Coming Home to L.A.

We’re home again and glad to be back. In 1990 my husband and I made a decision to leave Los Angeles. I must admit I talked him into it. I had enough, it got bad enough. Smog, crime, crowds, traffic jams.

We’ll go to the real land of sunshine, blue skies, lush greenery, warm climate and a peaceful way of life. Off to south Florida--Miami, of course. There, I told him, we won’t see any more brown trees, no more itchy eyes and throats, we’ll be free of the San Diego and Santa Monica freeways, and best of all, free from the “it’s who you know restaurants.”

Well, when we experienced evacuation during Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992, we began to wonder; when our toenails began to curl from the 90% humidity most of the year, we wondered more; and when the choice of restaurants came down to who had the best bagels, and finally we were afraid to buy gas anywhere after 6 p.m., for fear of being shot, we went from wondering to pondering. How could we have jumped ship? What I wouldn’t give to have the traffic jams, smog, crowds back.

Los Angeles is so special, with its earthquakes, floods, wonderful creative restaurants, spectacular mountains, beautiful people, creative energy and the shared caring of our dear and loving friends. Let’s go home, I said, and so we did. And he didn’t even say “I told you so.”

LINDA S. WALTER

Los Angeles