"My blood is too thick for California." Those words danced out of the esteemed writer Hunter S. Thompson's fingertips as they punched his thoughts into a typewriter many years ago.
Thompson had been based out of San Francisco when the 60s counter-culture movement's wave finally broke at its high-water mark. He had seen the rise of flower power, he rode the wave of Peace and Love, he was a part of the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and he rode with the Hells Angels. California was his stomping ground and he wrote about it a lot.
At a certain point, he'd had enough of California and elected for a more secluded homestead--- he moved from San Francisco to his Coloradan fortified compound at Woody Creek outside of Aspen, CO, affectionately named the "Owl Farm" of which my motorcycle's name originates.
Thomson's descriptions of California back in the late 20th century haven't changed much at all in the 2020s. I'm now experiencing it myself. I can see why Red Hot Chili Peppers won't shut up about it. The whole world won't shut up about it, actually. I've seen people here from all over the planet. Everyone knows California. Even if you don't know where it is, even if you can't name an American president, or a single American city, everyone knows that California is synonymous with America. Much like Texas.
California is home to America's biggest export. No, it's not a cash crop. It's not even technology-- it's culture. American culture is probably the most known and influential in the world and that's in large part due to Los Angeles, America's second biggest city.
American culture is broadcast out of the desert here like a cannon. Blue Jeans, the word "Fuck", Peanut Butter and Jelly, football, Cowboys & Indians.
I had the opportunity of getting to know a lot of folks here in LA. I met a man who worked in wardrobe for "A Brave New World" and his boyfriend who worked on "Jimmy Kimmel Live". I met a woman who left home in Canada to make a dive into a new world and launch her career as a singer and songwriter stateside. I've met people who are producers and work on shows many of us have heard of. Then there's your models or actors, who double as DJs or baristas-- probably waiting tables for the back-end production managers of the shows they want to be on. These are all real people that I've met and gotten to know who treat the entertainment industry as another day at the office.
Everyone here agrees though: the ecosystem, or 'ego'-system this kind of industry cultivates ends up becoming a culture of consumerism, materialism, and sometimes arrogance. The humble get eaten alive out here. If you're not here for the back-end production, you're in it for the fame.
That says something too, because wanting fame more than money can really have people chasing dreams in strange ways. I wouldn't say that LA is a town synonymous with 'greed.' I would reserve that title for New York. 'Power' is for DC.
Fame in LA is a new human drive, a more modern occupational dream, something I'm not quite familiar with. Networking, people pleasing, and scoping out roles for the fame cause people to transform physically. They modify themselves with Botox and plastic surgery, they slim down and bulk up- gyms are packed, there is a massive demand on "healthy food", and don't get me started on the people watching.
The competition here is fierce when it comes to the dating scene. Like an arms race, everyone one-ups each other to look their best when they're surrounded by the 'beautiful people' and models that are gunning for spots on popular TV shows. In the land of eternal beach season, folks here are looking good, but that doesn't mean they're secure. Billboards flanking the highways selling plastic surgery and health food will remind you of what you're chasing.
Creature comforts come naturally, the whole party scene is buzzing with prescription pills used recreationally, and schedule 1 and 2 drugs both domestic and imported. I also had the opportunity to see the LA underground. The city after bar close. I went to private parties with cash-only bars working behind closed doors guarded by private security. That's where the real networking can happen. It's where people go to escape their mind, live in the moment, and feel like they've made it somehow.
I know I did.
LA really helped me realize what it is that really drives me on a trip like this. Everyone travels for different reasons:
For some people, it's the ecotourism like hiking a mountain, scuba diving amongst reefs, or 4-wheeling across a desert.
For many it's the escape: People want to sit on a beach or poolside drinking and taking a break from their regular lives. These are your resort types. Your cruise-ship crawlers.
For others, there's the culture: People travel to visit the museums, eat the food, go to the historical sights, see the architecture. This is typically me.
For some, it's the nightlife. People will go to places like Ireland during St. Patrick's Day, Brazil for Carnival, New Orleans for Marti Gras, or locales like Napa or Vegas for the party scene.
For me, I've found that even if I engage in every one of those different manners of travel, I still get the biggest kick out of one thing- the people. I love the stories, the experiences, and the drive of finding out our differences and similarities. Here in LA, I actually found something very much in common with the folks I met here.
The desert landscape of Southern California bears a city held hostage by the entertainment industry. Like a beacon, it draws in thousands of souls looking to chase stardom or its benefits. Like myself, folks here come from all over the world and many come alone. The people here are actually -like me- in many ways. They've left home alone to chase a dream. I surprisingly found myself in familiar company.
I went 'native' in LA and I feel like I belonged there more than any other major city on this trip because of one huge factor: like Thompson said so many years ago-- it really is The Homeland of the Uprooted.
-JT
11/16/2022