One of the Yelp reviews of Amelia’s reads “Service is excellent and
Amelia is a doll.” I showed it to her, eliciting a nervous smile; don’t know if
she wasn’t moved by it or just being modest. Vince is married to Amelia’s
sister Rosmarie, and Saturday mornings you’ll find most of the clan sitting on
the patio outside Amelia’s Coffee & Paninis under an umbrella sipping
strong coffee from big white cups and chatting about everything but southern
California. I feel like I’ve hit the mother lode of authenticity.
Anyway, chatter is the universal currency here; if you have the gift of
gab you’ll fit right in. But it’s not intimidating; there’s an easy, unassuming
flow to the conversation.
“You just missed Michael Keaton,” says Vince. “Sat right over there.
Comes here often.”
Joining Vince this morning is Jon Peretti. I picture them as “running
buddies” – meaning they “run” together in a very figurative sense, not literal.
The “I got your back, you got mine” kind of thing. Jon is a wiry guy, balding,
sporting a day’s stubble and piercing blue eyes.
We talk about Italian surnames. I tell them my family is from northern
Italy and Jon is familiar with the town. His people are from Naples. We discuss
complexion – Vince having light complexion like me even though he’s also
Italian.
“My father was black. Just black,” says Jon.
“Yeah, my dad had a pretty dark complexion,” I say. “He would tan at the
drop of a hat. Me, I burn first.”
Jon is writing a book and currently wrestling with his new Apple laptop.
“Every time I do spell check, Word crashes,” he says. “And don’t get me
started on the white palace.”
He’s referring to the Apple store, where he’s had an underwhelming if not
frustrating customer experience.
“I just want to talk to someone, so I say ‘I’d like to talk to someone
about my drive’ and the guy tells me I have to make an appointment,” he
laments. “I can see a guy about ten feet away, so why can’t I just walk up to
him and ask him? ‘You wouldn’t just walk into a dentist’s office and ask to see
the dentist’, the guy says to me. ‘Let’s check the calendar and see when
there’s an opening.’”
Clearly, you don’t want to cross Jon Peretti when he’s having computer
trouble.
“Were they condescending?” I ask, referring to the associates at the
Genius Bar.
“No, not condescending exactly,” says Jon. “It’s like the first time I
worked in Utah. You speak to someone and they’re smiling and nodding at what
you say but I can wave my hand in front of their face and their expression
doesn’t change.”
For the next few minutes, Vince tries to troubleshoot Jon’s Mac as Jon
continues to complain. I interject that I’m no devotee of Apple and have heard
the new iPhone isn’t all that.
It takes me awhile to figure out Jon is originally from New York and has
a pad of some sort in Kyoto, Japan. I picture an efficient little apartment,
given how land there is at a premium. Soon Jon’s wife, Anya, and one of their
two-year-old twins show up. The little girl’s name is Yakura. The boy is asleep
in the car. Anya’s mother is also with them. Anya grew up in Lithuania, yet she
talks like she’s from Long Island. Dropped r’s and stuff like that. So fricking
charming.
“Anya, she makes up words half the time,” Jon says, playfully. “She’ll be
going along, talking, then out comes something and I’ll say ‘what did you just
say?’”
Anya, probably 15 years younger than her husband, takes it all in stride,
immune to the good-natured ribbing.
They’re all precious, and I allow myself to imagine we’re sitting at a
sidewalk café in Tribeca or SoHo – not Santa Monica. While Yakura munches a
croissant and wanders over into the grass, Vince announces that I’m originally
from Missouri. This gets Jon’s attention because his youth weightlifting team
will be competing in a national tournament in Missouri the following summer.
Exactly where, he’s not sure.
“Bet it will be hot in July,” he says.
“Yeah,” I say. “I have memories of my daughter playing AAU basketball
tournaments in places like Springfield, Missouri and Kingsport, Tennessee in
the middle of summer. At least you’re in an air conditioned gym.”
Being from the Midwest brings curiosity. People I’ve encountered just
don’t spend much time thinking about anything beyond the California state line.
