Hollywood on a Friday Evening

It may have seemed to our readers that we have vanished from the face of the earth. This past week we moved our home to Van Nuys, California. This is an area northwest of Los Angeles. Shortly after our arrival we got busy getting Christmas letters and packages mailed out. Last evening we decided to venture over to Hollywood boulevard where Improv Olympic West Theater is located. Mike had a show there last night which we wanted to see. We saw several other shows besides his, all lasting about 30 minutes. It is stand up comedy, improvised as the show progresses. I suppose it is the training ground for many actors and actresses, allowing them to feel comfortable speaking and acting on stage. Mike says he is just having fun with it.

Before the show we walked along Hollywood boulevard. And I am not sure that it is the place to be on a Friday evening in the Christmas season. In the area we walked through there is a large Christmas display by the Church of Scientology. The sign above Santa in the picture below declares that it is Ron Hubbard's Winter Wonderland.  And above a large decorated tree nearby Santa is posted a quote from Hubbard which asserts that peace on earth will come when people trust each other.

Part of Hollywood Boulevard was blocked off last evening for a movie shooting. For the scene cars from the 1920s were on the set as well as a trolley. Actors dressed as gangsters strolled around and large lights shone above the street. Suddenly there was a sound of shots being fired, all a part of the scene being played out.

 A man standing near us, who was holding some type of have you found Jesus poster, commented to us:  "crazy isn't this, especially after the shooting earlier today". A for real shooting happened in Hollywood Friday morning when a lone man stood out in the street and started shooting randomly at cars passing by. As we headed back to the theater we passed another real life scene going on, a man was being handcuffed and taken into police custody.  What a surreal evening we had in tinsel town, very far removed from the life we had known back home in St.Louis.