Marty Barrett: The Flight of the Mavervorl: Lucky seven

Today marks the seventh anniversary of my departing Boston for Los Angeles. I left that city a broken man, my arm having been clipped by a UPS truck while I was riding my bike to work in my last months there.

Less than a year after crossing the Colorado River into California (we drove), my relationship with the person I'd traveled here with ended. I don't know many relationships that have survived westward expansion. I am told that Lewis returned from their travels feeling that Clark was a "douchebag".

We took west four cats, two mine and two hers. I know that one (Roswell, staring from the background) is dead and I think at least two more might be (at least the one in the foreground, if there is any justice). Frampton (seen there in the middle) is still going strong, and just wrote her first novel.

I came out here to be a writer for television and film, and to perform comedy on stage. I have done all those things, but I think I should have been more specific in my plans, such as "I want to write for television shows that aren't cancelled almost immediately". But I guess saying that prior to leaving would have seemed too obvious to me then.

I am going to spend my remaining time in Los Angeles (I have an exit strategy) being more obvious.

Also, when I first moved here, I spent a lot of time riding my bike on the beach. I don't do that anymore. I've been to the beach once in the last year. This disgusts me. It's like living in Bogue Chitto and not eating at the truck stop every day.

Labels: boston, los angeles, personal history, philosophy, travel

3 Comments:

Alison said...: i made my way west in an automobile as well. the drive gives you time to chew on the fact that you're completely uprooting your life for some reason. looking back at the pictures i took from the u-haul is always an emotional experience.

happy anniversary. please don't move back east.; 26/9/07
group 3 project said...: I think that it must be something about going through the western half of the country. I left MA, but only made it as far as TX. I can't say that it was as emotional an experience as you had. I dare say that I'm not the better man for that missed experience, though.

Navin; 27/9/07
libby said...: the exit strategy fills my heart with joyous anticipation.

door's perpetually open.; 6/10/07