Social distancing in Los Angeles in the 1980s


It's April 4th, 2020, and I'm doing my part to flatten the curve of the corona virus, by social distancing. And since it's something that I've been doing for over thirty years, it comes naturally to me, and is just plain weird to most people.

Walk with me, and let's visit the Rancho Los Encinos in Encino, California. For reference, the Los Angeles community of Encino is on the San Fernando Valley side of the hills that Beverly Hills sits on. And in case anyone asks, Encino is Spanish for oak. There were a lot of oak trees there at one time, and there still are a few, some over 500 years old.

I found some photos of the rancho online, and nothing really looked familiar to me. I certainly never went inside of any of the buildings, and mostly I had no interest in what most people like to do, which is squash together. I roamed around the grounds.

Nowadays with my gimpy right ankle and my grey hair I'm sure that it seems a little less weird when people see me at these places, and I realized back in the '80s when I would hop out of my sports car, and just walk around an historic park, I must have looked kinda suspicious. What's that young guy doing here, walking around, all alone? I was always sure that someone would walk up to me and ask what I was doing, why I was there.

But no one has really ever asked, so I like to try to explain in this blog. It all started for me when I would get the "LA  Hee-Bee-Gee-Bees" from the noise, the crowding, everything. I just needed some open space, and I found it very comforting to imagine what Los Angeles used to look like, before everything was paved over with freeways.

Over the years I've learned more about the places that I've always loved to visit, from Los Encinos in California to the Sahuaro Ranch here in Glendale, Arizona. And the more I learn, the more special these places become to me. When I stand there at these places I'm transported, the complex world fades away, I feel my blood pressure go down, and I'm happy.

Thank you for walking with me.
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