Permit me, with a photo my wife Susan took of him a couple months before he passed,  to recall one of Silver Lake’s beloved cast of street characters — El Circo Loco (né Antonio Ruiz) — whose death was five years ago today.

What I wrote on the one-year anniversary still covers how I feel:

Every time I’ve since passed the corners of Golden Gate and Sunset Boulevard where I most often saw him living his life out loud and leading his one-man parades, I still look for him and I still can’t believe he and his colorful extravagance now live only in the hearts and memories of those who miss him so, like me.

Viva El Circo Loco! Viva Antonio Ruiz!

Epoxy and fiberglass time for Rick's Art Bear.

My little corner of LA had “Samson the Hot Tub Bear” visiting us for a few years back in the mid-90′s.  Even the national news picked up on this bear.  Most saw him as an endearing critter and rather than kill him for being a pest he was captured and set off to a zoo to live off his remaining years.

To celebrate the legacy of Samson and the coming 125th Birthday of Monrovia (which some of us affectionately refer to as the Art City) there will be Art Bears.  There will be about a dozen of these bears in various styles produced by Monrovia artists.  These bears are sponsored by the locals as well.  These bears will be placed about Old Town Monrovia after the big birthday celebration parade in May.

This particular bear is being done by local artist Rick Kess who also happens to work for Disney in their visual arts department.  This bear so far is just getting some additional decoration on him prior to painting.  The next step is to sand him and down and prep for painting over next weekend. Read the rest of this entry →

It starts with a call from Ford if you’re Matt Farah from Redondo Beach who runs the Los Angeles based “The Smoking Tire”. For others like Donna Ruko in the Focus Rally America it was answering a post in a trade paper promising a reality show based on a cross country road trip.  For those that answered the call and got chosen its been an adventure unlike anything they’ve ever done before.

Four Los Angelenos have been on that adventure for 3 weeks now, due to end sometime in the next couple of weeks (my personal guess is somewhere here in LA). They are Matt Farah (Redondo Beach) and Brittany Boddington (Northridge) making up Team Red. Team Yellow also representing LA is Donna Ruko (Los Angeles) and Bryn Dresher (West Hollywood).

All of them are dialed into the social networking scene to a degree. The most notable is Matt Farah of the red team who owns The Smoking Tire the blog and on twitter as @thesmokingtire. His rally partner Brittany Boddington set up a tumblr blog just before this race and is on twitter as @britboddington. Donna Ruko has her own site and can be followed on twitter at @donnaruko. The only one without a significant web presence is Bryn. Complete bios are at their Rally America pages for Team Red and Team Yellow.

As racers in the Rally America part of their challenges involves their followers. Team Red currently has nearly double the amount of followers of its nearest competitors (8049) and Team Yellow is mid pack (3790). Why is this important? Well as a team follower you can interact with them while they are driving and help them solve challenges. As an example, today the followers had to find objects starting with specific letters and upload them to a facebook page, with check in at the checkpoint based on your completion time. Sort of an interactive Amazing Race.

Their days are planned out by the production team, but they have no idea what is in store for them when they wake up every day. Their days are so busy with challenges, checkpoint and jump start that they have no time to do touristy stuff, and if they do have some down time they all have to agree on what they do and do it together. For Donna she says she has seen so much of this country this trip that she is looking to going back to many of the places and being a tourist and just check out what she missed.

When I talked with them this morning they had plenty of good things to say about this adventure, but they all missed LA to a degree. For Matt, Brittany and Bryn its the homey things like their own bed, their cats and friends here in the city. For Donna its hikes up behind the Hollywood sign that she misses the most. Regardless, their adventures will be over soon and they’ll be back to life in LA and its adventures.

When we travel we all miss something from home, these guys have been on the road 25 days already and told me what they missed about LA. What do you miss most about LA when you travel? Just curious.

Screen grab with the permission of Focus Rally America

Most of you probably saw, or at least heard about this happening last night on our local CBS 2 News:

……..yeah. Funny right? Maybe not. Turns out she was taken to the hospital to rule out the possibility of a stroke. Inability to speak can often be the first sign. I REALLY hope this isn’t the case. I went to school with her and I seem to remember her being very nice. Hopefully it was just a quick flub. Cause if she’s OK, then we can laugh.

My best friend lives in Vancouver BC, but he grew up in San Pedro. Expatriate though he may be, he’s still lived the bulk of his life in California, thus far. And while he’s now, as a Canadian Citizen, largely removed from the noise of California politics, it can still pique his interest when he comes to visit.

