The Healing Power of Junk

Finding Solace (and Sparkly Shades) Among the Racks

Treasures. Thousands of them. Rows, shelves, hooks, nooks, closets, rooms, and corners full of treasures. I always knew I had an addictive personality. My veins bleed 12 steps and amends, but not for this dependence. I got off easy. I’m obsessed with one man’s junk.

This month marks my eighth year living in Los Angeles. I’ve always been a nomad–a collector not just of things but cities. I moved from Pennsylvania to Missouri to Michigan, back to Pennsylvania and then to Florida before coming to a city full of angels. You’d …

More In: Where I Go

The Key to the Garden (Grove)

At Hill’s Brothers Lock & Safe, Doors Get Opened

“The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old …

El Capitan Theatre

Where Movies Remain Old-Fashioned Magic

The pipe organist has slowly, dramatically descended back into the floor and out of view, while two giant rodents scamper mischievously onstage, tugging at the soon-to-be-parted curtains. Our 3 1/2 …

My Grandparents’ Strange Desert Home

Welcome to Sun City, A Non-Reality-Based Community

The freeway east out of Los Angeles leads into the suburbs that speckle the Inland Empire, passes through green hills, and eventually swings by the monolithic Morongo Casino. This marks …

Maria’s “Fruta Fresca” Stand

Where the Perfect Mango Comes with Lime Juice, Chili Powder, and a Dash of Nostalgia

Maria’s “Fruta Fresca” stand is usually parked on Wilshire right outside Zócalo Public Square’s global headquarters in K-Town. The smiling but inscrutable Oaxaquense always manages to have the perfect mango, …

The Daily Dose

Inspiration in L.A.’s Arts District

In L.A., I am known as a Valley guy. I represented the San Fernando Valley when I served in the State Legislature and when I was speaker of the Assembly. …