Not satisfied that we had already squeezed two weekends’ worth of fun stuff into a single day, we are back out in Los Angeles to capture another couple of weekends right here on Sunday. While impossible to read, that iconic sign behind us should be familiar enough to recognize that it’s the Hollywood sign.

We have reserved seats for the next screening, so we’re not worried about being in that line across the street, but soon, we’ll head over for our second viewing of Miyazaki’s newest work, Spirited Away.

Back in the day, celebrities were stars and not fetishes. They were celebrated and often filled the roles of being inspirations and mentors, even though they were flawed. Today, the spectacle of mediocrity is the celebrity. Starting in the 1960s, when the average person could be on TV, whether it was Let’s Make a Deal, The Newlywed Game, or The Dating Game, we put on the absurd, bringing us to the Jerry Springer Show, Geraldo, and Howard Stern that all allowed us to witness and take “inspiration” from the tragic in our society who then gained a certain amount of “celebrity.”

Those who used to visit Hollywood were virtually rubbing shoulders by standing in their footprints, comparing hand size, or finding their favorite star on Hollywood Boulevard. We chose Lefty Frizzell to take our picture over because other than some country and western aficionados, who knows who this guy was?

On to the subway for a ride south so we could visit the Thai Town Festival. Food, dance, music, and traditional dress were everywhere.

We even had the opportunity to have our photo taken with Ms. Thai Town.

It was getting close to having to return to Phoenix, and so we were again on the train, this time to Union Station, where we’d parked the car.

But first, a quick drive through Skid Row to keep us grounded in the reality that we are profoundly lucky to be seeing and doing what we are because the alternative could be an existence in a cardboard box without any opportunity to escape the trap of homelessness and crushing poverty.

After all the great food in L.A., we returned to Phoenix late, where our choices were relegated to McDonald’s, Denny’s, or Waffle House; we opted for the latter.