Back in July, he was here for Comic Con (something rarely missed) and, of course, Meg Whitman’s ads were running constantly on every available media outlet, short of Big Gulp cups and Happy Meals.

“Who’s this ‘Meg Whitman?’” he asks me.

“Used to run eBay. Dumping a crap ton of her own money into the race. Record amount, in fact.”

“Who’s running against her?”

“Jerry Brown.”

The look of disbelief that crossed his face will haunt my soul.

“Does anyone really need anymore proof that the Democrats are in collusion with the Republicans?”

Mike’s a cynical bastard.

Look, you can take any politician, ANY, and create a laundry list of their lies and deceit; they’re politicians. They are liars. All of them. Your favorite candidate, in whatever race that was? Yep, them. Big, fat liars. Pants ablaze. The Great Statesmen and Orators of History? Fibbers, every last one. So, I will not even to attempt to recount a play by play of campaign inaccuracies and skullduggery here. Putting a politician on the “Naughty” list for lying or running a rough campaign is like blaming a spider for having too many legs. It may creep you out, but that’s just the way the damn thing is built.

So, why bother? Well, I’ll tell yeh, and frankly, I kinda find it funny:

Bitch tried to buy us off.

Seriously. Slice it up any way you wish, it was a blatant attempt to run an unstoppable money-fueled juggernaut of a campaign, which collapsed under its own hubris.

I’m not even going to take up the tract of, “She should have just poured all that money into our failing education system,” or whatever. Would that have been great? Oh, hell yeah! I would love to see a politician actually do that, or similar, on that scale. I ain’t gonna ride her for not deciding to do something so grand.

No, what gets you the coal in your stocking this year, Meg, as far as I’m concerned, is the hubris. The unmitigated gall. You thought you had us, that you could just buy us. That that’s all it would take. We heard it in your voice. Well, take your lump and heat your stove, let that keep you warm, we’re gonna let Jerry do his thing. At least he didn’t try to buy us out.

The part that tickles me, really, is that it did happen here. Like it or not, the stereotype of a typical “Californian” tends to be either the dimwitted surfer or the shallow “Movie Star.” This tends to piss me off, but that’s really how much of the country sees us. And yet, the State known to be all flash and no substance passed on Meg’s Millions. Whatever else Jerry Brown may or may not be, “Flashy” he’s not.

I suppose those who insist upon State drawn stereotypes will shrug us off as “Hippies” now. Funny how such a bunch of Hippies have elected so many Republicans in the past. Whatever, I’ll take Granola over Vapid any day.

I can’t wait to find out what my friend in The Great White North thinks about all of this when I go to visit him over Christmas. Should be interesting.

First on my “nice list” has to be Joan Whitenack of the Foothill Unity Center. The center serves the poorest of the poor with many services here in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. It is no small feat, but director Joan Whitenack gets it done with the help of volunteers, grants, schools and other non-profits in the area. To quote Bill Beebe, president of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts that awarded her their Renaissance Award, “She’s got a nice smile, but there’s no saying no to Joan.”

Not saying “no” to Joan has worked wonders. What started out as a small effort by a local Church in 1980 has grown to a large incorporated non-profit with two service centers through the efforts of Ms Whitenack. The service centers are located in Pasadena and Monrovia. There they serve families and individuals in crisis to give them immediate aid then help them get on a path to recovery.   They even run a “pet food bank” to help them out with taking care of the pets as noted on a recent episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show!

Aside from helping hundreds of families with their basic needs they have several special events through out the year. Among them are the
Back to School event where more than a thousand children receive hair cuts, dental exams, back-to-school supplies, clothing and even a keepsake art project.

Their mission statement says it all.

Foothill Unity Center, Inc. envisions a community where. . .

• All have their basic needs met, including the need to give
• All get the necessary support to become self-sufficient
• All are treated with love and dignity … all the time

We provide critical support, in the form of food, clothing, motel vouchers, and referrals/advocacy to our neighbors in crisis. As the need for food brings people to us, we listen to their problems and help them find solutions. We work with other agencies to provide long-term shelter, counseling, medical, educational, employment and spiritual assistance depending on the person’s needs.In this way, Foothill Unity Center helps people return self-sufficiency. All services are provided with love and dignity, regardless of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, physical or emotional disabilities or veteran’s status.

All this happened through the energy and vision of Ms Whitenack to be able to help those in need in the foothill communities in the San Gabriel Valley.

