Last week my car hit it’s all time high of 20,000 miles. That’s right, three years, 20,000 miles. People often ask me why my mileage is so low. My answer? Because, frankly, I live my life within about five square miles. I don’t often leave page 633 of the Thomas Bros. Guide (our local map coordinates). The truth is, I can shop, eat foods from many nations, buy antiques, and do all that I need to do within a few square miles. Occasionally, I go to Beverly Hills — page 634 or even Santa Monica on page 631.
So, this weekend I was surprised to see a part of the City of Los Angeles that I had never before seen — Pacoima. In English, Pacoima translates loosely into big wash. And being a flood basin is the least of this areas problems. This area of Los Angeles is about thirty miles from where I live — part of the Northeast San Fernando Valley — that probably should have seceded.
According to the non-profit organization organizing the tour of this area, for 100,000 people within about two or three square miles — they just got sidewalks, sewer systems, and a second bank in town. It was almost implausible that people within the city of L.A. were living a pre 1920’s life.
So it’s with some irony that I went from Pacoima on Saturday to a luncheon sponsored by another non-profit on Sunday, this one at the Regent Beverly Wilshire — in the heart of Beverly Hills. As we discussed the non-profit’s mission — there was holiday shopping and an auction for a $12,000 Chopard diamond watch. When I asked around the table over our apple tarts — no one had heard of Pacoima.
I can not believe that I’m going to be living in a place I hadn’t heard of a couple of weeks ago. My goal — to see more of this huge city — who knows what else is out there. And maybe one day, this Brooklyn, New York born and raised girl — will finally visit Staten Island. That’s a ferry ride, right?
