Downtown Los Angeles Traffic

Los Angeles is not a pretty city, but it's been home for a good number of years now. The LA "River" is just a big empty concrete channel until the rains come. As I headed westbound on the 10 freeway to meet up with my friend, E(L) for dinner at Messob Ethiopian Restaurant, I was struck by several things. We've been friends since we met through a mutual friend at a convention in Boston a decade ago. Two moves later for me, and for her, and we somehow both ended up in LA. We've both switched careers. She's seen all the little girls grow up. We even once took them to Chuck E. Cheese's. We don't talk or see each other all that regularly, but we've somehow managed to stay friends. Yes, LA has smog that leaves an ever-present smudge on the horizon. Yes, the traffic can sometimes be a pain in the derriere. But, if you have family around and friends that have somehow lasted through moves and career switches (often the death knell for some of my other friendships), LA isn't such a bad place.