Walking in LA

It's almost a cliche to say that 'nobody walks in LA', but it holds more than a grain of truth.  Unlike New York, say, or even hilly San Francisco, Los Angeles does not favor those who travel on foot.  But there are those of us who attempt it, from time to time.

There are sections of LA that are made to be walked, sections that contain closely packed stores, restaurants, and other amusements, but these sections are widely scattered across the city, and long, near featureless blocks must be crossed to get from one to another. Where the pedestrian can go for hours in New York without a break in interesting sights, in LA a great deal of patience and perseverance is required.

In LA the walker must also be at peace with internal dialogue, since the spacious gaps permit a total submersion into thoughts, welcome or otherwise.  If you have an issue waiting in the green room of your consciousness, it will burst onstage at some point during a walk in LA, guaranteed.  Best then, to be of stable personality - or on a suitable prescription, before burning any shoe leather.

Those of us who do throw caution and good judgement to the winds and take a walk in Los Angeles find that there is an upside.  More than one if you take the benefit that comes from exercise as a given.  Walking in LA allows us to see a city that is totally hidden from a car.  I believe it was the late, great comic monologist Spalding Gray who called the driving perspective a '35 mile per hour mentality', in that if something can't be seen from a car moving 35 miles per hour then it was effectively invisible.  

Walking cures this - in spades.  You would be amazed how many hidden stores, historic buildings, places of other interest, and nuances of culture are revealed to the curious pedestrian.  

As an example, on a recent walk through Pasadena (not LA that is true, but close and the principal holds) I noticed that Honda had an advanced R&D center right in Old Town, and that the Disney Store had it's 'world headquarters' in a mostly unmarked and unidentified sprawling complex on Raymond street.  A small plaque near the entrance was all that identified the place.

Not world-shattering news you say?  Maybe, but these are things you would never notice from a car, and I for one am interested why, for instance, Honda has an R&D center in Pasadena.   Is it because of the proximity of Caltech?  Or are they just hiding?

The Disney Store HQ certainly seems to be.  Hiding, that is.  Can't imagine why, and I have even less a clue as to why they would be hiding in Pasadena and not nearby Burbank, where other (also largely incognito) Disney offices abound.  Maybe Burbank said, 'Enough! No More!' ... ?

Those mysteries I may never solve, but there will be more, as long as I keep on walking in (and around) LA.