Monrovia Center: 415 W. Chestnut Ave., Monrovia 91016 Phone: (626) 358-3486 / Fax: (626) 358-8224 Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday
Pasadena Center: 191 N. Oak Ave., Pasadena 91107 Phone: (626) 584-7420 / Fax: (626) 584-7422 Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday
More information on how to Volunteer, donate or help however you can at the Foothill Unity Center Web site.

It’s that time of the year: to count our blessings, reflect on the year past, and categorize events into Awesome Things That Happened and Terrible Things That Happened, WTF.  For us at Blogging LA, that latter organizational activity is what we’re calling our Naughty and Nice List series.  From today to the end of the week, we’ll be highlighting people, organizations, and events that made us facepalm and others that made us smile.  First up on our Naughty List:  Julie Rico and Sid Carter.

The Must Bar was one of the most dearly loved bars downtown.  An extensive beer and wine selection and board games – what else could you want from a neighborhood bar?  Well, if you’re Julie Rico and Sid Carter – who were the leaseholders of The Must’s space – you do want more: you want The Must’s actual space back.

And so they took it back.  Literally.  I recounted the events as they unfolded here; to summarize: security cameras captured a moving van rolling up in front of The Must Bar at 2:45am on July 3rd.  A few bad men emptied the entire bar of its contents, from its wine (they used bolt cutters to get the wine locked behind the wine cages) to its board games.  An employee of The Must showed up for work later that morning, found that his key was no longer able to unlock the door, and, in the confusion, thought they had been robbed.  Bar owners Coly Haan and Rachel Thomas reported it first as a robbery.  After a very confusing few hours, the veil was torn down, and Rico and Carter were fingered as the culprits.  It was, then, not so much a robbery as it was a very forced eviction.

Sign from The Must's owners soon after the eviction.

The situation turned from one mess to another.  Rico claimed that notice was mailed to Haan and Thomas by letter dated July 1, and thus The Must should have been aware of her plans.  Note, however, that she didn’t say the notice actually was received.  Indeed, no one from The Must received the notice.  In fact, The Must submitted their July rent check, and Rico cashed it.

That things ended this way perhaps shouldn’t have been a total surprise: the two were locked in arbitration over other issues relating to what appears to have been a messy contract between the two.  But why the post-midnight U-Haul?  Oh right – Rico and Carter sold their leasehold to someone they said was named David Holtzman and presumably needed to get the keys to the new owner ASAP.  Haan and Thomas’s bar was sold from right under their noses, and the first they heard of the change in ownership was on July 3rd.

As mentioned, David Holtzman was the name given as the new owner, but the name on the currently pending alcohol permit for The Must’s location is David McGrath.  David Holtzman/McGrath plans to open “JP Lounge” in The Must’s space, but, given that the lounge’s ABC permit is on hold, it’s unclear exactly when it will open.  Not that too many people are waiting eagerly for its grand opening: between the people who hate Rico and the people who just hate what happened to The Must, the new business already must contend with neighbors who resent its very existence.  This leads one to wonder how goodwill figured into the sale of the lease, because the sellers and the buyer could not have expected a whole lot of it to be left once everything went down.

Post-eviction, The Must was forced to close.  The owners have added the eviction to the list of issues they’re battling with Rico and Carter in arbitration.  They formally sued McGrath in the LA Superior Court for, among other things, conversion (which is akin to borrowing something without asking first), outright theft, trespass, and conspiracy.  They’re asking the court to block McGrath from opening a competing wine bar in their former space, which probably explains the hold on McGrath’s alcohol permit application.  In happier news, they will re-open soon-ish in a space at the Hellman building.  Hopefully, they’ll have an airtight lease with a landlord who is somewhat reasonable and will avoid this type of mess in the future.

As for Rico and Carter – well, let’s just I have represented tenants against slumlords who have been better able to execute an eviction.  Future reference, landlords: as a preliminary matter, if you’re going to evict someone in, say, July, don’t cash their rent check for July.  Even assuming they were within their legal rights to do what they did, Rico and Carter’s forced eviction of The Must still reek of mean spirit and just plain nastiness.  They deserve the lumps of coal in their stocking, and their spots on our Naughty List.  Let’s play nice next year, hmm?

“Stocking Stuffers” photo taken by Seamusiv and used under a Creative Commons license.

