March 2016 – Page 3 – The Waiting Room Project

Before the Beginning

Waiting_select_001 — USC Medical Center, Downtown LA. June 14, 2012 9:16 AM

I was going through the photos and came across this one I had forgotten about. It actually pre-dates the entire Project by almost a year. I had just acquired the Hipstamatic application and was playing around with it while we waited for Jake to have one of the very first evaluations of his back issues. This is with one of the double exposure ‘paks’ the original Hipstamatic offered in addition to the basic kit – the Salvador lens and Dream Canvas film. It was a one-off, in that I didn’t really pursue the idea of “waiting” nor did I start to photograph the spaces in earnest until the following year. Kinda of like asking what was the universe like before the big bang. Well, here is a glimpse. So you could say the seeds for the Project were planted on this day, but would lie dormant for 9 months only to burst into bloom the following spring. Poetic, huh?

Stanley Kubrick at LACMA

Culture, People Waiting

Waiting_select_071 — LACMA, Los Angeles. June 2013

Jake, Terry, and I want to the L.A. County Museum of Art one fine June day to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibit. We were sitting at one of the cafe tables having coffee waiting for our alloted time when I snapped this photo. The exhibit was fabulous. Memorabilia, equipment, scripts, letters, props, production sketches, stills, and notes from every film he directed, some projects that never came to fruition, and photos from the beginning of his career as a young photographer for Life magazine. We spent an engaging couple of hours exploring the intricacies of his thought process and visual style. I learned about a his early films, read letters he wrote to some self-righteous clergymen about Lolita, saw a wonderful miniature model of the War Room from Dr. Strangelove, special lenses he used, and a wealth of other fascinating exhibits.

I took this photo of Jake through one of the lenses Kubrick used during the filming of LensJake 2001: A Space Odyssey, that ended up on Jake’s Facebook page as his profile picture. It is still there as his page has been “memorialized” by FB which means existing friends can still post to it – no new people can be added – and presumably will be up for as long as Facebook exists. His friends post messages to him from time to time and I occasionally put up things I think he would have enjoyed. Somehow it helps keep his spirit alive. For whatever reasons, I haven’t been back to LACMA since that day.

Great Western Steak and Hoagie

Dining

Waiting_select_070 — Great Western Steak and Hoagie Company, Venice. June 2013

The Great Western Steak and Hoagie Company is a little stand on the corner of Lincoln and Superba in Venice. It has been there for more than 40 years serving up a Los Angeles version of Philadelphia’s legendary sandwich. Housed in a former Tail O’ the Pup façade with the hot dog ends removed, it resembles a giant hoagie bun. The original brown “bun” has been painted recently, sea blue with scenes of Venice beach life, and is barely recognizable. It has changed hands many times over the years but the food has remained remarkably consistent. They still cook the thinly shaved meat on the same flat grill, flanked by heaps of onions, mushrooms and peppers and topped with a slice of melting cheese. The whole hot mess is scooped into a long doughy roll and splashed with a ladle of “pizza sauce” before being wrapped in paper, slipped into a brown bag and handed over the formica counter. The array of gallon jars of pickled cherry and hot sport peppers on the counter has been expanded to include Giardiniera (pickled vegetables), fluorescent green dill pickle slices, and fresh grilled serrano peppers. I don’t eat there any more, but enjoyed many of the steaming sandwiches in years past when I lived around the corner. Venice Arts, where I teach photography is just up the street and I pass by the GWSHC occasionally on my way from parking my car nearby. I peered in one day for nostalgia’s sake and discovered what may be the most rudimentary and least glamorous waiting area in the entire Waiting Room Project.

This Guy Really Knows What He is Doing

Commerce, People Waiting

Waiting_select_080a

Standing in the checkout line at Staples, I encountered this guy who really knows what he is doing. Must be a professional. Or he is good at following directions. Either way, it makes for a compelling commentary on the state of our societal mores, the compulsion to obey random absentee commands, and the willingness of mankind to delay gratification for the sake of social order.

On a Chinatown Street

People Waiting

Chinatown, Los Angeles. June 2013

One fine June day in 2013, we were downtown on our regular monthly run for dim sum and tea. Empress Pavilion was long gone, we had lunched at Ocean Seafood. They have the best selection of chicken and vegetarian dumplings in town, and since we don’t eat pork, it had become our favorite. Next door to Ocean Seafood is the Wing Hop Fung market. Two floors of Chinese foods, liquor, herbs, housewares, beauty supplies and tea. We go for the tea. Hundreds of varieties in tall cylindrical jars with heavy glass lids. Black tea, green tea, white tea, Oolong, herbal tea of every variety you can imagine, expensive Pu-erh tea in large black cakes, beautiful tea blossoms that bloom in your teapot. We discovered a particular Oolong we favor years ago, Wudong Phoenix Honey Orchid Oolong, and stocked up. It is somewhat expensive, but delicious and you can only get it at WHF. Once back in the car, we were heading south on Hill street when I spied this “procession” of people. Not exactly a procession as they weren’t going anywhere. We couldn’t figure out if there was a leader, couldn’t really get a handle on what was going on. We didn’t know what they were waiting for, not at a bus stop, but they were clearly waiting for something. We pulled over and I shot several pictures and this little triptych seemed to capture the mood on the street.

