People on Stars by Tulsa Kinney

California Dreamin’

Hollywood and Vine. I knew I had to go there first when we saw the orange hazy horizon stretched before us, telling us we made it to Los Angeles. My two bestest friends ever drove me all the way from Oklahoma with a trunk load of my possessions. They were dropping me off in LA, leaving me behind forever.

When we got to the famous intersection and saw the crisscrossed street signs, we really couldn’t believe it. It was just two normal-looking streets, not much going on. The sidewalks were sparsely populated with ordinary-looking people. I guess I thought I would see Jack Nicholson walking up and down the boulevard. 

After my initial disappointment, in time, I grew quite fond of the restless road. The Frolic Room became one of my favorite dives (actually at Hollywood and Vine). I’ll never forget the time a good-looking stranger came up to me and asked me to play number 105 on the juke box, saying he’d be my best friend forever. I did, it was James Brown, “Night Train.” Then he bent me over the juke box and kissed me. 

That was nearly 30 years ago and he’s dead now. Most of the bars on that strip are gone too. I still slip in Musso & Franks and have a martini now and then. And when I do, I remember all the dreams I had on Hollywood Boulevard. 

Tulsa Kinney is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Artillery art magazine