September 23, 2006

Who's Garden Was This?

Water Garden Descanso Gardens La Canada Flintridge


Whose garden was this?
It must have been lovely.
Did it have flowers?
I've seen pictures of flowers,
and I'd love to have smelled one.
Whose river was this?
You say it ran freely.
Blue was it's color.
I've seen blue in some pictures,
and I'd love to have been there.

Tell me again I need to know.
The forest had trees,
the meadows were green.
The oceans were blue
and birds really flew.

Can you swear that it's true?

Whose gray sky was this?
Or was it a blue one?
You say there were breezes.
I've heard records of breezes
and I'd love to have felt one.

Tell me again I need to know.
The forest had trees,
the meadows were green.
The oceans were blue
and birds really flew.

Can you swear that it's true?

Whose garden was this?
It must have been lovely.
Did it have flowers?
I've seen pictures of flowers,
and I'd love to have smelled one.

Tell me again I need to know....


Gary Paxton 1968

Whose Garden Was This?


Written at the Long Beach Airport Marriott
Spetember 24 2006


"The traffic is killing us, Hoku, there are twice as many people as there were here in the area when you lived here… No matter what time of day you want to go the freeway is all jammed up and all you can see for miles is a solid line of cars with red tail lights..."

" I am seriously considering moving closer to West LA, where my work is..." " Oh, I can get $460,000.00 for my two bedroom condo, but where I want to move to, in Playa Vista the place I want, very similar to what I have but has no view is going to cost $775.000.00... what do you think? I can afford it but is it the best use of the money...?"

"Look, they have taken that lovely old place and the adjacent park and put in another shopping center! Can you believe it? Everywhere it all looks the same with the same resturants and stores... For Pete’s sake! How many of those coffee places and giant stores and 50 screen cinemas do we need? And freaking WalMarts! Wiping out the little stores on Main St… Who can compeate with that?"

"Yes, I keep getting this cold... I always have a congested cough. You don’t suppose it’s the pollution here do you? Yes I know that is why you moved to Hawaii, to get to clean rain washed air…but I could never leave LA, where you live has no culture...and you don’t have any shopping."

"Auntie Hoku, we pay $1500.00 for our apartment, and have nothing left to save up how will we ever own a home or be able to rent a house? They are half again as much. We will always have to both work and maybe two jobs just to get by..."


It breaks my heart to see what has become of my city. I am a Native Angelina, born and raised in So Cal. It used to be a great place to raise a family and make a living. I know so many people whose parents came here to have a better life. The City of Lakewood, where Woody grew up is nationally known as one of the first planned communities and is full of parks golf courses and recreation areas, but is also full of vice and crime, and is so expensive that it is out of reach for me and mine to ever live there again.

Everywhere we looked we saw construction. People are extending their homes building Mc Mansions out of bungalows and using every inch of available space in their gardens and yards. Where to you go to refresh yourself? I guess you stay inside and watch TV. How healthy is that for you and your kids?

We spoke to many people who have large intrest only loans on their homes. What will happen to them if they lose their jobs get sick or have a personal catastrophe? They have no equity building up. Values are now slipping some but wont go down that much but even a tiny slip will result in the loss of the hard earned down payment through forclosure. I forsee a problem with homelessness here that will be shocking if the economy tanks.

The loss of recreation time due to driving time to and from work is horrid. Families have less and less time together. There was discussion at church of forced carpooling due to fuel costs and as the drive time extends more gas is wasted as cars idle on the roads. Creating more pollution and problems…

Woody was offered a job this week. His high school friends really miss him and want him to come back here. I could get work in the shipping trades or as a jeweler’s apprentice, but the human cost for us… no peace the noise and stress is just too much. I can never return to the city of my birth. I cannot be content with a pocket park and a few moments of relative quiet in the middle of the night.

Arkansas may be one thousand miles from the ocean, and where we are may be a touch removed from shopping and fashion, but the peaceful close to the earth connectedness of the “Natural State” soothes my soul… I am besotted with my new home and very glad to be out of LA’s maddening crowd.


Yours truly standing in the autumn garden display at Descanso Gardens LaCanada Flintridge CA