I’m writing this from my lounge room couch , in the early evening gloom , beer in hand and the Dodgers on the tv . Just me , all quiet on Friday . Not just any Friday , it’s Good Friday . Emma’s at Coachella . Tex is down the street with his mate Noah ( 1st time I’ve ever heard of him ) and Leroy’s up the lane way at his mate Coopers . It’s a strange type of day . It feels and looks like a typical grey cool Good Friday day that you see most years in Melbourne but it’s LA , and they don’t do Good Friday. True , it’s barely recognised , a few snippets on the news about the pope but apart from that it’s a totally normal day . School , work , businesses … all open and scheduled as normal . I spoke about it last year ; Easter doesn’t hold weight like it does in Australia. There is no public holidays , no media saturation , no supermarket aisles 20 meters long loaded with Easter eggs , with the entry to each aisle strategically loaded with Easter chocolate. It’s probably the biggest surprise when it comes to living in the biggest country with the biggest economy with the biggest intent to market and sell anything that’ll make a dollar , especially when it comes to kids . Don’t worry they haven’t missed the Easter candy / chocolate idea but it’s not on the scale of Australia , there’s a first .
Today I was tempted to stray and eat meat .Why bother when most others here wouldn’t be concerned ? I don’t believe in god , religion or the Catholic faith for which I am cast , but I like the tradition and history . Fuck , why not go a day without meat for one of the rare times in an entire year ? It’s Good Friday and you gotta love the hype and tradition of the Aussie fishmonger getting hammered , selling tonnes of seafood . What about Fish n chips ? It’s their biggest day of the year . Here , not really . I was surprised when I went to the supermarket to load up on a beer or two when I couldn’t find a basket. The joint was bustling , people loading up on dinner items . The seafood area was very busy , in fact the whole vibe here was a little festive . A lot of people were eating fish tonight , indicating that Good Friday still has some presence. It’s weird when I look at all the posts of Aussie friends camping , on holidays and with time off , and to think tomorrow in LA it’s business as usual ,
Easter in LA is nothing more than a novelty , a place with little historical connection to a religious past and hence life moves on , not even the mighty dollar is willing to hook into this weekend . This weekend it’s business as usual .
aussiehowieinla 