Dreaming in Los Angeles
It was mostly by the hum of a fan pumping some air into my stagnate apartment, built in the postwar boom near the coast; made of stucco that could soak up the California sun even after it went down. My landlord was an old man, with a european accent I never could pin down. He came by everyday, walking a mile or so from his house further along the tree lined thoroughfares. He said he liked me. We always talked of things. My roommate had a habit of not paying his rent on time and growing pot, and I frequently ferried messages of the sort, on occasion. He gave good advice and was a good man.
People moved in and out so often, I figured he must've been too nice a guy to really put someone out hard if they needed to leave before a lease was up. Like most things in L.A., it was less formal and older than in San Diego--he owned the building outright for a while, and did alright for himself.
Before slipping asleep I often heard the tin crankers out back picking apart the trash in search of aluminum and glass to trade in the morning light for nickels and dimes. Most of the people in our complex just set empty six packs in the carton beside the dumpster, and I did the same with whatsoever glass I had. I also heard arguments, sometimes, because nothing in that town was ever heard by only two.
Sometimes I heard a girl with a baby cry herself to sleep too many nights for me to think about now.
My favourite sound was the undeniable passing of a skateboarder, coasting down the smooth alleyway. Most of the streets had a thin lining of sand that added a rasp with the clanks over the cricks and crags in the concrete, and it was clear when a krew was around.
I had big dreams then, crazy dreams. I dreamt more when I was awake than asleep, and it showed. Everything was falling apart just as I'd pieced it all together. But in the night, a lonely stroll sans shoes on the Autumn boardwalk to the pier and round and a sleepy bus stop with a quiet walk past the latch and my roommate seemed to work forever--if I could just sleep through the night, the morning would come.