Melrose Avenue

The neighborhood where my alma mater, Fairfax High School, stands, was once known as the Borcht Belt, and was colorful in a European sort of way. Now it is a mecca for the creative young people who come to work in the film, recording and other media industries in LA. The scene on Melrose Avenue "began" with the establishment of Aardvark's Odd Ark used clothing store in the seventies. Now is is shoulder to shoulder coolness, dozens of small and interesting businesses, for example Shrine, which sells what the staff calls "club and rock and roll clothes", and which look to me like costumes from a gothic horror flick. I awoke from my two day stupor long enough to drive over to West Hollywood to have a sauna and massage at Brooks Baths, which have been part of LA since the fifties. The three young women I met in the sauna all had movie jobs--writer, costumer, actress. Massage erased the week of packing, cleaning, and airport shlepping. Bliss.