Issuu

MUSEUMS

THE GROVE

SERVICES

Outdoor venues and live music among area museum offerings.

What’s missing in this photo? Inquiring minds want to know.

Dr. Door and Window among home services to the rescue.

Page 9

Page 5

Real Estate Museums, Libraries, Movies, Theater, Home & Garden

Page 13

VIEW

Section 2

LARCHMONT CHRONICLE

JUNE 2020

HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • GREATER WILSHIRE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT

COLDWELL BANKER 542 S. Lorraine Blvd. | Hancock Park | $5,510,000

100 S. Beachwood Dr. | Hancock Park | $3,995,000.

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835 S. Longwood Ave. | Brookside | $2,750,000 Perfect home in coveted Brookside! Impeccably maintained 4Bd + 3.5Ba. 835SLongwood.com

531 N. Rossmore PH B | Hancock Park | $1,739,000 Contemporary penthouse near Larchmont Village. Rare 3,090 sqft. 4Bd+5Ba renovated unit.

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651 N. Lillian Way | Hancock Park | $1,600,000 SOLD Off Market. Chic 3 bed/2 updated plus pool in Hancock Park Proper!

633 N. Cahuenga Blvd. | Hancock Park | $1,250,000 Charming fixer next to LA Tennis Club. 2bed+tandem/1.5 baths. HP Proper!

2017 S. Orange Dr. | Mid City | $749,000 Great opportunity to remodel. R2. One block from La Brea Ave. and W. Washington Blvd.

746 S. Los Angeles St, #908 | DTLA | $469,000 Very cool arch loft in mills act building, huge prop tax savings. 1 Bd + 1 Ba w/ character.

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644 S. Rimpau Blvd. | Hancock Park | $17,000/MO Magnificent 5-6 Bd/ 4 Ba estate on approx 20,000 sqft lot w/ pool/spa. Available early August.

449 N Highland Ave| Hancock Park | $8,000/MO JUST LEASED. Beautiful restored Spanish, 4 Bd, 4 Ba, gourmet kitchen & pool.

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COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Hancock Park 323.464.9272 | 251 N Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2020 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC CalBRE# 00616212

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

Let’s preserve the ‘Legacies’ of Larchmont Boulevard At the time of writing, stayat-home orders for Los Angeles County have been extended through July, while gentle efforts have been made to begin to reopen. Now one can shop online from some shops on Larchmont Boulevard and collect one’s purchases in person. As I was walking down the nearly deserted Boulevard, I began to think of what are referred to as Legacy Businesses. Defined by the Los Angeles Conservancy as “longstanding community anchors where neighbors connect, memories are made and our sense of community nourished,” Legacy Businesses are part of what gives a neighborhood its vital sense of place and character. Long-established shops and restaurants were already under pressure from rising rents and non-local developers seeking to change the character of the boulevard. One of the more devastating impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and its resulting stay-at-home orders has been to put many of our Legacy Businesses under further threat. Historic preservation is not simply about the protection of the built environment; it also is about preserving community assets such as these that define a place.

On Preservation by

Brian Curran

I am encouraged that many of our favorite restaurants and shops are not taking this crisis lying down. Dimitris Houndalas of Le Petit Greek has been quite adept at generating support through social media like Facebook and NextDoor, while Steve Cohen’s Village Pizzeria has been having “pizza popups,” creating lines down the block. I am glad to see Chevalier’s Books and Landis

Gifts & Stationery set up for the new “normal.” Help Larchmont’s Legacy Businesses in their struggle to stay afloat by turning to them rather than Amazon. It would compound the tragedy of this crisis when, one day, we return to normal to find the familiar and comforting landscape of the boulevard dismal and adrift without its anchors. Speaking of dismal, have you seen the new design of Larchmont Mercantile? This is the rebranding of the Lipson Building located at 126-148 N. Larchmont, which is home to some of the Legacy Businesses mentioned above. The new concept, “re-imagined” by the ubiquitous ar-

chitecture firm Gensler and announced by the Malibubased owner, Christina Development, shows a revealed and gleaming white central pavilion flanked by renovated storefronts with the old midcentury and badly maintained green awnings removed. While it is commendable that the central brick pavilion is to be restored to its former glory, its wings have been clipped by a design that makes the flanking rows of storefronts resemble corrugated iron garages. The choice of materials, metal siding in either silver or black, with enormous plate glass windows and awnings that look like garage doors is straight out of Westfield’s Century City Mall.

The developer and architects had a unique and rare opportunity to enhance all of the qualities that make Larchmont Boulevard such a beloved neighborhood center and city-wide destination. Larchmont Mercantile’s marketing material states, “unlike any other neighborhood in Los Angeles, Larchmont is recognized as authentic and soulful… it’s a classic intersection of contemporary trendsetting and homegrown sincerity.” Well, nothing says “authentic,” “soulful” or “homegrown” — not to mention sincere — more than dated, cold, minimal and corporatist design. Charming it is not. Back to the drawing board with you!

LARCHMONT MERCANTILE is proposed as an update of the 15-unit LaBonte Building, one of the Boulevard’s originals.

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Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

31 vacancies on the boulevard and nearby?

By John Welborne There are a number of retail and other commercial spaces that appear vacant or “For Lease” along Larchmont Boulevard and in the immediate neighborhood. And this situation predates any COVID-19 closures. In the Village between First and Beverly, along the west side of the street, there are five empty spaces: next to Village Pizzeria, the still-vacant 133 N. Larchmont Blvd. (which once was set to become a Face Haus store, and maybe still is); the former Goorin Bros. space at 141 1/2 N. Larchmont Blvd.; the old Flywheel space at 147 N. Larchmont Blvd.; and the two spaces in the building north of Vernetti at 227 and 229 N. Larchmont Blvd. On the east side of the street, there appear to be vacancies at 120 N. Larchmont Blvd. (the former LF); 124 1/2 N. Larchmont Blvd. (where Jessica from Sunset, and later, Poshé, used to be); and 146 N. Larchmont Blvd. (where Bonne Chance was located for many years). The sign on the window of Landis Labyrinth Toy Shop at 140 N. Larchmont Blvd. says “Everything Must Go!”

EMPTY RETAIL SPACE at 120 N. Larchmont Blvd. has been on the market for some time.