CNN airs its annual “Heroes” special on Thanksgiving night, spotlighting 10 “everyday” people they think changed the world that much for the better. This is not something I generally would write about, but the cable network is honoring Susan Burton.  Susan Burton!  Burton started A New Way of Life Reentry Project in South Central LA, a really great – and much needed – re-entry organization focused on transitioning newly paroled women from their period of incarceration to their new life outside the prison complex.

In my past and sometimes present life, I represented a number of women before the Board of Parole Hearings.  Most of them were serving sentences of 15+ years-to-life with the possibility of parole, most of them for some degree of murder.  I never expect anyone to be sympathetic, but it does help to understand a few things about most of their crimes before making assumptions about how they deserve to be there forever (despite their sentences to the contrary).  The majority of them were convicted of killing their abusers during a time when courts excluded evidence of battering; up until recently, courts did not grasp how that evidence was relevant to contextualizing the crimes.  By the time my representation came around 15 or so years into their sentence, all of them understood why they did what they did and the circumstances leading up to their crime.  They also participated in weekly (if not daily) group therapy sessions (many of which were self-formed – despite the enormous budget for the prison industry in California, there’s not a whole lot of money there for giving inmates the counseling they need).  My clients also earned their high school and college degrees, as well as various vocational certificates.  If the purpose of prison is to rehabilitate and release (and not, say, making a profit), then they were rehabilitated and should have been released long before I was engaged to represent them.

Now, if you’re coming up for parole before the Board of Parole Hearings, you have to prove to the board commissioners that you understand your crime.  You have to demonstrate remorse.  And you have to have plans for your life outside.  This is where Susan Burton’s A New Way of Life comes in.  Her organization provides a supportive sober living environment to support newly paroled women re-enter society; she helps them find jobs and provides critical mentoring.  I know of A New Way of Life because the clinic where I worked placed a number of women here, and the organization has been critical to their successful re-entries into our society.  To date, A New Way of Life has helped over 400 women get back on their feet.  That CNN is honoring her and her work is really, really fantastic.

Preview the special here.  The show airs at 5pm our time, so you’ll have something to watch while that turkey roasts and the side dishes are being made.  A little inspiration in the background never hurt anyone.

Damian Kulash & Tim Nordwind of OK Go

Maybe not everyone loves a parade, but if you are like me and do, Los Angeles is a great place for one. Not only do we have the annual Rose Parade, but the city is also known for its Doo-Dah Parade, Hollywood Christmas Parade, those Lakers parades whenever they win championships and many, many more.

This past Wednesday, the band OK Go teamed up with Range Rover for an amazing event called “Dance Through Your City.” Essentially, they held a parade for many hours through the streets of the Los Feliz/Hollywood area. Using GPS, the route spelled out the band’s name, which could be visualized on the Range Rover Pulse of the City app. A mobile, musical work of art utilizing the streets and people of Los Angeles. How cool is that?

When I first heard about this event, I was saddened to know I’d be at work and not able to participate. What I didn’t know was that this parade was planned to go on for HOURS, meaning that I did get to take part in the evening. Since the route wasn’t published ahead of time, I was also surprised to learn it was going right by my workplace. I heard it go by, yet failed at finding a good excuse to run outside.

I was able to join up with paraders when they had stopped for a dinner break. The band changed from the brightly colored suits they wore during the day to the black suits covered with changing-color LEDs. Others were wrapping drums, trombones, guitars and themselves with electroluminescent wire. Everyone was encouraged to accessorize with glow sticks and all sorts of other blinking objects.

The experience of parading through the L.A. streets after dark, singing and dancing with other enthusiastic people is something I highly recommend. Part of the fun was the various folks running out of their houses, shops, etc. with quizzical looks or cameras. Some people shook their head, some people danced, and a few even joined in the parade. We saw lots of kids in pajamas. As I marched along, I couldn’t help but think that this was exactly the kind of experience that makes me love L.A.

For more parade goodness, check out the write-ups at LAist and Billboard.com.

Richard Alexander Caraballo's photo used through Creative Commons

When I conjure the list of people I believe epitomize L.A. in some sense, Jonathan Gold and Bret Easton Ellis are both on that list, but together? Talking?  I admit I hadn’t really considered that. When I saw that the Hammer has them in conversation this Tuesday (tomorrow), I just had to pass it along to you all. I myself am busy or I’d go just because I love L.A., and Gold and Ellis are utterly paradigmatic of the city, each in his own way.

Can you imagine the conversation?

JG: You know, that story about kids snorting coke all night and prostituting themselves reminds me of this amazing coq au vin I had at this little French place on the Westside last month.

