Host: Dan Kennedy
Dan: [00:00:01] 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 StorySLAM.
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. I always think LA has got to be easier. But every time I get there, I realize we're all people and life is life and it's going to find us wherever we are. And it only takes one visit to be reminded of that.
So, this week, we're going to hear a couple of Los Angeles stories about moving in and fitting in. First up is this one from Bryan Kett. Bryan told this story at our LA StorySLAM. And the theme of the night was Culture Shock. Here's Bryan Kett.
[cheers and applause]
Bryan: [00:01:16] 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 re-sole my shoes two different times. It was just LA felt so foreign to me. 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. What made my day to day even harder was that I worked from home writing medical brochures about diabetes and catheters. [audience laughter] And some days, my biggest human interaction would be when I would hear my very loud neighbors screaming through the walls. I didn't know if they were fighting or celebrating. And so, I was just in this island in my apartment.
When my landlord dropped off my lease to be renewed for the following year, I was hesitant. I felt like I needed a sign, some sort of human connection to convince me to stay, to show me that LA 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?” [audience laughter] He just stared at me. He gave me no response. And so, I picked out a croissant that sucked. [audience laughter]
I sat down next to this woman on her laptop. 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. 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. [audience laughter] Doing a few hours of that reminded me that I was out of shower soap at home.
And so, that evening, I packed up and I walked over to Albertsons, and Albertsons was slammed. Everybody in Los Feliz was there shopping at the same time. 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. [audience laughter] And so, I picked up some chocolate milk, because I'm an adult. [audience laughter]
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. 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 going to use just those two items concurrently. [audience laughter] She gave me this real nasty look, like she just knew I was going to go home and drink the milk when I was all lathered up in the shower like a pervert. [audience laughter] And so, I just pushed her out of my mind and I focused on how I was going to pack up my apartment.
But that's when someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and it was the oldest woman in Los Angeles. [audience laughter] She had this face like a dried apple. She was wearing a plastic babushka, even though it hadn't rained in months. [audience laughter] 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. I thought she was a crazy person. You know, that's fine.
And there's a businessman in line behind her. I tried to engage with him, and I gave him a look that said, like, “This lady, am I right?” And he gave me no response. [audience chuckles] He gave me the old barista treatment. [audience chuckles] And so, before I turned away from her, I realized, you know what? Here's a human who wants to interact with you. Beggars can't be choosers. Maybe she's not crazy. So, I said, “Excuse ma’am?”
And she was saying, “How do you cook the dinosaurs?” [audience laughter] And I thought, damn it, you know? [audience laughter] But she wasn't saying cook, it was coop. So, it was, “How do you coop 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, 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.” [audience laughter]
And she let out this great laugh that sounded like clucking. But that's when it happened. The big haired woman in front of me leaned in and she said, “Last week, Velociraptor was on special. [audience laughter] It was delicious.” So, the three of us are enjoying this wonderful moment of humanity out of nowhere. And then, the businessman gets sent on and the businessman says, “You know, normally I deep fry my dinosaurs even though I know it isn't good for me.” [audience laughter] 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, “Albertsons has the tastiest brand of dinosaur, [audience laughter] because the Albertsons brand of dinosaur comes with its own stuffing.” [audience laughter] 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 going to do anything perverted with. [audience laughter] 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 when we're in these seemingly insignificant moments. It's even in Albertsons, 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. [audience laughter] And then, afterwards, I poured myself a big glass of chocolate milk and then I sat down and I resigned my lease. Thanks.
[cheers and applause]
Dan: [00:07:21] That was Bryan Kett. Bryan 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 Bryan. And when we followed up with him, he had this to say, “I'm so happy to say that I 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 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 StorySLAM, where the theme of the night was bouncing back. Here's Julieta live at The Moth.
[cheers and applause]
Julieta: [00:08:22] 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. 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. [chuckles] [audience cheers and applause]
I have been marches with six million people. I'm not judging anyone, but I was in the 2006 LA immigration march and I only saw Latinos there, and a handful of white people that were probably married to the Latinos. [audience laughter] 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 we 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. But then my friend, she told me that Shepard Fairey, 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, [audience laughter] I told my friends that I was going.
My friend and I waited in that gallery for three hours like assholes. [audience laughter] 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 just had the worst attitude, because I really didn't want to be there. I mean, I didn't even get the poster that I wanted. [audience chuckles] But then, I met this seven-year-old girl. She was in a wheelchair, and she was wearing her little nasty woman T-shirt. [audience laughter] And her dad, I'm here because I support her rights T-shirt.
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 this sea of people. Let me tell you, Americans do not know how to organize a march. [audience laughter] [audience cheers and applause]
It was a hot mess, [audience laughter] but also the most apologetic one. [audience laughter] Every time anybody touched me, they were like, “I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Can I help you?” [audience laughter] As we walked down Broadway, I saw 30 Middle Eastern men. They had these super long beards, and they were giving away the most delicious vegan food for free. 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. 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.” [audience chuckles] And then, the kids started chanting, “The people united will never be defeated.” 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.
As I rode the subway back home, I was trying to digest what I had just experienced. 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. [audience chuckles] But by far, the most meaningful one.
[cheers and applause]
Dan: [00:14:15] That was Julieta Gilbert. Julieta is a writer-producer from Mexico who moved to LA in 2005. She's an Emmy and Promax Award winner, and also owns DFLA Films, a production company that creates content for the US and Mexico. You can check out photos of Julieta at the Women's March and photos of the Shepard Fairey poster on our website, themoth.org.
And if you're based in Los Angeles and you liked this episode, The Moth Mainstage is headed your way on October 4h. We're going to be at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. And for tickets and more information, just head to our website, themoth.org.
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.
Julia: [00:15:05] 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.
Dan: [00:15:13] Podcast production by Julia Purcell. The Moth Podcast is presented by PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, helping make public radio more public at prx.org.