Christmas Day in Canoga Park, California in 1986


It's Christmastime, and lately I've been feeling nostalgic, and trying to remember my Christmases past. Today I'd like you to walk with me on Christmas Day in Canoga Park, California (which is a suburb of Los Angeles), in 1986.

I found myself all alone on Christmas once again since I'd been trying to get my career in graphic design going. I was 28 years old, and I could feel 30 bearing down on me and I didn't want to still be stuck in a dead-in job in a small town, so I just up and left and got an apartment in Los Angeles, seeing if I could make it in "the big city".

And while Canoga Park isn't as crowded as downtown Los Angeles, it was very crowded to me. The traffic never seemed to end, there was alway noise and commotion, and it gave me what I call the "LA Hee-Bee-Jee-Bees". But Christmas morning was different.

I had no place to go, so I just took a walk. And it was amazingly quiet. I still remember it as something of a Christmas miracle. Of course, this was back in the eighties, so things have probably changed a lot since then, but a lot of places were closed. I walked south on Mason from Saticoy to Sherman Way and headed west. I wasn't going anywhere, I was just walking.

I walked to downtown Canoga Park, at Owensmouth, and for the first time I saw something that used to be a small town. Like I say, most businesses were closed, so traffic was very light. I don't remember if I even stopped in anywhere, like to get a coffee. Maybe I did, but I probably got a can of Coke, which is what I did in those days.

Of course the weather was wonderful, which it is in December in Los Angeles, and all year in fact. That pic of me at the top of this post was taken in December not far from my apartment complex in Canoga Park. But on Christmas Day I didn't drive the Mighty Mustang, I walked. I still remember the feeling of peace and quiet.

Merry Christmas! Thank you for walking with me.

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