BEE: Speaking of cock, let me tell you about the novel I’m working on now…

Seriously, it’s bound to be a great night. (It’s like the sequel to Hank Moody’s stolen novel; this one’s called Fucking and Lunching.) 

Plus, the Hammer events are free, and there’s cheap parking ($3) right underneath the building. If only the gelato place up the street, Piccomolo, hadn’t closed it would be like a perfect evening. Have fun b.la-ers. Let me know how it is.

Well hello Los Angeles!  Oh how I’ve missed you.  What?  You mean I’ve been away for so long you don’t remember me?  Allow me to refresh your memory.  I’m that guy who was born and raised in the Valley, Burbank/Toluca Lake to be exact, then moved down behind the Orange Curtain for 9 years.  In that time I began writing for a little blog called OC Metblogs.  Oh you remember me now?  Great!

The Lone Sailor at the end of my street, keeping watch over the harbor.

For the rest of you, my name is Dave.  I have been a huge fan of LA Metblogs Blogging.la since not long after it was started.  I remember reading it thinking “Man, I’d love to write for them.”  But alas, I lived in Orange County.  Then I discovered OC Metblogs, which I know you all read daily, right?  Right??

Cruise ships, cranes, Spruce Goose hangar and Queen Mary. Pretty much sums it up.

Recently I finished my schooling to be a Registered Nurse and landed a job at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance.  Immediately the wife and I saw this as our opportunity to move to LA.  Back for me, first time for her.  We’ve both always wanted to live in Long Beach and we found an amazing place.  So here I am!  There’s just one thing.  While I can get all around the Westside, Downtown, the Eastside, the Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita and Orange County like nobody’s business, I know NOTHING of the South Bay.  And from what I can gather, most of LA doesn’t either.  In fact, when I was with OC Metblogs, I was given permission to post about the Long Beach Grand Prix (which I will cover in full this year) because many people consider Long Beach to be practically Orange County anyway.  Which, I can tell you after having been here 2 months, couldn’t be further from the truth!

Wyland bringing some OC flavor up north.

So, if it’s OK with you, I’d like to take y’all along for the ride as I explore this amazing community South of the 405 and West of the 605.

Oh, and I’ve included a little tasting menu of what’s to come via my camera.

Thanks!  :-Dave

A unique skyline for a unique city.

Little Walking Man - Photo Courtesy of Fleur Philips

I’m still on somewhat of a high from Sunday’s Memorial Walk for Dr. Marc Abrams. Near the end of the walk, I met a reporter for BBC America who said, “I’ve been searching for a sense of community ever since I moved to L.A. and this is the first time I think I’ve found it.” To me, that summed up the entire experience perfectly.

Looking out at the crowd of people gathered to walk for a man most of them didn’t know – families with kids and dogs in tow, everyone smiling and in good spirits – it restored my outlook on our neighborhood and once again made me realize how privileged I am to live in a community where people will join together for something as simple as remembering a man who walked our neighborhood almost every day for 30 years.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to:

• Brandon Fuller for creating the Facebook event page and silverlakewalkingman.com
• Howie via NeighborGoods.net for letting us borrow the megaphone for the event
• Christopher Daniels for helping with coordination, creating the flyer and for communicating with Dr. Abrams’ friends and family for us
• Kevin West for being there, despite his grief over the loss of his friend, and for sharing the note from Dr. Abrams’ wife, Cindy
• Nick Potter for stimulating the initial idea for the walk
• My lovely fiance’ Harold for holding the megaphone during all of the speeches
• L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilman Tom LaBonge for their presence and support

Below are some comments from the community that I’d like to share and also a round up of some press coverage of the walk. Read the rest of this entry →

(Photo courtesy of Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / May 6, 2010)

For those of you wishing to join us this Sunday in remembrance of a local icon, below is the proposed route for Sunday’s Memorial Walk in honor of Dr. Marc Abrams, who passed away this week.

Bring water and sunscreen! We will assemble for the walk on Sunday, July 25 at noon. Meet in the grassy field next to the Silver Lake Recreation Center at 1850 W. Silver Lake Drive. Parking may be a challenge in this area, so I suggest riding a bike, walking or taking the Metro to the starting point. The # 201 bus stops at W. Silver Lake Drive and Moreno, which is walking distance to the Silver Lake Recreation Center.

Please stay on sidewalks and observe all traffic rules. No jaywalking or impeding traffic.

