Most everyone can recall the moment they landed in the City of Angels, at least this is true of those of us born elsewhere. I arrived in the mid-1970’s with my head filled with all the dreams one might imagine a recent high school graduate to hold, expecting the whole world to dance along side of me. Living high above the bustle of Hollywood Boulevard, I stood on my balcony envisioning an upward trajectory as far as the stars in the night sky. Everyone had such dreams. Waiters were dancers, bartenders were writers, bus drivers and store clerks and front desk gals all aspiring actors. We nodded passionately as we passed each other in our day to day, believing that everyone’s aspiration could be realized with each affirmation. Ram Dass’s Be Here Now, already battered and earmarked, gave us the right to declare this was our moment, our now. One could feel the dynamic currents in the expanse of a cobalt blue sky and the fanning of the feathery palms overhead as you drove along the curves of Sunset Boulevard straight through the Palisades to the broad Pacific coastline. What couldn’t we do here? Possible was a battle cry being shouted by everyone in the city, a beautiful star-studded La-La Land of guarantees. A community that applauded each other with giant billboards and kind reviews. There were no impossibles.
Nine Cent Girl 