For the past 25 years or so, many people living in Los Angeles have tried to protect the area of water near the city called Santa Monica Bay. One such organization is Heal the Bay. To heal is normally a word we use when talking about people who are sick and then get better. But here it is used to mean improve and clean up the water in the bay near the beaches of Los Angeles.

One way of helping this is to ask people not to dump (get rid of, dispose of) water that is not clean down the sewer drains. Sewers are the pipes that take water and waste away from homes and streets. Streets have drains or openings in the pipes where rain water can go. To drain also means to take liquid out of something, such as the water out of a bath (the little hole where the water goes down in a sink or bathtub is also called a drain).

On many sewer drains close to the ocean, there are signs telling people not to put dirty water (oil, soapy water, etc.) into this sewer drain: “No Dumping – This Drains to Ocean.” (Normally, we would say “drains into the ocean,” but they didn’t have a lot of room on the sign!) Notice the picture of the fish, reminding people to be careful to protect the fish and animals.

Many thanks to Matteo Mescalchin of Digital Movie, a professional photographer who took this picture on his recent trip to Los Angeles.

~Jeff

Right now, the U.S. dollar is very low in value, which means that visitors from other countries can buy more and spend less. Canadians know this and are coming across the border (line between two countries or areas) to shop in American stores. One catch or difficulty is that shoppers have to pay duty (a government fee for taking something into the country) of around 6% when they reenter Canada.

What to do? Some Canadians are leaving their old clothes behind in dressing rooms (a room in a store where you try on clothes) and garbage cans, and wearing their new clothes back home. This is, of course, illegal and if the shopper is caught, he or she will have to pay a fine that is much more than the duty.

Shopping malls are now finding a way to handle these left-behind items. One mall in New York has set up charity bins (containers) outside the stores to collect the old clothes. From this one shopping mall, the charities (organizations that help the poor and the needy) picks up about 20 bins of clothes each week!

I guess our Canadian neighbors are helping more than our economy. They’re helping our poor, too!

~ Lucy

A couple of weeks ago, I finally went to Philippe restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. I say “finally,” because Philippe is an L.A. institution (long-established and respected business) and I’ve heard about it from many people for many, many years.

It has been open since 1918 and the owners of Philippe claims (says, but we don’t have evidence) to have invented or created the French-dipped (or spelled, “French dip”) sandwich. It is a popular sandwich in American restaurants and it is made with sliced meat, usually beef, on a long roll or piece of thick bread. The meat is dipped or put quickly in a brown sauce to give it more flavor. As everyone knows, the French dip, like the French fry, does not come from France. We Americans just like to think we cook as well as the French. Of course, no one who has tasted a French fry could doubt it.

At Philippe’s, you order at the counter, the long flat area where the workers are on one side and the customers are on the other. You stand and wait for your order at the counter, and when you get it, you sit down at one of the long, communal (shared) tables. Here are some pictures I took while I was there. (That’s not me with the grey hair behind the man wearing the white T-shirt. I’m a little older.)

As you can see, it’s a very informal restaurant and it even has sawdust (powder wood) on the floors. In the old days, sawdust was put on the floors because it soaks up or absorbs moisture (liquids) well, such as spilled drinks. This makes it easier to clean up. These days, some restaurants and bars still put sawdust on their floors, but I’m not sure if it’s to make cleaning easier or to give their place an old-fashioned (old style, not modern) feel.

There are many old photos and pictures on the walls of famous baseball players, movie stars, and other well known people. I’m really glad I finally made it to this wonderful L.A. landmark (historic place)!

~ Lucy