City of Angels: The Moth Podcast

This episode originally aired on August 30, 2019 Two stories from Los Angeles. This episode was hosted by Dan Kennedy. Storytellers: Bryan Kett encounters some fellow Angelonos at a grocery store. Julieta Gilbert decides to march in a protest. Podcast # 613

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Welcome to The Moth Podcast. I'm your host, Dan Kennedy. When it comes to big cities, it seems like there's always been this unspoken difference or divide between New York and LA. Some of you may know that The Moth started here in New York City, but what you may not know is that Los Angeles was actually the second city to host a Moth Story Slam. And when it comes down to it, maybe the two cities aren't actually as different as they seem. Both places are full of transplants trying to make it in the big city. And just like New York, LA is not always an easy place to live. Man, it sure seems like it is from 3,000 miles away. I have lived in New York for the last 20 years. I was born and raised in California.

• 0:46Speaker 00

  I always think LA's gotta be easier, but every time I get there, I realize we're all people and life is life, and it's gonna find us wherever we are. And it only takes one visit to be reminded of that. So this week, we're gonna hear a couple of Los Angeles stories about moving in and fitting in. First up is this one from Brian Kett. Brian told this story at our LA Story Slam, and the theme of the night was culture shock. Here's Brian Kett.

• 1:16Speaker 01

  Hi. All right. So when I feel lonely, I go for long walks. And my first year in Los Angeles, I walked so much that I had to resole my shoes two different times. You know, I-- it was just, LA felt so foreign to me. You know, it's a tough city. And back in Chicago, I knew tons of people, and out here, I knew hardly anyone. And I missed humans. And what made my day-to-day even harder was that I worked from home, writing medical brochures about, you know, diabetes and catheters. And some days, my biggest human interaction would be when I would hear my very loud neighbors screaming through the walls.

• 1:59Speaker 01

  And I didn't know if they were fighting or celebrating. And so I was just in this island in my apartment. And when my landlord dropped off my lease to be renewed for the following year, I was hesitant. You know, I felt like I needed a sign, some sort of human connection to convince me to stay, to show me that LA, you know, wasn't so foreign. And so I set the lease aside, and I went to work from a coffee shop for the day. And at the coffee shop, I tried to engage with the barista. And I said, "Hey, man, what kind of pastry is your favorite?" And he just stared at me. He gave me no response. And so I picked out a croissant that sucked, and I sat down next to this woman on her laptop.

• 2:43Speaker 01

  And when I asked if I could share her electrical outlet with her, it was like I was asking her for a kidney or something. There was so much disdain. And it was then and there, I decided that I was done. I was done with Los Angeles. And so for the rest of the day, I just sat in silence, and I wrote about how catheters can cause bacterial infections. And during a few hours of that, it reminded me that I was out of shower soap at home. And so that evening, I packed up, and I walked over to Albertson's. And Albertson's was slammed. Everybody in Los Feliz was there shopping at the same time. And it was so crowded, it took me so long to even get back to where the soap was, that by the time I did, I was really fed up. And I decided that I deserved a treat, damn it.

• 3:28Speaker 01

  And so I picked up some chocolate milk, because I'm an adult. And I went to the checkout line, I set down the soap next to the chocolate milk, and this woman in front of me, who had really big hair, turned and looked back at me, and she scoffed, she gave me a dirty look. And I knew why, clearly. It's because if you buy one item, that's an errand, right? But if you buy two items, everybody assumes you're somehow gonna use just those two items concurrently. And she gave me this real nasty look, like she just knew I was gonna go home and drink the milk when I was all lathered up in the shower like a pervert. And so I just pushed her out of my mind, and I focused on how I was gonna pack up my apartment.

• 4:12Speaker 01

  But that's when someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder. And I turned around, and it was the oldest woman in Los Angeles. She had this face like a dried apple, and she was wearing a plastic babushka, even though it hadn't rained in like months. And she was saying something I really couldn't make out, as she was unloading vegetables that I'd never even seen before onto the conveyor belt. And I thought she was a crazy person. You know, that's fine. And there's a businessman in line behind her, and I tried to engage with him. And I gave him a look that sounded like, you know, "This lady, am I right?" And he gave me no response. He gave me the old barista treatment. And so before I turned away from her, I kind of realized, you know what? Here's a human who wants to interact with you. And, you know, beggars can't be choosers. Maybe she's not crazy.

• 4:57Speaker 01

  So I said, "Excuse me, ma'am." And she was saying, "How do you cook the dinosaurs?" And I thought, "Damn it." You know? But she wasn't saying "cook," it was "ku," so it was "How do you cook the dinosaurs?" And then she continued, and she said, "If my grandchildren do not want, I do not want to waste." And from her cart, she pulled out a small plush stegosaurus, and a small plush tyrannosaurus rex that she'd gotten in the toy aisle. She set them down to her vegetables, and she said, "So? So how do you cook?" And she wasn't crazy. She was the most adorable woman in Los Angeles. And I said, "You know what, ma'am? Normally, I broil my brontosaurus." And she let out this great laugh that sounded like clucking.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  But that's when it happened, that the big-haired woman in front of me leaned in, and she said, "Last week, velociraptor was on special. It was delicious." So the three of us are enjoying this wonderful moment of humanity out of nowhere. And then the businessman gets in on it. And the businessman says, "You know, normally I deep fry my dinosaurs, even though I know it isn't good for me." And the four of us are just in it, and it's amazing, and it's lovely. And then the cashier cleared his throat, because the big-haired woman had to pay. We all snapped to attention, our fun was over. But then the cashier leaned across the conveyor belt, and he said, "Albertson's has the tastiest brand of dinosaur."