12:30 PM – Begin at Silver Lake Recreation Center at 1850 W. Silver Lake Drive, continue north on W. Silver Lake Drive for 1.3 miles

1:00 PM – Turn left on Rowena, continue for 0.2 miles

1:05 PM – Turn left on Hyperion, continue south towards Monon for 0.2 miles

1:10 PM – Turn left on Griffith Park Blvd, stay on Griffith Park for 1.3 miles, until it dead ends at Sunset Blvd. (in front of Mornings Nights Coffee Shop)

1:45 PM – Stop at the triangle park across from Mornings Nights Coffee Shop at 1523 Griffith Park Blvd for a break, get water, etc.

2:00 PM – Turn left on Sunset Blvd. towards downtown

2:10 PM – Stop at the mural at 2943 W. Sunset Blvd, next to Local restaurant

2:20 PM – Turn left on Silver Lake Blvd, continue for 0.8 miles

2:30 PM – Arrive back at the Silver Lake Recreation Center

Those wishing to do an extended walk at this point should continue around the Reservoir on Silver Lake Blvd for 0.8 miles, turn left on Armstrong for 0.3 miles, then left on Tesla Avenue, then left on W. Silver Lake Drive for 1 mile.

Photo courtesy of Will Campbell

As many of you have heard by now, Marc Abrams (known to most as Silver Lake’s Walking Man) passed away last night. To honor the man who became such a fixture in our community, a few of us have decided to organize a memorial walk in his honor, beginning this Sunday at noon. We will meet at West Silver Lake Drive and Moreno, We will meet in the grassy field next to the Silver Lake Recreation Center, near where he began his daily walks, then follow his usual route.

In 2004, Abrams outlined his route in an interview:

“I usually loop around the lake, and then go down West Silverlake to Rowena, and then Hyperion, and then Griffith Park Blvd. down Sunset, back down Silverlake to the reservoir, and then back and loop around the lake again. So it’s about 15 miles altogether.”

All are welcome to join. Details below:

What: Memorial Walk to Honor Marc Abrams

When: Sunday, July 25 at noon

Where: LOCATION CHANGE! The response has been so overwhelming that we need to accommodate a larger number of attendees. For safety purposes, we have moved the starting location a few blocks away to the grassy field next to the Silver Lake Recreation Center, right at the edge of the Silver Lake Dog Park – a much better place to congregate as numbers arrive. The Silver Lake Recreation Center is located at 1850 W. Silver Lake Dr. 90026. CLICK HERE FOR AN OUTLINE OF THE ENTIRE ROUTE.

Pour on the sunblock, don your short shorts, bring along a folded New York Times and just walk – that’s what he would have done.

I’m entirely dumbstruck to learn that one of Silver Lake’s most recognizable and mobile icons, Dr. Marc Abrams — aka The Walking Man, The Walking Dude, Doc Walker — has died.  His age is being reported as 58 and he was apparently found dead Wednesday in the backyard hottub of his Silver Lake home.

In my seven years in Silver Lake, I’ve of course seen Abrams in his element countless times (and photographed him on any of several occasions). By chance one day a few years back while I myself was walking the hills west of the reservoir I found him coming out of his house to begin one of his marathon treks and felt like I’d graduated; not only did I know of The Walking Man, but now I knew of where he lived!

It’s a funny thing. Though he was in essence a stranger, there was nevertheless something very reassuring in seeing him out there on the sidewalks in his shorts, reading something or talking on his cell phone. Whether I was having a crap day or the world was in some way greased and going to hell, a fleeting encounter with him was a reminder that everything wasn’t entirely out of whack.

But now it is. And I know that sometime in the next few months I’m going to be biking or walking or driving somewhere in Silver Lake and wonder why it is I haven’t seen him in so long. Then I’ll remember, and it won’t surprise me if I get choked up like I am right now.

It is at least some consolation that so revered by the community as he was I can find him in at least three neighborhood murals I know of, including  Nicky Gagliarducci’s 2009 mural next to Local Restaurant (pictured above; click to enlarge). He has — sigh, had — a habit of popping up our of nowhere so maybe he’ll surprise me by showing up in other street art I don’t know about.

In the meantime I’ll fondly recall the last time I saw him in person, which was prior to the start of one of my Bike Every Saturday In May group bike rides. As he strode past where we’d gathered in the Silversun parking lot at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Parkman Avenue, one of us asked him if he had any advice. He stopped, turned and thought about it for a second. With a smile he fittingly gave us Satchel Paige’s “Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.”

Then he walked away.

Rest in peace, Walking Man. Rest in peace, Dr. Abrams.