still-sound 82. Hollywood hill



Fireworks over Dodgers Stadium. I watched from my terrace.

My friend Carlos and I both had off from work on the Fourth of July.  We arranged to meet up at the parking lot of In-n-Out Burger in Studio City at 8:15 am.  We were both on time.  From there I hopped into Carlos' car and he navigated the Valley until we reached the bottom of a path that would eventually lead to a summit behind the Hollywood sign.

We hiked the tiny dirt paths at a brisk but leisurely pace.  Carlos told me about a date he had had the previous week.  He called it the Drunk Date because the girl he was meeting had just been to a tailgating party at Dodgers Stadium and appeared to be completely drunk.  She was also an hour late, calling him to say that she was lost.  Carlos met her at a supermarket parking lot and drove them to a restaurant.  They had a fun conversation over dinner, although she didn't eat for feeling queasy.  She excused herself twice to vomit.  Carlos thought this was funny.  I laughed as he told me the story.  They're most likely going to go on another date soon.

Twisty, burnt, black trees, the remainders of a wildfire, dotted the terrain at the top of the hike. We reached a little clearing and sat on stones to meditate for a few minutes.  The stone I sat on bore a plaque that read "Hugh Hefner" in honor of his efforts to save the rugged hills from property developers.

When I got home after the hike I was surprised to find that fine Hollywood dirt penetrated my shoes and socks to make my feet brown.  After washing, I lit a stick of Tibetan incense and started ironing shirts.