Getting there is not half the fun
In New York City, where I grew up, complaining is a way of life. The residents have even adopted the versatile Jewish word, kvetch, which can be defined as complaining with a whine. (The word can be used as a verb or a noun.)
In the Los Angeles area, we residents have been known not to complain. After all, we have the beautiful weather, the majestic mountains and the inviting waters of the Santa Monica Bay. So what if the weather has not been so hot lately, the 3,000-foot mountains are covered with Taj Majal type houses and the waters are so polluted you have to go to Alaska for a healthy swim. No complaining. Malibu has suffered fires, floods and slides but nobody complains. A house is lost; a new one is built in 30 days. That’s the way it’s been up to now.
However, we have finally arrived at a point where we really have something to kvetch about-the traffic. The major topic of conversation, up to now, has been the number of real estate deals that got away. Now people are one-upping each other by discussing how long it took them to get from here to there. “It took you an hour and a half to get to the Music Center? It took me two hours, and it was a holiday.”
Since we on the Westside have little alternative transportation, we have been forced to rely on our cars and we are victimized in every way. We are practically up there with New York when it comes to parking charges. Downtown it’s $3 for 20 minutes. Even hospital lots charge huge sums for spaces and Medicare does not foot the bill. Every restaurant has valet parking and you often pay more for your car than you do for your dinner. There are meters everywhere and if you do not read the signs carefully you get a hefty fine. Our police officers are no longer traffic cops, they’re tax collectors.
And what do we get for our money? Gridlock!
The mayor of Los Angeles shows no interest in solving the transportation problem. All he seems to care about is getting involved with education. But the day will soon arrive when the roads will be so congested our children will no longer be able to get to school!
My husband and I are longtime subscribers to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Last year we changed our dates from Thursday to Saturday because it is practically impossible to get downtown on a weekday night. Many of our friends are simply canceling their subscriptions because getting to the theater requires Napoleonic campaign strategy. When should we start out? Should we eat at home or downtown?
Leaders in the world of art may be called upon to tackle the problem when they discover there are more latecomers than occupied seats. Perhaps Placido Domingo of the Los Angeles Opera should be appointed traffic commissioner because he needs more work and can perform miracles.
In Malibu, fortunately, just about everyone has a home theater, a basketball court, a putting green and, of course, a swimming pool. These residents will seldom have to leave their estates. For others, there will be insurmountable problems.
The only people making money will be the vendors selling hot dogs, pizza and burritos to the drivers stuck on PCH.