Los Angeles

We are so happy to be out of the traffic and into the quiet of Playa Vista. This morning it looks like a film set.

Janet and Jake and I talk a walk on the bluff by Loyola Marymount, just above their house. So nice to have a nature walk nearby, and fun to be with a family that really enjoys their city.

An old friend from Barnard College days stops by for lunch: Penny Finkleman-Cox with Janet and me. Below you'll see another friend from the same era, Janet Axelrod, who came to our Porter Square reading, way back in Cambridge.

Lovely middle-aged ladies.
No matter when we visit, the flora of Los Angeles is always amazing. Right now it is the outrageous purple of the jacaranda in bloom. Puts me in mind of Guadalajara and Buenos Aires. Ain't I lucky?

We go over to Venice to see Tom Wright and Leigh Johnson. They live on a "walk street".

We say goodbye to beautiful Rae, off to her last days of high school.

LA is always a social ramble for us and as Satchell Paige said, "The social ramble ain't restful". I gear up (or slow down) by going for massage and a manicure with Janet at a Korean spa that is so special I'm not going to tell you the name of it. A Korean lady walks on my back. I am so happy. John has lots of writing meetings and interviews, but he also gets to run and shoot hoops so we are in good shape to meet our friends at Pinot for a bite before the ALOUD reading at the Downtown Public Library.
John gets there first, and finds filmmaker Ham Tran with his girlfriend Jayn, a clothing designer. Sweethearts.

The party fills out

 Karyn Kusama & Phil Hay with Cate Park.

And Cari Beauchamp, and Michael Lazo. Here is Michael with our pal Janet Tashjian. Michael treats us to this happy gathering. Michael Lazo always earns Special Thanks.

The reading tonight is wonderful, John doing two Irishmen in "Current Events". ALOUD at the LA Public Library is in a beautiful auditorium, nearly every seat filled. Many happy customers buying books afterwards.

Howard Rodman was an excellent interlocutor. Here he is with Louise Steinman who runs this excellent series.

Now, to bed!