Re: Moving from L.A.-Lottie

[Guest guest]

Dear Lottie,

I always enjoy your reminiscences about " the old days. " They're very

instructive to those of us who have had to go to under-developed countries to

struggle with everyday necessities. Your description of driving to LA is

priceless! A little turbine in the window? LOL.

I don't mean to complain too much about the area I live in. Let's just say that

after 25 years of living in the cventer of the center of the action in LA kind

of spoils you.

Virginia (and land , too) is indeed a beautiful state. you should have seen

autumn this year! However, I'm still a " city girl " by nature and would love to

be able to walk outside my door and have DC laid out in front of me for the

taking. Even though it's only 8 or 9 miles away and easily accessible by Metro

(subway) it's a world away. I'd like to simply be able to live in the center of

it and hope I can pull that off.

As for returning to LA, it just isn't in the cards. One thing LA is not, is a

good place to age. Everything you've heard is true. The culture there is all

about youth, money and beauty. Dignity is in short supply. That's just the way

it is.

So, I'll enjoy what this area has to offer and continue looking for that

opportunity to move into the thick of Obama World!

[ ] Moving from L.A.

Dear ,

The first time I visited L.A. was in 1947 after a trek in the Mojave Desert in

an old Packard with water bags attached to the fenders in case we ran out of

water. We had a little wind turbine in the window to keep the air flow going,

but we kept our feet on our luggage because the drivers in the front seat had

blisters under their feet from the terrific heat on the floorboards. It was a

lot different back then, most of the motels were mom and pop businesses. My

mother would never agree to stay in one unless she got to examine the sheets.

LOL.

We visited and drove through Virginia several times and I always thought it

was so beautiful. We found so many things to do while there and thought it was

so important for our children to see and experience history. The Friendship

spacecraft was on the front lawn of the sonian and the children were

enthralled with seeing the Spirit of St. Louis hanging from the ceiling and the

wooly mammouth greeting us at the front entrance. We drove through D. C. in a

motor home and you know how narrow those lanes are. I held my breath the whole

time. Our youngest boy was not born yet when we took the older children and our

youngest was six and always talked about wanting to see President Nixon. We took

him, but he never did see Nixon. If anyone lives in land, we loved the

countryside there and if we got lost and found we were in another state, we just

turned around and back tracked until we found our way once again.

I wish you luck in finding a place in D. C., but for me it would be too

congested. I just remembered the name of the movie we went to in L. A. -

" Miracle on 32nd (could be 34th) Street " with little Margaret O'Brien. Can you

tell me if they ever take up some of the " stars " in front of Grauman's Theatre

and why did they call it the Chinese Theatre? - to make room for the new ones?

What do they do with them if they " retire " them? We also experienced an earth

tremor on the 33rd floor of a hotel. Geesh, that was a little scary.

If you ever decide to pack up your vagabond shoes, do you think you would go

back to L. A. given the times and the crime?

Blessings,

Lottie