By Madeline Lau
I have found a small oasis of Oregon in the urban sprawl that is Southern California. His name is Arthur and, despite being raised in the wilds of LA county and being held at gunpoint three times before he turned 18, he really “gets” the Oregon experience and where I come from.
Here are some things we share that basically no one else in Los Angeles does:
• An appreciation for guns as tools of recreation (not to kill people).
• A shared love of virtually raw meat.
• A desire to blast country music while cruising down the interstate.
• A fascination with the outdoors.
• A common dream fantasy of building a home on a mountaintop and living a semi-hermit-like existence.
• A disdain for mainstream materialism.
• An affinity for familial togetherness not often found in the dog-eat-dog city world.
Alas, all of this reminiscing just serves to remind me that I really miss where I’m from. Like, all the time, which, honestly, is a little surprising considering that I live in a massive city filled with millions of super-duper-crazily important people (hope you caught that sarcasm just now) and before couldn’t fathom missing the quiet small town life. Good grief, I sound like a country song. But really, let’s compare the differences.
Here are some things I’ve done in the last month in LA:
1. Went to a bodybuilding competition and emailed back and forth with the only professional Japanese bodybuilder in the industry.
2. Visited Koreatown, Japantown, Little Israel and multiple other ethnic enclaves. This I really, truly love about LA.
3. Attended speech given by Karl Rove in which angry people screamed in protest and brought props to prove their points. Reminds me of Portland.
4. Felt cheated by the rain that has been steadily drowning the Angelinos for the past week and a half now. I didn’t leave the PacNor for THIS!!!
5. Bought $6 jumbo cupcake at the Malibu Country Mart. Please believe me, this is nothing like any country mart that exists anywhere else in the world.
6. Encouraged friends attempting to become Disney princesses.
7. Ate authentic Korean sushi made by a friend’s mother.
Here are some things I’m looking forward to doing when I come home to Stayton:
1. Shooting with Daddy. If you see him, please tell him to fix the .22 so I can finally get my target practice in!
2. Shopping and bonding with Mom. If you think I go shopping in LA you are mistaken! Sales tax, people, is a killer!
3. Getting my hair cut. Yes, I have waited months to get it done in Oregon because I am faithful to my
stylist and don’t trust a single person down here. Call me crazy, I say I’m “concerned about superficial well-being.”
4. Saying hello to people I know.
5. Not riding the bus.
6. Sitting around and not feeling pressure to do anything.
7. Walking by the Santiam with Mom, Dad, and dog Bicho. Yay! An animal friend! (LA got to me on that level I suppose.)
So while the differences are obvious, and a little bizarre, and I enjoy myself in LA, my memories of home and my new buddy Arthur who forces me to take a step back and chill out Northwest style, keep me hopping on the 747 to come say what’s up in the Santiam Canyon. If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right! But maybe a little less dorky, yeah?
