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I spent the last few days whipsering goodbye to the city. Last night I drove home from El Segundo and KCRW was just right. In the air the queue of aircraft lining up to land at LAX formed a constellation in the sky. It felt as though I was in a tributary as I sped down the 105 freeway, currents of red and white lights flowing inland from the ocean.
I know how to live there, how to be in constant motion. I know how to connect. I weave in and out of lanes at 80mph, chuckling to myself as Jason Bentley mixes hard on Metropolis.
Kunstler never got it: a city is more than architecture or urban planning. It's people. You can get a sense of place from the people you're with, from all the intangibles they give you. When I was whispering goodbye it wasn't to the Nabisco factory across my street, it was to the people that made it home. Goodbye Jeric, Denine, Gron, Rufus, The Donny, Norbert, Yoori, 'Tho...
Goodbye Jonathan. Keep steady as your brother braves the Dakotas.
Now I disconnect and slow down. Now I relearn South Dakota. Goodbye Los Angeles.
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