Larchmont Mercantile These last three spaces are in the former LaBonte Building, scheduled to become the upscale, 15-unit “Larchmont Mercantile” creation of Malibu real estate investor Lawrence Taylor’s company, Christina. Tenants of the remaining 12 spaces in the LaBonte building understand that they will have to vacate at the end of this year, or prior to the start of Larchmont Mercantile remodeling next year. North of Beverly Boulevard, on the east side of the street, the building at 320 N. Larch(Please turn to page 4)

AVAILABLE SPACE at 147 N. Larchmont Blvd. may have a new tenant, but nothing has been announced yet.

CROSSWALK at the proposed Larchmont Mercantile ends at the present locations of Lipson Plumbing, the former (now vacant) Bonne Chance, the northern unit of Landis Labyrinth Toy Shop and Larchmont Barber Shop.

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

NEW OWNER proposes to create a valet-assisted rear surface parking lot behind new Larchmont Mercantile project.

Vacancies

(Continued from page 3) mont Blvd. no longer has the Cerrell name on it. There is a “For Lease” sign on the building at 500 N. Larchmont Blvd., and 550 N. Larchmont Blvd. also seems to be for lease. There also are vacancies at 660 N. Larchmont Blvd., at the intersection with Melrose, where a car crashed into the stores last year at about the same

time that a new owner took control of the building. On the west side of Larchmont, 531 N. Larchmont Blvd. has a “For Lease” sign, and the old Hans Weisshaar building, with the ornate sign at 627 N. Larchmont Blvd., has space available. Along Melrose Avenue, the Le Petit Marché space at 5665 Melrose Ave. is still available for lease, as is 5750 Melrose (formerly Fin Asian Tapas Bar).

BARBER SHOP owner Jorge Hilario, at the end of May, learned that, under certain conditions, he again could get and give haircuts at his Larchmont shop in the former LaBonte Building.

CONSTRUCTION is progressing on the new Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, east of the historic building. Photo by Gary Leonard, May 18, 2020

All told, if these spaces remain or become vacant, there could be 31 vacancies on and adjacent to Larchmont Boulevard at the end of this year.

627 N. LARCHMONT BLVD., home of the Hans Weisshaar violin shop from 1947 to 2018, has space for lease.

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LANDIS LABYRINTH Classic Toy Shop in the former LaBonte Building on Larchmont is saying “Everything Must Go!!”

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Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Lots of activity at The Grove during COVID-19 shutdown

By John Welborne Like everywhere in Los Angeles, things were very quiet at The Grove in April and almost all of May.* Impresario developer Rick Caruso kept all of his real estate projects open for walking (with the fountains flowing and music playing), even though the retail shops were not open. Later during this early phase of the pandemic, a few of his restaurants were available for takeout, but the outdoor shopping mall remained pretty quiet. With one big exception. During this business slowdown, demolition equipment made quick work of the former, two-story Crate & Barrel store. Located just west of Nordstrom’s, the big building was taken down to the ground. What will replace it? That is a very good question. What’s next at The Grove? Some observing architects and urban designers have suggested that this is a wonderful opportunity to penetrate The Grove’s long wall along Third Street by providing a pedestrian experience where people may walk into the center of the project direct from Third Street. These design kibitzers

VIEW in May of the former Crate & Barrel site.

NEW GROVE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS from Third Street? View from the street looks north during Crate & Barrel demolition.

SPACE for new stores or more, the former site of Crate & Barrel, with apartments and the Miracle Mile to the south.

NOVEL DRIVE-THRU on the Grove’s Main Street, normally accessible only to a trolley, was open one afternoon during novel coronavirus shutdown.

MIRAMAR HOTEL food truck (from Montecito [blue stripes) visited The Grove and helped raise funds to provide 21,000 meals through Para Los Niños.

note that such a new pathway would be on axis with the landmark “The Grove” sign atop the eight-story parking structure. One source at Caruso, who said details about the replacement for Crate & Barrel were not ready for public disclosure, did indicate that what is proposed is some sort of exciting new concept. That made it sound like a single vendor, rather than a series of smaller shops and pop-up merchandise carts along a winding pedestrian street. Stay tuned.

Grove “drive-thru” Despite the empty interior, there was one, novel event that took place inside The Grove during mid-May. On May 16, scores and scores of private vehicles had the opportunity to do what only The Grove trolley has done before. From the east end of The Grove’s Main Street, people in their cars were allowed to enter the mall and drive around the village green space, pass the movie theater, wind around the tall column with the angel sculpture (that becomes San-

ta’s House at the appropriate time of year) and finally make their ways to Gilmore Lane, where the adventure ended. And the purpose of this drive-thru expedition? Well, it is The Grove after all, so the answer is “to shop.“ And how does one shop in his or her car? Just like at McDonald’s. In this case, the fare for sale was far fancier than at Mickey D’s. From Kurobuta Carnitas Tacos and Mary’s Organic Fried Chicken Sand(Please turn to page 15)

MENU for patrons on Main Street at The Grove.

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

Demolition continues at LACMA

At the end of May, noticeable to westbound drivers and pedestrians (and to stay-at-home walkers out for exercise at the adjacent Tar Pits), the tallest of the east buildings of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art complex is coming down. The gable roofs over the interior courtyard in front of the Hammer Building, and parts of the former Robert O. Anderson (now Art of the Americas) Building, are disappearing. The remainder of that building may be next. Alternatively, what is next for the wrecking equipment may be the lower, and older, Hammer and Ahmanson Buildings. Museum spokespeople say the project is on track to commence construction later this year on the new David Geffen Galleries designed by Pritzker Prizewinning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor.

EAST BUILDINGS of LACMA on February 21, 2020. Included is the Leo S. Bing Center, one of three original buildings designed by William L. Pereira that opened in 1965. Directly across Wilshire Boulevard is the Spaulding Avenue parking lot that is the future location of the southern portion of the new David Geffen Galleries building (that will include a café and a new theater at ground level). Photo by Gary Leonard

LACMA IN LATE MAY features demolition underway at the Art of the Americas building on the existing campus. View west from the La Brea Tar Pits gardens. Chronicle staff photo WILSHIRE BOULEVARD will pass under the new David Geffen Galleries building as the street makes its way west to the sea. In the foreground is the Pavilion for Japanese Art. It will remain, as will the two newest gallery buildings with the white roofs, designed by Renzo Piano (Broad Contemporary Art Museum and Reznick Exhibition Pavilion). Photo by Gary Leonard

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Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Above LACMA, 2020

Last month, we received a number of compliments for the exquisite aerial photographs of local construction activity provided by legendary photographer Gary Leonard. Several readers said they wanted to see the photos in a larger size. Of course, readers usually can enlarge images on our larchmontchronicle. com website by themselves. But, by popular request, here again are those Gary Leonard aerial views of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art construction site, taken from helicopters on February 21 and April 21, 2020. Also last month, the museum reported completion of its demolition and removal of the Bing Center and the completion of the interior demolition of the Hammer Building and the Ahmanson Building. Structural demolition of the Art of the Americas Building (that fronts on Wilshire Boulevard) is underway.

