Where does elauinc rest her weary head at night? Right now, I have the luxury of living where I grew up and being close to my parents--which I truly appreciate. The place itself is far for luxurious but it ain't so bad in my opinion. My family, Sergio and I worked hard to make it nice and most of my neighbors do the same. The area? Well...I grew up here so I'm generally pretty comfortable. I can't speak for anyone else. So it was a bit disheartening to look up the Wikipedia entry for my 'hood and see that the only piece of history listed is a murder in 1995. With PR like that, it's easy to misunderstand my neighborhood. Cypress Park is a little enclave usually lumped into Glassell Park and/or Highland Park. It's so small, no one really knows it's here.
The bad and the good. Let's see...
- Security bars on the windows? Yep, I never knew any different growing up.
- Helicopters and bright lights in the middle of the night? Hey, it happens.
- Loud popping noises, typically at night (followed by sirens and the bright lights)? sad sigh. Not often. But it happens too. My heart always quickens and my stomach gets tight, especially if they sound close and there are six or more in quick succession.
- Insanely loud Mexican polka? Of course. But only during festive times.
- Awesome neighbors? Yes! We invited them to our homespun wedding reception last year.
- Streets lined with pretty, well-kept front yards-- studded with roses, fruit-trees and green grass? They certainly put my concrete lawn with the lame excuse of a "garden" to shame.
- Revered local landmark, the original King Taco location? That's right folks, I live down the street from the very first King Taco restaurant.
- Close to local freeways? 5, 110, 101, 2, 134-- all about 5 minutes away.
- And don't forget the pretty L.A. River Center & Gardens, formerly Lawry's restaurant and spices processing plant. I remember as a kid riding past the plant with windows rolled down, how spicy the air was as it wafted into the car. Did you know, they laid down railroad track from Taylor Yard (now Rio de Los Angeles State Park) straight into the warehouse/plant? This made deliveries super easy back in the day.
- 901 Isabel St. - designed by architect John C. Austin. Same guy who designed the Griffith Park Observatory and one of three who designed L.A. City Hall.
- Cool parents? Yes, mine.
Like every other place in the world, there is both good and bad. Despite the somewhat shady elements and just all around uncomfortable-ness of our tiny house -- I still call it home. At least, for now. :)
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