After accomplishing numbers one and two, I set out to meet my friend for number three. It was the hottest day since I’ve been here, which didn’t help my current condition. I detoured to the nearest store for a nice cold bottle of water.
I got on the train heading to Hollywood Blvd. Here, my friend scooped me up and we drove to a pretty cool sports bar and grill. The menus looked like a newspaper and they had the Flyers game on some of the TVs, so that made me happy. I got to watch some of the game as the Flyers beat the Penguins 6 to 3. The food here was also really good. I ordered a Cajun chicken melt and mashed potatoes, which really helped me feel better. On top of that, my friend treated.
After some good conversation and catching up with my friend, he drove me back to Hollywood Blvd, where I took the train back to Flitz’s house. It literally took no more than two minutes in the hot sun to start sweating.
After arriving at Flitz’s and getting half naked to cool off, we decided to get ready to go to Chelsea’s aunt’s house. Now for those that don’t know, Chelsea’s aunt is Joyce Hyser. She is an actress with a decent body of work, works such as: 'This is Spinal Tap,' "L.A. Law,' and 'The Flash' TV series. But her most notable role was in the film ‘Just One of the Guys’ where she played the leading role of Terry Griffith, a girl who seems to have it all who battles the concept of sexism by going undercover as a boy.
Originally, Kuda was going to come with us and drive; however, I think we tired him out. He didn’t feel well but also had to pick up his mother from the airport. So Flitz and I decided to take the bus. The bus was scheduled to come at 4:21. It was 4:19 and we walked as we watched our bus ahead come and go. We missed the bus. Because it was Sunday and buses ran less frequently, we decided to walk on the hottest day of the year. On our walk, we passed what the locals ironically call the LA River. It's that channel of water that flows between a concrete structure. You can see it in any car chase scene that happens in LA. I'm pretty sure that the water was used to transfer waste. After about a mile, Chelsea called and said that Joyce had offered to come pick us up. We accepted her generous offer.
Joyce lives in Beverly Hills, pretty much at the top of one of the hills. As we rode up, they were pointing out houses that were owned by celebrities. We passed Mark Wahlberg’s house, Pet Wentz and Ashlee Simpson’s, and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s. The houses were very nice looking.
Joyce had a nice house too, with a nice backyard with a pool. That was the first thing we took advantage of. We got into our bathing suits and jumped in. At the very top, the water was warm, but about three feet in, it was cold like ice water. We quickly decided that we were going to sit and hang out in the connecting Jacuzzi. Here, the water was nice and warm.
Flitz, Chelsea, and I sat and played around for a while. Joyce, in TV mom fashion, brought out a tray of drinks for us. It was actually very cute. The drinks were some sort of concoction that included pineapple, cranberry, and Grey Goose. It was pretty good. On a side, I'm not going to reveal Joyce's age, but she looks really good. I would have placed her in her late thirties.
We got to meet her husband and stepdaughter when they came home. We learned that he runs a camp for underprivileged kids which was an instant connection between us because Flitz, Chelsea, and I are all part of a non-profit group called Indigenous Pitch that aims to reach out to under-served youth through dance camps. Just a few minutes of talking with Jeff, I could tell he was a pretty genuine and remarkable human.
As the evening went on, Joyce's friends came over. She has some really fun and cool friends. Her friend Freddie was a riot. She seemed to lack a filter from her brain to her mouth which meant you'll never know what may come out of it. It was all harmless though and entertaining. She really made the dinner conversation interesting. Apparently, Freddie's father was a riot as well and was someone who was acquainted with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
Freddie's daughter, Augie, also came over, with her boyfriend Charlie. Augie is much like her mother. She was fun, entertaining and loved to socialize. Charlie looked like he came right out of a GQ magazine. He was very cool and although many may judge him based on the way he looked or dressed, one should learn you cant judge a book by its cover.
Dinner was really good. We had Middle Eastern food. After a quick tutorial on how to prepare our plates by Joyce, we all delved into good food and awesome conversation. It felt very warm and comfortable being around all of them.
After dinner, Jeff and Joyce broke out the wedding DVD and we all sat around the giant TV and watched the highlight clip. It was one of the most amazing wedding videos I've ever seen. The production and the direction was amazing. It was like a mini-film. It was especially great for me because I have to film a wedding in June, so it gave me some ideas.
Freddie, Augie, and Charlie left soon after the wedding video. Joyce, Jeff, Chelsea, Flitz, and I sat down for a nice conversation. Joyce shared stories of her life in the industry and offered some very good advice. I took a lot out of her stories and I am very thankful to her for her willingness to talk openly with us.
After a night in the zip code that was made popular by a television show from the 90's, I feel very inspired and motivated. Thank you.
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