WIDE OPEN SPACE, on April 21, 2020, represents the spot formerly occupied by the Leo S. Bing Center. That eastern portion of the current LACMA campus will house a café and education facility with a public gallery on the ground floor beneath the central portion of the new building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor to span Wilshire Boulevard. Photo by Gary Leonard

Make history at NHM’s COVID-19 archive project, ‘Your Story Matters’ Be a part of history and take part in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) COVID-19 archive project, “Your Story Matters.” The crowd-sourced project

is documenting the pandemic’s effects on the region’s people, communities and nature. The museum opened in 1913, and during the Spanish flu influenza pandemic of

1918-19, little was documented by NHM. Now, museum officials are taking full advantage of today’s technology to record this pandemic from the Los Angeles-point of view.

Food, music on ‘First Fridays’ menu June 5 “First Fridays Connected” will kick off with a livestream event on June 5. The discussion-and-live-music event is sponsored by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The season debut features a conversation on the “Future of Food” during a Zoom webinar starting at 6 p.m. Panelists are Dr. Ella Jorgensen, cofounder and chief

science officer at Aanika, a biotech startup, and Caroline Kolta, project manager at the XPRIZE Foundation, where she supports research to chart future roadmaps for food systems. Moderator is award-winning columnist Patt Morrison. Interactive quiz game Dino 101 is at 7 p.m., followed by a live performance by Choir Boy and a DJ set from

KCRW’s Novena Carmel at 8 p.m. Visit tinyurl.com/y8wlehbp. Free with RSVP.

Material will be collected, catalogued and archived, and an online exhibit will showcase submissions as well as become part of the museum’s permanent collection. “We know the coronavirus has affected everyone in our community in some way, and all of those stories deserve to be part of the way we remember this time,” Dr. Trina Rob-

erts, NHM associate vice president of collections, said at the project’s May 8 launch. The project is ongoing through the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit nhmlac.org/ your-story-matters to submit written accounts, art, photography and images as well as video and audio files. For information, write yourstory@ nhm.org.

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Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

LIBRARY CALENDAR

Add to archive, enjoy story times, movies, classes at lapl.org By Rachel Olivier Learning to manage life during a pandemic is a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and the Los Angeles Public Library would like your help in archiving your experiences for future generations. Called the Safer at Home Archive, the completed collection will be a curated record of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will include photographs, letters, emails, and other correspondence, journal and diary entries, blog posts or other social media posts, notices or signs, and creative art such as drawings, paintings, and poetry. Visit lapl. org/safer-archive. The digital collection ultimately will be available through the online special collections portal Tessa at tessa.lapl.org. Virtual services available Meanwhile, the brick-andmortar LAPL branches are still closed to visitors, but virtual services are available to anyone

ALREADY HAVE A CARD? It can access the e-media.

USING A library card from the comfort of your home will give you access to a variety of e-media.

with a library card and Internet access, from e-books and audiobooks to movies, newspapers, podcasts, research materials and online courses. Some services are available without a library card, such as online story times, teen council and adult book club. It all starts with a card If you already have a regular library card, you do not need

an e-card. The 14-digit number on the back of your library card and a PIN (the last four digits of the phone number you used when you signed up for the card) are all that you need to access much of the emedia on the library’s website. Pre-pandemic, anyone who wanted a library card needed to appear in person at the library and prove Los Angeles

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residency. Because people cannot now appear in person to sign up for a library card, LAPL has made it possible to sign up for an ecard, which will allow you to check out e-media, such as e-books, audiobooks, music, movies, podcasts, newspapers, magazines and other research materials, but will not allow you to check out physical books and movies once the libraries open again. Movies, music, books, papers Streaming movies may be accessed via a service called Kanopy, which works as a streaming channel similar to Netflix or Amazon Prime, and can be downloaded to a computer or to devices such as a

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Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire Stick. Some movies are “free” for library patrons to watch, while others count as a checked-out item. Patrons are allowed a limited number of movies to check out per month. Similarly, patrons can use Press Reader for reading newspapers and magazines, OverDrive for reading e-books, and Freegal for listening to music. This is in addition to the regular online tools offered to library cardholders through ProQuest and Gale Research and other research guides. A note on the e-books: ebooks are downloadable mostly in an epub format, which works for many e-readers, but does not easily transfer to Kindle. Patrons who use a Kindle need to look for e-books that specifically say they are available for Kindle. Storytimes and classes Other activities that are available at lapl.org are virtual story times (some for adults) and book clubs and classes that the library might otherwise hold in a community room. Find the class or story time that you are interested in, click on it, and email the contact person listed. The person will set you up with a link for the Zoom meeting when the class or story time begins. Patrons can also subscribe to the LAPL feed on YouTube for previous story times and activities. When asked where patrons should get started on their exploration of LAPL’s virtual world, Annie Cipolla, the branch manager at John C. Fremont Library, suggested checking the online programs that are listed on the upperright corner of the website. “They will see a schedule of not only story times but many other vibrant programs that LAPL librarians across the city are offering each day,” she said. Cipolla also wanted to remind patrons that checked out items are not due until the libraries re-open on June 30. There will be no late charges when items are returned. Librarians are available via email at infonow@lapl.org and lapl.org for more information.

Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

MUSEUM ROW

Museums offer live music, art projects and outdoor venues By Suzan Filipek Herald in the start of summer with live Latin music and jazz and art projects or head to outdoor venues at our local museums. But don’t do so in large groups (yet)! Music programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art may not feature live bands you can dance or tap your feet to in person, but you can swing to the beat online. “Latin Sounds: Meet the Musicians” will open its 15th season with some get-up-andmove salsa music by The Echo Park Project. “Jazz at LACMA: Meet the Musicians” kicks off the program with guitarist Roy Gaines and his Tuxedo Blues Orchestra. Both programs’ playlists are Fri., June 5 and feature interviews hosted by series director Mitch Glickman. New episodes play every Friday in June. Visit Latin Sounds at tinyurl. com/y7q34j6v. Visit Jazz at LACMA at tinyurl.com/yc2yklkk. While museums are closed at the time of this writing, some parts of their campuses are open to the public.

PIANIST Makiko Hirata plays June 22 online. TOUR THE GROUNDS of the La Brea Tar Pits, which includes the Lake Pit, where replica mammoths succumb to their fate. PHOTO: page 1, section 1: “Miss Forest” at LACMA.

