Thursday, June 18, 2015

GOOD-BYE TO ALL THAT

It pains me more than I can say but I might be moving out of LA in 6 months or so. It especially hurts because I love this city like no other. It's a city that in its modern incarnation was built by people like me, for people like me. Here you can make a living doing outrageous things that you'd be tarred and feathered for anywhere else. I exaggerate, of course, but its wonderful to live in a place that invites that. 

Most of all I'll miss my friends. Some are in the Warners group caricature (above) that Bruce did. They're generous, enthusiastic, exciting people who I care about immensely. This city is a magnet for talented people from all over the world, and its amazing how wonderful many of them turn out to be. 


On top of that, I love the city itself. With all its urban problems there's still a sense in which everything is new and being tried for the first time. Even now there's still what Bob Clampett called a "Gold Rush" feeling in the air.


I'll miss the audacity that abounds here. Readers who live here will know what I mean when I say that I'll miss the Angelyne billboards. San Francisco used to be home to a beloved eccentric who called himself "The Emperor of San Francisco." Everyone in the city loved the guy and when he turned up at official ceremonies his visit was regarded as bringing good luck. That's what Angelyne used to be for LA.

I'll also miss the ubiquitous Cliff May-type ranch houses. I won't see many of those where I'm going. Cheerful, playful houses like this (above) only make sense in a fun place like LA. 


Where am I going? [Sigh!] To...to the farm belt. I certainly admire the people there and if I'm lucky they might regard me as a tolerable oddity...but I don't think I'll ever be accepted as a member of the pack.



Good old L.A.! How many people realize how great you are?



12 comments:

David Germain said...

Good luck with your future travels, Eddie. I'm sure you'll find all sorts of fascinating things and people in farm country.

Joshua Marchant said...

Make sure to keep your blog regular when you move! We need your insights on what to guffaw at out in the country.

Rodolfo said...

Nooooooo......

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

David: Thanks! I hope you're right!

Joshua, Rodolpho: Thanks!!!! I'll need this blog to keep me sane, so I'll definitely keep it up. The emphasis, as always, will be on art and cartooning.

Anonymous said...

Not to be nosy but, what has you uprooting for the country? Well, to be nosy, I guess.

My wife and kids uprooted to the country last year and it's not without it's challenges. Granted, we're from a small town and went to a smaller town but the whole "who are these people and why are they here" thing isn't lost on us. Some neighbors are very welcoming and some just give you "the look".

Anyhow, all the best and I look forward to hearing more of your adventures.

-Doug

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Anon: Good Grief! I'm not looking forward to getting "the look!" This move scares me to death.

The reason for leaving? Part of it is that my wife misses the friends she grew up with. Most of them still live near the small town where they were born. I guess I feel I owe her for the decades where she put up with LA for my sake. She doesn't like this town the way I do.

Rodolfo said...

And here I thought that the bloodhounds must have been getting close!

Anonymous said...

Isn't it a little early for this announcement if it might happen in six months?
Well, happy trails if you really do it, but I'm willing to bet both of you can't stand it after a year and head on back. And how will you cope without the bookstores, theaters, your pizza joint, and most of all J and M? Nope, can't see it. I hope these are merely idle threats. Sigh...

Anonymous said...

PS: I saw Angelyne in the Musso's parking lot last week. She really didn't look all that differently from 25 years ago…how is that possible do you suppose? A "Fedora" scenario perhaps?

PPS: Don't go!

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Anon: Thanks much! It's sad, I know. I'm not looking forward to this. BTW, what do you mean by a "fedora" incident?

Anonymous said...

"Fedora" was a 70s novel/film about a Garboesque actress who weirdly never seems to age. Turns out-SPOILER!-she's actually had her daughter impersonate her publicly for years as she can't bear to be seen as old. Billy Wilder directed the film!

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Yikes! A Billy Wilder film! How did I miss that? Anyway, I just saw a little of it on YouTube. I'll try to watch the whole thing. Thanks for the tip!