Football Comes To LaLa Land

Fan Base Of The LA Football Club--Notice The Difference Between This Crowd And a Trump Fund Raiser

View From My Seat

April 29 was the opening game for the Los Angles Football Club and it was a party from the get-go.  How could you not have a great time, and game, with the diversity and love for football that LA has stored in their hearts for generations. We are, in La-la Land, a mix of the world. We incorporate in our city, people from everywhere and every kind. That is our strength in that we unite to be who we are from where we came. Me and my friends left from Culver City after a great meal of Mexican food.  We boarded the Expo line a few blocks away that dropped us off in front of the Rose garden at Expo Park. From there we walked by USC students who graduated and were taking photo shoots in the rose garden's fountain  area. From there a quick step through the Science Center and to the Banc Of California Stadium. Along the way vendors plying us with all kinds of food and wear, people taking photos, families and friends smiling and enjoying everything Los Angeles has to offer at its finest. It was Disneyland in the heart of the city.  

The opening festivities left us with enough time to wait in line for a big-ass can of beer. We got to our seats to watch an eagle fly and for us to sing the national anthem before the game began. It was far different watching it live than from the living room's TV. The constant roar of fans, the anticipation of scoring throughout the game up to the last seconds where the score was 0 to 0. That's when LA's captain gave it one last try and scored. It brought the house down. 

For an hour after the game, fans roared, congratulated and praised our team and its wonderful, beautiful, diversified stadium and city. Our mayor was there at the opening to help usher in another wonder that makes La-La Land so unique in America. We left and walked back to the Expo line where our police force helped its citizens to board safely and quickly. It was far faster to take Metro than to drive there. Even where I live in the San Fernando Valley, I can go a few blocks to a Metro station and get to this stadium in the heart of the city faster than I could ever do in a car. How cool is that?

My Pal Sweet Pea

Animals are a joy to have. They light your soul and warm your heart like nothing else can. My Sweet Pea is one heart warmer, full of love who, from the moment he wakes next to me, wants nothing more than to be my pal for the whole day. He is there for me on good days and bad, doesn't matter, he'll bring me a squeak to toss in the air for him bringing it back with a dash for another toss. He lays down next to me when I take a nap and ready to go as soon as I wake. His favorite activity is a brisk walk when we canvass the hood looking for something new. He walks well with a strut in his stride, tail up and wide eyed, especially when squirrels comes his way.

Every animal I've known had their own unique personality, just like people, and all of them respond to love and affection. But I think some have a tad more love to give than others, it just depends how they match up with you. Sweet Pea and me match up pretty well and I can tell because Millie the cat and Sweet Pea got along just fine right from the day they met. That says a lot about Sweet Pea because Millie isn't real fond of other dogs at all except for this one. They sleep together, play together which is really fun to watch one chasing the other and then they switch until they tire enough and lay on the grass next to one another.

I love them both. Millie is a very special cat who watches out for everybody, patrolling the property on a regular schedule. If a gate is open, she'll get me and cry until I follow her where she will sit and stare at the problem until I realize that something isn't right and then fix it--thanks to her diligence. Sweet Pea knows the sound of any car. If a friend pulls up, Sweet Pea knows before we do because he recognizes each individual car. It's amazing what the little guy can hear but when you have ears like a bat it must be quite easy to know when butterflies come around. 

Bar Fly News From LaLa Land

The Pikey Bar and Grill

I like bars. It can be high end or low end, doesn't matter to me because it is the people that go to them that make the bar. It's a place, especially if you're alone where for a while you have companionship in the mix of drinks and conversation. Then there is the eavesdropping of other conversations that are of interest. The hookups, the failed hookups and the subtle seducing that draws your ear and thoughts away from your troubles while listening to theirs.

People come fresh from work to unwind, and hopefully before the end of Happy Hour. They open their collars and wallets as they ease into a chair at the bar. They come in groups and solo to join all the others wanting a moment away from the world. For that is what a bar brings people, a time to get away and be free of constraint. Bars are probably the first social experience man has created. I'm sure the caves of Lascaux France with the painted scenes of wild animals was to entertain guests waiting for some kind of alcoholic concoction served to them after a day of hunting. What could be a better experience than to sit in firelight drinking grog from a horn and recanting the great hunt pictured on the walls all around.

Even during the darkest hours in America when bars were closed and raided, people found a way to gather. Sure they could get a drink at home but why? It's not the same as when you go someplace else to drink because it is the social event that matters. It's in our genes to gather at the watering hole and spend time with complete strangers mixing thought and word with one another. So go on, find a place nearby and take part in this time honored tradition of our species to find a place with a sign hanging out front--Cocktails.