At LACMA you can stroll by “Urban Light” (an installation of 1920s-era streetlights), the 340-ton boulder “Levitated Mass,” and LACMA’s newest outdoor addition, “Miss Forest.” A 26-foot-tall painted bronze sculpture, Miss Forest stands on Wilshire Boulevard and is part of the Yoshitomo Nara exhibit. (The full exhibit has been postponed because of the coronavirus.) LACMA@Home taps into the museum’s digital archives,

highlighting new features each week on its website as well as hands-on art-making videos. A self-guided walk around the Lake Pit at the La Brea Tar Pits reveals the 10,000-yearold history of the site and the ongoing paleontology research there. Walk by pine, sage and other native vegetation of the Ice Age in the Pleistocene Garden. Visit tarpits.org. Learn to make your own mask and enjoy some retail

therapy in the online gift shop at the Craft Contemporary. Step-by-step craft tutorials include Printing with Leaves, Hammered Flowers and a NoSew T-Shirt Mask. The Craft at Home site features weekly easy at-home projects, as well as artist talks. Visit the site at craftcontemporary.org. Tour the vault digitally and see new content streamed daily at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Sign up for free tours and also to enter a digital monthly event: Global Cars & Coffee. To enter, submit a video of your car, and the selected entries will be compiled and air live on YouTube. See

the website for more information, petersen.org. Wellness Wednesdays at the Japan Foundation Los Angeles feature bilingual yoga classes on June 10 and June 24 at 12:30 p.m. Meditate with the soothing sounds of a Japanese singing bowl on June 17. Music Mondays feature pianist Makiko Hirata on June 22. Also featured this month will be ukulele and taiko performers. Visit jflalc.org and facebook.com/JFLALC. Also find online programming at: Korean Cultural Center, Kccla.org, and Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, lamoth.org.

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

Book talks at Chevalier’s continue – but online

A LARGE AUDIENCE attended the Chevalier’s Books event – from the comfort of attendees’ own homes.

nificant insights about him. Newton had Brown’s exclusive cooperation in preparing the new account of Brown’s life story. Nichols has worked with Brown on and off, going back 45 years, beginning in 1975 in his first administration as California’s governor. When Brown became governor again in 2010, Nichols continued to serve on the Air Resources Board. “Man of Tomorrow” is available at Chevalier’s, 126 N. Larchmont Blvd.

VETERAN REPORTER Jim Newton is the author of a new book on former Gov. Jerry Brown.

MODERATOR Bert H. Deixler, co-owner of Chevalier’s Books on Larchmont Blvd.

AIR RESOURCES BOARD Chair and Windsor Square resident Mary D. Nichols.

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By John Welborne It seemed like it was an even larger-than-normal crowd of lovers of intellectual stimulus who attended a recent book talk at our favorite independent bookseller in late May. Counting all the faces on multiple Zoom screens calculated an audience of approximately 75 people enjoying the conversation among author Jim Newton and Windsor Square local attorneys, Bert H. Deixler and Mary D. Nichols. Deixler, co-owner of the bookstore (the city’s oldest independent bookseller), served as moderator of the discussion between Newton, who has been a reporter, bureau chief and editor at the “Los Angeles Times,” and Nichols, who has worked with Gov. Jerry Brown on environmental issues for decades and serves currently as chair of the powerful California Air Resources Board. A Chevalier’s e-mail alert explained that: “We are finally venturing into the daunting frontier of cyberspace in our first ever virtual author Q&A.” The online event was a resounding success as the two knowledgeable guests answered questions from Deixler, as well as questions he received electronically and conveyed to Newton and Nichols. Newton, who also wrote “Justice for All,” an acclaimed biography of Justice Earl Warren in 2006, just completed his multi-year project of interviewing Gov. Brown and researching archives and more to publish “Man of Tomorrow,” which went on sale last month. The speakers spoke candidly about Brown, the subject of Newton’s new book. Both Newton, through his interviewing, and Nichols, through years of working with Brown, have sig-

Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Explore scintillating city life through modern detective stories

We’ve seen over the past months stunning photographs of familiar places — Times Square, Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Piazza San Marco. What’s stunning about the images is the simple fact that these and other perpetually crowded places have been emptied of people. It’s as if famous buildings, squares, and streets have become architectural mock-ups, devoid of context. We don’t need photographs of distant places to feel the strangeness. By the time this article appears, signs of a reopening Los Angeles may be evident, but many current closures will surely remain, and much profound and widespread suffering will linger for years. Even the most fortunate will not in the near future seek out big events. We’ll have fewer people over for dinner. We’ll shop differently. We’ll move in smaller circles. Whatever directives may be in force, we will be living in a changed city. We’ll have less of what has always made cities confusing, exciting, rewarding, scary, and promising: the unpredict-

On Books and Places by

Bruce Beiderwell

able crossings, meetings and partings of people. Without routine life on the street and without human movement inside and outside buildings that line the street, our built environments will at times seem like empty sets. As I write this piece, the creative charge of mixing with others amidst places remains highly restricted. The flip side of that for me and other lucky ones resides in the value of reflection; we’re settling into our homes, cooking what’s available, and walking about the immediate neighborhood. If we listen, we’ll hear more birds. If we’re attentive, we’ll observe the small as well as large transitions to summer. While isolation may offer such gifts, most of us staying home will still long for the scintillat-

ing human clutter of city life. Since that will return only in stages, I’d suggest we address that longing through books — more specifically, through modern detective stories. All good detective novelists understand the sometimes productive, sometimes threatening chaos of urban life very well. And they understand that their detective heroes must know the city as a vast and dynamically peopled organism. Perhaps that’s knowledge Raymond Chandler gained or sought from his tendency to move often from one house or apartment to another in Southern California. Chandler lived many places, including Pacific Palisades, Westwood and for a time, shortly after writing the screenplay for “Double Indemnity,” on Drexel Avenue just east of South Sweetzer Ave. Detective fictions seem especially apt now amidst this pandemic because they build tension from what we do not know and cannot confidently control. In addition, the detective’s work is typically complicated by incompetent or uncaring bosses. But some lim-

ited resolution may be gained by disciplined, evidence-based and brave investigations. Available triumphs — as opposed to absolute victories — result from close observation and timely action along with a willingness to admit error. And while an individual case may be closed, there’s always a problem ahead, always more work to do, and always something to learn. My wife and I had planned to spend most of March in Paris. The trip was cancelled, of course, but the novels of Georges Simenon (along with his Inspector Maigret) have provided me more of that city than I would have experienced isolated in a small apartment through the shut-down. Los Angeles famously offers many options for densely peopled cityscapes — Chandler, Ross MacDonald and Walter Moseley are just a few of the obvi-

ous choices. Beyond the obvious, I have a particular suggestion. Go on line to Chevalier’s website, or call them, or drop by if they’re open (please, not Amazon) and order “In a Lonely Place” by Dorothy B. Hughes. It’s a chilling story set mostly in Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills and the stretches between. Humphrey Bogart starred in a film version, but the script radically altered much of what makes the book compelling. NYRB Classics have recently republished this novel first published in 1947, along with Hughes’ last novel, “The Expendable Man.” I won’t give anything away, but I will remark that “In a Lonely Place” is refreshingly free of the misogyny that ripples through many novels in this genre. And it’s women, not men, who see what’s before them.

