One of the most alluring features of Pasadena, is its beautiful turn of the century homes. Large, rambling and often ostentatious structures providing sanctuary for many of the less flamboyant and outgoing of Hollywood's rich and famous. Cross the proverbial railway-track however, and many of these late nineteenth century, early twentieth century homes have been partitioned into separate units turning what was once gorgeously staunch and upright "Queen Anne" Victorians or rambling Craftsmen and cheeky Bungalows into tightly-packed warrens housing the less economically favored and illustrious of Pasadena's people.
We live in one of these.
'Dysfunction Junction' or 'Dark Knoll' as I often refer to our home, is one of 4 separate units making up what was once a large, late C19th home. At one point in her long and stately existence this house must have been magnificent. Today, she is a moth-eaten warren, witness to the comings and goings of four very different sets of families.
Upstairs to the right lives a Hungarian/Italian couple with their Chocolate lab and Brittany Spaniel. In the apartment to the left of them, lives our two vegan students with their over-active mutt Mimi who was born and raised in the Caribbean and thinks apartment life is the 'pitts'! In the ground floor apartment to the right, lives an African American hip-hop 'artist' and his wife - I shall leave that one to the imagination, and finally to the left of them is 'dysfunction junction'; home to myself, Franklin, my paralyzed pekingese China, Mo, Henry Pinkerton Murry, and the myriad of stray cats who pop in every now and again for a snack. So you see, the place is a little crowded.
It is over-run, the plumbing doesn't work; we share a single washer/dryer, and connecting walls with paper thin ceilings. The hip-hop artist has an insect phobia - I come from Africa and will not tolerate the mindless WD-4 torching of crickets, spiders or moths. I save orphaned opossums and feed stray cats, Mimi's favorite past-time is cat-catching. We all bicker and fight all the time, but without these people and this micro-community that I have found myself so inherently a part of I would not have survived my move to America.
Arriving in Los Angeles from Cape Town, one of the so-called 'friendliest' cities in the world, I felt extremely alienated by the fact that while walking in the streets of the city, passers-by did not look at each other, or greet each other. That neighbors who had lived alongside each other for years in the same apartment building did not know each others' name's or smile at each other in passing. A pervasive sense of loneliness was overwhelming and deeply disturbing for me. It is for this reason, that we overlooked the mountain of inconveniences that accompanied the mildewy charm of our little blue house and wallowed in the companionship it provided.
Now despite my resolutely reclusive nature I have, over time, come to champion the benefits of neighborhood and community. I would never trade the beauty of spontaneous dinner gatherings, or helping out with that last minute cup of flour or sugar that is always needed. I would never trade knowing that if you're simply too sick to walk the dog, someone will lend you a hand and that if you've had a grisly argument, knowing that one of you will eventually have to say you're sorry because well, you're family. I would never trade sharing Thanksgivings and Christmas and errant socks and late nights chattering about nothing on the porch for any number of stray cats or crickets.
Last week, on the night of Martin Luther King's birthday; the eve of President Barak Obama's inauguration, our Oak Knoll family grew a new member. And our lives changed forever. Brooklyn Stemmons was born to our 'hip-hop' family, who are now an extremely proud mommy and daddy.
Weighing in at around 5 pounds 7 ounces and being 3 weeks pre-mature, she has yet to make much of a dent in our living arrangements. Although I do have to admit to tearing up every time I look at her. But then, I lay eyes on any child younger than 4 years and my biological clock winds itself into a frenzy. Thankfully, on hearing her squalling in the middle of the night while walking the dog, my clock unwound itself very quickly and I felt decidedly less maternal and enormously relieved in the fact that I had a dog that would be snoring peacefully in its own bed quite shortly.
That being said, Brooklyn, welcome to Oak Knoll, it's a tight squeeze and things can get a little rambunctious at times, but we are honoured to have you join us and I hope that one day you will look back on your youth here at Mildew Court and remember it with love and laughter.
I look forward to many smelly diapers.
-Alice-
*in case you were wondering this is a reference to Alice in Wonderland.