If all the Birch Aquarium's fish, cucumbers, seastars and horses too, could field trip it down the hill for a look around the Village of La Jolla - & they'd fit right in. Weird species share the same habitat, are sometimes oblivious to each other and sometimes eat the other. Some La Jollans don't even believe they live in a village, but rather an art and bauble selling marketplace.
We all recognize the silky-shirted, rich guy breed of La Jollan. And who doesn't know to give wide berth on La Jolla side streets when you see giant sunglasses peeping over steering wheels? But what about & the walk-to-work single mother or the old vacuum repair guy, the eyeglass repair guy, the Korean wine guy, the world-travelling-scone-making-poker-player guy and his muscle powder, mogul neighbor friend? The only things more numerous than the well-fed koi fish around La Jolla are the eccentrics.
There's a woman working on behalf of Promote La Jolla who finds nothing particularly odd about her battle against homeless people who sit on benches (O! karma! be gentle, she knows not what she does.) No need to mention the seal-loving, children-haters or the children-loving, seal-killers. La Jolla has got nothing if not character. Here's one of La Jolla's kindest characters - the sort of person that makes the place a Village.
- Citizen Voices blogger Chris McConnell is a bookseller, freelance writer, & former & high school & English teacher & and odd jobber who lives in La Jolla.
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