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Klassics for Kids

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Martine with One of Many Classic Chevies

We hadn’t been to a car show for several months, so when Martine handed me a flier for the Klassics for Kids Benefit Car Show sponsored by the Calas Park Volunteer Association in Carson, I jumped at the chance. It was a cloudy and muggy day (another of those Mexican monsoons), but it was an interesting event.

For one thing, Martine and I were probably the only gringos in attendance. No matter: It was a neighborhood event, and the people in attendance were super friendly.

Neighborhood Girls at the Klassics for Kids Car Show

Most of the cars being exhibited were souped-up classic Chevrolets, many of which were purchased from Giant Felix Chevrolet on Figueroa in Downtown Los Angeles. There were the usual hot rod modifications, including hydraulics, chain link steering wheels, and numerous artistic modifications. This is only the second show we have attended that concentrated on Hispanic car culture. It was an interesting experience.

Side View Mirror Art (with Martine’s Straw Hat)

Afterwords, Martine and I stopped at a Jollibee Foods Restaurant on Carson Boulevard. It was another cultural experience, this time of a culinary nature. Jollibee’s is a Filipino chain which is expanding rapidly in the United States. Based on the quality of their burgers and their chicken, I think they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams. I first encountered them at the food court of the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. I didn’t sample their food then, but was curious at the loyalty of their customer base and the long lines at their restaurant.

Miami on the Pacific

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If It Gets Any More Humid …

Thanks, Mario! The Mexican storm of this name has, upon dissipating flooded California with moist, tropical air and the threat of thunderstorms. As I went downtown today for my weekly Mindful Meditation session at the L.A. Central Library, I suddenly felt many of my joints protesting—from my formerly broken shoulders (both of them) to my left hip (replaced a quarter of a century ago).

Somehow, I made it, even though the elevator down to the Metro Rail station at Seventh Street was closed for repairs. Back when it was built, the architects decided they didn’t need a down escalator: Stairs should do nicely. Hah!

The humidity will probably last through the weekend, regardless what the weather forecaster say. What do they know?

Cooking Flop

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Daily writing prompt
Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.
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My biggest cooking failures are in not properly judging my sweetheart’s taste. Basically, she can’t eat anything that has a vowel in its name (or so it seems). Once I find something she’ll eat, I keep using the same recipe … without any changes whatsoever.

I also have cooking failures when I cook for myself, but they are no big deal.

The La Brea Tar Pits

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The Lake Pit, Largest of the La Brea Tar Pits

It’s one of those redundant names: brea in Spanish means tar, so the La Brea Tar Pits are literally the Tar Tar pits. (Similarly, Torpenhow Hill in Britain means Hillhillhill Hill.)

Martine and I haven’t visited the tar pits for almost a decade, so we drove down to Hancock Park and took a good look at what the area looked like ten thousand plus years ago. Based on the skeletons that have been fished out of the pits, there were giant sloths, mammoths, lions, camels, sabertooth tigers, and many, many dire wolves.

Skeleton of Columbian Mammoth

The archeological record shows that there were humans living in the area during the Ice Age. It couldn’t have been much fun for them to contend with their primitive weapons against so many gigantic mammals.

Visiting the pits, I am reminded of a famous line in Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness, when Marlowe points to the shore of the Thames and says: “And this also,” said Marlow suddenly, “has been one of the dark places of the earth.”

The La Brea Tar Pits Museum is a fascinating place to visit. In addition to all the skeletons of giant mammals who perished by drowning in the pits, there is a lab which allows you to watch volunteers cleaning bones recently pulled from the pits. (There are a number of them on the grounds.)

Martine got into the spirit of the occasion by donning a dire wolf headdress:

Martine with Wolfish Smile

My Word!

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Daily writing prompt
What’s your favorite word?
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Since I am multi-lingual, here are my favorite words in my four languages:

  • Spanish: pendejo, literally “pubic hair,” describing someone you really don’t like.
  • French: débrouillir, literally “de-fog” or “unravel,” how Inspector Maigret solves crimes.
  • Hungarian: lófasz, literally “horse’s dick,” used regularly to describe something insignificant or non-existent.
  • English: septemfluous, literally “flowing in seven streams,” a word with very limited applicability, like medioxumous, rotl, or crwth.