• 6:26Speaker 01

  Because the Albertson's brand of dinosaur comes with its own stuffing. And everyone broke out in these smiles. And so the big-haired woman paid, and she went on her way. And then I paid for my milk and my soap that I wasn't gonna do anything perverted with. And I turned to the old woman, and I said, "I really hope you enjoy your dinosaurs if your grandchildren don't." And she beamed. And I left there feeling a part of something larger. Because this human connection, it's all around us, even when we're not looking for it. And it's even in these seemingly insignificant moments. It's even in Albertson's. You know, it's even in Los Angeles, which didn't suddenly seem so foreign. And so when I got home, I took a shower with soap.

• 7:09Speaker 01

  And then afterwards, I poured myself a big glass of chocolate milk. And then I sat down, and I resigned my lease. Thanks.

• 7:19Speaker 00

  That was Brian Kett. Brian is an award-winning teacher, writer, and storyteller from Chicago who now lives in Los Angeles. And every week, he tries to solve the Sunday puzzle on NPR. The end of this month will mark five years of living in Los Angeles for Brian. And when we followed up with him, he had this to say. Quote, "I'm so happy to say that I've found my community here. Over the last five years, I've met so many kind, caring, and creative people. And all of that has come about from being open to whatever opportunities have presented themselves. The other evening, I was sitting on a rooftop with some friends, having a beer, and watching

• 8:00Speaker 00

  the sun set over the traffic, and the city really felt like home." Up next, we have a story from Julieta Gilbert. Julieta told this story at an LA Story Slam where the theme of the night was bouncing back. Here's Julieta, live at The Moth.

• 8:28Speaker 02

  A few weeks ago, I really didn't know if I wanted to go to the women's march. But then I got all of these Facebook invites and texts saying things like, "Can I go with you? Where do I meet you? Should we take the subway?" But I wasn't so sure. I mean, even if I went, what was really the point of it? You see, I am no stranger to marches. I come from Mexico City, and there, we march all the time. We march when we're happy, against oppression, against injustice for peace. We just do.

• 9:11Speaker 02

  I have been in marches with 6 million people. And I'm not judging anyone, but I was in the 2006 L.A. Immigration March, and I only saw Latinos there. And a handful of white people that were probably married to the Latinos. That march accomplished nothing. Nothing came out of it. So thinking about that march made me question even more wanting to go to the Women's March. Because after all, what were all of these women with all kinds of different causes were going to accomplish when we couldn't even get together to fight for just one cause?

• 9:56Speaker 02

  But then my friend, she told me that Shepard Faire, you know, the guy that made the Obama Hope poster? That he was giving away posters. And he had made this beautiful Latina woman that I really wanted. So with this motivation, I told my friends that I was going. My friend and I waited in that gallery for three hours like assholes. By the time I made it all the way to the front, there were no posters, free or for sale. As I was waiting for my friends in Union Station, I was just, I just had the worst

• 10:41Speaker 02

  attitude because I really didn't want to be there. I mean, I didn't even get the poster that I wanted. But then I met this seven-year-old girl. She was in a wheelchair, and she was wearing her little "Nasty Woman" T-shirt. And her dad, "I'm here because I support her rights," T-shirt. And they were so happy and so pumped that it made me feel ashamed of myself because I was just throwing so much negativity to the world. If she could do it, so could I. I found my friends and we entered like this sea of people.

• 11:26Speaker 02

  Let me tell you, Americans do not know how to organize a march. It was a hot mess. But also the most apologetic one. Every time anybody touched me, they were like, "I'm so sorry. Are you OK? Can I help you?" As we walked down Broadway, I saw like 30 Middle Eastern men. They had like this super-long beards. And they were giving away the most delicious vegan food for free.

• 12:11Speaker 02

  They were not asking for anything in return. Their act of kindness blew me away. We passed and we continued walking, and at some point, we were stuck, like we could not move. And I could hear these little Mexican kids chanting, "La raza unida jamás será vencida." And barely anybody chanted along. But this white girl, she was like, "Unida, vencida." And then the kids started chanting, "The people united will never be defeated."

• 12:54Speaker 02

  And like fire, it spread in all of the street. It was magical. As I was walking towards the subway, I bumped into this girl, and she had the poster that I wanted. "Hey, where did you get it?" "Oh, they were just giving them away, but they ran out of it." "Oh." And then she just went like this with her poster, and she had another one. "Do you want it?" And I couldn't believe that this girl just gave me the poster that I wanted so much, just like that.

• 13:39Speaker 02

  As I rode the subway back home, I was trying to digest what I had just experienced. And I was intoxicated with this sense of love, unity, support, so much humanity. This is the smallest march of my life. Only 750,000 people. But by far, the most meaningful one.

• 14:11Speaker 00

  That was Julieta Gilbert. Julieta is a writer-producer from Mexico who moved to L.A. in 2005. She's an Emmy and Promax Award winner and also owns DF L.A. Films, a production company that creates content for the U.S. and Mexico. That's it for us this week on The Moth Podcast. Until next time, from all of us here at The Moth, have a story-worthy week.

• 14:49Speaker 03

  Podcast production by Julia Purcell. Dan Kennedy is the author of Loser Goes First, Rock On, and American Spirit. He's also a regular host and storyteller with The Moth.