Down to the Car Wash (Bomp-dee-bomp-dee-bomp)

Automotive, People Waiting

Car Wash, Santa Monica. June 2013

Millennium Car Wash, Venice. May 2013

Millennium Car Wash, Venice, May 2013

Car Wash, Los Angeles, April 2014

Handy J’s, Culver City. April 2014

Handy J’s, Culver City. August 2014

Handy J’s, Culver City. September 2013

Car Wash, Los Angeles. March 2014

20 years ago, one of my neighbors initiated a campaign to plant street trees in our neighborhood. He chose a variety that spits tiny droplets of sap, dead leaves, and twigs throughout the year, and a multitude of little yellow flowers during the spring. I can usually wait about a month or so before our cars are too disgusting to stand, so it’s down to the car wash. This collage includes 4 different establishments. The one with the two dogs waiting for their car was my go-to when I worked in Santa Monica. I could stop on my way in, get a quick once over and still get there by 9. Now, my regular hookup is Handy J’s at the intersection of Washington Blvd. and Washington Place.

When you bring your car in for cleaning, you fully expect to wait, and these four places have similar but different vibes in their areas. Handy J’s has an outdoor barbecue restaurant on the corner owned by the same folks that run HJ’s. They grill on a large charcoal barbecue and the smell of tri-tip and ribs wafts across the lot, borne on the perpetual on-shore air from the ocean to the west. Santa Monica has free wi-fi, little bistro tables, and if you are hungry, a McDonald’s right across the street. Millennium is one block away and in a pinch I might go there, but HJ’s does a better job and I get coupons. Now that we all have our mobile phones, it doesn’t much matter where we are, we are always in our own little worlds. In years past, you might strike up a conversation with your fellow waiter, but there isn’t much conversation anymore; we are all too busy peering at our 5-inch screens.

Quality Tire and Brake

Automotive

Quality Tire, Culver City. May 2013

Quality Tire, Culver City. August 2014

Finding a good auto mechanic is a blessing. We discovered Isaac at Quality Tire in Culver City through our synagogue, The Marina Shul. He is Israeli, a fast talker and honest. He doesn’t actually do the work, but he has a couple of great mechanics who know their stuff. He has been servicing our autos for more than five years now, and always gives us a fair price and stands by his work. The irony is that he doesn’t sell many tires in spite of the name. Nearby Costco has a better selection and cheaper, and in fact, he usually recommends his customers go there. He’ll do the alignment once your car has its new shoes.

There is a curious bleakness about all automotive service waiting areas, and Isaac’s is no exception. It is unique in that is it an expression of his personality, with posters of Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Clint Eastwood, and the Beatles adorning the walls, and stacks of National Geographic, Rolling Stone, and Business magazines piled on the credenza. The TV is always tuned to an Israeli news station, an old movie or a soccer game. The couches are vastly uncomfortable, but if I come at lunch time, he will order a Pitfire pizza and a salad for me from across the street. Come on Friday afternoon, and there might be a little shot of tequila or arak on offer. He is within walking distance from my house, and I have made the trip on foot many times, although he will drive me home if I wish. All in all, a very satisfactory place to take our cars to be fixed.

A Symmetry of Chairs

Doctor's Office, Waiting for Jake

Waiting_select_053 — Doctor’s Office, Pacific Palisades. May 2013

This is the waiting room of the doctor who Jake was seeing, down the hall from the previous post. Aside from my new-found preoccupation with waiting rooms, the absolute symmetry of this room demanded a photo. Since I was the only one in the room, I had the luxury of taking several pictures until I achieved the perfect framing. The room was brightly lit and the chairs were uncomfortable. I guess this doctor had better time management so his patients wouldn’t have to wait too long. Good thing. They were so uncomfortable, I got up and wandered the halls discovering the photo in the previous post. They could go as a set, I suppose.

Pediatrician’s Office

Doctor's Office, Waiting for Jake

Waiting_select_052 — Doctor’s Office, Pacific Palisades. May 2013

Waiting with children poses unique challenges. As a rule, they don’t really want to wait for anything; their mantra is usually ‘now’. Most certainly they don’t want to wait for the doctor who may poke them and prod them, put a flat piece of wood in their mouths and make them say “aaahh”, or even worse, stick them with a sharp needle. This well-mannered office provides a child-sized table with some reading material and some games to keep the kiddies occupied. While Jake was in with a new doctor in the office down the hall, I kept myself busy checking out all the other offices in the building. This one was right next door, and seemed worthy of a photo.

Walk-ins Welcome

People Waiting, Personal Service

Waiting_select_050 — Barber Shop, Venice. June 2013

Lincoln Blvd. is a street that could be anywhere. A strip of fast food restaurants, psychics, cheap motels, and liquor stores, it is replicated endlessly across the country. My particular slice of this uniquely American landscape runs from Venice Blvd. to Washington Blvd. All of the above are within a few blocks as well as a veterinarian, an art supply store, car wash, shoe repair, pawn shop, day care, bicycle shop, a couple of used car lots, nail salons, gas station, 7-11 strip mall, legal document service (wills, divorces, incorporations), beauty supply, car rental, Jewish synagogue, Catholic church, Chinese fast food, Thai restaurant, Italian restaurant, Indian restaurant, gluten-free bakery, donut shop, drug store, payday check cashing, wireless telephones, a post office box business, sewing machine and vacuum repair, Thai massage, mixed martial arts studio, car stereo, smog check, locksmith, tattoo parlor, and a marijuana dispensary; truly a cross-section of our culture. And a barbershop.