There it is , the Freddy Kruger bus .In the background? Another iconic LA location , the Venice pier . In the middle ? A tent .Is this it ? Shit there’s no one here . A Facebook call for Aussies to catch up at Venice Beach . Ok , it’s not something I ever saw myself doing . We walk over , fortunately Emma’s Aussie buddy Jacquie is there setting up . There’s a couple of attractive young girls there who introduce themselves . “Geezus , what am I doing here ? ” ……. Its Venice Beach on a cool , grey windswept Sunday in late April . ANZAC day has just passed and I’m guessing this has something to do with the call to arms .
We are at the park in our usual position , me throwing tennis balls to Leroy . He stands in front of the bin , hitting away . I’m vagued our this morning . We had been out to Hoki and Mats joint for a casual drink and get together the previous night . The night before we ended up at a bar with other friends and their kids after a game of baseball . This is the type of weekend I’ve been waiting 2 years for , I am a little dusty . Anyway , back to the park . I notice a woman drifting close to our area . I’m gathering she wants to use the bin as we use it to act as our catcher . She’s there with her dog and hovers for a brief moment . It’s that little eye to eye , that moment of not just curiosity but some innate intuition that the person wants your attention. It makes me laugh , but it’s the Aussie on Aussie vibe . She says something , and it then comes to my scripted line : “Is that an Aussie accent ? ” Gayle , welcome to our little area , we will collect you …., Why this little story ? It’s funny how the universe works , we were half an hour away from heading up to Venice Beach for a random Aussie get together , and Gayle comes along , from Sydney . We’ll connect .
Emma says .. ” No Howie that doesn’t look that cool .” Ok fair enough , but it feels good to revel in a bit of Australiana , or .. footy bogan .
Eventually we settle in to this odd yet comforting experience of just wanting to catch up with complete strangers and people we have only recently met to talk about life . It doesn’t take long for conversation to flow and to easily talk almost any topic . Powder Finger , INXS , IceHouse , Mondo Rock , Australian Crawl , Midnight Oil , Hoodo Gurus and a host of amazing tunes that this part of the world has no idea exists play in the background . 
TimTams , sausage rolls , pavlova , bullets and even dirty old Fosters get a gig . The young people that rock up are beautiful , bohemian, uber cool and speak with that classic twang that automatically connects you in a special way . 
You can’t help but look at at these kids ( they’re in their early 20s) with admiration for their bravery , confidence and worldliness …… and fuck they are good looking . You could of shot a commercial for Corona beer on one picture of the crew here ……. Geezus , it’s uplifting , but am I really here ? 
It was a great weekend , plenty of socialising with Hermosa friends , but it’s always a high light to catch up with a small minority that have a special bond . We missed ANZAC day but we still found each other on the other side of the world , on a beach, in LA . 
aussiehowieinla 