KOREATOWN MUSINGS and MUSICAL SENIORS

The condo we moved to in Koreatown (known to the locals as K-town) is an eclectic mix of all ages, all ethnicities and bad plumbing.  Definitely an explosive combination ;)  

And -since I've been housebound - I've had loads of time to observe the neighbors, perched from my balcony looking out at others like Jimmy Stewart in REAR WINDOW.  There's the gray ponytailed hippie dude who owns a weathered Craftsman across the street.  He mows his dying brown lawn with a manual push mower and leaves his door wide open on hot nights.  I'm glad he and the 2 other Craftsman owners  are holding out on developers - because we have a clear view of the sky and sunsets over palm trees and the mountains.  It's a reminder that we live in Southern California - a view that's constantly being threatened as bungalows and historical bldgs are mowed down for modern hi-rises that leave you in the shadows.  

There's a halfway house down the street here too - a cute little gingerbread house packed with tense strangers trying to get clean and get along.  One woman there just sits on the grass and pouts, staring at passers-by like she wants to stir up trouble.  Look at her a second too long and she'll wave and make ruder gestures.  Further down - older Korean women sit on stoops and chat while little kids run in the sprinklers and skateboards skid along the pavement.  

And in my building - for some reason - the seniors that live here like to sing and sing LOUD! Yesterday the resident mayor of the bldg was belting out Jewish/Fiddler on the Roof type tunes in the laundry room.  It echoed into the pkng garage.  I don't really know how to handle spontaneous singing in real life and so I did what anyone would do... I walked around the bldg and came in a different entrance.  

My friend Leslie encountered another older woman from our bldg fervently singing patriotic tunes as she exited the Ralph's grocery shuttle bus.  Leslie and the bus driver shared a "holy shit" look.   We appreciate patriotic standards in the company of others, but individually it's a harder sell.  

And the 60+ woman who lives next to me (and wears flowing Mrs. Roper mu-mus all day - I'd probably be her if fuzzy pajamas weren't more in fashion now) came out on her porch on the 4th and didn't sing, but waved a flag slowly and deliberately - like a beauty queen on a float.  Again, it was awkward to behold, but it was real.  And maybe we need to see real and not just flashy a little bit more so we get used to it again.  Maybe.