Hangin with the locals

An aspect of travel I enjoy most is when I’m able to immerse myself with the locals, blend in with those who I find so interesting. Obviously, there are many ways of doing this, and many different types of "locals". The ones I find most intriguing are those who haven't made it in the world, those who live day to day. Mostly, I speak of the populace who aren't extremely well off, who normally don't have much savings, and normally benefit from Government programs or some other form of social assistance. If I were to compare them to a style of painting, I’d choose 'abstract': Although initially, there may not appear to be much meaning in the painting, if you take the time to examine and explore the art, you are gifted with something that contains innuberable amounts of meaningful history and opinions.

Vending my wares -The Dino Cards- on Venice Beach, was an excellent way to assimilate myself with this subset of California. Immediately upon arrival, once the vendors saw my card table and product, they welcomed me into their environment. Silvo, my vending neighbor, took it upon himself to mentor me in the way of selling. "You got-s to get out there and talk-s to the people, these products don't sell themselves BRATHA!"; "Look, what-s you got to do, when you make $25, is go over and get yourself a vending license. It's good for a lifetime and guarantees you a spot e-v-a-ree-DAY. Then, no hillbilly, slack-jawed, local will be able to take your spot. Yep, man(!), that permit’s A DEAL!”. Throughout the remainder of the day, I came to learn that he had moved to California from South Carolina; joined the Navy; was stationed at several ports along the Pacific coast –primarily in the states; left after his four years was up; and has been selling at the boardwalk ever since. While chatting, he also told me about some of the "characters" around Venice. There was 'Alice', who likes to harass different vendors, repeating the same line, day after day, week after week of "I’ll give you $15 if you pleasure me". Then there was 'Aska'. Aska would drop by every couple days and ask for "Big Boned Doctor Shaka". Apparently, this is what Aska says, "he will fix any problem one might have, and I haaaa-VE PROBLEMS!".

Yes, abstract art is so much more intriguing…