Former staff writer has a ‘Fighting Chance’

WRITER ALICIA Doyle found her way to boxing through a story about a neighborhood gym.

geles Daily News” and the “Ventura Star.” And boxing? One fateful evening while at the “Star,” she answered a phone call, a tip on a story about a community gym in need of help. As Doyle tells it, she didn’t want to write a story about the neighborhood boxing gym. Sports were “not her thing.” She was also more than a little turned off by the violence inherent in boxing. But the caller was persuasive, and once she arrived at the gym, Kid Gloves, and saw how it was keeping at-risk kids off the street, she knew the story was a good one. She still wasn’t convinced that boxing was anything other than a violent sport — until eventu-

ally she was. “Boxing is described as a noble art of self-defense, the sweet science, a channel for courage, determination and self-discipline,” says Doyle. In boxing, she found a channel for some of her own inner demons. In her brief career as a boxer, she earned two Golden Glove championship titles, as well as the moniker “Disaster Diva.” While she no longer practices the “sweet science,” Doyle says she continues to use skills she learned in the ring in her work as a journalist. “Focus, heart and dedication — and how to get up when knocked down. … To this day, the skills I discovered in the ring translate to everyday life,” says Doyle. Give it a “Fighting Chance” Because of COVID-19, book signings have been cancelled or postponed. However, a visit to Doyle’s website has footage from past fights, podcasts of current interviews, and even the chance to purchase an autographed copy. Gilman, when asked about her read of Doyle’s book, said she felt like she was in the ring with Doyle, brought to the fight through Doyle’s “blowby-blow descriptions” and perseverance. Most recently, the book has been optioned as a movie and will hopefully be on the big screen in the near future. Visit aliciadoyle.com.

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By Rachel Olivier Alicia Doyle, former staff writer at the Larchmont Chronicle, has published her first book, “Fighting Chance.” The memoir tells how Doyle, an award-winning journalist, discovered boxing while covering a story for a neighborhood gym that was down on its luck. She went on to become one of the few women at the time in America who participated in the sport. Some of what she brought into the ring she learned as a writer, some of that from Jane Gilman. Boxing also taught her a lot about life. Love for writing Doyle first developed a love for writing and journalism at Pierce College while working on the student-run paper, “Pierce College Roundup.” Her father and stepmother, on hearing how passionate she was about writing, put her in touch with Chronicle founder Jane Gilman, who hired her as a staff reporter rewriting press releases, copyediting and getting the occasional byline. Doyle says that when she first met Gilman in 1993, “she exuded lady-like confidence” and was able to run a paper with that confidence in the middle of what was considered a “man’s world.” From the Chronicle, Doyle moved onto working as a stringer for the “Los Angeles Times,” followed by the “San Diego Tribune,” the “Los An-

Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Plays may be our modern-day canaries in the coal mine From my office at home, I can hear the protestors in front of Mayor Garcetti’s residence, demanding that he “open up” Los Angeles for economic reasons, despite the public health dangers. Compared to some of the other protests nationwide, these have been relatively polite and disciplined, given the honking of horns, shouting of chants, and circling of helicopters. I mention this because, while it is not my place to comment on politics or economics, the question of when theaters re-open (and what do theater artists do in the meantime) is indicative of a sort of reverse “canary-in-thecoal-mine” syndrome: theater, perhaps more than any of the other arts, will be the last to come back to life. In an April 6 article in the “Los Angeles Times,” local theater artists were still “hopeful” of “making it through,” with “light at the end of the

tunnel.” By the 28th of that month, in another “Times” feature focusing on local producing artistic directors, the mood had shifted to one of acknowledging a “free-fall” with “no end in sight.” 18-24 months? On May 1 (appropriately), the French philosopher and economist Jacques Attali, in what he described as an otherwise “positivist” interview with Japan’s NHK, predicted that the arts would be severely crippled for the next 18-24 months, with perhaps a majority of artists and arts organizations not surviving the pandemic financially. Why? The one thing that this virus seems to do extremely well is to take advantage of underlying, pre-existing conditions and capitalize on them. It does this to the human body, to relationships, to the economy and to institutions. Do you remember the last time you were at the theater?

Theater Review by

Louis Fantasia How old was the average theatergoer? How expensive were the tickets? How crowded were the lobby and restrooms? Moving on to the stage, did you know that singing can send virus droplets out up to 27 feet? How do you socially distance a love scene, or a fight, or kitchen table dialogue? Theaters plan their seasons years in advance. What plays will have relevance in 2022? Which performers will have survived economically till then, and be available? Streaming Obviously, theaters and performers are trying — struggling — to stay alive till the next opening. Streaming is all

the rage. Two that I’ve seen were pretty good: the Royal Court’s “Cyprus Avenue,” starring Stephen Rea (written by David Ireland); and the National Theatre’s “Frankenstein,” with Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”). It’s no surprise that a film director creates the best theater for home viewing (“Cyprus Avenue” had “onlocation” scenes in Northern Ireland.) Their success owed, in my opinion, as much to film theory as stage blocking. Streamed content for theater ranges from the wellintentioned (see #ShareYourShakespeare), to archival videos from smaller theaters (“Oh, I haven’t seen ‘The Wild Duck’ in ages. Let’s see what they’ve done with it.”). The advantage here being the ability to fast-forward, frequently. The worst streamed theatricals, in many ways, are the slick, polished productions

from the National Theater or the Royal Shakespeare Company or Broadway, where the acting is aimed for the second balcony and the audience is laughing at jokes you don’t understand, and you have the feeling you are watching a kind of pre-formative, homunculus theater that could spring into full-bodied life if only it could escape the oocyte of the screen. A play is a three-dimensional event. A play-script is a twodimension indication of what that event might be (or might have been). The streamed, video version, much more often than not, is also only a twodimensional indication of that three-dimensional event. It is the difference between going out to dinner (remember that?) and enjoying a meal, and eating the menu of that dinner. In both cases, you’ve consumed the meal, but only one of them has given you any sustenance.

