The fabled Ventura Highway is all that separates my artist loft from the beach where surfing first came to the United States.  Both my balcony and front patio face the freeway at about eye level and I could easily smack a tennis ball right on to the ever busy 101.  Access to the beach and boardwalk is very important to a Tourist Town such as mine and I can see one underpass from my balcony and another underpass from the patio.  Further up the street are two pedestrian bridges.  Both have been recently remodeled so that people can not use it to kill themselves by leaping down into traffic.  The traffic, just like the spice, must flow and the elites that live here do not like to be inconvenienced as they dart about between Malibu and Santa Barbara.

Another feature of living where I live would have to be the homeless, the insane and the drug addicts that wander this particular neighborhood.  The authorities estimate that there are more than 1100 homeless in and around my part of town but unless you too live in such a neighborhood, it can be hard to imagine so I'll do my best to explain.  Please humor me while I tell you what that looks like from ground zero.

As I wait for my morning coffee to brew, I can see the more industrious homeless pushing or pulling their junk carts from under the overpass where they spent the night.  During the day, these guys will scoop up anything of value that is not nailed down.  Others that I can see have their signs and will go panhandle where the tourists must exit the freeway.