Think about it. California has 38 million residents. It has ocean, mountains,
desert, cities large and small and every climate imaginable. A nation unto
itself. Why would you need anyplace or anything else in your life? I share this
carefully considered opinion with Jon and Vince and they can see the wisdom. On
the other hand, I assert, Midwesterners are fascinated with the world around
them. Probably because we’re in middle of the country and we look to the East
or West with a kind of wide-eyed awe, partly for pleasure, partly out of a
sense of wanderlust.
“You can look in all directions from there,” says Jon, in between sips.
He’s right, and it speaks to the fascination I’ve always had with
southern California. It’s not the Midwest. It’s something different, almost
mystical. Now, I find myself embracing it.
Assimilation will help me study the natives more effectively. I took
great pride in affixing California plates to my car and getting my driver’s
license in the mail. Now, if I accidentally cut someone off in traffic or find
myself awkwardly trying to extricate my car from a dead-end street bearing
California plates, it’s somehow not as egregious or embarrassing as with
out-of-state plates.
“Hmm, must be from over the mountain, doesn’t know the neighborhood,”
they’ll say to themselves. You get more slack being from West Covina than being
from West Plains.
By now Vince has phoned a colleague at work to ask for Apple advice.
Vince would go to the end of the earth to help you with a problem. Soon, he’s
commandeered Jon’s laptop and starts fiddling with it. At this point, I zone
out on their diagnostics and turn my attention to Anya.
“Does he let you read what he’s writing?” I ask.
“Oh yeah,” she says. “He reads aloud to me sometimes.”
I leave it at that. While I’m sort of curious what the book is about, my
Midwestern restraint prevents me from going “all in” and asking more probing
questions. After all, it could be a memoir about something very personal and
private. Don’t let the weightlifting thing fool you, I tell myself. This guy
could be deep.
With the exception of Vince, these people are about as California as I
am. Vince has lived in Los Angeles since he was 10, his Italian family having
emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba. He has a slight accent that you’d peg as
“something Mediterranean,” almost Hispanic sounding at times. What’s beautiful
about Vince is he is his own guy. Doesn’t follow others or adhere to fads. He’s
as unique as his accent. Broad-shouldered, greying mustache, an ever-present
twinkle in his eye. I took to Vince immediately while on a consulting gig at a
local defense contractor. No matter the stress level around him, Vince can
easily summon a smile and reassuring word. He’s worked for the same company for
30+ years and will retire with a good pension. For Vince, retirement is just
two years away, and I can tell he’s relishing it. With two kids in school and
one just graduated, Vince swells with pride over the job he and his wife have
done as parents.
“My oldest just graduated, put her resume together and is applying for
jobs. I don’t want to tell her how to go about it right away, so I’m giving her
six months then I may insert myself.” he says with a wry, knowing smile.
He continues: “I did tell her ‘you just gotta get a job, any job. Just
get started. You can’t be too picky.’”
Vince’s kids attend Catholic schools and I ask him about Loyola High,
because I’ve seen lots of license plate frames that read LOYOLA HIGH, GO CUBS.
A neighbor’s son goes there. Where is it? I ask. A back-and-forth ensues
between Vince and Jon until they realize I’m referring to the high school, not
Loyola Marymount University.
“Loyola High – the boys’ school – is in downtown. A tough part of town,”
says Vince. “But it’s a good school. A lot of the boys from our parish go
there.”
I had seen highlights of the Loyola football team the previous Friday
night on KTLA, but I can’t remember if they won or lost. The one thing I do
remember is a tweet from an overzealous fan that was accidentally posted to the
TV screen: JAMES SPANIER SUKS BALLS. GO ATA. Posted it to Facebook. Got tons of
Likes.
I tell them my son graduated from another Loyola – the University in
Chicago. Those Jesuits stick together, you know. Again, a reference to the
Midwest (Chicago) and I never know how it will play in front of an L.A. crowd.
Am I too sensitive or apologetic? After all, when meeting folks here, about the
only reaction I’ve received so far regarding the Midwest is about the heat and
humidity.
Still, I wouldn’t trade this cultural mashup for anything. It was time
well spent.
Well observed, young fella.
ReplyDelete