Not sure what to watch when safer at home? Here are some favorites At the Movies with

Tony Medley Chicago (2003) 113 minutes. PG-13: Even though director Rob Marshall dumped Bob Fosse’s wonderful Broadway choreography and cast non-singers as stars, this is a funny, entertaining, scintillating 113 minutes. Showtime. Freaky Friday (2003) 97 Minutes. PG: Unlike lots of comedic films, this farce where mother and daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, respectively, switch personas had me laughing out loud throughout. Amazon Prime. Luther (2003) 123 minutes. PG-13: The 1960s were a time that produced some of the best historical dramas. Becket (1964), A Man For All Seasons (1966), Lion in Winter (1968) all came within four

years of each other. Luther fits comfortably with these. This is a movie that is as educational as it is entertaining. Amazon Prime. Out of Time (2003) 105 minutes. PG-13: An atmospheric, neo-noir Denzel Washington thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Amazon Prime. Till Human Voices Wake Us (2003) 101 minutes. R: An emotional, evocative romantic tragedy. There aren’t any laughs in it, but the story is unique, and the acting, the writing, and the directing are so good it kept me enthralled. Amazon Prime. Shattered Glass (2003) 94 minutes. PG-13: Biographical story of Stephen Glass who wrote 27 fabricated articles for The New Republic from 199598, highlighted by a superb performance by Peter Sarsgaard as Glass’s editor. Amazon Prime. Swimming Pool (2003) 102 minutes. R: This is an exceptional script by Emmanuèle Bernheim and François Ozon,

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minutes. PG-13: As good as a movie gets, but bring a box of tissues because this is a major tearjerker. It still evokes emotion almost two decades later. Amazon Prime. Miracle (2004) 135 minutes. PG: The best sports film ever. Amazon Prime. Chasing Liberty (2004) 101 minutes. PG-13: Reminiscent of It Happened One Night (1934), this is a happy, feel good romantic comedy. Complementing the Capraesque script is stunning cinematography, which shows scenery of Prague, Berlin, and Venice, Italy that would be good enough for a travelogue. Even the modern music was good. Amazon Prime. The Inheritance (2004) 115 minutes. NR: This is an intense Ibsenesque drama of a family involved in major business decisions. It’s heavy, starkly realistic, and engaging. I was exhausted when it was over. In Danish. Fandor with Amazon Prime. Ray (2004) 152 minutes. PG-13: One of the best musical biopics extant, and Jamie Foxx wins the Oscar, lip-syncing to Ray Charles’s iconic voice. Amazon Prime. (Please turn to page 13)

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who also directed. The story is enthralling and involving up to the ending, as you try to figure out what’s going on. Amazon Prime. The Hunted (2003) 94 minutes. R: One thing director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) knows is action. And this is a lot of well-paced action. Amazon Prime. Bon Voyage (2004) 114 minutes. PG-13: A non-stop, peripatetic, neo-Hitchcockian farce immeasurably aided by wonderful music by Gabriel Yared that continues to remind you that this is a lighthearted thriller, a rewarding romp. In French. Amazon Prime. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) 108 minutes. PG-13: When Paul Greengrass took over directing this then-fledgling Matt Damon franchise, he produced a thriller at its best. Amazon Prime. Hotel Rwanda (2004) 121 minutes. PG-13: This story of Rwanda’s Hutus slaughtering more than one million Tutsis is many times more exciting than any James Bond film, with the advantage that it’s mostly true. STARZ. The Notebook (2004) 123

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With no theaters open and people stranded at home, these movies, listed chronologically, are some suggestions for old films from the dawn of the 21st century that you might want to see if you missed them, or might want to see again, including several of which you may have never heard of, along with where you may access them. The Man from Elysian Fields (2002) 106 minutes. R: Not as dark and gothic as Sunset Boulevard (1950), and despite an ending that needed the touch of a Julius Epstein (Casablanca), this is an enjoyable, stimulating movie by any measure with a fine supporting performance by Mick Jagger. Amazon Prime. The Pianist (2002) 150 minutes. R: An intense 148-minute movie, this story of the Warsaw Ghetto has no objectionably graphic scenes of violence. Even so, you feel the danger throughout. In the end, The Pianist is an uplifting film, showing how one person can survive in a world gone mad. Amazon Prime.

Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

These essential home services have stayed open for business closing at 6 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. Saturdays and all day on Sunday — but otherwise the store is open for business. For a period, Koontz even owned Larchmont Hardware, which opened a few years before Koontz opened in West Hollywood in 1938. Rising rents forced the beloved Larchmont Hardware to close at the end of 2007. “We loved it. I reDR. DOOR AND WINDOW (Steve Byroads) removes a dysfunctional double- ally hated to lose that hung window pulley and will replace it one,” said the owner. with a new rope so the window can glide He owns the Santa up and down with ease. Monica Blvd. property, so that store will ufacturers and is proud of its never close, he promises. product and cabinet design. Koontz Hardware, 8914 Grittel, 323-350-0680, gritSanta Monica Blvd., 310-652tel.com. Heating and air condition- 0123, parking is underground. “We are here for our valing installation and repair are ued clients’ construction Tim Stivers’ specialty. He and needs, and, most importanthis eight technicians fan out from his Miracle Mile-based ly, any emergency repairs / troubleshooting required company, Tim Stivers Inc. Homeowners, property man- during this time,” said Neil agers and commercial build- Donnelly, principal of Pobal Construction. ings are among his clients. As an asthmatic husband “We’re up and running. We’re considered essential, so and father, he does not take we’ve been working through the COVID-19 virus precauthis whole thing,” said Stivers. tions lightly. “It is an impor His 20-year-old firm also tant time to reflect and stand specializes in air purification by our company values when systems for asthma and allergy we are needed most.” Among his projects is “consufferers, which also provide a struction on a beautiful Spancleaner indoor environment ish Colonial Revival renovafor everyone. tion on Genesee Ave. in the Tim Stivers at 323-6501616, timstivers.la Area residents are frequent shoppers at Koontz Hardware, where they are on a first-name basis with many of the 50 employees on staff, who help with challenges from finding an License #768437 exact paint match to locating items in housewares, lighting and electrical. The vast inventory also includes masks and hand sanitizers, kiddie wading pools and gardening soil. Since the pandemic hit, store hours have been trimmed —

