White Boy/White Dog Move To Skid Row

Certified Beach Dude Moves To Downtown Los Angeles

Last night, August 5th, LAPD took over 1st St. in Little Tokyo and put on a killer shindig! (Forgive me for not mentioning LAFD, some say they were part of the “Night Out” festivities, but I honestly don’t think I saw any sign of their presence there- it is no slight to them, I just did not see them or meet them).

As promised, there were stages at both ends of 1st St closure, with a boxing/martial arts ring in the middle, and food and drink vendors lining the sidewalks. I arrived at about 7pm and immediately ran into Meeko (of Meeko on Main), who was talking with Don Garza, official “Town Crier” and author of the Central City East blog.

I had never met Don before, but he is well-known around downtown, and he is a very smart, outgoing, and generally funny guy, who is the “original skid row dude” as he has lived in an SRO in the heart of Skid Row for 9 years, always fighting to get better conditions and representation for the inhabitants of Skid Row. And people are listening- now he is getting calls from media outlets and developers alike, praising his “no bullsh*t” blog and his insights into the living conditions downtown.

So my first task is to find a beer- Don points me to where they are pouring Kirin draft and that sounds perfect. One nice part about the way the event was set up was that beer was allowed throughout the closed streets- usually at these type of events they cramp up the beer drinkers in a small area and make you finish your drink there before wondering around- LAPD had it under control. So Don and I are making small talk about each other’s blogs, and he blurts out “Are you straight?”- I laugh and say I guess my metrosexual ambiguous posts have him confused, and yes, I am very straight, although sometimes I wish I had the “gay gene” as I would have a lot more “dates” downtown. We laugh more and he says he sometimes gets asked the same thing, and he is very straight too. So now the talk changes to what straight men usually talk about- the women around us… and then he takes me to the Mochi booth to introduce me to the cute girl working there. I love Mochi, but not with beer, but I do make at least 3 stops later at the booth to get the new flavors they introduced- Creme Brulee and Plum Wine. Mochi is better than Haagan Daz ice cream to me, but just as deadly on the waistline with overconsumption. They make most of the flavors right in the heart of Little Tokyo, and have a store front, but I try to avoid the place as it is too tempting.

SeanYoda arrives (Meeko’s husband) and we all wonder around the venue some more, snapping pics and seeing where we want to eat next. Meeko sees Senior Lead Officer Jack Richter, one of the main LAPD persons responsible for organizing the event, and I ask her to introduce me. We shake hands, and then Meeko takes a pic of us, at which point I ask him if he was indeed a “child actor” (based on a comment from Central Division Cop). That did not go over well- I think Officer Richter might have been in a recent movie or tv show, and there is an inside joke among his fellow officers about him being a “child actor”- he (jokingly, kind of) said he’d “kick the ass” of whoever said that. So I don’t suggest bringing that topic up if you ever run into Officer Richter.

I hate being in pics, especially when I haven’t been getting my “beauty sleep” and I am standing next to a “Hollywood-good-looks” type, but I wanted to document that I attended and met some cool people

Next I convince SeanYoda and Meeko to join me at Far Bar for an appetiser or two- I had been craving their Wasabi Fries forever, and a table was available, so we order up a couple baskets of fries and a plate of sliders. I tell the waitress, Amy, that we were in a hurry (Meeko had a picture opp at 8:30, but it was 7:45 so we should be ok). Poor Amy, she was the only waitress, and it seemed like she must have been cooking too, as it took 30 min. to get fries, but no sliders yet. Sean and I stay while Meeko goes to take pics of Councilwoman Jan Perry (which she missed as Ms. Perry decided to speak at 8:15 and leave early). The fries were pretty good, but don’t go there if you are in a hurry- the place should be called “The Slow Bar”.

The Far Bar is a cool place as it is open air, really just a “crack” between two buildings

Then I took off on my own- enjoying a great funky set by The Bonedaddys at one end of the street, and then going to the other stage where, to my amazement, I saw Don Garza serenading, karaoke-style, a group of lady parking attendants who were standing near the stage and enjoying his Willie Nelson crooning.

(sorry for terrible pic from my “free” cell phone but I had to document the moment)

That was a great end to a fun-filled evening in Little Tokyo. I only wish the LAPD could have been “off-duty” and been able to relax a little more with us citizens, but their huge presence in uniforms certainly made the place feel safe, and the lady officers looked particularly sharp in their uniforms as they enjoyed watching the festivities.

Another great job, LAPD!!!

UPDATE:
Check out Meeko’s great photos of the event- unfortunately she was late for Jan Perry’s speech (well, Jan Perry was early) so no pics of Councilwoman Perry

UPDATE #2:
Check out Don Garza’s coverage of the party- he has some great pics too- while you are at his site, read some of his latest posts. He is fast becoming my favorite blogger, he can even convince me to see the good in Councilwoman Jan Perry, which I never thought anyone could do.

And he got a pic of me smiling… a rare find lately…