Before I left home Boy Child asked me to take a specific photo for him while I was In the Venice Beach area.
Back in 2024, he had spent a week in Marina del Ray, the town to the south of Venice Beach and had seen a huge cactus plant outside a house near his Air BnB. He was curious to know if it had grown any taller.
How hard could this be?
The Venice Beach boardwalk was gradually coming to life as I walked towards Venice Beach Pier. All along the way, the vendors were setting up for the day ahead, the shops were opening, joggers and dogwalkers were out in force. Every now and then, I would pass one of the local homeless community, each of those souls a stark reminder of the darker- or should that be sadder- side of this town.
When I reached Washington Blvd, I turned left and headed inland. As I walked, I was conscious that the shops and cafes were gradually getting smarter, more upmarket. Conscious that I was on a mission, I walked past Starbuck, ignoring the temptation of a second morning coffee.
The further inland that I got, the more RVs I spotted parked at the side of the road. There were also an old yellow school bus and a few cars with the windows all blacked out. Outside one large black RV, there were several bicycles under a tarpaulin, a small paddling pool on the pavement/sidewalk beside a collection of “sidewalk chalk” kids’ drawing. A sad looking dog kept an eye on me from an open window.
These weren’t just parked vehicles.
These were people’s homes. The owners most likely held down several jobs and earned more than I do.
A few minutes later, I turned off the road into the street where I had been told the cactus plant was growing. In a few short minutes, I had become surrounded by million-dollar homes. It wasn’t sitting easy with me.
I found the cactus plant, took some photos of it to send home to Boy Child then began to retrace my steps. As I passed the black RV for a second time, I felt the saddest dog eyes in the world following me….
Coral McCallum 