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Miracle Mile Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. “In between these projects, we are working through some smaller outdoor project lists for past clients, as now is a great time for those works to be undertaken as we enter the summertime period.” Pobal Construction, 310975-3141, pobalconstruction. com. Steve Byroads has been repairing and restoring vintage doors and windows since 1988. “Hancock Park is the jewel of my crown as to where I like to work,” says Byroads of Dr. Door and Window. Windsor Square as well as other historic neighborhoods in our vicinity are also among his “jewels… These homes are so well built,” he explains. He’s found that the homeowners equally appreciate his attention to detail and Old

World techniques. “They really want somebody who knows what they are doing.” His expertise includes reconditioning ropes on doublehung windows and door frame repairs on century-old doors and older. “Instead of replacing the entire frame, costing big bucks and weeks in time if it has to be ordered, I simply remove the rotted part and craft a piece on the job site.” He also rebuilds antique locks, and he has developed weather stripping ideal for older homes. Call Steve at 323-664-6248. Doctordoorandwindow.com Bill Gaddy of B. Gaddy Electric is based in Larchmont Village. Besides all your electrical needs indoors and out, he can add phone and computer lines to your home or office. Call Bill at 323-462-1023.

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At the Movies

(Continued from page 12) Mean Girls (2004) 97 minutes. PG-13: I’m supposed to be interested in a story about high school girls? Against all odds, this delightful comedy superbly directed by Mark Waters enchanted me. Showtime. Riding Giants (2004) 105 minutes. PG-13: The best surfing movie ever. Amazon Prime. The Big Bounce (2004) 88 minutes. PG-13: An Elmore Leonard-inspired caper film set in Hawaii with a charming Owen Wilson; I liked it even though it went almost straight to oblivion. Amazon Prime.

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By Suzan Filipek Designers, contractors and electricians have been working throughout the pandemic, albeit with masks and gloves, and they plan to continue doing so to help keep us safe at home. Among our local essential services is Bernie Zavala’s fullservice electric company, Zavala Electric. “We’ve been in business for 36 years. We’re always rolling,” said Zavala. He and his staff of seven cover homes and businesses in the Larchmont, Hancock Park and Wilshire areas, plus much of Southern California, adds Zavala. Large and small jobs are on the schedule. Some customers have cancelled jobs because of pandemic fears, he notes, but, by and large, it’s business as usual. Zavala Electric, 818-5007778. Rosie Fortunat of Alakazam Upholstery and Drapery brings books of fabrics and her ideas to clients’ homes, and, well, alakazam! As a small business with seven employees, she’s able to keep her costs down and pass the savings on to her clients, she says. She started the business after the 2008 recession when she was laid off from her job of 30 years as a bookkeeper at an entertainment firm — something she thought would never happen. Luck was on her side, though, for as it turns out, she has an eye for color and style, judging by her repeat customers. “They value my opinion and I appreciate that. … People call me over and over. I have a lot of referrals. It’s very rewarding and very satisfying.” Alakazam Upholstery & Drapery, 310-491-8409. Design and remodeling company Grittel does the entire job, from cabinets and floors to appliances, plumbing and light fixtures. “We recommend customers choose a kitchen style to follow their house style. Do not follow the fashion,” said designer Steve Gurfinkel. Today’s trend is a contemporary style, which features flat-door cabinets that meet in horizontal and vertical lines, built-in sleek appliances, recessed lighting, flat walls and big tiles. Often a more classic design with a modern look and allnew materials works best with Colonial, Tudor, Craftsman, Spanish and other traditional homes. Grittel Kitchen Design and Remodeling also does bathrooms and walk-in closets. In business two decades, the company works with Italian, Canadian and American man-

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

Challenge of game is not in the hand but in who is defending

Here’s your hand sitting South, North dealer, nobody vulnerable:

♠ KQ6432 ♥ ♦6 ♣ KQ9732

Your partner, North, opens 1C. Here’s the bidding to you: West North East South 1C P 1S 2H Dbl* P ? * Support Double You’ve got a huge hand now that you know you have a double fit (you know that North has at least three clubs). You know that you and partner have two

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suits in which you have at least nine cards. You have to make a forcing bid, but what? Any bid of one of your two suits would be non-forcing. If you jump to game, the bidding will probably be over if partner has a simple 12-14 HCP opener. You want to look for slam. If she’s got both black aces, six spades should be cold. Lacking one of them, though, it would be down unless she’s got the diamond Ace or the heart Ace and gets a heart lead. Your best bid here could be 3H, but that could be ambiguous because partner could interpret it as Western Cue, asking for a heart stopper to play in no trump instead of showing

Bridge Matters by

Grand Slam first round control and telling partner you are interested in slam. If it were Western Cue, North would bid 3N showing a heart stopper. So this depends on partnership understanding. If it’s Western Cue, North’s response of 3S would simply deny a heart stopper. Because most pairs play Western Cue, 3H is not a good bid. Here are the four hands:

North ♠ A85 ♥ KT32 ♦ J95 ♣ AJ4 West East ♠ 97 ♠ JT ♥ AQJ854 ♥ 976 ♦ A873 ♦ KQT42 ♣ 5 ♣ T86 South ♠ KQ6432 ♥ Void ♦6 ♣ KQ9732

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Here’s how the bidding could go with an advanced pair:

West North East 1C P 2H Dbl* P P 4S† P P 6C††† P All Pass

South 1S 4H** 5C†† 6S

*Support Double showing three spades ** Big hand implying but not promising first round control of hearts, confirming spades as trump, looking for slam † Cue bid showing the spade Ace but this could be an ambiguous bid and partner could just be signing off in spades. †† Regardless of North’s ambiguous bid, I’ve got a great club suit and fit for you and worst case it’s a three loser hand! Even if you were signing off in 4S I still think we might have slam because you opened and you should have at least two tricks for me. If not, bid 5S and I’ll pass. ††† I’ve got the club Ace but you pick the slam, clubs or spades This bidding shows how an experienced pair can reach

a difficult-to-find slam with cooperative bidding. This hand was played 12 times. One pair got to 6C, two pairs got to 6S. Confirming the difficulty in bidding this hand, 4S making seven was an average board. Two pairs were in 6N, a ridiculous contract, but one made it, and it was played by south! West, on lead, has two Aces. How could this possibly have made 6N when West can take the first two tricks? Even if north plays 6N, the standard lead would be the diamond Queen or partner’s suit. If the diamond, West would overtake with his Ace, take the heart Ace, and return a diamond so EW should take the first six tricks for down five. But even if East leads his partner’s bid suit, hearts, west should take his two Aces for down at least one. That’s what makes bridge such a challenging game. It’s not so much who is playing the hand as who is defending! Grand Slam is the nom de plume for an author of a bestselling book on bridge, an ACBL accredited director and a Silver Life Master.

