It is an absolutely beautiful, but windy, night tonight here in Southern California. So when my California sister invited me over for dinner and drinks, I decided to walk over (since she just lives a block down). The sun was just starting to set as I made my way down my palm tree lined street (featured in the original Beverly Hills 90210). This morning it was an amazing sunrise that I enjoyed through my office window. And now I was subject to an equally mesmerizing sunset with magenta clouds and a purple sky. I felt so lucky to live in this neighborhood. Moving here in December was the best decision I ever made.
After spending a few hours with my adopted family, it was time to make my way home, but this time with a starlit sky. As I was gazing up to the heavens, I thought to myself that I needed to get a book on constellations. I recognized the big dipper (or was it the little dipper) and Orion but beyond that, my 4th grade astronomy lessons were now buried deep within the recesses of my memory. Every night, I am so astonished by all the stars that I can see out here. Before, when I lived in Los Angeles proper, the only stars I saw turned out to be police helicopters or airplanes. Being near Mt. Wilson is a dream come true for a stargazer and dreamer like me.
So while I was walking, mesmerized by the twinkling lights above me, I didn’t seem to notice what I was about to walk into. For a week or so, they have been filming non-stop in my neighborhood. So far, it has just be an annoyance in the morning when I am rushing to work and I have to wait for a camera crane to be driven across the street. But tonight, as I turned the corner onto my street, I found myself staring into bright movie lights being used to make the night sky seem like day. It took me a minute to adjust my eyes before I noticed that the lights were actually down at the other end of the street but they were shining right into my eye line. I made it past the area as quickly as I could. But the damage was already done. As I looked back up at the stars, I realized that there were so many more, courtesy of the spots I was seeing. “How annoying!” I thought as I made my way up my driveway. I do like the show Criminal Minds, but do they have to film in our nice, beautiful neighborhood at night?
It’s funny how all my friends in Michigan think Hollywood, Celebrities and the “Industry” are so glamorous. Well, it’s not. It is annoying. And for anyone who has ever been on a film set where it takes 15 hours to shoot a 5 minute scene, I think they would find all the “filming” signs in our neighborhood amusing. They have cones all over and “Men Working” signs that they use for Construction. For the next two days, there is no parking on the streets and you have to take alternate routes just to get to your home. Again, it is annoying. I just want to enjoy my walk home and be able to see the stars with out spots clouding my vision, is that too much to ask?
Define Normal 