Pirates, Ducks, and Swirling Teacups

I recently celebrated a birthday and like many a Southern Californian this year, I spent the day at Disneyland. See, Disneyland is FREE on your birthday [at least for the remainder of 2009.] I decided to give it a go. After all, I hadn't been there since a family trip in...1985 [gulp]

In fact, that little '85 trip, in many ways, changed the course of my life. It was then that I decided I was going to live in California someday. I was just a little girl so I didn't know what I'd do or how I'd get there or how I'd survive, but a seed was planted. I came home and opened a savings account-- not for a Barbie Dream House or even a car, but for California-- something I didn't really mention to my parents at the time.

Returning to Disneyland the other day, as it turned out, was a happy yet also bittersweet sojourn. As I ventured down Main Street, I was elated at times and oddly melancholy at others. I had no idea how many memories would come flooding back to me. I had no clue I'd fight back tears waiting in line for the monorail or that I'd choke up when I saw the submarine ride that my grandfather was gaga for. I was at Disney, not as a little girl or even an adult, but as myself-- the person I've always been, regardless of age. And here I was again, nearly frozen in the same moment, as if no time had passed.

When you're a kid, things are forever-- summers are forever, your parents are forever, people don't seem to age (and neither do you) until before you realize it and those "forever moments" have fluttered away like so many migrating butterflies.

If you were at Disneyland wondering about me, the loon that cried in fits and starts while inside the gates of the happiest place on Earth, I'm really not crazy. I'm fine. The best thing about this 'happiest place on Earth' is that for a brief time, I can revisit a handful of those "forever moments" from childhood.

Things change, and yet so many things remain the same. The duck pond is exactly how it's always been. I still love Pirates of the Caribbean (although it's not nearly as fun as I remember-- since it's been redone.) I was too scared to go on Space Mountain back in '85, but this time around, it rocked! And yes, I positioned myself for a spin in a lavender teacup and relished in the insane delights of the annoying, yet enduring "It's A Small World" ride.

Disney as an adult, minus a stroller and wandering kids, is a delight to be treasured indeed. And to the little "birthday" girl next to me at the Disney Holiday Parade, high-fiving Goofy and gazing with awe at all the princesses, my wish is that you remember those "forever moments" and whirl around in a lavender teacup when you turn my age.

Copyright 2009 by KLiedle
Photos by KLiedle

Green Peace

Back in the not-so-distant past, I had an apartment. It was a junior one bedroom, meaning it didn't really have a bedroom at all. It was just an open landscape of space with a big, red floppy IKEA sofa-bed in the middle.

The apartment complex was huge... and like shadows, my neighbors and I passed each other on our way to and from work. I never knew any of them. I rarely saw anyone else and even when I did, they avoided eye contact and scurried down the long corridors until they disappeared behind a closed door.

To keep me company, I had my cats-- kittens at the time--and a couple of potted plants. I kept the green plants on the gray concrete just outside my door. There, they happily soaked up the golden L.A. sun amid the colorless expanse of SoCal apartment living.

Not a week had gone by when I got a knock on my door. It was my apartment manager.

"The plants have to go inside," he said. "Each unit has to appear uniform from the outside."

I spoke up-- fought for my plants' sake-- but ultimately, I trudged inside with my green plants, afraid maintenance would steal them in the dead of night. I placed them in the windowsill, in front of the blinds so they could still see the sun. Life went on. Then, days later, another knock. It was you-know-who:

"Tenants cannot place decals, flags, or personal items in the windowsills."

"These aren't flags. I'm not protesting war or advocating abortion-- they're just a couple of freakin' plants!" But I lost the battle. The plants came down. In the days that followed, they only saw glimmers of sunlight in the shadows of despair. Their leaves were partially eaten by my cats. They wilted with sadness.

I moved...

... this time into a townhouse with more than one room. There was a little sliver of green space just outside the door. We had a shrub and a little tree and just enough room for my plants to rejuvenate. And there was even a patio for my cats to frolic and bathe in the sun. We planted grass and aloe vera and laid decorative brick. We had a little garden oasis in the midst of this urban jungle called L.A. Things were peachy for a good, long while.

