Los Angeles, My Neighborhood

In the high pace world of Hollywood it’s easy to feel swallowed up in the mayhem. Everyday there are people whose dreams have been crushed and turn tail back to whatever corner of the world they call home. Disappointment is a hard thing to take.
Just when you start to cast LA off as a cold heartless bitch, you run across something unexpected, reminding you of the fundamental Hollywood commandment, appearances can be deceiving.

Last Saturday night I experienced just that, and at the perfect place for such a revelation, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Under the dark sky of night (as dark as LA can get), surrounded by at least 200 other people I picnicked under the stars as the classic Hitchcock film The Birds was projected onto the side of one of the cemeteries famous mausoleums. Surrounded by tall palm trees our grass “theatre” encompassed everything Hollywood had been so long ago; art, entertainment and awe inspiring sights.

As I sipped my glass of wine I looked away from the screen for a moment to find I was completely surrounded by my neighbors. It doesn’t matter how far they drove to be there or if they lived across the street, it truly felt like community. Even the helicopter with its search lights on nearby did not pull us from the fantasy on the screen or off.

Under the fool moon we all laughed together, screamed together and clapped as one as the film came to an end. For the first time in a long time, I felt that I belonged somewhere. Oddly enough it was right where I had never attempted to look, my own backyard.
Just like the moment when you realize you have found that one person you think you can love forever. You know you will argue and it won’t all be so easy, but when you find that little piece of yourself you were looking for you don’t let go.