Magnolia

It was around the time of the LA Summer games, I was working on the parking structures for the City of Beverly Hills. There was an old bar on Sunset, was a hang out for some unsavory people, was bought by a guy named George if my memory is correct, who already had several successful bars, restaurant, and nightclubs on the West Side. If I am correct, the name of that old bar, was Duncans, just east of Vine, in the shadow of the Tower at Sunset and Vine. Twenty five years later, the Blues Club, that sat atop the Tower, is gone, the structure has a new skin, all glass, recently installed. I heard of this new bar from Laura, I knew her well, she tended bar, at one of my old haunts, Barneys, had lined up this new job, told me that the owner was looking for some help, to remodel the place, she asked if I was interested. I wasn’t so much interested in chasing extra money from side work, as my sights were set on Julia, a hot little number with dark kinky hair, the type that looks so good,when its matted in back. The first project was opening up the exterior walls on Sunset Blvd, and to install two large plate glass windows. We were doing this work through the night, the bar remained open for business. The old regulars of Duncans, didn’t like the glass, their dark red bar was gone, I heard a lot of comments of how it felt, as if they were all fish in an aquarium, before long, they all moved on. From time to time, strange people wandered in, as they came through the doors, in their eyes, you’d see confusion, some of these guys, had just been cut loose from prison, looking to reconnect, looking for a familiar face, shocked they had wandered into such an unfamiliar place. Like I said before, Julia was a hot little number, an actress, very quick whited, fast on her feet. I remember, one afternoon, I’m at the bar, this man in drag wanders in, he senses this is not the same bar, he sees none of the old crowd. He comes up to the bar, asks Julia if he can use the restroom. Julia asks for his ID, looks it over, then says no. He says to her, sort of a whine, that she is not letting him use the restroom, because he is dressed as a woman. She says to him, she’s not letting him, because she doesn’t know what f~€king bathroom he’s gonna use, she really snapped at him, he turned and left. I was riding my bicycle to the 7th and Metro Station, after completing another day, working on the Theaters at LA LIVE, the route I’ve taken every day, since starting this job. While working on the Hollywood and Vine project, at lunch, I’d walk down for some coffee at the Bean. Located on the ground floor of the House of Blues Tower, it sits right across the street from Magnolia. I liked spending lunches there, a lot of my young life had been spent in that area. First coming to Hollywood as a young teen, many nights, I’d spend at Wallachs’ Music City. They had listening booths looking onto Sunset Blvd, you could listen to music until dawn, keeping off the streets through the nights. Its hard to believe this was all going on twenty five years back, and beyond. I was burning the candle at both ends, I’d be hanging out nights at Magnolia, waiting on Julia to close up the bar, we’de roll out of there about 3-3:30, head to her place, flop the murphy bed down, if I was lucky, get to sleep by 5:30. I was a mess back then, work started at seven, hard to imagine me holding a job. My boss, Brad would just shake his head, there were mornings, I didn’t make sense when I talked. There was a lot to do for a young guy in Hollywood, the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the after parties on Mulholland at Richie Blackmores, Barneys Beanery, Club Lingerie. The Zero was in full swing, the cops kept trying to shut them down. The Olympics came and went, the Olympics were my crescendo, I had hot motorcycle, an 83 XLS, at the USC venues I parked in Presidential Parking Only, the guard really liked my bike! When the games were over, I headed out of town, I was burnt, I headed home, to Chester County. Seeing the Magnolia, or should I say noticing, and its location, adjacent to LA LIVE, compelled comparison, of my life back 25 years, with what my life is today. My approach to my work, where as a younger man, it was all about a pay check, today it’s more about, being a part of creating something, leaving something behind, something beautiful and solid, something to be enjoyed throughout the years. All right, here we go, working on these Theaters at LA LIVE, checking out some of the other venues in this grand complex, what I see missing, is a population of prosperous people, in the relentless search for more corporate profits, careers are destroyed, jobs shipped off shore, the only jobs left for the masses, are flipping burgers, or guarding rich peoples things. I know I am a lucky man, at the end of a day, I look back, I see the fruits of my labor, I am able to walk away with pride. In times when work is scarce, its just another part of my world, I’ve weathered these times throughout the years. I really thought, with my lay off check, I’d find a couple tickets for the big event October 27th. Talk about a grand opening, THIS IS IT, SHOWING IN ALL FOURTEEN THEATERS FOR A SINGEL NIGHT. I wonder if the spirit of Michael Jackson is present throughout LA LIVE. Thinking back to when Elvis died, it seems that within a month we had our first Elvis Sighting