Then about a month ago, the HOA decided to utilize money from a recent legal settlement to redo the landscaping on the grounds. Loads of perfectly good trees and thriving plants were hacked and unceremoniously thrown into dumpsters and replaced. Three-lane highways of sod were unravelled. Things looked streamlined and manicured, but the old plants were just as good.

A week ago, we got a notice from the current HOA board. It said that any extraneous plants, home decor, decorative bricks, etc. on the little sliver of green space just outside the door would have to be removed by 8 a.m. Thursday-- two days later!

This little sliver of green space, that pathetically represents more "yard" than many Southern Californians get, was apparently not ours after all. To HOA, it is considered a "common area" and therefore, each homeowners' green space would have to look identical. The old landscaping was being torn up and replaced by new landscaping-- chosen by the HOA board.

We grumbled as we tore up the dirt and dug up our plants-- picking out each slab of brick that I felt like throwing at them. A few doors down, one of our neighbors was in mourning. She had an entire rose garden outside her door. Each day, bright red and peach-colored roses greeted her. Even on bad days, she'd marvel at their beauty. In two days, it was gone-- vanished. Not a rose petal in sight.

Power. Stupidity. All the land on the Earth is a "common area."Can't we all just enjoy some green space? Why does an HOA have to spend time putting ridiculous restrictions on it?

Today, as I peered through the blinds, I saw them. Four people from the HOA board standing outside our door, clutching their little clipboards.

"They're making the rounds again," I thought, as I watched.

One woman counted the plants and made note of their types. The four of them scribbled on their legal pads. They shook their heads and talked amongst themselves. They stood in front of our place for an eternity. I know they saw the decorative bricks. It had been four days since the 8 a.m. deadline and we'd failed to tear all of them up. Even the lady with the roses had sadly done her duty.

California is bankrupt. It hasn't rained for months. We have mandatory water restrictions. Unemployment is among the highest in the nation. And with corporations destroying humans and humans destroying the Earth, why should anyone give a flying f**k whether we all have identical plants outside our door?

Send the roses to the landfill-- the thorns will come for you later.

Copyright 2009 by KLiedle

Movies: It's All About Locations (Er, Incentives...)

MovieMaker Magazine
2008 Power List of Best Places (To Make Movies)

Here's the "Top Ten" (based on a variety of criteria):

1) Austin, TX

2) Albuquerque, NM

3) Shreveport, LA

4) New York, NY

5) Philadelphia, PA

6) Wilmington, NC

7) Seattle, WA

8) Portland, OR

9) Baltimore, MD

10) Memphis, TN

Hmm... Look. They must've made a mistake. Los Angeles was omitted.

Yeah, right. That, there's no mistake--Mister. Can anyone except for Michael Bay and perhaps J.J. Abrams afford to shoot in L.A. anymore? (No, it doesn't count if you're "stealing locations", fashioning the Hollywood sign into your shot via Photoshop, or if you're using your parents' old video camera and uploading to Youtube as I write...)

I've written about New Mexico before with my praises for their Green Filmmaking Program.
I don't even know that much about New Mexico, but I do know that New Mexico's smart. They're not ho-humming and waiting around to see how they might be able to entice a movie to their fine state. They are out there doing things and building things (studios, people) and recruiting and educating local film crews. They're like China-- slowly rising like a golden serpent from the sea to become the next superpower of filmmaking. We're so mesmerized, that we don't have a chance to react.

Heads up, Nebraska. Pencils down, California.
Don't let other states pass you up! Don't let other countries lure production (me) away! Get that legislation going and pass incentives so that you can be just as competitive. I really want you to succeed ~ because frankly, I want to succeed without years going by and without greenbacks flying off my back before I even have a chance to change them into Euros...

Also see my previous article Green Filmmaking And Studio Worm Farms

Copyright © 2008 Kendra Liedle