Diversity Land ( #BOTB Results )

 Back some time ago folks eyed coming to California to pursue their golden dreams.  Then it was sunny weather, beaches, and Disneyland.  Now many who can afford to do so are fleeing the state while others like me are dreaming of going back East.  The nice weather is still here and the beaches aren't going anywhere--yet.  These days I don't know how people can afford to go to Disneyland or why they would even want to go there anyway.  Forget the what used to be The Magic Kingdom.  Welcome to Diversity Land...

What Happened?

     Most of  my elementary school years were spent living in San Diego.  Those years between 1958 and 1963 were for me a kid's paradise.  The city was still relatively small and there were plenty of wild canyons for a kid to explore nearby the vast housing developments being flooded with those post World War 2 families looking for a good place to raise their children.  It was a very good place. Those were some great times for me and probably many of those kids that lived all around me.

      Then as circumstances would have it, my family moved back East not far from my Cleveland Ohio birthplace.  First we went to Northwestern Indiana and then to East Tennessee.  In those years the nation saw the assassination of a President as well as a few other figures who many looked up to.  As I entered my teen years, the war in Viet Nam inundated the national conversation.  Still my life was decent. I had good times and grew into an adulthood that included some great jobs, a couple of marriages, and four kids of my own.  Most of the time I was pretty darn happy.

       In 1991, when I was offered a job in the Los Angeles area, I jumped at the opportunity.  My situation in Tennessee seemed to be at a dead end of sorts and my good memories of living in California were luring me back to that Golden State.  Things for me had to get better then they had become.  So I followed the money (not really that much as I think back) and the possibilities that this new life seemed to promise.

      Now here I am some thirty years later wishing I could go back to that old Tennessee home or someplace like it.   It's not all that easy for me to just pick up and go since it's more than just me.  Not that life is horrible.  I live in a part of Los Angeles where I feel safe and comfortable and things are very convenient for me.  I have to venture out away from my town to see those homeless encampments and these days with high gas prices I can't afford the leisure drives my wife and I used to take.  There is certainly some crime in our area, but not like you see on television news.  

        I'm thankful for all that I have, but I do wish I could have something different.  But to quote that old song, "You can't always get want you want".  So I guess I've got what I need to some extent.  I don't need to go to Disneyland and I don't demand any kind of diversity.  We've got as much diversity in my neighborhood as I care for and don't need to get into the realms of weird diversity land.

        Once there was a dream called California.  Now people are leaving in droves.  When I talk to friends in Tennessee they say the place is booming and being overrun by people from California.  I mean, really, what happened?

          And speaking of what happened...

Battle of the Bands Results

The Battle of L.A.

       My most recent Battle consisted of three different songs with the title "L.A."   Considering the diversity of styles, the outcome was pretty equally diverse.  Personally I liked all three songs.  Normally punk rock is not my favorite genre but the song by Los Illegals did capture my interest when I heard it in the film Mur Murs and I liked the actual album version even better, especially the drumming.

       I also enjoyed the song by Jackie DeShannon.  Bright and sunny like Southern California, this song has a fun pop sound that carried me right back to my high school years when that was a style of music we listened to much of the time.  I'll have to be honest--that song has been ringing in my head since I found it for this Battle.

        However, most of you who know my musical tastes probably can guess that my vote goes to the song by Neil Young.  There is a gritty realness to the sound and the lyrics with enough sarcasm to give me a wry smile.  Yeah, here's my L.A. and that's what I voted for.   And that means a tie.  Still not a bad outcome though.

Final Vote Tally

Los Illegals                      3 votes

Neil Young                       6 votes

Jackie DeShannon          6 votes

Next Battle????

        Maybe I'll have a Battle on the 15th, but more likely it will be on September 1st.   Right now I'm not sure what will happen.  I've got some things going on that I might have to address and I might not be focusing on blogging in the next couple weeks.  We'll see though.  After all, I'm in L.A....