Mother’s Day By Jon Sklaroff

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With respect to My Mother who many a time has spoke from her heart disguised as rhyme,  I will pay homage to her and cite that as my memory — short, concise.  In case you find the following does not suffice. And do forgive my meter and scheme a bit too green and a tad too loose, but my reading of late has been mostly Seuss.

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With regard to My Mother, not Goose nor Hubbard, but my mother who lives not in a cupboard, but with another doctor: To ask for a single memory, or to recall a lone image, just one … From the eldest of children — a now half-century old Son. Is neither possible, nor just nor even fair. For even I am too old to remember all that my mother was or did, as my mother: suckling her baby, or comforting her child, or reassuring her teen running rampant and wild, as I would soon try for Man, armed only with more hair and a stronger voice, certain to fail or make the odd choice. My mother would become a voice in my head — a compass and gauge, so when I took my steps I might fail less, hurt less, and fearless, as I raged and raged and fled from the cage.

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Perhaps that’s the fate of us Fathers and Mothers, not abandoned like most think by Sons and Daughters. But rather becoming voices and spirits. We are our children’s conscience, their fairies and guides, always with them. Inside. A part of their heart, a part of their soul, for without us neither would be entirely whole. They need us to love and need us to blame, and we are good for both, equal in measure. The same. We will always need our children to be who we are, and they will always need us to point out what they are not.

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Until they become us and have their own, who will then repeat what you did, and I did, chastising theirs for taking that tone. We continue to go and go, and spin on this planet, repeating ourselves over and over, so that none of us is special or different from before. Just Mothers and Sons and Daughters and Dads forgetting most and more of what each of us has: an introduction to a kind of love and trust felt only between a parent and child whose bond is unseen. No contract or ring or attachment or lien. There is a promise we take, from the beginning or birth, a pledge we swear worth more than we’re worth; lifelong and everlasting, and no matter the clash and all its hash, one we will not forsake, we will not rehash. But rather remember that creating another, a girl or a boy, that bundle of joy, is a lifelong gift whose only return is love, unconditional love. Through Life and through Death and long after that. So that every memory and thought is love, deep love.

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Jon Sklaroff is an actor and writer. He lives in the Larchmont neighborhood with his wife and daughter and shared his Mother’s Day poem with us last month.

Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Soldiers abroad left to consider chances of being replaced My late father was in the Vietnam War and whenever he talked about his girlfriend back then (who sent him a Dear John letter) he also mentioned somebody named “Jody” that apparently every soldier had to contend with. What did he mean? ponders Celia Hobart. “Jody” is the universal, generic name used originally by African American U.S. Army soldiers in WWII to identify the omnipresent shirker who stayed home and took advantage of a soldier being overseas to move in on the soldier’s girl. If it was a

The Grove

ProfessorKnowIt-All Bill Bentley

soldier’s wife and kid, he was called “Uncle Jody.” Well, it wasn’t long before Jody was adopted by all the armed services and incorporated into the cadences used by drill sergeants when marching their troops. An example: “You ain’t got nothin’ to worry about, Jody will be there till you

get out. But that won’t be till the end of the war... in nineteen hundred and eighty-four. Ain’t it great to have a pal, who works so hard to keep up morale.” • • • “Why is a woman with a bad reputation, a “Scarlet Woman”? wonders Edie Mannon. This colorful appellation actually refers to the Roman Empire and its ruthless and bloody persecution of early Christians. The metaphor originates with the woman seen by St. John in his vision: “arrayed in purple and scarlet, sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blas-

phemy, having seven heads and seven horns, drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs.” Whew, I’m glad I never met her. • • • Where do the “Amish” get their name, asks Tanya Logan? In the late 17th century, a strictly conservative sect who followed the teachings of one Jacob Ammann separated from the Mennonite religion. They first settled in Pennsylvania, and communities eventually

sprang up in Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa. They are conspicuous by their colorful customs, industry, and frugality and still use the German language, wear old-fashioned dress and employ horse-drawn vehicles. The colony members in Iowa are the original makers of the Amana brand of washers, dryers, ranges, refrigerators, etc. Professor Know-It-All is the nom de plume of Bill Bentley, who invites readers to try and stump him. Send your questions to willbent@ prodigy.net

(Continued from page 5) wiches, everything being sold was “food to go.” Main Street at The Grove became a “drivethru” for that Saturday afternoon. Caruso’s Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel in Montecito brought some of Chef Massimo Falsini’s favorite foods to be enjoyed here in Los Angeles. The chef prepared them in a fancy food truck. Patrons, upon entering Main Street in their cars, were greeted by the modern equivalent of a carhop, who took orders and accepted payment. The cars then moved on to the Miramar food truck, where drivers were handed bags with their purchases and were wished goodbye. They also were, in essence, thanked for a good buy. The event was a charity fundraiser. Caruso donated 100 percent of sales proceeds to beneficiary Para los Niños, based on Skid Row. The money provided by sales and more from Rick and Tina Caruso provided 21,000 meals to help feed 85,000 individuals in need during this time of shutdown and unemployment. The president and CEO of Para Los Niños, Drew Furedi, said his organization is “enormously grateful to be a part of the first-ever drive-thru at The Grove — as our children, families, and youth are some of the hardest hit by the disruptions caused by COVID-19.” * Sadly, looters broke into several Grove stores on May 30.

ON TARGET. This store under construction is at a former OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware) site at 415 S. La Brea Avenue. The new Target is scheduled to open this year and will be approximaetly 59,000 square feet, according to corporate.target.com.

DeaDline For the July 2020 iSSue iS fri., June 19, 2020.

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Larchmont Chronicle

JUNE 2020

SECTION TWO

Realtor® Founder & Executive Director, Architectural Division

“We had absolutely THE best experience selling our home with Hancock Park realtor Bret Parsons. We could not possibly sing his praises enough. Flawless! I don’t think we can truly appreciate how easy the process was except to say we heard all the realtor horror stories and not one came true. We felt protected and taken care of by Bret and his colleagues Diane Manns and Aaron Montelongo from start to finish. Thank you!”

310.497.5832 bretparsons.com DRE 01418010

Jeff Olde & Alan Uphold 110 So. Martel Avenue 90036

Bret Parsons

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. DRE 01866771. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate.