I recently discovered that I share my birthday with the date of the opening of the original Shakespeare & Company by Sylvia Beach in 1919. When I went to Paris for my 21st birthday, alas, the original Cafe L'Abbaye was no longer in existence. The present-day Shakespeare & Company, of course bears scant resemblance to the original. I did walk down the street where James Baldwin stayed his first nights in Paris, however.
I began my birthday celebration at the "Ansel Adams at Manzanar" exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum, as I previously mentioned. A cool chill sifted through the air of the museum; it provided a perfectly controlled climate for the artifacts within. So different from the relentless cold wind and dust and searing heat at Manzanar...
Manzanar covered some 5,700 acres. Over 60 acres were 36 blocks of 16 barracks with three to five apartments measuring about 20' by 25' in each. Schools, lavatories, parks, warehouses, canteens, mess halls, service buildings; 860 buildings in all, made up the virtual town of 10,000 internees. Mt. Williamson, at 14,8 feet, is 10 miles due west, with a 'seven mile shadow.'
Manzanar is one of those places where you can hear the stillness of the air, the heat, the desolation. Every history, American government and civics teacher ought to go there (with their students, hopefully). The next Day of Remembrance to mark the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 will take place on February 19, 2007. Admission to the Manzanar National Historic site is free, however, and one may visit year 'round. Most tourists driving to Reno or Mammoth pass by without even knowing it is there...
This morning at Nick's Cafe, I had a short stack and sausage, and enjoyed the goings on around me at one of the last of the little hole-in-the-wall diners in LA. The couple to my right ordered their usual, but the cook already had their order up before the waitress brought it to him. They were with an artist friend just back from Paris. Everyone lamented the rising cost of rents in the Artists' District. The framed LIFE magazine cover from April 12, 1948 was missing. So were all the railroad caps, leaving the rack looking empty and forlorn. A film crew had re-arranged everything when shooting a commercial, and nothing got put back where it was before.
Two cops in suits dove into their regular breakfasts to my left. Their super-neat haircuts were the one give-away as to what kind of civil servants they were --that, and their sidearms.
The skies are blue (if a little smoggy) and the weatherman is actually apologizing that the temperatures will remain above normal at about 78 degrees throughout the weekend. The tourists don't seem to mind, though. It is snowing somewhere, as I recall...
For my birthday so far I've scored a gift card from Barnes and Nobles (but I'll spend my money at my favorite independents), some Atkins protein bars, a T shirt from radio station 106.7 fm in Santa Maria ("La Preciosa"), and dog tags to honor Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit, the three young Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped this summer and hose fate remains unknown. It was their kidnapping that in theory sparked the war that ripped apart Beirut and Lebanon. It isn't a contradiction for me to be angry at the Israeli government and Hezbollah and Hamas, too. Today, though, I want to enjoy the beautiful day, and hope that all those in the Middle East will soon be able to also. Someone already asked me about the dogtags, so they're doing their part to spark discussion and keep them in the public eye.
If I'd wanted a perfect day for my birthday, I think this is it. Nothing like listening to the tourists gush about their once-in-a-lifetime vacation in fabulous, sunny Southern California to remind you how lucky you are.
I began my birthday celebration at the "Ansel Adams at Manzanar" exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum, as I previously mentioned. A cool chill sifted through the air of the museum; it provided a perfectly controlled climate for the artifacts within. So different from the relentless cold wind and dust and searing heat at Manzanar...
Manzanar covered some 5,700 acres. Over 60 acres were 36 blocks of 16 barracks with three to five apartments measuring about 20' by 25' in each. Schools, lavatories, parks, warehouses, canteens, mess halls, service buildings; 860 buildings in all, made up the virtual town of 10,000 internees. Mt. Williamson, at 14,8 feet, is 10 miles due west, with a 'seven mile shadow.'
Manzanar is one of those places where you can hear the stillness of the air, the heat, the desolation. Every history, American government and civics teacher ought to go there (with their students, hopefully). The next Day of Remembrance to mark the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 will take place on February 19, 2007. Admission to the Manzanar National Historic site is free, however, and one may visit year 'round. Most tourists driving to Reno or Mammoth pass by without even knowing it is there...
This morning at Nick's Cafe, I had a short stack and sausage, and enjoyed the goings on around me at one of the last of the little hole-in-the-wall diners in LA. The couple to my right ordered their usual, but the cook already had their order up before the waitress brought it to him. They were with an artist friend just back from Paris. Everyone lamented the rising cost of rents in the Artists' District. The framed LIFE magazine cover from April 12, 1948 was missing. So were all the railroad caps, leaving the rack looking empty and forlorn. A film crew had re-arranged everything when shooting a commercial, and nothing got put back where it was before.
Two cops in suits dove into their regular breakfasts to my left. Their super-neat haircuts were the one give-away as to what kind of civil servants they were --that, and their sidearms.
The skies are blue (if a little smoggy) and the weatherman is actually apologizing that the temperatures will remain above normal at about 78 degrees throughout the weekend. The tourists don't seem to mind, though. It is snowing somewhere, as I recall...
For my birthday so far I've scored a gift card from Barnes and Nobles (but I'll spend my money at my favorite independents), some Atkins protein bars, a T shirt from radio station 106.7 fm in Santa Maria ("La Preciosa"), and dog tags to honor Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit, the three young Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped this summer and hose fate remains unknown. It was their kidnapping that in theory sparked the war that ripped apart Beirut and Lebanon. It isn't a contradiction for me to be angry at the Israeli government and Hezbollah and Hamas, too. Today, though, I want to enjoy the beautiful day, and hope that all those in the Middle East will soon be able to also. Someone already asked me about the dogtags, so they're doing their part to spark discussion and keep them in the public eye.
If I'd wanted a perfect day for my birthday, I think this is it. Nothing like listening to the tourists gush about their once-in-a-lifetime vacation in fabulous, sunny Southern California to remind you how lucky you are.
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