Hollywood Boulevard......A Ghost Between Stars

It was my first walk on Hollywood Boulevard as I passed Grauman's Chinese Theatere. Enter the Dragon was on the marquee. I remember thinking how appropriate it was that Bruce Lee who was already a superstar in China would be on that marquee on that theater on that morning in LA.

Yeah as Ray Davies said, you CAN "see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard, some you can recognize some that you've barely even heard of, all of whom suffered and struggled for fame, some who succeeded and some who struggled in vain."

My traveling companion and I were on our way to Disneyland but decided to take a quick detour and check out the Boulevard. We had about a half hour to kill before Disneyland opened for the day.

My companion wasn't as interested in the stars as I was so he stopped into a coffee shop across the street while I walked and looked down at the stars, their names written in concrete. I was young. I was single. I was on a road trip. I had visited in at least 20 states for the first time in the past sixteen days.. I had driven down Route 1, the long and challenging California highway with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. Look at the mountains and you almost drive over the cliff into the ocean. Look a th ocean and you drive into a mountain. I  was on my way to Disneyland and then San Diego and then Mexico then back up through Arizona past the Grand Canyon and home again.

Yeah, I had a beard and handmade vest and cut offs and a battered hat on my head. Road clothes yeah. The best. The most comfortable.

Yeah.

So I continued down Hollywood Boulevard rarely looking up and putting distance between me and Bruce Lee.. Every once in awhile the stars would disappear and I would realize that I was coming to a side street. Then on the next corner the stars would appear again and I would continue my walk.

You ever have one of those days where you're the only person on the golf course or the only person in the lake or the only person walking down 42nd street and it seems like you own the whole area. That's how I was feeling. I couldn't believe that I owned Hollywood Boulevard.

Then, suddenly I didn't.

A cop had materialized from somewhere behind me and he was telling me to "stop"

I stopped on a dime as innocent as a child.

The cop told me to "turn around"

I turned around. I said "Hi, how're ya doin' this morning."

He asked if I had any identification.

I asked him why he was asking.

He repeated the question. I knew enough to obey.

I showed him my driver's license. He looked it over carefully and began writing something before he handed it back to me.

I asked him why he wanted the wallet and what was he writing.

He said that he was writing me a ticket.

I asked him how could I get a ticket, I was just walking down the street.

He said, "that's the offense. You jaywalked."

Remember aside from me and the cop there was not a soul on Hollywood Boulevard this morning.

It is possible that I crossed one of the side streets while a do not cross sign was flashing. I don't know. I was looking at the stars. The street was empty.

I explained to the guy that I was in LA for this day only and was on this Boulevard for only a few minutes and that we were on our way to Disneyland and then out of LA forever. Why are you bothering to write up this "ticket."

Again his answer was simple "You jaywalked."

I said "okay, write up the ticket but I'll tell you right now I'm never gonna pay it. I'm gonna throw it out the window somewhere between here and Mexico."

His response was simple "shut your mouth."

I shut my mouth. He finished writing the citation and handed it to me.

I said "thanks for nuthin. And nuthin is what I'm gonna pay for this ticket."

"Oh yeah?," he said, well maybe I should just take you down to the station right now. Would you prefer that?

Once again I asked "what the hell for? For jaywalking?. You're gonna arrest me and take me to the station for jaywalking?
 

"No I'm taking you there for resisting arrest. Now do you want this ticket or not?"

Meanwhile I noticed my companion. He was heading towards us to see what the commotion was and he was legitimatley crosswalking as he was approaching. Somehow I signalled him to go back to the car before we  became gang of Mansons from New York resisting arrest in California.

I said, "I'll take the ticket."

Before he handed it to me he asked "Is it your intention to pay this citation."

I lied.

I crossed the street. Got into my car and the left the stars and the badges of Hollywood Boulevard behind me forever.

Looking back today on the experience with the ghost of George Floyd haunting all media, I consider myself very fortunate.

If I had been a black man walking down Hollywood Boulevard that very day and had reacted in the very same way, perhaps I would still be in jail today if not shot or clubbed or kneed to death.

We've all been discriminated against and we need to keep a fresh memory of that pain and humiliation and injustice as we hurdle into the new normal of understanding, empathy, reform and freedom.