Holiday Travelers

Back in August, my husband and I missed a flight from LAX to SLC, due to no fault of our own. The fault laid squarely on the airport and it's Soviet-era security lines. Just last week, L.A. Business Journal reported that LAX is the second-most stressful airport in the country.  The emotional meltdown I experienced after the Delta Airlines gate attendants refused to let us on the flight would be a perfect illustration of the truth behind this report.

I am headed to the airport tonight, to catch the red-eye to Boston. I will be taking the 6:01pm metro red line to the Union Station Flyaway shuttle. When I touch ground in Boston just before 6:00am eastern time, I will have been traveling for nine hours.  My in-laws will pick me up, and when we arrive in New Hampshire, my travel time will have expanded to eleven hours.

I am anxious about the flight, anxious about how uncomfortable and tired I will be early tomorrow morning.  Each year, I wonder why - why do we put ourselves through such stress? Wouldn't it be nice to stay local, relax, keep our clothes in our closet, the luggage in storage, and cook our own turkey dinner? Well, the answer is family. We moved to Los Angeles for career pursuits. Our family does not live here. We so often feel isolated from the comfort and security that comes with being close to family. Throwing a party? Need some extra chairs or tables? Call your dad, he might have some you can borrow. Cooking a large casserole, need a bigger pan? Call your mom, you can borrow hers. Husband out of town? Tire blown on the freeway? Call your sister, she'll pick you up.  This is a network of security, of love, of I'll do anything for you.  Friends can help, but their support will never match the strength of that which comes from family.

We are and always will be the travelers, coming from the city where no one else lives, entering into the world of our parents, our siblings. We travel to bridge the distance. Yet, with each return to our current city, it seems that the distance grows, inches with each journey.  L.A. now seems further away than it did in the beginning.

The City Prolific: Weekend Events Nov. 15 - 18

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14

LACMA Liveread of Manhattan, Directed by Jason Reitman

This is the second installment of Jason Reitman’s  2012–2013 Live Read series.  Jason chooses a surprise celebrity cast to read Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman's script of Manhattan on the Bing Theater stage. What a magical event. Go.

STANDBY ONLY: A stand-by line will form at 6:30 pm at the Hammer Building Ticket Office. Seating not guaranteed; guests will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.

$10

LACMA
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036

FRIDAY, NOV 15

Scion A/V Presents Dust La Rock and Cody Hudson: A Lovely Sort of Death

"A Lovely Sort of Death" marks the collaboration between Jokers of the Scene and visual artists Dust La Rock and Cody Hudson to accompany their exhibition of the same name. Opening reception Friday night.

Free with RSVP.

Opening Reception 6:00–9:00pm

661 N. Spaulding Ave
Los Angeles CA 90036

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16

The Great Los Angeles Walk

Get out of your car, and on your feet!  Every Saturday before Thanksgiving, Angelenos meet up on the street, and WALK ACROSS LOS ANGELES. But nobody walks in LA, right? Wrong!

This year, meet other walkers on the front steps of downtown’s Walt Disney Concert Hall (at 1st and Grand). There will be a speaker or two to kick things off, at around 8:45, so get there early. The Walk leaves PROMPTLY at 9.  They're expecting over 250 hikers this year!

From the Walt Disney Concert Hall, you'll walk west on 1st, which turns into Beverly Blvd. And then north on Virgil, west on Melrose Avenue, to the end -- when you'll then make a left on to Santa Monica Boulevard, which you'll take to the ocean.

Free!

Start point: Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(but you can join up anywhere along the route)

The City Prolific: Weekend Events Nov 2 - 4

Halloween is over. Hopefully we have recovered from our sugar crashes and hangovers.  Just in time, because this weekend is all about sugar skulls and tequila.  This weekends events encompass two things: Dia de los Muertos and Downtown L.A.  It will be colorful.  It will be fun.  It will be very L.A.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Downtown Dia de los Muertos at Grand Park

Have you been to Grand Park yet? Have you been to an LA Dia de los Muertos event yet? Both are necessities. And tonight, you have a great reason to do both.

¡Spectacular altars, food trucks, bands and full bar en el centro de Los Ángeles.

Performances by Mariachi el Bronx, El Conjunto Nueva Ola, Upground, Buyeongo, Trio Ellas, and more. Plus mucho DJs spinning all night!  Altars curated by Victor Payan and Pocha Pena.

Free / Gratis

5pm-11pm

Check the full lineup here.

East Side Luv's 7th Annual Night of the LUVing DEAD

Have you ever been to Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights? It is one of L.A.'s exquisite community gems, and this is sure to be a quintessential Angeleno block party.  Come out and celebrate Life & Death.  Feel free to bring something to contribute to the ALTAR in memory of a loved one.   It is highly recommended that you take the Metro Goldline Train in & out because parking is limited. There will be 2 Parking Lots, but they may go quickly as they are expecting thousands of attendees!

Hosted by Richard Montoya of Culture Clash and Alexis De La Rocha of Beatmo & MorrisseyOke

¡¡¡ Day of the Dead Face Painting Highly Encouraged !!!

Free

2pm till 2am

Outdoors till 12am
Inside till 2am

At the MTA Goldline Mariachi Plaza Stage
Pleasant Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90033

Check the full lineup here.