Rolling Up Our Sleeves
As a former member and president of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults, I had to drive 32 miles on freeways and city streets from Santa Clarita to downtown Los Angeles for meetings.
In the past, our meeting place was in an old building where it was easier to walk up seven stories than to take the elevator. It was impossible to find street parking nearby, and the parking structure never had enough spaces or a working elevator.
My favorite part of the trip came after the meeting, when I indulged in a Tommy’s hamburger and picked up my favorite almond cookies at the Phoenix Bakery in Chinatown.
After serving on the county commission, I shifted my advocacy to the state level, but that approval came from the very commission I had once chaired. It also meant that, for my four-year reappointment, I had to drive back into downtown during rush hour to give a “campaign” speech and, hopefully, win my former colleagues’ votes.
The Commission met the day before a major primary election for Governor and the City of Los Angeles Mayor, so the radio news was a cascade of campaign ads, as were the billboards along the route, with candidates vying for a place in the November general election.
Once in the city, I noticed changes compared with my previous drives several years earlier. The people seemed the same—hardworking and moving quickly to keep their families ahead of financial turmoil—but road maintenance was lacking, with potholes to avoid, tents and sleeping bags on sidewalks in harm’s way, and a mix of colorful murals and scrawled graffiti. I grew up in this area and attended high school nearby, so the changes I saw were staggering, especially around MacArthur Park.
Upon arrival, I found a newly constructed county building and garage still under scaffolding. As I entered the parking structure, I snagged a space right away. A sign near the working elevator directed me to the ninth-floor entrance, where I showed my ID to the guards.
On the same floor, a glass tower rose, about 12 stories tall, with guarded security elevators. My meeting was on the first floor of that building, which offered a panoramic view of the city below.
I delivered my “campaign” speech and received favorable votes, with nine other candidates advancing to the California Senior Legislature, unlike those running in the primary the next day. I feared that my viewpoint might now be distorted, sitting so high and seemingly above and distant from the population we served.
Fortunately, as we were getting ready for an after-meeting photo of our group of newly elected senior state representatives, I heard the enthusiasm in my colleagues’ voices as they knew we now had to go out among those in need, dodging potholes while working to reduce the number of tents and sleeping bags on the street.
Unlike those waiting five months and campaigning until the November general election, We the People can roll up our sleeves today to support vulnerable friends and neighbors in our community, especially older adults.
On my way home, I decided to skip my Tommy burger and almond cookies and start the important task of helping those in the city and county where I grew up.
“MacArthur’s Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don’t think that I can take it
‘Cause it took so long to bake it
And I’ll never have that recipe again, oh no…”
– Jimmy Webb
Gene Dorio, M.D.
Leave a Comment