Brookswords

June Wedding

Nothing like a June wedding, particularly a storefront wedding in downtown Los Angeles, where the canned sound of 'Here Comes the Bride' competes with the sounds of buses, fire trucks and police sirens...and where a huge sidewalk sign lets the presumably happy couple know that they can return to the very same place...for a divorce!

Just The Facts

Had a lot of fun in class last week, reading this book, a nice send up of Jack Webb & Dragnet.  The kids--having, of course, no idea of what it satirizes--did get into the spirit of things, and loved the style of the book.  In the old Dragnet, with it's 'just the facts' m.o., a scene would open with with, say, '9:00 am.  Hollywood'; in the book, one section opens with '10:00 am.  Barnyard.'  I tried my best Jack Webb staccato-delivery presentation as I read, and once I got home I made a beeline to YouTube & found the following, with Jack Webb sending up himself:

Tamale Lady Blues No More

One of the things I like most about Los Angeles is that, in areas with a high Latino population, we have our street corner Tamale Ladies.   Rain (the two days of the year it rains here) or shine there they are, uttering their mantra, "tamales, champurrado...".

My Tamale Lady--where I catch the bus at Sunset Blvd & Echo Park-- disappeared this summer.  I missed her; she wrapped tamales & poured champurrado with phenomenal speed, knowing the bus could be right around the corner.  And what a sweetheart--twice I turned away, forgetting to pay her, but then remembered to.  But did she complain? No.  However, I've started to walk away without either the tamale or the champurrado (and sometimes both) & she called out "Mister, Mister!!" 

So...I do have a point I'm leading to...this morning, she was back!! I splurged, buying 3 tamales & a Champurrado.  Hallelujah!!

I hope I didn't forget to pay her...