "Little" this and "Little" that so why not give a "Little India" a sign to "Little India"? That was on the way to Artesia. The Woodlands was wonderful and obviously the town has an Indian community but "Little India"? At least from what we saw, seems it needs to get a bit bigger first. We saw more Chinese shops. Just sayin'.



After lunch we tried going to the observatory in Griffith Park but it was jammed so we went on to Y-Que where we picked up some cool tshirts, including one for M. Lee's dad (a musician) which says, "I control humans with music". Then we stopped at Out of the Closet in West Hollywood (five Yelp stars) where Kathy and I found a couple more treasures.





It was there I found my Big Find of the Day, a Franz Kafka tee. Oh yeah. Then on to the Melrose Trading Post (four Yelps). We had to pay a buck each to get in which irked the hell out of M. Lee but it turned out to be worth all the pain. Kathy found a lovely Year of the Rat pendant (two rats curling around one another) for his dad who is, as you might guess, a Rat.

And dinner? Mmmmm...wonderful veggie tamales from the Farmer's Market, an incredible salad and one giant flax seed cook each.

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Los Angeles Santee Market