Poppies in the Antelope Valley

I had the opportunity to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve recently and admire these "cups of gold" in their natural surroundings. In honor of the occasion, here's an 1893 poem written by poet Grace Hibbard, a prominent California writer in her time. Wild Poppies THE STATE FLOWER OF CALIFORNIA BEAUTIFUL, golden wild poppies,That nod... Continue Reading →

Happy 241st Birthday Los Angeles!

"Los Angeles's population has always been diverse, from the day that the Gabrieleño Indians watched 44 settlers of mixed Spanish, Native American, and African heritage found a new pueblo near the Gabrieleño village of Yang-Na in 1781," Dolores Hayden. In honor of Los Angeles’ 241st birthday today, here are just a few of the ways... Continue Reading →

A Bernal Tour of Los Angeles

For my birthday, I asked my dad’s sisters for a “Bernal Tour of Los Angeles” so that we could visit their old neighborhoods where they lived with my grandparents & great-grandparents (and, of course, my dad). Considering how much I run around Los Angeles, I like knowing when I'm crossing the well-worn paths of previous... Continue Reading →

Remembering the Red Cars

For the last month or so, I’ve been knee deep in Red Car history. For those unfamiliar, Red Cars were the trolleys that clicked-and-clacked along Southern California's Pacific Electric system, once the largest public transit system in the country. Last fall, host of KCET’s Lost LA Nathan Masters invited me and a few of our... Continue Reading →

Highlights from 2021

Happy New Year All! This is a bit late but here are some of my Los Angeles highlights from 2021. I may always be knee-deep in the past but it's still so easy to forget what happened just a few months ago. One disclaimer: Despite the optics of enjoying moments out and about, this year... Continue Reading →

Remembering My Minnesota Uncle

In mid-July, I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Minnesota when my uncle passed away unexpectedly. A trip that should have been a joyous post-vaccine reunion turned tragic the day after I arrived. He was 90 and lived a long full life but his passing was still a heartbreaking moment for our family. My... Continue Reading →

Documenting #LA4Corners Walks Through Audio

As mentioned in a previous post, I helped Los Angeles Walks organize a series of four walks that navigated around Los Angeles' original border as it was in 1850. For the organization's Spring 2021 fundraiser, I created four short videos about our #LA4Corners series. Well, actually, these videos are more like audio slideshows, as I... Continue Reading →

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